Alzey-Worms () is a district in
Rhineland-Palatinate,
Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the district
Groß-Gerau (
Hesse), the city of
Worms and the districts of
Bad Dürkheim,
Donnersbergkreis,
Bad Kreuznach
Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, most well known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke, which is one of the few remaining bridges in th ...
and
Mainz-Bingen.
History
The territory was in
Roman times part of the province of
Germania Superior
Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesontio' ...
. The towns of Worms and Alzey go both back to Roman
military camps. In medieval times the region was part of the
Electorate of the Palatinate. After the
French occupation
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
(1797–1814) it was incorporated into the
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 ...
and formed a part of its province
Rhenish Hesse.
Two districts named Alzey and Worms were established in 1835. In the reorganisation of the districts of Rhineland-Palatinate in 1969 the new district of Alzey-Worms was formed by merging parts of the former districts.
Geography
The district is named after the city of Worms (which is neighboring, but not belonging to the district) and the town of
Alzey
Alzey () is a ''Verband''-free town – one belonging to no ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the fifth-largest town in Rhenish Hesse, after Mainz, Worms, Germany, Worms, Ingelheim am Rhein ...
(which is the seat of the district). The
Rhine forms the eastern boundary. From there the land gently rises to the
Alzey Hills in the west, which is the northernmost extension of the
Palatinate Forest. The westernmost portion of the district is crossed by several brooks and covered with forests; it is called the ''Rheinhessische Schweiz'' (
Rhenish-Hessian Switzerland).
Coat of arms
The coat of arms displays a dragon and the fiddle. The
dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
is the heraldic symbol of the city of
Worms, while the fiddle stands for
Alzey
Alzey () is a ''Verband''-free town – one belonging to no ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the fifth-largest town in Rhenish Hesse, after Mainz, Worms, Germany, Worms, Ingelheim am Rhein ...
. Both themes occur in the
Nibelungenlied, the old German
epos playing in the region. The hero
Siegfried killed
Fafnir the dragon and gained wisdom from drinking its blood. The fiddle belongs to Volker the minstrel, another character of the Nibelungenlied, who allegedly had lived in Alzey.
Towns and municipalities
''Verband''-free towns:
#
Alzey
Alzey () is a ''Verband''-free town – one belonging to no ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the fifth-largest town in Rhenish Hesse, after Mainz, Worms, Germany, Worms, Ingelheim am Rhein ...
References
External links
* (German)
{{Authority control
Districts of Rhineland-Palatinate
Worms, Germany