Wattenheim

Wattenheim

Coat of arms
Wattenheim
Location of Wattenheim within Bad Dürkheim district
Bad DürkheimGrünstadtGrünstadtHaßlochMeckenheimNiederkirchen bei DeidesheimRuppertsbergForst an der WeinstraßeDeidesheimWattenheimHettenleidelheimTiefenthalCarlsbergAltleiningenEllerstadtGönnheimFriedelsheimWachenheimElmsteinWeidenthalNeidenfelsLindenbergLambrechtFrankeneckEsthalKindenheimBockenheim an der WeinstraßeQuirnheimMertesheimEbertsheimObrigheimObersülzenDirmsteinGerolsheimLaumersheimGroßkarlbachBissersheimKirchheim an der WeinstraßeKleinkarlbachNeuleiningenBattenbergNeuleiningenKirchheim an der WeinstraßeWeisenheim am SandWeisenheim am SandWeisenheim am SandErpolzheimBobenheim am BergBobenheim am BergDackenheimDackenheimFreinsheimFreinsheimHerxheim am BergHerxheim am BergHerxheim am BergKallstadtKallstadtWeisenheim am BergWeisenheim am BergAlzey-WormsWormsLudwigshafenFrankenthalRhein-Pfalz-KreisGermersheim (district)Neustadt an der WeinstraßeSüdliche WeinstraßeLandauKaiserslauternKaiserslautern (district)DonnersbergkreisKaiserslauternSüdwestpfalzWattenheim in DÜW.svg
About this image
Coordinates: 49°31′18″N 08°03′42″E / 49.52167°N 8.06167°E / 49.52167; 8.06167Coordinates: 49°31′18″N 08°03′42″E / 49.52167°N 8.06167°E / 49.52167; 8.06167
Country Germany
State Rhineland-Palatinate
District Bad Dürkheim
Municipal assoc. Leiningerland
Government
 • Mayor Andreas Werle (SPD)
Area
 • Total 12.53 km2 (4.84 sq mi)
Elevation 312 m (1,024 ft)
Population (2017-12-31)[1]
 • Total 1,581
 • Density 130/km2 (330/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 67319
Dialling codes 06356
Vehicle registration DÜW
Website www.vg-h.de

Wattenheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Geography

Location

Wattenheim lies on a cone-shaped hill with a gentle slope. This village in the Leiningerland – the name for the lands once held by the Counts of Leiningen – is a starting point for long or short hikes. Wattenheim belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Leiningerland, whose seat is in Grünstadt. Until 1969 it also belonged to the now abolished district of Frankenthal.

Neighbouring municipalities

Clockwise from the northeast, these are Hettenleidelheim, Neuleiningen, Altleiningen, Carlsberg, an exclave of Neuleiningen, Bad Dürkheim, Fischbach, Enkenbach-Alsenborn, Ramsen and Eisenberg.

History

Various finds lead to the conclusion that the Romans had already established some kind of settlement in what is now Wattenheim. Wattenheim’s first documentary mention in 793 in the Lorsch codex is said to be disputed. It is believed that the village had its first documentary mention in 1221.[2] In the Middle Ages, Wattenheim belonged to the House of Leiningen. In 1695, it was sold to the Baron of Blumencron.

The Evangelical church

Religion

In 2007, 42.5% of the inhabitants were Evangelical and 35.9% Catholic. The rest belonged to other faiths or adhered to none.[3]

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 16 council members and the honorary mayor as chairman, who were elected at the municipal election held in a 5-year term.

The municipal election held on 25 May 2014 was sued by two voters. The administrative court of Neustadt an der Weinstraße decided in favor of the voters. The reorderd election was stated on 1 March 2015.[4]

SPDCDUFWGVoters Group NagelTotal
2015941216 seats
2009682-16 seats
2004682-16 seats

Coat of arms

The German blazon reads: Von Rot und Blau gespalten, rechts ein durchgehendes goldenes Kreuz, links ein rotbekleideter Tatar mit goldenbordierter roter Pelzmütze und schwarzen Stiefeln, die Linke in die Hüfte gestützt, in der Rechten ein silbernes Krummschwert mit goldenem Griff schwingend.

The municipality’s arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Per pale gules a cross Or and azure a Tatar vested of the first wearing a fur cap of the same garnished of the second and boots sable, his sinister hand on his hip, and in his dexter hand a sabre argent and garnished of the second, the point to chief.

The arms were approved in 1958 by the Mainz Ministry of the Interior and date from a 1733 court seal in which the two fields were transposed. The cross is drawn from the arms once borne by the Counts of Leiningen-Westerburg, and the Tatar from those borne by the family Blumencron.[5]

Culture and sightseeing

The Catholic Church in the background

The Protestant church’s history dates from the first Crusades. Standing in the village centre is the Catholic church, a Gothic Revival hall church from the years 1892-1893.

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Wattenheim is linked to the long-distance road network by Bundesautobahn 6. At the Wattenheim exit is an Autobahn maintenance facility located.

Famous people

Sons and daughters of the town

References

  1. ↑ Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz "Bevölkerungsstand 2017 - Gemeindeebene" Check |url= value (help). Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz (in German). 2018.
  2. ↑ Landkreis Bad Dürkheim
  3. ↑ KommWis, Stand: 31.12.2007 Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Kommunalwahl Rheinland-Pfalz 2009, Gemeinderat auf wahlen.rlp.de
  5. ↑ Karl Heinz Debus: Das große Wappenbuch der Pfalz. Neustadt an der Weinstraße 1988, ISBN 3-9801574-2-3
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.