Bensheim (German pronunciation:[ˈbɛnsˌhaɪm]ⓘ) is a town in theBergstraße district in southernHessen,Germany. Bensheim lies on theBergstraße and at the edge of theOdenwald mountains while at the same time having an open view over theRhine plain. With about 40,000 inhabitants (2016), it is the district's biggest town.[citation needed]
The town lies at the eastern edge of theRhine rift on the slopes of the westernOdenwald on theBergstraße. The nearest major cities areDarmstadt (some 22 km (14 mi) to the north),Heidelberg (some 35 km (22 mi) to the south),Worms (some 18 km (11 mi) to the west) andMannheim (some 32 km (20 mi) to the southwest). The district seat ofHeppenheim lies roughly 5 km (3 mi) to the south.
The Lauter flows through Bensheim, coming from the Lauter valley from the east, which after it passes through Bensheim is known as the Winkelbach. In the south of town runs the Meerbach, also coming from the Odenwald (but from the Zell valley). Mostly channelled underground and only coming above ground at the western edge of town is theNeuer Graben, or “New Channel”, which branches off the Lauter.
The main town east of therailway line (old town and outskirts) with many modern town expansion developments (for example the neighbourhoods of Brunnenweg, Metzendorf, Griesel, Meerbach and Hemsberg);
TheWeststadt (“West Town”) west of the railway line (for example the neighbourhoods of Port Arthur, Marokko, Leibweh and Kappesgärten);
The outlying centre of Auerbach to the north of the main town on the Bergstraße;
The outlying centres of Hochstädten, Schönberg, Wilmshausen, Gronau and Zell in the nearer Odenwald valleys;
The outlying centres of Langwaden, Fehlheim and Schwanheim in theHessisches Ried (part of the Rhine rift in Hesse).
Blossoming almond trees on Wormser Straße on 16 March 2007
Bensheim is especially well known, like other places along the Bergstraße as well, for its particularly mild and sunny climate with roughly 2,000 hours of sunshine yearly and Germany's earliest onset ofspring. Under the Odenwald's protection,kiwifruit,almonds,figs andpeaches thrive here, giving the Bergstraße the nickname “Germany’s Riviera”.
The town of Bensheim fosters almond tree cultivation, to name one example, in people's front gardens. Each year in Bensheim, there is even aBlütenkönigin (“Blossom Queen”). She is put forth every year by the Bensheim Automobile Club and for decades has been Bensheim's hallmark both within the country and abroad.
Bensheim has grown out of a village that had its first documentary mention in the 8th century. In the 14th century, Bensheim was granted town rights. On 26 March 1945, much of the Old Town was destroyed by incendiary bombs.
The South Hesse area was settled quite early on. The many finds fromarchaeological digs stretch back to the time of theLinear Pottery andCorded Ware cultures (roughly 2500 to 1500 BC), peoples who raised crops and livestock.
In 765,Basinsheim had its first documentary mention in theLorsch Abbey’sCodex Laureshamensis. Its founding may go back to a knight namedBasinus, who received the rights to found a settlement.
The name changed fromBasinsheim toBasinusheim and then toBesensheim, finally becoming Bensheim. Noteworthy is that town rights were granted early on by EmperorOtto I on 5 March 956. It can be inferred from the document text that Otto I, on the occasion of his stay inFrankfurt am Main, with his wife Adelheid’s intervention, awarded the Lorsch Abbey’s oldest market privilege. The concept, calledpublicae mercationes in the original, indicates the community, where public buying and selling was allowed. It still cannot be assumed that this led to a regular yearly or weekly market. Great parts of the town were destroyed in thesiege of 1301 by KingAlbrecht I.
WhenFriedrich II enfeoffed the territory of the now derelict LorschImperial Abbey to ArchbishopSiegfried III of Eppstein, Bensheim became part of theElectorate of Mainz's domains and likely received town rights only a few decades later, which is, however, only proved by a certificate issued in 1320.
In today’s outlying centres of Auerbach and Schönberg, Bensheim borders on what were the Upper County – “Upper” here refers to geography, not rank – of theCounts of Katzenelnbogen and domains of theSchenken of Erbach. When the Katzenelnbogens died out in 1479, theLandgraviate of Hesse became a neighbour to the north. In 1532, the Erbachs were raised to counts and the County of Erbach became a neighbour to the east.
