You don’t expect to see graffiti daubed on a vineyard wall in the Mosel but in the historic vineyards of Urziger Wurzgarten, there it is for all the boat-tripping pensioners to see: ‘The Mosel is crying. Education not bridges!’
So why have the Mosel locals taken up graffiti art?
Work on a needless road bridge across the Mosel has begun, costing 270 million euros (that figure is according to the German government – opponents believe the final figure will be closer to 500m euros). The 160-metre-high bridge will run across the Mosel from the village of Urzig connecting to new four-lane motorway above some of the best Riesling vineyards in the world.
The road will run on a ridge above the famous vineyards of Zeltingen, Wehlen and Graach, mowing down the forest land. The deep trenches needed to build the road will cut off vital water to the surrounding vineyards, add to pollution and ruin a popular tourist area.
The vineyards below the bridge’s path will also be permanently affected by shadow.
The project was first on the table following World War II to build a link between northern and southern Europe – and to connect to Frankfurt Hahn airport – a former US army base and now a Ryanair destination. The project seemed to have been abandoned recently.
Eveline Lemke, head of the Green Party in the region told me, ‘Even private investors rejected the idea because there was not enough traffic to justify it. Then the economic crisis hit and the government created a 400 billion euro fund to put into an economic rejuventation programme. They said “Let’s do the projects we didn’t have the money to do beforeâ€â€™.
Hence we have this bridge and 4-lane motorway that will cut journey times from the north to the south of the country by a not-very-impressive 30 minutes.
Hugh Johnson has joined the protestors and hasn’t minced his words. ‘I never expected to see the German government make such an assault on such a precious and prestigious wine region. There is a great folly and desecration about to be committed.’
‘This will not bring prosperity to the region. People won’t stop, they will just drive through this amazing valley at 100 miles per hour,’ he added.
Local biodynamic producer Rudolf Trossen is a passionate opponent of the bridge. He said, ‘The politicians should take their dirty fingers away and leave us alone. It will ruin the region’s best asset. If there was a reason to build the road, we would be happy to talk about it but there simply isn’t enough traffic’.
This has been hastily pushed through with no surveys into the impact on the environment, local wine industry and tourism. The politicians have completely overlooked the reputation of the Mosel for a piece of tarmac. But there seems to be apathy in the region with protesters struggling to rouse locals into action. It needs critical mass. As a wine lover, I want to get the local population and shake some sense into them. They don’t know what they are on the verge of losing and need to get off their rear ends and help producers save their area from destruction.
