Historical Tour of Bensheim

Historical
Tour of
Bensheim
With pull-out town map

Our historical tour of Bensheim
begins at the fountain in the
middle of Marktplatz, the town's
market square.
1
Marktbrunnen
The Marktbrunnen (Market Fountain)
dates from 1895. In addition
to the State of Hesse’s coat of
arms, the fountain is decorated
not only with allegorical representations
of justice, agriculture
and artisanry, but also depictions
of children and the four seasons.
Four wrought waterspouts emerge
from lion masks. As a dragonslaying
knight, St. George, the
January, but now takes place on
Shrove Monday. Market rights
were granted in 956.
2
Marktplatz 22
Built in 1615, this timber-framed
corner house with a two-storey
bay and half-hipped roof is the
former Zur Armbrust inn. A
wooden plaque with two coats
of arms also bears an inscription
about the builders that says: “He
who trusts in God has built well,
Wilhelm Kurtz and Katarina, his
housewife.” The husband’s coat
of arms shows two crossed golden
bars against a red field and a
town and church patron, keeps a
stube (Office), the southern tim-
2 watchful eye over the regular far-
4 Marktplatz 16-18 ber-framed wall above the older, 3
mers’ markets and four seasonal
fairs from his vantage point
at the top of the fountain.
St. George’s
Market in April and St.
Martin’s Market in
November were first
documented in 1504.
They were joined in
1619 by St. Giles
Market in early
September and in
1829 by St. Sebastian’s
Market,
St. George
on the
Marktbrunnen
which was originally
held on 20th
golden linden leaf, which also
cross the bars; his wife’s presents
two crossed silver hooks
and two silver faces against a
field of blue. The house’s now
exposed timber framing was hidden
from view until well into the
post-war period.
3
Marktplatz 21
The renaissance timber framework
of this three-storey house
appears relatively unaltered. It
was built around 1600, probably
by Alderman Werner Duchscherer.
The property was bought in
1891 by master shoemaker
Christoph Mitterie for the shop
he had already opened two years
before.
A roofed-over wooden figure
situated between the first-floor
windows portrays the Franciscan
preacher Anthony of Padua with
the Infant Jesus. Born in Lisbon
in 1195 and christened as Fernandez,
the church teacher was
canonized by Pope Gregory IX in
1232 and, among others, is the
patron saint of lovers, marriage,
women and children, the poor
and travellers as well as bakers
and miners.
The ensemble of three identical
timber-framed houses built in
1682 “as an adornment of the
Market Square” dominate its
southern side. The buildings
were commissioned by town
drummer and limer Cornelius
Straub, ribbon weaver Hans
Schellhorn and barber Friedrich
Bock.
The two supports of the outer
house corners are decorated
with a carved and turned staff
and spiral ornaments over both
timber-framed storeys.
5
Museum der Stadt
Bensheim
With one storey
facing north
and two storeys
facing
south, the
side-gabled
building
that now
houses
Bensheim’s
municipal
museum is probably
built on remains
of part of the former Lorsch
Abbey. According to the date inscribed
in the interior of the Amts-
massive basement probably
stems from the year 1590. The
Louis XVI-style folding door in
the Baroque entry portal is particularly
striking. The museum has
sections covering pre- and early
history, the skilled trades, agriculture,
winegrowing and housekeeping
as well as an updated
town history section. It has been
housed in the building since
1960.
The museum is open on Thursdays
and Fridays from 3 to 6
p.m. and on Saturdays and Sundays
from 12 to 6 p.m.
Frontier
sign at the
municipal
museum

Older
decorative
element
on the
façade
Katholische Pfarr-
6 central section and two side
of Anne-Frank-Halle, the sports
kirche St.Georg
towers were erected between
1949 and 1953. Two spolia, ele-
hall of the adjacent Liebfrauenschule,
on the site of Bensheim’s
A basilica in honour of ments taken from the original last synagogue, which dated
St. Michael was pro- medieval church, namely a lion from 1892. Unveiled in May
bably erected at the figure and a lamb with halo and 2000, the memorial depicts both
old town’s highest flag, can be found on the new the intact synagogue and the
elevation some façade, which is strongly influen- ruins left by the Nazi devastation
time during the
early Middle Ages.
ced by Romanesque forms.
of 10 November 1938.
