Weisenheim am Berg

Geography

Location

The municipality lies on the edge of the Haardt range in the Palatinate. Woods cover 54.7% of the municipal area. Weisenheim am Berg belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Freinsheim, whose seat is in the like-named town.

Neighbouring municipalities

Clockwise from the north, these are Bobenheim am Berg, Herxheim am Berg, Leistadt and Altleiningen.

History

In 771, Weisenheim am Berg had its first documentary mention in the Lorsch codex.

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 16 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:

Coat of arms

The German blazon reads: Von Silber und Schwarz geteilt, oben die miteinander verschlungenen schwarzen Großbuchstaben WAB, unten ein sechsstrahliger goldener Stern, beseitet von je einer silbernen Rose mit goldenem Butzen.

The municipality's arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Per fess argent the letters W, A and B in fess ligatured sable, and sable a mullet Or between two roses of the first seeded of the third.

The arms go back to a village seal from 1764. The charges in the escutcheon's lower half are unclear. They could be a reference to the old local court.

The arms have been borne since 4 April 1984. File:Wappen Weisenheim Berg.svg|Coat of arms File:Banner Weisenheim am Berg.svg|"Banner" (vertical flag for hoisting from a horizontal pole)

Town partnerships

Weisenheim am Berg fosters partnerships with the following places:

• Italy Plaus (), South Tyrol, Italy
• France Saint-Gengoux-le-National, Saône-et-Loire, France
• Germany Niederdorla, Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis, Thuringia

Culture and sightseeing

Natural monuments

The nearby Ungeheuersee reservoir, surrounded by mixed forest, is protected as a natural monument.

Regular events

• At the long weekend around Ascension Day, Weisenheim’s biggest regular event is held, the traditional Partnership, Wine and Homeland Festival.
• Each year on the next to last weekend in August, the Kerwe, a wine festival, is held.
• On the Sunday before Volkstrauertag, the Stutzenfest is held at which new citizens are initiated.

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

To the east runs Bundesstraße 271, which in the north leads to the Autobahn A 6. In Herxheim am Berg is a railway station on the Pfälzische Nordbahn. From Bad Dürkheim runs the Rhein-Haardtbahn to Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Public transport is integrated into the VRN, whose fares therefore apply.

Education

Weisenheim has one kindergarten and one primary and regional school.

Famous people

Sons and daughters of the town

• Otto Georgens, auxiliary bishop in the Bishopric of Speyer

References

References

1. [https://www.wahlen.rlp.de/de/kw/wahlen/kd/gebiete/3320000000000.html Direktwahlen 2019, Landkreis Bad Dürkheim], Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz, accessed 3 August 2021.
2. [http://wahlen.rlp.de/kw/wahlen/2009/gemeinderatswahlen/ergebnisse/3320204900.html Kommunalwahl Rheinland-Pfalz 2009, Gemeinderat]
3. [http://www.ngw.nl/int/dld/w/weisenhb.htm Description and explanation of Weisenheim am Berg's arms]