Country Germany Admin. region Darmstadt Elevation 88 m (289 ft) Area 40.11 km² Local time Monday 5:24 AM Dialling code 06258 | State Hesse District Groß-Gerau Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Population 9,781 (30 Jun 2009) Postal code 64579 Administrative region Darmstadt | |
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Weather 2°C, Wind NE at 8 km/h, 79% Humidity | ||
Gernsheim is a town in Groß-Gerau district and Darmstadt region in Hesse, Germany, lying on the Rhine.
Contents
- Map of Gernsheim Germany
- Location
- Neighbouring communities
- Constituent communities
- History
- Amalgamated communities
- Coat of arms
- Partnerships
- Buildings
- Nature
- Regular events
- Transport
- Known Gernsheimer Personalities
- References
Map of Gernsheim, Germany
Location
The Schöfferstadt Gernsheim, as Gernsheim may officially call itself – it was Peter Schöffer's birthplace – lies 18 km southwest of Darmstadt and 16 km northeast of Worms, right on the Rhine's east bank, south of the Old Rhine near Stockstadt am Rhein in the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Region.
Neighbouring communities
Gernsheim borders in the north on the communities of Biebesheim and Riedstadt, in the east on the town of Pfungstadt and the communities of Bickenbach and Alsbach-Hähnlein (all in Darmstadt-Dieburg), in the south on the town of Bensheim and the communities of Einhausen and Groß-Rohrheim (all in Kreis Bergstraße) and in the west on the community of Hamm (Alzey-Worms).
Constituent communities
Gernsheim consists of the centres of Allmendfeld, Gernsheim and Klein-Rohrheim.
History
In the first century, there was Roman settlement in what is now Gernsheim. By the 7th century, this had given way to Frankish settlement. In 852, Gernsheim had its first documentary mention, and was also later mentioned in the Lorsch codex.
In 1356, Gernsheim was granted town rights by Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1425, Peter Schöffer, later to be well known as one of Johannes Gutenberg's colleagues, was born.
In 1937, the village of Allmendfeld, now part of Gernsheim but originally a separate municipality, was founded. It is Hesse's newest town (in the common sense, if not the administrative). It is named after the commons (die Allmende in German).
Amalgamated communities
Coat of arms
Gernsheim's civic coat of arms might heraldically be described thus: In gules a six-spoked wheel argent.
Gernsheim was among Mainz's many landholdings for centuries (1232–1802). The charge in these arms is the Wheel of Mainz, a common heraldic charge in the region, given the history, but unlike many others, Gernsheim's arms have only this one charge. The town's oldest known seal, from the 14th century, already showed the wheel, as have all seals that later followed. The arms were officially granted in 1925.[1]
Gernsheim has the same arms as Höchst, a constituent community of Frankfurt am Main.
Partnerships
Buildings
Nature
Regular events
Transport
Roads serving Gernsheim include Federal Highways (Bundesstraßen) B 44, B44a and B 426. Gernsheim is also connected to the Autobahn A 67, as well as to State Highway (Landesstraße) L 3112 and the K 206.
Gernsheim lies on the Mannheim–Frankfurt railway. There are also bus connections to Darmstadt, Bensheim, Goddelau and Lampertheim.
Gernsheim's riverfront on the Rhine is home to a container port with a railway connection. There are also ferries across the Rhine to Eich in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Tram #9 serves Gernsheim and connects the city to the extensive public transport system in Darmstadt. The public transport in Darmstadt is its modern tram system with 9 lines and a local bus service serving all parts of the city. Darmstadt is furthermore connected to the Frankfurt S-Bahn system and being served by regional bus lines. Furthermore, regional train lines (R64, R65, R66) connect six secondary train stations within the city.