Gimbsheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
belonging to a ''
Verbandsgemeinde
A (; plural ) is a low-level administrative division, administrative unit in the Germany, German States of Germany, federal states of Brandenburg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A is typically composed of a small group of Municipalitie ...
'', a kind of collective municipality – in the
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) ...
district 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 ...
,
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 ...
.
Geography
Location
The municipality lies in
Rhenish Hesse
Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (, ) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is ...
between
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 ...
and
Mainz
Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
. It belongs to the
''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Eich, whose seat is in the
like-named municipality.
Neighbouring municipalities
Gimbsheim borders in the north on the municipality of
Guntersblum, in the west on the municipality of
Alsheim
Alsheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
History
Alsheim is mentioned in ...
and in the south on the municipality of
Eich. In the east, the municipality of Gimbsheim is bordered by 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 ...
.
History
Gimbsheim is believed to have been founded about 500 while the
Franks
file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty
The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
were settling the land under
Clovis I
Clovis (; reconstructed Old Frankish, Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first List of Frankish kings, king of the Franks to unite all of the Franks under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a ...
by a Frank named Gimmund.
In the beginning, the place was called ''Gimmundheim''. Over the course of the years, the name changed in historical sources, yielding the current name ''Gimbsheim'' from ''Gimmundheim''.
On 13 May 766, Gimbsheim, then called ''Gimmenheim'', had its first documentary mention 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 ...
. Two of the villagers donated cropland and vineyards to
Lorsch Abbey
Lorsch Abbey, otherwise the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch (; or ''Laurissa''), is a former Imperial abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about east of Worms, Germany, Worms. It was one of the most important monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ru ...
for their salvation. In 813, another donation, this one to
Fulda Abbey
The Abbey of Fulda (; ), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda () and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (), was a Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastical principality centered on Fulda, in the present-day German state of Hesse.
The monastery ...
, was registered.
It is mentioned in the
Wormser wall-building ordinance from around 900 as one of the places that shared responsibility for maintaining the
city wall
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...
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 ...
.
[C. Van De Kieft and J. F. Niermeyer, eds. (1967), ''Elenchus fontium historiae urbanae'' (Leiden: E. J. Brill), pp. 43–44.] From 1194 comes the first documentary mention of a church in Gimbsheim. In 1208, a Gimbsheim clergyman by the name of Heinrich was mentioned as being a member of the Cathedral Chapter at Worms.
In 1402, the Gimbsheim court seal, the ''Mauricius Siegel'' was mentioned for the first time. In 1499, Gimbsheim burnt to the ground.
In 1662, Gimbsheim became an
Electoral Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy Roman Empero ...
holding. Only four years later, in 1666, Gimbsheim was stricken with the
Plague.
On 17 October 1704, another great fire in Gimbsheim destroyed a great many homesteads.
Beginning in 1798, all important municipal business was handled through the town hall, not, as it heretofore had been, through the parish register. In 1800 came the first mention of a doctor in Gimbsheim.
Between 1798 and 1814, Gimbsheim was in the Department of
Mont-Tonnerre
Mont-Tonnerre () was a department of the First French Republic and later the First French Empire in present-day Germany. It was named after the highest point in the Palatinate, the '' Donnersberg'' ("Thunder Mountain", possibly referring to Do ...
(or Donnersberg 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 ...
), belonging at that time to
Napoleonic
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of mi ...
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 ...
. In 1830, 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 ...
straightening project was carried out along the reach of the river that borders Gimbsheim. The project would eventually encompass the Rhine's course from
Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
all the way down to
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 ...
.
In 1974, Gimbsheim opened its outdoor swimming pool. In 1977, the areas left high and dry by the Rhine straightening project in 1830, known as the ''Altrhein'' (“Old Rhine”), were made a conservation area.
In 1997, the television series ''Himmelsheim'' was filmed in Gimbsheim for
Südwestrundfunk
(; ), shortened to SWR (), is a regional public broadcasting corporation serving the southwest of Germany, specifically the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The corporation has main offices in three cities: Stuttg ...
. The same year, the ''Niederrheinhalle'' (“Lower Rhine Hall”) came to be as a centre for sport and culture.
In 2000, the so-called Pfarrwiesensee, a former gravel quarry that had become a pond, was converted into a bathing lake.
Religion
The Jewish community
From the latter half of the 19th century until 1933, Gimbsheim was home to a small
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
community. The Jewish population peaked around the years 1900 and 1905 when there were 72 Jews in the municipality (3% of the total population). On 27 August 1892, a
synagogue
A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
was dedicated. After 1933, it was sold and converted into a house, which still stands now. At least eight of Gimbsheim's Jews lost their lives after the deportations in
National Socialist times.
Politics
Municipal council
The council is made up of 20 council members, who were elected by
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
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:
Mayors
* Günther Debusi - SPD (... - 1999)
* Jakob Scheller - FWG (1999–2009)
* Peter Kölsch - SPD (2009-2012)
* Amanda Wucher - SPD (2012–2019)
* Matthias Klös - FWG )since 2019)
Coat of arms
The municipality's
arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
might be described thus: Gules on a bend argent a cramp sable, in a chief of the third, a
bunch of grapes
In viticulture, the grape cluster (also bunch of grapes) is a fertilized inflorescence of the grapevine, the primary part of this plant used for food (grape leaves are also used in some culinary traditions). The size of the grape bunch greatly va ...
palewise, flanked by four rye stalks, two each side, growing from the top of the bunch of grapes, from which also grow two vine stems, on each side, each ending in a grape leaf, the two leaves further flanking the rye stalks, all Or.
