Hillesheim () is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a

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

belonging to a ''

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 – in the

Mainz-Bingen Mainz-Bingen is a district (''Kreis'') in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Rheingau-Taunus, the district-free cities Wiesbaden and Mainz, the districts Groß-Gerau, Alzey-Worms, Bad Kreuzn ...

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 ...

Geography

The municipality belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Rhein-Selz.

Neighbouring municipalities

Hillesheim’s neighbours are Dittelsheim-Heßloch, Dolgesheim, Dorn-Dürkheim,

Frettenheim Frettenheim 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 ...

Gau-Odernheim Gau-Odernheim (until 1896 simply ''Odernheim'') is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Locati ...

and Eimsheim.

Constituent communities

Hillesheim has two centres, ''Ortskern'', or municipal core, and ''Bahnhof'', or railway station. In the outlying centre of Bahnhof stands the former

railway station 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 ...

once served by the Osthofen–Gau Odernheim line and used together with the neighbouring municipality of Dorn-Dürkheim.

History

In the 13th century, Hillesheim had its first documentary mention, although the laying of the churchtower’s foundation stone has been dated to 1204. In 1387, ownership of Hillesheim was divided up: The ''Kirchbergteil'' (''Teil'' means “part” 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 ...

) went to Rosenthal Convent at the Donnersberg (“Thunder Mountain”) whereas the ''Haßlocher Teil'' remained in Imperial hands. Despite changing ruling relationships in the centuries that followed, the two parts remained apart. In 1792, Hillesheim was occupied by the French Revolutionary Army, and passed to 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), ...

department of

Donnersberg The Donnersberg (; literally: "thunder mountain") is the highest peak of the Palatinate () region of Germany. The mountain lies between the towns of Rockenhausen and Kirchheimbolanden, in the Donnersbergkreis district, which is named after th ...

. In 1814,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n forces crossed the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

to vanquish Emperor

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 ...

. The soldiers, however, died to a man of a sickness and were buried on the Kirchberg (mountain). In 1816, Hillesheim passed to the

Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine () was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The grand duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 as the Grand Duchy of Hesse (). It assumed the name ...

and was assigned in the time that followed first to the Alzey district and then in 1852 to the newly founded Oppenheim district. After 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 ...

, Hillesheim, along with all

Rhenish Hesse Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (, ) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is ...

, belonged to the French zone of occupation, out of which the

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 arose in 1949. Since district reform in 1969, Hillesheim has belonged to the

district.

Name

Besides the predominant explanation of the name being derived from ''Higeliheim'' or ''Hügelsheim'' because of the hilly landscape (''Hügel'' means “hill” in German), there is a competing explanation holding that the name comes from ''Hültzheim'' or ''Holtzheim'', which would be a reference to the wealth of wood (''Holz'' in German).

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 13 council members, counting the part-time mayor, with seats apportioned thus: (as at municipal election held on 13 June 2004)

Mayor

The ''Ortsbürgermeister'' is Melanie Schindel, elected by the municipal council in August 2019.

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 pale Or fretty gules and azure a rose slipped argent seeded of the second. In

Ludwig Roselius Ludwig Roselius (2 June 1874 – 15 May 1943) was a German coffee merchant and founder of the company Kaffee HAG. He was born in Bremen and is credited with the development of commercial decaffeination of coffee. As a patron, he supported ar ...

’s

Coffee Hag albums The Coffee Hag albums were published in the early 20th century by the Kaffee Handelsgesellschaft AG (Kaffee HAG, Coffee Hag) in Bremen, Germany, starting with heraldic stamps and collector's albums. The stamps and books were the initiative of the ...

from the early 20th century, Hillesheim’s arms are shown in somewhat different

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 ...

s. On the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side, the field is gules (red) instead of azure (blue), and the rose is seeded Or (has a golden centre) instead of gules.Description and explanation of Hillesheim’s arms
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References

External links

Municipality’s official webpage
{{Authority control Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate Mainz-Bingen