In Germany, while Munich is famous for its beer, Bad Düerkheim is famous for its wine. Once a year, this peaceful town welcomes millions of people coming for the world's largest wine festival.

Visitors enjoy countless glasses of the finest Rieslings, Pinot Noirs and Sekts, together with a holiday weekend full of music and entertainment.

Visitors are enjoying their cheerful moment in the late afternoon at the Wurstmarkt

The historic town of Bad Dürkheim lies on the edge of the Palatinate Forest and on Germany's oldest wine routes which are famous for its vineyards and mineral springs. Every year, on the second and third weekend of September, at the same time as the Oktoberfest celebrations across the country, Bad Dürkheim also hosts the world's largest wine festival called the Wurstmarkt — the word actually means "sausage market". The festival takes its name from the sausage market in the middle of the town.

The center of the “sausage market” where the festival takes place

Wine is the spotlight here and visitors can enjoy local wine during the festival. Just like the Oktoberfest in Munich, Bad Dürkheim also has a series of festival tents set up in the square. Three tents at Wurstmarkt host live music and entertainment, serving regional culinary specialties and wines throughout the country.

In the cheerful atmosphere of the festival, friends and strangers jammed on wooden benches to get to know each other and drink wine together. Those who don't like the carnival atmosphere can go to the upscale wine village to enjoy Riesling or Vintner sparkling wine. According to statistics, there are up to 3000 different types of wine in the festival. This is a huge number, surpassing any drink ability of any people, however, when immersed in the atmosphere and spirit of the festival, you will not hesitate to enjoy one to another type of wine over and over.

Visitors can enjoy 3000 different types of wine in the festival

Since the middle of 12th century, the nearby Michaelsberg monastery has been covered with vines making it the oldest growing vines site in the Palatinate region. The annual September pilgrimages to the hilltop chapel created the vineyard's popularity throughout the region. Before long, the scope of the vineyards had expanded. In the 15th century, vineyards relocated to grassland as today and expanded into the winemaking industry.

Not long after, the wine festival was held and was famous for its impressive consumption of wine and sausages worldwide – that is the reason for the name Wurstmarkt, which means sausage festival. The festival used to take place over a period of 5 days, but then the organizers felt that was not enough, so it was increased to 6 days, 7 days and finally in 1985, the number of festival days was 9 days.

Tags: wine festival in Germany, German festival, German culture, German culture, Bad Düerkheim in Germany, German vines, German entertainment, Germany