Westheim (Palatinate)
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Coordinates: 49 ° 15 ' N , 8 ° 19' E |
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| Basic data | ||
| State : | Rhineland-Palatinate | |
| County : | Germersheim | |
| Association municipality : | Lingenfeld | |
| Height : | 112 m above sea level NHN | |
| Area : | 7.12 km 2 | |
| Residents: | 1796 (Dec. 31, 2019) | |
| Population density : | 252 inhabitants per km 2 | |
| Postal code : | 67368 | |
| Area code : | 06344 | |
| License plate : | GER | |
| Community key : | 07 3 34 033 | |
| Association administration address: | Hauptstrasse 60 67360 Lingenfeld |
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| Website : | ||
| Mayoress : | Susanne Grabau (FWG) | |
| Location of the local community Westheim (Pfalz) in the district of Germersheim | ||
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Westheim (Pfalz) ( Palatine : Weschde) is a municipality in the district of Germersheim in Rhineland-Palatinate . It belongs to the Lingenfeld community .
geography
Westheim is located between Landau in the Palatinate and Speyer . The neighboring communities of Westheim are Lustadt , Weingarten (Palatinate) , Schwegenheim , Lingenfeld and in the extreme southeast Germersheim . The Holzmühle residential area belongs to Westheim.
| Vineyard | Schwegenheim | |
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Lingenfeld |
| Bellheim | Germersheim |
In the south of Westheim the Bellheimer Wald extends , through which the Druslach and Queich flow in the Westheimer municipality . The Queich partly forms the southern boundary of the municipality and flows into the Rhine about five kilometers further east . Furthermore, the so-called Hofgraben flows through the place.
history
Finds from different periods ( Neolithic , Bronze Age , Hallstatt period , La Tène period , Roman empire) demonstrate an early settlement of the current municipal area. The current place was founded at the end of the 5th or beginning of the 6th century. A first mention of the place in the Lorsch Codex from the year 792 turned out to be incorrect. A place named Westheim is not the Palatinate.
The ending -heim of many places in the Vorderpfalz is a result of the Franconian settlement wave. Originally this ending was linked to a personal name. This is not the case with Westheim. Rather, such a geographical name can probably be traced back to a single farmstead that was located in a certain direction from a place. In this case the reference location is probably Germersheim . The ending -heim was then only chosen because of the frequency of this ending in the region.
In 1241 the cathedral provost Berthold zu Speyer left the patronage rights due to his provost and the income of the church in Westheim to the monastery chapter at St. Guido in Speyer. The document that seals this process mentions a church in Westheim for the first time. In 1791, today's church was built on the same site as the previous building.
It is believed that there was a school in Westheim from the end of the 16th century. A “reformed schoolmaster” is mentioned in a text from the 17th century. A Westheim school house is reported in 1753. In the 19th century the school building was rebuilt or expanded several times; from 1859 there was both a Protestant and a Catholic school.
From 1798 to 1814 Westheim belonged to the Mairie Lingenfeld . The railway age began in Westheim in 1872, when the place was connected to the railway network of the Maximiliansbahn (see section Transport ). In 1914 it was connected to the power supply network, and in 1936 Westheim joined the water association.
Westheim was not spared from the Second World War either. Westheim was first attacked by American bombers on March 24, 1945. Another, far more devastating, attack followed a day later. A total of seven people died as a result of the attacks, 15 residential buildings, including Westheim's oldest house from 1688, and 43 barns were destroyed. Over half of Westheim's residential buildings and the church tower were damaged.
On September 19, 1964, the groundbreaking ceremony took place for the construction of a new elementary school, which was completed in 1965. In 1970 a kindergarten was built next door. The old kindergarten was closed after the Second World War. After 22 years without such a facility, a provisional kindergarten was set up in the old schoolhouse in 1967 until the new building was built.
In the course of the administrative reform, the Lingenfeld Association was established in 1972 , to which Westheim and five other places belong.
religion
At the end of July 2012, 46.7 percent of the population were Protestant and 30.9 percent Catholic. The rest belonged to another religion or were non-denominational. In 1971, 77 percent were Protestant and 21 percent Catholic; in 1890, out of a total of 737 inhabitants, 535 were Protestant (72 percent) and 205 were Catholic (28 percent).
