Gabsheim
Encyclopedia
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 seat is in the like-named municipality
.
. Indeed, Gabsheim is Rhenish Hesse’s geographical centre. The nearest towns are Wörrstadt
, roughly 5 km to the west, and the district seat, Alzey
, roughly 15 km to the southwest. The state
capital, Mainz
, 30 km away, is easily reached over the Autobahn A 63
.
, Biebelnheim
, Schornsheim
, Undenheim
and Wörrstadt
.
, Gabsheim was called Geispisheim (Geispitzheim); among many other spellings found in documents are also Geispodisheim (Geisbodesheim) (1250) and Gespesheim (1484). All forms, however, go back etymologically
to the placename Gäu-Spießheim. Over time, the pronunciation of Gespesheim shifted to Gabsheim. Since the village is overwhelmingly Catholic, it is also sometimes known in the local speech
as Gottes Gahbsem (the first word meaning “God’s”).
The “fortified place in Geisbodesheim near the church” mentioned in 1250 gives clues to a permanent living place or perhaps a small castle, which would have been the von Geispitzheim noble family’s ancestral seat. As vassal
s of the Feudal Lords of Bolanden, further becoming fiefholders of the Counts of Veldenz beginning in the 14th century, the Knights of Geispitzheim (also called the Knights of Geisbodesheim) were mentioned as the Burgmann
en at Odernheim am Glan
(1190), at the Moschellandsburg (castle) near Obermoschel
(1377, 1421, 1431), at Burg Treuenfels (castle) near Altenbamberg
(1392), at Armsheim
(14th century) and in neighbouring Bechtolsheim
(until the early 16th century). The inscriptions from nine preserved gravestones from the 14th and 15th centuries clearly document that the Knights of Geispolzheim had their family burial ground near Saint Alban’s Church, not far from their Gabsheim ancestral seat.
Noteworthy, besides those things bearing witness to the Gothic
epoch, is the masterfully crafted Baroque
stone statue of Saint Alban
.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
council.
In English heraldic
language, the municipality’s arms
might be described thus: Per fess argent three fleurs-de-lis in fess azure and gules a spade blade fesswise sinister of the first.
Gabsheim’s arms as displayed and described herein go back to a court seal that was being used as early as 1507. While the spade blade is believed to have been a municipal symbol, the lilies refer to the Chamberlains of Dalberg
, who were the lords until the late 18th century. The field tincture
s argent and gules (silver and red) are an historical link to the former Archbishopric of Mainz
, to which – like all Rhenish-Hessian places – Gabsheim also belonged.
church was acknowledged in 1164 by Pope Lucius III
as a holding of St. Alban's Abbey, Mainz
. Even today, the church is still consecrated to Saint Alban of Mainz
.
The forerunner building, mentioned in 1164, gave way towards the late 15th century to a newer, bigger building in the Gothic
style. The new church’s nave and tower must have been built at roughly the same time as the church in Bechtolsheim
for both churches bear the same mason’s hallmark, “-L”. In Gabsheim, this can be seen chiselled on both the belltower’s doorframe and on the church portal (as confirmed by an entry in the Speyer
state archive, the church in Bechtolsheim was built between 1482 and 1487). Historically and stylistically, the church would seem to be the work of a member of the “Meisenheim School”, but whether the designer actually was Philipp von Gmünd cannot be established. A new expansion of the Gabsheim parish church was dedicated in 1768. Nevertheless, the whole building, including the tower, retained its Gothic character. This is shown on the outside foremost by the mighty chancel with its buttress
es. Inside, the chancel likewise forms the architectural highlight with its fine rib vault
s adorned with coats of arms. From the Gothic era come many of the décor’s important pictorial works, while on the church’s outer walls, various gravestones of the noble families that held estates here, such as the Barons of Dalberg
and the knightly family Bube von Geispitzheim or Fetzer von Geispitzheim can be seen.
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 Alzey-Worms
Alzey-Worms
Alzey-Worms is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the district Groß-Gerau , the city of Worms and the districts of Bad Dürkheim, Donnersbergkreis, Bad Kreuznach and Mainz-Bingen.- History :...
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...
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Wörrstadt
Wörrstadt (Verbandsgemeinde)
Wörrstadt is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Alzey-Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Wörrstadt....
, whose seat is in the like-named municipality
Wörrstadt
Wörrstadt is a town in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :The town lies in Rhenish Hesse on the northwest edge of the Upper Rhine Plain...
.
Location
The municipality lies in Rhenish Hesse, in Germany’s biggest wine regionRheinhessen (wine region)
Rheinhessen is the largest of 13 German wine regions for quality wines with under cultivation in 2008. Named for the traditional region of Rhenish Hesse, it lies on the left bank of the River Rhine between Worms and Bingen in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate...
. Indeed, Gabsheim is Rhenish Hesse’s geographical centre. The nearest towns are Wörrstadt
Wörrstadt
Wörrstadt is a town in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :The town lies in Rhenish Hesse on the northwest edge of the Upper Rhine Plain...
