Maikammer () is a municipality in the

Südliche Weinstraße Südliche Weinstraße (; ; ) is a district (''Kreis'') in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Südwestpfalz, Bad Dürkheim, the district-free city Neustadt (Weinstraße), Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis ...

district, in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) 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 sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. 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 (, ) is the oldest of Germany's tourist wine routes. Located in the Palatinate region of the ...

, approx. 5 km south of

Neustadt an der Weinstraße Neustadt (German for ''new town'' or ''new city'') may refer to: Places * Neustadt (urban district) Czech Republic *Neustadt an der Mettau, Nové Město nad Metují *Neustadt an der Tafelfichte, Nové Město pod Smrkem * Nové Město na Mo ...

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

Maikammer Maikammer () is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the German Wine Route, approx. 5 km south of Neustadt an der Weinstraße. Maikammer is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeind ...

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 The Palatinate Forest (; ), sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The forest is a designated nature park () covering 1,771&n ...

(673 m), in a landscape dominated by

vineyard 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 ...

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

Schafkopf Schafkopf (, lit. 'sheep's head'), also called Bavarian Schafkopf, is a popular German Trick-taking game, trick-taking card game of the ace–ten family for four players that evolved, towards the end of the 19th century, from German Schafkopf. ...

(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) and ...

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

Kirrweiler (Pfalz) Kirrweiler is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to ...

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, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea ...

(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), an informal name for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible hairy fruit with many seeds * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of curren ...

lemon The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...

s and

sweet chestnut The sweet chestnut (''Castanea sativa''), also known as the Spanish chestnut or European 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 ...

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), Bodensee district in Baden-Württemberg, about seven kilometres north of Salem, Baden-Württemberg, Salem, in Germany. Location and climate Heiligenberg (literally: the H ...

, 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 Made ...

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 Johannes Anton Ullrich (1826–1895) was a German industrialist, inventor, and co-founder of the "Gebrüder Ullrich" in the Rhineland-Palatinate. Life Anton Ullrich was born on the 30 August 1826 in the small village of Maikammer, Germany. He ...

and his brother

Franz Ullrich Franz Ullrich (22 July 1830 – 21 December 1891) was a German industrialist, inventor, vineyard owner, entrepreneur, and co-founder of the enamelling factory ''Gebrüder Ullrich'' in the town of Maikammer, Germany. Together with his brother An ...

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 continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, distribution extended as far east as

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. 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 versus nominal value (economics), real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimiz ...

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 (1797–1873) *

(1830–1891), industrialist

References

* Südliche Weinstraße {{SüdlicheWeinstraße-geo-stub