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Schornsheim 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
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, ...
centre 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 ...
and belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Wörrstadt, whose seat is in the like-named municipality.


Neighbouring municipalities

Schornsheim's neighbours are
Gabsheim Gabsheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Wörrstadt, whose ...
,
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. Geography Location As a winegrowing centre, Udenheim ...
, Undenheim and
Wörrstadt Wörrstadt () is a town in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location The town lies in Rhenish Hesse on the northwest edge of the Upper Rhine Plain. It is the seat of the Wörrstadt (Verbandsgemeinde), like- ...
.


History


Name’s origins

The name Schornsheim (in 782 ''Scoronishaim'', in 815 ''Scornesheim'', about 836 ''Scoranesheim'', about 1230 ''Schornesheym'', about 1520 Schornsheim) is formed with the placename ending ''—heim'' (cognate with
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
''home''), as are most Rhenish-Hessian placenames. The other root in the name, however, is something of a peculiarity. It is not a traditional Germanic personal name, nor a word for a natural feature, but rather a title, and only became a personal name through transference. ''Scoran'' (cognate with English ''shorn'', and with much the same meaning, referring to a
tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...
) was a word used for priests and monks and was given boys as a name who were destined for the clergy, for whom the tonsure had long stood as a defining mark. It could well be that a clergyman of this time gave Schornsheim its name. It is assumed that one or more
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 ...
settlements had already arisen in the area of what later became Schornsheim, and the unknown priest or monk only later gave the village his name, after he himself had settled there and founded a church and perhaps also a monastery. In one of
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
’s documents from 28 July 782, the king named Schornsheim’s church and estate as his property. The “estate” at that time meant the whole of the kingly holdings or a part thereof. How the ruler acquired it is unknown. Whatever it was that happened, it is known that the successor to the estate was the ''Scoran'' who had once founded the church.


Saint Leoba

Charlemagne gave the church of the “estate” of Schornsheim with its appurtenances (along with real estate) first as a benefice – in effect, a fief, to be used free of charge – to Leoba of Tauberbischofsheim, who is still venerated today as Saint Leoba. Leoba, whose
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
name was Leofgyth, was brought up in the convents at Minster in
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
and
Wimborne Minster Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of Pool ...
in
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
. As a woman, she had, after Anglo-Saxon custom, training in languages and theology, which fully equalled a man's. She was related to
Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...
, who always had a particular fondness for her. Boniface was critical of the
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 ...
clergy's crudeness and unlearnedness, which he saw as holdovers from heathen superstition. He tried to remedy these shortcomings with better training at the monasteries. Leoba was best suited to such a programme. She built a convent on an estate in
Tauberbischofsheim Tauberbischofsheim () is a German town in the north-east of Baden-Württemberg on the river Tauber with a population of about 13,200. It is the capital of the Main-Tauber (district), Main-Tauber district. It is a popular tourist destination due t ...
, which soon became a kind of college for nuns. Leoba did not live exclusively at the convent on the
Tauber The Tauber () is a river in Franconia (Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria), Germany. It is a left tributary of the Main and is in length. The name derives from the Celtic word for water (compare: Dover). Course It flows through Rothenburg ob der ...
, though, but rather she regularly undertook visitational journeys to other convents under her authority. Only when she was elderly did she withdraw to the convent that she had chosen as a retirement home. She died there on 28 September 782. Saint Leoba is still venerated today in Schornsheim. The
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
church bears her name, and in the village square, a fountain has been built that has Saint Leoba standing in the middle.


History of the Schornsheim ''Ganerbschaft''

