The municipality lies on the Moselle in the Trier region. Minheim belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Bernkastel-Kues, whose seat is in Bernkastel-Kues. The location inside a bend in the Moselle has led to the nickname Sonneninsel Minheim (“Sun Island”), especially in connection with tourism.
The earliest settlement found in the municipal area on the Burglay was a fortified Roman hilltop settlement established at the beginning of the 4th century AD. Archaeological findings show that Roman military personnel stayed there and that the inhabitants were probably Christians. In the middle of the 5th century AD this settlement was destroyed by fire.[3][4][5] Minheim's existence as a parish was witnessed as early as 1061. Beginning in 1794, Minheim lay under French rule. In 1814 it was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia at the Congress of Vienna. Since 1947, it has been part of the then newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Politics
Municipal council
The council is made up of 8 council members, who were elected by proportional representation at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:[6]
Minheim is one of the biggest winegrowing centres on the Middle Moselle. The municipality's winegrowing locations (Einzellagen) belong to the winemaking appellation – Großlage – of Michelsberg. Moreover, there are many holiday homes, wine parlours and Straußwirtschaften (seasonal wine taverns run by the winemakers themselves and serving their own products). The so-called Sonneninsel has many hiking trails, inviting visitors on cycling tours.
The caravan park opened in 2000 was named “Park of the Year” in 2007 by readers of the mobile home magazine Promobil.
^Gilles, Karl-Josef. Spätrömische Höhensiedlungen in Eifel und Hunsrück. Trierer Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Kunst des Trierer Landes und seiner Nachbargebiete, Beiheft 7. Selbstverlag des Rheinischen Landesmuseums, Trier 1985. ISBN 3-923319-02-9.
^Binsfeld, Wolfgang. Römische Gewichte in Trier. Trierer Zeitschrift 53, 1990, p. 281f.
^Gilles, Karl-Josef. Befestigte spätrömische Höhensiedlungen in Eifel und Hunsrück. In: Heiko Steuer, Volker Bierbrauer (Ed.): Höhensiedlungen zwischen Antike und Mittelalter von den Ardennen bis zur Adria. RGA-E Vol. 58. 2008. P. 105 – 120. doi:10.1515/9783110211856.105 (pdf in vdoc.pub, retrieved on September 20th 2022)