The later construction
of a Gothic
7 Roter Turm
9 Walderdorffer Hof
church dedicated to The Roter Turm (Red Tower) was In Obergasse you will find Wal-
St. George on the site of an older built in around 1300 as part of derdorffer Hof, southern Hesse’s
Romanesque tower probably the town wall and originally had oldest timber-framed building pre-
occurred at the time of the a steep hip roof, which was
served in such a complete state.
Crusades. By the end of the 18th
century, Pfarrkirche St. Georg
replaced in 1833 by a historici- Tree-ring dating shows that the
(St. George’s Parish Church) was zing embattled parapet with cor-
century. The northern side of the
4 described as “dilapidated, not bel arches. Two corner consoles side-gabled building was erected eastern wing that joins it proba- 5
very spacious and unsightly”. In
1826, the main structure, but not
the tower, was demolished and
a neo-classical three-aisled
pseudo-basilica was built to a
design by Georg Salomon Moller,
the court architect of the Grand
Duchy of Hesse. The new church
was consecrated in 1830.
The building was completely gutted
following a bombing raid on
26 March 1945 and the old
tower had to be pulled down.
New eastern towers on each
side of the choir and an entirely
new westwork with a risalit-like
on the southern side probably
stem from the same period. They
depict the heads of a bearded
man and a woman, over which
you can also see a waterspout in
the shape of a wolf’s head. The
original of the replica plaque on
the eastern side originated from
the Auerbach Tower Gate, which
was demolished in 1836.
8
Synagogen-
Mahnmal
The Synagogen-Mahnmal (Synagogue
Memorial) stands in front
in 1395, although it is likely that
it had a steep thatched roof until
the 17th century. A beautiful
piece of ironwork above the
entrance shows the Walderdorff
coat of arms: a gold-coroneted
silver lion with a red head and
mane on a black shield, the crest
shows spread black wings, each
of which repeat the heraldic figure,
and the mantling is silvery
black. A remnant of the old town
wall forms the northern boundary
of the property.
10
Dalberger Hof
The oldest part of Dalberger Hof
is probably the tower, which was
built in 1587, but now has a cambered
roof dating from the 18th
bly consists of part of the former
town wall. The municipality of
Bensheim has owned this noble
property since 1866. The
wrought iron window baskets on
the ground floor were originally
located in front of the upper floor
windows on the northern side,
the open arcade on the southern
side of the upper floor was only
cleared again during refurbishment
in 1998.

6
Hohenecker Hof
The building was erected in 1756
by the dean of Mainz Cathedral,
Johann Franz Baron von Hoheneck,
after whom it was named.
Following the demolition of the
town wall and the laying out of a
park, the western side was dominated
by the neo-Gothic red
brick façade with stepped gable,
small embattled tower, balcony
and loggia with balustrades. The
eastern side of the Baroque timber-framed
building has arched
hatch openings in the pediment
and would still appear to be original.
A shell-shaped cartouche
with the Hoheneck coat of arms
and an inscription is situated above
the three-centred arch of the
entrance. A neo-Gothic portal
with merlons, small corner
towers and a lattice gate were
built on the street side. At the
top of the arch over the metal
gate there is a keystone bearing
a rose symbol and inscribed
with the year 1533; it probably
stems from an earlier
structure. Above this you can
see a Baroque statue of John
of Nepomuk.
Wambolter Hof
11 12
southwards, but was pulled
Portal at
Hohenecker Hof
Wambolter Hof was built by
Franz Philipp Caspar Freiherr
Wambolt von Umstadt in 1733
as a two-storey two-wing
building. The main portal is set
asymmetrically in the eastern
façade and bears the Wambolt-
Kesselstadt alliance coat of arms
and the inscription of the year
1743, which refers to the marriage
of Franz Philipp Caspar and
Maria Charlotte Freiin von Kesselstadt.
Like the main wing, the
west wing with timber-framed
upper floor and gable also carries
a mansard hip roof with dormers.
13
Rinnentorturm
Probably built at the beginning of
the 14th century, the Rinnentorturm,
a gate tower, is now all
that remains of larger fortifications
including a gateway that
used to span the road
down in 1885. Originally the Lauter
flowed through this gateway,
but today the river, which is
known as the Winkelbach from
this point, has been redirected to
the north. The adjacent square
has been named after Bensheim’s
Hungarian twin town,
Mohács.
