Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg () is a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

of about 4,000 inhabitants (as of 2004) in the

Bad Kreuznach Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke (Bad Kreuznach), Alte Nahebrücke, ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Since 1 July 2014, it is part of the town

. It was the seat of the former like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', but not part of it. Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg was granted town rights on 29 April 1978Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz – Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis 2006
, Seiten 170 und 203 (PDF; 2,6 MB) and is recognized as a

mineral spring Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produce hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage un ...

spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

(''Mineralheilbad'') and a climatic spa (''heilklimatischer Kurort''). Today the "Spa" is famous for its clinics specializing in cardiological and orthopaedic rehabilitation. The many

graduation tower A graduation tower (occasionally referred to as a thorn house) is a structure, used in the production of salt, that removes water from a saline solution by evaporation, increasing its concentration of mineral salts. The tower consists of a wo ...

s form the largest open air inhalatorium in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Geography

Location

Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg lies between 108 and 320 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

at the foot of Castle Ebernburg in a region of low mountains with forests and

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

s framed by craggy massifs of the Rheingrafenstein and the Rotenfels and also by the river Nahe. The two rock formations in question, which lie across the river, are the highest north of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, rising more than 200 m from the river bank. The town lies 6 km south of

and 50 km southwest of

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

. The municipal area measures 9.53 km². The greatest extent of

s in Germany (roughly 1.4 km) stretches through the Salinental ("Saltworks Dale") from the neighbouring town of Bad Kreuznach to Bad Münster's spa zone.

Neighbouring municipalities

Clockwise from the north, Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg's neighbours are the municipality of Traisen, the town of

, the municipality of

Altenbamberg Altenbamberg is an ''Ortsgemeinde (Germany), Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach Districts of Germany ...

, the municipality of Feilbingert, the municipality of Niederhausen and the municipality of Norheim.

Constituent communities

Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg's '' Stadtteile'' are Bad Münster am Stein and Ebernburg. They were merged into one municipality in 1969, and the new, greater municipality was raised to town in 1978.

History

Today's town of Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg was newly formed on 7 June 1969 within the framework of the administrative and territorial reform begun in Rhineland-Palatinate in the late 1960s from the hitherto self-administering municipalities of Bad Münster (2,261 inhabitants) and Ebernburg (1,671 inhabitants) under the name of the municipality of "Bad Münster-Ebernburg". However, the new municipality only bore this name for a matter of months before it was changed to "Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg" on 1 November 1969. Town rights were granted on 29 April 1978. While Bad Münster belonged from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

to the Knights of Löwenstein and the Rhinegraves, and after

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

was driven out, to

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

’s

Rhine Province The Rhine Province (), also known as Rhenish Prussia () or synonymous with the Rhineland (), was the westernmost Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822 to 1946. ...

(under the terms laid out by the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

) from 1815 to 1945, Ebernburg belonged throughout the Middle Ages to a whole succession of lords from the Counts of Saarbrücken to the Counts of Leiningen, the

Raugraves The Raugraves were a German noble family, which had its center of influence in the former Nahegau. They descended from the Emichones (Counts of Nahegau). History First family in the 12th until 15th centuries The family of the Raugraves (th ...

, the Counts of Sponheim, the

Counts of Veldenz The County Palatine of Veldenz was a principality in the contemporary Land Rhineland-Palatinate with full voting rights to the Reichstag. The county was located partially between Kaiserslautern, Sponheim and Zweibrücken, partially on the Mosel ...

Electoral Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy Roman Empero ...

and the Lords of Sickingen before the

Revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

, later Napoleonic,

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

took over. After Napoleonic times, Ebernburg belonged (again, under the terms laid out by the Congress of Vienna) to the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

, and after the

German Revolution German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

to the Free State of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, and was that state’s northernmost municipality, lying in Bavaria’s new

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

in the Palatinate. The two constituent communities’ separate histories may no longer live on politically, but they are still reflected in ecclesiastical administration, with Bad Münster belonging to the

Evangelical Church in the Rhineland The Protestant Church in the Rhineland (; EKiR) is a United Protestant church body in parts of the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Hesse (Wetzlar). This is actually the area covered by the former Prussi ...

and the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Trier The Diocese of Trier (), in English historically also known as ''Treves'' () from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Evangelical Church of the Palatinate and the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Speyer The Diocese of Speyer () is a Latin Church, Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is located in the South of the Rhineland-Palatinate and comprises also the Saarpfalz Districts of Germany, district in the east of the Saa ...

