Guldental is an ''

Ortsgemeinde A Verbandsgemeinde (; plural Verbandsgemeinden) is a low-level administrative division, administrative unit in the Germany, German States of Germany, federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A Verbandsgemeinde is typically compose ...

'' – a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

belonging to a ''

Verbandsgemeinde A Verbandsgemeinde (; plural Verbandsgemeinden) is a low-level administrative unit in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A Verbandsgemeinde is typically composed of a small group of villages or towns. Rhineland- ...

'', a kind of collective municipality – in the

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 ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde''

Langenlonsheim-Stromberg Langenlonsheim-Stromberg is a ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Bad Kreuznach, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' is in Langenlonsheim. It was formed on 1 January 2020 by the merger ...

, whose seat is in Langenlonsheim. With a population of some 2,900 inhabitants, Guldental is the biggest rural

winegrowing Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

community on the Nahe.

Geography

Location

Guldental lies in the

Naheland The Naheland is the landscape on either side of the river Nahe in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Geography The southern foothills of the Hunsrück and the northern North Palatine Uplands on either side of the Nahe are both described ...

– the land lining each side of the Nahe – among the southern foothills of the

Hunsrück The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued by the Taunus mountains, past ...

, on the Guldenbach.

Neighbouring municipalities

Clockwise from the north, Guldental's neighbours are the municipality of Langenlonsheim, the municipality of Bretzenheim, the town of

, the municipality of

Hargesheim Hargesheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Rüdesheim, ...

, the municipality of Gutenberg and the municipality of Windesheim.

Constituent communities

Guldental's ''

Ortsteil A village is a clustered human settlement or Residential community, community, larger than a hamlet (place), hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population t ...

e'' are Heddesheim and Waldhilbersheim. Also belonging to Guldental are the outlying homesteads of Breitenfelserhof and Ackermühle.

History

As early as 1163, the landhold of ''Hetdenesheim'' (Heddesheim) had its first documentary mention and already by 700 years ago it was one of the greater villages in what is now the

. Under

Revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

French 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 Franc ...

rule, Heddesheim was grouped into the ''Mairie'' ("Mayoralty") of Langenlonsheim in 1800. The village, now constituent community of Guldental, Waldhilbersheim is likewise very old. Beginning as long ago as 1200, it began to crop up in documents. In 1800, however, it was grouped into the ''Mairie'' of Windesheim, and in 1939 into the ''

Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

'' of Langenlonsheim. Today's ''

'' of Guldental was formed in the course of administrative restructuring in

on 7 June 1969 through the merger of the hitherto self-administering municipalities of Heddesheim (Nahe) with its outlying centre of Breitenfelser Hof and Waldhilbersheim. Guldental thus became the biggest

community on the Nahe, with 417 ha of land given over to

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

s. The vineyards to the south run for 6 km along the Guldenbach. Winegrowing in this area is witnessed quite early on.

Jewish history

Until the 1930s, there was a small Jewish community in Waldhilbersheim to which Jews in Heddesheim – and thus in both villages that now make up Guldental – also belonged. It had come to be established at least as far back as the 18th century. In 1808, Waldhilbersheim counted 29 Jewish inhabitants. Living here about 1858 were 50 Jews in Waldhilbersheim and another 40 in Heddesheim, but thereafter the numbers began to shrink with

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

and

depopulation A population decline (also sometimes called underpopulation, depopulation, or population collapse) in humans is a reduction in a human population size. Over the long term, stretching from prehistory to the present, Earth's total human population ...

. This small community also included the Jewish inhabitants in

Laubenheim Laubenheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Langenlonsheim-S ...

until 1895, when they became tied to the community in Langenlonsheim. By 1925, the Jewish population in Waldhilbersheim and Heddesheim had sunk to 8 and 29 respectively. In the mid 1920s, the head of the Jewish community was August Schneider. In the way of institutions, the Jewish community had a small

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

, a religious school (believed to have been housed somewhere in the synagogue) and a graveyard. To supply the community's religious needs, a "worship official" was hired, at least temporarily, to do the jobs of religious teacher, prayer leader and shochet. According to the ''GedenkbuchOpfer der Verfolgung der Juden unter der nationalsozialistischen Gewaltherrschaft in Deutschland 1933-1945'' ("Memorial BookVictims of the Persecution of the Jews under National Socialist Tyranny") and

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...

