Schwabenheim an der Selz
Encyclopedia
Schwabenheim an der Selz is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen
district in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
.
on the east bank of the Selz.
with its outlying centre of Groß-Winternheim, the Verbandsgemeinde of Heidesheim am Rhein
, Stadecken-Elsheim
in the Verbandsgemeinde of Nieder-Olm
and Bubenheim
in the Verbandsgemeinde of Gau-Algesheim
.
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|766
| Schwabenheim had its first documentary mention in 766 as Suaboheim in the Lorsch Annals. Moreover, a Suaboheim in the Wormsgau (a mediaeval
Worms
-based county) crops up in documents from Fulda, although it is unclear whether it means this Schwabenheim or the Pfaffen-Schwabenheim
in the Verbandsgemeinde of Bad Kreuznach.
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|962
| Emperor Otto I
confirmed Saint Maximin’s Abbey’s
(near Trier
) rights and holdings in various places in Rhenish Hesse, among them Suaveheim.
|- valign="top"
|1280
| Schwabenheim was mentioned by Emperor Rudolph of Habsburg
.
|- valign="top"
|1305
| Louis the Bavarian
pledged the village to the Archbishop of Mainz.
|- valign="top"
|1367
| For a loan of 11,000 Gulden
the village was pledged to Electoral Palatinate to finance a trip to Rome
.
|- valign="top"
|1375
| Through pledges the village had many owners, such as the Archbishopric of Mainz
, the City of Mainz
and finally, beginning in 1375, the Elector of the Palatinate. The placing under the Emperor’s immediate power, which was greatly desired, can still be seen today in the coat of arms
, which bears as a charge
the two-headed Imperial Eagle. Schwabenheim was only formally admitted to the circle of Imperial villages, which were not subject to serfdom
or compulsory labour and which enjoyed free hunting and fishing, in 1443.
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|1507
| The village passed after repeated pledgings and redemptions at last to Electoral Palatinate, Oberamt of Oppenheim, with which it stayed until the French Revolution
.
|- valign="top"
|1556
| Supported by the Electors of the Palatinate, the Reformation
was also introduced into Schwabenheim in 1556. Thereafter the parish changed its denominational allegiance nine times, being led at various times by Lutheran
, Reformed
or Catholic clergymen until in 1705, through the great “Palatine Church Division”, it was split between the Catholic and Reformed churches.
|- valign="top"
|1693
| The Benedictine
monks at St. Maximin’s Abbey in Trier took over pastoral care in the parish of Schwabenheim themselves in 1693 and led it until 1708 from the provost’s residence. The Thirty Years' War
left in its wake in Schwabenheim, as elsewhere, its dreadful aftermath.
|- valign="top"
|1796
| A sharp turn in the local history came when the French Revolution
ary army thronged into the land. After a first occupation in 1792, the market town of Schwabenheim suffered a destructive blow in 1796 when the place was set afire. Until 1815, Schwabenheim lay under French
administration. In this time also came Schwabenheim’s first industry, a sugar
factory, although this – along with the vinegar factory established in 1880, a glass factory and a gum and celluloid factory – was shut down later. The population’s occupational makeup is today mixed. Besides the farmers and winegrowers, there is a great number of workers who commute to jobs at surrounding industrial works to earn their living.
|- valign="top"
|1904 – 1955
| During this time, the Selztalbahn (railway) was run by the South German Railway Company
(Süddeutsche Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft). In colloquial speech, this was sometimes called Zuckerlottche or Luische for the cargo that it so often hauled – sugar beet
s.
|- valign="top"
|1921
| The Schwabenheim synagogue
at Bachstrasse 4 was sold and the Jewish community was dissolved.>
In terms of sovereignty, Schwabenheim belonged as an Imperial Village with Imperial immediacy to the Ingelheimer Grund
might be described thus: Per pale Or and sable a double-headed Imperial Eagle displayed counterchanged armed, beaked and langued gules.
