Liebfrauenkirche and Liebfrauenmilch

Collegiate Church Surrounded by Vineyards

In the 14th and 15th centuries, a late-Gothic church was erected here with the help of the municipality and the guilds and finished around 1450/1465. Parts of the interior also date back to the late Middle Ages. The main porch is lavishly decorated with figures. The collegiate church outlasted the Reformation and was dissolved in 1801. In the 19th century it was turned into a parish church.

A Precious Wine: Liebfrauenmilch from Worms

A historic wine location in the City of Worms and in the wine-growing area Rheinhessen, this famous vineyard once belonged to the premises of the eponymous Capuchin monastery Liebfrauen collegiate church. In the wake of Napoleon’s secularisation, Peter Joseph Valckenberg (1764—1837) acquired the vineyards in 1808, and much of it is still in the possession of his descendants and the owners of the wine estate of the same name. Originally, the famous wine Liebfrauenmilch was produced only in this historical 22-acre vineyard. Unfortunately, this geographically confined term gradually came to be used for all Rhine wines.

After further acquisitions, the vineyards now total 42 acres within in the city limits, surrounding the Beloved Lady’s Church. The topsoil consists of loess, the subsoil of sands and gravels. The vineyard is encircled by walls serving as good wind shields. The nearby Rhine also has a positive impact. 80 per cent of the soil are cultivated with Riesling grapes, the rest is used for other grapes such as pinot blanc. The vineyards are shared by the winegrowers Gutzler, Schembs, Spohr and Valckenberg.

In the Shade of the Towers

The famous ‘Beloved Lady’s Milk’ was first mentioned in 1744. Only grapes growing ‘in the shade of the towers of the Beloved Lady’s Church’ were entitled to bear this name. This original Liebfrauenmilch is today sold as Wormser Liebfrauenstift-Kirchenstück exclusively with the winegrowers mentioned.

Today Liebfrauenmilch is rather an epitome for a medium sweet white wine. Only certain may be used to produce Liebfrauenmilch, although they are not mentioned on the label: at least 70 per cent riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Bacchus, Silvaner and/or Kerner. The residual sweetness must not deceed 18 grams per litre.

Site Plans for Download

Two pdf site plans of Beloved Lady’s Church featuring the Liebfrauenmilch vineyards are available for download

… here (detail map)
… here (situation in the city)

Address

Beloved Lady’s Church
Liebfrauenring/Liebfrauenstift
67547 Worms

The Beloved Lady’s Church on the city map (German only)

...view gallery (German only)