Obersülzen
Encyclopedia
Obersülzen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim
district in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
. It lies in the northwest of the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration.
in the northeastern Palatinate, just south of the boundary with Rhenish Hesse. Lying 5 km to the west (as the crow flies
) is the Haardt, the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest. Fifteen kilometres to the east across the Upper Rhine Plain
is the Rhine. The upland in which the municipality is nestled is part of the outlying hills of the Palatinate wine region
. Obersülzen belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land
, whose seat is in Grünstadt
, although that town is itself not in the Verbandsgemeinde.
. Continuing clockwise, the other neighbours are Obrigheim
in the north, Dirmstein
in the east, Laumersheim
in the southeast, Großkarlbach
and Bissersheim
in the south and Kirchheim
in the southwest.
. The soils are medium-hard and very fertile. Especially in the west of the municipal area they are to a great extent composed of loess
deposits.
. Until 1477 it was held by the Counts of Leiningen. Thereafter, and for four years, it was jointly governed by the House of Leiningen-Westerburg and Electoral Palatinate. In 1481, it ended up under the sole lordship of the Prince-Bishop and was placed under the Oberamt of Alzey
; the Unteramt responsible for it was Freinsheim
.
The village’s later fate is shared with the rest of the Electoral Palatinate lands on the Rhine’s left bank: After the French Revolution
it was annexed by France
and passed in 1816, after Napoleon’s
final defeat, to the Kingdom of Bavaria
, remaining Bavarian until the end of the Second World War.
The village then belonged to the Frankenthal district until this was abolished in 1969 and Obersülzen was assigned to the newly created district of Bad Dürkheim
. In 1972, it was also assigned to the newly created Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land
.
and 25% Catholic. The rest belonged to other faiths or adhered to none.
proportional representation
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:
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: Azure a man proper wearing a mitre – a bishop’s or an abbot’s – argent garnished Or, an alb of the second and a cope sable, in his dexter hand a book of the third with closures of the second, in his sinister hand a crozier of the third.
The arms were approved in 1983 by the now abolished Regierungsbezirk
administration in Neustadt and go back to a seal from 1602.
Today’s Protestant
church, Saint John the Baptist
’s Church (Kirche St. Johannes der Täufer) at the village’s eastern edge was first mentioned in 1141 as a Romanesque
fortress church called Saint Maurice’s (St. Mauritius). Of this church, the squat tower, which has three floors and is topped by a gabled, two-sloped roof, is still standing. In 1760 the church acquired the nave that it still has now, together with interior decoration. At the west wall are Gothic
spolia
from the former church: a vault keystone, a head-corbel
, the end of a sacramental niche and even a Baroque
gravestone. The organ
was built in 1896 by Wilhelm Sauer and restored in 1984.
Mennonite church
In the 16th century, Swiss
Mennonite
s found haven as religious refugees in Obersülzen, where they have formed a community ever since. In 1866 they built a small, towerless Classicist
church in the village centre that was restored in the early 21st century.
Other points of interest
The Mehrgenerationenhof (“Several Generation Estate”) and the former schoolhouse that has been converted into a village community centre both come from Classicist
times. A guild pole (German
: Zunftbaum), whose figures were created by local artist Udo Marker, stands between the fortress church and the village community centre.
. Almost the whole of its agrarian area can be used for winegrowing. In the municipality is Germany’s biggest viticultural school; it concerns itself with propagating existing grape varieties and developing new ones. Besides winegrowing, fruitgrowing and asparagus farming are worthy of mention.
) to Bundesstraße
271 (Bad Dürkheim
–Monsheim
) 1 km away, which itself leads to an interchange
near Grünstadt (3 km) with the Autobahn A 6
(Mannheim
–Saarbrücken
).
-licensed artificial-turf
field in Rhineland-Palatinate
.
Beside the sporting ground, a corn maze
is set up each year in which visitors can test their sense of direction.
A big, former seed-producing estate, largely preserved, renovated and converted into the Mehrgenerationenhof (“Several Generation Estate”), today serves as a home and workshop for mentally handicapped people. The sponsorship is held by the Förderverein für die Nachsorge und Rehabilitation psychisch Kranker (“Promotional Association for the Aftercare and Rehabilitation of the Mentally Handicapped”) in Frankenthal.
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...
. It lies in the northwest of the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration.