In the time of the pledging to thecounts palatineof the Rhine from 1461 to 1650, Bensheim experienced a boom, but as a Palatinate town, however, it was embroiled in the Bavarian-Palatine war of succession in 1504, and for eleven days was unsuccessfully besieged by the Landgrave of Hesse, who was charged with the execution of the ban of the Empire, and his confederates, the DukesHenry of Brunswick and Henry of Mecklenburg. From this year, two yearly markets and one weekly can be established; a third yearly market came in 1619.
With the introduction of theReformation in the Landgraviate of Hesse in 1526 and in the County of Erbach in 1544, Bensheim got not only a territorial border with these neighbours, but also a denominational one.
Fountain figure of theFraa vun Bensem
TheThirty Years' War put an end to all the positive developments mentioned above. On 20 November 1644, Bensheim was occupied byFrench andSwedish troops, who were driven out again on 2 December byBavarian units. Later, the legend of theFraa vun Bensem arose (the “woman from Bensheim” is said to have led the Bavarians into town through a secret route). In 1650, after just under 200 years of being pledged to theElectorate of the Palatinate, Bensheim was once again redeemed by theArchbishopric of Mainz.
Bensheim's marketplace in 1869 (lithograph by F. Rau)Synagogue of Bensheim in 1900
By theReichsdeputationshauptschluss in 1803, Bensheim passed to the Landgrave ofHesse-Darmstadt, who joined theConfederation of the Rhine in 1806 and was raised to Grand Duke. In 1822, there was a great fire in which 16 buildings were destroyed and 15 others were heavily damaged.
Bensheim became the seat of theLandratsbezirk (an administrative region) of Bensheim in the province of Starkenburg, which in 1832 was merged with theLandratsbezirk of Heppenheim to form the district of Bensheim (Kreis Bensheim) with Bensheim as its seat.
In 1918, the Grand Duke was removed and out of theGrand Duchy of Hesse thePeople's State of Hesse was formed. On 1 November 1938, the districts of Bensheim and Heppenheim were merged into one district,Kreis Bergstraße with Heppenheim as its seat. To offset Bensheim's loss of the status of district seat, the town got the district leadership of theNazi Party.
DuringKristallnacht on 9 November 1938, thesynagogue was destroyed, while the one in Auerbach survived. In 1939, Auerbach, Schönberg and Zell were amalgamated, raising the population to just under 16,500. In Auerbach, a subcamp ofNatzweiler-StruthofConcentration Camp was built.
Memorial stone to the massacre of 24 March 1945US 180th Infantry Regiment entering Bensheim 27 March 1945
On 24 March 1945, twelve people were taken to theKirchberg (mountain) where they weremurdered by theGestapo. Two days later, on 26 March 1945, Saint George's Parish Church, the Town Hall and parts of the Old Town were destroyed byincendiary bombs. On 27 March, the town was occupied byUnited States troops. As the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps agent,Henry Kissinger was the most important representative of the occupying power, after the official town commander.
In 1945, Bensheim passed to the newly formed state of Hesse.
After theSecond World War ended in 1945, adisplaced persons camp was established in Bensheim, first forPolish former forced labourers, later forJewish displaced persons. The camp was dissolved in 1949.
In 1971, the population rose to some 34,000 with the amalgamation of Langwaden, Schwanheim, Fehlheim, Hochstädten, Gronau and Wilmshausen.
From 1859 to 1987 on the Nibelungenstraße towards Schönberg stood theGuntrum Bräu Bensheimbrewery. In 1979, the brewery was taken over by Binding Bier Mainz, and then closed and torn down in 1987. Today, the former premises are home to a number of houses.
Bensheim's old town hall in 1905, built by Heinrich Metzendorf and destroyed in the Second World WarBensheim town hall (former episcopal theological college)Mayor Thorsten Herrmann (right) withDominik Klein, entering himself in Bensheim's Golden Book, on 10 March 2007
The Green List Bensheim (GLB) became a full member of the party Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and ran in the 2021 local elections as Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (Greens). TheMagistrat (roughly “town executive”) is made up of nine councillors and the mayor Christine Klein. The full-time councillor is Nicole Rauber-Jung. The other seats are shared among the CDU (3), the SPD (1), Bündnis 90 Die Grünen (2) FDP (1) and the FWG (1).
