Gondelsheim

History

During the late 12th or early 13th century the village of Gondelsheim became a property of Herrenalb Abbey. Later it came into possession of the lords of Wiesloch, followed by the Counts of Hohenberg. During that period it was mortgaged to the Johanniter Order, and then to the Counts of Württemberg. In 1483 the latter sold the village and its castle to Palatine Hofmeister Blicker Landschad von Steinach. Eventually, the village was resold to the House of Katzenelnbogen. Following a conflict between the local community and lord Georg Rudolf Knebel von Katzenelnbogen, in 1614 an agreement was concluded between the inhabitants of Gondelsheim and their ruler through the mediation of Electoral Palatinate. It limited the number of days on which locals could be employed for corvée labour, defined the amount of wood to be provided on the lord's demand, regulated the settlement of new inhabitants, the appointment of burgomasters, court proceedings and other issues. As a result of the Thirty Years' War, after 1648 the population of Gondelsheim had decreased to only 80 inhabitants. In 1650 the Katzenelnbogen family sold the village to Freiherr of Mentzingen. The old agreement between the lords and community was confirmed, and the war damage was quickly overcome: by the mid-1650s the settlement had over 150 residents, with the number further increasing to 400 in 1687. In 1709 the territory on which the inhabitants were required to perform corvée labour was increased by 50%, which led to new conflicts. Following a property conflict between the Freiherr of Mentzingen and a burgher of nearby Bretten, in 1727 the forces of Electoral Palatinate, which controlled the latter city, established a blockade of Gondelsheim and plundered the goods of local inhabitants, which led to popular…

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,002
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,637
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,431
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,401
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,600
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,517
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,406
• Zoropsid spider

  Zoropsis spinimana (Dufour, 1820) · Arachnida
  3,085

Most recent

• M 3.4 — 2022-10-16
  Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
• M 4 — 2022-07-09
  2 km NNE of Grosselfingen, Germany
• M 4.1 — 2021-06-26
  2 km SE of Hœrdt, France
• M 3.6 — 2014-05-17
  2 km ESE of Pfungstadt, Germany
• M 2.5 — 2008-12-12
  2 km ESE of Nehren, Germany
• M 2.8 — 2008-11-25
  1 km S of Steinmauern, Germany