Ellerstadt
Encyclopedia
Ellerstadt is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim
district in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
.
in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Wachenheim
, whose seat is in the like-named town
. The Akaziensiedlung (“Acacia Housing Estate”), which belongs to Ellerstadt, lies in the north of the main centre right at the limit shared with Birkenheide’s built-up area.
times is proved by three Roman stone coffins with glasses and urns that were found on the southern outskirts in 1822.
It is believed that by the 5th century, Ellerstadt was a Frankish
settlement.
On 19 December 783, Ellerstadt had its first documentary mention: Documented is the donation of a part of the settlement of "Alaridestath" to Lorsch Abbey
by the free Frank Hubertus. Further donations from Ellerstadt were mentioned in 863, 873 and 908 or 909 to Lorsch and in 985 to Weißenburg Monastery in Lower Alsace
in what is now the French
town of Wissembourg
. For the year 1190, there is evidence through Lorsch Abbey of Comital-Palatine
rights in Ellerstadt from the former Weißenburg Monastery estate’s holdings and the "Vogt
ei". There was also still an Imperial estate, which was granted loyal followers, such as the Count of Hohenfels and the Knight of Bolanden.
Of great importance became the Lords of Flersheim, who beginning in 1482 acquired ownership of the Ellerstadt holdings. In 1548, the Flersheims owned two-thirds of the village and the Lords of Affenstein the other third. In 1570, Friedrich von Flersheim obtained from Emperor Maximilian II leave to hold yearly horse and livestock markets, always on 1 May and 19 November. These are no longer held. The Flersheims not only held control of the market (with all attendant rights) but also the blood court
rights along with the court itself, thereby making them lords over the villagers’ very lives. Their Weistum of 1555, the municipality’s oldest document dealing with its people’s litigation and criminal cases (a Weistum – cognate with English
wisdom – was a legal pronouncement issued by men learned in law in the Middle Ages
and early modern times), was time and again publicly read out. After the Flersheims found themselves the only lordly fiefholders in the village after a settlement with the Affensteins in 1577, they held this status for only 78 years, dying out in 1655. In 1707, Ellerstadt belonged to Casimir Kolb von Wartenberg and was part of the Imperial county that was of an Imperially immediate nature. The impoverished Wartenbergs eventually sold their rights out in 1789 to the Counts of Sickingen.
In 1793 and 1794, French Revolution
ary troops brought woe to the municipality. Houses were plundered and the inhabitants were forced to do labour. The seizure of all noble lands on the Rhine’s left bank also affected the Count of Sickingen. There were no longer any great landowners or free peasants. After Napoleon’s
downfall and the Congress of Vienna
, the Palatinate was incorporated into the Kingdom of Bavaria
. It belonged to the Landeskommissariat of Neustadt, Court District of Frankenthal
.
In 1939, the old Bezirksamt (“Regional Amt”) of Neustadt became the Neustadt district. Since administrative reform early in 1969, Ellerstadt has belonged to the Verbandsgemeinde of Wachenheim
, and since the dissolution of the Neustadt district, it has belonged to the Bad Dürkheim
district.
Winegrowing was playing a rôle in Ellerstadt as early as the 8th century, as told by the Lorsch
donation document. Since 1886, it has been mainly Blauer Portugieser
vines that have been planted. Gewürztraminer
, which even Bismarck
procured from Ellerstadt, has a mostly low yield and is only to be found in scattered spots, even though the soils in the municipality are especially well suited to it. In 1903, out of the municipality’s area of 634 ha, 117 ha was given over to winegrowing, 357 to cropraising and gardening and 70 to “forests and woodlands”. Fruitgrowing played an important rôle until the last decade, with peach
growing beginning in 1867. Known well beyond the region is the variety Ellerstadter Rote (“Ellerstadt Red”). Since 1925, however, more and more sour cherries
have been being grown.
Whereas there might have been only a handful of people living here at the time of the first documentary mention, this had grown to 24 to 30 families by 1548, and by 1614 this had reached 60 to 70. In 1722, on the street where now runs the Rhein-Haardt railway, there was not a single house; in 1910, there were 767.
The sharp growth over the last few decades owes itself not least of all to the Rhein-Haardt railway. In the 1920s, the 1,000 mark was breached. By 1970, this had grown to a population of 1,400. In 1980, the figure had risen to 2,000, and come completion of the planned new development area, the population figure will rise to roughly 2,500.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: Argent on a mount in base vert a rooted alder of the same, its stock flanked with two inescutcheons, the dexter tierced in fess azure, argent and gules, and the sinister argent a fess gules between three roundles of the same.
, earns its livelihood mainly through winegrowing, and in a smaller measure through fruitgrowing. Some of the population is employed at BASF
in nearby Ludwigshafen.
–Ludwigshafen railway line of the Rhein-Haardtbahn, line 4 (in the VRN
, formerly RHB), a narrow-gauge
line that runs on one track through Ellerstadt on one of the streets. There are two halts, Ellerstadt Ost and Ellerstadt West. The municipality belongs to the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar
(VRN).