, roughly 5 km to the west, and the district seat, Alzey
Alzey
Alzey is a Verband-free town – one belonging to no Verbandsgemeinde – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the fourth-largest town in Rhenish Hesse, after Mainz, Worms, and Bingen....
, roughly 15 km to the southwest. The state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
capital, Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, 30 km away, is easily reached over the Autobahn A 63
Bundesautobahn 63
is an autobahn in southwestern Germany. It connects the Mainz area to Kaiserslautern and the A 6 and is therefore an important connection between the Rhine/Main and the Saar areas...
.
Neighbouring municipalities
Gabsheim’s neighbours are BechtolsheimBechtolsheim
Bechtolsheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Biebelnheim
Biebelnheim
Biebelnheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
, Schornsheim
Schornsheim
Schornsheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
, Undenheim
Undenheim
Undenheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
and Wörrstadt
Wörrstadt
Wörrstadt is a town in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :The town lies in Rhenish Hesse on the northwest edge of the Upper Rhine Plain...
.
History
In the Middle AgesMiddle 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...
, Gabsheim was called Geispisheim (Geispitzheim); among many other spellings found in documents are also Geispodisheim (Geisbodesheim) (1250) and Gespesheim (1484). All forms, however, go back etymologically
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
to the placename Gäu-Spießheim. Over time, the pronunciation of Gespesheim shifted to Gabsheim. Since the village is overwhelmingly Catholic, it is also sometimes known in the local speech
German dialects
German dialect is dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant shift, and the dialect continuum that connects the German with the Dutch language.-German dialects in relation to varieties of standard German:...
as Gottes Gahbsem (the first word meaning “God’s”).
The “fortified place in Geisbodesheim near the church” mentioned in 1250 gives clues to a permanent living place or perhaps a small castle, which would have been the von Geispitzheim noble family’s ancestral seat. As vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
s of the Feudal Lords of Bolanden, further becoming fiefholders of the Counts of Veldenz beginning in the 14th century, the Knights of Geispitzheim (also called the Knights of Geisbodesheim) were mentioned as the Burgmann
Burgmann
A Burgmann was a member of the low aristocracy in the Middle Ages who guarded and defended castles. They were hired by a lord of the castle to take on the burghut, the guarding and defense of a castle....
en at Odernheim am Glan
Odernheim am Glan
Odernheim am Glan is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany. It is a village of 1,900 people. The physical setting of Odernheim is quite picturesque. It is situated on the river Glan amid rolling hills and vineyards. Nearby towns include...
(1190), at the Moschellandsburg (castle) near Obermoschel
Obermoschel
Obermoschel is a town in the district Donnersbergkreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is part of the Verbandsgemeinde Alsenz-Obermoschel. It is situated 15 km southwest of Bad Kreuznach....
(1377, 1421, 1431), at Burg Treuenfels (castle) near Altenbamberg
Altenbamberg
Altenbamberg is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany.-References:...
(1392), at Armsheim
Armsheim
Armsheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
(14th century) and in neighbouring Bechtolsheim
Bechtolsheim
Bechtolsheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
(until the early 16th century). The inscriptions from nine preserved gravestones from the 14th and 15th centuries clearly document that the Knights of Geispolzheim had their family burial ground near Saint Alban’s Church, not far from their Gabsheim ancestral seat.
Noteworthy, besides those things bearing witness to the Gothic
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
epoch, is the masterfully crafted Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
stone statue of Saint Alban
Alban of Mainz
Saint Alban of Mainz was a priest, missionary, and martyr.Rabanus Maurus wrote in his Martyrology about Alban, who was sent to Gallia as a missionary by Ambrose of Milan. In Mainz, Alban helped bishop Aureus of Mainz to regain his bishopric...
.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 12 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 | FWG Free Voters Free Voters is a German concept in which an association of persons participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it is a locally organized group of voters in the form of a registered association . In most cases, Free Voters are active only at the... |
Total | |
| 2009 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 12 seats |
| 2004 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 12 seats |
Mayor
Hans Klaus Michel (CDU) is married with two grown sons. By trade he is a master winemaker and runs an agricultural business in Gabsheim. Since 1984 he has been a member of the municipal council. From 1994 to 1999 he was second deputy, and beginning in 1999 the first deputy. Furthermore, he has for ten years belonged to the VerbandsgemeindeVerbandsgemeinde
A Verbandsgemeinde is an administrative unit in the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt.-Rhineland-Palatinate:...
council.
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Von Silber und Rot geteilt, oben drei blaue Lilien nebeneinander, unten ein liegendes silbernes Spatenblatt.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, 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 be described thus: Per fess argent three fleurs-de-lis in fess azure and gules a spade blade fesswise sinister of the first.
Gabsheim’s arms as displayed and described herein go back to a court seal that was being used as early as 1507. While the spade blade is believed to have been a municipal symbol, the lilies refer to the Chamberlains of Dalberg
Dalberg
Dalberg is the name of an ancient and distinguished German noble family, derived from the hamlet and castle of Dalberg or Dalburg near Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate...
