Hinzweiler () 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
Kusel
Kusel (; written ''Cusel'' until 1865) is a town in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the Kusel-Altenglan ''Verbandsgemeinde'' and is also the district seat.
The well-known operatic tenor Fritz Wunderlich was ...
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'' Lauterecken-Wolfstein.
Geography
Location
The municipality lies in the ''Eßweiler Tal'' (dale) northwest of the Königsberg (mountain) 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 an elevation of some 200 m above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...
. Elevations on the right bank at the Königsberg reach above 500 m above sea level (Leienberg 524 m). On the left bank, they reach only a bit more than 300 m above sea level (Spenzelberg 305 m). The municipal area measures 532 ha, of which roughly 32 ha is settled and 200 ha is wooded.
Neighbouring municipalities
Hinzweiler borders in the north on the municipality of
Nerzweiler
Nerzweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Lauterecken-Wolfstein.
...
, in the east on the municipality of
Aschbach, in the south on the municipality of
Oberweiler im Tal, in the west on the municipality of
Horschbach
Horschbach is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kusel-Altenglan, wh ...
and in the northwest on the municipality of
Glanbrücken
Glanbrücken is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Lauterecken-Wolfstein. ...
.
Constituent communities
Also belonging to Hinzweiler is the outlying homestead of Mühlbergerhof.
Municipality’s layout
''
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 roads t ...
'' 372 runs through the village of Hinzweiler from north to south, on the brook's right bank in the north of the village and on its left in the south. Nevertheless, the village cannot be considered a true linear village, for in the village centre, where the road crosses the brook, other built-up streets branch off the thoroughfare to the southeast and east. Indeed, it is also here that the older part of the built-up area is found. The
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 ...
stands in the south of this old village centre. The great ''Königslandhalle'' with its civic centre dominates the view in the village centre's north. The sporting ground lies to the village's west on the Talbach's left bank, while the graveyard lies at the village's south end by the road to
Horschbach
Horschbach is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kusel-Altenglan, wh ...
.
History
Antiquity
Going by the many
archaeological finds from the broader area around Hinzweiler, it can be assumed that the immediate area was likewise settled in the
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
and 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 ...
, and perhaps even as early as the
New Stone Age
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
. In the 19th century, a
prehistoric barrow was discovered within Hinzweiler's limits. Its whereabouts are, however, no longer known today. In
Roman
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 ...
times, too, people lived in Hinzweiler's immediate vicinity. Bearing witness hereto is a piece of
spolia
''Spolia'' (Latin: 'spoils') is repurposed building stone for new construction or decorative sculpture reused in new monuments. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice whereby stone that has been quarried, cut and used in a built ...
at the churchtower, which shows a portrait of
Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the ...
with abundant hair and beard. It may once have been part of a dedication stone at a sanctuary somewhere nearby.
Middle Ages
Hinzweiler to a great extent shares the same history as all other villages in the ''Eßweiler Tal'', which in many respects form a unit. Besides Hinzweiler itself, these were originally
Hundheim (Neuenglan),
Hachenbach,
Nerzweiler
Nerzweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Lauterecken-Wolfstein.
...
,
Aschbach,
Horschbach
Horschbach is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kusel-Altenglan, wh ...
,
Oberweiler,
Elzweiler
Elzweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kusel-Altenglan, whose ...
,
Eßweiler and the now vanished villages of Letzweiler, Niederaschbach, Nörweiler, Mittelhofen, Zeizelbach, Füllhof, Neideck and Lanzweiler. It is certain that these villages lay within the free
Imperial domain around the royal
castle at Lautern (
Kaiserslautern). In the 9th century, likely shortly before 870, the nobleman Hererich was enfeoffed with the ''Eßweiler Tal'' and shortly before his death he bequeathed it to
Prüm Abbey
Prüm Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey in Prüm, now in the diocese of Trier (Germany), founded by the Frankish widow Bertrada the elder and her son Charibert, Count of Laon, in 721. The first abbot was Angloardus.
The Abbey ruled over a va ...
. This area's ecclesiastical hub was at first the ''Hirsauer Kirche'', an old country church, now no longer used, that still stands near Hundheim. Hundheim at this time, still bore the name ''Glena'' or ''Glan'', and was perhaps “Neuenglan” (''Nieuwen Glena'') as opposed to the place still called “
Altenglan
Altenglan is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kusel-Altenglan. Alten ...
