Großmaischeid is a municipality in the district of Neuwied, in

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 has approximately 2350 inhabitants and is placed in the ''Naturpark Rhein-Westerwald''. The municipality is spelled with the 'sharp s' character ß which may ever so often be replaced by a 'ss', as ''e.g.'' in standard in English spelling or in the website www.grossmaischeid.de).

History

First settlements in Großmaischeid date back to the late Bronze Age (1550 - 1200 BC). The Roman border fortification '

limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) * the Latin word for ''limit'' which refers to: ** Limes (Roman Empire) (Latin, singular; plural: ) is a modern term used primarily for the Germanic border defence or delimiting ...

' was erected around 80AD in the vicinity of Großmaischeid. The town was first mentioned in an official document issued by

pope Eugene III Pope Eugene III ( la, Eugenius III; c. 1080 – 8 July 1153), born Bernardo Pignatelli, or possibly Paganelli, called Bernardo da Pisa, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1145 to his death in 1153. He w ...

which dates back to 20 January 1148. Its name is most probably derived from 'Metsched's place', referring to a medieval local nobleman. It is assumed that the town as such was a

planned settlement A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

around the time of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

in order to stop the Saxons from expanding into western regions of Germany in the early 9th century. The town center is dominated by the catholic St. Bonifatius church which was first mentioned in 1555 and whose tower dates back to the 12th century. The town is situated 5 km south of the A3 motorway and about 75 km away from

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 ...

und 115 km from

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

. Kausen, a former hamlet at the Saynbach river was included into the municipality of Großmaischeid in 1974. Larger cities in the vicinity of Großmaischeid are

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 ...

and

Neuwied Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. Th ...

, both of which are around 25 km away. A mere 1.5 km North of Großmaischeid (Maischeid-Major) is the former hamlet of

Kleinmaischeid Kleinmaischeid is a municipality in the Neuwied (district), district of Neuwied, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Between 1 May 2004 and 31 December 2006, it was the centre point of the European Union. South of Kleinmaischeid lies Großmaischei ...

(Maischeid-Minor). Both places are sometimes referred to simply as Maischeid, referring to their common history.

Culture

The local dialect in Großmaischeid is a moselle-frankonian. The town is known for its active community life driven by a series of themed clubs and amateur organisations such as the "Spielmannszug Großmaischeid 1959 e.V." (''Spielmannszug'' is a kind of marching band). Highlight of the activities is the annual Carneval parade, traditionally held on 'Pancake Tuesday' (Veilchendienstag). The local Football team "Sportverein Maischeid e.V." is founded in 1923 and plays at the Waldstadion. The local primary school is named in honour of

Hermann Gmeiner Hermann Gmeiner (23 June 1919 – 26 April 1986) was an Austrian philanthropist and the founder of SOS Children's Villages. Life Born to a big family of farmers in Vorarlberg (present-day Austria), Gmeiner was a talented child and won a scholar ...

, the founder of SOS Children's Villages. Panorama of Grossmaischeid

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossmaischeid Neuwied (district)