, of all Jews who either were born in Waldhilbersheim or Heddesheim or lived there for a long time, 50 died under Nazi rule (birthdates in brackets): *From Waldhilbersheim: #Walter Aron (1894) #Moritz Grünewald (1886) #Hilde Hallgarten ''née'' Simon (1895) #Erna Marcus ''née'' Aron (1893) #Berta Schneider ''née'' Abraham (1854) #Rosa Schneider (1882) #Thekla Wolf ''née'' Schneider (1887, Rosa's sister) *From Heddesheim: #Frieda (Friedel) Ansbacher ''née'' Stern (1896) #Max Ansbacher #Else Ansbacher #Willy Ansbacher #Leopold Bähr (1873) #Walter Benjamin (1910) #Adelheid (Adele) Brunner ''née'' Reinstein (1867) #Isidor Flörsheim (1870) #Ida Grünfeld ''née'' Benjamin (1901) #Jakob Grünwald (1885) #Berthold Halm (1884) #Friederike (Frieda) Heilbron ''née'' Stern (1870) #Erna Kahn ''née'' Stern (1899) #Moritz Kahn (1885) #Ida Kiefer ''née'' Wolf (1885) #Flora Meyer ''née'' Stern (1893) #Sally Meyer #Betty Moses ''née'' Stern (1901) #Willy Moses #Martha Müller ''née'' Benjamin (1895) #Dorothe Schneider (1895) #Johanna Schneider (1892) #Sally Schwab #Helene Schwarz ''née'' Benjamin (1884) #Bertha Stern ''née'' Hirschfeld #Auguste Stern ''née'' Lindauer #Emil Stern #David Stern (1878) #Heinrich Stern (1879) #Herbert Stern (1928) #Lina Stern ''née'' Kahn #Lothar Stern (1930) #Markus Stern (1866) #Moses Stern (1863) #Sally Stern (1893) #Rosa Strauß ''née'' Stern (1875) #Ella Wolf (1896) #Franz Wolf (1927) #Lotte Wolf (1921) #Moses Wolf (1855) #Selma Wolf ''née'' Benjamin (1886) #Walter Josef Wolf (1922) #Amalie Zack ''née'' Schneider (1891) On a memorial at the community's

Jewish cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( he, בית עלמין ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' ...

are the names of 23 persons who were murdered in

the Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. In the 19th century, the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community held its services in rented rooms until in 1910 a favourably located house was acquired that cound be converted into a

. On 16 September 1910, the synagogue was consecrated by the Kreuznach regional

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

, Dr. Abraham Tawrogi. Also present were the mayors of both Windesheim and Langenlonsheim, along with Heddesheim's and Waldhilbersheim's municipal leaders, clergy and schoolteachers. The ''Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums'', a Jewish

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

, reported the following on 7 October 1910: :

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 ...

, 28 September (1910). Last Thursday, the celebratory consecration of the newly built synagogue of the neighbouring municipalities of Heddesheim-Waldhilbersheim took place amidst participation of the citizenry of both villages. Also present were the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

pastors as well as all the schoolteachers of both church communities. Moreover, the ''

'' head and, from the surrounding area, the mayors of Windesheim and Langenlonsheim appeared. Mr. District Chairman von Nasse from Kreuznach, who was kept from attending the celebration by duty, had his wishes of luck to the Jewish community expressed by none other than Rabbi Dr. Tawrogi, who carried out the consecration of this House of God. After Mr. Cantor Marwit from Bingen had presented the liturgical songs with his tuneful voice, Rabbi Dr. Tawrogi lit the everlasting lamp. Thereupon, the magnificently adorned

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...

scroll A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. Structure A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papyrus ...

s found their way into the holy shrine to be kept there, whereupon Rabbi Dr. Tawrogi gave the festive speech. In this, the speaker remembered first all those who have contributed to the lovely synagogue's success through their work, thanked all who furthered the work through material support and spoke in an effective way about the purpose of the Jewish House of God. He exhorted the community to the right and assiduous use of this newly consecrated place. After the conclusion of this uplifting celebration, which ended with a prayer for the

Kaiser ''Kaiser'' is the German word for "emperor" (female Kaiserin). In general, the German title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (''König''). In English, the (untranslated) word ''Kaiser'' is mainly ap ...

and the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

, the celebration participants accepted an invitation from the head of the Jewish community, Mr. August Schneider, to a comfortable get-together. The synagogue itself was a simple aisleless building with round and round-arch windows. Corner

lesene A lesene, also called a pilaster strip, is an architectural term for a narrow, low-relief vertical pillar on a wall. It resembles a pilaster, but does not have a base or capital. It is typical in Lombardic and Rijnlandish architectural building s ...

s and an ascending frieze were the outward decorative elements. On Kristallnacht (9–10 November 1938), the synagogue was wrecked and plundered. In the process, all the fittings and the ritual objects (two Torah scrolls, the silver menorah, silver beakers and plates, 75

prayer books A prayer book is a book containing prayers and perhaps devotional readings, for private or communal use, or in some cases, outlining the liturgy of religious services. Books containing mainly orders of religious services, or readings for them are ...

