Grünstadt () is a town in the
Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim () is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration. It is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim (district), Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and the site of the discovery of the element caesium, in 1860.
Geogra ...
district in
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) 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 sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
with roughly 13,200 inhabitants. It does not belong to any ''
Verbandsgemeinde
A (; plural ) is a low-level administrative division, administrative unit in the Germany, German States of Germany, federal states of Brandenburg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A is typically composed of a small group of Municipalitie ...
'' – a kind of collective municipality – but is nonetheless the administrative seat of the
''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Leiningerland.
Geography
Location
The town lies in the Leiningerland (the lands once held by the
Counts of Leiningen) on the northern border of the
Palatinate Forest
The Palatinate Forest (; ), sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a List of landscapes in Rhineland-Palatinate, low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate (region), Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatina ...
about 10 km north of
Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim () is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration. It is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim (district), Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and the site of the discovery of the element caesium, in 1860.
Geogra ...
, 15 km southwest of
Worms
The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms.
Content
The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...
and 20 km northwest of
Ludwigshafen
Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning "Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig's Port upon the Rhine"; Palatine German dialects, Palatine German: ''Ludwichshafe''), is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the German state of Rh ...
at the point where the
German Wine Route
The German Wine RouteScheunemann J., Stewart J., Walker N. and Williams C. (2011), ''Back Roads Germany'', Dorling Kindersley, London. . or Wine Road (, ) is the oldest of Germany's tourist wine routes. Located in the Palatinate region of the ...
crosses the
Autobahn
The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'.
Much of t ...
A 6. Grünstadt belongs to the “Unterhaardt” a landscape with submediterranean character as the geographer
Christophe Neff
Christophe Neff (born 10 June 1964 in Tübingen, West Germany) is a Franco-German geographer, working on Mediterranean ecosystems, the geography of the Mediterranean Basin and fire ecology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. He is conside ...
wrote in his paysages blog.
The town's landmark mountain is the so-called Grünstadter Berg.
Climate
Yearly
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
in Grünstadt amounts to 529 mm, which is very low, falling into the lowest tenth of the precipitation chart for all Germany. Only at 7% of the
German Weather Service
The () or DWD for short, is the German Meteorological Service, based in Offenbach am Main, Germany, which monitors weather and meteorological conditions over Germany and provides weather services for the general public and for nautical, aviati ...
's weather stations are even lower figures recorded. The driest month is February. The most rainfall comes in June. In that month, precipitation is 1.7 times what it is in February. Precipitation hardly varies throughout the year, however. At 15% of the weather stations, lower seasonal
swings are recorded.
Constituent communities
Besides the main town of Grünstadt itself, which has some 10,000 inhabitants, there are two outlying centres within town limits, the ''
Ortsteil
A village is a human settlement or Residential community, community, larger than a hamlet (place), hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located ...
e'' of Asselheim (about 1,300 inhabitants) and Sausenheim (about 2,300 inhabitants).
History
Early history until first documentary mention

The Grünstadt area is an ancient centre of culture. Within the town's modern limits, hunters from the
Middle Stone Age
The Middle Stone Age (or MSA) was a period of African prehistory between the Early Stone Age and the Late Stone Age. It is generally considered to have begun around 280,000 years ago and ended around 50–25,000 years ago. The beginnings of ...
, about 5000 BC, left their traces, as did farmers from the
New Stone Age
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide- ...
about 2000 BC. From the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
(1500-750 BC),
Hallstatt times (700-450 BC) and
La Tène times (450 BC – 1) come both remnants of settlements and
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
finds.
In
Roman times
In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman civilisation from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingd ...
until AD 450 there were three inhabited centres, one of which was near today's Peterspark. This is one of Grünstadt's “seeds”, and it was also settled in the
Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...
and
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties
* Francia, a post-Roman ...
periods. It was here that the Romans buried their dead, the
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
Franks later taking over. There were quite likely a Roman ''
burgus
A ''burgus'' (Latin, plural ''burgi '') or ''turris'' ("tower") is a small fortified tower, tower-like castra, castrum of late antiquity, which was sometimes protected by an outwork and surrounding ditch (fortification), ditches. Timothy Da ...
