Germersheim

Infobox German Location
Art = Stadt
Wappen = Coat of Arms of Germersheim.gif
lat_deg = 49 |lat_min = 13 |lat_sec = 00
lon_deg = 8 |lon_min = 22 |lon_sec = 00
Lageplan = Germersheim1.pngBundesland = Rheinland-Pfalz
Landkreis = Germersheim
Höhe = 105
Fläche = 21.40
Einwohner = 20906
Stand = 2004-12-31
PLZ = 76726
Vorwahl = 07274
Kfz = GER
Gemeindeschlüssel = 07 3 34 007
Straße = Kolpingplatz 3
Website = [http://www.germersheim.de/ www.germersheim.de]
Bürgermeister = Dieter Hänlein
Partei = CDU

Germersheim is a town in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and has around 20,000 inhabitants. Germersheim is also the seat of the Germersheim district. It neighbours the cities of Speyer, Landau, Philippsburg, Karlsruhe and Wörth.

Coat of arms

A golden crowned eagle on blue. Once the town was ruled directly by the emperor of Germany, therefore it shows the eagle as a symbol of that. The origin of the colours is unknown.

History

*Having invaded Gallia, Gaius Iulius Caesar made the Rhine river the border between the Roman Empire and Germania. Later some smaller parts east of it were invaded and added to the Roman province of Agri Decumates. As it was attacked more and more it later was given up in the second half of the third century and a military camp was founded, named "Vicus Iulii" ("Village of Julius"/"Julius' Village"). It was supported up to the fourth century.
*The first record of the name "Germersheim" is from 1090, when it was named in the "Sinsheimer Chronik" ("Chronicle of Sinsheim"). The German King Rudolph von Habsburg ("Rudolf of Habsburg") gave Germersheim city rights in 1276 (18 August). There is a legend which says that he, as a sick man, rode from Germersheim to Speyer to die there and not in Germersheim.
*In 1325 the town was given to the Electoral Palatinate by King Ludwig IV. It got a higher status in the following centuries. A Catholic Order founded a monastery in 1298 which it used up to 1527.
*Having been nearly destroyed in the times of the plague and the Thirty Years' War Germersheim was burned down by French troops in 1674. Only the crypt and the foundations of the Catholic church survived.
*From the year 1793, Germersheim belonged to France, until it was conquered by Bavarian troops in 1814. After being retaken in 1814, Germersheim's Bavarian rulers started to build a fortress in 1831. It was completed in 1855, although excavations for underground passages continued until 1861. By this time, however, the fortress had become outdated, as artillery had improved greatly in the thirty years since work began. The fortress was destroyed in 1921/22 as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. Some parts still exist, such as the "Fronte Beckers", where the town's Music School is today.
*General Hans Graf von Sponeck, who ordered the retreat of his troops from Kerch because they were going to be hopelessly cut off by the Russian landings at Theodosia, on the Crimean Peninsula, and against express instruction of his superior officer in the winter 1941, was interned here in the fortress after Hitler had commuted his death sentence to six years detention. In the purge following the failed assassination attempt on Hitler Graf Sponeck, although not involved, was shot. Today, a street in Germersheim is named "Hans Graf Von Sponeck Straße" in his honour.
*In 1972 the Second British Rock Festival was held here. After learning of the festival, city authorities forbade it, reasoning that the town and its population (at the time around one tenth of the number of expected concertgoers) could not accommodate such a large crowd. However, the city soon realized it could not stop the surge of people into Germersheim and relented.

Personalities

Honorary citizens

*Karl Schmitt-Walter (* 23 December 1900 in Germersheim, † 14 January 1985 in Kreuth) stage singer
*Eduard Orth (* 13 October 1902 in Germersheim, † 31 March 1968), Politician (CDU), Education minister of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate during the years 1956 and 1967

ons and daughters of the city

*Lothar Fischer (* 8 November 1933 † 16 June 2004 in Baierbrunn), German sculptor

External links

* [http://www.germersheim.de/ Official Website of the City] de icon
* [http://www.burgenwelt.de/germer/gehochb.htm History of the Germersheim fortress] de icon