Location
Obersülzen lies at an elevation of just over 150 m above sea levelSea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
in the northeastern Palatinate, just south of the boundary with Rhenish Hesse. Lying 5 km to the west (as the crow flies
As the crow flies
"As the crow flies" or beelining is an idiom for the shortest route between two points; the geodesic distance.An example is the great-circle distance between Key West and Pensacola, at either end of the U.S...
) is the Haardt, the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest. Fifteen kilometres to the east across the Upper Rhine Plain
Upper 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...
is the Rhine. The upland in which the municipality is nestled is part of the outlying hills of the Palatinate wine region
Palatinate (wine region)
Palatinate is a German wine-growing region in the area of Bad Dürkheim, Neustadt an der Weinstraße, and Landau in Rhineland-Palatinate. Before 1993, it was known as Rhine Palatinate . With under cultivation in 2008, the region is the second largest wine region in Germany after Rheinhessen...
. Obersülzen belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land
Grünstadt-Land
Grünstadt-Land is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Bad Dürkheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the north-eastern edge of the Palatinate forest...
, whose seat is in Grünstadt
Grünstadt
Grünstadt is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with roughly 13,200 inhabitants. It does not belong to any Verbandsgemeinde – a kind of collective municipality – but is nonetheless the administrative seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land.- Location :The...
, although that town is itself not in the Verbandsgemeinde.
Neighbouring municipalities
West of Obersülzen lies the small town of GrünstadtGrünstadt
Grünstadt is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with roughly 13,200 inhabitants. It does not belong to any Verbandsgemeinde – a kind of collective municipality – but is nonetheless the administrative seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land.- Location :The...
. Continuing clockwise, the other neighbours are Obrigheim
Obrigheim, Rhineland-Palatinate
Obrigheim 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 north, Dirmstein
Dirmstein
Dirmstein 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 east, Laumersheim
Laumersheim
Laumersheim 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 southeast, Großkarlbach
Großkarlbach
Großkarlbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
and Bissersheim
Bissersheim
Bissersheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
in the south and Kirchheim
Kirchheim an der Weinstraße
Kirchheim an der Weinstraße is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
in the southwest.
Geology
At the northern edge of the residential built-up area flows the drainage ditch, which was renaturated in 2008 and which farther downstream is called the Floßbach; it empties into the Eckbach in the neighbouring municipality of DirmsteinDirmstein
Dirmstein is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
. The soils are medium-hard and very fertile. Especially in the west of the municipal area they are to a great extent composed of loess
Loess
Loess is an aeolian sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown silt, typically in the 20–50 micrometre size range, twenty percent or less clay and the balance equal parts sand and silt that are loosely cemented by calcium carbonate...
deposits.
History
As early as 767, Obersülzen had its first documentary mention as Sulzheim in the Lorsch codexLorsch codex
The Lorsch Codex is an important historical document created between about 1175 to 1195 AD in the Monastery of Saint Nazarius in Lorsch, Germany. It consists of 460 pages in large format containing more than 3800 entries...
. Until 1477 it was held by the Counts of Leiningen. Thereafter, and for four years, it was jointly governed by the House of Leiningen-Westerburg and Electoral Palatinate. In 1481, it ended up under the sole lordship of the Prince-Bishop and was placed under 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....
; the Unteramt responsible for it was Freinsheim
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...
.
The village’s later fate is shared with the rest of the Electoral Palatinate lands on the Rhine’s left bank: After 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...
it was annexed by France
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...
and passed in 1816, after Napoleon’s
Napoleon I
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...
final defeat, to 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...
, remaining Bavarian until the end of the Second World War.
The village then belonged to the Frankenthal district until this was abolished in 1969 and Obersülzen was assigned to the newly created district of 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...
. In 1972, it was also assigned to the newly created Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land
Grünstadt-Land
Grünstadt-Land is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Bad Dürkheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the north-eastern edge of the Palatinate forest...
.
Religion
In 2007, 41.7% of the inhabitants were EvangelicalEvangelical 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...
and 25% Catholic. The rest belonged to other faiths or adhered to none.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 12 council members, who were elected by majority votePlurality voting system
The plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
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 | 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... |
Total | |
| 2009 | 5 | 7 | - | 12 seats |
| 2004 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 12 seats |
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: In Blau die ganzfigurige Gestalt eines Mitraträgers – Bischofs oder Abtes – mit goldbordierter silberner Mitra, silberner Albe und schwarzer Cappa, in der Rechten ein goldenes Buch mit silbernen Schließen, in der Linken einen goldenen Krummstab haltend.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: Azure a man proper wearing a mitre – a bishop’s or an abbot’s – argent garnished Or, an alb of the second and a cope sable, in his dexter hand a book of the third with closures of the second, in his sinister hand a crozier of the third.
