Frettenheim

Frettenheim
Municipality
Coat of arms
Location of Frettenheim within Alzey-Worms district
Frettenheim Frettenheim
Coordinates: 49°45′35″N 8°14′41″E
Country	Germany
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District	Alzey-Worms
Municipal assoc.	Wonnegau
Government
• Mayor (2019–24)	Carsten Claß
Area
• Total	2.74 km2 (1.06 sq mi)
Elevation	171 m (561 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)
• Total	311
• Density	110/km2 (290/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	67596
Dialling codes	06733
Vehicle registration	AZ
Website	www.vg-wonnegau.de

Frettenheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Geography

Location

The municipality lies in Rhenish Hesse. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Wonnegau, whose seat is in Osthofen.

Neighbouring municipalities

Frettenheim’s neighbours are Dittelsheim-Heßloch, Dorn-Dürkheim, Gau-Odernheim and Hillesheim.

History

In 767, Frettenheim had its first documentary mention in the Lorsch codex. It then still bore the name Frittenheim, as the founder who built his farm there was named Frido. Only in 1402 did Frettenheim get its current name.

In 1575, Frettenheim became part of Electoral Palatinate. Beginning in 1755, the Barons of Heddersdorf were tithe lords. In 1792, Frettenheim lay under French administration and belonged to the Department of Mont-Tonnerre (or Donnersberg in German).

In 1816 came the transfer to the Grand Duchy of Hesse. Frettenheim became autonomous in 1868.

Population development

In 1772, the population amounted to 90 persons. Since then, the figure has risen to almost fourfold. The municipality is among the smallest Ortsgemeinden in the district.

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 8 council members, who were elected by proportional representation at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.

The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:

Year	SPD	CDU	FWG	Total
2009	2	3	3	8 seats
2004	2	3	3	8 seats

Mayors

Frettenheim’s Ortsbürgermeister (mayor) is Carsten Claß (independent), who was elected in May 2019.

Previous mayors were:

• Bernd Weber (FWG), 2006–2019
• Heinz Martin (SPD), until 2006

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• Wendelin Mathias Kiefer, first to hold office, 1868

Coat of arms

The municipality’s arms might be described thus: Per fess, sable a lion passant Or armed, langued and crowned gules, and lozengy argent and azure.

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

The little municipality has at its disposal two Baroque churches and a Dorfgemeinschaftshaus (village hall), which until 1967 was used as a school, having been given its current function in 1981.

• The tithe barn is from the 18th century.
• Saint George’s Catholic Church (St.-Georg-Kirche) was built in 1749. The altar comes from the Princely Chapel at Mainz.
• The Evangelical church was built in 1755.

Economy and infrastructure

In 2006, the municipality counted seven full-time farmers.

Transport

Beginning in 1897, the Osthofen–Gau-Odernheim railway line led through Frettenheim, over which there were links to Worms at Osthofen and to the Alzey–Bodenheim railway (known locally as the Amiche) at Gau Odernheim; however, it has been out of service since the mid-1980s.

External links

• Official website (in German)
• Brief portrait with film about Frettenheim at SWR Fernsehen (in German)