Unique and worth seeing in Weisenheim am Sand

Easter all year round?

In Weisenheim am Sand, a few specimens of the genus Lepus europaeus - the common brown hare - cavort in the village. They are not shy and do not run away. On the other hand, they are huge - but they are not alive either. 

It has nothing to do with Easter - even though the Easter egg hunt has a fixed place in the calendar of events. The rabbits symbolise the nickname of the inhabitants of Weisenheim, who are called "sand hares" by the surrounding local communities.
Since the village is surrounded by loose, fertile sandy soil, it stands to reason that rabbits feel very much at home in this environment. Good luck for Weisenheim, that the hare was chosen - there are certainly other animals whose names one would not want to bear as nicknames...

It is said that in earlier times the Weisenheim sand was also useful to the inhabitants in restoring battered wooden floors to their original shine.

Since 1974, there has been a new species of these cute rodents in the shape of the "foolish sand hares". This citizens' initiative keeps local tradition around carnival alive and enriches the Weisenheim "Rieslingwurm" (carnival procession) every year with attractive contributions.

The Riesling Worm

The Rieslingwurm is a carnival procession that is known far beyond the region and is surprisingly long for a village of Weisenheim's size. It always parades through the streets on Shrove Sunday. It is an enormous achievement of the village community to organise an event of this magnitude so smoothly every year.

Extensive fruit growing

The area of the villages of Weisenheim am Sand, Laumersheim, Freinsheim, Dirmstein and Erpolzheim is today the centre of fruit growing in the Vorderpfalz (eastern Palatinate). The very light, partly sandy soils are typical. In the past, this resulted in a cultivation centre for stone fruit. Today, many - but by no means all - areas can be irrigated. In autumn, the village is dominated by the "Quetsch" (plum).