Ober-Flörsheim
Encyclopedia
Ober-Flörsheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms
district in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
.
wine region. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Alzey-Land
, whose seat is in Alzey
.
. From 1237 until the late 18th century, the Teutonic Knights
ran a commandry
in the village. From 1506, Ober-Flörsheim belonged to Electoral Palatinate and was made part of the Oberamt of Alzey
. In the Thirty Years' War
, Swedish
troops laid waste the commandry and the village. In 1689, the village was dealt a further blow by French
troops under King Louis XIV
when they laid the Palatinate waste during the Nine Years' War.
During the wars in the wake of the French Revolution
, there was a battle on 30 March 1793 near Ober-Flörsheim in which the Prussia
ns beat the French. Even so, this defeat would not thwart France’s ultimate success in the campaign, and thereby Ober-Flörsheim, along with the rest of the territories on the Rhine’s left bank, was annexed by France in 1797, and the village became part of the Department of Mont-Tonnerre
(or Donnersberg in German
).
After the Napoleonic Empire
had been defeated, Ober-Flörsheim became part of the newly founded province of Rhenish Hesse (Rheinhessen) in the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt
in 1816.
On 20 March 1945, American
troops occupied Ober-Flörsheim, which nevertheless was transferred to the French zone of occupation in the summer of that same year, later also being grouped into the newly formed state
of Rhineland-Palatinate
, to which the village has belonged ever since. The region, though, is still called Rhenish Hesse, even though it is no longer part of Hesse
. Since 1972, Ober-Flörsheim has also belonged to the Verbandsgemeinde of Alzey-Land
.
in the 16th century, Catholic services were reintroduced in 1698. The Reformed once again achieved ascendancy over the parish church in 1705 with the Palatine Church Sharing (Pfälzische Kirchenteilung, whereby Protestants
had to share their churches with Catholics). For a long time, the two denominations stood side by side. In 1747, the Lutherans
came to be the third denomination in the village, and they were able to build their own church. In 1876, the Free Protestant parish, a breakaway group from the Evangelical Church
, was founded.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
might be described thus: Azure a fleur-de-lis argent between two mullets of five in chief of the same.
and Saint Paul’s
Catholic Parish Church (Pfarrkirche St. Peter und Paul) was built in 1776 and 1777 on the spot where once stood the old parish church. That one was assigned to followers of the Reformed
Church at the time of the Palatine Church Sharing in 1705. The Teutonic Knights
however, who held the patronage for the Catholic parish, opposed the decision and waged a long legal battle for ownership for the Catholics. Meanwhile, as a result of the disagreements, the old church was falling apart, making it necessary to build the new Renaissance
building that stands now. The belltower was built onto the church only in 1930.
, partner dancing
, taekwondo
, tennis
and football.
Reif, Friedrich: Geschichte des ehemaligen Marktfleckens, jetzigen Dorfes Ober-Flörsheim. Mainz 1901.
Schmahl, Helmut: Das Ober-Flörsheimer Kriegerdenkmal und sein Stifter Sebastian Walter. Kirchheimbolanden 2001.
Widder, Johann Goswin: Geographisch-historische Beschreibung der Kurpfalz, Bd. 3, Frankfurt am Main 1787
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...
.
Location
Ober-Flörsheim lies on a high plateau in the Rhenish HesseRheinhessen (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...
wine region. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Alzey-Land
Alzey-Land
Alzey-Land is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Alzey-Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is located around the town Alzey, which is the seat of Alzey-Land, but not part of the Verbandsgemeinde....
, whose seat is in 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....
.
History
In 776, Flarlesheim superiori had its first documentary mention in a donation document from Lorsch AbbeyLorsch 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...
. From 1237 until the late 18th century, the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
ran a commandry
Commandry (feudalism)
Commandry , or commandery , was the smallest division of the European landed estate or manor under the control of a commendator, or commander, of an order of knights...
in the village. From 1506, Ober-Flörsheim belonged to Electoral Palatinate and was made part of the Oberamt of 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....
. In the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
troops laid waste the commandry and the village. In 1689, the village was dealt a further blow by 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...
troops under King Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
when they laid the Palatinate waste during the Nine Years' War.
During the wars in the wake of the 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...
, there was a battle on 30 March 1793 near Ober-Flörsheim in which the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
ns beat the French. Even so, this defeat would not thwart France’s ultimate success in the campaign, and thereby Ober-Flörsheim, along with the rest of the territories on the Rhine’s left bank, was annexed by France in 1797, and the village became part of the Department of Mont-Tonnerre
Mont-Tonnerre
Mont-Tonnerre is the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Germany. It is named after the highest point in the Rhenish Palatinate, the Donnersberg. It was the southernmost of four départements formed in 1798, when the west bank of the Rhine was annexed by France...
(or Donnersberg in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
).
After the Napoleonic Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
had been defeated, Ober-Flörsheim became part of the newly founded province of Rhenish Hesse (Rheinhessen) in the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine , or, between 1806 and 1816, Grand Duchy of Hesse —as it was also known after 1816—was a member state of the German Confederation from 1806, when the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to a Grand Duchy, until 1918, when all the German...
in 1816.
On 20 March 1945, American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
troops occupied Ober-Flörsheim, which nevertheless was transferred to the French zone of occupation in the summer of that same year, later also being grouped into the newly formed 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...
of 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 ....
