Mörfelden-Walldorf

Mörfelden was first mentioned in the "Lorscher Reichsurbar" of 830 to 850 under the name "Mersenualt". The church was mentioned as early as 1304 as being the "Parish Church with branch at the Gundhof". During the Middle Ages, the surrounding forests belonged to the Dreieich Royal Hunting Woods (Wildbann Dreieich), which maintained one of its 30 woods in Mörfelden. In 1600, Mörfelden passed to Hesse-Darmstadt.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, Mörfelden became a significant tradepost with a population of 500, but the Thirty Years' War set back the development of the village. It was repeatedly plundered and ravaged, and the plague took its toll. In the 19th century, however, the village benefited anew from economic development, and from the arrival of a railway line. The village developed early on into a community of workers, who commuted towards nearby cities. The inhabitants specialised as construction workers, and Mörfelden became known as the "bricklayers village".

After World War II, many refugees and expellees from Germany's former Eastern territories settled here. Mörfelden was raised to town status in 1972.

Walldorf was founded in 1699 as "Waldenserkolonie am Gundhof", was given the name Walldorf in 1715 and was raised to town status in 1962.

From about 23 August to 24 November 1944, there was a concentration camp in Walldorf into which were brought 1,700 Jewish girls and women from Hungary to work at runway and taxiway expansion and repair at Frankfurt Airport. This chapter in the town's history had been forgotten until 1972 when three interested youths rediscovered it. Since then, a film called Rollbahn has dealt with the theme.

The town of Mörfelden-Walldorf came into being on 1 January 1977 through the merger of the until then independent towns of Mörfelden and Walldorf in the face of pressure from Frankfurt to amalgamate with that city.

Guntheim is the third community in Mörfelden-Walldorf's history. It lay in Walldorf's northeast. It had its first documentary mention in 1307 under the name villa Guntheim. There was also a Gunthof nearby, but the Gunthof (always with the definite article) came to be part of Guntheim in the 15th century through division of inheritance. The village ceased to be a population centre in 1647.

Guntheim was established in Merovingian times (481 – 560) as a Frankish military colony at the junction of some old Roman roads in the forest.

The so-called workers' parties have traditionally been strong in Mörfelden-Walldorf. Both communities, then independent local authorities, were strongholds of the KPD. Before 1933, the "bricklayers village" Mörfelden had the first Communist mayor in the state of Hesse, and was nicknamed "Little Moscow". In the elections of March 13, 1932, the Communist candidate Ernst Thälmann received 1,737 votes in the town, against 850 for Hindenburg and just 264 for Hitler.

Once the Nazis established itself in power, 70 KPD members in the village, which had just 5,000 inhabitants at the time, were deported to the concentration camp Osthofen.

At the municipal elections held on 26 March 2006, the SPD remained the strongest party despite notable losses. The overall winner was the DKP, which has been represented on town council here since the 1970s. The town is one of only a few remaining DKP strongholds in Germany, along with nearby Reinheim, the towns of Bottrop, Essen-North and Gladbeck in the Ruhr area, and Heidenheim and Püttlingen.

Mörfelden-Walldorf's council is made up of 45 councillors, with seats apportioned thus, in accordance with municipal elections held on 26 March 2006:

Mayoral elections were held in 2019, so there is a new town mayor Thomas Winkler (Alliance 90/The Greens) since 20th July 2019. He was the winner in second round with 57 %. Mayoral elections were also held in 2007. In the first round, SPD candidate Heinz Peter Becker received 48.4% of the vote, CDU candidate Bernd Körner received 29,2%, and the DKP candidate Gerhard Schulmeyer received 11.9%.

There were some notable differences between the two communities; in Walldorf, Körner received 33.2% and in Mörfelden just 24.8%, whereas in Mörfelden, Schulmeyer received 16.9%, and in Walldorf just 7.4%.

In the second round, Becker defeated Körner by 59.8% to 40.2%. As new mayor, he succeeded the SPD politician Bernhard Brehl.

Martinair operates its German office in Mörfelden-Walldorf.[3]

• 
  Fountain and more half-timbered houses
• 
  Evangelical church in Mörfelden
• 
  Historic inn "Goldener Apfel"

• Walldorf: Gundhof
• Mörfelden: Dalles
• Mörfelden: Watertower

Mörfelden-Walldorf is twinned with:[4]

• Torre Pellice, Italy
• Vitrolles, France
• Wageningen, Netherlands

• Waldensians

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Mörfelden.

• Official website (in German)
• Walldorf concentration camp (in German)
• Walldorfer Heimatmuseum (in German)
• Mörfelden-Walldorf at Curlie