The double-headed eagle
motif seen in today’s arms goes back to a 15th-century court seal and a municipal seal from 1531. Both these seals showed a one-headed eagle, however. The eagle stood for Schwabenheim’s – then still known as Sauer-Schwabenheim – membership among the Imperial Villages of the Ingelheimer Grund that passed in 1407 to Electoral Palatinate. From 1761, the double-headed Imperial Eagle is seen in the seal. Given that the Grand Duchy of Hesse
took over Schwabenheim in 1816, and that the National Socialists seized power in 1933, Schwabenheim’s arms have been changed a few times. After the Second World War, the municipality bore the old Electoral Palatinate arms. This escutcheon, however, satisfied nobody. The unanimous opinion was that the Imperial Eagle belonged back in the arms. At two Wiesbaden
state archive councillors’ suggestion in 1983, arms that were party per pale (that is, split down the middle), gold on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side and black on the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side with the double-headed Imperial Eagle “counterchanged” (that is, on each side taking the tincture
of the field on the other side; this is called in verwechselten Farben – in changed colours – in German
) were put forth for approval and later the same year, the approval was granted.
, Côte-d'Or
, France
since 1966 Schmerbach
, Gotha district
, Thuringia
since 1991 Minerbe
, Province of Verona
, Veneto
, Italy
since 2001
.
, the former provost’s residence from the 17th century and the Town Hall built in 1742.
. Dominating this field, as it does throughout Rhenish Hesse, is winegrowing with a cultivated vineyard area of 180 ha. In the Kaiserpfalz wine region, the municipality has a share of the Klostergarten, Schlossberg and Sonnenberg vineyards.
Some 25 companies marketing bottled wine make wine of all quality classifications. Besides the standard varieties Silvaner
and Müller-Thurgau
, newer varieties such as Scheurebe
, Faberrebe
, Bacchus and Kerner
, among others, are grown. Red wine, too – Blauer Portugieser
and Pinot noir
– is made. Crops of almost all kinds of pomaceous and stone fruits and asparagus
fill out the picture of this fruitful hilly landscape.
On the old monastery grounds, Intervet Innovation GmbH, a daughter company of Schering-Plough
, has established itself. Intervet runs a global research and development centre there for veterinary products with the emphasis on antibiotic
s and antiparasitics employing 230 workers in Schwabenheim.
(state road) 428. The A 60 and A 63
autobahns can be reached by car in 10 to 20 minutes.
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
The municipality lies in the north of Rhenish Hesse, south of IngelheimIngelheim am Rhein
Ingelheim am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany on the Rhine’s west bank. The town calls itself the Rotweinstadt and since 1996 it has been Mainz-Bingen’s district seat....
on the east bank of the Selz.
Neighbouring municipalities
Clockwise from the north, these are Ingelheim am RheinIngelheim am Rhein
Ingelheim am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany on the Rhine’s west bank. The town calls itself the Rotweinstadt and since 1996 it has been Mainz-Bingen’s district seat....
with its outlying centre of Groß-Winternheim, the Verbandsgemeinde of Heidesheim am Rhein
Heidesheim am Rhein (Verbandsgemeinde)
Heidesheim am Rhein is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Mainz-Bingen in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Heidesheim am Rhein....
, Stadecken-Elsheim
Stadecken-Elsheim
Stadecken-Elsheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-Location:...
in the Verbandsgemeinde of Nieder-Olm
Nieder-Olm (Verbandsgemeinde)
Verbandsgemeinde Nieder-Olm is a collective municipality in the district Mainz-Bingen in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The administrative center of the Verbandsgemeinde Nieder-Olm is located in the town of Nieder-Olm...
and Bubenheim
Bubenheim, Mainz-Bingen
Bubenheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-Location:...
in the Verbandsgemeinde of Gau-Algesheim
Gau-Algesheim (Verbandsgemeinde)
Gau-Algesheim is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Mainz-Bingen in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Gau-Algesheim....
.
History
|766
| Schwabenheim had its first documentary mention in 766 as Suaboheim in the Lorsch Annals. Moreover, a Suaboheim in the Wormsgau (a 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...
Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
-based county) crops up in documents from Fulda, although it is unclear whether it means this Schwabenheim or the Pfaffen-Schwabenheim
Pfaffen-Schwabenheim
Pfaffen-Schwabenheim is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany....
in the Verbandsgemeinde of Bad Kreuznach.
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|962
| Emperor Otto I
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
confirmed Saint Maximin’s Abbey’s
St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier
St. Maximin's Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Trier in the Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-History:The abbey, traditionally considered one of the oldest monasteries in western Europe, was held to have been founded by Saint Maximin of Trier in the 4th century. Maximin St. Maximin's Abbey was a...
