Neumagen-Dhron

is an  – a municipality belonging to a , a kind of collective municipality – in the  district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a state-recognized tourism community, and it was the seat of the former  of . Its situation and amenities make it a lower-order centre.

Geography

Location 

 lies roughly 15 km south of  and 20 km northwest of Trier. The municipality is made up of the three centres () of , , and  ("Papermill"). The river  is met by the  ("Little Dhron") in the outlying centre of , whereafter it empties into the Moselle at . Over on the other side of the river from , the river  also empties into the Moselle.

History 
 is one of a series of places that claim the title "Germany's Oldest Winemaking Centre". The winemaking village of  was founded by the Romans some 2,000 years ago as a waystation on the road from Trier to Koblenz along the Moselle; its Latin name was  ("Noviomagus of the Treviri"). It is the place where the  Wine Ship (), a ship carved out of stone now in the Rhenish State Museum in Trier, was unearthed. A copy of the Wine Ship can be seen in the village centre. In the Early Middle Ages,  is believed to have been the location of the episcopal  (castle). The two places also later belonged to the Archbishopric of Trier. Beginning in 1794,  and  lay under French rule. In 1815 they were assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia at the Congress of Vienna. Since 1946, they have been part of the then newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Until municipal administrative reform in Rhineland-Palatinate in 1969, both centres belonged to the  district, whose seat was in . Today's municipality was newly formed out of the older municipalities of  and  on 7 June 1969.

Politics

Municipal council 
The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected by proportional representation at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.

The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:

Mayor 
The mayor is Dirk Doppelhamer (SPD).

Coat of arms 
In 1951, arms were approved for both  and . 's arms might have been described thus: Per pale argent a cross gules and barry of thirteen of the first and azure, that is to say, with a red cross on a silver background on the dexter (armsbearer's right, viewer's left) side and thirteen horizontal stripes alternating between silver and blue on the sinister (armsbearer's left, viewer's right) side. 's arms might have been described thus: Per pale argent a cross gules and gules a bend argent charged with three roses Or barbed vert, that is to say, with the same dexter side as 's arms, but with the sinister side showing a red field with a silver slanted stripe with three golden roses with green sepals running along it.

In 1967, the arms were changed in connection with the merger of the two municipalities. The resulting escutcheon might be described thus: Barry of eleven argent and azure the  Wine Ship Or, in a chief of the first a cross gules charged with three roses in fess of the third.

The red cross stands for 's and 's longtime allegiance to the Electorate of Trier, while the three golden roses stand for Tholey Abbey, a Benedictine monastery that once owned a winegrowing estate in . The blue and silver stripes stand for the old feudal lords of , and the Wine Ship for the municipality's Roman beginnings.

Culture and sightseeing

Sightseeing 

One point of interest is the Archaeological Loop, on which guided tours are also regularly offered. In the centre of  is found a cast of the Roman Wine Ship right next to the old Saint Peter's Chapel () and the Ausonius Garden. Something about the municipality's earlier history can also be learnt at the local history museum.

Likewise worth seeing are the old Gothic church in  and the nearby cathedral "free estate".

Farther up the Moselle is found the new cycle path which leads straight to the  vineyard with its archway of roses and its  ("Martyrs' Chapel").

A working replica of the  Wine Ship can be chartered.

Regular events 
  (street wine festival ) in  (September)
  in  (August)
 Traditional Easter egg shoot by the shooting club (April)
  ("King's and Prince's Shoot", April)
 Fire brigade's Father's Day festival (May)
 Fire brigade's summer festival (August)
 Angling club's fish baking festival (May)
 Christmas concert by the  ("winemakers' orchestra") in  (December)

Vineyards 

 is to a considerable extent characterized by winegrowing, and with 247 ha of planted vineyard area is the biggest winegrowing centre on the Moselle after Piesport, Zell, Leiwen, and Konz. Traditionally, the winegrowers' mainstay has been Riesling. Moreover, winegrowing forms the basis for tourism, which is likewise an important part of the economy.

Well known  vineyards are:
 
 
  (overlaps with neighbouring municipality of Piesport)
  (overlaps with neighbouring municipality of Piesport)

Well known Neumagen vineyards are:
  (overlaps with )

Archaeological finds in  

At digs and new building works in , many old monuments have been found in the old castrum's foundations that were used for fortification. Some of the more important finds are listed here:

 Neumagen Wine Ship
 Roman steersman
 Grapevine relief
 Wine transport
 Roman wine ship with merry steersman
 Great mealtime gable
 Amphora pyramid
 Cupbearer
 Banquet and drinking scene
 Banquet scene
 Rent payment
 Mars figure (bronze)
 Albinus Asper's and his wife Secundia Restituta's grave marker
 "Parental" columns
 School relief
 "Negotiator" column
 Hairdressing scene

Economy and infrastructure

Public institutions 
 St. Helena  (primary school)
 Ausonius 
 Friedrich Spee 
   administration
 Tourist information
 Fire station
Since the 2009/2010 school year, the Ausonius Hauptschule and the Friedrich Spee Realschule together form a unified " Plus".

Transport

Road 
 lies right on  53, although this does not run through the built-up area, which consequently has little road traffic. Right at  is a bridge on this road, which affords a good and quick link to other nearby places. The Autobahn A 1 can be reached in 15 minutes, and along it, drivers can reach nearby cities such as Trier or Koblenz.

River 
 has at its disposal its own yacht harbour, and by way of a landing stage, passenger voyages, for instance to , are possible.

Cycling paths 
Coming from Trittenheim and Trier, the new cycling path runs right alongside the Moselle. Furthermore, cyclists can ride on paths on either side of the Moselle towards Piesport or .

Air 
On the  Plateau, some 2 km southeast of the municipality, is the , an airfield run by the aerial sport club.

Further reading

References

External links 

 Municipality’s official webpage 
 Brief portrait of Neumagen with film at SWR Fernsehen 
 Brief portrait of Dhron with film at SWR Fernsehen 

Bernkastel-Wittlich