The Leiningerland is an historic

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

in the

Palatinate region The Palatinate (german: Pfalz; Palatine German: ''Palz'') is a region of Germany. In the Middle Ages it was known as the Rhenish Palatinate (''Rheinpfalz'') and Lower Palatinate (''Unterpfalz''), which strictly speaking designated only the wes ...

in the German federal state 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 ...

. It is named after an aristocratic family that used to be the most important in the region, the

House 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 ...

Geography

The Leiningerland lies in northeast Palatinate, mostly in the county of

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 Wine ...

. Its area coincides with large parts of the collective municipalities of Hettenleidelheim and Grünstadt-Land as well as the town of

Grünstadt Grünstadt ( pfl, Grinnschdadt) is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with roughly 13,200 inhabitants. It does not belong to any ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – a kind of collective municipality – but is nonetheless th ...

. Also a part of the historic Leiningerland is the region around the town of Eisenberg, which is in the county of

Donnersbergkreis The Donnersbergkreis is a district (''Kreis'') in the middle of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach, Alzey-Worms, Bad Dürkheim (district), Bad Dürkheim, Kaiserslautern (district), Kaise ...

today. Its total area is just under 200 km². The region does not have a uniform topography, but shares in three

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...

features: the

Central Uplands The Central UplandsDickinson (1964), p.18 ff. (german: die MittelgebirgeN.B. In German die ''Mittelgebirge'' (plural) refers to the Central Uplands; das ''Mittelgebirge'' refers to a low mountain range or upland region (''Mittel'' = "medium" and ...

, the

Rhine Rift Valley The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben (German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the so ...

and the

Rhine Plain The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben (German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the s ...

. the Leiningerland extends from the northeastern foothills of the Palatine Forest in the west across the northern part of the German Wine Road near

Dirmstein Dirmstein ( pfl, Dermschdää) is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With its roughly 3,000 inhabitants, ...

in the east, where the

vineyards A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

spread out into the

Upper Rhine Plain The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben (German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the s ...

. The village of Dirmstein itself, which is today included in the Leinigerland, was never owned by the House of Leiningen, however. Depending on altitude - about 400 metres in the west to about 100 metres to the east - the climate of the different areas also varies. The soils in the area of the fault scarp benefit from fertile

loess Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits. Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...

deposits whilst, in places, there are steep rock faces on the scarp slopes which are a result of

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

and which are now classified as

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, nat ...

s and

biotope A biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of plants and animals. ''Biotope'' is almost synonymous with the term "habitat", which is more commonly used in English-speaking countrie ...

s. The Leinigerland is drained by two,

orographic Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader discipl ...

ally left-hand

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

: the Eckbach and den Eisbach.

History

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 a ...

, the Eckbach stream was called the ''Leinbach'', which referred to the so-called ''Leinbaum'' or Norway maple. At that time, both the

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

and the

large-leaved lime ''Tilia platyphyllos'', the large-leaved lime or large-leaved linden, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae (Tiliaceae). It is a deciduous tree, native to much of Europe, including locally in southwestern Great Britain, growing ...

occurred locally, especially on the banks of the Eckbach. The old name of the stream may have been the origin of the name given to the castle seat of the

, probably

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

nobles who came from the area of the upper Eckbach and whose coat of arms bore a lime tree. The castle was called the Leiningen, but is known today as Altleiningen Castle. Records of its occupation go back at least to the early 12th century - to Count Emich II (died before 1138). Not certain, but probable, is that his predecessor, Emich I, was also his father. Many communities, both locally and further afield, bearn the silver eagle of the Leiningens in their municipal coat of arms. The most important lords in the area until the Early Modern Era, apart from the Leiningens, were the electors of the Palatinate and the prince-bishops of Worms. French troops caused great destruction under General Mélac during the

War of the Palatine Succession The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarc ...

(1689–1697). The Leiningerland was also heavily influenced by Bavarian rule of the Palatinate, which lasted from 1816 to the end of 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 opposin ...

Sights

Altleiningen Castle "above" the

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

village recalls the Leiningen lords, as does

Neuleiningen Castle Neuleiningen Castle is a ruin on the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany in the municipality of Neuleiningen in the Bad Dürkheim district. It was built in 1238-41 by Count Frederick III of L ...

, 5 kilometres to the northeast in the centre of the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

of the same name. Both castles have been partially restored. Today, Altleiningen Castle is home to a

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ba ...

