Niederkirchen Bei Deidesheim - History

History

In 699, Niederkirchen had its first documentary mention as Didinnes-chaime in a document from the Weißenburg Monastery in what is now Wissembourg in Alsace, France. The first documentary proof of winegrowing in the vicinity stems from a document from Fulda Abbey, dated to 770. With the building of the Romanesque church with its striking tower, begun in 1060 and still standing today, Niederkirchen acquired its landmark. In the course of the 11th century, the village passed into the ownership of the Prince-Bishops of Speyer. It is believed that in the 13th century, the current Deidesheim split away from the municipality, whereafter the municipality’s name changed first to Unterdeidesheim and then Niederdeidesheim (both meaning “Lower Deidesheim”), later settling on Niederkirchen. Its location in the heart of Europe time and again brought Niederkirchen misfortune in wars. Thus it was in the Thirty Years' War, as a result of which the village almost died out. With the annexation of the lands on the Rhine’s left bank by French militia in 1794, Niederkirchen became part of the French Republic, and in 1798 it was assigned to the Department of Mont-Tonnerre (or Donnersberg in German). From 1815 to 1935 the municipality belonged to Bavaria and was then part of the Gau of Saarpfalz in National Socialist times. As of 1940, this became the Gau Westmark, which included parts of Alsace-Lorraine. Since 1946, Niederkirchen has been part of the then newly formed state of Rhineland-Palatinate.