Arheilgen 836-1986 ~ 1150 Years of Local History
The locale was first mentioned officially in the year 836 with the name Araheiligon, in the Seligenstadt Book of the Gospels. 500 years prior to that, the researcher of history supposes, the Alemannic tribe of the Araheil settled here. In the fifth century, the Alemanni were pushed out by the Franks. The hereditary Araheilingers capitulated and maintained control of their settlement. The founding of the community thus most likely already took place in the fifth century. At first the upper village came into being, which stretched east of the Ruthsen creek from the fortress grounds all the way to the upper gate in Geißen-Street. The form of the upper village remained consistent for centuries. In the year 1012, it was granted as a portion of the Gerau March to the Bishop of Württemberg by Emperor Henry II. Subsequently, the upper village fell as a fiefdom into the hands of the Counts of Katzenelnbogen, who now determined the face and fate of the village for more than three centuries. Some 500 years later, the lower village, west of the old Arheilgen, came into being. The founders were the Lords of Hagen, who were also called the Lords of Hain, or later the Münzenbergers. The initial buildings were strongholds at the intersection of the imperial road to Frankfurt and the old Roman road from Groß-Gerau to Dieburg. Twelve so-called “Sattelhof” estates came into being here, a portion of which later were left to the settled peasants as fiefs, or else sold to them. The Münzenberger lineage died out in 1259, and the arch chamberlain Philipp, Lord of Falkenstein, took over the lower village as its heir. In the year 1418, the last member of the Falkenstein family died. Countess Anna of Sayn succeeded them. After her, her son, Count Siether of Isenburg, sold all the rights in 1437 to Count Philipp of Katzenelnbogen. The once partitioned village was now united. After 1479, the landgraves of Hessen-Darmstadt ruled and determined the history of Arheilgen for 450 years. The end of the Thirty-Years War was also the end of the first Arheilgen. The new beginning for the 80-100 survivors was difficult. In the year 1937, Arheilgen became a part of the city of Darmstadt, the regional capital of Hessen at the time.
Text and data excerpts from the book Alt-Arheilgen by Wilhelm Andrea
This wall plaque hangs in the private home of a Wannemacher family
in Darmstadt-Arheilgen.
At the request of Julia Wannamaker this translation was provided by
Ginny Lewis, Ph.D., Professor of German, Northern State University,
Aberdeen, South Dakota (July 2018).
Wannamaker Genealogy 