Osthofen () is a town in the middle of the Wonnegau in the
Alzey-Worms
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 and Mainz-Bingen. ...
district 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 ...
. Since 1 July 2014 it is part of the ''
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)
Wonnegau
Wonnegau is a ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") in the district Alzey-Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It takes its name from the larger historical area Wonnegau, which covers the southern part of Rhenish Hesse. The seat of the ...
. Osthofen was raised to town on 24 October 1970.
Geography
Location
The town lies in
Rhenish Hesse
Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...
where the river Seebach, a very short river that rises in neighbouring Westhofen and flows for only 9 km, empties into the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
.
History
Archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
finds have established that the Osthofen municipal area was already settled at least four thousand years ago. The town had its first documentary mention in the
Lorsch codex
The Lorsch Codex (Chronicon Laureshamense, Lorscher Codex, Codex Laureshamensis) is an important historical document created between about 1175 to 1195 AD in the Monastery of Saint Nazarius in Lorsch, Germany. The codex is handwritten in Caroli ...
as ''Ostowa'' in a document dated to 784. It is believed that Osthofen was founded by people from either the now amalgamated village of Mühlheim or the
Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
royal palace
This is a list of royal palaces, sorted by continent.
Africa
* Abdin Palace, Cairo
* Al-Gawhara Palace, Cairo
* Koubbeh Palace, Cairo
* Tahra Palace, Cairo
* Menelik Palace
* Jubilee Palace
* Guenete Leul Palace
* Imperial Palace- Massa ...
that once stood in Worms-Neuhausen.
On Osthofen's Goldberg (mountain), a chapel to
Saint Remigius
Remigius (french: Remi or ; – January 13, 533), was the Bishop of Reims and "Apostle of the Franks". On 25 December 496, he baptised Clovis I, King of the Franks. The baptism, leading to about 3000 additional converts, was an important event ...
might have been built as early as the 6th century. This is where the first major estate was, which by 1195 had grown into an
Imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
castle. In Mühlheim, the
Knights Templar
, colors = White mantle with a red cross
, colors_label = Attire
, march =
, mascot = Two knights riding a single horse
, equipment ...
likewise built a castle in 12/15.
From 1933 to 1934, the city was home to a
concentration camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
which provides the subject for the novel ''
The Seventh Cross
''The Seventh Cross'' (german: Das siebte Kreuz) is a novel by Anna Seghers, one of the better-known examples of German literature circa World War II. It was first published in Mexico by ''El Libro Libre'' In 1942. The English translation came o ...
'' by
Anna Seghers
Anna Seghers (; born ''Anna Reiling,'' 19 November 1900 – 1 June 1983), is the pseudonym of a German writer notable for exploring and depicting the moral experience of the Second World War. Born into a Jewish family and married to a Hungarian ...
.
Politics
Town council
The council is made up of 24 honorary council members, who were elected at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the mayor as chairman.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
Mayors
*Wendelin Best (1822–1831)
*Johann Weißheimer II. (1831–1843)
*Georg Friedrich Knierim I. (1843-1850)
*Peter Berger (1851-1853)
*Friedrich Knierim I. (1853-1862)
*Nikolaus Nagel (1862-1864)
*Georg Friedrich Best II. (1864-1867)
*Jakob Beckenbach (1867-1870)
*Johann Rißler III. (1870-1883)
*Simon Friedrich Schill (1883-1892)
*Johann Rißler III. (1892-1897)
*Georg Jakob Konrad (1897-1912)
*Wilhelm Schmitt (1912-1923)
*Carl Brenner (1924-1933)
*Dr. Wilhelm Fuhrländer (1933-1935)
*Dr. Kurt Mildner (1935-1944)
*Heinrich Hundsdorf (1944-1945) (provisional)
*Heinrich Rhein (1945-1946)
*Ludwig Knobloch (1946-1948)
*Walter Aßmann (1948-1956)
*Albert Fischer (1956-1972)
*Günter Metzler (1973–1987)
*Klaus Hagemann (1987–1994)
*Bernd Müller (1994–2012)
*Wolfgang Itzerodt (2013–2014)
*Thomas Goller (2014–present)
Coat of arms
The town'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: Sable a lion rampant Or armed, langued and crowned gules, issuant from dexter chief the sun and in an arc from dexter to middle base three mullets, all of the second.
