Buildings in Bornheim - 1050 Years Mirror of Local History

The townscape of Bornheim tells a story of over a thousand years of history, faith, and community.

One of the oldest visible buildings is the Catholic church of St. Laurentius. It was built in the Baroque style around 1750 and redesigned in 1880/81 in the Neo-Romanesque style. Later renovations and extensions followed in the middle of the 20th century and around the turn of the millennium. The church stands on the foundations of a Gothic predecessor building; parts of it, especially the sacristy, probably date back to the 15th century.

The Protestant church was built in 1765 and is an important testimony to the regional architecture of the 18th century. It is characterized by a ridge turret and simple, bright interior spaces.
The town hall stands at the center of the village and marks the transformation of Bornheim from a church-shaped street village to an independent residential community. Its origins lie in a school building of the 19th century – an indication of the increasing importance of municipal self-administration and education.

The former post office on Hauptstraße was an important communication point in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It connected Bornheim with the region before modern telephone networks and later digital communication replaced traditional postal functions.

The former Catholic school building, today the restaurant “Lehrer Lämpel,” was built in 1826. A new owner opened the restaurant there in 2000 at Max-und-Moritz-Platz. The square was artistically designed and shows figures from Wilhelm Busch’s picture stories.
Other buildings such as the Wachthäusel or the stork center with the relief “Creation” shape the townscape today and document their historical functions.
These buildings show how Bornheim has grown over the centuries – from a medieval village to the expansion of church and municipal structures to a modern community.

Inns in Bornheim – Places of Public Life

As early as the 18th century, Bornheim had several inns. The oldest known by name are:

“Zur Krone”: In 1769 mentioned as the “common inn” with this name. It was community-owned and leased.
“Zum Grünen Baum”: Also recorded in 1769. The inn was owned by the Welzenbach family and served as a place for funeral meals and gatherings.

“Der Goldene Adler”: Mentioned in the 19th century. Here craftsmen and villagers stopped after work.
The inn “Zum Pflug” is documented by a bill of over 17 gulden from the year 1831. An inscription and the depiction of a plough on a milestone later gave the inn its name. Later it was known as the Bornheimer Hof.

The Gaststube Mannweiler, the inn Rebstöckel and some temporary taverns, which were allowed to serve drinks, supplemented the range of establishments in Bornheim.

In the 20th century, further inns shaped social life, such as the “Weinstube Sommerauer” opposite the Saubrunnen and the restaurant “Zur Weinlaube” of Helmut and Uta Sommerauer, which was used as a village inn for many years.