Lambrecht is a town in the
Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim () is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration, and is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
Location
Bad Dürkheim lies at the edge of Palatinate Forest on the German Win ...
district 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 ...
lying roughly 6 km northwest of
Neustadt an der Weinstraße. It is the seat of the
like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde''.
Geography
Location
The municipality lies in the
Palatinate, and indeed in the middle of the
Palatinate Forest. It is crossed by the river Speyerbach. The municipality's highest mountain is the Kaisergarten at 519 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 ...
.
Land use
Lambrecht's 8.32 km² is distributed as follows:
History
In 977, Lambrecht had its first documentary mention. Duke Otto of
Worms Worms may refer to:
*Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs
Places
*Worms, Germany
Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...
(
Otto I, Duke of Carinthia
Otto I (c. 950 – 4 November 1004), called Otto of Worms, a member of the Salian dynasty, was Duke of Carinthia from 978 to 985 and again from 1002 until his death.
Biography
Otto was the only son of Conrad the Red, Duke of Lotharingia, and Liu ...
) endowed the
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
Convent of Saint Lambrecht for the village of Grevenhausen. The convent was dissolved in 1553. In 1568, the disused convent's buildings together with houses, church and cropfields was turned over as an asylum by
Frederick III, Elector Palatine to
Walloons
Walloons (; french: Wallons ; wa, Walons) are a Gallo-Romance ethnic group living native to Wallonia and the immediate adjacent regions of France. Walloons primarily speak '' langues d'oïl'' such as Belgian French, Picard and Walloon. Wall ...
who had been driven from their homeland.
In 1838 or 1839, the two neighbouring villages of St Lambrecht and Grevenhausen merged. On 25 August 1849, Lambrecht became a stop on the
railway
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 pre ...
when the Neustadt-Frankenstein section of the
Palatinate Ludwig Railway was opened, completing the Rhein-Saar line for coal transport. Since 21 December 1887, Lambrecht has held town rights. On 1 March 1972, the
''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Lambrecht was formed. Administrative activities were assumed on 1 January 1973.
Religion
Lambrecht has an autonomous
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 ...
parish (Sacred Heart of Jesus/Herz Jesu). The Catholic parish is the sponsor of the St Lambertus daycare centre. The pastor in the parish community tends not only Lambrecht but also the municipalities of Lindenberg, Neidenfels-Frankeneck and Weidenthal-Frankenstein. The Lambrecht parish is part of the parish league of Neustadt (Weinstraße) in the deaconry of Bad Dürkheim and belongs to the Diocese of Speyer.
Together with the neighbouring centre of
Lindenberg there exists a
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. Lambrecht is part of the Protestant deaconry of Neustadt in 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 ...
.
In 2007, 43.8% of the inhabitants were
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 ...
and 30.4%
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 ...
. The rest belonged to other faiths or adhered to none.
Politics
Town council
The council is made up of 20 council members, who were elected at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: '
The town's
arms 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: Per fess sable a lion passant Or armed, langued and crowned gules, and vert three lambs argent passant.
The arms were granted on 21 December 1887 by
Bavarian Prince Regent Luitpold and go back to a seal from 1707, although compositions involving the same
charge
Charge or charged may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* '' Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary
Music
* ''Charge'' (David Ford album)
* ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album)
* ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...
s go back to 1583. Several versions are known from the intervening time. One also showed the lion holding a book in his paws to symbolize the University of Heidelberg, which was the local landlord after 1553. The upper field in the
escutcheon shows the Palatine Lion, although here passant (walking) instead of
rampant
In heraldry, the term attitude describes the ''position'' in which a figure (animal or human) is emblazoned as a charge, a supporter, or as a crest. The attitude of an heraldic figure always precedes any reference to the tincture of the figure ...
(rearing up). This stands for the town's former allegiance to
Electoral Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
. The sheep – or rather lambs, as the German blazon stipulates – symbolize the wool industry that throve here after the Walloon refugees arrived in the 16th century. They are also
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 name Lambrecht (“lamb” is ''Lamm'' 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 ...
).
Culture and sightseeing
Buildings and other manmade monuments
* Karl-Marx-Straße 14 – the building that thus far has the earliest dating (1606)
* Wallonenstraße 11 – guildhall from 1607/1608 – restored 2004–06 – today town hall of the town of Lambrecht
* ''Untermühle'' (“Lower Mill”) – from 1743 (near the bridge across the Speyerbach on Fabrikstraße)
* Dominican nuns’ former convent church – today a Protestant church, begun in 1320
* Catholic Parish Church ''Herz Jesu'' (“Heart of Jesus”) – oldest parts from 1750, quire, nave and tower from 1953
* so-called ''Post''-Turm (tower) – built in 1884 by commercial councillor Carl Marx on the model of
Miramare
Miramare Castle ( it, Castello di Miramare; es, Castillo de Miramar; german: Schloss Miramar; sl, Grad Miramar) is a 19th-century castle direct on the Gulf of Trieste between Barcola and Grignano in Trieste, northeastern Italy. It was built ...
near
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...
.
* Villa Marx
* Villa Haas
*
Organ by Johann Georg Geib from 1777 in the Protestant church (former convent church)
* Dicker-Stein-Turm – lookout tower on the Hoher Kopf (Schauerberg)
*
Edith Stein
Edith Stein (religious name Saint Teresia Benedicta a Cruce ; also known as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross or Saint Edith Stein; 12 October 1891 – 9 August 1942) was a German Jewish philosopher who converted to Christianity and became a ...
memorial site
* Glaß-Art-Collection
[Thus spelt in the German source text (de:WP).]