, curtains and blankets), the pump organ, the stove, lamps and other useful things were stolen or destroyed by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

. In January 1939, the building was sold and thereafter it was used as a storage building or a garage. On the street side, a gate was broken through, and the windows were walled up. Since 1994, the building has been under monumental protection. Its address in Waldhilbersheim is Naheweinstraße 83.

Religion

As at 30 September 2013, there are 2,460 full-time residents in Guldental, and of those, 768 are

(31.22%), 1,272 are

(51.707%), 1 belongs to the Free Evangelical Church (0.041%), 1 is

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...

(0.041%), 4 are

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

(0.163%), 53 (2.154%) belong to other religious groups and 361 (14.675%) either have no religion or will not reveal their religious affiliation.

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 20 council members, who were elected by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

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:

Mayor

Guldental's mayor is Elke Demele.

Coat of arms

The municipality's

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

might be described thus: Per fess Or a saltire humetty sable and gules three wings argent. The municipal arms are put together from two coats of arms, the ones formerly borne by the two villages of Heddesheim and Waldhilbersheim before they were merged as part of administrative restructuring in

. The charge in the upper field is Saint Andrew's Cross, a saltire (X-shaped cross) whose arms do not reach the field's outer edges ("humetty"). This was drawn from Waldhilbersheim's former arms. In the lower field stands a threefold charge, bird's wings. These were drawn from Heddesheim's former arms. The approval for the new, merged municipality of Guldental to bear these arms was granted some time after the actual 1969 merger, in 1971, by the now defunct ''

Regierungsbezirk A ' () means "governmental district" and is a type of administrative division in Germany. Four of sixteen ' ( states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts. Saxony has ' (directorate districts) with more res ...

'' administration in

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...

.Rainer Seil: ''GULDENTAL''. Ortsgemeinde Guldental im Selbstverlag, 1986

Town partnerships

Guldental fosters partnerships with the following places: *

Kronberg im Taunus Kronberg im Taunus is a town in the Hochtaunuskreis district, Hesse, Germany and part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority, Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. Before 1866, it was in the Duchy of Nassau; in that year the whole Duchy was ab ...

Hochtaunuskreis The Hochtaunuskreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the middle of Hesse, Germany and is part of the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Neighbouring districts are Lahn-Dill, Wetteraukreis, district-free Frankfurt, Main-Taunus, Rheingau-Taunus, ...

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

This relationship is not a formalized partnership, amounting to more of a "friendship".

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

The following are listed buildings or sites in

's Directory of Cultural Monuments: Kronberg Brücke fotoNoWo

Heddesheim

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

, Kirchstraße 1 – Romanesque quire tower, 12th or 13th century,

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

alterations,

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

spire, 1709; Late Gothic nave, 15th century * Saint James the Greater's

Parish Church (''Pfarrkirche St. Jakobus''), Hauptstraße 8 –

Late Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

brick

aisleless church An aisleless church (german: Saalkirche) is a single-nave church building that consists of a single hall-like room. While similar to the hall church, the aisleless church lacks aisles or passageways on either side of the nave and separated fro ...

, 1894, Cathedral Master builder Max Meckel * Hauptstraße –

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

well, village

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

, marked 1584 * Hauptstraße 9 – estate complex along the street; Baroque

timber-frame Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

house, partly solid, possibly from the earlier half of the 18th century * Hauptstraße 14 – former

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

; Late Classicist brick building, 1895/1896 * Kirchstraße 12 – Baroque timber-frame house, partly solid, earlier half of the 18th century * Naheweinstraße 48 – house, Late Classicist building with half-hip roof, third fourth of the 19th century * Pfarriusstraße 12 – Baroque timber-frame house, 18th century (?) * Breitenfelserhof 4/5/6 – three-part row of small houses with a barn, early 19th century * Remnants of the ''Notgotteskapelle'' (

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

), on der ''

Kreisstraße A Kreisstraße (literally: "district road" or "county road") is a class of road in Germany. It carries traffic between the towns and villages within a '' Kreis'' or district or between two neighbouring districts. In importance, the ''Kreisstraße ...

