Sponheim

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Sponheim
View of Sponheim with the abbey

Coat of arms
Sponheim
Coordinates: 49°50′45″N 7°43′35″E / 49.84583°N 7.72639°E / 49.84583; 7.72639Coordinates: 49°50′45″N 7°43′35″E / 49.84583°N 7.72639°E / 49.84583; 7.72639
Country Germany
State Rhineland-Palatinate
District Bad Kreuznach
Municipal assoc. Rüdesheim
Government
 • Mayor Michael Berghof (SPD)
Area
 • Total 14.35 km2 (5.54 sq mi)
Elevation 230 m (750 ft)
Population (2012-12-31)[1]
 • Total 794
 • Density 55/km2 (140/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 55595
Dialling codes 06758
Vehicle registration KH
Website www.sponheim.de

Sponheim is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany.

History

Abbey of Sponheim c. 1650
Detail of tomb relief of Johannes Trithemius by Tilman Riemenschneider

Sponheim was the capital of the County of Sponheim.

Sponheim Abbey

There was a Benedictine abbey here which was founded in 1101 by Stephan II, Count of Sponheim not far from the comital residence at Castle Sponheim. Johannes Trithemius was one of the abbots. Traveling from university to his home town in 1482, he was surprised by a snowstorm and took refuge in the Benedictine abbey of Sponheim near Bad Kreuznach. He decided to stay and was elected abbot in 1483, at the age of twenty-one. In his time, the abbey library increased from around fifty items to more than two thousand. However, his efforts did not meet with praise, and his reputation as a magician did not further his acceptance. Increasing differences with the convent led to his resignation in 1506.

See also

Towns and municipalities in Bad Kreuznach (district)

References

  1. ↑ "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden am 31.12.2012". Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). 2013. 
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