History of Meißenheim

The first traces of human settlements in Meißenheim go back to the Neolithic around 5000 years ago. Neolithic finds such as stone axes, pottery shards, arrowheads and flints in the Area Hub and Höfel suggest that the band ceramists were the first farmers in Meißenheim.

The so-called heathengrave is synonymous with the Hallstatt and Latene periods. A bronze sword find, which presumably comes from a single grave from the Bronze Age barrows before 1600-1200 BC, is of great significance for history.

In recent years, numerous finds have confirmed the presence of the Romans in the district of Kürzell. In the process, a gem with the motif of a leaping lion and numerous finds of groin bricks came to light.

The Alemanni and Franks (Merovingians) can be named as further ancestors, whose row graves in the Oberried area came to light during construction work.

The place name Meißenheim is used as the home of Remigius (Remigius = the rower); Bishop of Reims interpreted. Until the Reformation, Saint Remigius, patron of the churches in Missenheim, was venerated as a church saint.

In 1267 AD, the village of Meißenheim “located between the Black Forest and the Vosges in the immediate vicinity of the Rhine” was first mentioned in a document in the letter of donation Walter 1. von Geroldseck. First owned by the Geroldseck family, it passed to the Lords of Hattstatt in the middle of the 14th century through the marriage of Elsas von Geroldseck and was bought by Bernhard Wurmser in Strasbourg on May 25, 1464.

Meißenheim, which was under the rule of the Wurmser nobility in Vendenheim for more than 340 years, changed hands in Baden in 1805. At that time the village had about 650 inhabitants.

Catastrophic damage to agriculture was also caused by the numerous floods of the then still wild, unregulated flow of the Rhine. It was only with the correction of the Rhine in 1876 that the constant struggle against floods could be put to an end. Tobacco cultivation became the most important source of income. Both world wars brought a sudden cut in the economic upturn. After the complete collapse, the reconstruction work began with great enthusiasm. In 1952 the town hall was rebuilt, the old school building was modernized, and the construction of a gymnasium and festival hall began. The economic boom in the community was unmistakable. Numerous half-timbered houses, which are still very well preserved today, a typical feature of the reed landscape, contribute to a beautiful, balanced village image.