Gau-Bischofsheim
Encyclopedia
Gau-Bischofsheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen
district in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
.
’s southern outskirts. In the local speech the village is called Bischem. The municipality has been characterized by first being so near Mainz and also by the in parts outstanding location of the vineyards. The area under winegrowing cultivation is 76 ha. The Prince-Bishops of Mainz had their wine estates here for time out of mind. Some of the wineries bear witness to this tradition. In more recent times, proximity to Frankfurt
, Wiesbaden
and Mainz has led to considerable growth in Gau-Bischofsheim. A great number of clubs guide people into working towards the common good. The municipality belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Bodenheim
, whose seat is in the like-named municipality
.
. The slope in the north and west shields against strong winds and guarantees good wine.
.
was formed out of the municipalities of Bodenheim
, Gau-Bischofsheim, Harxheim
, Lörzweiler
and Nackenheim
.
(as at municipal election held on 13 June 2004)
might be described thus: Per fess abased, argent two bendlets gules and gules a demi-wheel spoked of three of the first.
, Côte-d'Or
, France
since 1978 Bischofsheim an der Rhön
, Rhön-Grabfeld
, Bavaria
since 2004
The partnership, or twinning, with Liernais in Burgundy
is maintained as a token of German-French friendship. Gau-Bischofsheim also has an official partnership arrangement with the Franconia
n town of Bischofsheim an der Rhön.
Municipalities of Germany
Municipalities are the lowest level of territorial division in Germany. This may be the fourth level of territorial division in Germany, apart from those states which include Regierungsbezirke , where municipalities then become the fifth level.-Overview:With more than 3,400,000 inhabitants, the...
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
Verbandsgemeinde
A Verbandsgemeinde is an administrative unit in the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt.-Rhineland-Palatinate:...
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen
Mainz-Bingen
Mainz-Bingen is a district in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Rheingau-Taunus, the district-free cities Wiesbaden and Mainz, the districts Groß-Gerau, Alzey-Worms, Bad Kreuznach, Rhein-Hunsrück.-History:During the French occupation under Napoleon the district...
district in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Location
Gau-Bischofsheim is a winegrowing village on MainzMainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
’s southern outskirts. In the local speech the village is called Bischem. The municipality has been characterized by first being so near Mainz and also by the in parts outstanding location of the vineyards. The area under winegrowing cultivation is 76 ha. The Prince-Bishops of Mainz had their wine estates here for time out of mind. Some of the wineries bear witness to this tradition. In more recent times, proximity to Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
and Mainz has led to considerable growth in Gau-Bischofsheim. A great number of clubs guide people into working towards the common good. The municipality belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Bodenheim
Bodenheim (Verbandsgemeinde)
Bodenheim is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Mainz-Bingen in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Bodenheim....
, whose seat is in the like-named municipality
Bodenheim
Bodenheim is a state-recognized tourism municipality in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany-Location:...
.
Climate
The municipality’s location at the foot of the intersection of the eastern and southern slopes of the last rise in the Rhine Terrace sees to it that the climate is pleasant and sunny with below-average rainfall, without being affected by the drawbacks of the Rhine Basin’s limited air circulation. From Gau-Bischofsheim there is a good view all the way to Frankfurt and into the OdenwaldOdenwald
The Odenwald is a low mountain range in Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Location :The Odenwald lies between the Upper Rhine Rift Valley with the Bergstraße and the Hessisches Ried in the west, the Main and the Bauland in the east, the Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin – a subbasin of...
. The slope in the north and west shields against strong winds and guarantees good wine.
History
In 769, Gau-Bischofsheim had its first documentary mention. In this document, one Rotbaldus made a donation to the Lorsch AbbeyLorsch Abbey
The Abbey of Lorsch is a former Imperial Abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about 10 km east of Worms, one of the most renowned monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ruined state, its remains are among the most important pre-Romanesque–Carolingian style buildings in Germany...
.
Amalgamations
In the 1969 administrative reform, the Verbandsgemeinde of BodenheimBodenheim (Verbandsgemeinde)
Bodenheim is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Mainz-Bingen in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Bodenheim....
was formed out of the municipalities of Bodenheim
Bodenheim
Bodenheim is a state-recognized tourism municipality in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany-Location:...
, Gau-Bischofsheim, Harxheim
Harxheim
Harxheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
, Lörzweiler
Lörzweiler
Lörzweiler is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-Location:...
and Nackenheim
Nackenheim
Nackenheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – and a winegrowing centre in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 17 council members, counting the parttime mayor, with seats apportioned thus:| CDU | SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
FDP Free Democratic Party (Germany) The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government... |
FWG | Total | |
| 2004 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 16 seats |
(as at municipal election held on 13 June 2004)
Mayors
The mayors (Bürgermeister) of Gau-Bischofsheim since 1945 have been:- Peter Göth VI 1945–1952
- Karl-Jakob Gerhard 1952–1969
- Karl-Heinz Göth 1969–1989
- Karl-Heinz Behlendorf 1989–1999
- Erich Gröger 1999 - 2004
- Patric Müller since 2004
Coat of arms
The municipality’s armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
might be described thus: Per fess abased, argent two bendlets gules and gules a demi-wheel spoked of three of the first.
Town partnerships
LiernaisLiernais
Liernais is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.-Population:-See also:*Communes of the Côte-d'Or department*Mancini family*Parc naturel régional du Morvan-References:*...
, Côte-d'Or
Côte-d'Or
Côte-d'Or is a department in the eastern part of France.- History :Côte-d'Or is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was formed from part of the former province of Burgundy.- Geography :...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
since 1978 Bischofsheim an der Rhön
Bischofsheim an der Rhön
Bischofsheim an der Rhön is a town in the district Rhön-Grabfeld, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Rhön Mountains, 29 km southeast of Fulda.-Town Structure:Several originally separate villages became part of the town Bischofsheim...
, Rhön-Grabfeld
Rhön-Grabfeld
Rhön-Grabfeld is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Hassberge, Schweinfurt and Bad Kissingen, and the states of Hesse and Thuringia .-History:In medieval times the region was a part of the Bishopric of Würzburg...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
since 2004
The partnership, or twinning, with Liernais in Burgundy
Bourgogne
Burgundy is one of the 27 regions of France.The name comes from the Burgundians, an ancient Germanic people who settled in the area in early Middle-age. The region of Burgundy is both larger than the old Duchy of Burgundy and smaller than the area ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy, from the modern...
is maintained as a token of German-French friendship. Gau-Bischofsheim also has an official partnership arrangement with the Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
n town of Bischofsheim an der Rhön.
Culture and sightseeing
Buildings
- In the centre of the village lies the Unterhof, a former manor in which are now found the municipal administration, the community centre and the Unterhofkeller (wine cellar). The inner courtyard, sheltered by a huge, ancient oak, offers an ideal venue for summertime festivals and cultural events.
- A particular jewel in the parish church is the famous Geissel organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
by Johann Peter Geissel, the oldest organ in the Bishopric of Mainz, which was in Saint Christopher’s Church in MainzMainzMainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
until 1773. Regular organ recitals with international artists are among the cultural highlights in village life.
Regular events
- The main festivals are CarnivalCarnivalCarnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
(locally known as Fastnacht) and the kermis (church consecration festival, locally known as the Kerb), in which from Monday to Friday a great part of the village takes part. - On Wednesdays from 14:00 to 18:00, under the motto vorbeischau’n, babbele, oikaafe (“Look in, have a chat, shop” in dialectal German) since May 2005 there has been a weekly market at the Unterhof.
Transport
- The nearest Autobahn interchangeInterchange (road)In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
is Mainz-Hechtsheim West on the A 60 some 6 km away. - From 28 September 1896 to 31 May 1985 the Amiche railway line (Alzey-Bodenheim) ran through Gau-Bischofsheim. Today, the tracks have been torn up and the Amiche Cycle Path has been built over parts of the old trackbed. It does not follow the old alignment exactly. The fully signposted cycle path follows the old railway most closely between Bodenheim and Undenheim. From Undenheim on, though, the signposts then guide cyclists onto the path’s continuation along the likewise abandoned railway, known as the Valtinche railway, to Nierstein. Coming thence back to the starting point at Bodenheim, the way is identical to the Rheinterrassen-Radweg (Rhine Terrace Cycle Path) and the Rhein-Radweg (Rhine Cycle Path). On the other hand, if one wants to stay on the Amiche path, one must follow the signposts from Undenheim for the Selztal-Radweg (Selz Valley Cycle Path) to Alzey.