Before the turmoil in the late 18th century and the new territorial order in the early 19th, the countryside between 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 ...
, the Nahe and the
Donnersberg The Donnersberg (; literally: "thunder mountain") is the highest peak of the Palatinate () region of Germany. The mountain lies between the towns of Rockenhausen and Kirchheimbolanden, in the Donnersbergkreis district, which is named after th ...
– what is today called
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 ...
– was not in any way a political unit. The Palatinate,
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 ...
,
Waldgrave The first Waldgraves or Wildgraves (Latin: ''comites silvestres'') descended from a division of the House of the Counts of Nahegau in the year 1113. When the (a countship named after the river Nahe) split into two parts in 1113, the count ...
,
Rhinegrave (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...
, Nassau and knightly landholding rights all overlapped each other in this area. If the
Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, 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 ...
wanted to assert itself as the foremost power in this region, then it had about as much success at forging an exclusive territorial zone as Mainz. Very often local lords varied from one place to the next, and there were more than a few cases in which several lordships held ownership rights at the same time. The four jointly owned estates ('' Ganerbschaften'') that were incorporated into the Knightly Canton of Oberrhein, namely
Bechtolsheim Bechtolsheim (Literally Bechtol's Home) is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verba ...
, Mommenheim, Nieder
saulheim Saulheim 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. Geography Location The muni ...
and Schornsheim, formed in view of their geographical location the backbone of the Imperial-Knightly holdings in the
buffer zone A buffer zone, also historically known as a march, is a neutral area that lies between two or more bodies of land; usually, between countries. Depending on the type of buffer zone, it may serve to separate regions or conjoin them. Common types o ...
between the two rival territories of the Palatinate and Mainz.


Schornsheim and the tailors

Schornsheim is a village that, in terms of its dwellers’ wealth and level of employment, is comparable to many other villages. This was not always so. A hundred years ago, Schornsheim was known as a “tailoring village”. There were more than 130 tailors and whole families made their livelihood at tailoring, sewing for factories in
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 ...
,
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
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 ...
. Each tailor worked at his or her speciality, with some producing only trousers, and still others making only jackets. Once a week, the finished garments were then delivered to the factory. The tailors mostly lived in little, single-story loam houses with two or three windows facing onto the street, or sometimes only one, for a
window tax Window tax was a property tax based on the number of windows in a house. It was a significant social, cultural, and architectural force in England, Scotland, France and Ireland during the 18th and 19th centuries. To avoid the tax, some houses fr ...
was levied in those days. The tailors’ livingroom became their workshop in which several
sewing machine Diagram of a modern sewing machine Animation of a modern sewing machine as it stitches A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolutio ...
s would be set up along with a great tailor's table. Father, mother, daughters and sons worked on into the night so that they could earn enough to feed themselves, for these tailors earned very little money. A great many skirts, trousers and vests had to make their way out of the workshop before a Schornsheim home worker could enjoy the pleasures of owning his own house and property. Many tailors also had a field plot, in which they planted potatoes and grain. At home, they had a pig in the stable that would be slaughtered when it got big enough, or a goat – the so-called “tailor’s cow” – for its milk. However, as factories streamlined their production, making themselves cheaper to run, less and less work came the tailors’ way, eventually forcing them to seek other work. Many sought it in the industrial works in Mainz or in the
Opel Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Gr ...
Works in Rüsselsheim, where they earned much more and came to know a kind of luxury, at least compared to what they had known before. Today there is not even one tailor in the municipality; the profession has died out. However, when one walks through the streets, especially on Karl-Marx-Straße, one still finds the odd typical tailor's house.


18th century


Poor money

From 1715 comes the story that accountant Lorenz Tautphäus was taking in “cloth money” (''Tuchgeld''). Certain fields in the municipal area had this so-called ''Tuchgeld'' imposed on them, which was used to buy the local poor some clothing.


Jews in Schornsheim

Between 1713 and 1738, nine
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 ...
families lived in the village. Each family had to pay 3 guilders in “Jew protection money” (''Judenschutzgeld''), after which they were entitled to live in the village and go about their business unhindered. Some Jews were merchants and others were butchers.


Night watchman

In earlier years, the night watchman's job was an important one. His service was laid out as follows in 1712: :''“They have to blow'' :# ''towards the ''
Schultheiß In medieval Germany, the ''Schultheiß'' () was the head of a municipality (akin to today's office of mayor), a '' Vogt'' or an executive official of the ruler. As official (''villicus'') it was his duty to order his assigned village or county ( ...
’s'' house,'' :# ''at the Schmitt Bridge,'' :# ''at Nikolaus Kneip’s house,'' :# ''at Jakob’s board house,'' :# ''at the rectory,'' :# ''at the Pfaffenwald well.'' :''While doing this the night watchmen should at each post where they blow, whenever the hour rings, call out what hour has struck.”''


