Kallstadt
Encyclopedia
Kallstadt is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim
district in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
.
, whose seat is in the like-named town
.
The area where Kallstadt now stands lay on the Roman
road that linked Altenstadt – now in Alsace
and a constituent community of Wissembourg
– with the Rhineland
and even in Roman times its cultural landscape was blossoming. Many archaeological
finds witness settlement by merchants, former legionnaires and also winegrowers from about 79 BC to at least AD 383. The settlement that stands today could well have had its beginnings when the land here was settled by a Frankish
clan that arose about 500 and whose chief, Chagilo, became the village’s namesake.
In 824, Kallstadt had its first documentary mention as Cagelenstat. Originally an Imperial
Village, it later passed to the County of Pfeffingen (Homburg) and beginning in 1321 was held in fief first by the Knights Monfort, and then from 1451 until about 1551 by the House of Blicken von Lichtenberg. Thereafter, Kallstadt belonged, until 1794, as an Electoral Palatinate fief, to the Leiningens’ holdings.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: Per fess embattled, azure an eagle displayed argent armed and langued gules, and Or masoned an orb of the third banded of the field and ensigned with a cross fleuretty of the third, this last between two arrowslits of the first.
Kallstadt’s oldest known seal dates from 1494 and bears as charge
s both the Palatine Lion and the Bavarian bendy lozengy pattern (slanted diamond shapes alternating in tincture
between argent and azure, that is, silver and blue) accompanied by a small letter K in base. In 1506, something similar to the current arms appeared when another seal showed an eagle above a wall. This reflected the village’s incorporation into the Leiningen holdings. A similar composition prevailed until 1711 when a seal charged simply with a globus cruciger
appeared. This stood for the Counts Palatine, possibly putting its origin before 1506. On 15 January 1845, a coat of arms that might be described as “Azure an orb ensigned with a cross Or”, that is, a blue escutcheon bearing a golden globus cruciger with a cross on top, was granted as the municipality’s arms. On 22 June 1962, however, the current arms combining the charges of these last arms and the 1506 seal were granted.
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
Kallstadt lies on the German Wine Route. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of FreinsheimFreinsheim (Verbandsgemeinde)
Freinsheim is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Bad Dürkheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Freinsheim....
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Freinsheim
Freinsheim is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With about 5,000 inhabitants, it is among the state’s smaller towns...
.
History
Ancient 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....
road that linked Altenstadt – now in 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...
and a constituent community 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...
– with the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
and even in Roman times its cultural landscape was blossoming. Many archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
finds witness settlement by merchants, former legionnaires and also winegrowers from about 79 BC to at least AD 383. The settlement that stands today could well have had its beginnings when the land here was settled by 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...
clan that arose about 500 and whose chief, Chagilo, became the village’s namesake.
In 824, Kallstadt had its first documentary mention as Cagelenstat. Originally an Imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
Village, it later passed to the County of Pfeffingen (Homburg) and beginning in 1321 was held in fief first by the Knights Monfort, and then from 1451 until about 1551 by the House of Blicken von Lichtenberg. Thereafter, Kallstadt belonged, until 1794, as an Electoral Palatinate fief, to the Leiningens’ holdings.
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 | 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 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 16 seats |
| 2004 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 16 seats |
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Über goldener Zinnenmauer, darin ein roter Reichsapfel mit goldenem Reif und rotem Kreuz, beseitet von je einer blauen Schießscharte, in Blau ein rotbewehrter silberner Adler.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: Per fess embattled, azure an eagle displayed argent armed and langued gules, and Or masoned an orb of the third banded of the field and ensigned with a cross fleuretty of the third, this last between two arrowslits of the first.
Kallstadt’s oldest known seal dates from 1494 and bears as charge
Charge (heraldry)
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...
s both the Palatine Lion and the Bavarian bendy lozengy pattern (slanted diamond shapes alternating in 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...
between argent and azure, that is, silver and blue) accompanied by a small letter K in base. In 1506, something similar to the current arms appeared when another seal showed an eagle above a wall. This reflected the village’s incorporation into the Leiningen holdings. A similar composition prevailed until 1711 when a seal charged simply with a globus cruciger
Globus cruciger
The globus cruciger is an orb topped with a cross , a Christian symbol of authority used throughout the Middle Ages and even today on coins, iconography and royal regalia...
appeared. This stood for the Counts Palatine, possibly putting its origin before 1506. On 15 January 1845, a coat of arms that might be described as “Azure an orb ensigned with a cross Or”, that is, a blue escutcheon bearing a golden globus cruciger with a cross on top, was granted as the municipality’s arms. On 22 June 1962, however, the current arms combining the charges of these last arms and the 1506 seal were granted.
Buildings
- Bismarckturm - The Bismarckturm (tower) stands on the 497 m-high Peterskopf in an exclave belonging to Kallstadt in the Palatinate Forest.
Sons and daughters of the town
- Norbert Scharf (1952– ), politician (SPD)
- Johann Heinrich Heinz, father of AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
food industry entrepreneur Henry J. HeinzHenry J. HeinzHenry John Heinz was an American businessman who founded the H. J. Heinz Company.-Early life:Heinz was one of eight children born to John Henry Heinz and Anna Margaretha Heinz...
, founder of the H. J. Heinz CompanyH. J. Heinz CompanyThe H. J. Heinz Company , commonly known as Heinz and famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J... - Friedrich Drumpf (March 14, 1869, Kallstadt, Rheinland-Pfalz – March 30, 1918) — and grandfather of real estate/entertainment magnate Donald Trump.