Gernsheim () is a town in

Groß-Gerau Groß-Gerau () is the district seat of the Groß-Gerau district, lying in the southern Frankfurt Rhein-Main Region in Hesse, Germany, and serving as a hub for the surrounding area. In 1994, the town hosted the 34th Hessentag state festival. Geo ...

district and

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

region in

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, lying on the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

Geography

Location

The ''Schöfferstadt Gernsheim'', as Gernsheim may officially call itself – it was Peter Schöffer's birthplace – lies 18 km southwest of

and 16 km northeast of

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

, right on the Rhine's east bank, south of the Old Rhine near Stockstadt am Rhein in the

Frankfurt Rhein-Main Region The Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, often simply referred to as Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main area or Rhine-Main area (German: ''Rhein-Main-Gebiet'', ''Frankfurt/Rhein-Main'' or ''FrankfurtRheinMain'', abbreviated FRM), is the third-l ...

Neighbouring communities

Gernsheim borders in the north on the communities of Biebesheim and

Riedstadt Riedstadt (), with its municipal area of 73.76 km2 is Groß-Gerau (district), Groß-Gerau district's biggest town by land area. It lies in Hesse, Germany, about 12 km southwest of Darmstadt. Geography Location Riedstadt is shaped not ...

, in the east on the town of

Pfungstadt Pfungstadt () is a town of 25,029 inhabitants (2020), in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg in the state of Hesse, Germany. History The town was first mentioned in 785 as property of the Monastery of Lorsch and got its town rights in 1886 due to ...

and the communities of Bickenbach and

Alsbach-Hähnlein Alsbach-Hähnlein is a municipality in southern Hesse (Germany) in the district Darmstadt-Dieburg. It resulted from a merger of the two separate municipalities (''Gemeinden'') Alsbach and Hähnlein. Sister city * Diósd, Hungary Hungar ...

(all in

Darmstadt-Dieburg Darmstadt-Dieburg is a Kreis (district) in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Offenbach, Aschaffenburg, Miltenberg, Odenwaldkreis, Bergstraße, Groß-Gerau, and the district-free city of Darmstadt, which it surrounds. Histo ...

), in the south on the town of

Bensheim Bensheim () is a town in the Kreis Bergstraße, Bergstraße district in southern Hessen, Germany. Bensheim lies on the Bergstraße Route, Bergstraße and at the edge of the Odenwald mountains while at the same time having an open view over the Rhi ...

and the communities of Einhausen and Groß-Rohrheim (all in

Kreis Bergstraße Kreis is the German word for circle. Kreis may also refer to: Places * , or Circle (administrative division), various subdivisions roughly equivalent to counties, districts or municipalities ** Districts of Germany (including and ) ** Former ...

) and in the west on the community of Hamm (

Alzey-Worms Alzey-Worms () is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the district Groß-Gerau (district), Groß-Gerau (Hesse), the city of Worms, Germany, Worms and the districts of Bad Dürkheim (district) ...

Constituent communities

Gernsheim consists of the centres of Allmendfeld, Gernsheim and Klein-Rohrheim.

History

In the first century, there was

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

settlement in what is now Gernsheim. By the 7th century, this had given way to

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

settlement. In 852, Gernsheim had its first documentary mention, and was also later mentioned in the

Lorsch codex The Lorsch Codex (Chronicon Laureshamense, Lorscher Codex, Codex Laureshamensis) is an important historical document created between about 1175 to 1195 AD in the Lorsch Abbey, Monastery of Saint Nazarius in Lorsch, Germany. The codex is handwrit ...

.foxnews.com, Roman settlement in Gernsheim, Board game pieces found in settlement built on Roman military fort LiveScience, By Laura Geggel, September 21, 2015
In 1356, Gernsheim was granted town rights by

Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (; ; ; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charles of Luxembourg, born Wenceslaus (, ), was H ...