14
Marienhaus
The Zum schwarzen Bären inn
was built here by Philip Hornig in
1597. The superb timber-framed
building with hipped gable roof
has conspicuous side-gable protrusions
that imply that the building
once had open arcades. In
1679 it became home of the
Bensheim Wine Cellar after its
separation from Heppenheim.
From 1783 Philipp Jakob Feldhofen
ran an inn called Zur goldenen
Rose. The building is also
described as Haus Bendheim,
after the Jewish merchant Heinrich
Bendheim II, who acquired it
in 1862. During the Third Reich
the property was transferred to
the Hospital and has been known
as Marienhaus since that time.
15
Katholische
Hospitalkirche
St. Joseph
Aesthetically,
Hospitalkirche
St. Joseph
(St. Joseph’s
Hospital Church)
dominates the
whole lower
pedestrian area.
The quadrangular
raw hall with
ridged roof and
red sandstone
masonry dates
Windows of
St. Joseph’s Church
back to the 14th century and
probably stands on the site of a
church that Giselhelm the Frank
donated to Lorsch Abbey in 817
with a collection of relics and an
estate. The choir with tracery
windows was added in around
1500.
The nave probably continued to
be used for caring for the poor,
elderly and sick after the end of
the Middle Ages.
7

16 wooden bridge and numerous the Bürgerwehrbrunnen. This is
The location of the Hospitalbrunnen
(Hospital Fountain) was first
recorded in 1526. Refurbishment
in 1711 saw the addition of a
column with sphere. Later, in
1842/43, the fountain was completely
rebuilt a few metres north
of its original location. Since
1935 two putti have
crowned the fountain
column, which possibly
still dates from the 18th
century.
buildings. As a result of a solemn
pledge, Johann Georg and Maria
Margaretha Ernsperger, a married
couple who managed to escape
with their lives, endowed two
statues for the stone bridge that
was built one year later and still
stands today. In 1740 the monument
to the Prague Vicar-General
St. John of Nepomuk was erected
on the western side of the
bridge. In 1747 the eastern statue
followed in the shape of the
Catholic theologian and Jesuit
where the Mainz Cathedral Chapter,
the administrative authority
of the diocese, maintained an outpost.
Originally a solid twostorey
structure with dressed
corner pilaster-strips, fascia,
Baroque panels and a stepped
hip roof, an additional floor was
added and a mansard roof built
in 1874.
Following secularization, the building
housed the office of the bailiff
as well as the state and district
council. In 1868 the building
Francisco de Jaso y Azpilicueta, was purchased by Bensheim to
better known as St. Francis
house the high school and later
Xavier. The three cited dates are the elementary school. The sta-
At the same time, the Bensheim encoded as chrono-
tue of St. Aloysius, patron saint 20 Bürgerwehr-
8 metalsmith Christian Schütz grams in the ins-
of schoolchildren and students,
9
added the waterspouts embellished
with leaves and grapes.
Although there were plans to
rechristen the fountain Weinbrunnen
(Wine Fountain), it continued
to be known by its old
name.
17
Hospitalbrunnen
Waterspout on the Hospitalbrunnen
Mittelbrücke
The Mittelbrücke (Middle Bridge)
crosses the Lauter, linking the
old town centre with the quarter
that was once outside its walls.
In 1732 a violent storm and devastating
flood destroyed the old
criptions.
18
Domkapitelfaktorei
Built in 1732, the
rather imposing
former Domkapitelfaktorei
(Agency of the
Mainz episcopal
chapter) dominates
the square
surrounding
Statue
on the
Mittelbrücke
in a shell-shaped niche in the
gable above the portal, probably
also dates from this period.
In the early 20th century the building
was used by the town
museum and the local police and
its cellars by the municipal
vineyard. After the Second World
War it was home to government
offices, clubs, an adult education
centre and the municipal library.
Today you will find the Tourist
Information Office and the municipal
Citizens’ Information Office
here.
19
„Stolperstein”
Mahnmal
The Stolperstein Mahnmal
(Stumbling Block Memorial)
looks back to the Nazi period,
when Jewish citizens and dissidents
were deported from this
spot in front of the police station.
