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40-727: Freinsheim lies in the Upper Rhine Plain at the eastern edge of the Palatinate forest , roughly 20 km west of Ludwigshafen between Bad Dürkheim (about 6 km to the southwest) and Grünstadt near the German Wine Route . Within town limits rises the Fuchsbach. As established by various archaeological finds, Freinsheim's municipal area has been continuously settled by human beings for roughly 5,000 years. An organized community likely existed beginning in

80-481: A Late Gothic Bildstock with a Crucifixion group in a frame with a pointed arch. It bears the name Schwarzes Kreuz (“Black Cross”), after which one of Freinsheim's wineries has named itself. The Romanesque Westturm at the mountain graveyard south of and somewhat outside the town is a former entrance tower to the likewise Romanesque Chapel of Our Lady on the Mountain. Forms on the west portal suggest an origin in

120-524: A Late Gothic hall church. Today it has a flat ceiling. The lower floor of the tower is still Romanesque . The moated castle, which was held by the Electorate of the Palatinate beginning in 1471, lies outside the town wall. The round moat is still filled with water today. The main building standing today is a private house from the early 19th century. In the vineyards on the road to Ungstein stands

160-479: A demi-lion rampant sinister Or armed, langued and crowned gules and argent an uppercase letter F of the third between two bunches of grapes in fess of the first. The crowned lion symbolizes the historical connection with the Electorate of the Palatinate , since this charge was that state's emblem (although it is halved here), while the F is, of course, the town's initial. The two bunches of blue grapes stand for

200-639: A downfaulted trough through which the river Rhine flows. The Upper Rhine Plain was formed during the Early Cenozoic era, during the Late Eocene epoch. At this time, the Alpine Orogeny , the major mountain building event that was to produce the Alps , was in its early stages. The Alps were formed because the continents of Europe and Africa collided. It is thought that because the collision

240-799: Is a cluster of volcanic hills to the northwest of Freiburg, within the Rhine Graben. The highest point of this small, isolated volcanic centre is the Totenkopf (557 metres). Volcanic activity was most prevalent in the Miocene epoch, some 15 million years ago. Today, the Kaiserstuhl volcano is extinct. In 1356, the Basel earthquake occurred in the Rhine Plain. It was perhaps the most destructive earthquake ever in northwest Europe , destroying

280-461: Is made up of 20 council members, who were elected at the municipal election held on 9 June 2024, and the honorary mayor as chairman. The distribution of seats in the local council: Matthias Weber (FWG) was elected Stadtbürgermeister in June 2016. He is the successor of Jürgen Oberholz (FWG). Jochen Weisbrod (CDU) was elected in June 2024. The town's arms might be described thus: Per fess azure

320-588: Is the Late Gothic town wall with its towers and gates, which has been almost wholly preserved and is roughly 1 300 m long. It forms the basis of the town's historical appearance. Worthiest of note is the outer gate at the Eisentor (“Iron Gate”) with its flanking towers and the Electorate of the Palatinate coat of arms. The heart of the town is extraordinarily well restored. The old main church of Freinsheim was, until its destruction in 1689, probably

360-723: Is the äußeres Eisentor (“outer iron gate”), finished in 1514. In 1689, Freinsheim sustained heavy destruction in the Nine Years' War (known in Germany as the Pfälzischer Erbfolgekrieg , or War of the Palatine Succession); only foundations were left standing. In the 18th century came reconstruction. Administrative functions within the Electorate of the Palatinate (such as the institution of an Unteramt ) helped bring about an economic upswing. After

400-815: The Bavarian coat of arms (uncrowned), the Saarland coat of arms and the Baden-Württemberg coat of arms ; all three states used to incorporate an Electoral Palatine territory. Since 1950, the lion in the Bavarian state coat of arms, has been emblazoned in the dexter chief today for the Upper Palatinate , which once belonged to the House of Wittelsbach . From 1923 to 1934 the Palatine Lion