Between Ellerstadt and the Akaziensiedlung (“Acacia Housing Estate”) runs the Autobahn A 650 (Bad Dürkheim–Ludwigshafen).
ISBN 3-934845-16-9
Municipalities of Germany
Municipalities are the lowest level of territorial division in Germany. This may be the fourth level of territorial division in Germany, apart from those states which include Regierungsbezirke , where municipalities then become the fifth level.-Overview:With more than 3,400,000 inhabitants, the...
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
Verbandsgemeinde
A Verbandsgemeinde is an administrative unit in the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt.-Rhineland-Palatinate:...
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim (district)
Bad Dürkheim is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Kaiserslautern, Donnersbergkreis and Alzey-Worms, the city of Worms, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, the city of Neustadt/Weinstraße, the districts of Südliche Weinstraße, the city of Landau , the district...
district in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Location
The municipality lies on the Upper Rhine PlainUpper Rhine Plain
The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben is a major rift, straddling the border between France and Germany. It forms part of the European Cenozoic Rift System, which extends across central Europe...
in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Wachenheim
Wachenheim (Verbandsgemeinde)
Wachenheim is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Bad Dürkheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Wachenheim....
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Wachenheim
Wachenheim an der Weinstraße is a small town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, roughly 1 km south of Bad Dürkheim and 20 km west of Ludwigshafen...
. The Akaziensiedlung (“Acacia Housing Estate”), which belongs to Ellerstadt, lies in the north of the main centre right at the limit shared with Birkenheide’s built-up area.
History
That the area was settled as early as RomanAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
times is proved by three Roman stone coffins with glasses and urns that were found on the southern outskirts in 1822.
It is believed that by the 5th century, Ellerstadt was a Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
settlement.
On 19 December 783, Ellerstadt had its first documentary mention: Documented is the donation of a part of the settlement of "Alaridestath" to Lorsch Abbey
Lorsch Abbey
The Abbey of Lorsch is a former Imperial Abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about 10 km east of Worms, one of the most renowned monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ruined state, its remains are among the most important pre-Romanesque–Carolingian style buildings in Germany...
by the free Frank Hubertus. Further donations from Ellerstadt were mentioned in 863, 873 and 908 or 909 to Lorsch and in 985 to Weißenburg Monastery in Lower Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
in what is now the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
town of Wissembourg
Wissembourg
Wissembourg is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in northeastern France.It is situated on the little River Lauter close to the border between France and Germany approximately north of Strasbourg and west of Karlsruhe. Wissembourg is a sub-prefecture of the department...
. For the year 1190, there is evidence through Lorsch Abbey of Comital-Palatine
Count palatine
Count palatine is a high noble title, used to render several comital styles, in some cases also shortened to Palatine, which can have other meanings as well.-Comes palatinus:...
rights in Ellerstadt from the former Weißenburg Monastery estate’s holdings and the "Vogt
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...
ei". There was also still an Imperial estate, which was granted loyal followers, such as the Count of Hohenfels and the Knight of Bolanden.
Of great importance became the Lords of Flersheim, who beginning in 1482 acquired ownership of the Ellerstadt holdings. In 1548, the Flersheims owned two-thirds of the village and the Lords of Affenstein the other third. In 1570, Friedrich von Flersheim obtained from Emperor Maximilian II leave to hold yearly horse and livestock markets, always on 1 May and 19 November. These are no longer held. The Flersheims not only held control of the market (with all attendant rights) but also the blood court
Blood court
Blood Court or high justice in the Holy Roman Empire referred to the right of a Vogt to hold a criminal court inflicting bodily punishment, including the death penalty.Not every Vogt held the blood court...
rights along with the court itself, thereby making them lords over the villagers’ very lives. Their Weistum of 1555, the municipality’s oldest document dealing with its people’s litigation and criminal cases (a Weistum – cognate with English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
wisdom – was a legal pronouncement issued by men learned in law in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and early modern times), was time and again publicly read out. After the Flersheims found themselves the only lordly fiefholders in the village after a settlement with the Affensteins in 1577, they held this status for only 78 years, dying out in 1655. In 1707, Ellerstadt belonged to Casimir Kolb von Wartenberg and was part of the Imperial county that was of an Imperially immediate nature. The impoverished Wartenbergs eventually sold their rights out in 1789 to the Counts of Sickingen.
In 1793 and 1794, French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
ary troops brought woe to the municipality. Houses were plundered and the inhabitants were forced to do labour. The seizure of all noble lands on the Rhine’s left bank also affected the Count of Sickingen. There were no longer any great landowners or free peasants. After Napoleon’s
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
downfall and the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
, the Palatinate was incorporated into the Kingdom of Bavaria
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...
. It belonged to the Landeskommissariat of Neustadt, Court District of Frankenthal
Frankenthal
Frankenthal is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.- History :Frankenthal was first mentioned in 772. In 1119 an Augustinian monastery was built here, the ruins of which — known, after the founder, as the Erkenbertruine — still stand today in the town...
