Eckelsheim

Coat of arms

Eckelsheim

Location of Eckelsheim within Alzey-Worms district

Coordinates: 49°48′N 07°59′E / 49.800°N 7.983°ECoordinates: 49°48′N 07°59′E / 49.800°N 7.983°E

Country

Government

• Mayor

Ernst-Friedrich Schwarz

Area

• Total

4.92 km² (1.90 sq mi)

Elevation

137-155 m (−372 ft)

Population (2015-12-31)

• Total

418

• Density

85/km² (220/sq mi)

CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)

55599

06703

Website

Eckelsheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

The village lies in Rhenish Hesse, and it belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Wöllstein, whose seat is in the like-named municipality. It lies within the recreational area known as Rheinhessische Schweiz (Rhenish-Hessian Switzerland). The village has some 550 inhabitants and an area of 4.92 km², making it the Verbandsgemeinde’s smallest municipality.

For many years, this “Wine and Herb Village” has been known for its intensive work on and for the natural environment. Many herb events take place from spring to autumn. From a geological standpoint, the village has long been said to be of particular interest. Rather sensational was the 35-million-year-old sea cliff unearthed in an Eckelsheim gravel pit a few years ago.

In 2005, Eckelsheim achieved first place in the countrywide contest Unser Dorf hat Zukunft (“Our Village Has a Future”), and since then has called itself Golddorf. This was made possible by a yearlong effort by many people not only to uphold the village’s charm and character, but also to actively shape and further develop it.

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 chairwoman.

The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:

The municipality’s arms might be described thus: Per bend azure a wheel spoked of six argent and Or a bend gules surmounted by three eagles displayed of the second.

The wheel likely stands for the Lords of Bolanden, who held Eckelsheim until 1360, and the lower half is Lorraine’s coat of arms, a reference to when sovereignty over the village passed to François III Étienne, Duke of Lorraine (who later became Holy Roman Emperor). The arms were conferred in 1960.

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Wikipedia