Population development
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At the end of July 2012, the proportion of the foreign population was 3.5%.
politics
Municipal council
The local council in Westheim consists of 16 council members, who were elected in the local elections on May 26, 2019 in a personalized proportional representation, and the honorary local mayor Susanne Grabau (FWG) as chairman.
The distribution of seats in the municipal council:
| choice | SPD | CDU | FWG | total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 6th | 1 | 9 | 16 seats |
| 2014 | 7th | 3 | 6th | 16 seats |
| 2009 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 16 seats |
| 2004 | 7th | 2 | 7th | 16 seats |
| 1999 | 6th | 0 | 10 | 16 seats |
mayor
| year | Local mayor | Political party |
|---|---|---|
| 1960-1974 | Ludwig Hoffmann | Flat share |
| 1974-1979 | Karl-Heinz Jung | SPD |
| 1979-1997 | Alfred Schubart | SPD |
| 1997-2004 | Dieter Mappes | FWG |
| 2004-2019 | Inge Volz | SPD |
| 2019– | Susanne Grabau | FWG |
Susanne Grabau prevailed in the runoff election on June 16, 2019 with a share of 54.83% of the vote, after none of the original three applicants had achieved a sufficient majority in the direct election on May 26, 2019.
coat of arms
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Blazon : "Roughened in a split shield on the right of silver and blue, on the left in red on a green three-mountain a floating golden capital letter W."
It was approved by the Mainz Ministry of the Interior in 1961 and goes back to a seal from 1589. |
Community partnerships
The partner communities of Westheim are Eggersdorf (since 1991) in Brandenburg and Großkarolinenfeld (since 2001) in Bavaria.
Culture and sights
Buildings
See also: List of cultural monuments in Westheim (Pfalz)
Protestant Church
Wood mill
On April 6, 1481, the Count Palatine Philip granted the concession to build a flour and ohlig mill. The name Holzmühle comes from the medieval name "Holtz" for forest. The mill is located on the Queich in the Bellheim Forest. The mill was affected by major fires several times (including 1706, 1934). The wood mill was operated in an uninterrupted series of generations from 1706. In 1998 the Betriebs-GmbH was sold. The mill was finally shut down in 2001. The properties are still in family ownership. Today a café and a small shop are set up in the wood mill.
Museums
In the local history museum in Kirchstrasse there were many old tools from farmers and households, as well as a collection of photos that document rural life in Westheim. The museum has since been closed.
Regular events
- On the last weekend in September, the Westheimer Kerwe (parish fair) takes place every Saturday to Tuesday.
- Mardi Gras parade on Shrove Sunday, in which groups from the surrounding communities also take part.
Economy and Infrastructure
economy
In earlier times, Westheim, like all other places in the area, was an agricultural village. Special crops such as asparagus, vegetables and tobacco have been and are being planted in Westheim. However, a previously existing tobacco barn was demolished. There are only two farms left in Westheim, but there are some small and medium-sized companies.
traffic
Westheim was connected to the rail network via the Germersheim – Landau railway line . This was finally shut down in 1999, and passenger trains have not been running here since 1984. Since May 2006, bicycle draisines have been running on a large part of this route as a tourist attraction. Westheim received a station in the center of the village, about 400 meters west of the former station. Draisine traffic originally ran between Bornheim and Lingenfeld. Westheim has been the eastern end point since 2015.
The next train stop is in Lingenfeld on the Schifferstadt – Wörth railway line , about two kilometers east of Westheim. The tariffs of VRN and KVV apply . Alternatively, bus line 590 can be used.
education
- Westheim elementary school with four school classes, in which approx. 80 pupils are taught (provider: Verbandsgemeinde Lingenfeld )
- Day care center "Löwenzahn"
energy
- In 2013, the Westheim solar park, a photovoltaic system with 2.95 MWp installed capacity, has been operated by Neue Energie Verbandsgemeinde Lingenfeld GmbH since 2014 .
- On the grounds of the Westheim composting plant, a biogas plant has been operated by Biogutvergerung Bietigheim GmbH since October 2019 . The plant recycles 48,000 tons of organic material from the districts of Germersheim, Ludwigsburg and the city of Karlsruhe . The biogas produced is processed and fed into the natural gas network. In addition to compost, liquid fertilizer is also produced.