The memorial was created in
1995 by Mannheim-based artist
Rainer Negrelli. It represents the
tip of a huge swastika and symbolizes
either the disappearance
or re-emergence of Nazi ideas.
brunnen
The Bürgerwehrbrunnen (Militia
Fountain) was erected in 1934
following the refurbishment of
the surrounding square on the
initiative of technical instructor,
principal and council clerk
Joseph Stoll, who founded Bensheim’s
historical militia.
The classicistic column by
Darmstadt court sculptor Philipp
Johann Scholl decorated the
Marktbrunnen until 1895.

10
21 Haus Jost
23
The Jost corner house was built
at the beginning of the 16th century
and it still has various late
medieval timber elements in the
form of “head” and “foot” supports,
while the andiron-shaped
braces and “foot beams” on the
first floor stem from a later modification.
One important feature is
the carved 18th century entrance
facing the Bürgerwehrbrunnen.
22
Haus Fleck
Haus Fleck, a relatively narrow
three-storey building with striking
latticework and a steep roof,
was documented as a butcher’s
stall in 1504. It had open stalls
for butchers who offered their
wares for sale under municipal
price control. In 1714 the municipal
authority leased the building
to Italian merchants. Joseph
Ferrari then bought the property
in 1748. In 1757 he had the
statue of St. Joseph added to the
northwestern corner of the
building. Later owners included
Ferrari’s son Adolph and the
merchants Kless and Fleck. In
1923 the timber framework was
returned to its original uncovered
state in the course of building
modifications.
Fraa-vun-Bensem-
Brunnen
The Fraa-vun-Bensem-Brunnen
(Woman from Bensheim Fountain)
is centrally located in a
small park next to the former
town mill. Built in 1935, it
consists of a square basin made
of reddish brown clinker bricks
with a corresponding column,
crowned by the legendary figure
who gives the fountain its name.
According to legend, towards
the end of the Thirty Years’ War,
when Bensheim was occupied
by Swedish and French troops,
an old woman led Bavarian
soldiers through the millrace into
the town “from behind”.
The Bavarians
proceeded to kill the
Swedes and French,
thereby “freeing”
Bensheim.
Statue at
Haus Fleck
Historical Facts
20 April 765 First documentary
record of Bensheim in the
Codex Laureshamensis, the official
register of Lorsch Abbey.
773 Charlemagne places the
Heppenheim Marches, to
which Bensheim belongs,
under the administration of the
Imperial Abbey
of Lorsch.
5 March 956
Emperor Otto I
grants Bensheim
market
rights.
1220 The Imperial
Abbey of Lorsch is
made a sovereign principality
subject directly
and solely to the Holy
Roman Emperor.
1232 The Imperial
Abbey of
Lorsch – and with
it Bensheim – comes
into the possession of
the Archbishop of
Mainz.
1301 Large parts of
Bensheim are destroyed
by King Albrecht I.
16 April 1320 Bensheim's
town rights are confirmed
by Elector and Archbishop of
Mainz Peter von Aspelt. Town
rights had probably already
been granted in the mid-13th
century.
1342 The Hospital is documented
for the first time on a
gravestone at the Hospitalkirche.
1461 Bensheim is pledged to
Electoral Palatinate as part of
the District of Starkenburg
during a feud between two
rival archbishops of Mainz.
1504 Bensheim is subjected to
an unsuccessful 11-day siege
by Landgrave William II of Hesse
during a feud with Bavaria.
1619 Count Palatine Frederick
V approves St. Giles Market on
1 September.
1644 On 20 November Bensheim
is captured by French and
Swedish troops. Bavarian units
use their cunning to enter
the old town through the
millrace and defeat the
Swedes and French. This
later gives rise to the
legend of the Fraa vun
Bensem.
1650 The Bergstrasse
is redeemed
by the Archbishop
of Mainz in the
Bergstrasse Settlement.
1802/1803 The
District of Starkenburgbecomes
part of the
Landgraviate of
Hesse-
Darmstadt
following
the secularization
of the
Electorate of Mainz
by the Principal Conclusion of
the Extraordinary Imperial Delegation.
1806 The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt
becomes a Grand
Duchy following its accession to
the Confederation of the Rhine.
1939 Incorporation of Auerbach,
Schönberg and Zell.
1971 Incorporation of Fehlheim,
Gronau, Hochstädten,
Langwaden, Schwanheim and
Wilmshausen.

