 | Ludwigshöhe was the home village of my 2nd-great-grandfather, Adam Kleist (1843-1917). His ancestors there and in the earlier village of Rudelsheim included members of the Cerbus (Zerbess), Gerber, Schenk, Weber, and Wilhelm families. Adam Kleist came to America in 1871 and settled at Sheboygan, Wisconsin. His sister, Katherine Kleist-Weinert (1846-1926) lived at McKeesport, Pennsylvania. Their younger brother, Jakob Kleist, remained in Germany; however, I have found no record of him at Ludwigshöhe after his baptism in 1849. This is a table of my direct ancestors who lived at Ludwigshöhe and/or Rudelsheim: |
It is thought that Rudelsheim was first settled during Merovingian times (5th-6th Centuries). The first written mention of Rudelsheim is in 766. As the Rhine changed course over the centuries, it drew close to Rudelsheim in the 16th Century. In the 16th and 17th Centuries, Rudelsheim was under the Barons (Freiherren) of Dienheim. The village was completely devasted in 1631, during the Thirty Years' War. In 1801, the Barons of Dienheim were dispossessed, and Rudelsheim came under French rule as part of the Departement of Donnersberg. In 1817, Rudelsheim came under the rule of the Grand Dukes of Hessen. To escape the rising waters of the Rhine, the villagers decided to move to higher ground in 1819, and in 1822, with the permission of the Grand Duke, the first foundation-stone was laid at the new village of Ludwigshöhe. The buildings of Rudelsheim were broken up to provide building materials for Ludwigshöhe, and over the next few years more and more families moved to the new location. The last occupants left Rudelsheim in October of 1830. The last building left standing in the old village, the Church of St. Vitus, burned during the night of 17-18 January 1837. All that remains of the old village is a memorial stone and the old cemetery cross. The inscription on the memorial stone reads: Gott gebe allen gestorbenen Seelen die ewige Ruhe und das ewige Licht leuchte ihnen. O Herr lass sie ruhen in Frieden. Amen.
("God give eternal peace to all departed souls, and illumine them with the eternal Light. O Lord, let them rest in peace. Amen.")