.
In 1939, the old Bezirksamt (“Regional Amt”) of Neustadt became the Neustadt district. Since administrative reform early in 1969, Ellerstadt has belonged to the Verbandsgemeinde of Wachenheim
Wachenheim (Verbandsgemeinde)
Wachenheim is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Bad Dürkheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Wachenheim....
, and since the dissolution of the Neustadt district, it has belonged to the Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim (district)
Bad Dürkheim is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Kaiserslautern, Donnersbergkreis and Alzey-Worms, the city of Worms, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, the city of Neustadt/Weinstraße, the districts of Südliche Weinstraße, the city of Landau , the district...
district.
Winegrowing was playing a rôle in Ellerstadt as early as the 8th century, as told by the Lorsch
Lorsch Abbey
The Abbey of Lorsch is a former Imperial Abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about 10 km east of Worms, one of the most renowned monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ruined state, its remains are among the most important pre-Romanesque–Carolingian style buildings in Germany...
donation document. Since 1886, it has been mainly Blauer Portugieser
Blauer Portugieser
Blauer Portugieser is a red Austrian and German wine grape found primarily in the Rheinhessen, Pfalz and wine regions of Lower Austria. It is also one of the permitted grapes in the Hungarian wine Egri Bikavér . In Germany, the cultivated area covered or 4.5% of the total vineyard area in 2007...
vines that have been planted. Gewürztraminer
Gewürztraminer
Gewürztraminer is an aromatic wine grape variety that performs best in cooler climates. It is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz, and in French it is written '...
, which even Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
procured from Ellerstadt, has a mostly low yield and is only to be found in scattered spots, even though the soils in the municipality are especially well suited to it. In 1903, out of the municipality’s area of 634 ha, 117 ha was given over to winegrowing, 357 to cropraising and gardening and 70 to “forests and woodlands”. Fruitgrowing played an important rôle until the last decade, with peach
Peach
The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...
growing beginning in 1867. Known well beyond the region is the variety Ellerstadter Rote (“Ellerstadt Red”). Since 1925, however, more and more sour cherries
Sour Cherry
Prunus cerasus, or the sour cherry, is a species of Prunus in the subgenus Cerasus , native to much of Europe and southwest Asia. It is closely related to the wild cherry Prunus cerasus, or the sour cherry, is a species of Prunus in the subgenus Cerasus (cherries), native to much of Europe and...
have been being grown.
Whereas there might have been only a handful of people living here at the time of the first documentary mention, this had grown to 24 to 30 families by 1548, and by 1614 this had reached 60 to 70. In 1722, on the street where now runs the Rhein-Haardt railway, there was not a single house; in 1910, there were 767.
The sharp growth over the last few decades owes itself not least of all to the Rhein-Haardt railway. In the 1920s, the 1,000 mark was breached. By 1970, this had grown to a population of 1,400. In 1980, the figure had risen to 2,000, and come completion of the planned new development area, the population figure will rise to roughly 2,500.
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:
| SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
CDU | FDP Free Democratic Party (Germany) The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government... |
GRÜNE Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir... |
FWG | Total | |
| 2009 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 16 seats |
| 2004 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 16 seats |
Mayor
The municipality’s mayor (Ortsbürgermeister) is Helmut Rentz (SPD), who was elected with 71.13% of the vote.Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: In Silber auf grünem Grund ein bewurzelter grüner Eller- oder Erlenbaum mit stilisierten Blättern, dessen Stamm von zwei Wappenschildern beseitet wird, rechts von Blau und Silber und Rot geteilt, links in Silber ein roter Balken, begleitet oben von zwei, unten von einer roten Kugel.The municipality’s arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
might in English heraldic
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
language be described thus: Argent on a mount in base vert a rooted alder of the same, its stock flanked with two inescutcheons, the dexter tierced in fess azure, argent and gules, and the sinister argent a fess gules between three roundles of the same.
Economy and infrastructure
The municipality, whose economic base is agriculturalAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, earns its livelihood mainly through winegrowing, and in a smaller measure through fruitgrowing. Some of the population is employed at BASF
BASF
BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...
in nearby Ludwigshafen.
Transport
Ellerstadt lies on the Bad DürkheimBad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration, and is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
–Ludwigshafen railway line of the Rhein-Haardtbahn, line 4 (in the VRN
Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar
Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar is a public transport network covering parts of the German states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse in south-west Germany...
, formerly RHB), a narrow-gauge
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
line that runs on one track through Ellerstadt on one of the streets. There are two halts, Ellerstadt Ost and Ellerstadt West. The municipality belongs to the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar
Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar
Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar is a public transport network covering parts of the German states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse in south-west Germany...
(VRN).
Between Ellerstadt and the Akaziensiedlung (“Acacia Housing Estate”) runs the Autobahn A 650 (Bad Dürkheim–Ludwigshafen).
Further reading
Ellerstadt, einst und jetzt. Herausgeber: Ortsgemeinde EllerstadtISBN 3-934845-16-9