Hillesheim | |
|---|---|
_COA.svg) Coat of arms | |
Location of Hillesheim within Mainz-Bingen district  | |
 Location of Hillesheim | |
  Hillesheim  Hillesheim | |
| Coordinates:49°46′35″N8°15′22″E / 49.77639°N 8.25611°E /49.77639; 8.25611 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| District | Mainz-Bingen |
| Municipal assoc. | Rhein-Selz |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2019–24) | Melanie Schindel[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 5.54 km2 (2.14 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 181 m (594 ft) |
| Population (2023-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 662 |
| • Density | 119/km2 (309/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 67586 |
| Dialling codes | 06733 |
| Vehicle registration | MZ |
| Website | www.hillesheim-rhh.de |
Hillesheim (German pronunciation:[ˈhɪləshaɪm]ⓘ) is anOrtsgemeinde – amunicipality belonging to aVerbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in theMainz-Bingen district inRhineland-Palatinate,Germany.
The municipality belongs to theVerbandsgemeinde Rhein-Selz.
Hillesheim’s neighbours areDittelsheim-Heßloch,Dolgesheim,Dorn-Dürkheim,Frettenheim,Gau-Odernheim andEimsheim.
Hillesheim has two centres,Ortskern, or municipal core, andBahnhof, or railway station. In the outlying centre of Bahnhof stands the formerrailway station once served by the Osthofen–Gau Odernheim line and used together with the neighbouring municipality of Dorn-Dürkheim.
In the 13th century, Hillesheim had its first documentary mention, although the laying of the churchtower’s foundation stone has been dated to 1204. In 1387, ownership of Hillesheim was divided up: TheKirchbergteil (Teil means “part” inGerman) went to Rosenthal Convent at the Donnersberg (“Thunder Mountain”) whereas theHaßlocher Teil remained inImperial hands. Despite changing ruling relationships in the centuries that followed, the two parts remained apart.
In 1792, Hillesheim was occupied by theFrench Revolutionary Army, and passed to theFrench department ofDonnersberg. In 1814,Russian forces crossed theRhine to vanquish EmperorNapoleon. The soldiers, however, died to a man of a sickness and were buried on the Kirchberg (mountain). In 1816, Hillesheim passed to theGrand Duchy of Hesse and was assigned in the time that followed first to the Alzey district and then in 1852 to the newly founded Oppenheim district.
After theSecond World War, Hillesheim, along with allRhenish Hesse, belonged to the French zone of occupation, out of which thestate of Rhineland-Palatinate arose in 1949. Since district reform in 1969, Hillesheim has belonged to theMainz-Bingen district.
Besides the predominant explanation of the name being derived fromHigeliheim orHügelsheim because of the hilly landscape (Hügel means “hill” in German), there is a competing explanation holding that the name comes fromHültzheim orHoltzheim, which would be a reference to the wealth of wood (Holz in German).
The council is made up of 13 council members, counting the part-time mayor, with seats apportioned thus:
| CDU | SPD | FWG | Total | |
| 2004 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 12 seats |
(as at municipal election held on 13 June 2004)
TheOrtsbürgermeister is Melanie Schindel, elected by the municipal council in August 2019.[1]
The municipality’sarms might be described thus: Per pale Or fretty gules and azure a rose slipped argent seeded of the second.
InLudwig Roselius’sCoffee Hag albums from the early 20th century, Hillesheim’s arms are shown in somewhat differenttinctures. On the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side, the field is gules (red) instead of azure (blue), and the rose is seeded Or (has a golden centre) instead of gules.[3]