440-799: The French Revolution and the Congress of Vienna , Freinsheim passed to the Kingdom of Bavaria along with the rest of the Palatinate on the Rhine ’s left bank. Until 1818, Freinsheim belonged to a Ganerbschaft (joint inheritance), which comprised the Leiningen villages of Leistadt, Herxheim am Berg and Kallstadt as well as the Electorate of the Palatinate villages of Freinsheim and Weisenheim am Sand . A small number of immigrants are known to have moved from Freinsheim to Pennsylvania in

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480-554: The Odenwald on the eastern side. The extension induced by the formation of the Alps was sufficient to thin the crust and provide suitable dilational conduits for magmatic and volcanic activity to occur. This resulted in the emplacement of mafic dykes , which follow the general structural trend of the extensional faults. In addition, isolated volcanoes such as the Kaiserstuhl were formed. The Kaiserstuhl (literally "Emperor's Chair")

520-662: The Palatinate , for example, on postage stamps in the French Zone of Occupation . Following the creation of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in 1946, to which the Palatinate belonged, the Palatine Lion occupied a central place in the state coat of arms of Rhineland-Palatinate . The other elements of the Rhineland-Palatine coat of arms are the Wheel of Mainz ( Mainzer Rad ) and the Cross of Trier ( Trierer Kreuz ). Even

560-604: The Palatinate Lion , is an heraldic charge (see also: heraldic lions ). It was originally part of the family coat of arms of the House of Wittelsbach and is found today on many coats of arms of municipalities, counties and regions in South Germany and the Austrian Innviertel . The main design is described as sable a lion rampant or, crowned, armed and langued gules . Originally uncrowned,

600-733: The Verbandsgemeinde are the municipalities of Bobenheim am Berg , Dackenheim , Erpolzheim , Herxheim am Berg , Kallstadt , Weisenheim am Berg and Weisenheim am Sand . Freinsheim fosters partnerships with the following places: In memory of one of Freinsheim's most important citizens, the Hermann-Sinsheimer-Preis has been awarded since 1983. Prizewinners thus far have been, among others, Siegfried Lenz , Hilde Domin , Carola Stern, Marcel Reich-Ranicki and Marion Gräfin Dönhoff . A particularity of Freinsheim

640-407: The 16th century did the distinction between the lion for the Palatinate and the lozenges for Bavaria slowly gain ground. In Siebmacher's Armorial of 1605 there are four coloured illustrations that use the Palatine Lion. They represent the coats of arms of the Electorate of the Palatinate and the duchies of Bavaria , Palatinate-Neuburg and Palatinate-Lützelstein . Following the dissolution of

680-694: The 18th century, including Henry Antes , a leader of the Moravian Church . After the Second World War , Freinsheim belonged to the newly founded federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate . It has been seat of the Verbandsgemeinde since 1972. With effect from 23 June 1979, given its historical importance, the Rhineland-Palatinate Landtag bestowed the title Stadt (“town”) upon Freinsheim. The council

720-537: The 6th century, as witnessed by the discovery of a Merovingian linear graveyard. Freinsheim had its first documentary mention in 773 in the Weißenburg Monastery's records (this place is now Wissembourg in Alsace , France ). In the 15th century, Freinsheim passed to the Electorate of the Palatinate , under whose care the existing fortifications were completed. The town wall's most recent building work

760-601: The Freinsheim–Frankenthal railway line, affording direct links towards Neustadt , Frankenthal and, by way of Grünstadt , to Monsheim or Ramsen . From both Neustadt and Frankenthal run long-distance links towards Mannheim, Saarbrücken and Mainz . Over the nearby Bundesstraße 271, Freinsheim is linked to the Autobahnen A ;6 ( Mannheim – Saarbrücken ), A 61 ( Koblenz – Speyer ) and A 65 ( Ludwigshafen – Karlsruhe ). Except on

