Osthofen
| Osthofen | ||
|---|---|---|
|
||
 Osthofen
|
||
|
Location of Osthofen within Alzey-Worms district
 |
||
| Coordinates: 49°42′28″N 08°19′44″E / 49.70778°N 8.32889°ECoordinates: 49°42′28″N 08°19′44″E / 49.70778°N 8.32889°E | ||
| Country | Germany | |
| State | Rhineland-Palatinate | |
| District | Alzey-Worms | |
| Municipal assoc. | Wonnegau | |
| Government | ||
| • Stadtbürgermeister | Bernd Müller (SPD) | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 27.11 km2 (10.47 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 89 m (292 ft) | |
| Population (2015-12-31) | ||
| • Total | 9,009 | |
| • Density | 330/km2 (860/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) | |
| Postal codes | 67574 | |
| Dialling codes | 06242 | |
| Vehicle registration | AZ | |
| Website | www |
|
Osthofen is a town in the middle of the Wonnegau in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Since 1 July 2014 it is part of the Verbandsgemeinde (a kind of collective municipality) Wonnegau. Osthofen was raised to town on 24 October 1970.
The town lies in Rhenish Hesse where the river Seebach, a very short river that rises in neighbouring Westhofen and flows for only 9 km, empties into the Rhine.
Archaeological finds have established that the Osthofen municipal area was already settled at least four thousand years ago. The town had its first documentary mention in the Lorsch codex as Ostowa in a document dated to 784. It is believed that Osthofen was founded by people from either the now amalgamated village of Mühlheim or the Merovingian royal palace that once stood in Worms-Neuhausen.
On Osthofen’s Goldberg (mountain), a chapel to Saint Remigius might have been built as early as the 6th century. This is where the first major estate was, which by 1195 had grown into an Imperial castle. In Mühlheim, the Knights Templar likewise built a castle in 12/15.
From 1933 to 1934, the city was home to a concentration camp which provides the subject for the novel "The Seventh Cross" by Anna Seghers.
The council is made up of 24 honorary council members, who were elected at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the mayor as chairman.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
The town’s arms might be described thus: Sable a lion rampant Or armed, langued and crowned gules, issuant from dexter chief the sun and in an arc from dexter to middle base three mullets, all of the second.
...
Wikipedia