Figs and the Deidesheim Feigengasse

If you come from colder areas to visit this region with the favorable climate, you will be astonished to see edible figs at many of the sheltered outside walls of the houses in many streets of our towns and villages. The Feigengasse of Deidesheim, designed by mayor Dr. Bassermann in 1908, is particularly popular with visitors. He brought the figs for the alley from his vacation in Tuscany. The town’s plan to alternately plant figs and bitter almonds at the Leinhöhlenweg was carried out by Mr. Gößlin, a master gardener.
With its 3-5 lobed, indented leaves, the fig is an interesting bush with a very individual type of growth. The underside of the bush’s deciduous dark green leaves is covered with soft hair.
Even the Phoenicians and Egyptians knew of the fig’s unusual pollination mechanism, which also sparked the interest of Herodotus. The flowers are not visible from the outside as they are hidden in the hollow calyx, which is turned inside out. The wild form has female blossoms or anthers with so-called gall blossoms, showing rudimentary ovules. The gall wasp, a very small insect of about 1 mm, is responsible for pollination. Due to its short ovipositor, the wasp can only lay its egg on the short pistil of the gall flower until the ovary starts to swell and by doing so safeguards the continued existence of the wasp. When the wasp leaves the calyx, it takes the pollen of the male flowers with it and pollinates the female flowers. This explains the existence of the edible figs with seeds, and the ‘inedible’ figs, sometimes used to feed goats. Due to cross-pollination, there are three harvests a year with early summer figs, summer figs, and winter figs. Newer breeds also bear edible fruits without the complicated process of “caprification”. These parthenocarpic edible figs are seedless and have a green color, changing to dark violet later on. The sweet flesh is very juicy and has a delicious aroma. They taste best when fresh, but you can also serve them as an accompaniment to various dishes. In Mediterranean regions you will also find them in a dried form.

Here in the Palatinate, the bush usually grows to a height of 4 – 6 meters. Due to its relatively undemanding nature, the fig grows on warm and poor sand soils and can cope with dryness in the summer. It is advisable to plant it in warm and sheltered locations in front of walls or in courtyards. In very cold winters, the fig does require some protection. If it freezes back it will often sprout from the roots again. This, however, may require some patience.

The Ficus carica is originally native to Asia Minor and the Eastern Mediterranean. From there, the Greeks took the plant to Italy. Today it is cultivated throughout the entire Mediterranean region from the Canaries to Syria and even on the southern slopes of the Alps. The Romans introduced it to the Palatinate, together with the chestnut and, of course, wine. The “Capitulare de Villis” of Emperor Charlemagne also mentions the fig and also recommends planting the fruit. Saint Hildegard of Bingen states in her “Physica” that the fig belongs to the group of “foods which are healthy to some extent.” Wolfram of Eschenbach mentions in “Parzival” that “fig trees, pomegranate, oils, wines and other plants” are cultivated in the castle gardens. So it seems that the fig has been indigenous to many places in the Palatinate since about 1000 A.D.