Sörgenloch
Encyclopedia
Sörgenloch is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen
district in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
.
. It is the smallest municipality in the Verbandsgemeinde of Nieder-Olm
, whose seat is in the like-named town
. Sörgenloch lies among vineyards in the winegrowing region of Rheinhessen
on the Selz
and is a pilgrimage
site of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz.
The landscape is strongly characterized by winegrowing and fruit growing. Widespread renaturalization measures on the Selz and the Zornheimer Berg (mountain) have, however, greatly enhanced the natural surroundings.
, Zornheim
, Hahnheim
, Udenheim
and Saulheim
.
In 1190, Sörgenloch had its first documentary mention. About the village’s early history, quite little is known; in the 13th century, the Saint Alban’s Abbey
in Mainz may have held the lordship over Sörgenloch.
times, being a combination of the Latin
salix (“willow”) and the archaic German word Loh (“wood”), and therefore, the name means “Willowwood”.
The following forms of the name were current at various times in the past:
, leading to the conclusion that Celts had then already settled in what is now Sörgenloch. Moreover, remnants of a Vangionic
settlement were found.
In the 19th century, while the vineyards were being cleared, several coins and grave finds from Roman times were unearthed. These finds are kept in the Wormser Museum. Even the rural cadastral name Hundertmorgen refers to Roman settlement, as 100 Morgen
was the amount of land that a Roman soldier was awarded once he completed his service.
Sörgenloch belonged to the original Frankish
territory – or Urmark – of Olm. As settlements formed around estates, where stood churches, the centres of Ober-Olm
, Nieder-Olm
, Klein-Winternheim
and Sörgenloch came into being in Olm. As municipal limits and fortifications, these places were given earthen walls, strengthened with hedges. Cadastral names such as Oberheck (Hecke means “hedge” in German
) and Im Bock (“bend in a hedge”) recall this time. Nearby, above Sörgenloch, a grave field
from this time (6th and 7th century) was found.
site. The inhabitants are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic.
– a pilgrimage.
During the Nine Years' War in the 17th century, the Sörgenloch villagers had to leave the village and hide themselves in the surrounding countryside. To safeguard the Madonna
statue, they buried it outside the village. Once the war ended, nobody could remember the exact spot where the statue had been buried. The villagers prayed to God to reveal to them the spot. There was an apparition over a meadow near the Selz and right there, the statue was found buried. Ever since, at the Nativity of Mary, a pilgrimage has been observed.
On the Sunday after 8 September, tribute is paid to Mary
with a church service and a procession through Sörgenloch, and the Madonna statue is borne through the streets.
might be described thus: Argent, in base a mount of three issuant therefrom a grapevine vert, bearing each side a bunch of grapes azure, and on each of three upper stalks a cross bottonnée gules, the dexter in bend, the middle in pale and the sinister in bend sinister.
These arms are based on the municipality’s third seal, from 1714. The vine is the Vine of Christ (John 15:1). Earlier seals had shown only the vine, a symbol for the area’s widespread winegrowing.
It is unknown when the arms were conferred or adopted.
scene. Many well known groups rehearse there, or recruit musicians from the village.
-based. It is today a modern residential community on the edge of the urban agglomeration of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region.
In agriculture, fruit growing and winegrowing predominate. The Sörgenloch wine region Moosberg has some 39 ha under cultivation.
state road, over which the A 63
autobahn can be reached in a few minutes.
A bus link towards Nieder-Olm
/Mainz
exists in the form of the ORN (Omnibusverkehr Rhein-Nahe GmbH) route 652.
The nearest railway station is found in neighbouring Nieder-Olm
.
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 Rhenish Hesse, some 14 km south of 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...
. It is the smallest municipality 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...
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Nieder-Olm
Nieder-Olm is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Until 5 November 2006 it was an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – but it was raised to town the next day...
. Sörgenloch lies among vineyards in the winegrowing region of Rheinhessen
Rheinhessen (wine region)
Rheinhessen is the largest of 13 German wine regions for quality wines with under cultivation in 2008. Named for the traditional region of Rhenish Hesse, it lies on the left bank of the River Rhine between Worms and Bingen in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate...
on the Selz
Selz
The Selz is a river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, a left tributary to the Rhine. It flows through the biggest German wine region, which is called Rheinhessen....
and is a 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...
site of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz.
The landscape is strongly characterized by winegrowing and fruit growing. Widespread renaturalization measures on the Selz and the Zornheimer Berg (mountain) have, however, greatly enhanced the natural surroundings.
Neighbouring municipalities
Clockwise from the north, these are Nieder-OlmNieder-Olm
Nieder-Olm is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Until 5 November 2006 it was an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – but it was raised to town the next day...
, Zornheim
Zornheim
Zornheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
, Hahnheim
Hahnheim
Hahnheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-Location:Hahnheim lies between Mainz and Worms on the river Selz...
, Udenheim
Udenheim
Udenheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
and Saulheim
Saulheim
Saulheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
.
History
St. Alban's Abbey, Mainz
St. Alban's Abbey, Mainz originated as a Benedictine abbey, founded in 787 or 796 by Archbishop Richulf in honour of Saint Alban of Mainz, located to the south of Mainz on the hill later called the Albansberg. It was turned into a collegiate foundation in 1442...
in Mainz may have held the lordship over Sörgenloch.
Name’s origin
The name Sörgenloch developed out of the form Saligenloh, which itself goes back to RomanAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
times, being a combination of the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
salix (“willow”) and the archaic German word Loh (“wood”), and therefore, the name means “Willowwood”.
