Baumholder () is a town in the

Birkenfeld Birkenfeld () is a town and the district seat of the Birkenfeld district in southwest Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde''. The town itself has approximately 7,000 inhabitants. Geography ...

district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, in the Westrich, an historic region that encompasses areas in both Germany and France. The town of Baumholder is the administrative seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a state-recognised tourism resort and, according to state planning, a middle centre.Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz – Regionaldaten
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Geography

Location

Baumholder lies between the

Hunsrück The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued by the Taunus mountains, past ...

to the north and the North Palatine Uplands to the south, right on a height that marks the latter's northern boundary. This area is also known as the Westrich. Baumholder lies roughly 10 km south of Idar-Oberstein. The countryside around Baumholder is marked by many meadows, fields and woodlands, both broadleaf and mixed. A great part of the Baumholder Troop Drilling Ground abutting the town serves as a refuge for many plant and animal species that have become rare, for example the common kingfisher, the

lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...

and the badger, some of which are on the IUCN Red List.

Climate

Yearly precipitation in Baumholder amounts to 884 mm. At 76% of the German Weather Service's weather stations, lower figures are recorded. The driest month is April. The most rainfall comes in December. In that month, precipitation is twice what it is in April. Precipitation varies only slightly. At 46% of the weather stations, lower seasonal swings are recorded.

History

Middle Ages to 19th century

In 1156, Baumholder had its first documentary mention as ''Bemondula'', then held by the Bishop of Verdun. By the 14th century, it had ended up under the Counts of Veldenz, until 1444, when it was acquired by Stephen, Count Palatine of Simmern-Zweibrücken. Until the French Revolution, Baumholder was the seat of a Zweibrücken ''

Schultheiß In medieval Germany, the ''Schultheiß'' () was the head of a municipality (akin to today's office of mayor), a ''Vogt'' or an executive official of the ruler. As official (''villicus'') it was his duty to order his assigned village or county (' ...

erei''. In 1490,

Alexander, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken Alexander of Zweibrücken (german: Pfalzgraf Alexander von Zweibrücken "der Hinkende") (26 November 1462 – 21 October 1514) was Count Palatine, Duke of Zweibrücken and Count of Veldenz in 1489–1514. Life He was the son of Louis I, Count Pa ...

gave Baumholder leave to fortify the market town. Although town rights were never explicitly granted Baumholder, the town acquired a number of privileges over the ages that have more or less amounted to as much. From 1816, Baumholder, along with the rest of the Principality of Lichtenberg, belonged as an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

to Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. The Principality was sold in 1834 to Prussia and came to form the geographical centre of the Sankt Wendel district, whose bounds to this day define most of the bounds of the Evangelical church district of Sankt Wendel.

20th century

With the formation of the Territory of the Saar Basin in 1919, Baumholder was split from the district seat of Sankt Wendel by the newly drawn border and thereafter became the seat of the ''Restkreis'' (roughly “remnant district”) of St. Wendel-Baumholder. Its designation as a ''Restkreis'' arose from its being what was left of the Sankt Wendel district on the Prussian side of the border once the Territory of the Saar Basin had been formed under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. It was run as a rural district (''Landkreis''), however. Once the Saar area was returned to Germany in 1935, though, the district remained separate. On 1 April 1937, the ''Restkreis'' was merged into the Birkenfeld district. In the 20th century, Baumholder became a garrison town when the Wehrmacht built its barracks and troop drilling ground here. To do this, several thousand inhabitants were moved. Between 1941 and 1945, the troop drilling ground was the location of a prisoner-of-war camp for Soviet, Polish and other

prisoners A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

After the Second World War, after a short occupation by the United States Army, French soldiers were stationed in Baumholder for a few years. These left the garrison when the Americans came back. The United States Army built the troop drilling ground beginning in 1951 into one of its biggest garrisons in Germany, which also brought Baumholder a considerable upswing in its economy in the 1950s: bars opened, as did dancehalls and music halls. On 1 January 1994, the municipality of Gutsbezirk Baumholder (''Gutsbezirk'' means “estate area”) was amalgamated with Baumholder, although not wholly, for parts of the area were also shared out to other neighbouring municipalities in both the Birkenfeld and Kusel districts. The municipality of Zaubach had already been merged into Gutsbezirk Baumholder on 1 January 1978. On August 10, 2005 a group of US Army soldiers engaged in a crime spree within the town of Baumholder, burgling several US Government buildings in Smith Barracks. The soldiers stole computer equipment,

robbed Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

a local German taxi driver, and ended their spree early the next morning by setting fire to the Town Hall (''Rathaus''). Later that day, German law enforcement took into custody two US Army soldiers and were seeking a third for questioning. Investigators eventually questioned as many as 20 persons, both

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

and German nationals, for information about the crime spree.