, an open-air swimming pool in the old castle

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

and the "professional amateur theatre" of the Altleiningen Castle Players (''Burgspiele Altleiningen''). The remains of other Leiningen castles are in Battenberg, where there was once a castle of the same name, and in Bockenheim where Emichsburg Castle stands. File:Burg Altleiningen Schwimmbad.JPG, Altleiningen Castle File:Burg Neuleiningen Bergfried.JPG, Neuleiningen Castle File:Battenberg.JPG, Battenberg Castle File:Emichsburg.JPG, The Emichsburg In the Altleiningen village of Höningen are various elements of the Augustinian canon church of St. Peter and the former Höningen Latin School as well as the Romanesque Church of St. James. Near Neuleiningen Castle lies the ''Alte Pfarrey'' ("Old Vicarage"), in which one of the leading restaurants in the Palatinate is housed. File:Gruenderzeithaus Hettenleidelheim.jpg, A ''

Gründerzeit (; "founders' period") was the economic phase in 19th-century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. In Central Europe, the age of industrialisation had been taking place since the 1840s. That period is not precisely ...

'' villa in Hettenleidelheim File:St.jacob.jpg, Romanesque Church of St. James in Höningen File:Grünstadt stilisiert um 1680.JPG, Grünstadt around 1680 (wood painting) File:Grünstadter um 1800 JS.jpg, Grünstadt around 1800 (decorative plate) St Lawrence's Church in Dirmstein is a fine example of

baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the early 17th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means t ...

. It was built from 1742 to 1746 by Franz Rothermel to modified plans from the famous church architect,

Balthasar Neumann Johann Balthasar Neumann (; 27 January 1687 (?) – 19 August 1753), usually known as Balthasar Neumann, was a German architect and military artillery engineer who developed a refined brand of Baroque architecture, fusing Austrian, Bohemian, Ita ...

, as a

simultaneum A shared church (german: Simultankirche), simultaneum mixtum, a term first coined in 16th-century Germany, is a church in which public worship is conducted by adherents of two or more religious groups. Such churches became common in the German-sp ...

. Nearby, in the historic centre, are three restored palace-like manor houses: the Sturmfedersches Schloss, the Koeth-Wanscheidsches Schloss and the Quadtsches Schloss, as well as two

English garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

s in the ''

schloss ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cognate ...

'' park and the cellar garden. The town of Grünstadt and the municipalities of

Großkarlbach Großkarlbach 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 Großkarlbach lies near the ...

and

Neuleiningen Neuleiningen 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 On a foothill near the northe ...

have picturesque centres with numerous

timber-framed Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

buildings. File:2006 Dirmstein-Laurentiuskirche-Süd.jpg, Dirmstein: St. Lawrence Church... File:2006 Dirmstein-Sturmfeder-Schloss retouched.jpg, ...Sturmfedersches Schloss File:2008-Dirmstein-Koeth-Wanscheid-Schloss-Norden-032.jpg, ...Koeth-Wanscheidsches Schloss File:2006 Dirmstein-Quad-Schloss.jpg, ...Quadtsches Schloss The Eckbach Mill Path, which was created in 1997 on the initiative of the

Kleinkarlbach Kleinkarlbach 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 The municipality is a winegr ...

mill researcher, Wolfgang Niederhöfer, runs for 23 kilometres along the Eckbach stream and past 23 old

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production o ...

s from southwest to northeast through the Leiningerland. In 2007 in the Großkarlbach village mill the Leiningerland Mill Museum (''Mühlenmuseum Leiningerland'') was opened. From a hydro-engineering perspective the 20-Pipe Well of Altleiningen is important; it is fed from a mine gallery which was driven deep into the rock around 1600 in order to supply the castle. Today, the well delivers most of the water for the Eckbach. File:Neuleiningen Kirche von Osten.JPG, St.Nikolaus in Neuleiningen File:Neuleiningen Fachwerkhaus Obergasse.JPG, Timber-framed houses in Neuleiningen File:2006 Dirmstein-Eckbachweg.jpg, Eckbach Mill Path File:2006 Dirmstein-Eckbach-Laumersheim.jpg, The Eckbach and the Laumersheim File:2007.0601.03 Dorfmuehle Grosskarlbach.jpg, Großkarlbach village mill and mill museum The upper reaches of the Eisbach and its valley, the ''Eistal'', which is natural in places, also flow through the Leiningerland. Its main attractions are the 6 hectare reservoir of the

Eiswoog The Eiswoog is a reservoir, roughly six hectares in area, on the Eisbach stream, locally also called ''die Eis'', in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is oriented from south to north in the water meadows near the source of the stream i ...

, the bridges of the regional

Eis Valley Railway The Eis Valley Railway (german: Eistalbahn) is a branch line in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, that runs through the Palatine Forest. It runs from Grünstadt in a southwesterly direction through the valley of the Eisbach (or "Eis") to ...

, the local

Stumpfwald Railway The Stumpfwald Railway (german: Stumpfwaldbahn) is a narrow gauge heritage railway that has operated since 1996 in the Stumpfwald, a woodland area in the north of the Palatine Forest in the municipality of Ramsen. Course The western en ...

