Lambinet family in Harxheim
The farms in Untergasse 21 and Untergasse 18 are closely linked to the history of the Lambinet family in Harxheim. Ludwig Remakle Lambinet, owner of the farm at Untergasse 21 since 1832, had the building opposite (Untergasse 18) built in 1837 with what is probably the only tobacco warehouse in Rheinhessen. In 1864, on the initiative of their daughter Sabina, the family built the Harxheimer Kapellchen, today a landmark of our community.
The farms are listed in the monument register of the Mainz-Bingen district.
The farm at Untergasse 21, today still known as Fechenbacher Hof, is mentioned in documents as early as 1717. At that time a claim was recorded, which arose with the sale of an estate located in Harxheim from the counts Löwenhaupt/Manderscheid to Obristleutnant von Fechenbach.1) The ancestral seat of the old noble family of Fechenbach is located in the Odenwald. However, the family also had connections to Mainz. In 1783, through inheritance, she came into possession of the Fechenbacher Hof, located on Ballplatz in Mainz.
View of the barn belonging to the Fechenbacher Hof (demolished after the Second World War), in the background the former tobacco warehouse, which was plastered at that time.
Image source: Kilian Neudecker
According to the Rhineland-Palatinate monument topography, the Fechenbacher Hof in Harxheim was not built until the middle of the 18th century. According to this, the Fechenbach family would have rebuilt the building after they bought the estate. Originally there was another barn to the right of the main house, which was demolished after the Second World War.
The building has an angular ground plan and does not have a basement – possibly because of the formerly damp subsoil. The first floor is masonry, above it is a truss construction. Under the hipped roof is still the original oak truss. The garden to the west of the building is enclosed by an old quarry stone wall.
View of the Fechenbacher Hof (undated)
Image source: Kilian Neudecker
The era of the Lambinet family
The noble estate was expropriated at the beginning of the 19th century under French administration and sold by the state in the course of secularization in 1803. The buyer sold it on in 1805 to the justice of the peace Dr. Christian Brellinger, who as a young lawyer had been active in the Schinderhannes trials, among other things. In 1832 Ludwig Remakle Lambinet(* 1807 + 1864), a ward of Dr. Brellinger, became the owner of the estate. This was the beginning of the history of the Lambinet family in Harxheim, which lasted until the end of the last century.
Ludwig Remakle had begun an apprenticeship as a cooper in Mainz in 1825 and had subsequently also gone on the road abroad. Thus, well prepared, he had already taken over the cultivation of the lands belonging to the farm in 1828. Besides, he was engaged in fruit and tobacco growing and, moreover, in the production of sparkling wine. Here he benefited from the fact that he had previously spent some time in France.
In the course of these activities, Ludwig Remakle had a two-story building erected opposite the residential house in 1837 (Untergasse 18), which was designed purely as a commercial building. Here was his “Factory of Moussirenden Rhine Wine” 2), which existed until his death in 1864. Sparkling wine was a new product in Germany at the time. The model for this was the champagne production that had been developing in France since the 17th century. The first sparkling wine cellar in Germany, the Sektkellerei Kessler in Esslingen am Neckar, was not founded until 1826. The history of the famous Mainz sparkling wine cellar Kupferberg begins only in 1850. Ludwig Remakle could therefore be counted among the pioneers in this field in Germany at the time.
Former champagne cellar
Image source: Florian Imbusch
The wine press house of the new farm building was on the ground floor. Another wine press room is located in the basement, from where a staircase also leads to the lower, barrel-vaulted, former champagne cellars. The attic extends over three levels and was designed as a dry storage for tobacco. This is unique for our region. However, the tobacco store was probably only in use for a few years.
It is not known what motivated Ludwig Remakle to become involved in tobacco cultivation. However, at that time the Forstbaumsche Hof in Obergasse 9 was owned by the Forsboom family from Frankfurt, who were active in the tobacco trade.
Whether there was a connection to Ludwig Remakle’s activities is not known.
