There is a major threat to the Mosel - Please add your voice to the protest.

There is a major project to build a massive bridge high over the Mosel. It's called the Hochmoselübergang, and this bridge is simply huge. If it goes ahead it will be the largest in Germany, at 1.7 kilometres - more than a mile - long, and 160 metres high. It's a four-lane highway connecting the Rhein-Main area to Belgium and the North Sea ports, and is intended to carry heavy goods vehicles directly over some of the greatest Mosel vineyards such as Ürziger Würzgarten, Zeltinger Sonnenuhr, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, and all the vineyards of Graach and Bernkastel.

There seems certain to be major repercussions for both winegrowing and tourism in the area. Ernst Loosen is on record saying that it will affect the water distribution for the adjoining vineyards. See this video from SWR public television channel on Youtube.

 

Here's a translation of his words: appearance Ernst Loosen at 4'58"

Voice over: 'Ernst Loosen from Bernkastel-Kues is worried about the quality of his wines'

Reporter: 'You are worried that the best vineyards are threatened when the motorway including the High Mosel bridge is going to be built?'

Ernst Loosen: 'Yes, definitely. You can see the forest on top of the hills here and those forests act as a water reservoir for these vineyards, and when this small ridge is sealed off by building a motorway on it it can't retain the water and will be detrimental to the water balance of these vineyards, and they are the best vineyards of the middle Mosel.'

Reporter: 'Are they going to be too dry or what will happen?'

Ernst Loosen: 'Well, we are talking about global warming and we had in 2003 a typical example, we will have big water problems in the future and when they dig off our water at the top of the hill we will have even bigger problems.'

There are also concerns that there will be a major disruption to air currents around Ürzig caused by turbulence from the massive pillars that support the bridge, and there is also likely to be a problem with salt spray in winter, and indeed the run-off of salt into the hills above Zeltingen, Wehlen, Graach and Bernkastel. It can only cause massive pollution, and it's effect on tourism seems undoubted, and this in an area heavily reliant on tourism, and which has been famed for it's natural beauty since Roman poet Ausonius wrote his poem 'Mosella' in 370AD.
It is also extremely expensive. Projected costs are already €270 million, and of course this may well rise, and these costs must be met by the regional Government, not the German Govt. as a whole.

Many of the most famous Mosel winemakers are strongly opposed to this bridge and road, including Manfred Prüm (of Weingut Joh. Jos. Prüm), who said: "This giant, grotesque bridge would irreversibly deface the beautiful viticultural landscape in the Middle Mosel valley between Zeltingen, Ürzig and Erden. It is shocking to see politicians deciding to waste hundreds of millions of taxpayer's money on the disfigurement of more than 2000 years of cultural heritage, instead of protecting it and supporting its acceptance as genuine world cultural heritage by UNESCO."

Markus Molitor said: "This bridge will destroy the aesthetics of the cultural landscape at the Mosel. The impact on tourism, especially during the lengthy building works will be great. The vines will be detrimentally affected by shadow from the bridge, water distribution will be permanently altered; and all this disruption comes not just to anywhere, but precisely to some of the rare "Grosse Lagen" (Grand cru) vineyards of the Mosel."

Willi Schaefer said: "Above Graach is the well-known gradual landslide which comes from the top of the hill and spreads out into one end of the village at the bottom. Winemaking has been given up on parts of it due to the constant downward motion, which meant that almost every year a new row of vines could be added at the top. Here in the village we are afraid that vibrations from the road building above the Himmelreich vineyard will aggravate the landslide, and also that a change of water distribution will have an adverse effect on the vines. The road embankment will seal off the natural water channels meaning less available water in general, but also giving rise to the danger of flash flooding due to to the reduced water retention of the hill. The spur of the Mosel created by the river bending back on itself from Bernkastel Kues to Traben- Trarbach is a natural wonder, and one of the most beautiful areas of the Mosel for hikers. The fourlane highway and its embankment will destroy this environment along with the cultural monument Graacher Schanzen, a hill-fort dating from Napoleonic times."

Johannes Selbach (Selbach-Oster) said that 'those who cherish the beautiful views and the tranquility of the Mosel valley, since that will certainly be lost within 2 kilometres above and below the bridge. Yet, many tourists in Belgium and the Netherlands who will find an easier and much faster route to the Mosel.' However, he feels that the battle is lost: 'The public interest and the attention of the international press as come at least five years too late, unfortunately. It has been a long battle against the bridge, but the "pro" side - and that wasn't just the administration but very many people in the valley, though fewer from the immediate neighbourhood of the bridge - won! Sad as it is, and I personally stand on the other side, the project has been approved and all legal efforts against it have been exhausted. We live in a democracy and even though I don't like the decision, I'll have to accept it now. '

Personally, I'm not sure that the battle is over just yet.

 
Katharina Prüm and Ernst Loosen discuss the project and ask you to sign a petition against it.
The online version of the petition has now closed, but it's still possible to join by sending a postcard which you can download here and print. Also, please see here to send an email in either English or German to Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor.

Internationally famous wine writers such as Stuart Pigott, Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson are united in their opposition to this project. Here is a video of Stuart Pigott speaking about it, though sadly it's in German only.

