Gabsheim | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Gabsheim within Alzey-Worms district  | |
  Gabsheim  Gabsheim | |
| Coordinates:49°49′40″N8°10′34″E / 49.82778°N 8.17611°E /49.82778; 8.17611 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| District | Alzey-Worms |
| Municipal assoc. | Wörrstadt |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2019–24) | Heribert Müller[1] (CDU) |
| Area | |
• Total | 8.10 km2 (3.13 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 172 m (564 ft) |
| Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 733 |
| • Density | 90/km2 (230/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 55288 |
| Dialling codes | 06732 |
| Vehicle registration | AZ |
| Website | www.gabsheim.de |
Gabsheim is anOrtsgemeinde – amunicipality belonging to aVerbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in theAlzey-Worms district inRhineland-Palatinate,Germany. It belongs to theVerbandsgemeinde of Wörrstadt, whose seat is in thelike-named municipality.
The municipality lies inRhenish Hesse, inGermany's biggest wine region. Indeed, Gabsheim is Rhenish Hesse's geographical centre. The nearest towns areWörrstadt, roughly 5 km to the west, and the district seat,Alzey, roughly 15 km to the southwest. Thestate capital,Mainz, 30 km away, is easily reached over theAutobahnA 63.
Gabsheim's neighbours areBechtolsheim,Biebelnheim,Schornsheim,Undenheim andWörrstadt.
In theMiddle Ages, Gabsheim was calledGeispisheim (Geispitzheim); among many other spellings found in documents are alsoGeispodisheim (Geisbodesheim) (1250) andGespesheim (1484). All forms, however, go backetymologically to the placenameGäu-Spießheim. Over time, the pronunciation ofGespesheim shifted toGabsheim. Since the village is overwhelminglyCatholic, it is also sometimes known in thelocal speech asGottes Gahbsem (the first word meaning “God’s”).
The “fortified place in Geisbodesheim near the church” mentioned in 1250 gives clues to a permanent living place or perhaps a small castle, which would have been the von Geispitzheim noble family's ancestral seat. Asvassals of the Feudal Lords of Bolanden, further becoming fiefholders of theCounts of Veldenz beginning in the 14th century, the Knights of Geispitzheim (also called the Knights of Geisbodesheim) were mentioned as theBurgmannen atOdernheim am Glan (1190), at the Moschellandsburg (castle) nearObermoschel (1377, 1421, 1431), at Burg Treuenfels (castle) nearAltenbamberg (1392), atArmsheim (14th century) and in neighbouringBechtolsheim (until the early 16th century). The inscriptions from nine preserved gravestones from the 14th and 15th centuries clearly document that the Knights of Geispolzheim had their family burial ground near Saint Alban's Church, not far from their Gabsheim ancestral seat.
Noteworthy, besides those things bearing witness to theGothic epoch, is the masterfully craftedBaroque stone statue ofSaint Alban.
The council is made up of 12 council members, who were elected 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:[3]
| SPD | CDU | FWG | Total | |
| 2009 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 12 seats |
| 2004 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 12 seats |
Heribert Müller (CDU) was elected mayor in May 2019.[1] He succeeded Christian Geier (CDU), who was in office since 2014.
The German blazon reads:Von Silber und Rot geteilt, oben drei blaue Lilien nebeneinander, unten ein liegendes silbernes Spatenblatt.
In Englishheraldic language, the municipality'sarms might be described thus: Per fess argent three fleurs-de-lis in fess azure and gules a spade blade fesswise sinister of the first.
Gabsheim's arms as displayed and described herein go back to a court seal that was being used as early as 1507. While the spade blade is believed to have been a municipal symbol, the lilies refer to the Chamberlains ofDalberg, who were the lords until the late 18th century. The fieldtinctures argent and gules (silver and red) are an historical link to the formerArchbishopric of Mainz, to which – like allRhenish-Hessian places – Gabsheim also belonged.
TheCatholic parish church in Gabsheim is amongRhenish Hesse’s oldest and biggest churches and given its commanding location above the village it is a prominent landmark for the whole area. Theearly mediaeval church was acknowledged in 1164 byPope Lucius III as a holding ofSt. Alban's Abbey, Mainz. Even today, the church is still consecrated toSaint Alban of Mainz.
The forerunner building, mentioned in 1164, gave way towards the late 15th century to a newer, bigger building in theGothic style. The new church’s nave and tower must have been built at roughly the same time as the church inBechtolsheim for both churches bear the same mason’s hallmark, “-L”. In Gabsheim, this can be seen chiselled on both the bell tower's doorframe and on the church portal (as confirmed by an entry in theSpeyer state archive, the church in Bechtolsheim was built between 1482 and 1487). Historically and stylistically, the church would seem to be the work of a member of the “Meisenheim School”, but whether the designer actually was Philipp von Gmünd cannot be established.[4] A new expansion of the Gabsheim parish church was dedicated in 1768. Nevertheless, the whole building, including the tower, retained its Gothic character. This is shown on the outside foremost by the mighty chancel with itsbuttresses. Inside, the chancel likewise forms the architectural highlight with its finerib vaults adorned with coats of arms. From the Gothic era come many of the décor's important pictorial works, while on the church's outer walls, various gravestones of the noble families that held estates here, such as the Barons ofDalberg and the knightly familyBube von Geispitzheim orFetzer von Geispitzheim can be seen.
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