The Weinheber Flaschenkürbis (sometimes written Weinheber Kittenberger) is a traditional Austrian variety of bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria).
Despite the name „Kürbis“ (pumpkin), it is actually a bottle gourd, a vigorous climbing vine that has been grown for thousands of years. Its name „Weinheber“ („wine lifter“) comes from its historic use as a natural dipper for drawing wine from barrels.
A Living Tunnel
Among annual climbing vegetables, it is one of the best choices for creating a living garden tunnel, because it combines vigorous growth, reliable climbing, and ornamental as well as practical harvests.
If You Can Grow Zucchini
The Weinheber Flaschenkürbis is in the same plant family as zucchini (the Cucurbitaceae family), so they share many growing requirements — but the bottle gourd is more tropical. If you grow zucchini successfully… you can usually grow Weinheber bottle gourds too, provided you:
- Start seeds indoors about 3–4 weeks before your last frost, if your summers are short.
- Wait until nighttime temperatures are consistently above about 10–12 °C before transplanting.
- Give the vines something strong to climb.
If you’re in Austria or a similar Central European climate, starting the plants indoors in April and transplanting them outdoors in mid- to late May — after the risk of frost — gives them the best chance to mature plenty of gourds before autumn.
What the Gourds Become
- Hand-painted hanging gourds — floral and folk-art designs with beads and rope.
- Pierced lanterns — drill decorative patterns and place an LED candle inside for beautiful light effects.
- Birdhouses — one of the classic uses for bottle gourds.
- Botanical designs — natural vine and leaf paintings with twine accents.
- Bright folk art — vibrant acrylic paints and intricate patterns.
- Whimsical figures — turn gourds into chickens, owls, snowmen, gnomes, or other characters.
Where the ‘Kittenberger’ Fits In
The „Weinheber Kittenberger“ fits directly into the old Austrian tradition of the Weinheber, and it is indeed a form of Lagenaria siceraria (bottle gourd / calabash). It is essentially a named, selected form of the traditional Weinheber-Kalebasse — not a different species. Lagenaria siceraria is the species, while „Weinheber“ describes the traditional use and the characteristic shape.
The „Kittenberger“ name appears to refer specifically to the Weinheberkürbis Kittenberger, which is still offered today as a traditional variety. A contemporary description explicitly calls it a unique Lagenaria used for lifting wine and must from barrels.
The typical Austrian Weinheber has a long, narrow neck and a swollen, bottle-like body. When the fruit is mature, its flesh dries out and the outer wall becomes hard and woody, turning the fruit into a naturally occurring vessel.
- Species — Lagenaria siceraria: bottle gourd, Kalebasse, Flaschenkürbis.
- Traditional Austrian type and use — Weinheber, also called Zug or, in parts of Lower Austria, Kellertupfa.
- Specific named form — Weinheberkürbis „Kittenberger“.
What Was It Actually Used For?
The traditional Weinheber was a wonderfully simple piece of cellar equipment. The dried gourd was opened at both ends and cleaned out. The long neck was inserted into the wine barrel, while the other end was used to draw the liquid up, and the wine collected in the bulbous body of the gourd. In other words, it functioned rather like a natural, reusable wine scoop.
A particularly nice Austrian source notes that Weinheber were used in Styria and Burgenland, while another records the name „Kellertupfa“ in Lower Austria.
And this tradition is much older than Austria. Lagenaria siceraria has been used for containers for thousands of years. The Metropolitan Museum discusses a ninth-century description by Walahfrid Strabo of the bottle gourd being hollowed out and made into a vessel capable of holding wine. There is medieval European evidence too: illustrations in manuscripts of the Tacuinum Sanitatis show Lagenaria siceraria quite recognisably, including its characteristic bottle-shaped fruits.
Sources: Martha’s Gourds · UC ANR Garden Notes