, which is a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

heritage line A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

that carries tourists through the forest, and, near Eisenberg, archaeological site of a

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 letter ...

vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus r ...

and the protected landscape of Erdekaut. There are several old churches dating to Romanesque and

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 ...

periods, especially on the middle course of the Eisbach. File:Eiswoog.jpg, The Eiswoog in the Stumpfwald forest near Ramsen File:Eiswooglrp-2.jpg, The Eis Valley Viaduct on the Eis Valley Railway File:Stumpfwaldbahn Lok.jpg, Train on the Stumpfwald Railway In addition to the mill museum in Großkarlbach there are also the Hettenleidelheim Local History Museum (''Heimatmuseum Hettenleidelheim'', clay mining), the

Quirnheim Quirnheim ( Palatine German: ''Querem'') is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It lies in the northwest o ...

Museum of Technology (''Technikmuseum Quirnheim'', bicycles), the museum in the castle tower at Neuleiningen (castle history,

stoneware Stoneware is a rather broad term for pottery or other ceramics fired at a relatively high temperature. A modern technical definition is a Vitrification#Ceramics, vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refracto ...

manufacturing, gallery of local artist, Simon Conradi) and the museum in the Old Town Hall (''Altes Rathaus'') at Grünstadt (Counts of Leiningen, stoneware manufacture,

brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

, paintings by Johann Adam Schlesinger).

Events

The Leiningerland is heavily dependent on

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

; its vineyards being part of the

Palatinate wine region Palatinate (german: Pfalz) is a German wine-growing region (''Weinbaugebiet'') in the area of Bad Dürkheim, Neustadt an der Weinstraße, and Landau in Rhineland-Palatinate. Before 1993, it was known as Rhine Palatinate (''Rheinpfalz''). With un ...

. During the warmer months, a festival takes place almost every weekend somewhere - be it a

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

, kermesse or

wine festival Annual wine festivals celebrate viticulture and usually occur after the harvest of the grapes which, in the northern hemisphere, generally falls at the end of September and runs until well into October or later. They are common in most wine regio ...

. The best known nationally is probably the Kändelgassenfest in Großkarlbach. Every year, the ''Wine Countess of the Leiningerland'' is selected, who then represents the region at events and festivals in the next twelve months. One of the wine countesses, Sylvia Benzinger, later also became the

Palatine Wine Queen The Palatine Wine Queen (german: Pfälzische Weinkönigin), sometimes also called the Palatinate Wine Queen, is the annually elected representative of the Palatine wine region, one of currently 13 recognized wine regions in Germany. She is eligible ...

and

German Wine Queen The German Wine Queen (german: Deutsche Weinkönigin) is the representative of the German wine industry. The Wine Queen is supported by two princesses, forming together the German Wine Ambassadors. She is elected, usually in the Palatine town ...

. Every year in early October - usually on

German Unity Day German Unity Day (german: Tag der Deutschen Einheit) is the National Day of Germany, celebrated on 3 October as a public holiday. It commemorates German reunification in 1990 when the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) joined the Federal R ...

- the "Car-Free Eis Valley Day of Action" attracts many visitors to the region. The L 395 road, which runs from Asselheim through the Eise valley to Enkenbach, is closed to

motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on Track (rail transport), rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of pe ...

s for the whole of one Sunday and the valley is open exclusively to pedestrians, usually hikers, and to cyclists. Every October since 1953 there has been a Palatine language poetry competition at Bockenheim. The Kirchheim Winter Concert was established in 1990 and takes place in St Andrew's Church in Kirchheim. Its founder and artistic director is the

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing thr ...

and International Bach Prizewinner,

Dominik Wörner Dominik Wörner (born 1970) is a German classical bass singer in concert, Lied and opera. He is a specialist in Baroque music, especially works by Bach, but is open to music of other eras including contemporary music. Career Born in Grünst ...

. The focus of the concert series is on

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classical m ...

. File:Haus-der-Deutschen-Weinstrasse.jpg, Haus der Deutschen Weinstraße in Bockenheim File:2006-Dirmstein-Riesling-Weinberg.jpg,

Riesling Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...

vineyard near Dirmstein File:2006 Dirmstein-Kelter.jpg, Celtic replica by master cooper, Emil Steigner File:Sylvia Benzinger-Ausschnitt.jpg, German Wine Queen, Sylvia Benzinger (2005)

External links

Website of the Leiningerland Tourism Association – The Gateway to the Palatinate

Website of the concert series Kirchheimer Konzertwinter
{{coord missing, Rhineland-Palatinate Historical regions in Germany Regions of Rhineland-Palatinate Anterior Palatinate Former states and territories of Rhineland-Palatinate