Ellerstadt

Ellerstadt is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The municipality lies on the Upper Rhine Plain in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Wachenheim, whose seat is in the like-named town. The Akaziensiedlung (“Acacia Housing Estate”), which belongs to Ellerstadt, lies in the north of the main centre right at the limit shared with Birkenheide's built-up area. These are Birkenheide, Fußgönheim and Gönnheim. That the area was settled as early as Roman times is proved by three Roman stone coffins with glasses and urns that were found on the southern outskirts in 1822. It is believed that by the 5th century, Ellerstadt was a Frankish settlement. On 19 December 783, Ellerstadt had its first documentary mention: Documented is the donation of a part of the settlement of "Alaridestath" to Lorsch Abbey by the free Frank Hubertus. Further donations from Ellerstadt were mentioned in 863, 873 and 908 or 909 to Lorsch and in 985 to Weißenburg Monastery in Lower Alsace in what is now the French town of Wissembourg. For the year 1190, there is evidence through Lorsch Abbey of Comital-Palatine rights in Ellerstadt from the former Weißenburg Monastery estate's holdings and the "Vogtei". There was also still an Imperial estate, which was granted loyal followers, such as the Count of Hohenfels and the Knight of Bolanden. Of great importance became the Lords of Flersheim, who beginning in 1482 acquired ownership of the Ellerstadt holdings. In 1548, the Flersheims owned two-thirds of the village and the Lords of Affenstein the other third. In 1570, Friedrich von Flersheim obtained from Emperor Maximilian II leave to hold yearly horse and livestock markets, always on 1 May and 19 November. These are no longer held. The Flersheims not only held control of the market (with all attendant rights) but also the blood court rights along with the court itself, thereby making them lords over the villagers’ very lives.