Portrait

The municipality of Göllheim, Donnersbergkreis, was founded in 1972. With its 13 local communities, it stretches, embedded in a landscape of hills, forests and vineyards, from the foot of the highest mountain in the Palatinate, the Donnersberg, to the Rhine-Hessian border in the Zellertal. The area of the municipality extends over 80 km², with the highest point in the southwest on the Schweinsberg at 355 m above sea level, and the lowest point near Harxheim at 162 m above sea level. There the "main river" of the municipality, the Pfrimm, on which five villages are located, leaves the district to flow into the Rhine near Worms.

The local communities with about 12000 inhabitants have an independent historical origin and are structured differently. The number of inhabitants ranges from about 150 in Immesheim, the smallest village of the municipality, to about 4000 in the largest village: Göllheim. Agriculture and viticulture still play a major role on the good to very good loam and limestone soils in the association municipality. However, the number of farms is also declining here. Several industrial and large-scale enterprises, but especially the many craft, trade and service enterprises, provide about 2000 jobs. In addition, a large number of "commuters" live in the area of the municipality, who work especially in the neighboring cities of Kaiserslautern, Worms and Ludwigshafen.

Due to the targeted development of the local communities and the development of building areas in all localities, the municipality has recorded a continuous increase in population for many years. The well-developed infrastructure is likely to play a major role in its attractiveness: In addition to the central facilities in Göllheim, Albisheim and Zellertal, there are three schools (Realschule Plus with a technical secondary school as an all-day school, elementary schools in Göllheim and Zellertal with additional childcare offerings), eight daycare centers also with places for children under 3 years of age and all-day offerings, five gymnasiums, nine sports fields, a DFB miniature playing field, village community centers as well as three community libraries and the museums "Uhl'sches Haus" in Göllheim and "Haus Golsen" in Zell. With the Heilpädagogisch-Therapeutisches Kinderzentrum (therapeutic pedagogical children's center) in Göllheim, the senior citizens' and old people's nursing homes in Albisheim and Göllheim, the Sozialtherapeutisches Wohnheim "VIVA" (social therapeutic residential home) in Albisheim and the Pferdezentrum Rheinland-Pfalz-Saarland (equestrian center of Rhineland-Palatinate-Saarland) in Standenbühl, supraregional institutions are also located in the area of the Verbandsgemeinde. In addition, the municipality with its more than 70 clubs and associations is characterized by a very lively club life. Since 1996 there has been a partnership between the municipality of Göllheim and the Polish town of Kozienice (Masovian Voivodeship), which is located about 100 km south of Warsaw.

Wine is also cultivated in the municipality. On the slopes of the Pfrimm River, almost exclusively quality wines are harvested on approx. 300 ha in the Zellertal.

Winegrowing in the Zellertal can look back on a long tradition: it is said that the oldest documentary evidence of winegrowing in the Palatinate - the donation of a vineyard in 708 - leads to the Zellertal. Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Silvaner, Gewürztraminer, Scheurebe, Portugieser, Pinot Noir, Dornfelder and other wines of special quality are cultivated, as evidenced by many prizes at wine awards, even at the national level.

Herewith we come ready to the recreational possibilities in the municipality of Göllheim. In the extensive forests, especially near Göllheim, Dreisen and Standenbühl, there are well developed hiking areas. Furthermore, in Göllheim the "Adolf-von-Nassau-Wanderweg", the "Agenda-Weg", the "Nibelungenwanderweg" and the "Jakobs-Pilgerweg" offer not only scenic hiking tours, but also historical and geographical information.

Also cyclists get their money's worth on picturesque routes in the area of the municipality. Visitors interested in cultural history will find a large number of sights in the museums in Göllheim and in Zell as well as in the picturesque old town centers of the individual communities.

Overnight accommodations are available in Göllheim, Albisheim, Einselthum, Lautersheim, Weitersweiler and in Zellertal. In addition, "farm vacations" are offered in the communities of Dreisen, Lautersheim and Rüssingen. Furthermore, there is a camping site in the leisure center of Weitersweiler, with its magnificent view of the nearby Donnersberg. Of course, wine tasting is available at most of the wineries in the communities of Albisheim, Einselthum, Harxheim, Niefernheim, Rüssingen and Zell, as well as in the tasting rooms there.

Only a few kilometers outside the municipality there are further recreational opportunities: for hiking enthusiasts the Donnersberg, the highest mountain in the Palatinate with 687 m, as well as the Nordpfälzer Bergland, for those interested in sports the golf course at the Donnersberg, swimming pools and indoor swimming pools as well as waters with fishing opportunities and boat rentals. Tourists interested in cultural history can visit the former Nassau-Weilburg royal seat of Kirchheimbolanden, the monastery ruins in Rosenthal and Bolanden, the castle ruins in Stauf, Neuleiningen and Falkenstein, the Celtic village and Celtic garden in Steinbach and the Imsbach visitor mine.

Due to the favorable location of the municipality of Göllheim, the cities of Kaiserslautern, Worms, Mainz, Speyer, Ludwigshafen and Mannheim can be reached in a short time.