Ingelheim (), officially Ingelheim am Rhein (, ), is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in the Rhineland-Palatinate state of Germany and also the seat of the Mainz-Bingen district. The town sprawls along the Rhine's left bank. It has been Mainz-Bingen's district seat since 1996.
From the later half of the 8th century, the Ingelheim Imperial Palace, which served emperors and kings as a lodging and a ruling seat until the 11th century, was to be found here.
Etymology The typically Rhenish-Hessian placename ending —heim might well go back to Frankish times, that is to say, likely as far back as the 5th or 6th century. Settlements or estates then took their lords’ names and were given this suffix, which means "home" in German. The name is recorded in later documents as Ingilinhaim, Ingilinheim (782), Ingilenhaim, Engelheim, Hengilonheim, Engilonheim (822), Engilinheim (826), Hingilinheim (855), Ingilunheim (874), Ingulinheim (889), Ingelesheim (891), Ingelenheim (940), Anglia sedes (1051), Ingilheim and Ingelnheim (1286), among other forms.
Since 1269, a distinction has been made between Nieder-Ingelheim and Ober-Ingelheim (Lower and Upper Ingelheim).
Geography
Location Ingelheim am Rhein lies in the north of Rhein Hessen on the so-called Rhein Knee, west of the state capital, Mainz. The Rhein forms the town's northern limit. Southwards, the town stretches into the valley of the river Selz, which empties into the Rhein in the constituent community of Frei-Weinheim or Ingelheim-Nord ("North").
The constituent communities of Ingelheim-Mitte and Ingelheim-Süd ("Middle" and "South") are nestled against the corner of the so-called ("Mainz Mountain").
The municipal area's lowest point is the harbour on the Rhein at 80.8 m above sea level. The two highest points are the Mainzer Berg at 247.8 m above sea level and the at 247.5 m above sea level.
An obelisk on the south side of the village in direction Wackernheim, marks the road begun by Charlemagne, and completed by Napoleon. From this point a fine prospect of the entire Rheingau could be obtained.Karl Baedeker, A Handbook for travellers on the Rhine, from Holland to Switzerland, Koblenz, 1864 - p. 279
Municipal area’s extent The municipal area's north-south extent is 7.9 km, while the east-west extent is 5 km.
Neighbouring municipalities Clockwise from the north, these are Geisenheim, Oestrich-Winkel on the Rhine's right bank, and on the left bank Budenheim, Finthen (a suburb of Mainz), the Verbandsgemeinde of Nieder-Olm, Schwabenheim, Gau-Algesheim (both belonging to the Verbandsgemeinde of Gau-Algesheim) and Bingen am Rhein. Since 1 July 2019 Wackernheim and Heidesheim are incorporated into the city of Ingelheim.Ingelheim, Heidesheim und Wackernheim unterzeichnen Eingemeindungsvertrag , Allgemeine Zeitung vom 29. Februar 2016
Constituent communities Ingelheim is currently divided into six Stadtteile: Ingelheim-Mitte, Ingelheim-Nord, Ingelheim-Süd, Sporkenheim, Groß-Winternheim and Ingelheim-West. Before Ingelheim became a town in 1939, the first three centres bore the names Nieder-Ingelheim, Frei-Weinheim and Ober-Ingelheim. Official changes notwithstanding, the old names are still quite often used.
Climate The town lies in the temperate zone. The average yearly temperature in Ingelheim is 9.8 °C. The warmest months are July and August with average temperatures of 18.0 and 18.5 °C respectively, and the coldest month is January at 1.0 °C on average. The most precipitation falls in June and August with an average of 64 mm, and the least in March with an average of 31 mm. Like all Rhenish Hesse, Ingelheim, too, is sheltered from the weather by the Hunsrück, the Taunus, the Odenwald and the Donnersberg, thereby limiting the yearly precipitation to only 560 mm. Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Temperature (°C) 1.0 2.0 4.5 9.5 14 17 18 18 14.5 10.5 5 2 Precipitation (mm) 40 35 31 36 52 64 59 64 45 40 51 43 Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst
History The Ingelheim area was already settled in prehistoric times. The place first earned itself particular importance, though, only under Charlemagne and his successors. Charlemagne had built the Ingelheim Imperial Palace (Ingelheimer Kaiserpfalz) here, where synods and Imperial diets were held in the time that followed. His son and successor, Emperor Louis the Pious, died on 20 June 840 in Ingelheim.
In the High and Late Middle Ages, the Palatinate's, and thereby also Ingelheim's, importance shrank.
For German justice history, the Ingelheimer Oberhof ("Ingelheim Upper Court") is of particular importance, as a unique collection of judgments from the 15th and 16th centuries that it handed down has been preserved.
