Mainzer Berg

The Mainzer Berg rises above the gentle hills of Rheinhessen, a limestone ridge capped by two rounded summits just east of Ingelheim on the Rhine. Its slopes fall away northwards past orchards and vineyards towards the river, while to the south the land rises again towards Alzey. The higher of the two tops reaches 249.1 m and is marked by a shooting range, while a second top 780 m west-north-west stands at 247.8 m. Winegrowers have shaped the north and west flanks for centuries, planting Riesling and Silvaner on slopes that receive little rain and so suit organic methods. The names on the labels—Rabenkopf, Steinberg, Täuscherpfad—are those of parcels that stretch from Wackernheim down to Groß-Winternheim. Beneath the vines lie the ruins of Ingelheimerhausen monastery, now a farmyard called the Haxthäuserhof. Paths wind through the vineyards and along the Selz valley, where the river cuts between orchards and the old Burgkirche of Ober-Ingelheim. At the foot of the eastern slope the landscape merges into the outskirts of Mainz-Layenhof, while to the west the Westerberg ridge keeps the valley narrow. From the higher summit the view stretches across the Rhine plain to the Taunus hills on clear days.