Private First Class Private first class (french: Soldat de 1 classe; es, Soldado de primera) is a military rank held by junior enlisted personnel in a number of armed forces. French speaking countries In France and other French speaking countries, the rank (; ) ...

Zachary Watson and

Specialist Specialist may refer to: Occupations * Specialist (rank), a military rank ** Specialist (Singapore) * Specialist (arena football) * Specialist degree, in academia * Specialty (medicine) * Designated market maker, in the American stock market * ...

Samuel Bell were arrested by German authorities in connection to the crimes which totalled more than €1.5 million in damage. The soldiers were handed over to US officials. Watson was sentenced to 15 years in prison at

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

. In a separate court-martial proceeding, Bell was sentenced to seven years in prison, dishonourable discharge, demotion to

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

and forfeiture of all pay and allowances.

Politics

Town council

The council is made up of 20 council members, who were elected by proportional representation at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:

Mayor

Baumholder's mayor is Günther Jung (FWG).

Coat of arms

The German blazon reads: ''Das Wappen der Stadt Baumholder zeigt im silbernen Schilde einen aus grünem Dreiberg aufwachsenden grün belaubten Holder- (Holunder-) baum. Neben dem Stamm desselben erscheint an nach außen gebogenen grünen Stielen rechts und links je eine vergrößerte, naturfarbene (weiße) Blüte des Holderbaums. Auf dem Schilde ruht die dreitürmige steinfarbene Mauerkrone.'' The town's

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

might in English heraldic language be described thus: Argent issuant from a mount of three vert in base an elder tree leafed of the same between two elder blossoms proper, also issuant from the mount, the dexter with stem embowed to dexter and the sinister with stem embowed to sinister, the shield ensigned with a mural crown with three towers masoned and embattled proper. The arms were designed in 1907 by the Berlin heraldic artist Prof. Hildebrandt, and go back to town seals and arms borne in the 16th and 17th centuries. The arms have been borne since 8 February 1909 when they were approved, with a signature on the watercolour original, by Wilhelm II, King of Prussia.

Town partnerships

Baumholder fosters partnerships with the following places: * Warcq,

Ardennes The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...

, France, since the 1960s * Delaware, Ohio, United States, since 13 May 2011

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments: * Evangelical parish church, Kirchstraße 19 –

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

aisleless church, 1748–1750, architect Friedrich Hartmann Koch, Kusel; west tower

Late Gothic International Gothic is a period of Gothic art which began in Burgundy, France, and northern Italy in the late 14th and early 15th century. It then spread very widely across Western Europe, hence the name for the period, which was introduced by t ...

* Saint Simon’s and Saint Jude’s Catholic Parish Church (''Pfarrkirche St. Simon und Judas Thaddäus''), Hinterm Turm/corner of Hinter Haselweg –

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

hall church, 1882–1885, architect P. Kontzen, Deggendorf, Bavaria; furnishings * Town fortifications – built in the 16th century, only two towers preserved: ** ''Dicker Turm'' (“Fat Tower” or “Thick Tower”) – full-round, quarrystone, partly reconstructed ** ''Leichenpförtchen'' (“Little Lychgate”) – square gatetower, pyramidal roof * Across from Badegasse 1 – so-called ''Schmiede Bier''; small smithy, possibly about 1840; technical fittings * Hauptstraße 10 – former town hall; seven-axis, three-floor Classicist building with hipped roof, 1840 * Hauptstraße 16 – ''Quereinhaus'' (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street), twelve-axis ''Quereinhaus'', late 19th century * Korngasse 1 – ''Gasthaus Goldener Engel'' ( inn); three-floor plastered building, partly slated, early 20th century; characterises town's appearance * Marktplatz – so-called ''Wäschbach''; five-sided walled basin, essentially from the 19th century * Guthausmühle/Edingers Mühle (mill), northeast of the town on the Guthausbach – witnessed in 1750; three-sided estate: commercial building, mill, house and since 1890 inn joined together; gristmill from the latter half of the 19th century; fittings

Dialect

The regional dialect is highly consistent with the Saarland Dialect, a Rhine Franconian dialect spoken mainly in the east of the Saarland. German speakers from other regions often mistake Baumholderers for people from the Saarland for this reason, although Baumholder speech is a relative “island dialect”, for in all neighbouring centres, such as Kusel, Idar-Oberstein and Freisen, even in ones like Freisen that are actually in the Saarland, the pronunciation is noticeably different.

Deutschland-Rallye

Baumholder is a venue for the Hunsrück-Rallye and later the ADAC- Rallye Deutschland, which has every year since 2002, except 2009, been a stage in the World Rally Championship. The ''Altstadtfest'' (“Old Town Festival”) held at the same time as the rally is among the region's most important events.

