Laumersheim
Encyclopedia
Laumersheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim
district in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
. It lies in the northwest of the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration.
.
, Dirmstein
in the northeast, Gerolsheim
in the southeast and Großkarlbach
in the southwest. Each lies roughly 2 km away and belongs, like Laumersheim, to the Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land
, whose seat is in Grünstadt
, although that town is itself not in the Verbandsgemeinde.
.
In 1364, Laumersheim was granted town rights by Emperor Charles IV
, but these it lost in 1422. However, when the place was raised to town, it was also fortified. The walls, however, are no longer to be seen now. They were thoroughly razed in 1525 in the German Peasants' War
and in 1689 by the French
in the Nine Years' War (known in Germany as the Pfälzischer Erbfolgekrieg, or War of the Palatine Succession). Only remnants of a moated castle from the 15th century belonging to the Lords of Flersheim are left now.
Until 1969, the municipality belonged to the district of Frankenthal, which was abolished that year, and Laumersheim was then assigned to the newly created district of Bad Dürkheim
. Three years later came the assignment to the likewise newly created Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land
.
and 27.7% Catholic. The rest belonged to other faiths or adhered to none.
In Laumersheim is found one of the Catholic and thereby denominational cemeteries in the Diocese of Speyer.
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 fess sable semée of crosses Or a key bendwise argent, the wards in chief and turned to base, and azure in dexter a mullet and in sinister a moon increscent of the second.
The arms were approved by the Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior in 1924 and go back to a seal from 1538, but this old seal had a different composition, bearing not only these three charge
s but also the Palatine Lion. The seal was also quarterly, that is, the field was divided both horizontally and vertically into four smaller fields. In 1705, the Palatine Lion was dropped from the seals when the Counts Palatine ceased to be landholders here and the Bishopric of Worms
took over completely. The key stands for the Bishopric, but the meaning of the mullet (star shape) and the moon is less clear. Possible explanations include religious symbols or court symbols. An image of the municipal seal showing the current composition is known from 1753.
The German blazon does not specify that the moon is to have a face. Parker only mentions a face in connection with a moon charge if the moon is shown full.
, only slightly higher up than the village, but with a broad view nonetheless) stands an eight-sided pilgrimage
chapel
built in 1722. In the windowless inside is found a Crucifixion
scene from the 18th century as well as copies of mediaeval
figures, whose originals are kept at the Historical Museum of the Palatinate (Historisches Museum der Pfalz) in Speyer
.
Bartholomäuskirche – Saint Bartholomew’s Catholic Church was once a branch parish of the village of Berghaselbach, which stood on the Palmberg, but later vanished. Still dating from Gothic
times is the tower with the quire; in the sacristy, wall paintings from the early 14th century are preserved. As well, three valuable wooden figures from 1520 have survived to the present day. The nave was newly built in 1719, after the village, together with the church, was set on fire in 1689 by French
troops in the Nine Years' War.
Mills – Once run on the Eckbach were the Weidenmühle (“Willow Mill”) and the Hornungsmühle. The Eckbach Mill Cycling and Hiking Path (Eckbachmühlen-Rad- und Wanderweg) runs on a slight slope along the brook through the village.
area, Laumersheim is first and foremost a residential community; there is no industry here.
Agriculture
is strongly characterized by winegrowing. Above all, good red wines from the municipality (for instance Pinot noir
and St. Laurent
), which are often aged in oaken casks, are shipped throughout Germany. A prized vineyard is the Kapellenberg, whose 32.8 ha lie mostly on the Palmberg. After this hill, the local winemakers’ coöperative has named itself. There and in the other vineyards of Kirschgarten (43.8 ha) and Mandelberg (51 ha), wines rich in body with distinctive fruity aromas thrive on mostly sandy soils.
With some 40 ha given over to fruitgrowing, 80% of it for eating apples, Laumersheim also claims an important share of the regional fruit production.
and Grünstadt
beside the Autobahn A 6
(Mannheim–Saarbrücken
). It does not, however, have its own Autobahn interchange
. The one in Grünstadt is 5 km away. Running through the municipality is Landesstraße (State Road) 455 (Dirmstein–Freinsheim).