” (''Gleni''). This ''Glena'' was Hun's seat, Hun being an administrator of sorts who oversaw the whole dale for the actual lords. His name gave the seat lying at the mouth of the Talbach (“Dale Brook”), where it empties into the
Glan, its name, Hundheim (the first syllable's resemblance to the
Modern High German word for “dog” might be
folk etymology; ''Heim'' is still German for “home” today).
Sometime before 1222, Prüm Abbey lost its holdings in the Glan valley, the circumstances under which this happened now being unknown. Named in later times were only the 14
feudal lords who exercised special rights in the ''Eßweiler Tal'' and could rightfully take a share of the
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. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...
s, namely the ''Junker'' Mühlenstein von Grumbach as the Rhinegraves’
vassal
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...
, the
County Palatine of Zweibrücken, Offenbach Abbey, Remigiusberg Abbey,
Tholey Abbey
Tholey Abbey (german: Abtei Tholey) in Tholey, in the district of Sankt Wendel in Saarland, is a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Maurice. It is part of the Beuronese Congregation within the Benedictine Confederation.
History
As early a ...
, Enkenbach Abbey, the
Knights Hospitaller
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...
commandry
In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...
at Sulzbach, the Church of
Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river.
Name
The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; olde ...
, the Church of
Sankt Julian
Sankt Julian (often rendered St. Julian) is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgeme ...
, the Church of Hinzweiler, the ''Stangenjunker'' of Lauterecken, the House of Blick von Lichtenberg, the Lords of Mauchenheim and the Lords of Mickelheim. Obviously, each fiefholder held a different administrative seat. The
Waldgrave
The noble family of the Waldgraves or Wildgraves (Latin: ''comites silvestres'') descended of a division of the House of the Counts of Nahegau in the year 1113.
When the (a countship named after the river Nahe) split into two parts in 1113 ...
s and Rhinegraves, as holders of
high jurisdiction
High, middle and low justices are notions dating from Western feudalism to indicate descending degrees of judicial power to administer justice by the maximal punishment the holders could inflict upon their subjects and other dependents.
Low just ...
, resided above the Lords of Mühlenstein (later Cratz von Scharfenstein) who resided near the ''Hirsauer Kirche'' and at the Springeburg (or Sprengelburg; the ruin still stands today between Eßweiler and
Oberweiler im Tal).
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 ...
, as feudal lords over the dale's “poor people” (as of 1444, this was instead the Counts Palatine of Zweibrücken) chose as their seat the village of Nerzweiler, which between 1350 and 1446 was always named in documents as the seat of the Nerzweiler ''
Amt
Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...
''. Count Friedrich III of Veldenz granted his wife Margarethe of
Nassau-Saarbrücken this ''Amt'' as a
widow's estate. After 1446, Hundheim once again appeared as the only administrative seat. Hinzweiler itself got its own church in 1451, and became the parish's hub in the ''Eßweiler Tal'' instead of the ''Hirsauer Kirche''. Dependence on a great number of lords in the dale afforded greater freedom than in other areas where united power and governing relationships prevailed.
Legal matters within the ''Eßweiler Tal'' were governed by a whole range of ''Weistümer'' (singular: ''Weistum'' –
cognate with
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
''wisdom'' – this was a legal pronouncement issued by men learned in law in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
and early modern times), which were already in force in the Middle Ages, although they were not actually set down in writing until the early 16th century. These documents are still preserved, and are said today to be prime examples of mediaeval jurisprudence. One deals with the court and borders, one is a ''Kanzelweistum'' (promulgated at church; ''Kanzel'' is German for “
pulpit”), one is a ''Huberweistum'' (''Huber'' were farmers who worked a whole ''Hube'', which roughly corresponds to an “
oxgang
An oxgang or bovate ( ang, oxangang; da, oxgang; gd, damh-imir; lat-med, bovāta) is an old land measurement formerly used in Scotland and England as early as the 16th century sometimes referred to as an oxgait. It averaged around 20 English a ...
”), and one was a municipal ''Weistum'' (''Gemeindeweistum'').
