In 1934, master cooper Fritz Keller built the now world-famous "Dürkheim Giant Barrel" on the sausage market site in Bad Dürkheim on the German Wine Route in the Palatinate. Almost 200 fir trees, each 40 metres high, were felled in the Black Forest for the gigantic barrel construction. One fir tree was needed to make each of the 178 barrel staves, each 15 metres long and 15 centimetres thick. Transporting these extra-long fir trunks from the Black Forest to the Palatinate was only possible at night and with a special permit.
Fritz Keller and his helpers processed more than 200 cubic metres of wood to create the giant barrel with a diameter of 13.5 metres and a capacity of 1.7 million litres or 1,700 cubic metres. Today it stands next to the B37 Bad Dürkheim - Kaiserslautern motorway. However, this largest barrel in the world was never filled with wine, nor was it intended to be, but this in no way diminishes the enormous feat of the cooper.
The "Restaurant Dürkheimer Fass" (owner Carsten Thüne) is housed inside the barrel. On the ground floor, there are skilfully hand-carved oak barrel floors on the walls, which tell the story of how wine is made. They are also attractive focal points from the accessible gallery. Due to the large number of visitors, a rustic wine bar for around 150 guests was added in 1958 in the style of the giant barrel. In summer, around 300 people can also sit in a wine garden in the shade of the giant barrel. The premises in the Dürkheim barrel are also regularly used for various wine events. Tastings, culinary wine tours and many other activities organised by Palatinate wineries of the Forum Pfalz association are held here. See also under barrel types.
Picture left: WIKIPEDIA, image-free, link
Image on the right: By Zavijava2 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