800-670: The Palatine electorate in the wake of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803, from 1816 the Palatine Lion in the Bavarian coat of arms was only used by the west Rhine part of the Kingdom of Bavaria , the Rhine Circle , which was renamed in 1835 at the behest of Louis I to Rhenish Palatinate ( Rheinpfalz ). After the Second World War the Palatinate Lion re-emerged as the regional symbol of

840-603: The city of Basel and flattening buildings as far as 200 km away. It was the most significant historic seismological event to have occurred in Central Europe. Its epicenter was between Waldkirch and St. Peter in Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald . However, it remains disputed whether the fault that ruptured to cause this earthquake was part of the Rhine Valley extensional system, or simply one of

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880-701: The enfeoffment of the Bavarian Duke Louis in 1214 with the County Palatine of the Rhine, Duke Otto II of Bavaria inherited the County of Bogen in the mid-13th century along with its blue and white lozenged coat of arms. For centuries the golden lion on a black field and the blue and white lozenges were used as the family coat of arms of the Old Bavarian and Palatine Wittelsbachs. Not until

920-619: The first weekend in June, the Freinsheim Old Town Festival is held. Its motto is Wein und Kultur auf historischen Plätzen (“Wine and culture on historic squares”). In this, the town of Freinsheim places much importance on sophisticated cultural performances, which are then presented at the marketplace, the Retzerhof or the Saarhof . As a rule, the festival lasts from Friday to Sunday. The Town Wall Festival held on

960-480: The formation of an extensional basin. As a consequence, the highest mountains exist immediately adjacent to the margin of the basin, and become increasingly low outwards. The boundaries between the hill ranges and the Rhine Graben are defined by major, normal fault zones. The northern section of the Rhine Plain is equally framed by somewhat lower mountain ranges, the Palatinate Forest on the western and

1000-498: The grapes that appear now. Historically, the Palatine Lion should be shown on a sable (black) field. When these arms were granted, though, the tinctures were not the traditional Palatine ones, but rather the Bavarian ones, as the town was part of the Kingdom of Bavaria at the time. The arms have been borne since 1845. As seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Freinsheim, Freinsheim is home to its administration. Belonging to

1040-602: The length of the basin. To the west, in France, these hills are known as the Vosges mountain range and in the east, in Germany, the hills comprise the Black Forest . These ranges exhume the same types of rocks in their cores, including deep crustal gneiss . Both ranges correspond to uplifts of more than 2,500 metres, much of which has since been eroded. This uplift has occurred because of the isostatic response associated with

1080-586: The lion was first depicted with a red crown in the early 14th century in the Zürich armorial . This probably relates to the pre-eminent position held by the Prince-Elector of the Palatinate as an imperial vicar , since the Golden Bull of 1356. In addition to these two main forms, there are a number of variants. Many villages used the symbols of their ruling families as seals . In order to minimise

1120-491: The local winegrowing , which began quite early on with red wine varieties, which nowadays take up almost half of the cultivated vineyard area within the town. The town's earliest seal comes from the early 15th century, and shows the arms borne by the local fiefholders, the Lords of Meckenheim. However, the current arms are based on the town's second seal, dating from 1446. Some versions since that time have shown roses instead of

1160-565: The main thoroughfares ( Landesstraßen , or State Roads), the whole town is either a 30 km/h zone or a zone with traffic-calming measures in place. Upper Rhine Plain The Upper Rhine Plain , Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben ( German : Oberrheinische Tiefebene , Oberrheinisches Tiefland or Oberrheingraben , French : Vallée du Rhin ) is a major rift , about 350-kilometre-long (220 mi) and on average 50-kilometre-wide (31 mi), between Basel in

1200-694: The many thrust faults that make up the Alps to the south. Doubts have been raised over the adequacy of the seismic evaluation and design of the Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant , built in the Rhine Plain close to the faults. Located below the plain, the Upper Rhine aquifer – one of the largest in Europe – holds an estimated 45,000 km (11,000 cu mi) of fresh water and supplies some 3 million people in France and Germany, supplying 75% of their drinking water and 50% of