Natural monuments
* Teufelsfelsen (“Devil’s Cliffs”) – cliff plateau with wonderful view
Regular events
* ''Eierpicken'' on Easter Monday at Pickplatz – This is an Easter custom that involves a contest in which players attempt to shell each other's Easter eggs – each using his or her own egg as the “weapon”.
* Delivery of the tribute billygoat to
Deidesheim
Deidesheim ( pfl, Daisem) is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with some 3,700 inhabitants.
The town lies in the northwest of the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration and since 1973 it has been the seat of the ''V ...
on
Whit Tuesday
Whit Tuesday (syn. ''Whittuesday'', ''Whitsun Tuesday'') is the Christian holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost Monday, the third day of the week beginning on Pentecost. Pentecost is a movable feast in the Christian calendar dependent upon ...
as part of the ''Geißbockversteigerung'' (
“Billygoat Auction”)
* ''Geißbock-Festspiel'' at Marxparkplatz on Fabrikstraße across the street from the Jahnwiese sporting ground
* Lambrechter Geißbock-Kerwe (fair), each year on the first Saturday in August
* ''Sommerliche Abendmusiken'' (“Summertime Evening Music”) in the former convent church
* Advent market
* Every other year: industrial fair for commercial operations in Lambrecht and the surrounding area
* Geißbock MTB-Marathon
Economy and infrastructure
Economy
For a long time, Lambrecht was said to be a clothmaking town. With the
Huguenots
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
, or more precisely the
Walloons
Walloons (; french: Wallons ; wa, Walons) are a Gallo-Romance ethnic group living native to Wallonia and the immediate adjacent regions of France. Walloons primarily speak '' langues d'oïl'' such as Belgian French, Picard and Walloon. Wall ...
from
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
who migrated here in the 16th century, a flourishing clothmaking industry grew up in Lambrecht. Thus it was that on Wallonenstraße, a street in Lambrecht's town centre, a genuine clothmaking centre with many hand-weaving businesses sprang up.
Witnessing this time is the ''Zunfthaus'' (“Guildhall”) from 1606/1607 with its oriel window. The stately building goes back to a wealthy Walloon immigrant.
After the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, many businesses did not make the leap to factory scale. Nevertheless, in 1931 there were still nine cloth factories in town, and only in the 1960s did clothmaking finally die out as an industry.
Today, one former cloth factory makes felts, paper machine clothing and needled felts. In another former cloth factory, special switching devices are made, which have been successfully marketed worldwide. Moreover, a multifaceted midsize supply industry has developed.
Besides these operations,
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...
and, to a far lesser extent,
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...
are also among the town's economic factors. The town also has at its disposal a variety of shopping places, craft businesses and service industries that fulfil daily demands.
Education
Located in Lambrecht are three
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 ...
s and two general-education schools.
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 ...
and
Realschule
''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), ...
functions are integrated into the Regional School.
Gymnasien can be found in the bigger neighbouring town of
Neustadt an der Weinstraße. Dealing in adult education are the
folk high school
Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule;' ...
and the ''Pfalzakademie'' (“Palatinate Academy”).
Kindergartens
* “Arche Noah”
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 ...
kindergarten
* “St. Lambertus”
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 ...
kindergarten
* “Rappelkiste” municipal kindergarten
* Nursery for schoolchildren at the Evangelical kindergarten
Schools
* Grundschule Lambrecht (
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 ...
)
* Regionale Schule Lambrecht (
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 ...
/
Realschule
''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), ...
)
* Volkshochschule Verbandsgemeinde Lambrecht (
folk high school
Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule;' ...
)
Transport
* Lambrecht lies on the Palatinate
Way of St. James (
Speyer
Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...
–
Hornbach), an old
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
route.
* The ''Kuckucksbähnel''
heritage railway (
Neustadt an der Weinstraße–
Elmstein
Elmstein is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
Location
Elmstein lies in the Palatinate ...
) also stops at Lambrecht
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 ...
.
*
RheinNeckar S-Bahn with lines S1 and S2 runs on the ''Pfälzische Ludwigsbahn''.
* ''
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'' ...
'' 39 runs through town.
Famous people
Sons and daughters of the town
* Ludwig Louis (1814–1894), politician
* Heinrich Lieser (1879−?), politician (SPD)
* Hermann Alker (1885–1967), architect
* Rudolf Röhrig (1903–1970), politician (NSDAP)
Famous people associated with the town
*Dr. Bernhard Würschmitt (21 November 1788 - 18 June 1853) was a Catholic priest and famous artist (painter, sculptor, etc.). He held office as Grevenhausen's parish priest from 1826 to 1828. From his hand came the high altar painting ''Kreuzigung Christi'' (“Christ’s
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...
”), the oil painting ''Maria Immaculata'' and an extraordinary pulpit-confessional, which are all to be found at Lambrecht's Catholic church.
*Kurt Faber (1883–1929), adventurer, travel writer; spent his youth in Lambrecht.
*Bernhard Kimmel (1936– ), criminal (“Al Capone of the Palatinate”), grew up in Lambrecht.
*Lambrecht (Surname), various peoples whom immigrated into the Russian Volga River valley. Soon after, Lambrechts immigrated to the United States, Argentina, and South Africa. They are most frequent in the U.S. state of Colorado.
Further reading
Stadtchronik:''Hans Fell: 1000 Jahre Lambrecht – Chronik einer Stadt.'' Edeldruck Lambrecht GmbH & Co. KG., Lambrecht (Pfalz) 1978
Die nahezu vergriffene Stadtchronik hat 2 Hauptautoren. Außer Hans Fell ist deshalb vorrangig auch Dr. Ernst Collofong zu nennen.
References
External links
*
Lambrecht in the district’s Web pages
Edith Stein memorial site
{{Authority control
Towns in Rhineland-Palatinate
Palatinate Forest
Bad Dürkheim (district)