(near Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
) rights and holdings in various places in Rhenish Hesse, among them Suaveheim.
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|1280
| Schwabenheim was mentioned by Emperor Rudolph of Habsburg
Rudolph I of Germany
Rudolph I was King of the Romans from 1273 until his death. He played a vital role in raising the Habsburg dynasty to a leading position among the Imperial feudal dynasties...
.
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|1305
| Louis the Bavarian
Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Louis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....
pledged the village to the Archbishop of Mainz.
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|1367
| For a loan of 11,000 Gulden
Gulden
Gulden is the historical German term for gold coin Gulden is the historical German term for gold coin Gulden is the historical German term for gold coin (from Middle High German guldin [pfenni(n)c] "golden penny", equivalent to the Dutch term guilder...
the village was pledged to Electoral Palatinate to finance a trip to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
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|1375
| Through pledges the village had many owners, such as the Archbishopric of Mainz
Archbishopric of Mainz
The Archbishopric of Mainz or Electorate of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire between 780–82 and 1802. In the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae, the substitute of the Pope north of the Alps...
, the City of Mainz
Mainz
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...
and finally, beginning in 1375, the Elector of the Palatinate. The placing under the Emperor’s immediate power, which was greatly desired, can still be seen today in the coat of 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...
, which bears as a 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...
the two-headed Imperial Eagle. Schwabenheim was only formally admitted to the circle of Imperial villages, which were not subject to serfdom
Serfdom
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...
or compulsory labour and which enjoyed free hunting and fishing, in 1443.
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|1507
| The village passed after repeated pledgings and redemptions at last to Electoral Palatinate, Oberamt of Oppenheim, with which it stayed until the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
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|1556
| Supported by the Electors of the Palatinate, the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
was also introduced into Schwabenheim in 1556. Thereafter the parish changed its denominational allegiance nine times, being led at various times by Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
, Reformed
Reformed churches
The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations characterized by Calvinist doctrines. They are descended from the Swiss Reformation inaugurated by Huldrych Zwingli but developed more coherently by Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger and especially John Calvin...
or Catholic clergymen until in 1705, through the great “Palatine Church Division”, it was split between the Catholic and Reformed churches.
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|1693
| The Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monks at St. Maximin’s Abbey in Trier took over pastoral care in the parish of Schwabenheim themselves in 1693 and led it until 1708 from the provost’s residence. The Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
left in its wake in Schwabenheim, as elsewhere, its dreadful aftermath.
|- valign="top"
|1796
| A sharp turn in the local history came when the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
ary army thronged into the land. After a first occupation in 1792, the market town of Schwabenheim suffered a destructive blow in 1796 when the place was set afire. Until 1815, Schwabenheim lay under 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...
administration. In this time also came Schwabenheim’s first industry, a sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
factory, although this – along with the vinegar factory established in 1880, a glass factory and a gum and celluloid factory – was shut down later. The population’s occupational makeup is today mixed. Besides the farmers and winegrowers, there is a great number of workers who commute to jobs at surrounding industrial works to earn their living.
|- valign="top"
|1904 – 1955
| During this time, the Selztalbahn (railway) was run by the South German Railway Company
South German Railway Company
The South German Railway Company or SEG was founded on 11 February 1895, in Darmstadt by the railway entrepreneur, Herrmann Bachstein, and several bank managers.- The SEG as the Bachstein Railway :...
(Süddeutsche Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft). In colloquial speech, this was sometimes called Zuckerlottche or Luische for the cargo that it so often hauled – sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
s.
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|1921
| The Schwabenheim synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
at Bachstrasse 4 was sold and the Jewish community was dissolved.>
Origin of the name Schwabenheim
- 11th century: From this time come documents that are known to refer to Schwabenheim. From this time forth, the place has been mentioned by the following names:
- 1023 – Suabheim
- 1051 – Suaveheim
- 1140 – Suapeheim
- 1200 – Suosabenheim
- 1328 – Suabeheim
- 1339 – Schwabeheim
- 1424 – Schwabneheim
- 1502 – Surschwabenheim, Sauerschwabenheim
- 1904 – Beginning in this year, the place is called Schwabenheim an der Selz.