'' (a
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word borrowed from the
Germanic whose root also yields the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
''Burg''
castle"and the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
''borough''
riginally "fortified town" it was a kind of small, towerlike fortification) and a temple complex that later became a church. Also here, about 800, the
Alsatian Weißenburg Monastery (which lay in what is now
Wissembourg
Wissembourg (; South Franconian: ''Weisseburch'' ; German: ''Weißenburg'' ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in northeastern France.
Wissembourg was a sub-prefecture of the department until 2015. The name ''Wissembourg'' ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
) owned a church consecrated to Saint Peter with a parish estate – the latter of which gives a clue as to the town's importance – a lordly estate with great outbuildings and 14 farms.
At roughly the same time, there still stood a southern centre in the area around the ''Martinskirche'' (Saint Martin's Church) that belonged to the Glandern (or Lungenfeld) Monastery near
Metz
Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...
, and it is believed that there was a further settlement between the two. Grünstadt at first developed gradually from these three centres, one of which – apparently the southernmost – went back to a Frankish clan chief by the name of “Grimdeo” or “Grindeo”. Although the first syllable in the town's name – ''grün'' – happens to be the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
word for “green”, modern linguistic research has unambiguously shown that the name does not derive from this root at all. The green municipal
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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
introduced in the 19th century and the town colours, green and white, that were derived from it in 1928 therefore lack any historical basis.
875 to 1500
Grünstadt – or rather the southern settlement around Saint Martin's – had its first documentary mention on 21 November 875, when King
Louis the German
Louis the German (German language, German: ''Ludwig der Deutsche''; c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany (German language, German: ''Ludwig II. von Deutschland''), was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 8 ...
restored this estate to the Glandern Monastery near Metz. The place was already called ''Grinstat'' in this document, and the ownership rights already went back further, as they were only being restored. This settlement, therefore, was considerably older than that 875 document, which had nothing to say about the estate's buildings. It is assumed to have been a monastery estate with a small church, out of which grew first a
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
priory which was newly built several times, and then today's
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
Saint Martin's Church, with the burial place of the
House of Leiningen-Westerburg
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condit ...
.
At roughly the same time, about 900, the northern settlement belonging to the Weißenburg Monastery (near today's Peterspark) was recorded in that institution's directory of holdings, even describing it in depth, with the holdings already mentioned (church, parish estate, manor house and many buildings), which point to an already great age for the village even then. The settlement later vanished or perhaps moved to the south to join the other two. Saint Peter's Church (''Peterskirche'') and its graveyard, whose beginnings could well go back to Roman times, were nevertheless kept on into the 19th century as a religious centre and necropolis, even though they lay far outside the later town of Grünstadt. In 1819, the church, which was more than 1,000 years old, was torn down, and the ancient
patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
"St. Peter" then passed to the
Capuchin church (now the
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
parish church). The graveyard was closed only in 1874 and converted into today's Peterspark.
In 1155, Grünstadt was named in a document from Emperor
Friedrich I Barbarossa
Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...
in which he donated the holdings there to the Ramsen Monastery. In 1218, Pope
Honorius III
Pope Honorius III (c. 1150 – 18 March 1227), born Cencio Savelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 July 1216 to his death. A canon at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, he came to hold a number of importa ...
confirmed the Glandern Monastery's ownership of Saint Martin's Church in Grünstadt. In 1245, Pope
Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV (; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254.
Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universities of Parma and Bolo ...
certified the Höningen Monastery's holdings in Grünstadt. About 1300, the Weißenburg Monastery enfeoffed the
Counts of Leiningen with its holdings in Grünstadt.
1500 to 1700
From 1481 to 1505, Grünstadt belonged to
the Palatinate
The Palatinate (; ; Palatine German: ''Palz''), or the Rhenish Palatinate (''Rheinpfalz''), is a historical region of Germany. The Palatinate occupies most of the southern quarter of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate (''Rheinla ...
