Leimen is a municipality in the district of

Südwestpfalz Südwestpfalz is a district (''Kreis'' or more precise ''Landkreis'') in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Saarpfalz, the district-free city Zweibrücken, the districts Kaiserslautern and Ba ...

in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

state of

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 is located between the cities of

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...

and

Pirmasens Pirmasens (; pfl, Bärmesens (also ''Bermesens'' or ''Bärmasens'')) is an independent town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It was famous for the manufacture of shoes. The surrounding rural district was called ''Lan ...

, and is situated in the heart of the Pfaelzerwald (Palatinate Forest). Leimen belongs to the municipal association of

Rodalben Rodalben () is a municipality in the Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Palatinate forest, approx. 5 km northeast of Pirmasens. Rodalben is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective munic ...

. Leimen was founded before 1152 under the auspices of 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 ...

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

Herbitzheim Herbitzheim () is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Herbitzheim is one of 45 member communes of the Communauté de communes de l'Alsace Bossue. Location The village is located in the north west of Als ...

. Possession of Leimen later passed to the

Counts of Leiningen The House of Leiningen is the name of an old German noble family whose lands lay principally in Alsace, Lorraine, Saarland, Rhineland, and the Palatinate. Various branches of this family developed over the centuries and ruled counties with Impe ...

, who administered the region from their seat at

Gräfenstein Castle Gräfenstein Castle (german: Burg Gräfenstein) is a ruined rock castle about east of the village of Merzalben in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is in the county of Südwestpfalz within the Palatine Forest and is often called ''Mer ...

References

*''850 Jahre Leimen - Die Geschichte einer Gemeinde in Pfaelzerwald'', 2002 Palatinate Forest Südwestpfalz {{Südwestpfalz-geo-stub