Late 19th century Ingelheim was the residence of the Dutch writer Multatuli (Eduard Douwes Dekker).
In 1939, the formerly self-administering municipalities of Nieder-Ingelheim, Ober-Ingelheim and Frei-Weinheim were merged into the Town of Ingelheim am Rhein.
From the Second World War, Ingelheim emerged as the only unscathed town between Mainz and Koblenz. Today, Ingelheim is a middle centre in Rhineland-Palatinate, a Great District-Bound Town (Große kreisangehörige Stadt – a status deriving from the Rhineland-Palatinate Municipal Order) and the seat of district administration for Mainz-Bingen.
Furthermore, Ingelheim harbours the business Boehringer Ingelheim which is active worldwide.
Population data
Religion In 2004, 36% of Ingelheim's inhabitants belonged to the Lutheran faith, and 34% were Catholic, while 24% were without any religious faith; from 2% of the population, no data were forthcoming.
The six Catholic parishes belong, within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz to the Deanery of Bingen.
The five Protestant parishes of the EKHN belong to the Provostship (Propstei) of Mainz, and within this to the Deanery of Ingelheim.
Besides these, the Baptists, Religious humanists and Muslims each have small communities in Ingelheim, as do the Jehovah's Witnesses and Buddhists.
Until 1942 there was a Jewish community, whose beginnings went back to the 16th century. About 1850, roughly 200 Jewish inhabitants lived in Ober-Ingelheim, and by 1933 there were still 134 all together in Oberingelheim and Niederingelheim. In 1840 and 1841, a synagogue that was important to architectural history was built. It was dedicated on 27 August 1841 and destroyed on 9 November 1938 – Kristallnacht. Many Jewish inhabitants lost their lives after being deported to the death camps during the time of the Third Reich.
Amalgamations On 22 April 1972 the municipality of Groß-Winternheim was amalgamated. The former municipalities Heidesheim am Rhein and Wackernheim were merged into Ingelheim am Rhein on 1 July 2019.
Population development
Before 1939 Year Nieder-Ingelheim Ober-Ingelheim Frei-Weinheim total 1815 1,360 1,738 192 3,290 1871 5,760 1885 2,729 3,160 701 6,590 1900 3,435 3,402 838 7,675 1905 8,098 1910 3,852 3,479 882 8,213 1933 5,157 4,116 1,183 10,456 1939 5,526 4,309 1,200 11,035
Beginning in 1939
Year Population 1939 11,035 1945 11,348 1946 11,875¹ 1949 12,500 1955 15,078 1/1/1957 15,428 1961 15,792 early 1966 ~19,000 1970 18,719 1971 21,501 1972 22,534 1974 23,323 Year Population 1975 19,224 1980 20,855 1985 21,712 1990 22,111 1995 24,747 1997 25,683 2000 25,840 2001 25,764 2002 25,954 2003 26,153 2004 26,289 2019 35,193¹: Census
Politics
Town council The municipal election held in 2004 yielded the following results:
Party % SeatsChristian Democratic Union of Germany 37.53% (-4.24%) 13Social Democratic Party of Germany 29.64% (-5.90%) 11Grünen 10.41% (+2.52%) 4Liste Klose 10.19% (+10.19%) 4Freie Wähler 7.30% (-2.33%) 2Free Democratic Party 4.93% (-0.24%) 2
Mayor
In the last mayoral elections, held on 22 March 2026, Eveline Breyer was elected as mayor:Absolute Mehrheit für Eveline Breyer: OB-Wahl in Ingelheim im ersten Wahlgang entschieden, Ingelheim am Rhein, from March 23, 2026, accessed on May 1, 2026 (in German).
