Essenheim is village of 3600 people (2018) in Rhenish Hesse. It is known for its fruit-growing and wine-making. The village is in the Rheinhessen wine-growing region. There are a number of buildings from the 18th and 19th century in the village.

Understand

The earliest documentation of Essenheim is under the name Hesinesheim in 1023. The monastery of St. Maximin near Trier had large estates in Essenheim, which was owned by Heinrich II, Holy Roman Emperor from 1014 to 1024.

In the Middle Ages, Essenheim was surrounded by a village moat around the centre of the settlement. This moat, filled with water and overgrown with trees and hedges, was supposed to offer protection to the population. In addition, the church was surrounded by a defensive wall, behind which the population could withdraw in times of crisis.

The period of the Thirty Years' War brought considerable destruction, epidemics and hardship. In 1620 Spanish troops set fire to 25 houses. In the winter of 1631 to 1632 the Swedes fought and quartered here. Some Swedish soldiers settled there. In 1645, the fortified churchyard was stormed and looted by marauding troops. Only about a fifth of the population was still alive at the end of the war, and the livelihoods of the population were largely destroyed. In 1666 the plague took part of the population. When the Palatinate was devastated in 1686, almost the entire village and the public buildings were destroyed. Only two houses are said to have survived the destructive rage at the end of the 17th century. After that, the old village of Essenheim had largely disappeared.

With the beginning of the 18th century, the village and the livelihoods had to be rebuilt on a large scale. On the one hand, the relatively peaceful times provided quite a good basis for this, but economic development could not keep pace with population growth: people were repeatedly prompted to emigrate, mostly for economic reasons.

In the 18th century, Essenheim had its own high court with a gallows. The last known executions were carried out in 1729 when three members of a family were executed for killing their daughter's illegitimate child.

In the 18th century, many Essenheimers emigrated to Pennsylvania and settled there primarily in the area of Kreutz Creek in what is now York County. The language of the emigrants - Pennsylvania German - has been preserved there.

In the 19th century, the local community had a considerable number of Jewish community members, who at times made up around 10% of the total population. Through a foundation, the Jewish community was able to build its own synagogue in Klappergasse in 1857, which was desecrated in 1938, later used as a storage room and demolished in 1978. A memorial stone was installed in 1988 to commemorate the synagogue in its former location. The Jewish cemetery for the parishioners on Wackernheimer Strasse is the only evidence of the once-thriving Jewish community, but was desecrated several times before and after 1945. On March 16, 2016, the artist Gunter Demnig laid his stumbling stones in front of three houses of Jewish families who used to live there.

Get in

By car

On the L426 between Mainz-Lerchenberg (ZDF studios and TV-garden) and Stadecken-Elsheim.

By train

Closest train stations are Mainz and Nieder-Olm.

See

• Roman sarcophagus, Hauptstraße 2. Found in the area, now displayed in the town hall. 

Do

• Selztal-Terroir-Route 4. 5km marked walk through the vineyards of the region with a number of information tables and earth cut-aways explaining the terroir (environmental factors that affect a crop) of the area. (updated Feb 2016)

Buy

• Weingut Blodt, Elsheimer Str. 1, ☏ +49 6136 89199. (updated Feb 2016)
• Weingut Braunewell, Am Römerberg 34, ☏ +49 6136 88917. (updated Feb 2016)
• Weingut Warner, Hauptestraβe 30, 55270, ☏ +49 6136 87438. Since 1692. The vineyards cover ten hectares planted with the white varieties Riesling, Silvaner, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Scheurebe, Morio-Muscat and Ortega, and with the red varieties Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Portuguese, Dornfelder and Regent. Particular emphasis is placed on strict yield limits and careful winemaking. There are also brandies (wine, pomace), grape juices, verjus, vinegar, secco and flaschenvergorene sect produced. (updated Jun 2020)

Eat

• 1 Domherrenhof, Straße der Champagne 1, ☏ +49 6136 4688072. Excellent German food, friendly service (updated Nov 2015)

Drink

Sample the local wines at a number of local vineyards.

Sleep

The Domherrenhof has a few rooms available.

• 1 Gästehaus Himmelweit, Elsheimer Str. 25A,, ☏ +49 6136 89974. (updated Nov 2015)

Go next

• Mainz
• Nieder-Olm
• Stadecken-Elsheim
• Schwabenheim