, and then once again to the Leiningens, who in 1549 were also enfeoffed with the Glandern Monastery's holdings there (the southern part around Saint Martin's). It was not until 1735 that the Leiningens managed to acquire this property formerly belonging to the Glandern or Lungenfeld Monastery as their own.
In 1556, Emperor
Karl V
Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...
granted the municipality market rights, raising it from village to market town. The year before this one, Count Philipp I of Leiningen had introduced the obligatory practice of the
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
faith in his county and forbidden the other
Christian
A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
denominations, namely
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and
Reformed
Reform is beneficial change.
Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to:
Media
* ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang
* Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group
* ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine
Places
* Reform, Al ...
.
In 1573,
Henry III of France
Henry III (; ; ; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.
As the fourth son of King Henry II of France, he ...
, then King of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, spent the night in Grünstadt.
In 1596 and 1597, the
Plague raged in Grünstadt, killing more than 250 inhabitants in a short time.
Beginning in 1610, the Counts were having coins struck in Grünstadt, and established a mint.
In the time of the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
, the town was spared any major destruction; however, the Plague once again beset the townsfolk between 1625 and 1629. Many of them died or left the area. For a time,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
soldiers were quartered in Grünstadt.
In 1673,
Count Ludwig Eberhardt of Leiningen converted to the
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
faith and thereafter granted Catholics tolerance in his county. He had the
Capuchins
Capuchin can refer to:
*Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, an order of Roman Catholic friars
*Capuchin Poor Clares, an order of Roman Catholic contemplative religious sisters
*Capuchin monkey, primates of the genus ''Cebus'' and ''Sapajus'', named af ...
come there, who soon founded a monastery from which arose today's Catholic parish church and the monastery building.
In 1689, in the
Nine Years' War
The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...
(known in Germany as the ''Pfälzischer Erbfolgekrieg'', or War of the Palatine Succession), the
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
burnt the town down, which is why there are only a few traces of pre-Baroque architecture in town.
It was only in 1689 that the long overdue reform to the
Gregorian Calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...
was implemented in Grünstadt and the rest of the county, heretofore having been boycotted for religious reasons because it was instituted by Pope
Gregory XIII
Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...
.
1700 to 1800
Since both the family castles of
Altleiningen
Altleiningen is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
Location
The municipality lies at an e ...
and
Neuleiningen
Neuleiningen is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim (district), Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
...
had also been burnt down, the two comital lines both settled in Grünstadt beginning in 1700, made it a common residence town and took turns ruling. The Altleiningers had the old Glandern monasterial estate near Saint Martin's Church expanded into a palatial residence and called it Schloß Unterhof, while the Neuleiningers built the stately
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
Schloß Oberhof not far away. For about 100 years, Grünstadt remained the capital of the county of Leiningen-Westerburg.
In 1726, the first
Reformed
Reform is beneficial change.
Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to:
Media
* ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang
* Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group
* ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine
Places
* Reform, Al ...
church service was held in Grünstadt. In the time that followed, the Reformed Church's followers were subjected to great oppression, mainly by the
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
clergy. They were not allowed to build their own church, and they were even forbidden to bury their dead at the local graveyard. They were instead buried in a barn, where the community also met for its services. The Reformed ''
Schultheiß
In medieval Germany, the ''Schultheiß'' () was the head of a municipality (akin to today's office of mayor), a '' Vogt'' or an executive official of the ruler. As official (''villicus'') it was his duty to order his assigned village or county ( ...
'' and master tanner Johann Peter Schwartz, especially, put himself forth as the group's spokesman to defend against this treatment. He wrote to royalty (for instance, King
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself '' King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prus ...
) and eventually forced formal tolerance of the Reformed Church in the county. Not far from his house (which still bears the initials “JPS” today), on the same spot where their old barn had stood, the Reformed Church's followers built themselves their own church in 1740, which is now known as the ''Friedenskirche'' (“Church of Peace”).