Bad Münster am Stein

About 1200, Münster had its first documentary mention. The village was founded below Rheingrafenstein Castle, built in 1050, which was the seat of the

Count Palatine of the Rhine This article lists counts palatine of Lotharingia, counts palatine of the Rhine, and electors of the Palatinate (), the titles of three counts palatine who ruled some part of the Rhine region in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire b ...

. The castle was destroyed in 1689 by the

, but the ruins remain. Until the 19th century it was a village with only a few houses around the old Saint Martin's

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

(''St.-Martins-Kirche''). The people busied themselves with running saltworks, fishing on the Nahe,

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and for a time,

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

in the Huttental (dale). In 1859, the

Nahe Valley Railway The Nahe Valley Railway () is a two-track, partially electrified main line railway in the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, which runs for almost 100 kilometres along the Nahe (Rhine), Nahe. It was built by the Rhine-Nahe Railway ...

( Bingen–

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

) was built, and in 1871 another

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, the Alsenz Valley Railway (''Alsenztalbahn''), which made it possible for the village's spa facilities, which had been established as far back as 1478, to experience a decisive upswing into a much visited spa centre, allowing the village to acquire the designation "Bad" (literally "bath") in 1905. The basis for all this is to this day the brine springs whose water contains

radon Radon is a chemical element; it has symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive noble gas and is colorless and odorless. Of the three naturally occurring radon isotopes, only Rn has a sufficiently long half-life (3.825 days) for it to b ...

. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the area around the railway bridge going towards the Salinental was partly destroyed in many Allied air raids. Today, Bad Münster still has a railway link, lying as it does on the Bingen–

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; ) is a town 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 Frankfurt am Main, 666 kilometers (414 m ...

and

–Saarbrücken lines. In the post-war years, the centre has undergone a thorough change in appearance owing to the expansion of the spa infrastructure.

Ebernburg

Ebernburg was from the

an important village with a long tradition of

winegrowing Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...

and

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. Its first documentary mention goes back to 1212 when the Counts of Saarbrücken donated the church at Ebernburg to the

Saint Cyriacus Cyriacus (, fl. 303 AD), sometimes Anglicized as Cyriac, according to Christian tradition, is a Christian martyr who was killed in the Diocletianic Persecution. He is one of twenty-seven saints, most of them martyrs, who bear this name, of whom ...

Foundation near

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

. Both the village and the like-named

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

originally lay elsewhere, although it is still unknown where this was, although perhaps it was around "Old Saint John the Baptist’s Church" (''Alte Johannes-Kirche''). In 1338, Raugrave Ruprecht and Count Johann of Sponheim-Kreuznach took it upon themselves to build the castle and the town on the site where they still stand today. It was then even envisaged to raise Ebernburg to town, but this did not come about. The old village core, the ''Altdorf'' ("Old Village"), which can still be made out as part of the centre's appearance even now, was for centuries ringed by a wall linked to Castle Ebernburg. The castle was eventually the residence of the famous German knight

Franz von Sickingen Franz von Sickingen (; 2 March 14817 May 1523) was a knight of the Holy Roman Empire who, with Ulrich von Hutten, led the so-called " Knights' War," and was one of the most notable figures of the early period of the Protestant Reformation. Sic ...