The town's earliest seals come from the 14th century, but they show a crane under a cross, a composition of unknown meaning. The current arms are first found on seals from the 16th century, and the composition has not changed since. The arms were officially granted the town in 1651, and once again in 1959. The sun and stars (or
heraldically, mullets) are
canting
' (IPA: , VOS Spelling: ''tjanting'', jv, ꦕꦤ꧀ꦛꦶꦁ, Tjanting) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax ( jv, ) in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely '' batik tulis'' (lit. "written batik"). Traditional ''T ...
charge
Charge or charged may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary
Music
* ''Charge'' (David Ford album)
* ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album)
* ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqua ...
s, as they are meant to suggest the direction “east”, which is the first part of the town's name, the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
word being ''Ost(en)''. The lion is the Palatine Lion, recalling the town's long history under
Electoral Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
’s rule.
Culture and sightseeing
Buildings
*The
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 ...
''Bergkirche'' (“Mountain Church”) is believed to have stemmed from a chapel to
Saint Remigius
Remigius (french: Remi or ; – January 13, 533), was the Bishop of Reims and "Apostle of the Franks". On 25 December 496, he baptised Clovis I, King of the Franks. The baptism, leading to about 3000 additional converts, was an important event ...
built in the 6th century beside which grew into an estate fortified with a castle over the course of the ages. Today's church grew out of the castle and the chapel, with the churchtower, it is further believed, standing on the old
keep
A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...
’s foundations. The castle was converted many times, acquiring its current shape after a fire in the 19th century.
*
Saint John’s 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 ...
Church (''Johanniskirche'') had its beginnings in a temple of the
Order of Saint John
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...
, and in 1713 it was transferred to the Catholic parish (the Order is
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
), which radically converted the building in 1792. The church’s
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
was originally to be found in the
Carmelite
, image =
, caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites
, abbreviation = OCarm
, formation = Late 12th century
, founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel
, founding_location = Mount Car ...
church in
Worms Worms may refer to:
*Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs
Places
*Worms, Germany, a city
**Worms (electoral district)
*Worms, Nebraska, U.S.
*Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy
Arts and entertainme ...
.
*The Town Hall (''Rathaus'') was built in 1902 as a financial office.
*The Old Town Hall (''Altes Rathaus'') was built in 1739 as the town’s second town hall.
*Into the so-called “Little Church” (''Kleine Kirche''), which directly neighbours the Old Town Hall, parts of the first town hall from 1581 have been incorporated.
*The Waterworks (''Wasserwerk'') from 1906 has a striking façade with
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
and
Baroque Revival
The Baroque Revival, also known as Neo-Baroque (or Second Empire architecture in France and Wilhelminism in Germany), was an architectural style of the late 19th century. The term is used to describe architecture and architectural sculptur ...
elements.
*The Jewish graveyard on Mettenheimer Chaussee was laid out in 1832 and is a memorial to the town's
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.
Image:Osthofen-altesrathaus.jpg, Old Town Hall
Image:Osthofen-kleinekirche.jpg, ''Kleine Kirche''
Regular events
From 1949 to 2013, the ''Wonnegauer Winzerfest'' (“Wonnegau Winemakers’ Festival”) was held yearly in Osthofen. Among this days-long event's highlights were a great parade, the crowning of the Wonnegau Wine Queen and the traditional Monday wine tasting.
Economy and infrastructure
Osthofen is a state-recognized tourism centre, and under state planning also identified as a
lower centre.
[Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz - Infothek](_blank)
/ref>
Transport
Osthofen has at its disposal 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 ...
with a connection to the Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
–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 ...
line. The line S 6 from the Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn
The Rhine-Neckar S-Bahn ''(S-Bahn RheinNeckar)'' forms the backbone of the urban rail transport network of the Rhine Neckar Area, including the cities of Mannheim, Heidelberg and Ludwigshafen.
The S-Bahn operates over 437 km of route in the ...
operates in a half-hourly interval. Formerly there were connections to the Osthofen–Rheindürkheim–Guntersblum line (on which there is still goods traffic as far as Worms-Rheindürkheim), the Osthofen–Westhofen
Westhofen 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
Westhofen lies between Worms (r ...
line (locally known as the ''Gickelche'') and the Osthofen–Gau-Odernheim line. The last two have since been torn up.
Nearby is also an 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 onto the A 61, and towards the Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
lies ''Bundesstraße
''Bundesstraße'' (German for "federal highway"), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.
Germany
Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km.
German ''Bundesstraßen'' ...
'' 9.
Winegrowing
Osthofen belongs to the Wonnegau 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 ...
zone in Rhenish Hesse
Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...
. Within the town, 35 winegrowing businesses are active, and the planted vineyard area amounts to 465 ha. Some 68% of the wine made here is from white wine
White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without skin contact. The wine color, colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured Juice vesicles, ...
varieties (as at 2007). In 1979, there were still 116 such active businesses, but the planted vineyard area amounted to only 429 ha.
Established businesses
Osthofen is headquarters of the malting firm GlobalMalt.
Public institutions
The town is the location of the former Osthofen concentration camp
The Osthofen concentration camp (german: KZ Osthofen) was an early Nazi concentration camp in Osthofen, close to Worms, Germany. It was established in March 1933 in a former paper factory. The camp was administered by the People's State of Hes ...
, and a memorial site is found there today.
Famous people
Sons and daughters of the town
*Johann Georg Lehmann (b. 1744, d. 1817 in Frankenthal)
* Johann Weißheimer II. (b. 1797, d. 1883 in Osthofen)
*Chief building director Friedrich August von Pauli (b. 1802, d. 1883 in Bad Kissingen)
*Wendelin Weißheimer
Wendelin Weißheimer (26 February 1838 – 16 June 1910) was a German composer, conductor, essayist, teacher, and writer on music. He studied with Franz Liszt and was in close contact with Richard Wagner, Hans von Bülow, Peter Cornelius, Louis ...
(b. 26 February 1838, d. 10 June 1910 in Nuremberg)
*Dr. Georg Wander - Creator of Ovaltine (b. 1841, d. 1897 in Bern, Switzerland)
* Dietrich Grün - Watch pioneer and founder of the “Gruen Watch Company” (b. 1847, d. 1910)
*Prelate Adam Schreiber (b. 1849, d. 1929 in Worms)
*Karl Heinrich Berger (b. 1861, d. 1933 in Kandern, Baden)
*Conductor Friedrich Best (b. 1876, d. 1936 in Heidenau, Saxony)
*Heinrich Beckenbach (b. 5 February 1880, d. 31 March 1964)
*Christian Filips (b. 22 November 1981)
Famous people associated with the town
*Johannes Grun (b. 1646 in Alzey, d. 1718 in Osthofen)
*Church adviser Philip Gerhard Pauli (b. 1750 in Alzey, d. 1816 in Osthofen)
*Professor Friedrich Magnus Schwerd (b. 1792 in Alzey, d. 1871 in Speyer)
*Professor Dr. Peter Muth (b. 1860 at the ''Neumühle'' above Mühlheim, d. 1909 in Osthofen)
*Klaus Hagemann former mayor and since 1994 SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been the ...
Member of the Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
Further reading
*
See also
*List of Nazi-German concentration camps
According to the ''Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos'', there were 23 main concentration camps (german: Stammlager), of which most had a system of satellite camps. Including the satellite camps, the total number of Nazi concentration camps that ...
References
External links
Town’s official webpage
{{Authority control
Alzey-Worms