[Middle Ages](_blank)
/ref>
Modern times
As early as 1526, the Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
was introduced into the ''Eßweiler Tal''. In the course of the 16th century, the Plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
raged in the dale and the villages’ inhabitants were largely wiped out. In Hinzweiler itself, only 15 people were left by 1575. With regard to the ruling class, this brought about a shift in power in 1595 as the high jurisdiction, hitherto held for some 250 years by the Waldgraves and Rhinegraves, was transferred to the Dukes of Zweibrücken. In return, Count Palatine Johannes I of Zweibrücken transferred the village of Kirchenbollenbach near Idar-Oberstein
Idar-Oberstein () is a town in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. As a ''Große kreisangehörige Stadt'' (large city belonging to a district), it assumes some of the responsibilities that for smaller municipalities in ...
(nowadays a ''Stadtteil
A quarter is a section of an urban settlement.
A quarter can be administratively defined and its borders officially designated, and it may have its own administrative structure (subordinate to that of the city, town or other urban area). Such a ...
'' of that town) to the Rhinegraves. Lordship over the blood court thereby ended up in new hands, while the other lords named still otherwise held their tithing rights in the various villages.
In 1614, Duke Johannes II of Zweibrücken traded his serfs in Teschenmoschel for some in the ''Eßweiler Tal'' belonging to Baron Johann Gottfried von Sickingen in Schallodenbach. Hinzweiler also suffered in the Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
. Details are, however, unavailable. Another fundamental shift in the power structure came in 1755, when Duke Christian IV transferred to Offenbach Abbey the villages of Hundheim, Nerzweiler
Nerzweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Lauterecken-Wolfstein.
...
, Hinzweiler, Oberweiler, Oberaschbach and Niederaschbach (now vanished) and also the ''Hirsauer Kirche'' to the Rhinegraves of Grumbach, who until 1595 had exercised high jurisdiction in these villages. Hinzweiler thereafter remained in the Rhinegraviate until the collapse of the old feudal order in the course of the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
.
Recent times
During the time of the French Revolution and the 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 era that followed, the German lands on the Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
’s left bank were annexed by France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. The French thereby swept away all borders that had hitherto existed and established their own administrative entities. Roughly, the Glan formed the boundary between the Departments of Sarre and Mont-Tonnerre (or Donnersberg 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 ...
). Hinzweiler passed together with the villages of Aschbach, Nerzweiler
Nerzweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Lauterecken-Wolfstein.
...
, Hachenbach and Gumbsweiler to the newly founded ''Mairie'' (“Mayoralty”) of Hundheim, which itself belonged to the Canton of Lauterecken and the Arrondissement
An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands.
Europe
France
The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...
of Kaiserslautern. After the victory over Napoleon, 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 ...
awarded a territory on the Rhine to 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 ...
, the ''Baierischer Rheinkreis'' (“Bavarian Rhine District”), later known as the ''Bayerische Rheinpfalz'' (“Bavarian Rhenish Palatinate”). Hinzweiler now belonged within this territory to the ''Bürgermeisterei'' (“Mayoralty”) of Hundheim in the Canton of Lauterecken and the ''Landkommissariat'' (later ''Bezirksamt'', and later still ''Landkreis'' or District) of Kusel.
In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
(NSDAP) became quite popular in Hinzweiler. In the 1928 Reichstag elections, none of the local votes went to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
’s party, but by the 1930 Reichstag elections, this had grown to 0.4%. By the time of the 1933 Reichstag elections, after Hitler had already seized power, local support for the Nazis had swollen to 77%. Hitler’s success in these elections paved the way for his Enabling Act of 1933 (''Ermächtigungsgesetz''), thus starting the Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
in earnest. Further changes in administrative structures came about not only through the Third Reich but also after 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 ...
. The Palatinate was grouped into 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 ...
, which itself undertook administrative restructuring in 1968. Thus, since 1972, Hinzweiler has belonged within the Kusel district to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Wolfstein.
''Musikanten''
In 19th-century Hinzweiler, jobs were always hard to come by, and thus Hinzweiler, along with Eßweiler, Jettenbach
Jettenbach is a municipality in the district of Mühldorf in Bavaria, Germany. It lies on the river Inn
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located ...
and Mackenbach
Mackenbach is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany.
it is home to numerous restaurants and bay about 8 beauty salons and one grocery store
Culture and sights Music
Mackenbach's reputation ...
