Gerlachshausen Germany Bavaria
1
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
CroisiEurope (1 Cruises)
MS L'Europe
1 Cruises
Image not available
Frequently Asked Questions
Near the lock, on the Main lateral canal in Lower Franconia. The river here forms the Mainschleife, a loop too winding and too shallow for river ships, which therefore use the canal that cuts across it.
Very little, and it is only fair to say so: this is a hamlet of a few hundred people. Gerlachshausen serves as the gateway to the Mainschleife vineyards. The day happens in Volkach and the neighbouring villages, not at the landing stage.
By excursion coach or bicycle, only a few kilometres. Volkach is the wine capital of the region: its main street runs between two medieval gates lined with Renaissance houses and baroque facades, and tasting cellars follow one after another.
Volkach first, for the old town and the cellars. Then the walk up through the vines to the pilgrimage church of Maria im Weingarten. If time allows, the Vogelsburg viewpoint gives the fullest view over the river loop.
A sculpture by Tilman Riemenschneider, a master of the late German Middle Ages, carved in limewood. It hangs in the church of Maria im Weingarten on a vine-covered hill. Stolen in 1962, it was recovered after a ransom paid by a major magazine.
Franconian Silvaner and Müller-Thurgau, served in the Bocksbeutel, the round flattened bottle unique to the region. Cellars in Volkach, Sommerach and Nordheim open their doors for tastings.
The euro. At growers' estates and small cellars along the Mainschleife, cash is strongly preferred and some simply do not take cards at all. Bring notes if you plan to carry bottles home.
Yes, as soon as you leave the coach. The climb to Maria im Weingarten goes up between the vine rows, and the loop trails are gently but steadily sloped. The cobbled lanes of Sommerach are not the easiest underfoot either.
May to October, with a clear advantage to September and October: harvest is in full swing, cellars are open and the slopes take on their colours. Volkach's wine festival is among the oldest in Franconia.
Sommerach and Nordheim certainly are. Cobbled lanes, limestone walls, coats of arms above doorways and courtyards where harvest crates dry. Franconian wine country resembles neither the romantic Rhine nor the steep Moselle: soft lines, compact villages, restrained tourism.