Bahnhof
Schwanheimer
Straße
Wormser-
Straße
100 m
WC
Amersham-
Platz
Gartenstraße
P
Rodensteinstraße
Bahnhofstraße
Neckarstraße
Am Rinnentor
Neckarstraße
Mathildenstraße
Ritzhaubstraße
Hospitalstraße
Neckarstraße
Neugasse
P
Rodensteinstraße
Aulgässchen
Fehlheimer Straße
Promenadenstraße
P P
Promenadenstraße
Aulstraße
Mathildenstraße
Beauner
Platz
Wilhelmstraße
Park-Theater
Dalberger
10
Hof
P
Hohenecker
Hof 11
Rinnentor
13 Mohácsturm
Platz
Kellereigasse
Hospital
Bürgerhaus
Bahnhofstraße
Grabengässchen
Gerbergasse
14
Am Bürgerhaus
Kath. 15
Hospitalkirche
Am
Ritterplatz
Dalberger Gasse
16
Schuhgasse
Hauptstraße
Schlinkengasse
Mittel- 17
brücke
WC
Nibelungenstraße
Klostergasse
Marktplatz
P
Walderdorffer
Hof 9
2 3
1
WC
Obergasse
Kapuzinergässchen
4
WC
5
Museum
21 22 „Fraa
Stolper-
23 vun
steinBürger- Bensem”
19 20 wehrbrunnen
Wambolter 18
Hof 12 Faktorei
Am
Wambolter
Hof
Am Rinnentor
Straße
Mittelgasse
Darmstädter
Heinrich-von-
Gagern-Platz
Hospitalbrunnen
Hauptstraße
Lauter
Hasengasse
Hauptstraße
Liesengasse
Rodensteinstraße
Stadtpark
hist. Stadtmauer
Lammertsgasse
Mittlere Hasengasse
Hasengasse
An der Stadtmühle
Erbacher Straße
Augartenstraße
Kleine
Obere Hasengasse
Klosterkirche
Raabgasse
Hasengasse
Zeller Straße
Kalkgasse
Grieselstraße
Klodzko-
Platz
P
6
P
Platanenallee
Synagogen-
Mahnmal
8 Bendheim-
Platz
Roter
Turm
7
Kath. Kirche
St. Georg
Lammertsgasse
Sandstraße
Nibelungenstraße
Obere Grieselstraße
P

www.bär-und-krieger.de
Find out
more
about
Bensheim:
Selected Reading
Rudolf Köster: Die Namen der
Bensheimer Strassen, Wege,
Plätze und Passagen von A–Z
erläutert. Museumsverein Bensheim
1996, ISBN 3-931960-05-6
Griesbach-Maisant, Dieter:
Kulturdenkmäler in Hessen Kreis
Bergstrasse I. Die Städte Bensheim,
Heppenheim und Zwingenberg.
Landesamt für Denkmalpflege
Wiesbaden 2004.
ISBN 978-3-8062-1905-0
Maass, Rainer and Berg,
Manfred (Publisher): Bensheim
Spuren der Geschichte. Edition
Diesbach Weinheim 2006
ISBN 3-936468-31-1
www.bensheim.de
Bensheim Tourist Information
Office Hauptstr. 39 (Alte Faktorei)
Tel +49 (0)6251 58263-14
Fax +49 (0)6251 58263-31
Email touristinfo@bensheim.de
Bensheim Town Museum
Marktplatz 13
Opening Hours:
Thu + Fri 3 – 6 p.m.
Sat + Sun 12 – 6 p.m.
Tel +49 (0)6251 58478-65
Fax +49 (0)6251 58478-66
Email museum@bensheim.de
Verkehrsverein Bensheim e.V.
(Tourism Association)
Kirchbergstrasse 18
Tel +49 (0)6251 58263-50
Fax +49 (0)6251 58263-31
www.verkehrsverein-bensheim.de
Email info@verkehrsvereinbensheim.de
Festivals: Bergsträsser Weinfrühling
with "Wine Meeting” (late
April/early May), Bensheimer Bürgerfest
(early June), Bergsträsser
Winzerfest (early September) with
large firework display
Impressum
Publisher: Magistrat der Stadt
Bensheim – Tourist-Info 2009
Text: Manfred Berg
Translator: Derek Whitfield
Design and photographs:
bär und krieger