, became a centre of the West Palatine ''Musikantentum'' ("musicianhood"). A great part of the male population, but also some of the female population, too, learnt to play one or more musical instruments, joined an orchestra and went abroad in the spring. In autumn, they came back from the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
. All through the winter, houses in the village rang with rehearsals.
Some orchestras chose destinations that were much farther away and did not return for years. Some went to the Near East, some to the Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
, and some even as far as Australia and New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. Wives sometimes went along to look after their menfolk, and children were born overseas as well.
All these “minstrels” brought good earnings back home with them, investing them in cropland, livestock, houses and farms. Many became wealthy farmers. Some also settled abroad.
In 1905, the number of these musicians from Hinzweiler who were working abroad was 71. One such musician was Otto Schwarz. The tradition ended, though, with the outbreak of the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Jewish history
Within the territory of the Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, there was generally little tolerance for Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
s. Owing to a few exceptions, mainly after the Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
, when the population had been heavily decimated, a few Jewish families managed to settle. In the ''Eßweiler Tal'', the small region where Hinzweiler lies, the centre of Jewish life was mainly in Eßweiler.
After the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
, the situation for Jews changed. Despite a certain limitation imposed by one of 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 ...
’s edicts, they could engage in trade and were seen in the agricultural realm mostly as livestock and horse dealers. Hinzweiler citizens esteemed the Jews as tradesmen. Some even learnt “Hebrew” (actually Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
) so that they could better deal with the Jews.
Under Bavarian rule, the situation improved appreciably. In 1836, there were 36 Jews living in Hinzweiler. They were becoming ever more integrated and felt themselves to be Germans, simply ones with a different religion. In the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
there was no dearth of volunteers from among the Jews, who went to war for Germany.
Growing antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
, however – even before the beginning of the Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
– made many Jews choose emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanent ...
, while some also moved to Germany's cities. However, those who could not get themselves to safety in time were rounded up by the Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
on 22 October 1940 and deported to Gurs
Gurs is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.
History
Gurs was the site of the Gurs internment camp. Nothing remains of the camp; after World War II, a forest was planted on the site where it stood.
Geog ...
in southwestern France, whence they were further sent to the death camps
Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...
.
The picture shows the Jewish graveyard in Hinzweiler with 38 gravestones, which dates from 1870. In 1963, the stones were “fetched out of the wilderness”, as reported by Heinz Mahler. In the early 1970s, the graveyard was given a makeover. The last burial there was in the mid 1920s, a young man from Eßweiler.
Population development
Hinzweiler was throughout the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
a small village, whose very existence was often threatened by such things as Plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
and war. After the Plague of 1564, Hinzweiler had only 15 inhabitants left. People earned their livelihoods mainly at farming. Some may have sought a living in the ore mines at the Königsberg. In the area right near Hinzweiler itself was a limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
pit, which employed a few people. In a 1735 statistical publication, of the 25 men who headed families, 22 were said to be free subjects and 3 were said to be ''Hintersassen'' (roughly, “dependent peasants”). Among craftsmen, who only worked the land as a secondary occupation, there were four shoemakers
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear.
Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as ''cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen an ...
, three linen weavers
Weaver or Weavers may refer to:
Activities
* A person who engages in weaving fabric
Animals
* Various birds of the family Ploceidae
* Crevice weaver spider family
* Orb-weaver spider family
* Weever (or weever-fish)
Arts and entertainmen ...
, two tailor
A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century.
History
Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
s, one blacksmith
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...
, one miller
A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalent ...
and one wainwright. This basic structure remained in place even well into the 20th century.
Nevertheless, in the late 19th century until Weimar times, the regional industry involving local musicians travelling to many parts of Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
and beyond, called ''Wandermusikantentum'', was quite well developed in Hinzweiler. The first of these “wandering minstrels” known to have come from Hinzweiler were Georg Volles (1823), Heinrich Werner and Karl Krebs. It was in this time that a firm of piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
builders arose in the village, named Eichler. All these customary craft occupations have since disappeared. Most of the villagers nowadays must seek their livelihoods outside the village. In the late 18th century, Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
s settled in Hinzweiler. At times in the 19th century, their share of the population reached 10%. Current population trends are influenced by the village's quiet location, and partly also by the location's favourability to the shopping
Shopping is an activity in which a customer browses the available goods or services presented by one or more retailers with the potential intent to purchase a suitable selection of them. A typology of shopper types has been developed by scho ...
and commercial centre of Kaiserslautern. Nonetheless, what can be observed today is a stagnation in the population figures and at the same time a rise in the inhabitants’ average age.