The following forms of the name were current at various times in the past:
- Sulegloch (1190)
- Surgenloch (1200)
- Sulgeloch and Sorgenloch (1293)
- Selgenloch (1432)
Early times
In 1880 an iron axe and two pots were found that came from the Iron AgeIron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
, leading to the conclusion that Celts had then already settled in what is now Sörgenloch. Moreover, remnants of a Vangionic
Vangiones
The Vangiones appear first in history as an ancient Germanic tribe of unknown provenience. They threw in their lot with Ariovistus in his bid of 58 BC to invade Gaul through the Doubs river valley and lost to Julius Caesar in a battle probably near Belfort...
settlement were found.
In the 19th century, while the vineyards were being cleared, several coins and grave finds from Roman times were unearthed. These finds are kept in the Wormser Museum. Even the rural cadastral name Hundertmorgen refers to Roman settlement, as 100 Morgen
Morgen
A morgen was a unit of measurement of land in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and the Dutch colonies, including South Africa and Taiwan. The size of a morgen varies from 1/2 to 2½ acres, which equals approximately 0.2 to 1 ha...
was the amount of land that a Roman soldier was awarded once he completed his service.
Sörgenloch belonged to the original Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
territory – or Urmark – of Olm. As settlements formed around estates, where stood churches, the centres of Ober-Olm
Ober-Olm
Ober-Olm is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Neighbouring municipalities :...
, Nieder-Olm
Nieder-Olm
Nieder-Olm is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Until 5 November 2006 it was an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – but it was raised to town the next day...
, Klein-Winternheim
Klein-Winternheim
Klein-Winternheim 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 Sörgenloch came into being in Olm. As municipal limits and fortifications, these places were given earthen walls, strengthened with hedges. Cadastral names such as Oberheck (Hecke means “hedge” 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....
) and Im Bock (“bend in a hedge”) recall this time. Nearby, above Sörgenloch, a grave field
Grave field
A grave field is a prehistoric cemetery, typically of Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe.Grave fields are distinguished from necropoleis by the former's lack of above-ground structures, buildings, or grave markers.-Types:...
from this time (6th and 7th century) was found.
Religion
Sörgenloch is a pilgrimagePilgrimage
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...
site. The inhabitants are overwhelmingly Roman Catholic.
Pilgrimage
Sörgenloch observes on 8 September – the Nativity of MaryNativity of Mary
The Nativity of Mary, or Birth of the Virgin and various permutations, is celebrated as a liturgical feast in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints and in most Anglican liturgical calendars on 8 September, nine months after the solemnity of her Immaculate Conception, celebrated on 8 December...
– a pilgrimage.
During the Nine Years' War in the 17th century, the Sörgenloch villagers had to leave the village and hide themselves in the surrounding countryside. To safeguard the Madonna
Madonna (art)
Images of the Madonna and the Madonna and Child or Virgin and Child are pictorial or sculptured representations of Mary, Mother of Jesus, either alone, or more frequently, with the infant Jesus. These images are central icons of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity where Mary remains...
statue, they buried it outside the village. Once the war ended, nobody could remember the exact spot where the statue had been buried. The villagers prayed to God to reveal to them the spot. There was an apparition over a meadow near the Selz and right there, the statue was found buried. Ever since, at the Nativity of Mary, a pilgrimage has been observed.
On the Sunday after 8 September, tribute is paid to Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
with a church service and a procession through Sörgenloch, and the Madonna statue is borne through the streets.
Municipal council
- FWG - 6 seats
- SPDSocial Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
- 5 seats - CDU - 5 seats
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: Argent, in base a mount of three issuant therefrom a grapevine vert, bearing each side a bunch of grapes azure, and on each of three upper stalks a cross bottonnée gules, the dexter in bend, the middle in pale and the sinister in bend sinister.
These arms are based on the municipality’s third seal, from 1714. The vine is the Vine of Christ (John 15:1). Earlier seals had shown only the vine, a symbol for the area’s widespread winegrowing.
It is unknown when the arms were conferred or adopted.
Culture and sightseeing
Buildings
- The Catholic Parish Church has dominated the municipality’s skyline since the 13th century. Its current appearance it got in a reconstruction after a fire in the 17th century. The BaroqueBaroque architectureBaroque 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...
comes from the 18th century. The Parish Church houses the Sörgenloch Madonna, a Late Gothic work. - On the eastern edge of the old village core is found the Sörgenlocher Schloss. The small RenaissanceRenaissanceThe 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...
residence was built by the local Sörgenloch lords, the family von Köth-Wanscheid, in the latter half of the 18th century. Today it is run under the name Schloß Sörgenloch as a restaurantRestaurantA restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
. - The old Jewish graveyard lies in the municipality’s northeast. It was formerly also used by surrounding municipalities. Today, though, only four gravestones are preserved.
Folk music
Sörgenloch is a centre of the Rhenish-Hessian folk musicFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
scene. Many well known groups rehearse there, or recruit musicians from the village.
- Wild-Rovers
- Goo Birds Flight
- Ilwetritsch
- An Thor
Economy and infrastructure
The municipality of Sörgenloch was until the last decade overwhelmingly 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...
-based. It is today a modern residential community on the edge of the urban agglomeration of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region.
In agriculture, fruit growing and winegrowing predominate. The Sörgenloch wine region Moosberg has some 39 ha under cultivation.
Transport
Sörgenloch lies on the L 432Landesstraße
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, over which the 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...
autobahn can be reached in a few minutes.
A bus link towards Nieder-Olm
Nieder-Olm
Nieder-Olm is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Until 5 November 2006 it was an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – but it was raised to town the next day...
/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...
exists in the form of the ORN (Omnibusverkehr Rhein-Nahe GmbH) route 652.
The nearest railway station is found in neighbouring Nieder-Olm
Nieder-Olm
Nieder-Olm is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Until 5 November 2006 it was an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – but it was raised to town the next day...
.