The grain has been blazoned here as rye because Parker identifies rye as being “distinguished from other grain by representing the ear drooping”. ''Heraldry of the World'', on the other hand, identifies the grain as wheat, which along with the grapes appears in the arms to represent the municipality's two main crops.
The
charge
Charge or charged may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary
Music
* ''Charge'' (David Ford album)
* ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album)
* '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...
s in the
chief
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boat ...
, though, seem to be all that there is in the arms that can be directly linked with Gimbsheim. Although the cramp, usually identified in German blazon as a ''
Wolfsangel
(, translation "wolf's hook") or () is a heraldic charge from mainly Germany and eastern France, which was inspired by medieval European wolf traps that consisted of a Z-shaped metal hook (called the ''Wolfsangel'', or the ''crampon'' in F ...
'', was already appearing as a municipal
heraldic
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...
charge in the 18th century, its origin is unknown. Earlier municipal seals had shown
Saint Maurice
Maurice (also Moritz, Morris, Maurits, or Mauritius; ) was an Egyptians, Egyptian military leader who headed the legendary Theban Legion of Roman Empire, Rome in the 3rd century, and is one of the favourite and most widely venerated saints of tha ...
.
Furthermore, another proposal for municipal arms in 1958, the year when the current arms were adopted, was quite a different design which might be blazoned thus: Argent a cross gules, in dexter chief a roundel Or surmounted by a Moor's head proper. This would have shown a silver shield covered by a red cross, and in the silver space left in the upper dexter (armsbearer's right, viewer's left), a gold circle overlaid with a Black man's head, representing Saint Maurice (who was himself Black).
Description and explanation of Gimbsheim’s arms
/ref>
Town partnerships
* Talant, Côte-d'Or
Côte-d'Or () is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124. , 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 ...
Culture and sightseeing
Regular events
For more than 30 years now, Gimbsheim has had a further representative besides its mayor, namely a young and most pretty lady, the ''Kerweprinzessin'' (kermis
Kermesse, or kermis, or kirmess, is an outdoor fair or festival usually organized for charitable purposes.
The term was derived from 'kerk' (church) and 'mis' (mass) in the original Dutch language term, and was borrowed in English, French, Spa ...
princess). Originally a representative of the Gimbsheim church's consecration, this ecclesiastical custom later grew into the kermis
Kermesse, or kermis, or kirmess, is an outdoor fair or festival usually organized for charitable purposes.
The term was derived from 'kerk' (church) and 'mis' (mass) in the original Dutch language term, and was borrowed in English, French, Spa ...
(church consecration festival, locally known as the ''Kerb'' or ''Kerwe''). Each kermis princess holds the title for a year, during which she represents her home municipality in other regions. She then has at her side two ''Festdamen'' (“festival ladies”) who attend her at many festivals, parades and receptions.
The Gimbsheim kermis is held each year on the last weekend in September. This begins with the traditional raising of the kermis tree by the volunteer fire brigade and the crowning of “Her Majesty”, the new kermis princess. Indeed, it is she who takes on the job of actually opening the ''Kerwe''.
* 2011/2012 Melissa Anna Metzger
* 2010/1011 Marie-Luise Scheller
* 2009/2010 Isabelle Krehl
* 2008/2009 Christina Krost.
* 2007/2008 Christina Staschik
* 2006/2007 Marlie Baglio
* 2005/2006 Bianca Nostadt
* 2004/2005 Nicole Ackermann
* 2003/2004 Jasmin Thiel
* 2002/2003 Marina Wucher
Economy and infrastructure
Winegrowing
Gimbsheim belongs to the ''Weinbaubereich Nierstein'' in Rhenish Hesse
Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (, ) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is ...
. Active in the municipality are 28 winegrowing
Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...
businesses, and vineyards under cultivation amount to 116 ha. Some 69% of the winegrowing involves white wine
White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without undergoing the process of Maceration (wine), maceration, which involves prolonged contact between the juice with the grape skins, seeds, and pulp. The wine color, colou ...
varieties of grape (as at 2007). In 1979, there were still 84 such businesses, and vineyards under cultivation amounted to 191 ha.[Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz - Infothek](_blank)
/ref>
Transport
*Running right near the municipality is ''Bundesstraße
''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.
Germany
Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km.
German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...
'' 9, which links Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning "Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig's Port upon the Rhine"; Palatine German dialects, Palatine German: ''Ludwichshafe''), is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the German state of Rh ...
with Mainz
Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
.
*Until 1969, Gimbsheim had a railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
link on the Osthofen–Rheindürkheim– Guntersblum line.
*Gimbsheim is well linked by bus route 432, run by ''Busverkehr Rhein-Neckar'' to Guntersblum, the other ''Altrhein-Gemeinden'' (“Old Rhine Municipalities”) and 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 ...
.
Established businesses
*MGL Metro Group
Metro AG is a German multinational company based in Düsseldorf which operates business membership-only cash and carry stores primarily under the Metro brand. , Metro is operating 626 wholesale stores in 21 countries, including Europe and P ...
Logistics GmbH Co. KG (MGL) with a 50 000 m2 central food warehouse for 8,500 articles.
References
External links
Municipality’s official webpage
{{Authority control
Alzey-Worms
Holocaust locations in Germany