The following table shows population development over the centuries for Hinzweiler, with some figures broken down by religious denomination:
In 1563, the village had been wholly wiped out by the Plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pe ...
, which struck and depopulated the whole ''Eßweiler Tal''. The figure for 1609 represents 20 families. No exact population figure for 1675 is known, but it is recorded that there were 13 families in Hinzweiler in the years after the Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
. The second source listed contradicts the figure for 1802 by listing 244 inhabitants for that year. Whether the 1961 total includes one irreligious person is unclear. It could also be a typographical error in the source.
Municipality’s name
The village's name, Hinzweiler, has the common 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 ...
placename ending ''—weiler'', which as a standalone word means “hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
” (originally “homestead”), to which is prefixed a syllable ''Hinz—'', believed to have arisen from a personal name, ''Hinzo'', suggesting that an early settler named Hinzo founded the village. Nevertheless, it is only with difficulty that anyone can confirm when the villages in the ''Eßweiler Tal'' with names ending in ''—weiler'' were founded. The time period in question is quite a long one, from the 8th century to the 12th. With the exception of Nerzweiler
Nerzweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Lauterecken-Wolfstein.
...
, their first documentary mentions came in the latter half of the 13th century. The foundings of these villages might arguably be put about 300 years earlier than the first documentary mentions. Hinzweiler had its first documentary mention in 1263 as ''Hennesweiler''. The content of the document in question has only been handed down as a copy. Among other names that the village bore through the ages were ''Hinzwiller'' (original document, 1336), ''Huntzwilre'' (1393), ''Huntzwyler'' (1451), ''Hintzweyler'' (1566) and ''Hintzweiller'' (1666). The forms with ''—u—'' might suggest that the village was the seat of a lower official named ''Hun'' or ''Hund''.
Vanished villages
In Johannes Hofmann's description of the ''Eßweiler Tal'', one reads: “In Hinzweiler’s municipal area, up at the rectory near ''an den Kreuzäckern'' (a rural cadastral name) not far from the ''Zeßelbacher Grund'', hewn stone blocks from old buildings, also old coins and other things have also been found, indicating that long ago a village stood right there, called Zeßelbach”. Hence, this village was no longer there by 1595. No further information about Zeselbach near Hinzweiler is available.
Religion
The old ''Hirsauer Kirche'' was originally the spiritual hub for all villages in the ''Eßweiler Tal''. When it was that a church was first built in Hirsau (not to be confused with Hirsau in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
) cannot be determined today. It can be assumed nonetheless that there had been an earlier church standing at the same spot centuries before the one that still stands now was built (about 1100); it may have been wooden. Churchgoers came from throughout the dale to attend services, all wedding
A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...
s were held there, and so were all funerals and burials. It was also the thing
Thing or The Thing may refer to:
Philosophy
* An object
* Broadly, an entity
* Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant
* Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuse ...
stead, and on certain days, market
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
*Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
*Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, an ...
was held there, too. Hirsau lost this central role when in 1451 the church in Hinzweiler was built, although originally this only functioned as a chapel of ease to Hirsau's parish church. This actually brought about competition between the two churches in the time that followed for the function of parish church.
As early as 1526, the Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken introduced the Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
into the church of the '' Oberamt'' of Meisenheim, replacing 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 ...
belief with Martin Luther
Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...
’s teachings so that bit by bit, church services in the ''Eßweiler Tal'', too, began to be conducted in accordance with the Reformation. The Offenbach Monastery, to which the Hinzweiler church was subject, at first opposed Reformist efforts. In 1555, though, the Rhinegraves of Grumbach, too, introduced the Reformation, and in 1588, the Offenbach Monastery was dissolved. After the Counts Palatine of Zweibrücken had become absolute fiefholders over the ''Eßweiler Tal'' in 1595, worshippers then had to convert
Conversion or convert may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman''
* "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series
* "The Conversion" ...
to Calvinism
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
in line with developments in the County Palatine. Beginning in 1601, Hinzweiler became the temporary parish seat, but already by 1610, it once again had to yield this function to Hirsau, only to get it back after the Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
. This structure remains in place to this day. In earlier days, Hinzweiler's inhabitants were mainly Reformed, according to John Calvin’s teachings. As minorities, there were Lutherans
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
, who in 1818 merged with the Calvinists, and Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
.
In 1870, the Jews had their own graveyard laid out. Many gravestones with mostly Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
inscriptions are preserved. 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 ...
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...
were not found in Hinzweiler until the early 19th century, and even thereafter, only sporadically. Of the church in Hinzweiler, only the quire under the tower actually goes back to the original building date, about 1450. About 1600, a tower was built over the quire. The original Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
nave was torn down in the 18th century, likely because it had fallen into disrepair, and a new nave was built in 1727 north of the tower in an aisleless configuration with a three-sided end wall and a flat ceiling. Impressive is the painting on the ceiling from 1974 by Günter Humbert with its colour symbolism and representations of the Four Evangelists with the Lamb of God, the pelican as a symbol of self-sacrifice and the dove
Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
as a symbol of peace. Worthy of note in the tower area are a piece of Roman
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 ...
spolia
''Spolia'' (Latin: 'spoils') is repurposed building stone for new construction or decorative sculpture reused in new monuments. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice whereby stone that has been quarried, cut and used in a built ...
set in the outer wall bearing a representation of Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the ...
and remnants of late mediaeval paintings inside. These fresco-secco paintings were only discovered – and uncovered – in 1974. They show Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
enthroned with Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
as intercessor for the faithful.[Religion](_blank)
/ref>
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
Hinzweiler's mayor is Gunter Suffel, and his deputies are Karl-Heinz Kondratiuk and Fredi Klein.
Coat of arms
Sources differ on how the German blazon reads. The first listed appears on the website, while the second is that published by Debus:
# ''Unter rotem durch Wellenlinie geteilten Schildhaupt in Gold auf grünem Dreiberg eine rote Lyra.''
# ''Unter gewelltem roten Schildhaupt in Gold auf grünem Dreiberg eine rote Lyra.''
Either way, 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: Under a chief wavy gules Or in base a mount of three vert above which a lyre of the first.
The central 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 ...
, the lyre, stands for the history of travelling musicians – ''Wandermusikantentum'' – that was well represented in Hinzweiler. The wavy line at the bottom of the chief represents the dale – the ''Eßweiler Tal'' – in which Hinzweiler lies. The mount of three ('' Dreiberg'' 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 ...
) is supposed to symbolize the Königsberg. The 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 gules and Or (red and gold) are a reference to the village's former allegiance to the Rhinegraves. An older coat of arms was “Vert a bezant” (that is, a green field with a gold orb).
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:
* 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 ...
parish church, Hauptstraße 44 – 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 1727, late mediaeval quire, above which a belltower about 1600; clergyman's gravestone, 1741
* Hauptstraße 47 – stately three-sided estate; complex with single roof ridge, about 1830, five-axis house 1868
* Hauptstraße 48 – Protestant rectory; plastered building in Rundbogenstil
(round-arch style) is a nineteenth-century historic revival style of architecture popular in the German-speaking lands and the German diaspora. It combines elements of Byzantine, Romanesque, and Renaissance architecture with particula ...
, 1835/1836, architect Ferdinand Beyschlag, Kaiserslautern
* Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
graveyard, near Bergstraße 7 (monumental zone) – area bordered by hedge, opened in 1870, 57 gravestones
Regular events
Hinzweiler holds its kermis
Kermesse, or kermis, or kirmess, is a Dutch language term derived from 'kerk' (church) and 'mis' (mass) that became borrowed in English, French, Spanish and many other languages, originally denoting the mass said on the anniversary of the foundati ...
(church consecration festival) on the third weekend in October. No other special customs are known to be observed in the village.
Clubs
The following clubs are active in Hinzweiler:
*''Feuerwehrförderverein'' — fire brigade
A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...
promotional association
*''Förderverein der Ortsgemeinde'' — municipal promotional association
*''Karnevalverein'' — Carnival club
*''Kindergartenförderverein'' — kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...
promotional association
*''Königsbergverein mit Wanderhütte'' — hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
*''Krankenpflegeverein'' — nursing
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...
*''Landfrauenverein'' — countrywomen's club
*''Männergesangverein'' — men's singing club
*''Musikverein'' — music club
*''Pfälzerwaldverein'' — hiking
*''Schützenverein (Schützengilde Königsberg)'' — shooting sports
*''SPD-Ortsverein'' — Social Democratic Party of Germany local chapter
*''Sportverein'' — sport club
A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports.
Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
*''Verein der Freien Wählergruppe'' — Free Voter Group local chapter
Economy and infrastructure
Economic structure
Agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
is still an important branch of the economy in Hinzweiler even today. The biggest craft business in the village is one that lays floors. Among service-sector businesses are two 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 accommo ...
s and some full-time insurance
Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...
agencies. One dentist is in practice in the village. Another business in Hinzweiler buys, sells and restores antique furniture
A piece of antique furniture is a collectible interior furnishing of considerable age. Often the age, rarity, condition, utility, or other unique features make a piece of furniture desirable as a collectors' item, and thus termed an antique. ...
.
Education
Schooling experienced a general upswing beginning in the time of the Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
. As early as 1604, the ''Eßweiler Tal'' church community made an application to the Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river.
Name
The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; olde ...
government to hire a teacher who could teach the children Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, while a teacher for the “German school” had already been hired. If this actually did lead to the founding of a Latin school, it did not last very long. An end would have been put to it no later than the Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
(1618-1648). When no teacher was available to teach lessons in Hinzweiler in the late 16th century, the pastor had to take over the teaching duties. It is likely that a candidate for a pastoral post was hired as a teacher.
Records from 1762 show that Hinzweiler had not only a Reformed (Calvinist) school but also a Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
“main school”, that is to say, a school with year-round classes, supported by villages in the area that had Lutheran winter schools (schools geared towards an agricultural community's practical needs, held in the winter, when farm families had a bit more time to spare) with payments in money and kind. Hence, the Lutheran school in Hinzweiler received from Horschbach
Horschbach is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kusel-Altenglan, wh ...
one ''Malter'', three barrels and one ''Sester'' of corn (meaning rye in this case) and in cash, four Rhenish guilder
The Rhenish ''gulden'' or Rhenish ''guilder'' (german: Rheinischer Gulden; la, florenus Rheni) was a gold, standard currency coin of the Rhineland in the 14th and 15th centuries. They weighed between 3.4 and 3.8 grams ().
History
The Rhenish ...
s, 13 Batzen
The batzen is an historical Swiss, south German and Austrian coin. It was first produced in Berne, Switzerland, from 1492 and continued in use there until the mid-19th century.
Name
Bernese chronicler Valerius Anshelm explained the word fr ...
and seven Pfennig. The Reformed school in Hinzweiler was overseen then by an ecclesiastical school inspector (a clergyman) from Odenbach
Odenbach is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel (district), Kusel Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany ...
. In general there were not yet actual schoolhouses in the villages, and classes were conducted in private houses or on municipally owned premises. The first in Hinzweiler was built in 1844, and another was built in 1905. It is known from Bavarian times that beginning in 1840 Johann Adam Drumm, born on 26 March 1817 in Erdesbach
Erdesbach is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kusel-Altenglan, whose ...
, taught school in Hinzweiler after having been discharged from military service in 1839. He had a great many schoolchildren to teach in the original one-room school
One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...
house and thus he asked to be allowed to hire an assistant. Drumm was also a sexton, received a great deal of free firewood and was allowed to use the school's extensive lands. Among other things, he had the right to keep six wethers Wethers is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Brian Wethers
Brian Augustus Wethers (born December 17, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player. Wethers primarily played the small forward or shooting guard posi ...
. His rent and the benefits offered him actually worked out to only a small net amount afterwards. Adam Drumm died in November 1863. His successor was Friedrich Maurer, who was chosen by the municipality out of eight applicants.
In 1869, Maurer petitioned the Royal government for leave to marry Maria Eberhard from Kindenheim. Maurer's relationship with the municipality did not remain untroubled for long. There was a dispute over the service to the church, which Maurer no longer wanted to do. In 1870, a knitting school was opened. In 1913, the municipality hired a second teacher, and the schoolhouse had to be expanded. In 1934, the eighth grade level was to be introduced, but the Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
régime would not approve the application to do so. Today, primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
pupils and Hauptschule
A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...
students attend their respective schools in Wolfstein.[Education](_blank)
/ref>
Public institutions
Hinzweiler has one kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...
and an event and sport hall.
