Ober-Flörsheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a

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

belonging to a ''

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. Rhinelan ...

'', a kind of collective municipality – 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-Binge ...

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 ...

Geography

Location

Ober-Flörsheim lies on a high plateau in the Rheinhessen wine region. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Alzey-Land, whose seat is in Alzey.

History

In 776, ''Flarlesheim superiori'' had its first documentary mention in a donation document from

Lorsch Abbey Lorsch Abbey, otherwise the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch (german: Reichsabtei Lorsch; la, Laureshamense Monasterium or ''Laurissa''), is a former Imperial abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about east of Worms. It was one of the most renowned monasteries ...

. From 1237 until the late 18th century, the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

ran a

commandry In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

in the village. From 1506, Ober-Flörsheim belonged to

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 ...

and was made part of the '' Oberamt'' of Alzey. In the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

troops laid waste the commandry and the village. In 1689, the village was dealt a further blow by French troops under King Louis XIV when they laid the Palatinate waste during the Nine Years' War. During the wars in the wake of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, there was a battle on 30 March 1793 near Ober-Flörsheim in which the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

ns beat the French. Even so, this defeat would not thwart France’s ultimate success in the campaign, and thereby Ober-Flörsheim, along with the rest of the territories on the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

’s left bank, was annexed by France in 1797, and the village became part of the Department of Mont-Tonnerre (or Donnersberg in

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 **Ge ...

). After the

Napoleonic Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eur ...

had been defeated, Ober-Flörsheim became part of the newly founded province of

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- ...

(''Rheinhessen'') in the

Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) 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 ...

in 1816. 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, pe ...

troops occupied Ober-Flörsheim, which nevertheless was transferred to the French zone of occupation in the summer of that same year, later also being grouped into the newly formed

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

, to which the village has belonged ever since. The region, though, is still called Rhenish Hesse, even though it is no longer part of

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

. Since 1972, Ober-Flörsheim has also belonged to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Alzey-Land. Ober-Floersheim-Ansicht

Religion

Although Ober-Flörsheim was Reformed in the 16th century,

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 ...

services were reintroduced in 1698. The Reformed once again achieved ascendancy over the parish church in 1705 with the Palatine Church Sharing (''Pfälzische Kirchenteilung'', whereby Protestants had to share their churches with Catholics). For a long time, the two denominations stood side by side. In 1747, the

Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

came to be the third denomination in the village, and they were able to build their own church. In 1876, the Free Protestant parish, a breakaway group from the

Evangelical Church Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

, was founded.

Population development

*1787 - 516 inhabitants *1815 - 851 inhabitants *1849 - 1,223 inhabitants (858 Evangelical, 272 Catholic, 91 Mennonite) *1870 - 1,094 inhabitants (799 Evangelical, 265 Catholic, 44 Mennonite) *1900 - 1,014 inhabitants (533 Evangelical, 236 Catholic, 231 Free Protestant, 21 Mennonite) *2004 - 1,104 inhabitants *2008 - 1,191 inhabitants (566 Evangelical, 331 Roman Catholic, 67 other, 227 none) *2012 - 1.237 inhabitants (575 Evangelical, 344 Roman Catholic, 35 other, 283 none) *2014 - 1.205 inhabitants (531 Evangelical, 317 Roman Catholic, 34 other, 323 none) Kriegerdenkmal Ober-Flörsheim

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. The municipal election held on 25 May 2014 yielded the following results:Kommunalwahl Rheinland-Pfalz 2014, Gemeinderat
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Mayors

The following list is not yet complete. *1800-1810 Franz Müller *1810-1819 Nikolaus Stauff *1819-1831 Johannes Dettweiler *1831-1837 Johannes Mundorff *1838-1843 Johannes Dettweiler *1843-1862 Friedrich Diehl *1862-1871 Jakob Engel *1871-1884 Christian Fauth *1884-1922 Johannes Müller * Jakob Kratz * until 1945 Johann Hahn *1945-1946 Georg Müller *1946-1964 Albert Stauff *1964-1999 Werner Pfister *1999-2001 U. Vogt, resigned at Easter 2001 *2001–2014 Adolf Gardt *2014–present Sascha Leonhardt

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: Azure a fleur-de-lis argent between two mullets of five in chief of the same.

Culture and sightseeing

Museums

There is a local history museum at the ''Bürgerhaus'' (“Citizens’ House” – a community centre, formerly the lordly manor of the Commandry) headed by Werner Pfister. Opening times are by arrangement. In 2002, the Ober-Flörsheim local history and cultural club was founded, which has since acquired about 80 members.

Music

Besides the ''Sängerkranz'' (“Singer Wreath”) men’s singing club established in 1855, which despite being called a “men’s” singing club also has a women’s choir, there are also the Catholic Church music club established in 1912, and an Evangelical church choir.

Buildings

Saint Peter’s and Saint Paul’s

Parish Church (''Pfarrkirche St. Peter und Paul'') was built in 1776 and 1777 on the spot where once stood the old parish church. That one was assigned to followers of the Reformed Church at the time of the Palatine Church Sharing in 1705. The

however, who held the patronage for the Catholic parish, opposed the decision and waged a long legal battle for ownership for the Catholics. Meanwhile, as a result of the disagreements, the old church was falling apart, making it necessary to build the new

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

building that stands now. The belltower was built onto the church only in 1930.

Sport

The ''TSG 1863 Ober-Flörsheim'' (sport club) offers, among other things,

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

partner dancing Partner dances are dances whose basic choreography involves coordinated dancing of two partners, as opposed to individuals dancing alone or individually in a non-coordinated manner, and as opposed to groups of people dancing simultaneously in a ...

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

and football.

Famous people

Sons and daughters of the town

*Sebastian Walter, b. 1848, d. 1922 in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

, manufacturer (emigrated to Milwaukee in 1866) * Willy Deutschmann, b. 1880, d. 1960 in Petersbächel, painter, was active in Petersbächel in the

Wasgau The Wasgau (german: Wasgau, french: Vasgovie) is a Franco-German hill range in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the French departments of Bas-Rhin and Moselle. It is formed from the southern part of the Palatine Forest and the north ...

(Alsace border region in Rhineland-Palatinate). He is said to be the most important painter of the central Wasgau.

References

External links

*
Ober-Flörsheim in the collective municipality’s Web pages

Ober-Flörsheim local history and cultural club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oberflorsheim Alzey-Worms