Candidate Party % Breyer, Eveline CDU 55.8% Schäfer, Sybille SPD 26.5% Heiser, Stephen Grüne 17.7%
This election became necessary after the previous mayor Claus Schick, in office since 2012, announced his retirement on 30 April 2026.Ralf Claus kündigt vorzeitigen Ruhestand an - SPD Ingelheim dankt und beschleunigt Vorbereitungen für vorgezogene OB-Wahl, SPD Ingelheim (in German)
Results of council elections since 1946 1946 CDU: 42.2% SPD: 26% KPD: 9.2% Liste Gemünden/Gaul: 22.6% Eligible voters: 6,899 Voter turnout: 88.6%
1948 CDU: 35.1% SPD: 33.1% DP: 25.3% KP: 6.5% 9 November 1952 Freie Bürgerliste Rausch: 40.1%, 2,882 votes — 11 seats SPD: 23.04%, 1,656 votes — 6 seats CDU: 22.43%, 1,612 votes — 6 seats FDP: 10.21%, 734 votes — 2 seats KPD: 4.2%, 303 votes Eligible voters: 9,488 Voter turnout: 77.76%, 7378 votes, 7,187 valid votes
1956 SPD: 36.79%, 2,611 votes — 9 seats CDU: 27.06%, 1,920 votes — 7 seats Wählergruppe Bambach: 24.45%, 1,735 votes — 6 seats FDP: 11.7%, 830 votes — 3 seats Eligible voters: 9,979 Voter turnout: 72.62%, 7,247 votes, 7,096 valid votes
23 October 1960 SPD: 42.61%, 3,114 votes — 11 seats CDU: 36.65%, 2,679 votes — 10 seats FDP: 16.92%, 1,237 votes — 2 seats Wählergruppe Kaufmann: 3.82%, 279 votes Eligible voters: 10,695 Voter turnout: 70.14%, 7,502 votes, 7,309 valid votes
25 October 1964 SPD: 51.7% — 13 seats (absolute majority) CDU: 34.7%, 2,800 votes — 9 seats FDP: 13.6%, 1,098 votes — 3 seats Eligible voters: 11,369 (50a CDU) 11,312 (40a Ing) Voter turnout: 72.77%, 8,231 votes (50a CDU) 8,232 (40a Ing)
8 June 1969 CDU: 37.15%, 3,397 votes — 12 seats SPD: 34.45%, 3,150 votes — 11 seats FDP: 10.45%, 956 votes — 3 seats Freie Wählergruppe Kaege: 17.95%, 1,641 votes — 5 seats Eligible voters: 12,295 Voter turnout: 75.51%, 9,309 votes, 9,144 valid votes
23 April 1972 SPD: 41.99%, 4,263 votes — 14 seats (according to 40a 4,264) CDU: 38.92%, 3,952 votes — 12 seats FDP: 8.79%, 892 votes — 2 seats Wählergruppe Kaege: 10.28%, 1,044 votes — 3 seats Eligible voters: 13,992 Voter turnout: 73.46%, 10,280 votes, 10,153 valid votes
17 March 1974 CDU: 46.6%, 5,092 votes — 17 seats (40a: 46.40%) SPD: 34.34%, 3,769 votes — 12 seats FDP: 10.26%, 1,126 votes — 3 seats FWG: 8.98%, 986 votes — 3 seats Eligible voters: 14,027 Voter turnout: 79.17%, 11,106 votes, 10,973 valid votes
10/11 June 1979 SPD: 42.12%, 4,322 votes — 14 seats CDU: 41.52%, 4,261 votes — 13 seats FDP: 8.21%, 842 votes — 2 seats FWG: 8.15%, 837 votes — 2 seats Eligible voters: 14,238 Voter turnout: 73.54%, 10,470 votes, 10,262 valid votes
17 June 1984 CDU: 40.7%, 4,576 votes — 15 seats SPD: 44.1%, 4,966 votes — 16 seats FDP: 7.8% — 2 seats FWG: 10.6% — 2 seats DKP: 1% — 112 votes Eligible voters: 15,408 Voter turnout: 74.9%, 11,252 valid votes
18 June 1989 SPD: 41.0% — 15 seats CDU: 31.2% — 11 seats FWG: 10.6% — 4 seats FDP: 7.75% — 3 seats Grüne: 7.38% — 2 seats 12 June 1994 SPD: 36.6% — 13 seats CDU: 31.0% — 11 seats FWG: 6 seats Grüne: 4 seats FDP: 2 seats Voter turnout: 70%, 11,781 votes
Mayors before 1939 Nieder-Ingelheim Weitzel about 1881 Leonard Muntermann (DDP, 1912 - 7 April 1932) Ober-Ingelheim Dr. Georg Rückert (February 1932 - April 1933) Gaul (1933-)
(Chief) Mayors since 1939 Mayors (Bürgermeister) from 1946, Chief Mayors (Oberbürgermeister) from 1972:
1939-1945: Franz Bambach (NSDAP) 15 April 1945 - 23 June 1945: Georg Schick 23 June 1945 - : Dr. iur. Georg Rückert (SP) 22 September 1946 – 1948: Dr. iur. Georg Rückert (SP) 1949 - 1 October 1956: Dr. rer. pol. Heinz Brühne (SPD) 1957-1964: Heinz Kühn 1964-1965: Albert Saalwächter 1966-1972: Hans-Ulrich Oehlschlägel, BM (SPD) 1972-1975: Hans-Ulrich Oehlschlägel, OB (SPD) 1975-1995: Anno Vey (CDU) 1995-2012: Dr. Joachim Gerhard (CDU) 2012-2026: Ralf Claus (SPD) 2026-: Eveline Breyer (CDU)
Coat of arms