 

Stuart recently said: ‘Sadly the bridge is not just proposed, rather construction has just started. The project was originally planned during the 1960s as a so-called ‘NATO-Rennstrecke’ (a Rennstrecke is a racing track), the goal being to have a speedy link between the US air bases at Bitburg and Hahn in the case of nuclear war. The latter air base is now Frankfurt-Hahn airport. The new purpose of this fossil from the age of blind faith in technology and progress seems to be to help turn Hahn airport into a cargo hub (instead of the loss-making [Irish budget airline] Ryanair-hub owned by the state of Rheinland-Pfalz which it is now), with the bridge as a ‘CARGO-Rennstrecke’ to the Netherlands. I can't see how this will work, which makes this monstrosity a concrete white elephant. It is megalomania of the highest order, with Minister President Kurt Beck of Rheinland-Pfalz betting his political comeback on the success of this madness.

‘To give you an idea of the bridge's scale. It is higher than Cologne cathedral and you could line all the Egyptian pyramids up beneath it in a row with plenty of space to spare. They reckon on €270 million costs and seven years’ construction, but the geology is complex and possibly unstable, which realistically means more like 10 years’ construction with unknown cost overruns. The bridge itself is bad, but the new road (B50neu) connected to it on the right bank of the Mosel is worse, since it will have a considerable influence upon the flow of water in and over the hillsides which are the top sites of Zeltingen, Wehlen, Graach and Bernkastel. I'm not the only one to have written about this, but the politicians are ignoring all criticism, simply not replying.

‘Of the local campaigners, Sarah Washington in Ürzig is the most articulate and her stuff is all in English. Her email is: washsarah@gmail.com'
Stuart has also told me that even the little roads cut through many of the vineyards had a detrimental effect on the water distribution in them , adding to water stress on the vines. This is said to be the cause of the well-known 'petrol' or 'kerosene' aroma and flavours that mature Riesling sometimes develops.

Jancis Robinson is also very much against it, calling it 'madness'. See this page, or watch this video:

Interview with Jancis Robinson MW - part 001 of 003 from Finkus Bripp on Vimeo.

 

International wine experts and leading winemakers came together at the 'Last Chance Wine Forum' in Ürzig on Sept 11th 2009 to discuss the repercussions of the Rheinland-Pfalz government's planned High Mosel Bridge. The unanimous view was that the bridge will spoil the unique cultural landscape and the B50 road will endanger some of the best Riesling vineyards in the world. Hugh Johnson, world famous wine author and expert in wine culture, voiced his protest in a public speech at the site of the planned bridge above Ürzig. He said he 'is no enemy of bridges when they are necessary and of architectural interest. However, neither is the case with the planned “motorway on stilts” in the Mosel valley. In fact this bridge endangers something that is globally unparallelled and cannot be imitated, namely the Mosel wine from the steep wine mountain slopes between Bernkastel and Erden.' He labelled the government plans a folly.

Hugh Johnson addressing the meeting in Ürzig

At an evening event for invited guests in Ürzig the wine writer Stuart Pigott made impressively clear the unique position held by the wines of the middle Mosel. He said that this position must not be risked by the “voodoo economics” of the politicians responsible for the project . Hugh Johnson explained that altered water distribution to the vineyards caused by deeply sunk road trenches above will effectively deteriorate the perfect natural situation of the grapes. Deep in thought whilst viewing the proposed route of the road he said: “Of all the vineyards in the world, these would be the first ones I would save.”

 
Stuart Pigott's speech that evening,
in both English and German

It's difficult to see any way whatsoever that this could actually benefit the Mosel. It certainly won't benefit the wine, and can anyone really think this will benefit tourism? On a recent visit to the area, I spoke to many people about these proposals, including many wine professionals. Of those who actually live in the Mosel valley, only one was fully in favour, one non-commital, and all the rest opposed to various degrees, though some asked not to be named, fearing political reprisals. The vast majority were very opposed, and many were fearful for their future prosperity.

To read more about it please visit this website - now with an English section - and to see more 'before and after' pictures see this page. Just roll the mouse over the arrows.

The BBC have finally decided to cover this issue, and they now have two pages on their website, both with interesting videos. See them here and here. One of them says that: Prominent wine critics have also joined the fight to rescue the Riesling. The best-selling author Hugh Johnson calls it the ultimate white wine.
"If you've got a lot of flavour in a light wine, that is ideal," Mr Johnson explained.
"The Mosel is the only place that does that - eight degrees alcohol and a whole bunch of flavour. Now that is magic and it's unique. And here is the very best vineyard, and they're going to drive a motorway through it? It's like knocking down a cultural monument!"

How You Can Help

So, what can you do to oppose this bridge? Stuart Pigott, who lives in Germany, is convinced that only international pressure can stop this project, so please email Dr. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, which you can do in English from a webpage here. An open letter to Dr. Merkel from Sarah Washington, a British resident of Ürzig can be found here.

Thank You to all the thousands of people from around the world who signed the recent petition. Let's hope the politicians take notice of it. As already mentioned, you can still sign the petiition by sending a postcard, which you can download and print here.

Special Thanks to organic wine producer Rudolf Trossen for these cartoons.

'Oh my God please stop them now!'
Graffiti seen on a road near the top of Zeltinger Himmelreich. The bridge will pass directly overhead.

Finally, anyone considering a visit to the Middle-Mosel, and in particular the villages of Ürzig and Rachtig need not worry - yet - about building work on the massive new bridge that is planned. Major construction has not yet started in these villages, and apparently is not planned to start this year, 2010. If you want to see these villages in their full unspoilt glory, now is the time to do it. I will post updates as they become available.