with a transfer terminal for both banks including an account statement printer, and automated teller machines. In the Volksbank’s building, flats are now to be found. Only the entrance door gives any hint that it was once a bank. Even the postal centre (Poststelle – not a full post office, but run by postal employees), in existence in 1995 and 1996 was first converted into a postal agency (Postagentur – an operation not run by postal employees) with two agents, and then a few years later it was dissolved altogether. The nearest postal agency can now be found in Gau-Odernheim. Transport Through the municipality runs a Kreisstraße (district road). The nearest Autobahn is the A 63 about 5 km away, accessible through the Biebelnheim interchange. Local public transport is provided by bus links to Alzey and Mainz run by Omnibusverkehr Rhein-Nahe (ORN). Between 1896 and 31 May 1985, there was a railway station in the municipality on the line running between Bodenheim and Alzey. Thereafter, the line was used only for goods transport, mainly for the sugar beet harvest. In 1995 came permanent closure, and work was begun to tear the tracks up. Media Since 1986, a small group has been publishing a newspaper, the so-called Bechtolsheimer Ortsschelle. The paper appears monthly and contains mainly the protocols of past municipal council meetings, as well as club news and information on events. It is financed by advertising by local businesses. The circulation in 2008 was 350, and the price was €1. Public institutions Evangelical kindergarten Bechtolsheim Volunteer Fire Brigade, since 1872 Education The municipality has one primary school, which also takes school-age children from the neighbouring municipality of Biebelnheim. Secondary schools are to be found in Gau-Odernheim, Alzey and Wörrstadt. The Evangelical church maintains a library at its youth centre. Clubs Heimatverein Bechtolsheim e.V. (local history) Landfrauenverein (countrywomen) Männerballett „Die Scheinheiligen Mönche“ (men's ballet) Motorradclub – MCB (motorcycles) Theater- und Carnevalsverein Bechtolsheim – TCVB (theatre and carnival) Famous people Sons and daughters of the town Anke Bretz, Rhenish-Hessian Wine Queen 1990/1991 Famous people associated with the municipality Wilhelm Hoffmann (Volkskundler) (1865–1942), Rhenish-Hessian folklore researcher, clergyman in Bechtolsheim from 1916 to 1934 Karl Oberle (1874–1942), deacon in Bechtolsheim Further reading Karl Oberle: Geschichte von Bechtolsheim. 1. Auflage: 1951 (postum erschienen) 2. erweiterte Auflage 1995: 400 Jahre Rathaus Bechtolsheim 1592–1992, Hrsg: Ortsgemeinde Bechtolsheim, Druck: Oppenheimer Druckhaus, Wörrstadt, 1992 References External links Municipality’s official