In 1729, Count Georg Hermann at Leiningen-Westerburg-Altleiningen founded a
Latin school
The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Other terms used include Lateinschule in Germany, or later Gymnasium. Latin schools were also established in Colon ...
in Grünstadt, as a successor institution to the monastery school at Höningen (nowadays an outlying centre of
Altleiningen
Altleiningen is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
Location
The municipality lies at an e ...
). From this arose first a ''Progymnasium'' and then today's ''Leininger-
Gymnasium''.
In the
War of the First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI, constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French First Republic, Frenc ...
, there was fighting in the area around Grünstadt between 1793 and 1795 with the occupiers changing among the
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
ns, the
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
and the
Prussia
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
ns. In 1794, the man who would later become
Field Marshal von Blücher, but who at this time was a colonel in the Prussian Red Hussars, procured quarters in the town. According to local lore, he rode his horse up the outdoor stairway that then stood at the (now former) town hall and made a speech to the townsfolk.
1800 to 1900
In 1797, with the
Treaty of Campo Formio
The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The trea ...
– itself permanently confirmed by the
Treaty of Lunéville
The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary do ...
(1801) – Grünstadt passed as a cantonal seat to the French Department of
Mont-Tonnerre
Mont-Tonnerre () was a department of the First French Republic and later the First French Empire in present-day Germany. It was named after the highest point in the Palatinate, the '' Donnersberg'' ("Thunder Mountain", possibly referring to Do ...
(or Donnersberg in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
), whose seat of government was in
Mainz
Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
. Grünstadt remained French until 1815.
After
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's downfall, Grünstadt passed in 1816 to the
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...
. It remained Bavarian for exactly 130 years, until the new
state
State most commonly refers to:
* State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory
**Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country
**Nation state, a ...
of
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) 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 sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
was founded in 1946.
On 14 June 1829, King
Ludwig I of Bavaria
Ludwig I or Louis I (; 25 August 1786 – 29 February 1868) was King of Bavaria from 1825 until the German revolutions of 1848–49, 1848 revolutions in the German states. When he was crown prince, he was involved in the Napoleonic Wars. As ki ...
and his consort Queen
Therese
Therese or Thérèse is a variant of the feminine given name Teresa. It may refer to:
Persons
Therese
*Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1773–1839), member of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and a Duchess of Mecklenburg
*Therese of Br ...
visited the town as part of their tour of the Palatinate. The king attended a
High Mass at the
Capuchin church and was ceremoniously welcomed by Father Bernhard Würschmitt.
On 14 June 1849 – twenty years to the day later – Prince William of Prussia, who would later be
Wilhelm I, German Emperor
Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united German ...
, rode in pursuit of the irregular, revolutionary partisans (''
Freischärler
The ''Freischar'' () was the German name given to an irregular, volunteer military unit that, unlike regular or reserve military forces, participated in a war without the formal authorisation of one of the belligerents, but on the instigation ...
'') coming from
Kirchheimbolanden
Kirchheimbolanden is the capital and the second largest city of the Donnersbergkreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate. Situated in south-western Germany, it is approximately 25 km west of Worms, Germany, Worms, and 30 km north-east of Kaisersla ...
with his staff through what is now called Jakobstraße (street) and Hauptstraße. At the ''Stadthaus'' (now known as the Old Town Hall) he made a stop and an officer from his entourage spoke from the outdoor stairway to the townsfolk on the topic of “Loyalty towards Prince and Fatherland”, whereafter the military detachment pushed on towards the south.
In 1873, Grünstadt acquired a rail link on the
Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim () is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration. It is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim (district), Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and the site of the discovery of the element caesium, in 1860.
Geogra ...
-
Monsheim
Monsheim 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
Monsheim lies in the southern Wonnegau ...
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
with its own
station
Station may refer to:
Agriculture
* Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production
* Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle
** Cattle statio ...
.
