Forst is a village with 850 inhabitants and an area of 3,6 km². It was first documentary mentioned in 1100 as “Vorst”.

Count Johann of Kraichgau, nephew of emperor Henry IV., who was bishop Johann I. of Speyer from 1090 – 1104 donated his personal belongings in the Speyergau, a central region of the salian dynasty, to the Diocese of Speyer.

The woodland north of Deidesheim called Forst was excepted from this donation and reserved as a hunting area for the Count Bishop.

The catholic church of St. Margaret is a baroque building from 1723 on the grounds of a former church that was destroyed in the War of the Grand Alliance in 1689, the interior is from the construction time.

Schloesschen is a mansion built around 1600, with renaissance steeples, reconstructed middle of the 18th century.

Forst has numerous buildings of the 18th and early 19th century.

Basalt is just found in the area around Forst. It was mined on surface near the Pechsteinkopf, it was also used to valorise soil conditions in the 18th and 19th century. The soil around Forst is the most excellent of the Pfalz, classification of the acreage from the reigning Kingdom of Bavaria awarded them the best class in 1828.

Forster Kirchenstueck is the top Weinlage, 4 hectares in size, surrounded by a small wall of sandstone, protecting the vines against cold wind and storing the heat in daytime and emitting it in the night.

Vineyards of Forst, Forster Weinlagen

• Mariengarten, Grosslage; 349,5 ha
• Schnepfenpflug, Grosslage; 565 ha
• Bischofsgarten; 42,8 ha
• Elster; 7,6 ha; height 120 – 145m; sandstone, sand, clay
• Freundstueck; 3,7 ha; height 120 – 130m; sandstone, partly limestone
• Jesuitengarten; 6,8 ha, height 120 – 150m
• Kirchenstueck; 3,67 ha, height 120 – 150m
• Musenhang; 7,6 ha, height 160 – 220m; clay, sand, limestone
• Pechstein; 17 ha, height 120 – 160m, sandy clay, basalt
• Stift; 54,8 ha
• Ungeheuer; 39,4 ha, height 120 – 170m , basalt and limestone