Neumagen-Dhron sits on the east bank of the Mosel river, just 37 Kilometres from Trier and 18 Kilometres from Bernkastel-Kues at the heart of the Mittlemosel, an area famed for white wines of world distinction. This is a small and quiet village of some 2,400 inhabitants. Undisturbed by the constant hubbub of tourist activity at Bernkastel and Trier, it offers the ideal base to retire to in the evenings after spending the day discovering the region.

It also has the distinction of being Germany's oldest wine town, with an unbroken tradition of wine cultivation stretching back to the 3rd century AD.

Concious of the increased interest in the village's historical past, the community made the bold decision to build a modern-day, fully-functional replica of the original wineship and with partial funding assistance from the EU the ship was completed and launched in 200?.

Today it's one of the Mosel Valley's most popular attractions and draws visitors from far and wide. It can be chartered by groups of up to 40 people for trips on the river and a nautical wine-tasting. For more information contact Marion at our sister site www.breaksaway.net

for those who like the easy pace Enschen's Joop will gladly take you for a horse-drawn wine tasting through the vineyards. For those needing a swifter form of transport there are excellent autobahn connections at both Salmtal and Föhren on the A1/A48, and at Mehring on the A1, both of which can be reached within 15 minutes.

The nearest train stations are at Wittlich and Trier and we offer a free of charge collection service for visitors travelling per pedes.

The international airport at Luxembourg is one hour away by car. We offer a collection service if required.

Hahn (look for Lautzenhausen in your atlas) is an ex US military airbase and offers excellent facilities for travellers to Germany, especially now that the newly extended terminal is opened. It's deep in the Hunsrück countryside but has a superb new road link to the A61 (Rheinboellen) and Rhine Valley to the east and the Mosel Valley, Trier, Saarbrücken and Kaiserslautern to the south and west. Long term there's also a rail link planned but that will take some while to realise.

Hahn Airport is just 40 minutes (50 km / 30 miles) from Neumagen and of course we'll be happy to arrange collections and transfers. In many cases it's cheaper to spend a weekend in Germany than to take the train to London!.

During your visit to Neumagen why not take the ship to Trier or Bernkastel-Kues - landing stage just 100m from the door, but don't mind me being here too. The climate has improved in recent years so we stay here all year round now. Honest ! No goosing !

Back to the point. During the season I see the ships go from here each day at 09.45h and 11.30h. They come back in the afternoons at 15.15h and 16.30h just in time for the folk to take a stroll along the riverside and carelessly drop some bread scraps in the water. Hope they don't improve on that habit.

Next stop along the river's Piesport. You've almost certainly heard of the Piesporter Michelsberg. Well, this is the church the hill's named after. Most folk only see the St. Michael's Church during the summer months, but this picture was taken on a beautifully crisp and bright January day in 2008. A day like that's nectar for the soul, but you know what they say; "what's good for the goose .....".

After Piesport there's Minheim, but I haven't got any pictures of there, and then after the lock at Wintrich we get to Kesten. I could tell you lots about Kesten but suffice to say right now they're building a dyke to keep the water out of the village, strange folk. You'd think they'd be delighted to have the waves and fish lapping around the window sill, but apparently not. My friends, the swans used to nest there right next to the roadside and nobody ever bothered them. but the diggers and dust were just too much so they've upped and off. It's too nice a spot not to come back to, but then again they're not pigeons.

We sail past Brauneberg and on to Mülheim, famous as the birthplace of the fellow who thought up the Zeppelin. Not much of an idea I'd say, a great clumsy object to do what we do in our sleep. This is the Elisenberg. The tale goes that Napoleon camped there on the way back from Leipzig. One of his soldier's got into a do over a Winzer's wife and the Winzer struck the soldier. Napoleon demanded he be handed over or he'd burn down the town. A local worthy offered the Frenchy 3000 Talers to forget the matter, which he did, and left for Paris the next morn. The monument stood unscathed until recently, when a clod in a truck smacked into the side of it.

And so we sail on past Lieser (as we've no pictures) and arrive finally at Bernkastel-Kues. There are better memories of Bernkastel but this one is what most people seem to keep. The half-timbered nest-boxes all packed together, higgledy-piggledy and crooked; the narrow little streets where you can take a gander (and why not I'd say) at all the tourists eating their way through through the streets as if they were made of gingerbread. But all that comes later when they have the Christmas Market. You'll not see me then as it's not a good time for a self-respecting Goose so I make myself scarce.

Over the bridge (nothing to do with Jack London) there's Kues, and the Nicolaus Cusanus hospice, which has provided alms for the sick and needy since 1456 or thereabouts. Cusanaus was a humanist Cardinal who was tipped for the papacy, but didn't quite make the hot seat. His body's buried in Rome and his heart here in Bernkastel, which was surely a feat of transportation in those pre-refrigeration days.

Today the building also houses the Mittelmosel Weinmuseum and the Vinothek, which should definitely be on the list of every wine lover. Over 80 wines ready for the tasting and glasses to hire ! Now that's the spirit.

Back in Neumagen this is Rudi Lemmermeyer being pursued along the main street by the Wineship run amok. Rudi's probably forgotten his amo, amas, amat again. Like many wine producers he's to be seen at all hours of the day and night whizzing through the vineyards....;

There are excellent wines to be had here in Neumagen from the sites Laudamusberg, Engelgrube and Rosengaertchen. In Dhron you can choose from the Hofberg or the Roterd sites. You certainly shouldn't miss the opportunity to taste a few local wines while you're here and at prices from as little as Euro 4.00 per bottle stocking up is not at all a bad idea.

If you're interested in finding out more about German Wine cultivation in general and Mosel wines in particular enquire about our Wine Introduction Courses and Seminars which are conducted in either English or German, or take a look at www.winewise.de

Für unsere deutschsprachige Besucher :

Neumagen-Dhron beeindruckte durch seine faszinierende Flußlandschaft schon die alten Römer. Nur 30 km von der alten Hauptstadt Trier entfernt ließ Kaiser Konstantin hier um 310 n.Chr. ein Kastell errichten, welches später von dem römischen Dichter Ausonius als "Noviomagum Constantinum" besungen wurde.

Zahlreiche Grabdenkmäler, die man innerhalb der alten Kastellmauern fand, darunter auch das bekannte "Römerweinschiff", verliehen dem Ort die Namen "Rheinisches Pergamon" und "Ältester Weinort Deutschlands".
Auf dem "Römerpfad" kann man durch Kopien der bekanntesten Grabdenkmäler und entsprechende Illustrationen die Geschichte hautnah erleben.

Außer seiner bewegten Vergangenheit bietet der Ort wegen seiner zentralen Lage ideale Voraussetzungen für einen abwechslungsreichen Urlaub. Das Moseltal mit den angrenzenden Höhen der Eifel und des Hunsrücks bietet einen landschaftlich reizvollen Kontrast. Weinberge im Wechsel mit romantischen, bewaldeten Seitentälern laden ein, die Region als Wanderer oder mit dem Fahrrad zu erkunden. Fahrten mit dem Planwagen erlauben auf eine erholsame Art die Natur zu genießen.

Sehenswürdigkeiten :

Feste :

Weitere Freizeitangebote :

Looking for links to Neumagen ?

Other links are