In terms of sovereignty, Schwabenheim belonged as an Imperial Village with Imperial immediacy to the Ingelheimer Grund
Court
As part of the Ingelheimer Grund, Schwabenheim had its own local court on which sat the Ortsschultheiß (roughly “reeve”) and eight Schöffen (roughly “lay jurists”).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 pale Or and sable a double-headed Imperial Eagle displayed counterchanged armed, beaked and langued gules.
Double-headed eagle
The double-headed eagle is a common symbol in heraldry and vexillology. It is most commonly associated with the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire. In Byzantine heraldry, the heads represent the dual sovereignty of the Emperor and/or dominance of the Byzantine Emperors over both East and...
motif seen in today’s arms goes back to a 15th-century court seal and a municipal seal from 1531. Both these seals showed a one-headed eagle, however. The eagle stood for Schwabenheim’s – then still known as Sauer-Schwabenheim – membership among the Imperial Villages of the Ingelheimer Grund that passed in 1407 to Electoral Palatinate. From 1761, the double-headed Imperial Eagle is seen in the seal. Given that the Grand Duchy of Hesse
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine , or, between 1806 and 1816, Grand Duchy of Hesse —as it was also known after 1816—was a member state of the German Confederation from 1806, when the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to a Grand Duchy, until 1918, when all the German...
took over Schwabenheim in 1816, and that the National Socialists seized power in 1933, Schwabenheim’s arms have been changed a few times. After the Second World War, the municipality bore the old Electoral Palatinate arms. This escutcheon, however, satisfied nobody. The unanimous opinion was that the Imperial Eagle belonged back in the arms. At two 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...
state archive councillors’ suggestion in 1983, arms that were party per pale (that is, split down the middle), gold on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side and black on the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side with the double-headed Imperial Eagle “counterchanged” (that is, on each side taking the tincture
Tincture (heraldry)
In heraldry, tinctures are the colours used to emblazon a coat of arms. These can be divided into several categories including light tinctures called metals, dark tinctures called colours, nonstandard colours called stains, furs, and "proper". A charge tinctured proper is coloured as it would be...
of the field on the other side; this is called in verwechselten Farben – in changed colours – in 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....
) were put forth for approval and later the same year, the approval was granted.
Former coats of arms
The municipality’s oldest coat of arms bore an Imperial Eagle on a golden field. In 1742, this was replaced with the arms borne by Elector Karl Philipp of the Palatinate. The double-headed Imperial Eagle is witnessed in the municipal seal beginning in 1761.Town partnerships
Chambolle-MusignyChambolle-Musigny
Chambolle-Musigny is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.It is one of the wine villages situated on the Côte-d'Or escarpment, and is one of the twelve Cote d'Or communes of France which added/adopted the name of their most well-known vineyard as a suffix to the original name of...
, 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 1966 Schmerbach
Emsetal
Emsetal is a municipality in the district of Gotha, in Thuringia, Germany.The Kilianstein is an unusual rock pinnacle in the municipality that is sometimes used by climbers. It is 800 m east of the village of Winterstein....
, Gotha district
Gotha (district)
Gotha is a Kreis in the middle of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Unstrut-Hainich, Sömmerda, the district-free city Erfurt, Ilm-Kreis, Schmalkalden-Meiningen and the Wartburgkreis.-History:...
, Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
since 1991 Minerbe
Minerbe
Minerbe is a comune in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 80 km west of Venice and about 35 km southeast of Verona.-External links:*...
, Province of Verona
Province of Verona
The Province of Verona is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Verona.-Overview:The province has an area of 3,109 km², and a total population of 912,981...
, Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
since 2001
Natural monuments
Northeast of the village of Schwabenheim is a hiking loop through the Pfauengrund protected areaProtected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
.
Gastronomy
Long established inns can be found in the lordly estates from the 18th century around the marketplace with its market fountain.Buildings
Furthermore, Schwabenheim has other things worth seeing, like the Irish-Scottish Church with its Carolingian lintel and ViergöttersteinJupiter Column
A Jupiter Column is an archaeological monument belonging to a type widespread in Roman Germania. Such pillars express the religious beliefs of their time. They were erected in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, mostly near Roman settlements or villas in the Germanic provinces...
, the former provost’s residence from the 17th century and the Town Hall built in 1742.
Regular events
- On the last weekend in August is the Backesgassefest (“Bakehouse Lane Festival”) on Backhausstrasse.
