Bodenheim, Germany

The municipality lies roughly 12 km south of downtown Mainz on the edge of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region. The municipality is strongly characterized by winegrowing. The many wineries and Straußwirtschaften invite visitors to come and enjoy the wine. Since 1972, Bodenheim has been the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Bodenheim, a kind of collective municipality.

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In Bodenheim, there is winegrowing on 426 ha shared among vineyards owned by Kapelle, Kreuzberg, Silberberg, Hoch, Leidhecke, Westrum, Heitersbrünnchen, Ebersberg, Burgweg, Mönchspfad and Reichsritterstift. All together, there are currently (as of 2003) 79 active winegrowing operations with a working area greater than 3 000 m². The winegrowing lands are divided into 315 ha of white wine varieties and 112 ha of red wine varieties. Of white wine varieties, 72 ha are taken up by Silvaner vines and 71 ha by Müller-Thurgau. Dornfelder, at 47 ha is currently the most strongly represented red wine variety.

A vine theme park guides the tourist through the vineyards explaining the most sought vines at the sites where they are planted.

The Weingut Oberstleutnant Liebrecht'sche Gutsverwaltung (winery) goes back to the estate built by the nuns from Altmünster Abbey in 1754 between the parish estate and the municipality of Weed. The career officer Friedrich Wilhelm Liebrecht realigned the vineyards’ boundaries and is counted among the founders of the Verband Deutscher Naturwein Versteigerer, the forerunner of the Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (VDP). The winery was led until 2010 by a fourth-generation descendant, Mr. Fritz Nacke.

The Catholic parish church was built about 1830. It is a hall church with barrel vaulting with a west tower, square quire and apse. The painting and stucco date from 1910.

The foundation stone for the Evangelical Church in Bodenheim was laid on 16 May 1887. Master builder Baron von Schmitt, who was also given the job of restoring Saint Catherine’s Church (Katharinenkirche) in Oppenheim, drew up plans for the church while master church builder Otto Schwarze took on the job of overseeing the building work. In the Gothic Revival style there arose a house of worship built out of quarried limestone blocks with a slated hip roof and a decorative flèche. Inside the building are found, among other things, three stained-glass windows in the quire showing Christ’s birth, Crucifixion and Resurrection, and the artistically carved pulpit, which is borne by the Four Evangelists. On 26 September 1888 came the church’s festive consecration. Today the Evangelical Church is open all week from 8:00 to 19:00 for devotions and sightseeing.