The town'sarms might be described thus: Gules a knight withkontos, held in both hands, and armour Or astride a steed salient argent, the whole sinister, below which a dragon statant reguardant sinister vert, the knight's kontos thrust through it.
The German blazon says that the kontos, or lance, is golden, and that the dragon is green, although the achievement shown here, whose source is the town administration itself, shows differenttinctures for these twocharges.
The red field refers to the Mainz coat of arms, as the town was owned by the Bishopric of Mainz until 1802. The knight slaying the dragon representsSaint George, who was said in earlier times to have been Bensheim'spatron saint.
On 29 April 1956, aPatenschaft (roughly, “sponsorship”) was set up forSudeten Germans driven out of the town of Arnau (nowHostinné in theCzech Republic) on theElbe in the Hohenelbe district.
TheParktheater was built in 1968 and is a linchpin in offering various cultural activities. Besides the municipal programme of plays, freelance producers, clubs and schools bring a multifaceted programme in the fields of spoken theatre, musical theatre and dance theatre. From October 1998 to December 1999, theParktheater was optically, technologically and artistically made over from the ground up and now shines in new splendour.
Furthermore, Bensheim also has thePiPaPo Theater (cabaret), theVornerum Theater, theVarieté Pegasus and theAutorenkollektiv Laufkundschaft.
The Bensheim Music School was founded in 1979. By taking part in various contests, the students at this municipal music school regularly find themselves among the prizewinners at both the state and national level. Many ensembles promote the music school's community spirit.
Bensheim, along with all its outlying centres has all together 557 cultural monuments.[3] The following is a selection of the town's most important buildings:
Alte Faktorei, Mainz cathedral chapter's former factory (in the sense of “commercial outpost”)
Alte Gerberei (Old Tannery), from 1873
Bismarckturm (tower), from 1902, on the Hemsberg (262 m)
Dalberger Hof, former noble estate
“Luginsland” (Blaues Türmchen orEckturm [tower]) on the Höhenweg above Baßmannpark, built in 1910
Hohenecker Hof, former noble estate from 1756
Kirchberghäuschen (220 m), built in 1849, dedicated in 1857
Metzendorf-Villen (villas)
Rinnentorturm (tower), from the 13th or 14th century
Rodensteiner Hof, stately home with park
Roter Turm, watchtower from the old town wall, from the 13th century
Walderdorffer Hof, southern Hesse's oldesttimber-frame house, built in 1395
Wambolter Hof, former noble estate from about 1732/33
The Landgraves of Hesse once used theFürstenlager near Bensheim-Auerbach as a spa. It is an artistic combination of simple buildings clustered like a village around the Good Well in the middle of a picturesque landscaped park. Like many territorial overlords of their day, its owners sought the peace of a rural idyll far removed from the pomp and circumstance of court.
Since 1947, Bensheim has been home to the Evangelical Federation'sKonfessionskundliches Institut (“Denominational Institute”),Europe’s biggestecumenical institute. It was housed atWolfgang-Sucker-Haus from 1947 to 1967 and also has been once again since November 2007.
Bensheim has many offerings for children up to 14 years old, with, for example, a new youth centre, opened on 26 January 2006 offering ample possibilities, busying itself with this. The old, bigger youth centre on Wilhelmstraße was then closed. For youths, there is relatively little on offer. However, work has begun on the newSkate/BMX-park, on the same site where the old one was. The park was promoted and planned by youths themselves.
Bandsheim (“Band Home”) has afforded the youth music scene an outlet that regularly hosts “newcomer” concerts in Bensheim.[4] BesidesBandsheim there is also an outlet inParty-Bensheim, which offers a venue for youths to get to know each other, have discussions and make arrangements.[5] Both these outlets were founded by youths themselves.
Bensheim does host an “unofficial” youth club. Since the early 1980s there has been “McSlobos”, an inn that had its beginnings in the “Germania-Hof”, which has now been torn down. With many live concerts by famous local bands and the guests’ active engagement in political issues, this inn has grown into an attraction for many youths.