1900 to present
In the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
(1914–1918), 164 inhabitants of Grünstadt fell, in whose memory in 1937 a templelike memorial was built in a prominent spot on the Grünstadter Berg.
In the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
(1939–1945), Grünstadt was repeatedly the target of
air raids to which, among others, Saint Martin's Church fell victim. As a result of wartime events, 360 people lost their lives, soldiers and civilian victims of bombings. As well, the town's very old and important
Jew
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
ish community was swept away in this time by deportation and emigration, although the
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
and the Jewish graveyard east of town have been preserved.
On 20 March 1945,
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
troops occupied the town area; the
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
military followed them on 7 July 1945.
In the wake of the dissolution of the Frankenthal district, after having belonged to the same district for more than 150 years, Grünstadt passed in 1969 to the new district of
Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim () is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration. It is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim (district), Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and the site of the discovery of the element caesium, in 1860.
Geogra ...
; the vehicle licence prefix changed from “FT” to “DÜW”. On 7 June 1969, the formerly autonomous localities of Asselheim and Sausenheim were amalgamated with the town.
Religion
History of Grünstadt’s Jewish community
Grünstadt was once one of the most important Jewish communities in the Palatinate. In 1827, more than ten percent of the town's population was Jewish. From 1608 to 1933, the Jewish community's history can be traced in an unbroken line. The persecution of Jews by the
Nazi régime sealed the community's fate. It simply ceased to exist.
Today
In 2007, 44.4% of the inhabitants were
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
and 25.5%
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. The rest belonged to other faiths or adhered to none.
Politics
Town council
The council is made up of 28 honorary council members, who were elected at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the full-time mayor as chairman.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
Mayors
From 2002 to 2009, the directly elected mayor was Hans Jäger (
SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together wi ...
). Since 1 January 2010, however, Klaus Wagner (CDU) has been the new Mayor of Grünstadt.
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: '
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 in English
heraldic
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...
language be described thus: Vert an eagle displayed argent armed and langued gules among four Greek crosses in fess Or, two in chief, and two in base.
The arms were approved in 1890 by the Bavarian prince regent
Luitpold and go back to a court seal from 1456.
The eagle is taken from the arms borne by the
Counts of Leiningen, but the reason for the crosses’ inclusion as a
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 Aqu ...
is less clear. They might refer to the Weißenburg Monastery, which was also a landlord in the town. The
tincture
A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...
vert (green) is
canting
' (International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: , Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, VOS Spelling: , ) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax () in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely (). Traditional consists of copper wax-con ...
for the town's name, Grünstadt, which means “Greentown”, although research has shown that the name does not derive from this German word.
Description and explanation of Grünstadt’s arms
/ref>
Town partnerships
Grünstadt fosters partnerships with the following places:
* Hermsdorf, Saale-Holzland-Kreis
Saale-Holzland (official German name: Saale-Holzland-Kreis) is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the east of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the district Burgenlandkreis in Saxony-Anhalt, the district-free city Ge ...
, Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
* Greenville, Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, USA
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...
* Carrières-sur-Seine
Carrières-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.
The inhabitants of the town of Carrières-sur-Seine are called ''Carrillons'' (masculine plural) or ''Carrillonnes'' (feminine ...
, Yvelines
Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.[France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...]
* Bonita Springs
Bonita Springs is a city in Lee County, Florida, United States. The population was 53,644 at the 2020 census, up from 43,914 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, on the state's sou ...
, Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, USA
* Westerburg
Westerburg () is a small town of roughly 6,000 inhabitants in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is named after the castle built on a hill above the medieval town centre (''Burg'' is German for “castle”)
Geograph ...
, Westerwaldkreis
The Westerwaldkreis ("District of Westerwald") is a district (''Kreis'') in the north-east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighbouring districts are (from north clockwise) Altenkirchen (district), Altenkirchen, Lahn-Dill, Limburg-Weilburg, Rhein ...
, Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) 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 sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
* Peine
Peine (; Eastphalian: ''Paane'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of the district Peine. It is situated on the river Fuhse and the Mittellandkanal, approximately west of Braunschweig, northeast of Hildesheim, and east of Hanover ...
, Peine
Peine (; Eastphalian: ''Paane'') is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of the district Peine. It is situated on the river Fuhse and the Mittellandkanal, approximately west of Braunschweig, northeast of Hildesheim, and east of Hanover ...
, Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...
(friendship agreement with outlying centre of Asselheim)
Culture and sightseeing
Regular events
In Grünstadt, the tradition of the ''Stabausstecken'' has been kept, or has at least been given new life. This is a festival, traditionally held in early March, in which winter is burnt in effigy, an event known as the ''Winterverbrennung'' (“Winter Burning”).
Economy and infrastructure
Transport
Thanks to the A 6 motorway (from Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...
to Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...
), Grünstadt is well linked not only to the national motorway network in Germany, but also to France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
. Grünstadt station
Grünstadt station is a railway junction where the Palatine Northern Railway connects with the Eis Valley Railway and the disused tracks of the Leiningen Valley Railway and the Worms–Grünstadt railway. It is one of three stations in the urban ...
also lies on the Palatine Northern Railway
The Palatine Northern Railway () is a non-electrified single-track main line that connects Neustadt (Weinstr) Hbf with Monsheim in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It was opened between 1865 and 1873 in three stages. With the replacemen ...
, which in parts runs alongside the German Wine Route
The German Wine RouteScheunemann J., Stewart J., Walker N. and Williams C. (2011), ''Back Roads Germany'', Dorling Kindersley, London. . or Wine Road (, ) is the oldest of Germany's tourist wine routes. Located in the Palatinate region of the ...
in the southerly direction to Neustadt an der Weinstraße Neustadt (German for ''new town'' or ''new city'') may refer to:
Places
* Neustadt (urban district)
Czech Republic
*Neustadt an der Mettau, Nové Město nad Metují
*Neustadt an der Tafelfichte, Nové Město pod Smrkem
* Nové Město na Mo ...
. Furthermore, the re-opened Eis Valley Railway
The Eis Valley Railway () is a branch line in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, that runs through the Palatine Forest. It runs from Grünstadt in a southwesterly direction through the valley of the Eisbach (or "Eis") to Enkenbach. The s ...
runs into the Palatinate Forest
The Palatinate Forest (; ), sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a List of landscapes in Rhineland-Palatinate, low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate (region), Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatina ...
to the Eiswoog (a reservoir and hiking destination) near Ramsen. Formerly this line reached all the way to Enkenbach. The Lower Eis Valley Railway also branches off the Palatine Northern Railway
The Palatine Northern Railway () is a non-electrified single-track main line that connects Neustadt (Weinstr) Hbf with Monsheim in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It was opened between 1865 and 1873 in three stages. With the replacemen ...
in Grünstadt.
Authorities
Besides its own town administration, Grünstadt harbours the administration of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Leiningerland, even though the town itself is in neither this nor any other ''Verbandsgemeinde''.
Courts
Grünstadt has at its disposal an ''Amtsgericht
An ''Amtsgericht'' (District Court) in Germany is an official court. These courts form the lowest level of the ' ordinary jurisdiction' of the German judiciary (German ''Ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit''), which is responsible for most criminal and ...
'' that belongs to the state court region (''Landgerichtsbezirk'') of Frankenthal and the high state court region (''Oberlandesgerichtsbezirk'') of Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken (; ; , ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach (Blies), Schwarzbach River.
Name
The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; older forms of the name include Middl ...
.
Hospital
In the town is found a 200-bed hospital with an adjoining day clinic (12 places). The sponsor is the Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim () is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration. It is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim (district), Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and the site of the discovery of the element caesium, in 1860.
Geogra ...
district.
Education
Besides three primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
s, a Hauptschule
A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...
and a Realschule
Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...
, there is the ''Leininger Gymnasium'', which is steeped in tradition and rooted in the old Höningen Latin School.