Former tobacco warehouse
Image source: Florian Imbusch
Ludwig Remakle Lambinet with wife Anna and children Barbara, Josef, Maria, Caspar, Katharina, Johannna and Sabina
Image source: Lambinet family
In 1832 Ludwig Remakle married Anna Maria Schwalbach. It came from the Chausseehaus in Marienborn, which became famous through J. W. v. Goethe’s report The Siege of Mainz. The couple had eight children and maintained a peaceful, yet disciplined family life. Ludwig Remakle ran his estate successfully and was probably well respected both in his family and in his wider community.
After the death of Ludwig Remakle in 1864, ownership of the two estates fell to his unmarried daughters Sabina (1834-1916), Barbara (1838-1921) and Katharina (1844-1912). According to the family tradition, the three women lived together in harmony and God-fearing and enjoyed great prestige everywhere. They dedicated their lives to working for non-profit charities and to producing naturally pure wine, much of which was used as Mass wine. The cohesion between them was so great that they even had a joint business card that read “S.B.K. Lambinet, Harxheim”. Sabina’s merits for Harxheim continue to have an effect until our time. In 1864, at her request, her parents had the Harxheimer Kapellchen built, which today is a landmark of our village.
Sabina, Barbara and Catherine Lambinet
Image source: Lambinet family
Separation of the two estates at the beginning of the 20th century
The estates Untergasse 18 and Untergasse 21, which originally belonged together, fell to two different branches of the family at the beginning of the 20th century. Wilhelm Lambinet, a grandson of Ludwig Remakle, continued to operate the winery at Untergasse 18. In 1906, the ground floor there was converted into living space and an annex was added to the building on the left as seen from the street. Buildings were also erected on the street frontage, which no longer exist today. The descendants of Wilhelm Lambinet continued the family’s winemaking tradition here for two more generations until the end of the 1990s.
The winery in the time of Wilhelm Lambinet
Picture source: Festschrift 1200 years – wine-growing community Harxheim
The tobacco warehouse before the restoration,
Photo from 2002
Image source: Willi Buchert
Label winery Lambinet-Grünig from 1976
Image source: Irmgard Kaiser-Vreke
Label winery Wilhelm Lambinet from 1923
Image source: Irmgard Kaiser-Vreke
Property Untergasse 18 with development of the street front on a photo from 1987
Image source: Ralf Buchert
In early 2001, the Imbusch family purchased this farm and lovingly restored it. The striking facade gable wall was reconstructed in 2007 and forms an impressive eye-catcher in the appearance of our village. During special local events, such as the Harxheimer Weinhöfefest, the Imbusch family opens their farm so that visitors can also enjoy the beautiful ambience.
The estates of the Lambinet family in candlelight on Sunday evening of the Wine Yard Festival.
Bildquelle: Birgit Korte
The former Fechenbacher Hof (Untergasse 21) fell to two nieces, both daughters of the Friedrich family, after the death of Sabina, Barbara and Katharina. Finally, after the end of the Second World War, Maria Friedrich lived here together with Benedicta Egelhofer. Maria Friedrich was a master horticulturist as well as a religion and piano teacher. Her piano lessons took place on the second floor in the living room and some of her students still live in Harxheim and can remember them. After the death of Maria Friedrich, Benedicta Egelhofer lived alone in the house and died very old in 2017.
In the meantime, the Reßler family of winegrowers has leased the farm. The garden is used for gastronomic offers in the summer. The premises in the house can be rented as a vacation apartment.
References:
1) Krämer, Gerhard (2021): Notizen zu Harxheim. Unpublished manuscript. S.125
2) Rick, Josef (1967): Weinbaugemeinde Harxheim. In: Gemeinde Harxheim (Hrsg.): Festschrift. 1200 Jahre Weinbaugemeinde Harxheim.
Krämer, Gerhard (2021): Notes on Harxheim. Unpublished manuscript.
Krienke, Dieter (2011): Verbandsgemeinden Bodenheim, Guntersblum and Nieder-Olm. In: Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz, Direktion Landesdenkmalpflege 18, Kreis Mainz-Bingen (Hrsg.): Kulturdenkmäler in Rheinland-Pfalz. Worms.
Lambinet, Franz and Hilde (1996): The History of the Lambinet Family. Aubécour – Metz – Mainz. Mainz. Unpublished manuscript.
Conversations with Andrea Imbusch
