Dambach is an ''

Ortsgemeinde A Verbandsgemeinde (; plural Verbandsgemeinden) is a low-level administrative unit in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A Verbandsgemeinde is typically composed of a small group of villages or towns. Rhineland ...

'' – 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 ...

belonging to a ''

Verbandsgemeinde A Verbandsgemeinde (; plural Verbandsgemeinden) is a low-level administrative unit in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A Verbandsgemeinde is typically composed of a small group of villages or towns. Rhinelan ...

'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld

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 ...

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 Birkenfeld, whose seat is in the like-named town.

Geography

Location

The municipality lies in the ''Schwarzwälder Hochwald'' (forest) in the Hunsrück some 3 km southwest of the district seat of Birkenfeld.

Neighbouring municipalities

Dambach borders in the south on the municipality of Ellweiler, in the west on the municipality of Achtelsbach and in the northwest on the municipality of Brücken. All these places lie within the Birkenfeld district.

Constituent communities

Also belonging to Dambach is the outlying homestead of Brandmühle.

History

As witnessed by archaeological finds, the ''Birkenfelder Land'' was already settled 3,000 years ago. A great number of finds made at barrows, especially from the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

, may be seen at the ''Birkenfelder Landesmuseum'' (“Birkenfeld State Museum”). In the latter half of the 1st century BC, the area was conquered by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and remained under their hegemony for roughly 400 years.

Roman culture The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak covered an area from present-day Lo ...

has left its mark to this day.

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 6 council members, who were elected by majority vote at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.

Mayor

Dambach's mayor is Nadine Schmitt.

Coat of arms

The German blazon reads: ''In durch schwarzen Pfahl gespaltenem Schild vorne in Silber über blauem, schräglinkem Wellenbalken ein schwarzes Wasserrad, hinten der Hunolstein’sche Schild: in Gold zwei rote Balken begleitet von 12 (5:4:2:1) roten Steinen, halb.'' 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 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 bran ...

language be described thus: An endorse sable between, dimidiated, argent a bend sinister wavy with a waterwheel spoked of six in dexter chief of the first, and the Hunolstein escutcheon: Or two closets among twelve cubes, five in fess in chief, four in fess between and three in base, all gules. The waterwheel

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 recalls the ''Brandmühle'' on the Traunbach, an old gem polishing mill that was torn down to make way for the Traunbach valley road. The wavy bend on the same side is

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 municipality's name, at least for the last syllable (''Bach'' means “brook” in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

). The pattern on the sinister (armsbearer's left, viewer's right) side refers to the former holders of the ''

Vogt During the Middle Ages, an (sometimes given as modern English: advocate; German: ; French: ) was an office-holder who was legally delegated to perform some of the secular responsibilities of a major feudal lord, or for an institution such as ...

ei'' of Achtelsbach, to which Dambach belonged. The arms have been borne since 14 October 1964.

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings: The following are listed buildings or sites in

’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:Directory of Cultural Monuments in Birkenfeld district
/ref> * Hauptstraße 1 – former

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...

; five-axis, one-floor building with half-hipped roof, 1841, addition 1911 * In der Grub 1 – residential part of a former ''Quereinhaus'' (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street), 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 ...

, partly slated, 1752

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

The

Autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track' ...

A 62 ( Kaiserslautern–

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

) lies 4 km away. Serving nearby Neubrücke 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 ...

, likewise 4 km away.

References

External links

Dambach in the collective municipality’s webpages
{{authority control Birkenfeld (district)