. In 1425, Peter Schöffer, later to be well known as one of

Johannes Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg ( – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and Artisan, craftsman who invented the movable type, movable-type printing press. Though movable type was already in use in East Asia, Gutenberg's inven ...

's colleagues, was born. In 1937, the village of Allmendfeld, now part of Gernsheim but originally a separate municipality, was founded. It is Hesse's newest town (in the common sense, if not the administrative). It is named after the

commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

(''die Allmende'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Amalgamated communities

* Allmendfeld, since 1971 (founded 1937) * Klein-Rohrheim, since 1971 (about 1200 years old)

Politics

Coat of arms

Gernsheim's civic

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

might heraldically be described thus: Gules, a six-spoked wheel argent. Gernsheim was among Mainz's many landholdings for centuries (1232–1802). The charge in these arms is the

Wheel of Mainz The Wheel of Mainz or , in German language, German, was the coat of arms of the Archbishopric of Mainz and thus also of the Electorate of Mainz (Kurmainz), in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It consists of a silver wheel with six spokes on a red ...

, a common heraldic charge in the region, given the history, but unlike many others, Gernsheim's arms have only this one charge. The town's oldest known seal, from the 14th century, already showed the wheel, as have all seals that later followed. The arms were officially granted in 192

Gernsheim has the same arms as Höchst (Frankfurt am Main), Höchst, a constituent community of

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Partnerships

Bar-sur-Aube Bar-sur-Aube (, literally ''Bar on Aube (river), Aube'') is a Communes of France, commune and a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture in the Aube Departments of France, department in the Grand Est region of France. Surrounded by hills and ...

Champagne-Ardenne Champagne-Ardenne () is a former administrative region of France, located in the northeast of the country, bordering Belgium. Mostly corresponding to the historic province of Champagne, the region is known for its sparkling white wine of the ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

since 1976 *

Świecie Świecie (; ) is a town in northern Poland with 24,841 inhabitants (2023), capital of Świecie County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is located within the ethnocultural region of Kociewie in the historic region of Pomerania. Founded ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

since 2011

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

* Wallfahrtskirche Maria Einsiedel (

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

church, 1431) * Museum (Peter Schöffer Haus) * Rathaus (Town Hall) * Stadthalle (guildhall) * Old electricity works (Mario Derra)

Nature

* Rhine * Town Forest

Regular events

* Rhenish Fishing Festival (''Rheinisches Fischerfest'') – since 1948, the biggest fishing festival on the Rhine (first weekend in August) * Street Carnival (''Straßenfastnacht'', with parade) * Christmas Market (''Weihnachtsmarkt'') * Church Fair (''Kerb'') * Downtown Festival (''Innenstadtfest'')

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Roads serving Gernsheim include Federal Highways (''Bundesstraßen'') B 44, B44a and B 426. Gernsheim is also connected to the

Autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

A 67, as well as to State Highway (''Landesstraße'') L 3112 and the K 206. Gernsheim lies on the Mannheim–Frankfurt railway. There are also bus connections to

Goddelau Riedstadt (), with its municipal area of 73.76 km2 is Groß-Gerau district's biggest town by land area. It lies in Hesse, Germany, about 12 km southwest of Darmstadt. Geography Location Riedstadt is shaped not only by its preserved r ...

and Lampertheim. Gernsheim's riverfront on the Rhine is home to a

container port A container port, container terminal, or intermodal terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land v ...

with a railway connection. There are also

ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

across the Rhine to Eich in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

Known Gernsheimer Personalities

* Peter Schöffer (), printer, publisher and bookseller, born in Gernsheim * Joseph Schmitt (c. 1734-1791), composer and music publisher, born in Gernsheim * Jürgen Walter (* 1968), politician, living in Gernsheim * Verena Weis (* 1979), singer Indira, temporarily residing in Gernsheim

References

External links

*
Rheinisches Fischerfest
{{Authority control Groß-Gerau (district)