Achkarren, a village situated in the southern end of the small town of Vogtsburg im Kaiserstuhl, in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Kaiserstuhl region, bordering the town of Ihringen. The valley of Achkarren faces west and is 5 km from the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

river and 7 km from

Breisach Breisach am Rhein (, ; formerly Alt-Breisach, , in contrast to " New Breisach"; Low Alemannic: ''Alt-Brisach''), commonly known as Breisach, is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the di ...

. The highest average temperature or hotspot in Germany is located between the center of Achkarren and the town of Ihringen.

History

The first documented reference to Achkarren appears in 1064 AD when the village was given to the

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

of Ottmarsheim (a small Town in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

) by King

Heinrich IV Henry IV may refer to: People * Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor (1050–1106), King of the Romans and Holy Roman Emperor * Henry IV, Duke of Limburg (1195–1247) * Henry IV, Duke of Brabant (1251/1252–1272) * Henryk IV Probus (c. 1258–1290), ...

. Based on archeological artifacts, the village could have been settled as early as two thousand years ago. The omnipresent wine terraces may have been established during the settlement by the

Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...

from 260 AD on. The name "Achkarren" is derived from the Old High German "haz karle" (Hate Charles), reportedly the name of an early settler from the neighboring village of Oberrotweil. Town folk tell a tale of the origin of the village name:
During the construction of the castle Hoehingen on Schlossberg (Castle Mountain), high above the village, an accident occurred. A cart full of building material was pushed up the mountain several times. Every time the cart was close to the summit, it broke loose and rolled back down into the valley. While watching this unfortunate spectacle, the future Lord of the castle shouted "Ach Karren!" (Oh Cart!). In 1525, the castle was severely damaged during the

German Peasants' War The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt () was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It was Europe's largest and most widespread popular uprising befor ...

. After rebuilding, its complete destruction occurred during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. The Kaiser's Catholic troops destroyed it once they could not hold back the attack from the Swedes. Today artifacts of the ruins can still be found. Three years after the Thirty Years War ceased, a total of 58 residents remained in the village; approximately 70% of the population perished during the war. In 1703 AD, during the siege of Breisach by French troops, the village itself was completely destroyed. This siege was part of the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

. In the chaos of wars between the late medieval and modern times, Achkarren as well as its neighboring towns of Ihringen and Breisach were several times part of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and remained so for some years. A quarry is located between Schlossberg Mountain and Buechsenberg Mountain. For the construction of the St. Stephansmuenster (cathedral) in Breisach, material from this quarry was used. Recently the quarry was revived in order to further repair the cathedral.

Miscellaneous

The

vineyards A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

of Achkarren are considered some of the best in Germany. In particular, the local

Ruländer Pinot gris, pinot grigio (, ), or ''Grauburgunder'' is a white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the pinot noir variety, it normally has a pinkish-gray hue, accounting for its name, but th ...

or Grauburgunder (

Pinot grigio Pinot gris, pinot grigio (, ), or ''Grauburgunder'' is a white wine , white wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. Thought to be a mutant clone of the pinot noir variety, it normally has a pinkish-gray hue, accounting for its ...

) is famous. The Vintners Cooperative Society of Achkarren and the village wineries have received many prizes for the quality of their wines. In addition to loess, Achkarren contains over 50% volcanic soil. There are several trails on Schlossberg as well as Schneckenberg (Snail Mountain). On these trails one can view the layers of volcanic rock covered with a thin top layer of loess. Achkarren's Buechsenberg Nature Preserve contains a collection of rare plants and wildlife. Appropriately, Achkarren has a Winemaking Museum and boasts a 2.4 km long trail that features the geology of winemaking, its soil, climate, grape variety and the history of winemaking of the Kaisersuhl. In addition to wine making, tourism and a small industrial park in the

Rhine Rift The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben ( German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the ...

are the main businesses of the village.

References

Gallery

Image:Achkarren 0044.800.jpg, Aerial view of Achkarren from the east with Breisach in the background. Image:AchkarrenRheinebene.jpg, Achkarren viewed from the West (Rhine Rift). Left to right: Summit of the Schlossberg, Schneckenberg and Totenkopf (Death Head) with its transmission tower (highest elevation of the Kaisertuhl) Image:SchlossbergAchkarren.jpg, Schlossberg mountain seen from the valley. Difference in elevation is about 150 m (500 ft). The steepest vineyards are bringing the best wines. Image:AchkarrerRebsorten.jpg, Overview of the grape variety. Left to right:

Riesling Riesling ( , ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling ...

Gewürztraminer Gewürztraminer () is an aromatic wine grape variety, used in white wines, and which performs best in cooler climates. In English, it is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz ( ; although this is never the case in German, because mean ...

, Muskateller, Weisser Burgunder,

Müller-Thurgau Müller-Thurgau () is a white grape variety (sp. ''Vitis vinifera'') which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882 at the Geisenheim Grape Breeding Institute in Germany. It is a crossing of Riesling with Made ...

Spätburgunder Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for ''pine'' and ' ...

Silvaner Silvaner or Sylvaner () is a variety of white wine grape grown primarily in Alsace wine, Alsace and German wine, Germany, where its official name is Grüner Silvaner. While the Alsatian versions have primarily been considered simpler wines, it ...

and

Scheurebe Scheurebe () or Sämling 88 is a white wine grape variety. It is primarily grown in Germany and Austria, where it often is called Sämling 88 (''English'': Seedling 88), and some parts of the New World. Scheurebe wines are highly aromatic, and th ...

Image:Achkarren-Panorama.jpg, Panorama view of the village (shot in the spring). View from the top of the Schlossberg. Very high resolution - click to view. {{Authority control Former municipalities in Baden-Württemberg Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald