Kirchheim an der Weinstraße
Encyclopedia
Kirchheim an der Weinstraße (or Kirchheim an der Weinstrasse) is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim
district in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
.
near the north end of the German Wine Route. To the west rises the Haardt at the Palatinate Forest’s eastern edge, and to the east stretches the Upper Rhine Plain
. Through the municipality, from west to east, flows the Eckbach
, regionally known as die Eck. Kirchheim an der Weinstraße belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land
, whose seat is in Grünstadt
, although that town is itself not in the Verbandsgemeinde.
and the villages of Bissersheim
, Herxheim am Berg
and Kleinkarlbach
.
finds make it clear that this place was settled as early as the Bronze Age
.
Until 1952, the village’s name was Kirchheim an der Eck and it belonged to the district of Frankenthal, until this was abolished in 1969. After Kirchheim’s reassignment to the new district of Bad Dürkheim
had been completed that same year, it was also assigned in 1972 to the likewise newly formed Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land
.
In 2006, the National Democratic Party of Germany
(NPD) tried to open an advanced training centre in Kirchheim. To this end, the former Gräfliche Leininger Mühle (“Comital Leiningen Mill”), whose commercial building had for quite some time served as an inn, was to be acquired and converted. The attempt at acquisition, however, failed because the Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land caused it to be put under monumental protection
, with the attendant ban on any modification thereto. On the night of 13 and 14 May 2006, the building was heavily damaged by an unexplained act of arson
. Suspected as perpetrators were, on the one hand, militant NPD opponents, and on the other, the party itself, wanting to push the purchase price down. In early 2009, the commerial building that was not under monumental protection was torn down, and the rest of the complex is to be restored.
and 26.9% Catholic. The rest belonged to other faiths or adhered to none.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: Per pale argent a saltire couped sable and azure on ground vert a church of the first with roofs gules, the steeple to dexter and ensigned with a cross Or.
The arms were approved by ministerial decision in Munich in 1904 and go back to a seal from 1509. The church is a canting
charge
, referring to the municipality’s name, Kirchheim, Kirche being the German
word for “church”. The saltire
, or X-shaped cross, is a reference to Saint Andrew
, the parish church’s patron.
Saint Andrew’s Church – Kirchheim’s landmark is the Protestant
St.-Andreas-Kirche, which in the main has its roots in the Late Gothic
, although – especially in its tower – there have been Baroque
additions and expansions. Inside stands, along with the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne
from the Middle Ages
, one of the Palatinate’s oldest altars. In the Hartung organ
from 1750, which was restored by the firm Mönch (Überlingen) in 1993, the church has at its disposal an instrument with 24 stops.
Protestant Parish House – The Protestantisches Pfarrhaus next door is a Late Baroque building with hipped gables and parts in timber framing
; it dates from the late 18th century.
Friedrich-Diffiné-Haus – The Friedrich-Diffiné-Haus building complex across the street from Saint Andrew’s consists of a Baroque building with a Mansard roof from 1732/1737 and a Classicist
outbuilding from 1844. It serves as a village community centre. Moreover, it also accommodates the Volkshochschule Kirchheim-Bissersheim (folk high school
).
Worms Monastery Estate – The Wormsischer Klosterhof, whose name refers to the old Prince-Bishopric of Worms, is a three-sided estate with a Renaissance
stair tower; it has been witnessed since 1617.
Old Town Hall – The Altes Rathaus exhibits decorative timber framing
with motifs from the Gothic
and the Renaissance; it had documentary mentions in 1574 and 1595.
Schoolhouse – The Schulhaus to the west, next door to the Friedrich-Diffiné-Haus was built in 1903 and 1904 to plans drawn up by Mannheim
architect Albert Friedrich Speer (Nazi architect Albert Speer
’s father) as a late historical plaster building. It nowadays houses the local primary school.
Eckbach mills – Along the Eckbach runs the Eckbach Mills Cycling and Hiking Path. On the brook, many mills were once run; within municipal limits, the Kandelmühle (or Oligmühle), the Eselsmühle (“Ass’s Mill”) and the Gräfliche Leininger Mühle (“Comital Leiningen Mill”) are still more or less well preserved. The last was originally called the Kochsche Mühle; its customary name owes itself to its ownership history. In 1751 and 1752 it was owned by Countess Christiane Wilhelmine zu Leiningen, whom Carl Friedrich Wilhelm zu Leiningen
, the first Leiningen to be raised to prince, had married in 1749.
Through the municipality runs the Marathon Deutsche Weinstraße (German Wine Route Marathon
), which since 1998 has been held every other year.
. Kirchheim is hometown to the 2005-2006 German Wine Queen Sylvia Benzinger.
–Grünstadt
–Monsheim
railway line runs through the municipality. The halt at the former railway station is served by scheduled Regionalbahn
trains. Local public transport is integrated into the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar
(VRN), whose fares apply.
The municipality lies 2 km south of the Autobahn A 6
(Saarbrücken
–Mannheim
), which can be reached through the Grünstadt interchange
. Bundesstraße
271 (Bad Dürkheim–Monsheim), here identical to the German Wine Route, currently still runs through the middle of Kirchheim and across a railway crossing secured with half-barriers; Kleinkarlbacher Straße also has such a crossing.
The building of a local bypass for the B 271 is in the planning stages. The bypass has been sought by the inhabitants for several decades. A citizen whose household sustained damage in an accident recommends such a “detour” with a sign posted on his outer wall ironically asking drivers to turn.
Within the municipality there is disagreement over the advantages and disadvantages of a “west road” and an “east road”. The east road would come cheaper because the stretch between Neustadt an der Weinstraße
and Bad Dürkheim has already been built and Kirchheim’s neighbouring municipalities are likewise planning such a thing. Furthermore, it would lead through reasonably priced cropland. The west road, which is favoured by a majority of citizens, would swallow up valuable vineyard lands, and it would also be necessary to build crossings and bridges to deal with both the B 271 and the railway line.
In February 2009, after a process lasting six years, the Landesbetrieb Mobilität in Speyer
, released a decision to confirm plans that stipulate the west bypass. At the time of the decision, it was reckoned that it would cost €16,400,000 and that, going by 2005 figures, it would handle 13,000 vehicles every day, 11,000 of which would be diverted from the municipal thoroughfare.
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 Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim (district)
Bad Dürkheim is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Kaiserslautern, Donnersbergkreis and Alzey-Worms, the city of Worms, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, the city of Neustadt/Weinstraße, the districts of Südliche Weinstraße, the city of Landau , 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
The municipality lies in the northwest of the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration. It sits at an elevation of just under 150 m above sea levelSea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
near the north end of the German Wine Route. To the west rises the Haardt at the Palatinate Forest’s eastern edge, and to the east stretches the Upper Rhine Plain
Upper Rhine Plain
The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben is a major rift, straddling the border between France and Germany. It forms part of the European Cenozoic Rift System, which extends across central Europe...
. Through the municipality, from west to east, flows the Eckbach
Eckbach
TheEckbach is a river in the northeastern Palatinate and the southeastern Rhenish Hesse...
, regionally known as die Eck. Kirchheim an der Weinstraße belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land
Grünstadt-Land
Grünstadt-Land is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Bad Dürkheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the north-eastern edge of the Palatinate forest...
, whose seat is in Grünstadt
Grünstadt
Grünstadt is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with roughly 13,200 inhabitants. It does not belong to any Verbandsgemeinde – a kind of collective municipality – but is nonetheless the administrative seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land.- Location :The...
, although that town is itself not in the Verbandsgemeinde.
Neighbouring municipalities
Clockwise from the north, these are the town of GrünstadtGrünstadt
Grünstadt is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with roughly 13,200 inhabitants. It does not belong to any Verbandsgemeinde – a kind of collective municipality – but is nonetheless the administrative seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land.- Location :The...
and the villages of Bissersheim
Bissersheim
Bissersheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
, Herxheim am Berg
Herxheim am Berg
Herxheim am Berg is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
and Kleinkarlbach
Kleinkarlbach
Kleinkarlbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
.
History
Down on the Eckbach floodplain lay the municipality’s beginnings. It was here that the seeds were sown that grew into the village on the Eckbach’s right (south) bank, spreading up from there. On the other hand, archaeologicalArchaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
finds make it clear that this place was settled as early as the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
.
Until 1952, the village’s name was Kirchheim an der Eck and it belonged to the district of Frankenthal, until this was abolished in 1969. After Kirchheim’s reassignment to the new district of Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim (district)
Bad Dürkheim is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Kaiserslautern, Donnersbergkreis and Alzey-Worms, the city of Worms, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, the city of Neustadt/Weinstraße, the districts of Südliche Weinstraße, the city of Landau , the district...
had been completed that same year, it was also assigned in 1972 to the likewise newly formed Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land
Grünstadt-Land
Grünstadt-Land is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Bad Dürkheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the north-eastern edge of the Palatinate forest...
.
In 2006, the National Democratic Party of Germany
National Democratic Party of Germany
The National Democratic Party of Germany – The People's Union , is a far right German nationalist party. It was founded in 1964 a successor to the German Reich Party . Party statements self-identify as Germany's "only significant patriotic force"...
(NPD) tried to open an advanced training centre in Kirchheim. To this end, the former Gräfliche Leininger Mühle (“Comital Leiningen Mill”), whose commercial building had for quite some time served as an inn, was to be acquired and converted. The attempt at acquisition, however, failed because the Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land caused it to be put under monumental protection
Cultural Heritage Management
Cultural heritage management is the vocation and practice of managing cultural heritage. It is a branch of cultural resources management , although it also draws on the practices of conservation, restoration, museology, archaeology, history and architecture...
, with the attendant ban on any modification thereto. On the night of 13 and 14 May 2006, the building was heavily damaged by an unexplained act of arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
. Suspected as perpetrators were, on the one hand, militant NPD opponents, and on the other, the party itself, wanting to push the purchase price down. In early 2009, the commerial building that was not under monumental protection was torn down, and the rest of the complex is to be restored.
Religion
In 2007, 45.9% of the inhabitants were EvangelicalEvangelical Church in Germany
The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
and 26.9% Catholic. The rest belonged to other faiths or adhered to none.
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 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
| SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
CDU | FWG Free Voters Free Voters is a German concept in which an association of persons participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it is a locally organized group of voters in the form of a registered association . In most cases, Free Voters are active only at the... |
KL Free Voters Free Voters is a German concept in which an association of persons participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it is a locally organized group of voters in the form of a registered association . In most cases, Free Voters are active only at the... |
Total | |
| 2009 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 16 seats |
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Von Silber und Blau gespalten, rechts ein schwarzes Andreaskreuz, links auf grünem Grund eine rotgedeckte silberne Kirche mit goldenem Kreuz.The municipality’s arms
Coat 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 in English heraldic
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
language be described thus: Per pale argent a saltire couped sable and azure on ground vert a church of the first with roofs gules, the steeple to dexter and ensigned with a cross Or.
The arms were approved by ministerial decision in Munich in 1904 and go back to a seal from 1509. The church is a canting
Canting arms
Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name in a visual pun or rebus. The term cant came into the English language from Anglo-Norman cant, meaning song or singing, from Latin cantāre, and English cognates include canticle, chant, accent, incantation and recant.Canting arms –...
charge
Charge (heraldry)
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...
, referring to the municipality’s name, Kirchheim, Kirche being the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
word for “church”. The saltire
Saltire
A saltire, or Saint Andrew's Cross, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross or letter ex . Saint Andrew is said to have been martyred on such a cross....
, or X-shaped cross, is a reference to Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew , called in the Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter. The name "Andrew" , like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him...
, the parish church’s patron.
Buildings
The heart of the village, consisting of Hintergasse 2, Kleinkarlbacher Str. 2 and Weinstraße Nord 1–43, has been set aside as a monumental zone. For the municipal area as a whole, the directory of the Rhineland-Palatinate General Directorate for Cultural Heritage (Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe) lists 30 buildings or parts of buildings as worthy of protection. Among these are the following:Saint Andrew’s Church – Kirchheim’s landmark is the Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
St.-Andreas-Kirche, which in the main has its roots in the Late Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
, although – especially in its tower – there have been Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
additions and expansions. Inside stands, along with the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne
Anna selbdritt
Anna selbdritt, The Virgin and Child with St. Anne - is a subject in Christian art, showing Saint Anne with her daughter, the Virgin Mary, and her grandson Jesus. This type has been quite popular in Germany from the 14th century.-See also:...
from the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, one of the Palatinate’s oldest altars. In the Hartung organ
Organ (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...
from 1750, which was restored by the firm Mönch (Überlingen) in 1993, the church has at its disposal an instrument with 24 stops.
Protestant Parish House – The Protestantisches Pfarrhaus next door is a Late Baroque building with hipped gables and parts in timber framing
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
; it dates from the late 18th century.
Friedrich-Diffiné-Haus – The Friedrich-Diffiné-Haus building complex across the street from Saint Andrew’s consists of a Baroque building with a Mansard roof from 1732/1737 and a Classicist
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
outbuilding from 1844. It serves as a village community centre. Moreover, it also accommodates the Volkshochschule Kirchheim-Bissersheim (folk high school
Folk high school
Folk high schools are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal...
).
Worms Monastery Estate – The Wormsischer Klosterhof, whose name refers to the old Prince-Bishopric of Worms, is a three-sided estate with a Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
stair tower; it has been witnessed since 1617.
Old Town Hall – The Altes Rathaus exhibits decorative timber framing
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
with motifs from the Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
and the Renaissance; it had documentary mentions in 1574 and 1595.
Schoolhouse – The Schulhaus to the west, next door to the Friedrich-Diffiné-Haus was built in 1903 and 1904 to plans drawn up by Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
architect Albert Friedrich Speer (Nazi architect Albert Speer
Albert Speer
Albert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
’s father) as a late historical plaster building. It nowadays houses the local primary school.
Eckbach mills – Along the Eckbach runs the Eckbach Mills Cycling and Hiking Path. On the brook, many mills were once run; within municipal limits, the Kandelmühle (or Oligmühle), the Eselsmühle (“Ass’s Mill”) and the Gräfliche Leininger Mühle (“Comital Leiningen Mill”) are still more or less well preserved. The last was originally called the Kochsche Mühle; its customary name owes itself to its ownership history. In 1751 and 1752 it was owned by Countess Christiane Wilhelmine zu Leiningen, whom Carl Friedrich Wilhelm zu Leiningen
Carl Friedrich Wilhelm, 1st Prince of Leiningen
Carl Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Leiningen was a German nobleman.He was the eldest son of Friedrich Magnus, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg and his wife Countess Anna Christine Eleonore von Wurmbrand-Stuppach, and succeeded his father on the latter's death, 28 October 1756...
, the first Leiningen to be raised to prince, had married in 1749.
Graveyards
Likewise set aside as monumental zones are:- the municipal graveyard on Kleinkarlbacher Straße (laid out in 1835) with Classicist and historical grave painting done in the 19th and early 20th centuries;
- the Jewish graveyard on BundesstraßeBundesstraßeBundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
271 south of the boundary of the built-up area, which was in use from 1887 to 1962 and still has eight gravestones dating from between 1907 and 1918.
Regular events
A widely known local cultural highlight each year since 1990 has been the Kirchheimer Konzertwinter. At Saint Andrew’s Church six concerts are held from September to March, each with a thematic focus. At the fore stand chamber music works and, often, the rediscovery of forgotten composers. The concert series was founded and is led by bass-baritone and Bach Prize winner Dominik Wörner.Through the municipality runs the Marathon Deutsche Weinstraße (German Wine Route Marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
), which since 1998 has been held every other year.
Economy
The main economic factors are winegrowing and tourismTourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
. Kirchheim is hometown to the 2005-2006 German Wine Queen Sylvia Benzinger.
Transport
The single-track Bad DürkheimBad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration, and is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
–Grünstadt
Grünstadt
Grünstadt is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with roughly 13,200 inhabitants. It does not belong to any Verbandsgemeinde – a kind of collective municipality – but is nonetheless the administrative seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land.- Location :The...