Sundry
Grünstadt is known for its AAFES
The Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES, also referred to as The Exchange and post exchange/PX or base exchange/BX) provides goods and services at U.S. Army, Air Force, and Space Force installations worldwide, operating department stores, ...
bakery. In Grünstadt it is called the depot ( AAFES Depot Grünstadt).
Notable people
Sons and daughters of the town
19th century
* Jacob Frankel
Jacob Frankel (July 5, 1808January 12, 1887) was a German-born rabbi who became the first official Jewish military chaplain of the United States, during the American Civil War.
Life and work
Frankel came from a Jewish family with a long tradi ...
(1808–1887), the first Jewish military chaplain in the United States
* Franz Umbscheiden (1825–1874), German revolutionary and journalist
* Adolf Stern
Adolf Stern (real name: ''Adolf Ernst''; June 14, 1835 – April 15, 1907) was a German literary historian and poet.
He was born in Leipzig. He studied at the universities of Leipzig and Jena, and in 1868, was appointed professor of the history ...
(1849–1907), chess player
20th century
* Erwin Lehn
Erwin Lehn (8 June 1919, Grünstadt – 20 March 2010) was a German jazz composer, bandleader and musician. On 1 April 1951 he established the ''Südfunk dance orchestra'' of the South German Radio in Stuttgart, which he directed until 1992. ...
(1919–2010), German pianist and Orchestra leader (SWR's Südfunk-Tanzorchester)
* Ludwig Wilding (born 1927), painter and object artist
* Wolfgang Heinz (born 1938), politician (FDP)
* Norbert Schindler (born 1949), politician (CDU)
* Marco Haber (born 1971), footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
* Silvio Adzic (born 1980), footballer
Notable people associated with the town
* Friedrich Christian Laukhard, (1757–1822), writer, attended the ''Leininger-Gymnasium''.
* Christophe Neff
Christophe Neff (born 10 June 1964 in Tübingen, West Germany) is a Franco-German geographer, working on Mediterranean ecosystems, the geography of the Mediterranean Basin and fire ecology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. He is conside ...
, forest fire expert and geographer, lives in Grünstadt.
* Boris Brejcha
Brejcha (; born November 26, 1981, in Ludwigshafen am Rhein) is a German DJ and record producer. He describes his music style as "''high-tech minimal''." His style has been compared with DJ Umek, and Solomun.
Brejcha frequently wears a joker ...
, DJ and music producer, lives in Grünstadt.
* Ludwig Kratzer, (1913-2001), WWII prisoner of war
Further reading
* Walter Lampert:''"1100 Jahre Grünstadt"'', Stadtverwaltung Grünstadt, 1975 (aus diesem Werk, das alle bis dahin erschienenen stadtgeschichtlichen Publikationen zusammenfasste, sind sämtliche Angaben im Abschnitt "Geschichte" entnommen.)
* Emil Müller: ''"Grünstadt und Umgebung"'', Schäffer Verlag, Grünstadt, 1904
* Hans Feßmeyer: ''"Geschichte von Grünstadt"'', Verlag Emil Sommer, Grünstadt, 1939
* Dr. Ludwig Blankenheim: ''"Aus Grünstadts vergangenen Tagen"'', Rheinpfalz Verlag, Ludwigshafen, 1955
* Walter Lampert: ''"Bewegte Jahre - Grünstadt 1918-1948"'', Verlag Emil Sommer, Grünstadt, 1985
* Kyra Schilling, Odilie Steiner, Elisabeth Weber: ''Jüdisches Leben in Grünstadt''. Grünstadt 2007, (Ökumenischer Friedenskreis der prot. Kirchengemeinde Grünstadt)
References
External links
Town’s official webpage
Verbandsgemeinde Grünstadt-Land
Outlying centre of Asselheim
Outlying centre of Sausenheim
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grunstadt
Towns in Rhineland-Palatinate
Palatinate Forest
Bad Dürkheim (district)
Palatinate (region)
Holocaust locations in Germany