Wheel of Mainz
One theory traces it back to Bishop Willigis, who was elected Archbishop of Mainz in 975.
According to a tale delivered by the Brothers Grimm, his ancestors had been wheelwrights and his adversaries sneered at him for his mean birth.
It is more likely that the wheel refers to Saint Martin,[2] the patron of both the city itself and of Mainz Cathedral.
Other theories see the wheel as either: Due to the power wielded by the Elector until 1803, the Wheel of Mainz was recognized across a vast territory, and it can be seen in many coats of arms of towns belonging to the collegiate church, such as Erfurt, which belonged to the archbishopric for centuries.
In addition, it is seen in the following coats of arms: Mainz-Hechtsheim, Mainz-Laubenheim, Mainz-Lerchenberg, Mainz-Weisenau, as well as Alzenau, Arenshausen, Bad Hersfeld, Bad Sobernheim, Berlingerode, Biebergemünd, Birkungen in Leinefelde-Worbis, Blankenbach, Bönnigheim, Brehme, Breitenworbis, Bürgstadt, Büttstedt, Cleebronn, Collenberg, Deuna, Dorfprozelten, Dünwald, Effelder, Eichenbühl, Eichsfeld, Elsenfeld, Eltville (ehemalige Residenz), Ortsteil Ershausen der Gemeinde Schimberg, Faulbach, Frammersbach, Frankfurt-Griesheim, Frankfurt-Höchst, Frankfurt-Nied, Freienhagen, Fritzlar, site of an important cathedral chapter, Gau-Algesheim, Geisenheim, Samtgemeinde Gieboldehausen, Gieboldehausen, Goldbach, Großbartloff, Großheubach, Großvargula, Gumbsheim, Haibach (Unterfranken), Hanau-Steinheim, Hausen (bei Aschaffenburg), Heilbad Heiligenstadt, Heppenheim (Bergstraße), Hergenfeld, Heyerode, Hofgeismar, Hofheim am Taunus, Holungen (Landkreis Eichsfeld), Hundeshagen, Johannesberg, Jützenbach, Kahl am Main, Kelkheim (Taunus), Kelkheim-Münster, Kella, Kirchgandern, Kirchheim, Thuringia, Kirchzell (Landkreis Miltenberg), Kleinostheim, Kleinwallstadt, Klingenberg am Main, Krautheim (Landkreis Hohenlohe), Kreuzebra, Langenthal (Hunsrück), Leidersbach, Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Lindenberg/Eichsfeld, Lorch (Rheingau), Mainaschaff, Marth, Miltenberg, Mömbris, Mönchberg, Monzingen, Mühlberg, Thuringia, Naumburg/Hessen, Neudenau (with eight spokes), the former Gemeinde Herbolzheim, since 1973 Herbolzheim, part of the city of Neudenau, Neunkirchen (Unterfranken), Neustadt (Eichsfeld), Niedernberg (Landkreis Miltenberg), Niederwalluf, Nöda, Obergriesheim, Oberlahnstein, Ober-Mörlen, Oberursel (Taunus), Pleitersheim, Rauenthal, Ravenstein, Reinholterode, Rieneck, Rodgau, Rohrberg, Röllbach, Rothenbuch, Sailauf, Schloßböckelheim, Schöllkrippen, Schöneberg (Hunsrück), Seesbach, Seligenstadt, Sömmerda, Sulzbach am Main (Landkreis Miltenberg), Treffurt, Uder, Viernheim, Waldaschaff, Walldürn, Weibersbrunn, Weilbach (Bayern), Weißenborn-Lüderode, Wiesen, Wittighausen, Worbis in Leinefelde-Worbis, and Wüstheuterode.