Day watchman

Such a man took up this work in 1725. Of this, it was written: “By the whole municipality it was deemed advisable that a day watchman, who would go about the village the whole day long bearing a spear, and whatever strange beggars come in, he should forthwith turn them out, such would happen in the surrounding places. The day watchman should receive from each man in the municipality a loaf of bread and from the municipality a pair of shoes as wages.”


Swineherd

In 1713, Nikolaus Lademann was hired as the swineherd. He received as wages “7 ''Malter'' of corn and from each one who drives swine, a loaf of bread, and the said one should drive the swine if the weather is good.” In 1722, the new swineherd received for each pig “thus driven” one fourth of a loaf of bread. He had to watch the swine as long as people “drove” them to him.


“Firewalkers”

In 1722, six men were hired as “firewalkers” (''Feuerläufer''), although this did not mean, as both the
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 ...
and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
words do nowadays, people who walk barefoot across hot coals. These were firefighters of a kind, but of course without modern equipment. One among them was the fire captain. Whenever a fire broke out anywhere, they had to walk for up to three hours to reach the fire to help put it out. However, they could not leave the scene until they had been given a certificate witnessing their efforts. Each also had to take along his leather pail on the job. When they came back, they were to get from the municipality two ''Maß'' of wine and each was to get
white bread White bread typically refers to breads made from wheat flour from which the bran and the germ layers have been removed from the whole wheatberry as part of the flour grinding or milling process, producing a light-colored flour. Nutrition Wh ...
for one ''Albus''. In 1731, it was written: “They should go after the fire as far as the Rhine or four hours’ walk away and then bring back a certificate, then they should have from the municipality 1 quarter of wine and for an ''alb.'' white bread and Volpert Sandmann should be the fire captain.”


