Varnhalt is a village to the north of the town of Steinbach in

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

southwestern

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 ...

. Since 1972, Varnhalt has become a suburb of the spa town of

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

, together with Steinbach (Baden) and Neuweier. In 2004, the population of Varnhalt was about 2000. Steinbach, Neuweier and Varnhalt formed the joint community "Ortschaft Rebland" and are as such represented in the municipal council of Baden-Baden.

Geography

The location of Varnhalt is carved deep into the foothills and mountains of the Northern

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

. Varnhalt is about 2 miles away from the center of the town of Steinbach (Baden). It can be reached locally from Steinbach via the Gallenbacher-Strasse. The center of the village is situated at an altitude of 204 meters on the western slope of mount Yberg (517 m).

Economy

Viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

and the

wine trade Wine is an alcoholic drink made from fermented fruit. Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made from grapes, and the term "wine" generally refers ...

are the main sources of income of its inhabitants. The hills and their high quality soil offer perfect conditions for growing a variety of fruits. Wine is grown in the steep hills facing South; the sun penetrates the dense leaves much better, which results in improved levels of sugar and alcohol, respectively, critical for a good wine. This has elevated the region to one of the top wine growing regions in Germany, with

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 ...

the predominant grape varieties grown.

Coal_Mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

was conducted in Varnhalt from 1777 to 1900. The yield was relatively low and it didn't generate enough money to compete with coal mines in other parts of Germany. Mining attracted a limited number of people from near and far seeking employment, which were experienced in the craft of underground mining.

Religion

The Catholic parish church in Steinbach was the mother church for many places in the area, including Varnhalt and Gallenbach. A small chapel was built in 1891. Varnhalt became an independent parish in 1909. The current church building was consecrated in 1958.

History

The name Varnhalt was first mentioned in a document from 1368. As the name Varnhalt and its earlier name or spelling "Fahrenhalt" implies, the origin of the village was as the location where the farmers from Steinbach kept the local bull or ''Farre'' or ''Pharre'' (from middle-high German ''phar''/''var''), also known as ''Fasel-Vieh''. Originally, the village was an agglomerate of a few individual farmsteads, which were loosely connected. Over the centuries these farmsteads grew together to become the village of Varnhalt, together with the farmsteads of the hemlock of Gallenbach and the winery of Nägelsfürst. The winery Nägelsfürst was first mentioned in 1588 as belonging to the

Cistercians The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

nuns abbey in Baden-Baden Lichtenthal. Gallenbach developed alongside the creek Geroldsbach. It is unclear if there was a creek named Gall or if the name Gall was derived from Gerold. Historic family names of inhabitants of the village of Varnhalt have been compiled in a family book.Family Book Varnhalt https://ofb.genealogy.net/varnhalt The winemaker or vintner family names are: Benz/Binz, Bilger, Dresel, Eckstein, Ernst, Frank, Hagenunger, Hochstuhl, Huck, Greis/Kreis, Liebich, Lörch/Lerch, Lorenz, Mast, Maier, Reiss, Schmalz, Werner/Wörner, Zäpfel, and Zwingert. The names of the coal miners Golaschek, Balzer and Schwendemann appeared in the 1800 in Varnhalt.

Photo gallery

Varnhalt-Ortsbild-02-2013-gje.jpg Varnhalt-Ortsbild-05-gje.jpg Varnhalt-Grundschule-21-gje.jpg Varnhalt-Herz Jesu-90-zur Empore-gje.jpg Varnhalt-Winter-34-Rebzeilen-Winzergenossenschaft-2005-gje.jpg Varnhalt-Winter-24-Reben-Wanderer-2005-gje.jpg Baden-Baden-Varnhalt-Josefskapelle-24-2017-gje.jpg Varnhalt-Yburg-gje.jpg

References

External links

*Wine-region Reblan

*Ortsfamilienbuch Varnhal

Villages in Baden-Württemberg {{BadenWürttemberg-geo-stub