Kirschweiler is an ''

Ortsgemeinde A Verbandsgemeinde (; plural Verbandsgemeinden) is a low-level administrative division, administrative unit in the Germany, German States of Germany, federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A Verbandsgemeinde is typically compose ...

'' – 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. Rhineland- ...

'', a kind of collective municipality – in the

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

district 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 counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

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''

Herrstein-Rhaunen Herrstein-Rhaunen is a ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") in the district of Birkenfeld, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' is in Herrstein. It was formed on 1 January 2020 by the merger of the former ...

, whose seat is in

Herrstein Herrstein is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Herrstein-Rhau ...

Geography

Location

The municipality lies a few kilometres northwest of

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 ...

in the

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

. The municipal area is 56% wooded.

Neighbouring municipalities

Kirschweiler's neighbours besides Idar-Oberstein are

Hettenrodt Hettenrodt is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Herrstein-Rhaunen, ...

and

Kempfeld Kempfeld is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld (district), Birkenfeld Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate ...

with its outlying centre of Katzenloch.

Constituent communities

Also belonging to Kirschweiler are the outlying homesteads of Auf der Lüh und Kirschweiler Mühle.

History

In 1272, Kirschweiler had its first documentary mention.

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected by

majority vote A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

might in English

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

language be described thus: Per bend azure a diamond with one row of brilliants and Or a lion rampant gules armed and langued of the first.

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> *

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

church, Schulstraße –

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 fro ...

with

ridge turret A ridge turret is a turret or small tower constructed over the ridge or apex between two or more sloping roofs of a building. It is usually built either as an architectural ornament for purely decorative purposes or else for the practical housing ...

, armorial stone, 1739/1740; two

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

bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...

s, 1924 * Hauptstraße, graveyard – three older gravestones (1855, about 1910, 1920) * Hauptstraße 22 – villalike Late Historicist residential and commercial house * Hauptstraße 27 – house with

knee wall A knee wall is a short wall, typically under three feet (one metre) in height, used to support the rafters in timber roof construction. In his book ''A Visual Dictionary of Architecture'', Francis D. K. Ching defines a knee wall as "a short wall ...

, about 1910; gem-cutting workshop * Schulstraße 8 – 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 compuls ...

;

Baroque Revival The Baroque Revival, also known as Neo-Baroque (or Second Empire architecture in France and Wilhelminism in Germany), was an architectural style of the late 19th century. The term is used to describe architecture and architectural sculptur ...

building with hipped roof, portal risalto, ridge turret, 1910-1924 * Across from Tampelstraße 8 – gem-cutting shop, about 1910; equipment partly preserved Kirschweiler offers, among other things, a few gem-cutting shops that can be visited, a vast

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

(''Golf Club Edelstein Hunsrück e.V.'') and two gemstone fountains in the village centre.

Regular events

Each year, Kirschweiler holds the ''Burekirb'' (a fair).

Clubs

Among Kirschweiler’s clubs are ''TuS Kirschweiler'' (with

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, among other things), ''MGV Kirschweiler'' (men’s singing club) and ''SV Kirschweiler'' (shooting). Zur Vereinsstruktur in Kirschweiler gehören der TuS Kirschweiler (u.a. Fußball), der MGV Kirschweiler (Gesangsverein), der SV Kirschweiler (Schützenverein), u.v.m..

Economy and infrastructure

The wealth of water in the Idarbach, which flows through the valley here was the basis for the village’s development into the “Village of the Gemstone Grinders”. Even today, Kirschweiler's economic life is characterized by gemstone grinders’ and goldsmiths’ businesses. Defining landmarks in the municipality are the two gemstone fountains in the village centre and the crystal fountain at Hans-Becker-Halle. On Kirschweiler's outskirts is a seniors’ home sponsored by the ''Elisabeth-Stiftung'' (“Elisabeth Foundation”, named after Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg) with 63 places and a further 6 places for

assisted living An assisted living residence or assisted living facility (ALF) is a housing facility for people with disabilities or for adults who cannot or who choose not to live independently. The term is popular in the United States, but the setting is s ...

References

External links

Municipality’s official webpage
{{Authority control Birkenfeld (district)