For almost half a century, from 1891 to 1939, the municipality enjoyed the service of the Lokalbahn, a single-track narrow-gauge
(1000 mm) railway. This ran from Frankenthal railway station, where there was a connection with the Reichsbahn, westwards to Großkarlbach.
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...
. It lies in the northwest of the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration.
Location
The municipality lies in the historical Leiningerland (the lands once held by the Counts of Leiningen) on the Eckbach valley floodplain. The landscape is characterized by a hilly transitional zone between low mountains and plain; to the west rises the Haardt at the Palatinate Forest’s eastern edge, and in the east stretches the Upper Rhine PlainUpper 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...
.
Neighbouring municipalities
Clockwise from the northwest, these are ObersülzenObersülzen
Obersülzen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Dirmstein
Dirmstein
Dirmstein is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
in the northeast, Gerolsheim
Gerolsheim
Gerolsheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
in the southeast and Großkarlbach
Großkarlbach
Großkarlbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
in the southwest. Each lies roughly 2 km away and belongs, like Laumersheim, 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.
History
In the late 8th century, Laumersheim had its first documentary mention as Liutmarsheim. In 1155, the village passed to the Counts Palatine, who at that time were of the House of Hohenstaufen, who then enfeoffed the Counts of Leiningen with it. From 1255, the Lords of Lumersheim are witnessed. Moreover, title was held over time by the Lords of Randeck, the Lords of Löwenstein, the Lords of Flersheim, Electoral Palatinate and the Prince-Bishopric of WormsBishopric of Worms
The Bishopric of Worms was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Located on both banks of the Rhine around Worms just north of the union of that river with the Neckar, it was largely surrounded by the Palatinate. Worms had been the seat of a bishop from Roman times...
.
In 1364, Laumersheim was granted town rights by Emperor Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
, but these it lost in 1422. However, when the place was raised to town, it was also fortified. The walls, however, are no longer to be seen now. They were thoroughly razed in 1525 in the German Peasants' War
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt was a widespread popular revolt in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe, 1524–1526. At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict involved an estimated 300,000 peasants: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000...
and in 1689 by the French
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...
in the Nine Years' War (known in Germany as the Pfälzischer Erbfolgekrieg, or War of the Palatine Succession). Only remnants of a moated castle from the 15th century belonging to the Lords of Flersheim are left now.
Until 1969, the municipality belonged to the district of Frankenthal, which was abolished that year, and Laumersheim was then assigned to the newly created 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...
. Three years later came the assignment to the likewise newly created 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...
.
Religion
In 2007, 49.2% 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 27.7% Catholic. The rest belonged to other faiths or adhered to none.
In Laumersheim is found one of the Catholic and thereby denominational cemeteries in the Diocese of Speyer.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 12 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... |
Total | |
| 2009 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 12 seats |
| 2004 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 12 seats |
Mayor
The mayor is Thomas Diehl (SPD), who was elected in a direct vote for five-year terms in both 2004 and 2009.Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Geteilt, oben in schwarzem, mit goldenem Kreuzchen besätem Feld ein mit abwärts gekehrtem Bart schrägrechts liegender silberner Schlüssel, unten in Blau rechts ein sechsstrahliger goldener Stern, links ein zunehmender goldener Halbmond.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 fess sable semée of crosses Or a key bendwise argent, the wards in chief and turned to base, and azure in dexter a mullet and in sinister a moon increscent of the second.
The arms were approved by the Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior in 1924 and go back to a seal from 1538, but this old seal had a different composition, bearing not only these three 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...
s but also the Palatine Lion. The seal was also quarterly, that is, the field was divided both horizontally and vertically into four smaller fields. In 1705, the Palatine Lion was dropped from the seals when the Counts Palatine ceased to be landholders here and the Bishopric of Worms
Bishopric of Worms
The Bishopric of Worms was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Located on both banks of the Rhine around Worms just north of the union of that river with the Neckar, it was largely surrounded by the Palatinate. Worms had been the seat of a bishop from Roman times...
took over completely. The key stands for the Bishopric, but the meaning of the mullet (star shape) and the moon is less clear. Possible explanations include religious symbols or court symbols. An image of the municipal seal showing the current composition is known from 1753.