- On the third weekend in September is the Schwabenheimer Markt at the marketplace.
- On the first weekend in Advent is the Christmas Market at the marketplace.
Economy and infrastructure
Schwabenheim is strongly characterized by agricultureAgriculture
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...
. Dominating this field, as it does throughout Rhenish Hesse, is winegrowing with a cultivated vineyard area of 180 ha. In the Kaiserpfalz wine region, the municipality has a share of the Klostergarten, Schlossberg and Sonnenberg vineyards.
Some 25 companies marketing bottled wine make wine of all quality classifications. Besides the standard varieties Silvaner
Silvaner
Sylvaner or Silvaner is a variety of white wine grape grown primarily in Alsace and Germany, where its official name is Grüner Silvaner. In Germany it is best known as a component of Liebfraumilch and production boomed in the 1970s to the detriment of quality, but it has long enjoyed a better...
and Müller-Thurgau
Müller-Thurgau
Müller-Thurgau is a variety of white grape which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882. It is a crossing of Riesling with Madeleine Royale. It is used to make white wine in Germany, Austria, Northern Italy, Hungary, England, in Australia, Czech Republic, Slovakia,...
, newer varieties such as Scheurebe
Scheurebe
Scheurebe or Sämling 88 is a white wine grape variety. It is primarily grown in Germany and Austria, where it often is called Sämling 88 , and some parts of the New World...
, Faberrebe
Faberrebe
Faberrebe or Faber is a grape variety used for white wine. It was created in 1929 by Georg Scheu at the Landesanstalt für Rebenzüchtung in Alzey and was released with varietal protection in 1967. Scheu created Faberrebe by crossing Pinot Blanc and Müller-Thurgau...
, Bacchus and Kerner
Kerner (grape)
The Kerner grape is an aromatic white grape variety. It was bred in 1929 by August Herold by crossing Trollinger and Riesling. Herold was working at a plant breeding station in Lauffen in the Württemberg region of Germany. This station belonged to a state breeding institute headquartered in...
, among others, are grown. Red wine, too – Blauer Portugieser
Blauer Portugieser
Blauer Portugieser is a red Austrian and German wine grape found primarily in the Rheinhessen, Pfalz and wine regions of Lower Austria. It is also one of the permitted grapes in the Hungarian wine Egri Bikavér . In Germany, the cultivated area covered or 4.5% of the total vineyard area in 2007...
and 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...
– is made. Crops of almost all kinds of pomaceous and stone fruits and asparagus
Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis is a spring vegetable, a flowering perennialplant species in the genus Asparagus. It was once classified in the lily family, like its Allium cousins, onions and garlic, but the Liliaceae have been split and the onion-like plants are now in the family Amaryllidaceae and...
fill out the picture of this fruitful hilly landscape.
On the old monastery grounds, Intervet Innovation GmbH, a daughter company of Schering-Plough
Schering-Plough
Schering-Plough Corporation was a United States-based pharmaceutical company. It was founded in 1851 by Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering as Schering AG in Germany. In 1971, the Schering Corporation merged with Plough to form Schering-Plough. On November 4, 2009 Merck & Co...
, has established itself. Intervet runs a global research and development centre there for veterinary products with the emphasis on antibiotic
Antibiotic
An antibacterial is a compound or substance that kills or slows down the growth of bacteria.The term is often used synonymously with the term antibiotic; today, however, with increased knowledge of the causative agents of various infectious diseases, antibiotic has come to denote a broader range of...
s and antiparasitics employing 230 workers in Schwabenheim.
Transport
The municipality is crossed by LandesstraßeLandesstraße
Landesstraßen are roads in Germany and Austria that are, as a rule, the responsibility of the respective German or Austrian federal state. The term may therefore be translated as "state road". They are roads that cross the boundary of a rural or urban district...
(state road) 428. The A 60 and A 63
Bundesautobahn 63
is an autobahn in southwestern Germany. It connects the Mainz area to Kaiserslautern and the A 6 and is therefore an important connection between the Rhine/Main and the Saar areas...
autobahns can be reached by car in 10 to 20 minutes.
Sons and daughters of the town
- Simone Renth, 1998/1999 Rhenish-Hessian Wine Queen, and also a year later: 1999/2000 51st German Wine Queen.