Not only the "Saumagen" capital.
The people of Kallstadt are also called "Brulljesmacher". This could be translated nicely as "having a somewhat cocky manner". And indeed it takes quite a bit to give a village with just over 1,200 inhabitants the affix "stadt" (meaning "town")...
Since there are about three seats in restaurants and wine taverns for every inhabitant in Kallstadt, the question can be asked, at least from a gastronomic point of view, whether Berlin or Hamburg can keep up?
Kallstadt lies at an altitude of 156 metres directly on the German Wine Route and covers a total area of 787 hectares. Historic winegrowers' farms and half-timbered houses with their decorative elements and quarry stone walls remind us that many of the estates in Kallstadt are already over 300 years old.
The village is one of the most famous wine villages in the Palatinate. Excellent wines grow here on 270 hectares of vineyards and are bottled by almost twenty self-marketing wineries and a winegrowers' cooperative.
One of the top vineyards in the Palatinate belongs to the Kallstadt district: the "Saumagen" which can be translates as "pic´s stomach". No one really knows how this vineyard got its name. With a little imagination, you can make out the outline of the vineyard, which resembles a pic´s stomach.
Saumagen is a culinary Palatinate speciality, too. Something you shouldn´t miss once you are around. Accordingly, Saumagen is available here all year round, both in the glass and on the plate. Both can be tasted in abundance at the "Saumagenkerwe" on the first weekend in September as well as at the "Festival of 100 Wines" at the beginning of May.
Kallstadt is probably one of the most typical wine villages in the Palatinate. The contact point for guests is the "i-Punkt" directly on the wine route. Due to its location, Kallstadt is a good starting point for hikes in the Palatinate Forest biosphere reserve. The village offers its visitors a wide range of gastronomic options, from upscale restaurants to wine taverns with hearty, regional cuisine.
The centre of the village and eye-catcher is the Protestant church of St. Salvator with its 36 m high tower, Gothic base and Baroque slate dome - it houses an organ by the Saarbruecken organ builder Geib. The historic fountain with well trough in the immediate vicinity is guarded by the Kallstadt lion. Particularly worth seeing are the numerous half-timbered houses and winegrowers' farms and, last but not least, the wine arcades on Saumagenplatz.
In September 2014, the documentary film "Kings of Kallstadt" was released in cinemas. It paints an endearing portrait of today's village of Kallstadt, and asks why the world-famous empires of Henry John Heinz (Heinz Ketchup) and Donald Trump originated here of all places.
Kallstadt village and walking map
The tourist office Kallstadt e.V. has compiled the most important addresses and contacts, a street map and a map of the surrounding area with the local hiking trails in a small folding map (as of 09/2020). The folding map is available at the i-Punkt Kallstadt during opening hours.