. After major expansion works at the castle beginning in 1482, the castle and the village itself were burnt down by princes who were allied against Franz von Sickingen in 1523. Reconstruction began under Franz's sons in 1542. As early as the beginning of the spa business in the late 19th century, Ebernburg underwent a quick expansion outside these walls, which is still not quite over. About the turn of the 20th century, therefore, the walls were torn down, and all that is left now is the foundation of one tower. Castle Ebernburg was partly destroyed during the

but has bee
reconstructed since (German Link)
For the past 40 years it has been in use as an adult and yout
education centre (German Link)

Religion

As at 31 August 2013, there are 4,033 full-time residents in Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg, and of those, 1,582 are

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

(39.226%), 1,249 are

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

(30.97%), 10 are

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

(0.248%), 6 are

Russian Orthodox The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

(0.149%), 2 are

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

(0.05%), 1 belongs to the Palatinate State Free Religious Community (0.025%), 2 belong to the Bad Kreuznach-Koblenz

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

worship community, 163 (4.042%) belong to other religious groups and 1,018 (25.242%) either have no religion or will not reveal their religious affiliation.

Politics

Town council

The former council was made up of 20 council members, who were elected by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairwoman. It was incorporated into

on 1 July 2014. The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results: Voter turnout at the 2009 elections was 51.1%. Owing to the peculiarities in the

electoral system as it pertains to municipal elections (personalized proportional representation), the percentages given in the table above are presented as "weighted results", which can only reflect the voting relations arithmetically.

Coat of arms

The German blazon reads: ''In Schwarz mit eingeschweifter silberner Spitze, darin ein wachsender konischer roter Rundturm mit vorkragendem vierzinnigem Kranz und zwei schwarzen Scharten, vorne fünf silberne Kugeln 2:1:2 gestellt, hinten ein steigender goldbekronter und rotbezungter silberner Löwe.'' 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 Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

language be described thus: Tierced in mantle dexter sable five roundles in saltire argent, sinister sable a lion rampant of the second crowned Or and langued gules, issuant from base argent a tower embattled gules with two arrowslits in pale of the first. The

quincunx A quincunx ( ) is a geometry, geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross, with four of them forming a Square (geometry), square or rectangle and a fifth at its center. The same pattern has other names, including "in saltire" ...

and the tower were both

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

s found in Ebernburg's coat of arms before the 1969 amalgamation, the former being an heraldic device once borne by the Lords of Sickingen, who once held the local area, and the latter being a representation of the local Castle Ebernburg, which was also held by the Lords of Sickingen. The lion seems to have been drawn from Bad Münster's pre-amalgamation arms and was an heraldic device once borne by the Lords of Löwenstein ("Lion Stone"), who held Münster for several centuries. Both the current centres that make up Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg had their own arms before amalgamation. Ebernburg's arms had a "tierced in mantle"

division of the field In heraldry, the field (heraldry), field (background) of a escutcheon (heraldry), shield can be divided into more than one area, or subdivision, of different tincture (heraldry), tinctures, usually following the lines of one of the ordinary (heral ...

like the combined town's (that is, somewhat resembling a parted coat), but the dexter (armsbearer's right, viewer's left) and sinister (armsbearer's left, viewer's right) sides were of different

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

s, with the sinister side in argent (silver). Furthermore, before this official coat of arms was granted in 1967, Ebernburg had borne an unofficial coat of arms with a gold field and the figure of

. Bad Münster's old arms featured a lion rampant in the same tinctures as the lion in the current arms, including the field tincture, but the lion held a fish in each paw, a

canting ' (International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: , Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, VOS Spelling: , ) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax () in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely (). Traditional consists of copper wax-con ...

charge for the Counts of Salm-Salm (''Salm'' being one word in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

for "

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

") who had descended from the Lords of Stein and held "Münster unter Rheingrafenstein" in the 14th century. The arms were also semé of five crosses crosslet (crosses whose ends are also crossed). File:BadMünsterFormerArms.png, Bad Münster's former arms File:EbernburgFormerArms.png, Ebernburg's former official arms File:EbernburgUnapprovedArms.png, Ebernburg's former unofficial arms File:Wappen Bad Muenster am Stein-Ebernburg.png, Merged town's current arms

Town partnerships

Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg fosters partnerships with the following places: *

Pouilly-sur-Loire Pouilly-sur-Loire (, literally ''Pouilly on Loire'') is a commune in Nièvre, a department in central France. Demographics On 1 January 2019, the estimated population was 1,606. See also *Communes of the Nièvre department A commune is an ...

