schiller-wine: Schiller's Favorite Wine Taverns in Meersburg, Lake Constance, Baden, Germany

Picture: Annette Schiller at Weinhaus C. Hanser in Meersburg, Lake Constance, with a Cuvée Annette. Annette von Droste-Hülshof, poet and composer, died in Meersburg and lived the last 7 years of her live at the Neues Schloss

Meersburg (in English, "sea castle"), which is built on a steep vineyard right by the lake, is a most charming town on the shores of Lake Constance.

Lake Constance

Lake Constance - in German: Bodensee - is shared by Germany, Switzerland and Austria. The largest City on the lake is Constance - in German: Konstanz. On the Swiss side is the Canton of Thurgau, where the grape variety Müller Thurgau comes from, created by Hermann Müller in 1882. The Austrian part does not have much wine, if any; the wine regions of Austria are on the other side of the country, in the east.

Picture: Lake Constance in the South of Germany, with Swiss Mountains

See also: The Evolving Structure of the Wine Industry in Germany – The Case of the Lake Constance Region

Meersburg: Upper Town and Lower Town/ Altes Schloss and Neues Schloss

Meersburg with its medieval streets and half-timbered buildings is a split-level town: The lakeside Lower Town is home to the boat and ferry landings, a lakefront promenade, hotels, restaurants, bars, and sporting activities; and the Upper Town is a hillside cluster of historic buildings, museums, galleries, cafés, shops, and vineyards. Both sections of town have remnants of medieval walls (including two ancient gates), and you can go back and forth between the two by stairway or road.

Meersburg has two castles to visit, conveniently side-by-side, both in the Upper Town.

Pictures: Meersburg

The stony Altes Schloss — or simply Burg Meersburg — with its corner round towers and stair-stepped gabled central tower (added in the 16th century) is considered the oldest surviving castle in Germany. Parts of it do date back to AD 630 and its foundation by Dagobert I, last of the great Frankish Merovingian kings. Most of it, however, only dates back as far as the 12th century (still pretty old), and from the 13th century on it served as a seat for the Prince-Bishops of Konstanz.

By the 18th century, the powerful Prince-Bishops of Konstanz wanted something a bit newer, fresher, and more baroquey than the drafty old Burg, so they set about building themselves a Neues Schloss next to the old one in 1710–50, designed by Franz Anton Bagnato and finished off in grand style with a staircase based upon plans by German baroque architect extraordinaire, Balthasar Neumann.

A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office. Thus the principality ruled politically by a prince-bishop could be wholly or largely overlap with his diocesan jurisdiction, but not necessarily.

Though the bishopric was dissolved in 1803 (after which their palace was used variously as a girls' school, prison, sailor's school, high school, institute for deaf-mutes, and barracks for French troops after World War II), the Schloss continues to reign above the town in all its white-frosted pink glory.

Restored to its baroque splendor—most evident in the Festsaal (ballroom) with its frescoed ceiling and the Schlosskappel chapel — the Neues Schloss now contains a museum dedicated to the era of the Prince-Bishops and several oddball collections of decorative arts and natural history as part of its State Gallery museum.

A few rooms have been preserved in their 19th century state to honor the residence of German poet Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, who lived out her final years in this, the house of her brother-in-law, in the 1840s.

Staatsweingut Meersburg (Baden)

The Staatsweingut Meersburg is located in Meersburg at Lake Constance and owned by the State Baden-Württemberg.

It was owned by the church for a short period of time. From its construction in the 1750s until the bishopric was dissolved in 1803 it was the seat of the Prince-Bishop of Constance. In 1802, it passed – along with the Salem Abbey - into the hands of the Margrave von Baden during Napoleon’s secularization.

Baden came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden. It became the much-enlarged Grand Duchy of Baden through the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. The Grand Duchy of Baden remained a sovereign country until it joined the German Empire in 1871. After the revolution of 1918, Baden became part of the Weimar Republic as the Republic of Baden.

The Republic of Baden, as the successor of the Grand Duchy of Baden, took over the Staatsweingut Meersburg in 1918. (But it did not take over Schloss Salem, which became the private property of the Margrave of Baden.) In the Federal Republic of Germany of 1945, Baden and Wuerttemberg were merged to the Republic of Baden Wuerttemberg, which is the current owner of the Staatsweingut Meersburg.

Pictures: Staatsweingut Meersburg

The vineyard area totals 62 hectares, planted with Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Traminer and Regent.

The Schloss also houses the Staatsweingut Meersburg, owned by the Government of the Federal State of Baden Wuerttemberg. The vineyard area totals 62 hectares with holdings in the following sites: Bengel, Chorherrnhalde, Lerchenberg, Jungfernstieg and Rieschen (Meersburg – monopole holding), Olgaberg – highest vineyard in Germany at 520 metres above sea level (Hohentwiel), as well as Ritterhalde (Gailingen). The area is planted with Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Traminer and Regent.

The Staatsweingut Meersburg was owned by the Prince-Bishop of Constance until 1802, when it passed into the hands of the Margrave von Baden during Napoleon’s secularization.

The Government of Baden, as the successor of the Grand Duchy of Baden, took over the Staatsweingut Meersburg in 1918. But it did not take over Schloss Salem, which became the private property of the Margrave of Baden.

Schiller's Favorite Wine Bars in Meersburg

There are only 2 true wine bars, where you can have a glass of wine and a small bite. In all other listed taverns, people have a full meal with a glass or bottle of wine. I am not sure as to how just have a glass of wine without any food or just a small bite.

Weinhaus C. Hanser
Unterstadtstraße 28

True wine bar. Best wine list in town. Excellent small bites.

Weintreff Winzerverein Meersburg - Kellereiverkauf
Unterstadtstraße 11

Inexpensive. Only wines of the Winzerverein Meersburg. Always packed. Closes at 9pm.

Gutsschänke Staatsweingut Meersburg
Seminarstarsse 4

Wine bar and restaurant. Only wines of the Staatsweingut Meersburg. Brilliant view from the terrace.

Markgräflich Badische Weinstube
Unterstadtstraße 28

Restaurant. Only wines of Weingut Markgraf von Baden.

Weinstube zum Becher
Höllgasse 4

Historischer Weinkeller "In Trauben"
Steigstrasse 6

Meersburger Winzerstuben
Steigstrasse 33

Restaurant. Inexpensive. Only wines of the Winzerverein Meersburg.

schiller-wine

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Schiller's Favorite Wine Taverns in Meersburg, Lake Constance, Baden, Germany

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