Dittelsheim-Heßloch (or
Dittelsheim-Hessloch) is an Ortsgemeinde
– a municipality belonging
to a Verbandsgemeinde, a
kind of collective municipality found only in this state – in the
Alzey-Worms
district in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
.
Geography
Location
The
municipality lies in Rhenish Hesse,
and is a wine village in the Wonnegau
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of
Westhofen
, whose seat is in the like-named municipality
.
History
Werner II of Bolanden was enfeoffed about 1190 with the village of
Dittelsheim by the Counts of Katzenelnbogen. Bit by bit,
Electoral Palatinate acquired the parts
formerly held by the Raugrafen noble family and the Old Bolanden
line, and those held by the von Wachenheims and the von Dalbergs
(15th to early 17th century). During the
Middle Ages, the Lords of Dalberg held the
Vogtei.
The municipality of Dittelsheim-Heßloch came into being on 7 June
1969 through the merger of the two municipalities of Dittelsheim
and Heßloch.
Politics
Municipal council
The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected at
the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, with the honorary mayor
as chairman.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following
results:
|
SPD |
CDU |
FWG |
Total |
| 2009 |
4 |
6 |
6 |
16 seats |
| 2004 |
4 |
7 |
5 |
16 seats |
Mayors
- Werner Spies - FWG (1970-1989)
- Herbert Morch - SPD (1989 - 2004)
- Rainer Fuhrmann - CDU (2004 - present)
Culture and sightseeing
Buildings
- Sarazenenturm (Saracen
Tower): A tower at the Evangelical church in the
constituent community of Dittelsheim, built about 1200, known
locally as the Heidenturm (“Heathen Tower”). The church
itself was torn down in 1729 and replaced with a Baroque structure. Only the vestibule
and the tower remain from earlier times. Reportedly, Moorish or Byzantine
style influences can be made out in this Romanesque tower. It is often
described as the loveliest of its kind in Rhenish Hesse. The spire with its 16-sided cupola top
supposedly bears some relation to the Hohenstaufen Rhinelands to the east
and it belongs to a group of similar spires in Rhenish Hesse, such
as Alsheim
, Guntersblum
and Saint Paul’s Church in Worms
. The names Heidenturm and
Sarazenenturm go back to the Crusaders who supposedly built the tower.
- Old Catholic
Christuskirche in Heßloch.
Sport
- TSG Dittelsheim (gymnastic and sport club)
- Kunstradfahrverein Dittelsheim (artistic cycling)
- TuS Hessloch (gymnastic and sport club)
Clubs
- Kloppberggugger e.V. – the first Guggenmusik from
Rhenish Hesse
- Musikverein Hessloch (music club)
Economy and infrastructure
Winegrowing
Winegrowing has a long tradition here.
Dittelsheim-Heßloch covers an area of some 1 350 ha, of
which 446 ha is planted with vineyards.
Differences in elevation, various microclimatic conditions and
highly differentiated soil compositions that range from heavy,
loamy to light sandy earth are good preconditions for winegrowing,
and thus many different varieties of vine thrive in
Dittelsheim-Heßloch, making possible a broad palette of
wines.
Transport
Dittelsheim-Heßloch was once served by the former Osthofen–Gau
Odernheim
railway line.
Famous people
- Jakob Becker (b. 15 March 1810 in
Dittelsheim; d. 22 December 1872 in Frankfurt am Main)
painter, etcher and lithographer as well as art professor at
Städel
- Anton Praetorius was from 1592
to 1596 the first reformed clergyman in Dittelsheim. He wrote in 1595 the
earliest description of the first Great
Barrel at Heidelberg
Castle
, in which he praised the barrel as a symbol for the
Calvinist belief’s supremacy. He
was later known as an active opponent of witch trials and
torture.
- Julia Metzler was the Rhenish-Hessian Wine Queen in 2006/2007 and
German Wine Princess in 2007/2008.
References
- Kommunalwahl Rheinland-Pfalz 2009,
Gemeinderat
External links
Wikis
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