–Monsheim
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.- Location :...
railway line runs through the municipality. The halt at the former railway station is served by scheduled Regionalbahn
RegionalBahn
The Regionalbahn is a type of local passenger train in Germany.-Service:Regionalbahn trains usually call at all stations on a given line, with the exception of RB trains within S-Bahn networks, these may only call at selected stations...
trains. Local public transport is integrated into the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar
Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar
Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar is a public transport network covering parts of the German states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse in south-west Germany...
(VRN), whose fares apply.
The municipality lies 2 km south of the Autobahn A 6
Bundesautobahn 6
, also known as Via Carolina is a 477 km long German autobahn. It starts at the French border near Saarbrücken in the west and end at the Czech border near Waidhaus in the east....
(Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
–Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
), which can be reached through the Grünstadt interchange
Interchange (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...
. Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
271 (Bad Dürkheim–Monsheim), here identical to the German Wine Route, currently still runs through the middle of Kirchheim and across a railway crossing secured with half-barriers; Kleinkarlbacher Straße also has such a crossing.
The building of a local bypass for the B 271 is in the planning stages. The bypass has been sought by the inhabitants for several decades. A citizen whose household sustained damage in an accident recommends such a “detour” with a sign posted on his outer wall ironically asking drivers to turn.
Within the municipality there is disagreement over the advantages and disadvantages of a “west road” and an “east road”. The east road would come cheaper because the stretch between Neustadt an der Weinstraße
Neustadt an der Weinstraße
Neustadt an der Weinstraße is a town located in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With 53,892 inhabitants as of 2002, it is the largest town called Neustadt.-Etymology:...
and Bad Dürkheim has already been built and Kirchheim’s neighbouring municipalities are likewise planning such a thing. Furthermore, it would lead through reasonably priced cropland. The west road, which is favoured by a majority of citizens, would swallow up valuable vineyard lands, and it would also be necessary to build crossings and bridges to deal with both the B 271 and the railway line.
In February 2009, after a process lasting six years, the Landesbetrieb Mobilität in Speyer
Speyer
Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
, released a decision to confirm plans that stipulate the west bypass. At the time of the decision, it was reckoned that it would cost €16,400,000 and that, going by 2005 figures, it would handle 13,000 vehicles every day, 11,000 of which would be diverted from the municipal thoroughfare.
Fire brigade
In early 2009 on Kleinkarlbacher Straße, a new fire station was brought into service that houses the “Kirchheim-Kleinkarlbach Firefighting Staging Post”. Because the driveway lies on a curve, a special traffic light had to be installed.Sons and daughters of the town
- Johann Friedrich Christian Hess (the Younger), Classicist architect
- Willi Jakobs, longtime mayor, local historian
Famous people associated with the municipality
- Sylvia Benzinger, German Wine Queen
- Johann Georg Christian Hess (the Elder), Classicist architect
- Dominik Wörner, founder and leader of the Kirchheimer Konzertwinter
Further reading
- Heinrich J. Keller und Willi Jakobs: Mein Heimatbuch: aus vergangenen und gegenwärtigen Tagen von Kirchheim an der Weinstraße. 3. Auflage, bearbeitet und ergänzt von Willi Jakobs. Gemeinde Kirchheim an der Weinstraße, Kirchheim 1992
- Willi Jakobs: Denkmal dunkler Zeiten. Friedhof und Synagoge der jüdischen Gemeinde Kirchheim. In: Heimatjahrbuch des Landkreises Bad Dürkheim, 15 (1997), S. 177–179, Bad Dürkheim 1996
External links
- Kirchheim an der Weinstraße in the collective municipality’s Web pages
- SWRSüdwestrundfunkThe Südwestrundfunk is a public broadcasting company for the southwest of Germany, specifically the states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The company has main offices in three cities: Stuttgart, Baden-Baden and Mainz, with the director's office being in Stuttgart. It is an...
, Hierzuland Rheinland-Pfalz: Kirchheim, Municipal portrait with video, 19 January 2003 - Hartung organ in Kirchheim an der Weinstraße
- Kirchheimer Konzertwinter
- Kirchheimer Weinwelt (“Wine World”)