Callbach is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in the
Bad Kreuznach 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, municipa ...
in
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) 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 ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. It belongs to the
''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Meisenheim, whose seat is in the
like-named town.
Geography
Location
Callbach is a linear village (by some definitions, a “thorpe”) that lies in the
North Palatine Uplands
The North Palatine Uplands (german: Nordpfälzer Bergland), sometimes shortened to Palatine Uplands (''Pfälzer Bergland''), is a low mountain range and landscape unit in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and belongs mainly to the Palat ...
at the Eschelbach valley, a side dale of the
Glan.
Neighbouring municipalities
Clockwise from the north, Callbach's neighbours are the municipalities of
Rehborn,
Unkenbach,
Finkenbach-Gersweiler (both in the neighbouring
Donnersbergkreis
The Donnersbergkreis is a district (''Kreis'') in the middle of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bad Kreuznach, Alzey-Worms, Bad Dürkheim, Kaiserslautern, Kusel.
History
The district was created in 1969 by merging the dis ...
),
Schmittweiler
Schmittweiler is an ''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, district in Rhineland ...
,
Reiffelbach and the town of
Meisenheim
Meisenheim () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', and is also its seat. Meisenheim is a state-recognized recreational resort (''Erholungsort'') and it is s ...
.
Constituent communities
Also belonging to Callbach is the outlying homestead of Lindenhof.
History
After 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 B ...
, which about 1815 and the years that followed imposed a new political landscape on the region after
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
ic
French rule had ended, Callbach belonged to the ''Rheinkreis'' along with much of the
Palatinate, a new
exclave of the
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German ...
. It remained Bavarian until the end of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, since which time it has been part of the then newly founded
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
of
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) 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 ...
. In the course of administrative restructuring in this state in 1969, Callbach was transferred from the former Rockenhausen district (which was at the same time dissolved) to the
Bad Kreuznach district, in which it still finds itself now. From an ecclesiastical standpoint, Callbach has long belonged to the
Evangelical Church of the Palatinate
Evangelical Church of the Palatinate (german: Evangelische Kirche der Pfalz (Protestantische Landeskirche)) is a United Protestant church in parts of the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, endorsing both Lutheran and Calvinist o ...
(
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
) and to the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Speyer.
Population development
Callbach's population development since
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
ic times is shown in the table below. The figures for the years from 1871 to 1987 are drawn from census data:
[Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz – Regionaldaten](_blank)
/ref>
Religion
As at 31 August 2013, there are 386 full-time residents in Callbach, and of those, 313 are Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...
(81.088%), 25 are Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
(6.477%), 2 (0.518%) belong to other religious groups and 46 (11.917%) either have no religion or will not reveal their religious affiliation.
Politics
Municipal council
The council is made up of 8 council members, who were elected by majority vote at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
Mayor
Callbach's mayor is Uwe Mauritz.[
]
Coat of arms
The municipality'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 be described thus: Argent a bend sinister wavy azure issuant therefrom in dexter chief a demilion of the same armed and langued gules, in sinister base a snowflake of the second.
The 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 ...
on the dexter (armsbearer's right, viewer's left) side, the “demilion” (“half lion”), is an heraldic device formerly borne by 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 Mose ...
, Callbach's mediaeval landholders. The other elements in the composition are canting
' (IPA: , VOS Spelling: ''tjanting'', jv, ꦕꦤ꧀ꦛꦶꦁ, Tjanting) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax ( jv, ) in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely ''batik tulis'' (lit. "written batik"). Traditional '' ...
for the village's original name, ''Kaltenbach'', which meant “cold brook”. The bend sinister wavy (slanted wavy stripe) stands for a brook, and the snowflake
A snowflake is a single ice crystal that has achieved a sufficient size, and may have amalgamated with others, which falls through the Earth's atmosphere as snow.Knight, C.; Knight, N. (1973). Snow crystals. Scientific American, vol. 228, no. ...
symbolizes coldness. The arms have been borne since 9 November 1981.
Culture and sightseeing
Buildings
The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) 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 ...