Nevertheless, many youths feel left out, as they must pay for all leisure activities. Hence there has also been for some time the will to create a self-administering youth centre. To this end, various action groups and campaigns have been started, such as, for exampleSKJuz,[6] a “promotional club for a self-administering culture and youth centre in Bensheim”, and the action groupBürgerMaiStar.[7]
In 2010 about 50 young people from the region occupied a derelict army complex in order to establisha self-organised youth centre.[8] However, the occupation was broken up by police several hours after it had begun.
As a follow-up to the SKJuz club theJUKUZ Bensheim e.V. was formed, which is still actively promoting the idea of a self-administered, self-organised youth centre.[9]
The nationally knownBergsträßer Winzerfest (“Bergstraße Vintners’ Festival”) is held every first week in September throughout the inner town. The festival, which begins on the Saturday, lasts nine days. On the first Sunday there is a great festive parade, and on the second Saturday,fireworks are lit on the Kirchberg. The firstBergsträßer Winzerfest was held from 19 to 22 October 1929. Even at this first festival there were a festive parade and fireworks on the Kirchberg. Bensheim is in an area where wine grapes are grown extensively.
TheBürgerfest (“Citizens’ Festival”), which was introduced on the occasion of the opening of thepedestrian precinct in 1975, has been regularly celebrated in early summer since 1977. Great popularity is enjoyed by theAuerbacher Bachgassenfest, an outdoorgastronomical event put on by those who live on the Bachgasse (“Brook Lane”) in Auerbach, first held in 1987. Since 1986, in memory of Gertrud Eysoldt, a German actress and director, theGertrud-Eysoldt-Ring, one of Germany's most important theatrical prizes, has been awarded yearly.
Since 2003, theMaiway has been held every year. This is a gastronomical festival at which manypubs in Bensheim have musical groups perform.
Bensheim hasZwewwelkuche à la Fraa vun Bensem (“onion cake à la woman from Bensheim”). The first word is a local form of theGermanZwiebelkuchen, and the woman is the one mentioned underHistory (see above).
Bensheim is part of the economically strongRhine Neckar Area and is together with various neighbouring towns and communities (among others, Heppenheim, Lorsch and Lautertal) identified as a middle centre in South Hesse regional planning.
The town has in its favour good economic data – even in relation to the Rhine Neckar Area's as a whole – above-average employment figures and an especially high proportion of graduates in the resident population's above-average buying power.
Sirona Dental Systems GmbH has its head office in Bensheim. The enterprise is the district's biggest employer and produces goods and services fordentists. Kern GmbH manufactures enveloping systems for banks, insurance companies, telecommunications businesses and information technology service providers and is also headquartered in Bensheim. Offering services to pharmaceutical businesses is Cegedim Deutschland GmbH, which also has its head office in Bensheim. Furthermore, there are the electronics firmTyco Electronics AMP GmbH,SAP AG, which is active in the information technology field, theInstitut für Organisationskommunikation (IFOK) and HTV GmbH, which tests and programssemiconductors for manufacturers from almost all fields of electronics. Also, the auto manufacturerSuzuki International Europe GmbH is headquartered in Bensheim. The cars in the company's national television advertising bear registrations beginning with “HP” (Heppenheim/Kreis Bergstraße) for this reason, which is seldom otherwise seen in this context. Deutsche Papier Vertriebs GmbH, which belongs to PaperlinX, runs, as a nationally active paper wholesaler, one of Germany's most modern high-bay warehouses. GGEW, a service-providing business forelectricity,natural gas anddrinking water, has its head office in Bensheim.
Local happenings are reported in Bensheim and the surrounding area are reported by theBergsträßer Anzeiger, anewspaper belonging to the Mannheimer Morgen publishing group. The paper's address is Rodensteinstraße 6 and it is published from Monday to Saturday.
Bensheim lies at the crossroads of federal highwaysB 3 andB 47. Through the town's west end runsAutobahnA 5, from which Bensheim can be reached by twoexits: in the north the Zwingenberg – Bensheim-Auerbach exit, and in the south the Bensheim exit. A few kilometres farther west, running parallel to the A 5, is theA 67, when Bensheim can be reached through theLorsch exit.