Personalities
Honorary citizen
- Georg Louis (1902–1981), mill owner, honorary citizen from March 30, 1962
- Ludwig Hoffmann (1904–1993), former mayor, honorary citizen from October 13, 1971
- Richard Hummel († 2000), founder of the Heimatmuseum, honorary citizen from September 30, 1996
- Alfred Schubart (* 1939), former mayor, honorary citizen since December 22, 1997
Sons and daughters of the church
- Georg Heeger (1856–1915), musicologist and writer
- Philipp Hoffmann (1870–1939), promoter of tobacco cultivation in the Palatinate and co-founder of the German Tobacco Association
- Emil Höring (1890–1976), police officer, most recently lieutenant general of the police and SS group leader in World War II
People who worked on site
- Georg Otto Angerer (1893–1951), local mayor
- Josef Kopf (* 1935), player and coach at the local football club
- Johann Schiller (1812–1886) was pastor in Westheim for 32 years.
Web links
- Internet presence of the local community Westheim (Pfalz)
- Verbandsgemeinde Lingenfeld
- Literature about Westheim in the Rhineland-Palatinate State Bibliography
Individual evidence
- ↑ State Statistical Office of Rhineland-Palatinate - population status 2019, districts, communities, association communities ( help on this ).
- ↑ State Statistical Office Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Official directory of the municipalities and parts of the municipality. Status: January 2019 [ Version 2020 is available. ] . S. 148 (PDF; 3 MB).
- ↑ Festschrift GV Liederkranz 1996, p. 40
- ↑ a b Gerd Pressler u. a .: 200 years of the Protestant Church Westheim , 1992
- ↑ Georg Heeger: The Germanic settlement of the Vorderpfalz on the hand of the place names. P. 15.
- ↑ The district of Germersheim in the color aerial photo , p. 74
- ↑ a b Gerd Nagel: Traffic noise disrupts lessons and the children play on the street. In: The Rhine Palatinate.
- ↑ Gerd Nagel: The church tower clock shows 9.45 a.m. when the sirens start to howl. In: The Rhine Palatinate.
- ↑ a b KommWis, as of July 31, 2012
- ^ The Regional Returning Officer Rhineland-Palatinate: Local elections 2019, city and municipal council elections.
- ^ The State Returning Officer Rhineland-Palatinate: direct elections 2019. see Lingenfeld, Verbandsgemeinde, last line of results. Retrieved April 24, 2020 .
- ^ Runoff elections in Westheim and Schwegenheim. Wochenblatt–Reporter.de, June 10, 2019, accessed on April 24, 2020 .
- ^ Karl Heinz Debus: The great book of arms of the Palatinate. Neustadt an der Weinstrasse 1988, ISBN 3-9801574-2-3 .
- ↑ Gisela Stieve: Don't be afraid of change. In: The Rhine Palatinate. May 26, 2017.
- ↑ Website of the Hofgut Holzmühle
- ↑ Brief information at museen.rlp.de
- ↑ Interesting facts about the local church. Local community Westheim (Pfalz), accessed on February 3, 2020 .
- ↑ Draisinentour ends in Westheim . In: The Rhine Palatinate . March 31, 2015.
- ↑ Route & stops. Südpfalz Drasinenbahn, accessed on September 5, 2019 .
- ^ Westheim solar park. Local community Westheim (Pfalz), accessed on March 5, 2020 .
- ↑ Pfalzsolar sells the Westheim solar park to the Neue Energie Verbandsgemeinde Lingenfeld GmbH. Pfalzsolar, accessed on March 5, 2020 .
- ↑ biogas plant. Local community Westheim (Pfalz), accessed on March 5, 2020 .
- ↑ Info. Biogut fermentation Bietigheim, accessed on March 5, 2020 .
Bellheim | Berg (Palatinate) | Erlenbach near Kandel | Freckenfeld | Freisbach | Germersheim | Hagenbach | Hatzenbühl | Heard | Jockgrim | Candelabra | Knittelsheim | Kuhardt | Leimersheim | Lingenfeld | Lustadt | Minfeld | Neuburg am Rhein | Neupotz | Ottersheim near Landau | Rheinzabern | Rülzheim | Scheibenhardt | Schwegenheim | Steinweiler | Vollmersweiler | Weingarten (Palatinate) | Westheim (Palatinate) | Winches | Wörth am Rhein | Zeiskam