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:Directory of Cultural Monuments in Bad Kreuznach district
/ref>
* Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
, Kirchstraße 17 – Classicist
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
aisleless church
An aisleless church (german: Saalkirche) 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 fr ...
, marked 1780 and 1781, architect Friedrich Gerhard Wahl (see also below)
* Hauptstraße 34 – estate complex; Late Baroque ''Einfirsthaus'' (“house with single roof ridge”), marked 1790 and 1791
* Im Hof 2 – house, plastered building, essentially perhaps from the 16th or 17th century
* Schmittweilerstraße 1 – estate complex along the street; essentially Baroque house, marked 17?0 and 1802, barn, partly timber-frame
Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) 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 ...
, possibly from the 18th or early 19th century
Church
Callbach's church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
was first built in 1334, but over the course of history it has several times been destroyed and then built over again. In 1782, after a third reconstruction by the Ducal Zweibrücken Building Director Friedrich Gerhard Wahl, the aisleless church
An aisleless church (german: Saalkirche) 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 fr ...
assumed its current shape. Held at the church are services of the Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...
faith, whose members make up a majority of some 80% in the village. The rectangular building rises on a slope overlooking Kirchstraße (“Church Street”), and access thereto is gained by way of a stairway up to a portal. Because of the sloped site, the church is underpinned in part by a simple vaulted
In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...
cellar. The cellar's façade towards the street is faced with sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
blocks. The building as a whole follows the east-west orientation that is traditionally typical of church buildings. The monochromatically white plastered façade with its shaped elements in the Classicist
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
style is framed by corner lesene
A lesene, also called a pilaster strip, is an architectural term for a narrow, low-relief vertical pillar on a wall. It resembles a pilaster, but does not have a base or capital. It is typical in Lombardic and Rijnlandish architectural building ...
s made of natural stone. The portal and the windows along the middle axis and a gable with a round window accentuate this straight-lined entrance façade. Beginning in 1993, the church – which is a parish church – was renovated in two phases. The exterior was done in 1993-1995, while the interior was done in 1998-1999. The overhaul and conversion brought into existence a newly structured multifunctional space inside the church. The inside, with its new colour scheme, now also offers rooms that may be used for various functions and purposes. The new spatial concept made it necessary to rearrange the seating and the original lateral alignment to the altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
and the pulpit along the aisleless church's side wall. The stone slabs on the church floor with their signs of wear, the pews and the simple wooden table altar were overhauled and restored. A sandstone stele with a gilt baptismal font made according to current designs completes the church's furnishings. The building-in of a kitchenette
A kitchenette is a small cooking area, which usually has a refrigerator and a microwave, but may have other appliances. In some motel and hotel rooms, small apartments, college dormitories, or office buildings, a kitchenette consists of a small ref ...
, chair storage, a lavatory
Lavatory, Lav, or Lavvy may refer to:
*Toilet, the plumbing fixture
*Toilet (room), containing a toilet
*Public toilet
*Aircraft lavatory, the public toilet on an aircraft
*Latrine, a rudimentary toilet
*A lavatorium, the washing facility in a mon ...
facility and rooms with movable walls allow the parishioners to arrange the space for the most varied of occasions. Besides the church services and liturgical exercises, the church is also used for meetings and cultural events.
File:Kc-innenraum-blick durch mobilwand129.JPG, View through movable wall
File:Kc-innenraum -taufbecken-mobilwand117.JPG, Usual venue for services
File:Kc-innenraum-sitzungen128.jpg, Gathering room with variable seating
Economy and infrastructure
Transport
Running through the village is ''Bundesstraße
''Bundesstraße'' (German for "federal highway"), 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'' ...
'' 420. Serving Staudernheim is a railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
on the Nahe Valley Railway
The Nahe Valley Railway (german: Nahetalbahn) 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. It was built by the Rhine-Nahe R ...
( Bingen– Saarbrücken).
References
External links
Brief portrait of Callbach with film at
SWR Fernsehen
{{Authority control
Bad Kreuznach (district)
Palatinate (region)