OIE Triathlon

Since 2005, a triathlon has been held each year in the town of Baumholder. This is open to individual or team competition.

Clubs

One of the town's best known clubs is VfR Baumholder sport club. Other less well known but important clubs include the ''Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft'' ( DLRG), the ''Baumholderer Karnevalsgesellschaft'' (BKG, devoted to

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

), the German Red Cross (DRK), the angling club and the dog sport club (HSV).

Other yearly events

* ''Altstadtfest'' (“Old Town Festival”) * ''Lindenfest'' * ''Kräutermarkt'' (“Herb Market”) * ''Kirmes'' ( kermis; church consecration festival) * ''Weihnachtsmarkt'' (“ Christmas Market”) * '' Rosenmontagszug'' (“ Shrove Monday Parade”) * BKG ''Prunksitzungen'' (Councils of Elves, a

event) * DLRG ''Weiherfest'' (“Pond Festival”)

Economy and infrastructure

Economy

Baumholder is well known as the location of one of the biggest

garrisons in Germany, which sprang up beginning in the 1950s on the lands of the Baumholder Troop Drilling Ground (''Truppenübungsplatz Baumholder''), which abuts the town. Ever since that time, the 13,000 or so United States military personnel and their dependents have characterized the town's image scenically, economically and even socially. The Americans maintain two facilities, Smith Barracks and Wetzel Barracks, in which roughly 12,000 people live. There is also Baumholder Army Airfield. The Americans run twelve of their own churches as well as

cinemas A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

, a PX and a hospital. Many of the town's shops accept United States dollars in payment and are to a great extent dependent on American currency. To this day, the United States forces and the Bundeswehr are the biggest employers of the town's German population. On more than 35 ranges designed for infantry, tank troops and artillery, Bundeswehr soldiers can be found training alongside Americans and soldiers from other NATO countries. The troop drilling ground is under Bundeswehr administration. Since 2002, the US Army has been gradually moving its tanks to troop drilling grounds in the Upper Palatinate that are under their own control. Some of the US troops stationed in town were regularly deployed in the Iraq War, and for the most part, returned afterwards to Baumholder. On 9 October 2012, the 170th Infantry Brigade was inactivated ending a decades-long legacy of combat units stationed at Baumholder's Smith Barracks. While Smith Barracks has been rumoured to be facing closure for years, it has been designated an "enduring" base. 32nd AADCOM had a presence in Germany in the 1960s and 1970s. There was a Nike-Hercules missile battery in Baumholder (Battery C, 5th Battalion, 6th Air Defence Artillery). There was another (Battery D, 5th Battalion, 6th Air Defense Artillery) in nearby Hontheim. Hontheim The battalion headquarters was in Baumholder. An IHAWK battery, Battery D, 2nd Battalion, 62nd Air Defense Artillery, was in Reitscheid. Battalion headquarters was at

Spangdahlem Air Base Spangdahlem Air Base (IATA: SPM, ICAO: ETAD, former code EDAD) is a NATO air base with the USAF as a tenant constructed between 1951 and 1953 and located near the small German town of Spangdahlem, approximately 30 km NNE of the city of Trier ...

. They were supplied from the

( Bitburg-Prüm). Baumholder's inhabitants, however, are exclusively civilian. Agriculture today plays a role in the town's life only in a very few surrounding farms and villages. Given the small number of learned occupations available in the region, especially in Baumholder and the surrounding '' Verbandsgemeinde'', the share of the population with academic degrees is also rather small.

Shift in economic structure

The attempt introduced in the 1990s to change the economic structure by, for instance, bringing in the recycling industry and doing seminal research at the

Environmental Campus Birkenfeld The Environmental Campus Birkenfeld (ECB) (German language, German: ''Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld (UCB)'') is a branch of the Trier University of Applied Sciences, Hochschule Trier in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is close to the sm ...

in Neubrücke have thus far yielded little change in the local economy and job market.

Transport

Autobahn

Baumholder can be reached over the Autobahn A 62 ( Interchange 5 – Freisen). The town of Baumholder lies some 50 km northeast of

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...

, some 35 km northwest of

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...

and some 50 km southeast of Trier.

