Mettenheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a '' Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Geography

Location

The municipality lies in Rhenish Hesse between Worms and Mainz. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Eich, whose seat is in the like-named municipality.

Climate

Yearly precipitation in Mettenheim amounts to 558 mm, which is low, falling into the lowest fourth of the precipitation chart for all Germany. Only at 12% of the German Weather Service’s weather stations are even lower figures recorded. The driest month is January. The most rainfall comes in July. In that month, precipitation is twice what it is in January. Precipitation varies moderately. At 51% of the weather stations, lower seasonal swings are recorded.

History

Mettenheim was mentioned as early as 873 in the '' Descriptio Wormatiensis civitatis'' as a Roman colony. It was originally held by the Bishop of Worms, but, still in early times, the

Counts of Leiningen The House of Leiningen is the name of an old German noble family whose lands lay principally in Alsace, Lorraine, Saarland, Rhineland, and the Palatinate. Various branches of this family developed over the centuries and ruled counties with Impe ...

were enfeoffed with it, later counting it as being among their ancestral holdings. Towards the end of the 17th century, the village ended up in the Frankfurt merchant Canpoing’s ownership, from whom it then passed to the Counts of Wartenberg. In 1393, a castle at Mettenheim was mentioned, whose owners, the Chamberlains and Knights of Fleckenstein, sold it at that time to the City of Worms.

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 16 council members and the honorary mayor as chairman. The municipal elections have yielded the following results:

Town partnerships

* Pupillin, Jura, France * Mettenheim, Bavaria

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: Argent a talon barwise lopped, the toes to chief, azure.

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

In 2007, the

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

of the Counts of Wartenberg was opened to the public after renovation. Mettenheim Hauptstrasse

Economy and infrastructure

About half of the usable agricultural land of 540 ha in Mettenheim is planted with vineyards. The vineyards are sheltered from the wind on the typical Wonnegau terraces. There are 34 businesses that earn their living wholly from winegrowing. Mettenheim lies in the Nierstein zone of the Rhenish Hesse wine region and bears the winemaking appellations Michelsberg, Schloßberg and Goldberg.

Transport

*Running right near the municipality is '' Bundesstraße'' 9, which links

Ludwigshafen am Rhein 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 ...

with Mainz. *Mettenheim has a railway station on the Mainz–Ludwigshafen line with very good connections.

Famous people

Jacob Best, Sr. (1786–1861) was born in Hesse-Darmstadt where he learned the brewing trade, later running a small brewery in Mettenheim. He later founded one of the forerunners of the Pabst Brewing Company in Milwaukee after his emigration in 1844 to join his sons.

References

External links

* *
Homepage about Mettenheim
{{Authority control Alzey-Worms