Nièvre Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 204,452 in 2019.France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

since 1968 *

Landstuhl Landstuhl (), officially the Sickingen Town of Landstuhl (), is a town in the district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the Municipal Association of Landstuhl. Situated on the north-west edge of the Palatin ...

district,

since 1998

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

The following are listed buildings or sites in

’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:Directory of Cultural Monuments in Bad Kreuznach district
/ref>

Bad Münster am Stein

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, Berliner Straße 21 –basilica with

engaged column An engaged column is an architectural element in which a column is embedded in a wall and partly projecting from the surface of the wall, which may or may not carry a partial structural load. Sometimes defined as semi- or three-quarter detached ...

s in Hohenstaufen forms, 1907/1908, architect Otto Kuhlmann,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

; after wartime destruction reconstructed by 1961;

architectural sculpture Architectural sculpture is the use of sculptural techniques by an architect and/or sculptor in the design of a building, bridge, mausoleum or other such project. The sculpture is usually integrated with the structure, but freestanding works that ...

by Lehmann-Borges, Berlin; glass window by Erhard Klonk,

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

; warriors’ memorial 1914-1918, artificial-stone

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

with

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

, 1920s *

Parish Church of the

Assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic Mariology#Dogmatic teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows: It leaves open the question of w ...

(''Pfarrkirche Maria Himmelfahrt''), Rotenfelser Straße 10 –

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

aisleless church An aisleless church () is a single-nave church building that consists of a single hall-like room. While similar to the hall church, the aisleless church lacks aisles or passageways on either side of the nave and separated from the nave by col ...

, 1900, architect Ludwig Becker * Town centre (monumental zone), Nahestraße 7–23 (odd numbers), 4–26 (even numbers) – core of settlement with buildings from the 17th to 20th centuries, mainly of two-floor construction from the 18th and 19th century * Berliner Straße 20 –

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

; one-floor buildings with hip roofs, partly

timber-frame Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs. If the struc ...

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

, about 1900 * Berliner Straße 23 – former

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

; Late

Gründerzeit The (; ) was a period of Economic history of Europe (1000 AD–present), European economic history in mid- and late-19th century German Empire, Germany and Austria-Hungary between Industrialization in Germany, industrialization and the great P ...

building with hip roof, about 1900 * Berliner Straße 32 – Late Gründerzeit house, about 1900 * Fischerhof 5 – one-floor building with

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

, essentially possibly from the 16th century, made over in

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

in the 18th century * Goetheplatz – "Peace Oak" (''Friedenseiche'') and monument,

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

, marked 1872–1912 * Goetheplatz 4/6 – former spa house (''Kurhaus''); three-floor Late Classicist plastered building, third fourth of the 19th century * Kapitän-Lorenz-Ufer 2 – so-called ''Fischerhäuschen'' ("Fishermen’s Hut"); possibly from the late 16th century * Kurhausstraße, ''Kurpark'' ("Spa Park"; monumental zone) – laid out in the 19th century in a bow on the River Nahe below Rheingrafenstein Castle with a bathhouse and a spa treatment house, former saltworks administration building,

s, Gründerzeit concert stage, about 1880;

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

figure Figure may refer to: General *A shape, drawing, depiction, or geometric configuration *Figure (wood), wood appearance *Figure (music), distinguished from musical motif * Noise figure, in telecommunication * Dance figure, an elementary dance patt ...

, possibly from the 1930s,

watertower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conjun ...

* Kurhausstraße 1/3 – two-part Late Classicist shophouse, late 19th century or about 1900 * Kurhausstraße 5 – Baroque timber-frame house, plastered and slated, 17th/18th century * Kurhausstraße 14 – ''Villa Schöneck''; Late Historicist building, partly timber-frame, Art Nouveau influence, about 1905 * At Kurhausstraße 25 – bathhouse and spa treatment house; two- or three-floor timber-frame buildings, Baroquified Art Nouveau, 1911, architect Robert Muehlbach,

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

, with collaboration from Ackermann * At Kurhausstraße 25 – former saltworks administration building; two-part Late Baroque timber-frame building, marked 1781 * At Kurhausstraße 25 – watertower, standing between the bathhouse and the Nahe, eight-sided timber-frame construction, possibly from the late 19th century * Kurhausstraße 41 –

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

; building with mansard roof,

clinker brick Clinker bricks are partially-vitrified bricks used in the construction of buildings. Clinker bricks are produced when wet clay bricks are exposed to excessive heat during the firing process, sintering the surface of the brick and forming a shi ...