Railway

Baumholder has a railway link in the Heimbach (Nahe)–Baumholder line, a 9 km-long spur. The line was closed to passenger traffic on 31 May 1981, but remained open for military traffic. The line was reopened in 2015. Trains run hourly to and from Idar-Oberstein or Kirn, where connecting trains to Mainz, Frankfurt/Main and Saarbrücken can be reached. There is also a bus link to Idar-Oberstein and Birkenfeld (route 322, run by the ''Rhein-Nahe-Nahverkehrsverbund''), although this is only run on weekdays, not weekends. The travel time to Neubrücke is roughly 30 minutes. Rail and bus services in the area are provided by Rhein-Nahe Nahverkehrsverbund (RNN). www.rnn.info. The nearest railway station on a main line is in

Heimbach Heimbach is a town in the district of Düren of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the river Rur, in the Eifel hills, approx. 20 km south of Düren. Heimbach has the smallest population of any town in North Rhin ...

(some 8 km away) on the Nahe Valley Railway. Since the reopening of the Baumholder service, few trains stop at this station. The closest station for express trains is at Neubrücke (some 13 km away) or in Idar-Oberstein (some 15 km away).

Airport

The nearest airport is Saarbrücken Airport. Frankfurt-Hahn Airport is about an hour's drive away. Frankfurt/Main is about 2 hours by car or rail. Saarbrücken-Ensheim is approximately 90 minutes away. Zweibrücken Airport is about 80 km away but is currently closed.

Current US Military on Smith Barracks

10th Army Air & Missile Defense Command The 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command (10th AAMDC) is a theater level Army air and missile defense organization and directly subordinated to United States Army Europe. On order, the 10th AAMDC deploys worldwide to conduct joint and comb ...

''(Headquartered in Kaiserslautern)''

5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment {{Infobox military unit , unit_name = 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment , image = 7 ADA Rgt DUI.jpg , caption = 5–7 ADA distinctive unit insignia , dates ...

* Headquarters & Headquarters Battery * A Battery * B Battery * C Battery * D Battery * E Company

16th Sustainment Brigade The 16th Sustainment Brigade is a sustainment brigade of the United States Army based at Smith Barracks in Baumholder, Germany. It is a subordinate unit of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command of the Seventh Army. Activated in the summer of ...

* Headquarters & Headquarters Company

16th Special Troops Battalion

* Headquarters & Headquarters Company * 504th Signal Company * 55th Quartermaster Company * 569th Human Resources Company

18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion

* 240th Quartermaster Company * 51st Transportation Company * 515th Transportation Company * 317th Maintenance Company

30th Medical Brigade 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

''(Headquartered in Sembach)''

421st Medical Battalion (Multi-Functional)

* Headquarters & Headquarters Detachment * 557th Medical Company (Area Support) * 8th Medical Company (Logistics) * 64th Veterinary Detachment * 71st Preventive Medicine Detachment * 254th Combat and Operational Stress Control (COSC) Detachment

Special Operations Command Africa (SOCAFRICA)

''(Headquartered in Stuttgart)'' * Special Operations Task Force - North and West Africa (SOTF-NWA)

Notable people

Sons and daughters of the town: *

Johannes Lichtenberger Johannes Lichtenberger (died 1503)Alternately 1458-151 was a noted Astrology in Germany, German astrologer. He appears to have been, briefly in the early 1470s, court astrologer to the Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor Frederick II ...

(d. about 1503), famous astrologer, from the vanished village of Grünbach on the troop drilling grounds * Otto Gennes (1873–1943), ''Generalanwalt'' (roughly “Attorney-General”) and head of the ''Reichsverband der deutschen landwirtschaftlichen Genossenschaften'' (

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

League of German Agricultural Coöperatives) * Gerd Menne (b. 1939), former Bundesliga player from VfB Stuttgart * Gerhard Fels (b. 1939), economist and former member of the Expert Advisory Board for Assessing Macroeconomic Development * Jürgen Dringelstein (b. 1946), former footballer with, among others, Hamburger SV and

SV Waldhof Mannheim SV Waldhof Mannheim is a multi-sports club, located in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. It is most known for its association football team; however, there are also professional handball and table-tennis sides. The club today has a membership of over ...

* Dietmar Mettlach (b. 1950), church musician and choirmaster * Bruce Bechtold (b. 1952), European and world champion in

catamaran A Formula 16 beachable catamaran Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-stab ...

sailing *

David Whitehurst Charles David Whitehurst (born April 27, 1955) is a former professional American football quarterback in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 8th round of the 1977 NFL Draft. He played college football at ...

(b. 1955), former American football player (

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback) * Stefan Münz (b. 1960), computer scientist and non-fiction author. He is the creator of a Hypertext reference called SELFHTML as well as chairman of the like-named club.

Documentation

* Hansjürgen Hilgert: ''Ami, bleib hier – Die Baumholderstory''; Deutschland, 2007 D

References

External links

Town’s official webpage

''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Baumholder

Official website of the army post
{{Authority control Birkenfeld (district) Naheland Rallye Deutschland