The Gaustraße
Today, the state road L425 runs through Harxheim. It corresponds in large parts to the Gaustraße built from 1826 – 1830.
The Gaustraße led from the Gautor in Mainz to Worms.
At the time, it significantly improved the connection from Harxheim to Mainz and the Rhine-Hessian hinterland.
Southern exit of Harxheim 1939
Image source: Irmgard Kaiser-Vreke
The state road L425 leading from Mainz to Mörstadt runs through the middle of Harxheim. It is an important and heavily traveled connection between the state capital and the Rhine-Hesse hinterland. The course of the road corresponds in large parts to the course of the Gaustraße, a former Rhine-Hessian provincial road. The Gaustraße was built by the Grand Duchy of Hesse from 1826 – 1830 and was almost 46 km long. The project was part of a larger road construction program to improve access to Rheinhessen. A total of 12 roads were created within this framework.
The Gaustraße began in Mainz at the Gautor and ran via Hechtsheim, Harxheim, Mommenheim, Selzen, Köngernheim, Weinolsheim, Dolgesheim, Hillesheim, Hessloch, Westhofen, Abenheim and Herrnsheim to Worms. In Harxheim, originally coming from the north, it turned right into Mainzer Straße and shortly thereafter ran left into Gaustraße, which leads out to the south of the town. In 1954, a new, straightened entrance to the village was built at the northern entrance to the village, and since then the road has had its present course.
The Gaustraße passed through a region that used to be called the Gau, so this is where its name comes from. At that time, the following reasons spoke in favor of its construction: “This region had no road connection with the important trading centers of the province, which is why the inhabitants had to renounce all traffic for a large part of the year. Since in 1825 the construction of the state road from Wörrstadt via Schornsheim, Undenheim, Köngernheim and Dexheim, and the Rhine crossing at Oppenheim was begun and completed after three years, both roads, which intersect in Köngernheim, granted the great advantage that a part of the villages lying on the Gaustraße received a connection with Wörrstadt and Oppenheim at the same time. (1) Moreover, the direct route from Mainz to Oppenheim was often not passable at all or not safely passable during high Rhine water, so that before the construction of the Gaustrasse the connection from Mainz to Oppenheim and Worms was often interrupted for weeks.
Part of the construction costs was borne by the municipalities along the road, which in turn burdened their taxpaying inhabitants. The financial contribution was waived for the inhabitants if they instead cooperated in the construction of the road, especially in the delivery of building materials. The sections of the Gaustraße leading through the villages had to be financed by the communities themselves without support from the Grand Duchy of Hesse.
The construction was carried out in several stages and over several years. As early as 1826, the Steige near Harxheim was rebuilt. This is described as one of the most laborious and difficult jobs of the project. Interestingly, the rise of today’s Rheinhessenstraße at the northern end of the village is still called “the hollow” by the old-established Harxheimers. This could be an indication that the road from Harxheim to Mainz had dug into the terrain like a hollow way over the course of time.
Gaustraße had a width of seven and a half to eight meters for most of the distance. Of these, three meters were paved and three meters were unpaved as a so-called summer path. The remaining space was occupied by a footpath. Due to the very straight routing, the road – just like the L425 still today – had several very steep passages, such as coming from the north shortly before Harxheim or between Friesenheim and Weinolsheim. The pavement of the paved part of the road consisted of limestones brought from nearby quarries.
The road had five bridges, two of which were in the Ebersheim district and two in the Harxheim district. Pastor Würth, who left extensive records in the chronicle of the Protestant community during his time in Harxheim from 1909 to 1920, reports in this context that in 1911 a stream ditch in the middle of the village and the stone bridge arching over it, which was part of the Mainzer Landstraße, were removed. This was at the intersection of Gaustraße, Untergasse and Bahnhofstraße, which is still called “Dalles” (name for the central square in the village) by the locals.
From pastor Würth we learn further that after the Franco-German war of 1870/71 a peace lime tree had been planted there and a war memorial had been erected. The war memorial was later moved – because it hindered traffic – and placed next to the Lutheran church, where it can still be found today. In 1914, the lime tree of peace was cut down, as it too had become a traffic obstacle in the meantime.
Along Gaustraße, in accordance with a separate ordinance, over 8,000 trees were planted after its completion. Allowed were fruit trees, nut trees and Italian poplars.
Harxheim through road 1959
Image source: Irmgard Kaiser-Vreke
Gaustraße 1959
Image source: Wolfgang Becker
Reinforcement of the retaining wall to the church during the expansion of the village thoroughfare in 1982
Image source: Willi Buchert
The part of the Gaustraße running through Harxheim was subsequently extended again and again to cope with the increasing traffic. As part of the 1982 expansion, the retaining wall to the Lutheran church had to be reinforced.
The last expansion was carried out in 2019/2020. The town’s thoroughfare was closed for more than a year and the people of Harxheim enjoyed the unaccustomed peace and quiet. The Heimat- und Verkehrsverein Harxheim organized dance classes on the construction site under the motto “Dance on the asphalt”.
HVV event “Dance on the asphalt” in summer 2019
Image source: Joachim Geiberger
References:
(1) Heße, W. (1834): Rheinhessen in seiner Entwicklung von 1798 bis Ende 1834. Mainz. S. 171.
Heße, W. (1834): Rheinhessen in seiner Entwicklung von 1798 bis Ende 1834. Mainz.
Lang, Werner (1967): Heimatbuch Landkreis Mainz. Oppenheim on the Rhine.
Reßler, Tanja (2017): Economic Center “Alt Hashem. In: Ortgemeinde Harxheim (Hrsg.): Festbuch 2017. Harxheim. Eintausendzweihundertfünfzig. Selzen. S. 129 – 143.
Würth, Johannes (1909 – 1920): Aufzeichnungen in der Gemeindechronik der evangelischen Gemeinde Harxheim. Archive of the Protestant community of Harxheim.