Transport
Hinzweiler lies 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 roads t ...
'' 372, which links Rothselberg to Offenbach-Hundheim
Offenbach-Hundheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Lauterecken-Wol ...
. North of the village, ''Landesstraße'' 368 branches off ''Landesstraße'' 372, forming a link to the east, by way of Aschbach to the Lauter valley. Another road that branches off, ''Landesstraße'' 368, leads from the village's south end by way of Horschbach
Horschbach is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kusel-Altenglan, wh ...
and Welchweiler to Altenglan
Altenglan is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kusel-Altenglan. Alten ...
. To the east runs ''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'' ...
'' 270. The nearest 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' ...
interchanges, at Kusel
Kusel (; written ''Cusel'' until 1865) is a town in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the Kusel-Altenglan ''Verbandsgemeinde'' and is also the district seat.
The well-known operatic tenor Fritz Wunderlich was ...
and Kaiserslautern, lie 18 km and 30 km away respectively. Serving Wolfstein's outlying centre of Reckweilerhof 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 ''Lautertalbahn
The Lauter Valley Railway (german: Lautertalbahn) is a branch line in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It runs from Kaiserslautern along the Lauter river to Lauterecken. The railway, which was opened in 1883, has only regional importan ...
'', roughly 8 km away.
Famous people
Sons and daughters of the town
* Simon Wolf
Simon Wolf (October 28, 1836 – June 4, 1923) was a United States businessman, lawyer, writer, diplomat and Jewish activist.
Biography
Wolf was born in Hinzweiler, Kingdom of Bavaria. He emigrated to the United States in 1848, making his home ...
(1836-1923), lawyer and politician in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
* Otto Schwarz (1876-1961), ''Musikant'' (''see below'')
Otto Schwarz
Born on 10 August 1876 in Hinzweiler as trumpeter Daniel Schwarz II's son, Otto Schwarz came into the world with his father's musical gift. He took piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
lessons and also learnt clarinet. His uncle later taught him the flute. At 14, he went on tour with his uncle's 20-man orchestra and played at the Royal Palace Garden resort hotel in Blackpool. When his uncle lost his engagement for political reasons, Otto Schwarz, then 22, and his brother founded a small string orchestra and went once again to England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, this time to Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
on the North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
coast. A year later, Schwarz and his entourage were hired as the town orchestra in Saltburn-by-the-Sea
Saltburn-by-the-Sea, commonly referred to as Saltburn, is a seaside town in Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England, around south-east of Hartlepool and southeast of Redcar.
It lies within the historic boundaries of the North Ridin ...
. In 1898, he and his orchestra went to Harrogate
Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa w ...
, where his father had died at the age of 35. Otto Schwarz soon became very popular in this spa town. After his wedding he rented a house in Harrogate; his wife cooked for the musicians. From 1910 to 1914, Otto Schwarz was a member of the ''Harrogater Flötenquartett De Young'', which was famous throughout England.
When the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
broke out, Otto Schwarz, together with his orchestra, was interned. He was sent to a barracks camp in the Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
, where he put together a 20-man-strong orchestra and a choir with 60 singers. His wife and their two children went back to Germany. In 1916, because of an eye complaint, Otto Schwarz was exchanged, and until the war ended, he worked at the Guß- & Armaturenwerk (ironworks) in Kaiserslautern. He received training as a dance teacher, and taught lessons. The income during the hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic
Hyperinflation affected the German Papiermark, the currency of the Weimar Republic, between 1921 and 1923, primarily in 1923. It caused considerable internal political instability in the country, the occupation of the Ruhr by France and Belgium, ...
and the Great Depression simply was not enough to live on; so Otto Schwarz once again went abroad, this time with the Circus Frankoni to Sweden. However, when his wife became ill, he gave up travelling in 1924, and was ever afterwards a dance teacher and headed the Hinzweiler singing club. He died in 1961 in Hinzweiler. His body of work is preserved at the ''Musikantenlandmuseum'' at Castle Lichtenberg.Otto Schwarz
/ref>
References
External links
Municipality’s official webpage
Hinzweiler in the collective municipality’s webpages
{{Authority control
Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate
Kusel (district)
Palatinate (region)
Holocaust locations in Germany