19th century

In 1840 the
Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
clergyman Pfeiffer declared that his parish had wished “for the longest time and most longingly” a separation of churches from the
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
parish and for a new Evangelical church to be built. There was also more payment for the extermination of mice, hamsters and wasps. In 1848, Ludwig H., born and living in Schornsheim, had himself registered as a local citizen and paid the “fire pail money”. Owing to his intended marriage, however, the council raised an objection, because the said man had no kind of estate, neither practising a business nor being “busy” in agriculture, and about the woman's assets, nothing was known. “One can assume that the said man cannot feed this female person with her two illegitimate children, much less should this family grow yet bigger.” In 1850, to build the Evangelical church, the church did not want to use any stone from the Flonheim quarries because for these stones, a road improvement tax would have had to be paid. Instead, the church wanted to draw stone from the Oppenheim quarries, as those stones were free of this tax. In 1856, chickens and geese were once again tended by Ludwig Höhler with his sister for a wage of 30 guilders. He further received, as was customary, one pound of bread from each owner of one of those geese. The vineyard marksmen now had to go to work every day. A day's wages for each was 24
Kreuzer The Kreuzer (), in English also spelled kreutzer ( ), was a coin and unit of currency in the southern German states prior to the introduction of the German gold mark in 1871–1873, and in Austria and Switzerland. After 1760 it was made of cop ...
. In 1857, Philipp Geogi wanted to travel to his son in
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
as there were better food and care there than in Schornsheim. The municipality was ready to give him money for clothing for the trip, but as security, they wanted to pay the fare only at the
railway station 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 ...
from which he was to begin his trip. His son was a tinsmith in Zürich. The council decided that on 23 June, the meadows would be opened. The grass was to be mown and taken away forthwith. The council objected to local citizen Mathias Z.’s marriage to Maria Chatharina J. from Wörrstadt. “Z. enjoys evil repute and has with a person from the
Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German language, German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what became the Germany, German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a States of the Confederation of th ...
undergone an immoral change and has had children with the same. He is a blasphemer and given to drink. His fiancée also possesses a frivolous character and is said already to have had two children out of wedlock with another person.” In 1858, a gift was to be given the Grand Duke for his silver wedding anniversary. A council member agreed. All the other members, though, refused any gift. They declared that the municipality was so beleaguered by roadbuilding, the acquisition of two fire sprayers and other outlays that it had to be mindful of even the smallest savings. In November, however, deliberated once again the gift for the Grand Duke. “It would be unworthy if the municipality of Schornsheim wanted to exclude itself from the grand festival.” A collection gathered up 25 guilders for the gift. In 1859 the council refused Carl. L. Bißmann, at the time living in
Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...
, an early marriage. “Even if the petitioner (applicant) at the moment has good earnings but the marriage dies before he is 25 years of age, the foreign-born woman and any possible children would become a burden to the municipality of Schornsheim. He may wait until he is of the legally prescribed age.” In 1860, stones for improving roads were to be bought in the quantity of 9 fathoms. The stones were to be knocked asunder by debtors who were being punished as such. Their wages were to be deducted from their debt. “The ‘convicts’ recognized as being unable to pay have, however, hitherto through petitions for deadlines and assorted evasions, sought to get out of doing this work.” J.L.H. asked for support from the municipal coffers. The council’s opinion was as follows: “Applicant is a sturdy man of 37 years, who from youth onwards adapted himself to begging. He calls himself a day labourer, but will work for nobody and busies himself merely with gathering horse dung in the streets, where he can be an idler. He could have work the year round in fieldwork and in winter in threshing. This year he was offered work in caring for geese, for which he could have earned from May to November 40 guilders and for each goose a pound of bread, but which he also did not take on. His wife, 36 years old, strong and healthy, is just as shy of work; even in the harvest these two highly lazy people take on no harvesting work. About this, the whole municipality is angered and gives nothing further. The policeman has the duty of disrupting begging. Were it further allowed the couple, they would have been able to live continually without fending for food. Such people are unworthy of being supported.” In Undenheim a postal station was to be built. Schornsheim, however, held that the location near Wörrstadt was more advantageous given the Justice of the Peace and the tax commission's office there. The municipality dismissed Ph. M. from his job as gooseherd “because he does not busy himself at all with herding geese, his wife only seldom. The geese would be driven out of the village to the field only seldom, and given over to his children, who are supposed to go to school, who let the geese run around in the fields at will. Now, to guard the fields against further damage, he is discharged as gooseherd.” In 1861, after the Grand-Ducal government's agreement with the
Thurn und Taxis The Princely House of Thurn and Taxis (, ) is a family of German nobility that is part of the ''Briefadel''. It was a key player in the mail, postal services in Europe during the 16th century, until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and ...
postal administration, the council declared: “The municipality wants to forgo a six-time errand and only pay the bringer’s wages for the governmental paper”. The municipality did not need to procure any post boxes. Also, as two fruit dealers were already resident in Schornsheim, the council held that a further one was unneeded. In 1862, because sparrows had grown so greatly in number and were doing such great harm in the fields, every citizen at his own expense had to deliver 2 to 6 sparrows. Also, because the plague of
rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...
s in the municipal area was getting out of hand, a man from
Bechtheim Bechtheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Wonnegau, whose ...
who owned a
ferret The ferret (''Mustela furo'') is a small, domesticated species belonging to the family Mustelidae. The ferret is most likely a domesticated form of the wild European polecat (''Mustela putorius''), as evidenced by the ferret's ability to inter ...
was to come to help. The proceeds from the rabbits were to flow into the municipality's coffers. In 1863, the rabbit problem had still not been overcome, and anyone who killed or presented a rabbit was to get 6
Kreuzer The Kreuzer (), in English also spelled kreutzer ( ), was a coin and unit of currency in the southern German states prior to the introduction of the German gold mark in 1871–1873, and in Austria and Switzerland. After 1760 it was made of cop ...
for each one from the municipality's coffers. The council also decided that the corn
hamster Hamsters are rodents (order Rodentia) belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 19 species classified in seven genera. They have become established as popular small pets. The best-known species of hamster is the golden or Syrian ...
, which had also got out of hand, had to be exterminated. For each killed or delivered hamster, 3 Kreuzer would be paid out. (Even by the years 1950–1960, hamsters were still being caught and would earn the catcher 1.80  DM each). In 1870, the well in the Pfaffenwald (forest) was not supplying enough water to those who dwelt there or their livestock. At that time, there was a great need for water in Schornsheim. The council stated in August of that year that it was needless to build a new well before the Heyertor (gate), as it had rained long and persistently. On 30 July that same year, Jakob Tautphäus delivered a horse and a waggon to send to
war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
in
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 ...
. Philipp Ebling gave a second horse. Both also gave a second man. On 28 September, though, one of the men came back with the war waggon and a strange horse. According to him, his fellow warrior and his horse had both been killed in France. On 8 October, the municipal council was complaining about the policeman. He was apparently much given to drink and had already been negligent in doing his duty for years. Also, some nighttime disturbances of the peace were not coming to his attention as he did his nightly rounds. Furthermore, he had failed to appoint other citizens each evening in addition to the serving security watches for the nighttime criminality that was getting out of hand. The policeman was to be dismissed, the more so as he had thrown his sabre and duty book into the mayor's livingroom. Five persons sought the fired policeman's job. The wages amounted to 40 guilders. The policeman also had to act as a court official and a field marksman for the nearby surrounding area. The municipality had to borrow capital amounting to 1,500 guilders to be able to indemnify those from Schornsheim who had gone to war in France. On 18 October came a report of a
typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...
outbreak. In 1871, the municipal council believed that “The investigation of wellwater with regard to the illness, which led to no result, could have been saved, as nothing could be confirmed.” In 1880, the policeman was dismissed, as on some days he was not to be seen in the village, as a result of which “with begging getting out of hand, the vagabonds can go about begging undisturbed. His other functions he has also badly neglected.” In 1881 a new
knacker A knacker (), knackerman or knacker man is a person who removes and clears animal carcasses (dead, dying, injured) from private farms or public highways and renders the collected carcasses into by-products such as fats, tallow ( yellow gre ...
was hired. He received 1.50 to 2.00 Marks for each cattle or horse carcass that he skinned and buried. For foals, calves or swine he got 50 Pfennigs. Horses and cattle had to be delivered to the knacker's yard; other livestock had to be fetched by the knacker. In 1897, a day's wages (not hourly) were set out in Schornsheim. The rates were as follows: :for grown workmen 1 Mark 80 Pfennigs :for grown workwomen 1 Mark 20 Pfennigs :for youthful workmen 1 Mark 20 Pfennigs :for youthful workwomen 80 Pfennigs Also, the municipality wanted to forbid free ranging of geese on Sundays and holidays.


