The Parish Church of Obereisenheim
Nestled in the heart of Obereisenheim you will find the Parish Church Obereisenheim. It is the home of the Evangelish-Lutherische Kirchengemeinde Obereisenheim. The church was built in 1496.
Over the crucifix is the arms of the Count of Castell, then the Patron of Obereisenheim, responsible for the reformation in 1557.
Over the years the following were added: A wooden ceiling and the baroque interior (1750), a pulpit with the four Evangelists, an altar, an organ and a baptism stone cover for the baptism font dated 1523. This original baptism font is still used today and is the very font that Hieronymus and his siblings were baptised in.
Chronik des Ortes und der Pfarrei Oberiesenheim (1915 - 2009)
An early cronicle of the town and parish was kept by Ernst Borger but was stopped when he went away in 1915. In 2006 Rolf Krauss, Marion Beck-Winkler and Helmut Reich decided to continue the chronicle and add the missing 100 years. It would be ready for the 1000 year anniversary celebration planned for 2009. And so it was.
It is a wonderful book to read and allows one to share in the history and events over this period. It is well illustrated with pictures and one can see the changes in the village through the years.
We, as Bornmans from South Africa, can be very honoured to have a place in this book. The entry for 2005 reads:
Auf den Spuren den Familengeschichte / On the trail of the family history
It starts off with Lanie Bornman's meeting with two young men from Obereisenheim and her later travels to Obereisenheim to view the church records and the original baptism font. It tells the story of Hieronymus Bornemann, his family history in Germany and his travel to South Africa and how, at different times, Chris Bornemann and Lanie Bornman of South Africa, contacted Marion at the church to find out about Hieronymus. During Marion's research she found entries about the Bornemann family up to 1780 but after that there was no more mention about them.