Frankfurt Airport lies just under 50 kilometres (31 miles) away by road, north of Bensheim. There is a gliderport at Bensheim forgliders,motor gliders and other, smaller aircraft, managed by a nonprofit gliding club (SFG Bensheim).[10]
Bensheim is a school town, with fiveGymnasien: theAltes Kurfürstliches Gymnasium, theGeschwister-Scholl-Schule (coöperativecomprehensive school with Gymnasium upper level), theGoethe-Gymnasium Bensheim (Gymnasium from class 5 with Gymnasium upper level), theKarl-Kübel-Schule (commercial schools with Gymnasium for economics, technology and health) and theLiebfrauenschule (privateCatholic Gymnasium for girls). The town also has theSchillerschule, which is aprimary school,Hauptschule andRealschule.
Offering adult education are theVolkshochschule Bensheim[11] and theFrauen- und Familienzentrum Bensheim,[12] with about 2,000 participants each year the biggest family meeting place inKreis Bergstraße.
Primary schools
Grundschule Kappesgärten
Hemsbergschule
Joseph-Heckler Schule
Kirchbergschule
Schloßbergschule
Primary school/Hauptschule/Realschule
Schillerschule
Cooperative comprehensive school
Geschwister Scholl Schule
Vocational schools
Berufsbildungszentrum
Heinrich-Metzendorf-Schule
Advisory and advocacy centres
Behindertenhilfe Bergstraße GmbH (help for the handicapped)
Schule für Lernhilfe (school for help with learning)
Seebergschule für praktisch Bildbare (practically educable)
Joseph Stoll:Bensheimer Idiotikon, Eine Sammlung von Wörtern und Ausdrücken der Bensheimer Mundart mit Nachweisungen ihres Ursprungs und lokalgeschichtlichen Anmerkungen. Museumsverein Bensheim 1984,ISBN3-931960-04-8.
Diether Blüm:Bensheimer Schulhäuser im Wandel der Jahrhunderte. Verlag Bergsträßer Anzeiger, Bensheim 1992.
Diether Blüm:Adelsfamilien im alten Bensheim. K+G Verlag GmbH, Bensheim 1995.
Rudolf Köster und Wilhelm Weyrauch:Ältere Flurnamen von Bensheim und seinen Stadtteilen bis zur Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts. Hrsg. v. Museumsverein Bensheim in Verbindung mit der Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Geschichts- und Heimatvereine im Kreis Bergstraße, Sonderband 17 in der Reihe der Geschichtsblätter Kreis Bergstraße, Verlag Laurissa Lorsch [1995],ISBN3-922781-82-9
Rudolf Köster:Die Namen der Bensheimer Straßen, Wege, Plätze und Passagen von A–Z erläutert. Museumsverein Bensheim, 1996,ISBN3-931960-05-6.
Dorothea Schües:Der korrupte Kommerzienrat [Johann Maria Schlinck, Bürger und Stadtrat in Bensheim] Ein Zeitbild um 1800. R. G. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2002,ISBN3-8301-0390-5.
Manfred Berg:Bensheim erleben – Ein Führer zu den historischen Sehenswürdigkeiten. Edition Diesbach, Weinheim 2002,ISBN3-936468-02-8.
Wilhelm Weyrauch:Das frühe Bensheim - Vorträge und Aufsätze zur Entwicklungsgeschichte der Stadt - mit zahlreichen historischen Abbildungen. VVB Laufersweiler Verlag, Gießen 2004.
Rudolf Köster:Bensheimer Familiennamen. Hrsg. v. Museumsverein Bensheim in Verbindung mit der Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Geschichts- und Heimatvereine im Kreis Bergstraße, Sonderband 23 in der Reihe der Geschichtsblätter Kreis Bergstraße, Verlag Laurissa Lorsch 2004,ISBN3-922781-25-X.
Manfred Berg:Bensheim entdecken - Ein Malbuch für Schulkinder. Eigenverlag Berg, Bensheim 2005,ISBN3-00-017780-9.
Geschichtswerkstatt Geschwister Scholl (Hrsg.) unter Leitung v. Schäfer, Franz Josef und Lotz, Peter:Jakob Kindinger - Ein politisches Leben. Druckhaus Diesbach GmbH, Weinheim 2006,ISBN3-00-018379-5.