20th century

In 1903, by the district office's decree, the council decided to put the old elmtree – the so-called ''Heyerbaum'' – under monumental protection. :Source for foregoing:


Politics


Municipal council

The council is made up of 16 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:Kommunalwahl Rheinland-Pfalz 2009, Gemeinderat
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Mayor

Schornsheim's current mayor is Heiko Schmittbetz.


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: Argent on a base sable a tower sans windows gules, in a chief of the second a crozier fesswise Or. The arms are believed to go back to a seal from 1781, when the ''Ganerben'' (“coheirs”), that is, the families von Dienheim, von Wallbrunn, von Wanscheid and Langwerth von Simmern, together held sway over the village. The tower is said to recall this time, while the bishop's staff, or crozier, refers to
Saint Leoba Leoba, (also Lioba and Leofgyth) (c. 710 – 28 September 782) was an Anglo-Saxon Benedictine nun and is recognized as a saint. In 746 she and others left Wimborne Minster in Dorset to join her kinsman Boniface in his mission to the German people ...
, who as
Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...
’s kin, founded one of the oldest convents in the 8th century in Schornsheim.


Famous people

* Kornelia Grummt-Ender, former
East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...
swimmer, 1976 Olympic Champion in
Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...
*
Leoba Leoba, (also Lioba and Leofgyth) (c. 710 – 28 September 782) was an Anglo-Saxon Benedictine nun and is recognized as a saint. In 746 she and others left Wimborne Minster in Dorset to join her kinsman Boniface in his mission to the German people ...
, locally known as Lioba von Tauberbischofsheim, a Saint


References


External links


Municipality’s official webpage

''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Wörrstadt
{{Authority control Alzey-Worms