, who were the lords until the late 18th century. The field tincture
Tincture (heraldry)
In heraldry, tinctures are the colours used to emblazon a coat of arms. These can be divided into several categories including light tinctures called metals, dark tinctures called colours, nonstandard colours called stains, furs, and "proper". A charge tinctured proper is coloured as it would be...
s argent and gules (silver and red) are an historical link to the former Archbishopric of Mainz
Archbishopric of Mainz
The Archbishopric of Mainz or Electorate of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire between 780–82 and 1802. In the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae, the substitute of the Pope north of the Alps...
, to which – like all Rhenish-Hessian places – Gabsheim also belonged.
Buildings
The Catholic parish church in Gabsheim is among Rhenish Hesse’s oldest and biggest churches and given its commanding location above the village it is a prominent landmark for the whole area. The early mediaevalEarly Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
church was acknowledged in 1164 by Pope Lucius III
Pope Lucius III
Pope Lucius III , born Ubaldo, was pope from 1 September 1181 to his death.A native of the independent republic of Lucca, he was born ca. 1100 as Ubaldo, son of Orlando. He is commonly referred to as a member of the aristocratic family of Allucingoli, but this is not proven...
as a holding of St. Alban's Abbey, Mainz
St. Alban's Abbey, Mainz
St. Alban's Abbey, Mainz originated as a Benedictine abbey, founded in 787 or 796 by Archbishop Richulf in honour of Saint Alban of Mainz, located to the south of Mainz on the hill later called the Albansberg. It was turned into a collegiate foundation in 1442...
. Even today, the church is still consecrated to Saint Alban of Mainz
Alban of Mainz
Saint Alban of Mainz was a priest, missionary, and martyr.Rabanus Maurus wrote in his Martyrology about Alban, who was sent to Gallia as a missionary by Ambrose of Milan. In Mainz, Alban helped bishop Aureus of Mainz to regain his bishopric...
.
The forerunner building, mentioned in 1164, gave way towards the late 15th century to a newer, bigger building in the Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style. The new church’s nave and tower must have been built at roughly the same time as the church in Bechtolsheim
Bechtolsheim
Bechtolsheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
for both churches bear the same mason’s hallmark, “-L”. In Gabsheim, this can be seen chiselled on both the belltower’s doorframe and on the church portal (as confirmed by an entry in the Speyer
Speyer
Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
state archive, the church in Bechtolsheim was built between 1482 and 1487). Historically and stylistically, the church would seem to be the work of a member of the “Meisenheim School”, but whether the designer actually was Philipp von Gmünd cannot be established. A new expansion of the Gabsheim parish church was dedicated in 1768. Nevertheless, the whole building, including the tower, retained its Gothic character. This is shown on the outside foremost by the mighty chancel with its buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es. Inside, the chancel likewise forms the architectural highlight with its fine rib vault
Rib vault
The intersection of two or three barrel vaults produces a rib vault or ribbed vault when they are edged with an armature of piped masonry often carved in decorative patterns; compare groin vault, an older form of vault construction...
s adorned with coats of arms. From the Gothic era come many of the décor’s important pictorial works, while on the church’s outer walls, various gravestones of the noble families that held estates here, such as the Barons of Dalberg
Dalberg
Dalberg is the name of an ancient and distinguished German noble family, derived from the hamlet and castle of Dalberg or Dalburg near Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate...
and the knightly family Bube von Geispitzheim or Fetzer von Geispitzheim can be seen.
Further reading
- Rudolf Post: Die Mundart von Gabsheim in Rheinhessen.
- Erich Kreit: Gabsheim – Gegenwart und Vergangenheit. In: Heimatjahrbuch Landkreis Alzey-Worms 2003. S. 127-132.
- Friedrich Wilhelm WeberFriedrich Wilhelm WeberFriedrich Wilhelm Weber was a German doctor, politician of the Prussian House of Deputies, and poet.Weber was born in Alshausen, near Bad Driburg, in Westphalia. His father was forester for the Count of Asseburg...
: Die Adelsfamilie von Geispitzheim in der Nordpfalz. Mit Nachrichten über ihre Herkunft aus dem Rheinhessischen. Dargestellt nach gegenständlichen Befunden, archivalischen Quellen und der mündlichen Überlieferung. Mit zahlreichen Fotos, Zeichnungen und einer Kartenskizze. Herausgegeben von Dr. Lothar Sießl, GTS-Druck GmbH, Kirchheimbolanden 1992; ISBN 3-926306-08-4
External links
- Municipality’s official webpage
- Die Mundart von Gabsheim in Rheinhessen
- Presentation of Gabsheim in pictures and text from the Codex Laureshamensis
- Gabsheim history at regionalgeschichte.net
- Gabsheim: Ein Ortsportrait von Hermann Götz for the SWR Fernsehen programme Hierzuland