1240-645: The mid 11th century. The original roofing is no longer present. The Rotweinwanderweg (“Red Wine Trail”) is held on the fourth weekend in January. It opens on the Friday at dusk with a torchlight hike on which log torches ( Schwedenfeuer ) are made. On the Saturday and Sunday, the hiking takes place in the daytime, during which local winemakers along the trail through the vineyards around Freinsheim offer hikers selected red wines and dishes to go with them. Each year on

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1280-604: The risk of confusion, the detail of the coat of arms was changed when authority was granted to use them. Occasionally other colours were used in order to stay faithful to the rule of tincture . The Palatine Lion first appears in the County Palatine of the Rhine under the Wittelsbach Count Palatine , Otto the Illustrious in his equestrian seal ( Reitersiegel ) of 1229. However, the use of

1320-459: The semi-official coat of arms of the Province of Palatinate, which existed from 1946 to 1968 and dated to the 19th century, bore the Palatine Lion, which after the inclusion of the former territories of Electoral Mainz and Electoral Trier , symbolised the region of the present-day Palatinate. In addition, the lion may be found in the state coats of arms of three other German federated state :

1360-667: The south and the cities of Frankfurt / Wiesbaden in the north. Its southern section straddles the France–Germany border . It forms part of the European Cenozoic Rift System , which extends across Central Europe . The Upper Rhine Graben formed during the Oligocene , as a response to the evolution of the Alps to the south. It remains active to the present day. Today, the Rhine Rift Valley forms

1400-785: The symbol is probably older; it may well go back to predecessors of the Wittelsbachs, the Welf counts palatine, who ruled from 1195 to 1214: Counts Palatine Henry the Elder and Henry the Younger . Prior to that the Hohenstaufen Count Palatine Conrad , father-in-law of Henry the Elder, had around 1,190 coins minted with a lion image. The colours of the Hohenstaufens were also gold and black. Following

1440-515: The third weekend in July in the historic gate is among the region's biggest wine festivals. The Culinary Wine Trail is held on the fourth weekend in September, running through the town's vineyards. Winemakers and gastronomical businesses offer traditional Palatine cooking, Mediterranean dishes, wine and Federweisser . The Christmas Market on the four weekends in Advent attracts visitors with its Nativity scene, in which living animals are used. Although winegrowing has been edging fruitgrowing out as

1480-447: The town's main agricultural endeavour since the mid 20th century, the town is nevertheless still the seat of one of Germany's great fruit juice producers. Today, Freinsheim is among the Palatinate ’s biggest winegrowing centres. Because of the historic Old Town, meanwhile, tourism has also grown into an important economic factor. Freinsheim station is at the junction of the Palatine Northern Railway ( Bad Dürkheim – Grünstadt ) and

1520-550: The water used by industry. Since the 1970s it has suffered increasingly serious pollution from nitrates , pesticides , chloride and VOCs . A collaboration of 25 universities and government agencies have been researching seismic hazards, neotectonics, and water management of the Quaternary Graben fill. The research focuses on four themes: 48°57′54″N 8°14′02″E  /  48.9650°N 8.2340°E  / 48.9650; 8.2340 Palatine Lion The Palatine Lion ( German : Pfälzer Löwe ), less commonly

1560-438: Was irregular , the initial contact between the two continents resulted in the formation of dilational (extensional) structures in the foreland basin to the north of the Alps. The result was substantial crustal thinning, forming a major extensional graben and causing isolated volcanic activity. The stretch factor is estimated to be ~2. To both the east and west of the Rhine Plain, two major hill ranges have formed that run

1600-485: Was in the second subfield on the Bavarian shield; since 1950 it has been placed in the first subfield, as in the state coat of arms. See: List of coats of arms with the Palatine Lion The flag of the King of Bavaria , used from 1806 to 1919, is quartered with the Palatine Lion in the second and third quarters; the first and fourth quarters display the blue and white fusils . In his book, Die Siegel der Deutschen Kaiser und Könige , Otto Posse describes seals of

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