The arms were approved in 1983 by the now abolished Regierungsbezirk
Regierungsbezirk
In Germany, a Government District, in German: Regierungsbezirk – is a subdivision of certain federal states .They are above the Kreise, Landkreise, and kreisfreie Städte...
administration in Neustadt and go back to a seal from 1602.
Buildings
Protestant churchToday’s Protestant
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...
church, Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
’s Church (Kirche St. Johannes der Täufer) at the village’s eastern edge was first mentioned in 1141 as a Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
fortress church called Saint Maurice’s (St. Mauritius). Of this church, the squat tower, which has three floors and is topped by a gabled, two-sloped roof, is still standing. In 1760 the church acquired the nave that it still has now, together with interior decoration. At the west wall are 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....
spolia
Spolia
Spolia is a modern art-historical term used to describe the re-use of earlier building material or decorative sculpture on new monuments...
from the former church: a vault keystone, a head-corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
, the end of a sacramental niche and even a Baroque
Baroque art
Baroque painting is the painting associated with the Baroque cultural movement. The movement is often identified with Absolutism, the Counter Reformation and Catholic Revival, but the existence of important Baroque art and architecture in non-absolutist and Protestant states throughout Western...
gravestone. The organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
was built in 1896 by Wilhelm Sauer and restored in 1984.
Mennonite church
In the 16th century, Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
Mennonite
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
s found haven as religious refugees in Obersülzen, where they have formed a community ever since. In 1866 they built a small, towerless Classicist
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
church in the village centre that was restored in the early 21st century.
Other points of interest
The Mehrgenerationenhof (“Several Generation Estate”) and the former schoolhouse that has been converted into a village community centre both come from Classicist
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
times. A guild pole (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....
: Zunftbaum), whose figures were created by local artist Udo Marker, stands between the fortress church and the village community centre.
Regular events
- Spargelfest (“Asparagus Festival”, held at Corpus ChristiCorpus Christi (feast)Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
) - Blaschderstroßefeschd (Palatine German for Pflasterstraßenfest – “Cobbled Street Festival” – held on the last weekend in June)
- Kermis (church consecration festival, locally known as the Kerwe, held on the first weekend in September)
- Weiß-Blaues Oktoberfest (held on the first weekend in October)
Agriculture
Obersülzen is traditionally characterized by agricultureAgriculture
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...
. Almost the whole of its agrarian area can be used for winegrowing. In the municipality is Germany’s biggest viticultural school; it concerns itself with propagating existing grape varieties and developing new ones. Besides winegrowing, fruitgrowing and asparagus farming are worthy of mention.
Transport
The municipality is linked by Landesstraße (State Road) 453 (Grünstadt–FrankenthalFrankenthal
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...
) to Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
271 (Bad Dürkheim
Bad 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 :...
–Monsheim
Monsheim
Monsheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
) 1 km away, which itself leads to an interchange
Interchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
near Grünstadt (3 km) with the Autobahn A 6
Bundesautobahn 6
, also known as Via Carolina is a 477 km long German autobahn. It starts at the French border near Saarbrücken in the west and end at the Czech border near Waidhaus in the east....
(Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
–Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
).
Social life
The local sport club, SV Obersülzen, has at its disposal a football pitch. inside the west entrance to the village between the L 453 and the Floßbach, which is the first FIFAFIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
-licensed artificial-turf
Artificial turf
Artificial turf is a surface manufactured from synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well...
field 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 ....
.
Beside the sporting ground, a corn maze
Corn maze
A corn maze or maize maze is a maze cut out of a corn field. They have become popular tourist attractions in North America, and a way for farms to create tourist income. Many are based on artistic designs such as characters from movies. Corn mazes appear in many different designs. Some mazes are...
is set up each year in which visitors can test their sense of direction.
A big, former seed-producing estate, largely preserved, renovated and converted into the Mehrgenerationenhof (“Several Generation Estate”), today serves as a home and workshop for mentally handicapped people. The sponsorship is held by the Förderverein für die Nachsorge und Rehabilitation psychisch Kranker (“Promotional Association for the Aftercare and Rehabilitation of the Mentally Handicapped”) in Frankenthal.