After the fall of the empire in the Migration Period, the area was occupied by Germanic tribes who eventually formed a frankish kingdom. The ending 'heim' and 'weiler' of most of the village names in the region hints that they might be founded in the early medivian, merovingian era.
The devastation of the Thirty Years' War almost completely depopulated the whole region, so new settlers from the alpine countries were relocated to the North. This led to long lasting bonds like the annual fair 'Kleintiroler Weiherfest'[3] (see Tirol) in Rubenheim.
The village of Gersheim itself was first mentioned officially under the name 'Geroldesheim' in the year 1150.
The municipality Gemeinde Gersheim was founded by dissolving and reorganising several neighboring communities as part of an administrative reform in 1974.
Geography
The municipality has a size of 57,4 square kilometer. The area consists of low hills up to 400m above sea level. Most of the ground is Muschelkalk aside of a small sandstone area east of Bliesdalheim.
Parts of the area are restricted in use or access for environmental reasons as Gersheim became part of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Bliesgau in 2009.
Economy
Gersheim is mostly a Bedroom community. This has some tradition as many men from the villages over the last centuries travelled to the industrial centres of the Saarland on a daily basis to work mainly as coal miners (Kumpel) or steel workers.
Business in Gersheim decreased noticeably since the 1980s as e. g. the number of farmers reduced and industrial enterprises like chalk mining and cement production ended. The local railway line 'Bliestalbahn' closed end of the 1990s.
This unfortunately led to an accumulation of public credits, leading to the Gemeinde Gersheim holding the 'first place' of having the highest dept [4] of the municipalities over many years.
Gersheim approaches soft tourism to counter this, using the status within the UNESCO biosphere area. Around the Gersheim village itself, guided tours to see rare orchids are offered.
Notable Persons
Ludwig Maria Hugo (* 1871 in Arzheim; † 1935 in Mainz), Bishop of Mainz (1921 bis 1935) was from 1911 to 1915 priest of Bliesdalheim