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...

, about 1890 * Lindenallee 3 – former Hotel Central; three-floor Late Gründerzeit building, about 1900 * Lindenallee 11 –

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

; Late Classicist building, about 1870 * Nahestraße 10 – timber-frame house, 1777 (?), heavily restored * Nahestraße 21 – tower of the former Evangelical church (formerly Saint Martin's), mentioned in 1435, preserved, since 1911 stair tower of the Evangelical community hall, Heimatstil; in the gateway arch a volute stone, 18th century; gravestone, 1784; Early Classicist monumental stone; Baroque gravestone fragment * Nahestraße 23 – ''Haus Berlin''; Late Classicist house, third fourth of the 19th century * Nahestraße 24 – Baroque timber-frame house, partly solid, mid 18th century * Nahestraße 28 – so-called ''Fischerhäuschen'' ("Fishermen’s Hut"), timber-frame bungalow with high pedestal, possibly from the late 16th century, gateway complex, 18th or early 19th century * Naheweinstraße 6 – stately villa, Heimatstil, about 1900/1910 * Rheingrafenstein Castle ruin, southeast of town – about 1050, blown up in 1688, from 1721 a quarry, development 1978–1982 File:Bahnhof Bad Münster.jpg, Berliner Straße 20: railway station File:Kurhaus Bad Münster.jpg, Kurhausstraße 25: bathhouse and spa treatment house File:Burg rheingrafenstein.JPG, Rheingrafenstein Castle ruin

Ebernburg

* Saint John the Baptist's

Parish

(''Pfarrkirche St. Johannes der Täufer''), Schloßgartenstraße –

, Heimatstil with

motifs, 1915–1918, architects Karl Marschall, Göllheim, and August Greifzu,

Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning "Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig's Port upon the Rhine"; Palatine German dialects, Palatine German: ''Ludwichshafe''), is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the German state of Rh ...

; nearby the rectory, 1916–1918 *

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, Friedhofstraße 5 – ''Alte Johannes-Kirche'' ("Old Saint John the Baptist’s Church"), essentially thought to be a Romanesque aisleless church, 12th century, west tower latter half of the 13th century; in the churchyard

gravestones, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, warriors’ memorial 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 * Berliner Straße 77 – former

, so-called ''Künstlerbahnhof'' ("Artists’ Station"), Late Classicist

-block building, about 1880 * Burgstraße 1 – Late Baroque estate complex, marked 1780 * Burgstraße 2 – Baroque house, 18th century * Burgstraße 9 – former Catholic rectory; Late Baroque solid building, 1776 * Burgstraße 13 – former ''Amtshaus''; four-wing complex;

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

building, plastered, marked 1556, alterations in the 19th century (see also below) * At Burgstraße 16 –

spolia ''Spolia'' (Latin for 'spoils'; : ''spolium'') are stones taken from an old structure and repurposed for new construction or decorative purposes. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice (spoliation) whereby stone that has been quar ...

, two Baroque

cartouche upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...

marked 1743 * At Burgstraße 19 – relief stone, marked 1561 * Franz-von-Sickingen-Straße 4 – estate complex, 18th century; Baroque timber-frame house, plastered, barn, partly timber-frame * Franz-von-Sickingen-Straße 5 – Baroque timber-frame house, plastered, 1719 * Friedhofstraße, at the graveyard – Günther Franz's tomb, decorative façade, 1917; Hermann Müller's tomb,

, 1897 * Schloßgartenstraße – wayside cross, Baroque, 18th century * Schloßgartenstraße 30 – former

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

(?); Late Classicist building with hip roof, mid 19th century * Turmstraße 5 – Baroque timber-frame house, partly solid, 17th century * Below the Ebernburg – double monument; 1886–1889, sculptor

