roasted chestnuts, with a distinctive chestnut burr in the center (Victor Lucas- Adobe Stock)
The Deutsche Weinstrasse, or German Wine Road, is a 60-mile-long stretch of rolling vineyards, low-lying mountains and idyllic villages. Roughly halfway between Mannheim and Kaiserslautern but running in a north to south direction, this picturesque stretch of the Pfalz wine-growing region is known for many things: pink almond blossoms in the spring, the world’s biggest wine fest in the autumn and a place to sample fine wines any time of the year.
Another charm of this beloved tourist region is its profusion of chestnut trees. Edelkastanie, or sweet chestnut trees, have made up part of the local landscape for over 2,000 years. Brought to the region with the expansion of the Roman Empire, this versatile and nutritious nut made up an important part of the diet of Roman soldiers and also helped sustain local populations for centuries. The weather-resistant chestnut wood also served as the traditional scaffolding material for Pfalz viticulture. Between 1847 and 1862, King Ludwig I of Bavaria ordered thousands of these trees planted around his summer residence in the Palatinate, the Villa Ludwigshöhe near Edenkoben, as a testament to the area’s favorable Mediterranean climate.
Sweet Chestnut in a person’s hand (Oksana- Adobe Stock)
There’s a vital distinction between the two types of trees referred to as chestnuts: the sweet chestnut and the horse chestnut: one makes for good eating, while the other is inedible. Sweet chestnuts, the edible ones, are enclosed in sharp, spiny pods referred to as burs and look a bit like sea urchins or pin cushions. The toxic, inedible horse chestnuts have a bumpy, almost wart-like husk with far fewer pointy bits. While the nuts within both husks are brown, edible chestnuts feature a tassel or point on the nut itself. The toxic horse chestnut is rounded and smooth, with no point or tassel. The website Chestnutgrowersinc.com features a useful photographic visual aid comparing the two types.
By the end of September and start of October, these sweet chestnuts, referred to as Keschde in the local Pfalz dialect, have reached maturity. The town of Annweiler am Trifels traditionally holds a market and festival known as the Keschdefeschde on the first weekend of October, (Oct. 3-5, 2025) followed by markets in Edenkoben and Hauenstein.
While it’s not quite the Christmas season we often associate chestnuts with, the chestnuts are finding their way into all kinds of regional treats, from breads to sauces, soups to desserts.
Pfalz tourism authorities have designated the weeks between October 1 and November 15 as “Pfalz Chestnut Weeks,” with activities from guided hikes and e-bike tours to a number of restaurants and wineries offering menus in which chestnuts make an appearance. Nature lovers can enjoy hikes along the “Keschdeweg,” a shaded scenic path through groves of chestnuts between Neustadt an der Weinstraβe and Hauenstein. The route is nearly 40 miles long and rated as moderate in difficulty.