The German blazon does not specify that the moon is to have a face. Parker only mentions a face in connection with a moon charge if the moon is shown full.
Buildings
Pilgrimage chapel – South of Laumersheim, on the Palmberg (126 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...
, only slightly higher up than the village, but with a broad view nonetheless) stands an eight-sided pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
built in 1722. In the windowless inside is found a Crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
scene from the 18th century as well as copies of mediaeval
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...
figures, whose originals are kept at the Historical Museum of the Palatinate (Historisches Museum der Pfalz) 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...
.
Bartholomäuskirche – Saint Bartholomew’s Catholic Church was once a branch parish of the village of Berghaselbach, which stood on the Palmberg, but later vanished. Still dating from 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....
times is the tower with the quire; in the sacristy, wall paintings from the early 14th century are preserved. As well, three valuable wooden figures from 1520 have survived to the present day. The nave was newly built in 1719, after the village, together with the church, was set on fire in 1689 by French
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...
troops in the Nine Years' War.
Mills – Once run on the Eckbach were the Weidenmühle (“Willow Mill”) and the Hornungsmühle. The Eckbach Mill Cycling and Hiking Path (Eckbachmühlen-Rad- und Wanderweg) runs on a slight slope along the brook through the village.
Economy
For many inhabitants who commute to jobs 25 to 30 km away in the Ludwigshafen/MannheimMannheim
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....
area, Laumersheim is first and foremost a residential community; there is no industry here.
Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
is strongly characterized by winegrowing. Above all, good red wines from the municipality (for instance Pinot noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
and St. Laurent
St. Laurent (grape)
St. Laurent is a highly aromatic dark-skinned wine grape variety of the same family as Pinot Noir, originating in France....
), which are often aged in oaken casks, are shipped throughout Germany. A prized vineyard is the Kapellenberg, whose 32.8 ha lie mostly on the Palmberg. After this hill, the local winemakers’ coöperative has named itself. There and in the other vineyards of Kirschgarten (43.8 ha) and Mandelberg (51 ha), wines rich in body with distinctive fruity aromas thrive on mostly sandy soils.
With some 40 ha given over to fruitgrowing, 80% of it for eating apples, Laumersheim also claims an important share of the regional fruit production.
Transport
Laumersheim lies between FrankenthalFrankenthal
Frankenthal is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.- History :Frankenthal was first mentioned in 772. In 1119 an Augustinian monastery was built here, the ruins of which — known, after the founder, as the Erkenbertruine — still stand today in the town...
and 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...
beside 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....
(Mannheim–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....
). It does not, however, have its own Autobahn 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...
. The one in Grünstadt is 5 km away. Running through the municipality is Landesstraße (State Road) 455 (Dirmstein–Freinsheim).
For almost half a century, from 1891 to 1939, the municipality enjoyed the service of the Lokalbahn, a single-track narrow-gauge
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
(1000 mm) railway. This ran from Frankenthal railway station, where there was a connection with the Reichsbahn, westwards to Großkarlbach.
Famous people
- Johann Christian Eberle (1869–1937), “Father” of the savings and giroGiroA Giro or giro transfer is a payment transfer from one bank account to another bank account and instigated by the payer, not the payee...
industry, was born in Laumersheim. - Felix HellFelix HellFelix Hell is a world renowned organist born on September 14, 1985 in Frankenthal/Pfalz, Germany. He was a child prodigy, performing his first organ recital in Russia at the age of nine, and presenting concerts on the organ in many countries around the world before his 11th...
(1985– ), 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...
virtuoso, grew up in Laumersheim.
External links
- Laumersheim in the collective municipality’s Web pages
- Municipality’s official webpage
- 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: Laumersheim, Local portrait with video, 29 March 2004