Ludwig Cauer Ludwig Cauer (28 May 1866, Bad Kreuznach - 27 December 1947, Bad Kreuznach) was a German sculptor. Life He was born into a family of sculptors who operated a workshop founded by his grandfather Emil Cauer the Elder. After Emil died in 1867, his ...

after Carl Cauer's design * Ebernburg –

, mentioned in 1209, beginning in 1482 expansion into modern fortress, burnt to ashes in 1523, after 1542 reconstruction, largely torn down in 1697; Hohenstaufen shielding wall remnants, buildings from the late 15th and 16th centuries, remnants of a dwelling building, marked 1581,

''Haus Sickingen'', 1840 * Ebernburger Mühle, south of town on the

Alsenz Alsenz () is a municipality in the Donnersbergkreis district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Alsenz has an area of 12.88 km2 and a population of 1,647 (as of December 31, 2020). Culture and sights In the centre of the village is the Re ...

– former estate mill, mentioned in 1438, four-wing complex; two-and-a-half-floor house, marked 1871, upon older cellars; gateway arch marked 1584; barns, partly timber-frame * former Alsenz Valley Railway (''Alsenztalbahn'')

signal box A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology. In ...

, south of town – building with hip roof,

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

quarrystone, about 1904/1908 * Trombacher Hof, southwest of town – Late Baroque timber-frame house, marked 1798; in the barn building walls and gables of the Gothic church File:Ebernburg St, Johannes.jpg, Schloßgartenstraße: Saint John the Baptist's Parish Church File:Burg Ebernburg, Bad Münster am Stein, top of mountain.jpg, Castle Ebernburg File:Hutten-Sickingen-Denkmal.jpg, Below the Ebernburg: double monument

More about buildings

Among the town's sights are the rock formations known as the Rotenfels and the Rheingrafenstein, the latter of which bears a crag which itself bears the castle of the same name right on the river Nahe. There is also another castle, the Ebernburg. There is evidence that the

s used for producing

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

in Bad Münster am Stein already had their current form as far back as 1729. The weakly salty water from the salt spring is delivered to the graduation towers by pumps formerly driven by

waterwheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the kinetic energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a large wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with numerous blade ...

s, but now driven by

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

. From the top, the water trickles down in innumerable drops through walls of

blackthorn ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is an Old World species of flowering plant in the rose family, Rosaceae. It is locally naturalized in parts of the New World. The fruits are used to make sloe gin in Britain and patxaran in Basq ...

to a collection basin, while the air in the area is enriched with salty material such as

iodine Iodine is a chemical element; it has symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists at standard conditions as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

bromine Bromine is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Br and atomic number 35. It is a volatile red-brown liquid at room temperature that evaporates readily to form a similarly coloured vapour. Its properties are intermediate between th ...

and

strontium Strontium is a chemical element; it has symbol Sr and atomic number 38. An alkaline earth metal, it is a soft silver-white yellowish metallic element that is highly chemically reactive. The metal forms a dark oxide layer when it is exposed to ...

ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

s as well as the

noble gas The noble gases (historically the inert gases, sometimes referred to as aerogens) are the members of Group (periodic table), group 18 of the periodic table: helium (He), neon (Ne), argon (Ar), krypton (Kr), xenon (Xe), radon (Rn) and, in some ...

. By making the water into mist during its trickling through to the collection basin, the water's saltiness is raised. The waterwheels and part of the equipment (rods for transmitting the motion) can still be viewed. The town's oldest secular building is the former

''Unteramt'' at Burgstraße 13. Into the

lintel A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case ...

of the

part, the year 1556 has been chiselled. Investigations of this part of the building have also brought to light that there are

mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

wall remnants underneath the Renaissance walls. Said to be Bad Münster's oldest property is the "Hahnenhof", first mentioned in 1560, a former Rhinegravial manor. The narrow so-called ''Zehntscheune'' ("

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the ...

