Maikammer ( pfl, Maikomma) is a municipality in the

Südliche Weinstraße Südliche Weinstraße ( pfl, Siedlischi Woischdrooß; en, "Southern Wine Route") is a district (''Kreis'') in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Südwestpfalz, Bad Dürkheim, the district ...

district, in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. It is situated on the

German Wine Route The German Wine RouteScheunemann J., Stewart J., Walker N. and Williams C. (2011), ''Back Roads Germany'', Dorling Kindersley, London. . or Wine Road (german: Deutsche Weinstraße) is the oldest of Germany's tourist wine routes. Located in the ...

, approx. 5 km south of

Neustadt an der Weinstraße Neustadt an der Weinstraße (, formerly known as ; lb, Neustadt op der Wäistrooss ; pfl, Naischdadt) is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With 53,300 inhabitants , it is the largest town called ''Neustadt''. Geography Location T ...

. Maikammer is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Maikammer.

Geography

Location

Maikammer lies at elevations from 120 to 300 m at the foot of the

Kalmit The Kalmit is the highest peak in the Palatinate Forest and the second highest (after the Donnersberg) in the Palatinate region of Germany. It is and located south of the town of Neustadt an der Weinstraße. The mountain attracts many tourists ...

, the highest mountain in the Palatine Forest (673 m), in a landscape dominated by

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vine ...

s. Other high ground within the boundaries of the parish includes the north flank of the

Schafkopf Schafkopf (), also called Bavarian Schafkopf, is a popular German trick-taking card game of the Ace-Ten family for four players that evolved, towards the end of the 19th century, from German Schafkopf. It is still very popular in Bavaria, where it ...

(617 m), the Rotsohlberg (607 m), the north flank of the Stotz (603 m), the northeast flank of the Breitenberg (545 m), the Flachkopf (498 m) and the

Wetterkreuzberg The Wetterkreuzberg () is a hill in the Haardt range on the eastern edge of the Palatine Forest in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Location The Wetterkreuzberg, like the Breitenberg (545.2 m), the Taubenkopf (603.8 m) an ...

(401 m). Neighbouring municipalities are (clockwise):

, Kirrweiler (Pfalz),

Edenkoben Edenkoben () is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It lies approximately halfway between Landau and Neustadt an der Weinstraße. Edenkoben is one of the towns situated along the German Wine R ...

Sankt Martin (Pfalz) Sankt Martin is a municipality in Südliche Weinstraße district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Buildings The medieval center is worth seeing and is since 1980 under Cultural heritage management. St. Martin, Martin of Tours, is also the pat ...

, Edenkoben (exclave),

Gommersheim Gommersheim is a municipality in Südliche Weinstraße district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state ...

(exclave) and Kirrweiler (exclave).

Climate

Due to its mild climate, not only do grapes grow here but also exotic fruit such as

kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

s, almonds and

sweet chestnut ''Castanea sativa'', the sweet chestnut, Spanish chestnut or just chestnut, is a species of tree in the family Fagaceae, native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the temperate world. A substantial, long-lived ...

Industry

Maikammer's local economy is predominantly supported by the wine industry. The area is well known for the vineyards of Alsterweiler, Kappellenberg, Kirchenstück, Immengarten and

Heiligenberg Heiligenberg is a municipality and a village in the Bodensee district in Baden-Württemberg, about seven kilometres north of Salem, in Germany. Location and climate Heiligenberg (literally: the Holy Mountain or the Mountain of Saints) is loca ...

, which produce

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 Madeleine ...

and

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 ...

grapes. Wine has played a significant part in Maikammer's history, both economically and culturally. Maikammer is also host to numerous villas built by the original wine families of the area, which now help to attract tourists to the area. During the 1850s, Anton Ullrich and his brother Franz Ullrich established an enameling factory in Maikammer producing enameled kitchenware. This factory was a major source of employment for the people of Maikammer, employing around 1,000 people at its peak. The products made in Maikammer were sold throughout

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, distribution extended as far east as

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. The factory was closed in 1928 as a result of Germany's

hyperinflation In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimize their holdings in that currency as t ...

Spelling variations

The town of Maikammer has also been spelled in the following ways: Meinkeimere (1315), Meinkemer (1329), Menkemer (1335), Menkemere (1345), Meinkemeren (1346), Meinkemer (1348), Meinkeymer (1350, 1366), Meinkeimer (1370), Meinkemer (1391, 1419), Meynkeimere (1437), Meynkamere (1464), Meinkheimer (1468), Meyekeymere (1500), Mainkeimer (1542), Meynkammer (1560), Maycammer (1650), and since 1800 Maikammer.

Mayors

* Sebastian Frantz (1860–1904) * Eduard Wolf (1904–1920) * Dr. J.C. Wolf (1920–1933) * Gustav Buchenberger (1933–1942) * Otto Wingerter (1942–1945) * Dr. J.C. Wolf (1945–1946) * Alfred Wagner (1946–1947) * Rudolf Straub (1947–1948) * Hermann Ullrich (1948–1955, CDU) * Johannes Damm (1955–1973, CDU) * Rudolf Müller (1973–1974, CDU) * Dieter Ziegler (1974–1994, CDU)Maikammer: Ex-Minister Dieter Ziegler gestorben
''Die Rheinpfalz'', 5 March 2019. * Karl Schäfer (1994–incumbent, CDU)

Notable residents

General Jakob Freiherr von Hartmann Jakob Freiherr von Hartmann (4 February 1795 – 23 February 1873) was a Bavarian general who served in the Austro-Prussian War and Franco-Prussian War. Early life and French service Hartmann was born the son of Georg Hartmann and Barbara Geithe ...

(1797–1873) * Franz Ullrich (1830–1891), industrialist

References

* Südliche Weinstraße {{SüdlicheWeinstraße-geo-stub