Germersheim

Germersheim is a town in the Bundesland (State) of Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate) in Germany with about 20000 inhabitans and seat of the district having the same name, see Germersheim (district). It neighbours Speyer (Spires), Landau, Philippsburg, Karlsruhe and Wörth.

History

During the Roman times a soldier camp called "Vicus Iulii" (Village of Julius) was located about there were Germersheim is located today. It was givven up in the fourth century.
In the year 1090 "Germersheim" was firstly named in the Sinsheimer Chronik (Chronicle of Sinsheim).
The German King Rudolph von Habsburg (Rudolf of Habsburg) gave the village the city rights in the year 1276.
In 1674 the city was burned down by the French troop. Just the crypt and the foundation walls of the Catholik church "survived" the Great Fire.
From the year 1793 on Germersheim belonged to France until it was conquered by the Baravian troop in 1814.
As a resut of that building a fortress was started in 1831 which was competed in 1855, but digging the mine courses still took up to the year 1861. After that the fortress had sadly become outdated, because artillery was made a lot stronger in those just thirty years. It was destroyed in the years 1921/22 as a result of the Treaty of Versailles.
General Hans Graf von Sponeck, who instructed the retreat to its troops which were subject hopelessly against express instruction of Hitler in the winter 1941, was taken here after the transformation of its death judgement in fortress detention. After the assassination attempt of 20th July 1944 he was, although indifferent, shot.

Karl Schmitt-Walter (* 23rd December 1900 in Germersheim, 14th January 1985 in Kreuth) stage singer
Eduard Orth (* 13th October 1902 in Germersheim, 31st March 1968), Politician (CDU, Education minister of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate durig the years 1956 and 1967

(Both links are in German!)