'' 48 – cavelike niche in the red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

crag, in origin possibly

mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Waldhilbersheim

* Saint Martin's Catholic Parish Church (''Pfarrkirche St. Martin''), Große Kirchgasse – aisleless church, 1774/1775, lengthened in 1923; in the churchyard wall gravestones, 18th and 19th centuries; on the quire a Late Baroque

Crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

, marked 1779; three priests' grave crosses, marked 1888, 1920 and 1927; warriors' memorial 1914-1918, Saint Martin

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

, 1920s; graveyard cross, sandstone, about 1900; former church portal of the Baroque Catholic church, 1762 * Brückenstraße 1 – Classicist timber-frame house, plastered, earlier half of the 19th century, door leaf marked 1900 * At Brunnenplatz 1 – armorial stone, marked 1577 * Brunnenplatz 5 – former town hall and schoolhouse; Classicist plastered building, about 1850/1860, fountain * Brunnenplatz 7 – timber-frame dwelling, two-part Baroque timber-frame house, plastered, possibly about 1700; characterizes square's appearance * Im Baumgarten 2 – estate complex; Baroque timber-frame house, partly solid, 17th century * Naheweinstraße 83 – former

; brick building with round-arch windows, 1910 * Windesheimer Straße/corner of Flurweg – wayside

, 19th century *

graveyard, in the forest "Auf dem Engelroth" (monumental zone) – area with some 49 gravestones, 1840 to 1937

Jewish graveyard

The

graveyard in Waldhilbersheim was documented up to about 1934, according to Alemannia Judaica. It has an area of 1 274 m². Also differing from the Directory of Cultural Monuments above is Alemannia Judaica's figure for the number of gravestones, which they give as 42.

Clubs

Guldental has a great number of clubs. Currently active in the municipality are the following: *''Angelsportverein Guldental e.V.'' — angling club *''Bauern- und Winzerverband Guldental'' — farmers' and winegrowers' association *''Chor kreuz und quer'' —

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

*''Dorfladen Guldental w.V.'' — village shop (legally a "commercial club") *''EPG- Europäische Pfadfinderschaft St.Georg'' —

scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

*''Evangelische Frauenhilfe Guldental'' —

women's aid *''Förderverein der Grundschule Guldental e.V.'' —

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

promotional association *''Freizeitreiter Guldenbachtal e.V.'' — "leisure riders" *''Fremdenverkehrs- und Verschönerungsverein Guldental'' —

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

and beautification club *''Freunde der fröhlichen Runde'' — "friends of the merry tour" *''Guldentaler Frauenstammtisch e.V.'' — women's ''

Stammtisch A (German for "regulars' table", ) is an informal group meeting held on a regular basis, and also the usually large, often round table around which the group meets. A ''Stammtisch'' is not a structured meeting, but rather a friendly get-tog ...

'' *''Karateakademie G-Dojo Guldental e.V.'' —

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

*''Karnevalverein Sunneblum 1928 Guldental e.V.'' — Shrovetide

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

( ''Fastnacht'') club *''Katholische Frauengemeinschaft "St. Jakobus" Guldental'' —

women's association *''Katholische Frauengemeinschaft "St. Martin" Guldental'' — Catholic women's association *''Katholischer Kirchenchor "St. Jakobus" Guldental'' — Catholic church choir *''Katholischer Kirchenchor "St. Martin" Guldental'' — Catholic church choir *''Landfrauenverein Guldental'' — countrywomen's club *''Männergesangverein "Gute Laune" 1927 Guldental e.V.'' — men's singing club *''Männergesangverein 1923 Guldental e.V.'' — men's singing club *''Musikverein Guldental e.V.'' —

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

club *''Ortsvereinsring Guldental'' — association of clubs *''Sportgemeinschaft Guldental 07'' — sporting association *''Theatergruppe Guldental 2005 e.V.'' — theatre *''TV 1909 Guldental e.V.'' — gymnastic club *''VdK Ortsverband Guldental'' — social advocacy group *''VSC "Spike" Guldental'' —

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

club *''Winzerkapelle Guldental e.V.'' — "winemakers' orchestra"

Museums

* ''

Feldbahn A , or , is the German term for a narrow-gauge field railway, usually not open to the public, which in its simplest form provides for the transportation of agricultural, forestry () and industrial raw materials such as wood, peat, stone, earth an ...

Museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

Guldental'' with 36 Feldbahnen and actual running * ''Heimat- und Weinbaumuseum'' — local history and

museum

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Guldental lies within the ''Rhein-Nahe-Nahverkehrsverbund'', a local public transport association whose fares therefore apply. Within the municipality is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

, ''Heddesheim (Nahe)'' on the Cross-Hunsrück Railway (''Hunsrückquerbah''; Langenlonsheim–

Hermeskeil Hermeskeil () is a city in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Hunsrück, approx. 25 km southeast of Trier. Its population is about 5,900. Data Hermeskeil is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeind ...

), although currently it has only goods service. The nearest place with passenger rail service is Langenlonsheim on the Alsenz Valley Railway (''Alsenztalbahn''; Pirmasens– Bingen) lying some 5 km east of Guldental. In

, some 8 km south of Guldental, this line crosses the

Nahe Valley Railway The Nahe Valley Railway (german: Nahetalbahn) is a two-track, partially electrified main line railway in the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, which runs for almost 100 kilometres along the Nahe (Rhine), Nahe. It was built by the ...

( Bingen–

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...

). Running daily at least every two hours to Bad Kreuznach is bus route 240, run by ''Omnibusverkehr Rhein-Nahe''. The nearest

Autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...

interchange is '' Waldlaubersheim'' on the A 61 (

–

Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning " Ludwig's Port upon Rhine"), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river Rhine, opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg, and the surrounding region, it form ...

), some 5 km north of Guldental.

Winegrowing

Guldental is characterized to a considerable extent by

, and with 377 ha of

planted it is second only to

among the Nahe wine region's biggest winegrowing centres.

Famous people

Honorary citizens

* Jakob Maurer (former mayor), since 6 January 2002 * Günter Lukas (village chronicler), since 6 January 2002 * Josef Sonnet, since 21 January 2007 * Hubert Zimmermann (choirmaster and organist), since 2012

Sons and daughters of the town

*Guldental claims Michael von Obentraut (b. 1574; d. 25 October 1625 in

Seelze Seelze is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Leine, approximately west of Hanover. Today Seelze mainly plays the role of a bedroom town for commuters working in Hanover. Division of the town ...

) as one of its own, pointing out that although

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Stromburg (also called the Fustenburg) near Stromberg may have been the Family Obentraut's seat (and furthermore, may be named in most sources as von Obentraut's birthplace), the family also had holdings in Heddesheim, among them a fortified house where Michael was actually born. Michael von Obentraut, upon whom history has bestowed the honorific ''Deutscher Michel'', is thus said to have brought Heddesheim legendary renown through his exploits in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

. *Gustav Pfarrius (b. 31 December 1800; d. 15 August 1884 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

), called the ''Sänger des Nahetals'' ("Singer of the Nahe Valley"), came into the world in 1800 in Heddesheim. Besides his many homeland poems he also wrote for the first printed guide book for the Nahe country.Sons and daughters of the town

Famous people associated with the municipality

Manuel Friedrich Manuel Friedrich (born 13 September 1979) is a German former professional footballer who played as a central defender. A Mainz 05 youth product, he amassed Bundesliga totals of 258 games and 16 goals over the course of 12 seasons, representing ...

(b. 13 September 1979 in

) began his

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

career at ''SG Guldental 07''. *

Johann Lafer Johann Lafer (born September 27, 1957, in Sankt Stefan im Rosental, Styria, Austria) is an Austrian chef living in Germany. Johann Lafer became well known through his TV cooking show and his numerous cookbooks. His television show is self-produce ...

(b. 27 September 1957 in

Sankt Stefan im Rosental Sankt Stefan im Rosental is a municipality in the district of Südoststeiermark in the Austrian state of Styria. People * Johann Lafer Johann Lafer (born September 27, 1957, in Sankt Stefan im Rosental, Styria, Austria) is an Austrian chef li ...

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

), cook *

Julia Klöckner Julia Klöckner (born 16 December 1972) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2018 to 2021. ...

(b. 16 December 1972 in Bad Kreuznach), Member of the Landtag

Sundry

The constituent community of Heddesheim has the same name as another village in the

Rhein-Neckar-Kreis The Rhein-Neckar-Kreis is a district in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The administrative headquarters are based in the city Heidelberg, which is a district-free city. As of 2019, the district is the most populous in Baden-Württe ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

References

External links

Municipality’s official webpage

Brief portrait of Guldental with film at

SWR Fernsehen SWR Fernsehen is a German regional television channel targeting the states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. It is produced by Südwestrundfunk (SWR) and is one of eight regional "third channels" broadcast by the ARD members. Hist ...

{{Authority control Bad Kreuznach (district) Naheland Districts of the Rhine Province Holocaust locations in Germany