Odcinek 7: Zielona Góra – winiarskie tradycje miasta

In this episode of ENORADIO, we take you to Zielona Góra, the heart of Polish winemaking, to discover its rich and fascinating wine traditions. Our guide is Szymon Płóciennik from the Tłocznia Foundation, a passionate enthusiast of Zielona Góra's history, who has been organizing walks in the city's wine history since 2017, including visits to wine cellars. Zielona Góra – the wine capital of northern Europe Zielona Góra, formerly known as Grünberg before the war, was considered the northernmost wine region in Europe, where grapes were grown on a large scale. Around 1800, there were over 700 hectares of vineyards in the city, divided into 2,200 plots. Considering that the city had only 8,000 inhabitants at the time, winemakers were present in almost every family, and entire streets were associated with winemaking. The first grapevines were brought to Silesia in 1150 by settlers from Franconia or Flanders. For centuries, Zielona Góra's economy was based on two pillars: winemaking and textiles. Today, you can still admire remnants of these traditions, such as the building of the former Polska Wełna factory at the foot of Wzgórze Winne (Wine Hill). Gems of wine architecture Walking around Zielona Góra, you can come across traces of its wine-making past at every turn. One of the most famous monuments is the former wine house of August Grempler, which has stood on Wine Hill for 207 years. Many former wine houses, although converted into ordinary apartments, still impress with their architecture. It is worth paying attention to details such as decorated facades with vine motifs, which emphasize the wine-making traditions of the city. One of the most interesting details is the glass bunch of grapes hanging on the building on Kupiecka Street, which is the symbol of the Tłocznia Foundation. How did Grempler, Häusler, and Förster create “musiaki”? Zielona Góra is also the place where sparkling wines were produced using traditional methods. Next year, the city will celebrate the 200th anniversary of their production. This is thanks to three founders: Friedrich Förster, Carl Samuel Häusler, and August Grempler, who opened a sparkling wine factory in 1826. The idea for producing sparkling wines was brought to Grünberg by Carl Samuel Häusler, who had previously experimented with sparkling wine made from apples. Their wines, called “Sekt,” gained international recognition, winning medals at world exhibitions in London, Paris, and Vienna. Crisis and revival of winemaking The end of Zielona Góra's winemaking glory did not come suddenly, but was the result of several factors. Even before World War II, due to the development of the railway (from 1871), cheaper alcohols began to flow into the city, and vineyards gave way to new buildings. After 1945, winemaking in Zielona Góra experienced a brief post-war renaissance thanks to wine experts who arrived here from the Eastern Borderlands. Unfortunately, in the 1970s, as part of the centrally planned economy, a decision was made to liquidate most of the vineyards. Fortunately, after years of crisis, winemaking in Zielona Góra is experiencing a revival. The best example of this is the annual Wine Harvest Festival, which attracts more and more enthusiasts every year. Today, unlike the New York Times report from 1966, local wine reigns supreme at the Wine Festival, and you can take part in tastings or walks through wine cellars, which are found nowhere else in Poland in such abundance. If you want to learn more about these fascinating stories, watch our video and let us know what surprised you the most!