, to which the village has belonged ever since. The region, though, is still called Rhenish Hesse, even though it is no longer part of Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
. Since 1972, Ober-Flörsheim has also belonged to the Verbandsgemeinde of Alzey-Land
Alzey-Land
Alzey-Land is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Alzey-Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is located around the town Alzey, which is the seat of Alzey-Land, but not part of the Verbandsgemeinde....
.
Religion
Although Ober-Flörsheim was ReformedReformed churches
The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations characterized by Calvinist doctrines. They are descended from the Swiss Reformation inaugurated by Huldrych Zwingli but developed more coherently by Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger and especially John Calvin...
in the 16th century, Catholic services were reintroduced in 1698. The Reformed once again achieved ascendancy over the parish church in 1705 with the Palatine Church Sharing (Pfälzische Kirchenteilung, whereby Protestants
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
had to share their churches with Catholics). For a long time, the two denominations stood side by side. In 1747, the Lutherans
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
came to be the third denomination in the village, and they were able to build their own church. In 1876, the Free Protestant parish, a breakaway group from the Evangelical Church
Evangelical Church in Germany
The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
, was founded.
Population development
- 1787 - 516 inhabitants
- 1815 - 851 inhabitants
- 1849 - 1,223 inhabitants (858 Evangelical, 272 Catholic, 91 Mennonite)
- 1870 - 1,094 inhabitants (799 Evangelical, 265 Catholic, 44 Mennonite)
- 1900 - 1,014 inhabitants (533 Evangelical, 236 Catholic, 231 Free Protestant, 21 Mennonite)
- 2004 - 1,104 inhabitants
- 2008 - 1,191 inhabitants (566 Evangelical, 331 Roman Catholic, 67 other, 227 none)
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:
| UBL | FWG Gardt 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... |
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 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 16 seats |
Mayors
The following list is not yet complete.- 1800-1810 Franz Müller
- 1810-1819 Nikolaus Stauff
- 1819-1831 Johannes Dettweiler
- 1831-1837 Johannes Mundorff
- 1838-1843 Johannes Dettweiler
- 1843-1862 Friedrich Diehl
- 1862-1871 Jakob Engel
- 1871-1884 Christian Fauth
- 1884-1922 Johannes Müller
- Jakob Kratz
- until 1945 Johann Hahn
- 1945-1946 Georg Müller
- 1946-1964 Albert Stauff
- 1964-1999 Werner Pfister
- 1999-2002 U. Vogt, resigned at Easter 2002
- 2002–present Adolf Gardt
Coat of arms
The municipality’s armsCoat 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: Azure a fleur-de-lis argent between two mullets of five in chief of the same.
Museums
There is a local history museum at the Bürgerhaus (“Citizens’ House” – a community centre, formerly the lordly manor of the Commandry) headed by Werner Pfister. Opening times are by arrangement. In 2002, the Ober-Flörsheim local history and cultural club was founded, which has since acquired about 80 members.Music
Besides the Sängerkranz (“Singer Wreath”) men’s singing club established in 1855, which despite being called a “men’s” singing club also has a women’s choir, there are also the Catholic Church music club established in 1912, and an Evangelical church choir.Buildings
Saint Peter’sSaint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
and Saint Paul’s
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
Catholic Parish Church (Pfarrkirche St. Peter und Paul) was built in 1776 and 1777 on the spot where once stood the old parish church. That one was assigned to followers of the Reformed
Reformed churches
The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations characterized by Calvinist doctrines. They are descended from the Swiss Reformation inaugurated by Huldrych Zwingli but developed more coherently by Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger and especially John Calvin...
Church at the time of the Palatine Church Sharing in 1705. The Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
however, who held the patronage for the Catholic parish, opposed the decision and waged a long legal battle for ownership for the Catholics. Meanwhile, as a result of the disagreements, the old church was falling apart, making it necessary to build the new Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
building that stands now. The belltower was built onto the church only in 1930.
Sport
The TSG 1863 Ober-Flörsheim (sport club) offers, among other things, gymnasticsGymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, partner dancing
Partner dance
Partner dances are dances whose basic choreography involves coordinated dancing of two partners, as opposed to individuals dancing alone or individually in a non-coordinated manner, and as opposed to groups of people dancing simultaneously in a coordinated manner.In the year 1023 the German poet...
, taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and football.
Sons and daughters of the town
- Sebastian Walter, b. 1848, d. 1922 in Milwaukee, manufacturer (emigrated to Milwaukee in 1866)
- Willy Deutschmann, b. 1880, d. 1960 in Petersbächel, painter, was active in Petersbächel in the Wasgau (Alsace border region in Rhineland-Palatinate). He is said to be the most important painter of the central Wasgau.
Further reading
768-1968: 1200 Jahre Ober-Flörsheim. Festschrift, herausgegeben von der Gemeinde Ober-Flörsheim. o.O. 1968.Reif, Friedrich: Geschichte des ehemaligen Marktfleckens, jetzigen Dorfes Ober-Flörsheim. Mainz 1901.
Schmahl, Helmut: Das Ober-Flörsheimer Kriegerdenkmal und sein Stifter Sebastian Walter. Kirchheimbolanden 2001.
Widder, Johann Goswin: Geographisch-historische Beschreibung der Kurpfalz, Bd. 3, Frankfurt am Main 1787