") with a

upper floor was in its time the financial office for

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

s paid in kind. The ''Kurmittelhaus'' (roughly "spa treatment house") in the ''Kurpark'' (spa park), built in 1911 in an

style with Nordic characteristics, is said to be one of the region's loveliest

buildings. It contains the spring hall with the two healing springs, the ''Maximilianquelle'' and the ''Rheingrafenquelle'', which rise up through three glass pipes.

Museums

Housed in the former local history museum's rooms at the ''Kurmittelhaus'' is the ''Naturstation Nahe'' where in the warmer months animals from the region can be observed, in particular the

dice snake The dice snake (''Natrix tessellata'') or water snake is a Eurasian nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae, subfamily Natricinae. Its average length is . Body color may vary from greyish green to brownish or almost black, with dark spots on t ...

, which is indigenous to the river Nahe.

Regular events

Among special events in Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg are the "

" ''Ebernburger Markt'' (market) on the third weekend in September and the Christmas Market in the spa park.

Economy and infrastructure

Economic structure

Spa guests were in bygone decades an important source of income for Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg. After a few years in which the spa industry shrank greatly, the numbers of guests are now slowly rising once again. Most commercial enterprises in the town nowadays are

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

operations (lodging,

s) and

estates. There is moreover a cork wire factory where closure wire is made for

sekt Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While it is common to refer to this as champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that word for products exclusively produced in the Champagne r ...

and

champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

bottles.

Transport

Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg lies on the

( Bingen–

). At Bad Münster am Stein station, the Alsenz Valley Railway (''Alsenztalbahn'') branches of towards

. The town lies within the area to which the ''Rhein-Nahe-Nahverkehrsverbund'' ("Rhine-Nahe Local Transport Association") applies. Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg can be reached by car on ''

Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...

'' 48 and on ''

Landesstraße ''Landesstraßen'' (singular: ''Landesstraße'' ) are roads in Germany and Austria that are, as a rule, the responsibility of the respective German or Austrian federal state. The term may therefore be translated as "state road". They are road ...

n'' 235 and 379.

Famous people

Honorary citizens

* Max Kuna (d. 1989)

Sons and daughters of the town

(b. 1481 at Castle Ebernburg; d. 1523),

Amtmann __NOTOC__ The ''Amtmann'' or ''Ammann'' (in Switzerland) was an official in German-speaking countries of Europe and in some of the Nordic countries from the time of the Middle Ages whose office was akin to that of a bailiff A bailiff is a ...

at Castle Ebernburg, now and then bore the

byname An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

''Letzter Ritter'' ("Last Knight"); promoter of

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. * Heinrich Lorenz (1898–1966), born at ''Haus Lorenz'', captain of the biggest German passenger ship ''Bremen''; winner of the Blue Band for the fastest transatlantic crossing.

Famous people associated with the town

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

(1775–1851), painted severa
watercolours
of the mountains and castle when he visited the area in 1844. * Rudolf Eickemeyer, (1831–1895), born in

, noted inventor with several innovations to hat manufacturing, patent for first symmetrical drum armature and iron-clad dynamo, and first employer of

Charles Proteus Steinmetz Charles Proteus Steinmetz (born Karl August Rudolph Steinmetz; April 9, 1865 – October 26, 1923) was a Prussian mathematician and electrical engineer and professor at Union College. He fostered the development of alternating current that made ...

. * Heinrich Georg Rung (1854–1931), worked for 43 years as the Pastor of Ebernburg; local historian, co-founder and chairman of the North Palatine History Club (''Nordpfälzer Geschichtsverein''). * Anna Kubach-Wilmsen and Wolfgang Kubach, sculptors * Ulrike Piechota (b. 1942), writer * Sigune von Osten (b. 1950), singer and music professor

References

;Arrtibution

External links

Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg Transport Association homepage

Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg in the collective municipality’s webpages

Ebernburg Mediaeval Market

at

SWR Fernsehen SWR Fernsehen is a German regional television channel targeting the states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. It is produced by Südwestrundfunk (SWR) and is one of eight regional "third channels" broadcast by the ARD members. His ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bad Munster Am Stein-Ebernburg Former municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate Towns in Rhineland-Palatinate Bad Kreuznach (district) Naheland