The Modenbach is a stream, just under {{convert, 30, km long, and a right-hand tributary of the

Speyerbach The Speyerbach is a left tributary of the Rhine in the Palatinate part of Rhineland-Palatinate. In Speyer, the river split into ''Gießhübelbach'' and ''Woogbach''. The Woogbach changes its name to ''Nonnenbach'', then flows into Gießhübe ...

in the German 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 ...

Course

The Modenbach rises in the Palatine Forest east of the

Palatine Watershed The Palatine Watershed (german: Pfälzische Hauptwasserscheide) forms the main drainage divide in the Palatinate between the Upper Rhine and the Middle Rhine, the two successive sections of the river Rhine that flow through the German state of R ...

at a height of about 460 m. Its source lies a kilometre south of the forester's lodge, ''Forsthaus Heldenstein'', on a

saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...

between the Steigerkopf (613.6 m) to the east and the ''Pfaffenkopf'' (566.0 m) to the west. Initially heading in a southeasterly direction, but subsequently turning eastwards, the Modenbach flows through the valley named after it towards the gently rolling vineyard country by the

German Wine Route The German Wine RouteScheunemann J., Stewart J., Walker N. and Williams C. (2011), ''Back Roads Germany'', Dorling Kindersley, London. . or Wine Road (german: Deutsche Weinstraße) is the oldest of Germany's tourist wine routes. Located in the ...

. It reaches them above the village of

Hainfeld Hainfeld is a municipality in the district of Lilienfeld in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Geography Hainfeld is situated on the Gölsen River in the Southeast Lower Austria. It's the biggest city in Gölsen Valley (''Gölsental''). The ...

, after having broken through the rim of the low mountain range between the

Teufelsberg Teufelsberg (; German for ''Devil's Mountain'') is a non-natural hill in Berlin, Germany, in the Grunewald locality of former West Berlin. It rises about above the surrounding Teltow plateau and above the sea level, in the north of Berlin's Gr ...

(right; 597.6 m) and the

Blättersberg The Blättersberg near Rhodt unter Rietburg in the Rhenish-Palatine county of Südliche Weinstraße is a mountain, , in the Palatine Forest in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The mountain has a north summit (613.2 m) and a south ...

(left; 613.2 m). Below Hainfeld it turns northeast and, passing

Edesheim Edesheim is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Euro ...

, the stream leaves the hill country and flows through the western part of 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 ...

. Three kilometres below Freisbach it is joined from the right by its largest tributary, the ''Bruchbach''. After another 5½ kilometres the Modenbach discharges from the right into the Speyerbach on the southeastern edge of the municipality of

Hanhofen Hanhofen is a municipality in the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Sister-city * Kondoros, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bord ...

Transport

In Edesheim the Modenbach is crossed by the B 38 federal highway and the

Palatine Maximilian Railway A palatine or palatinus (in Latin; plural ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times.

, both of which run from

Landau Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990 ...

to Neustadt. One kilometre to the east the A 65 motorway, from

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning " Ludwig's Port upon Rhine"), is a city in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the river Rhine, opposite Mannheim. With Mannheim, Heidelberg, and the surrounding region, it form ...

, crosses the stream. On Sundays, the no. 506 railway service runs through the valley, starting at Edenkoben station.

Sights and culture

Structures

Sights in the area of the upper Modenback include the ruins of

Meistersel Castle Meistersel Castle is a ruined castle near Ramberg on the outskirts of the Palatinate Forest in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is located on a 492-metre-high hilltop that towers above the Modenbach valley near the Three Beeches pass ('' Drei ...

on the right bank, and the mill of Buschmühle near the village of

Weyher Weyher is a surname. Notable persons with that name include: * Harry F. Weyher Jr. (1921–2002), American lawyer *Hein-Peter Weyher (born 1935), German Navy officer *Kurt Weyher (1901–1991), German admiral *Ruth Weyher (1901-1983), German actres ...

. The mill was first mentioned in 1603 and worked until 1958. The

classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

main building of the ''Buschmühle'', converted in 1838 into the style of a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

, has been used as a restaurant since 1900 and is also used as a training centre for gastronomy today. In Edesheim is the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, the little, late

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

castle ''Schloss Kupperwolf'', and the castle ''Schloss Edesheim'', built in

medieval 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, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

times but later converted into a

water castle A water castle is a castle whose site is largely defended by water. It can be entirely surrounded by water-filled moats (moated castle) or natural waterbodies such as island castles in a river or offshore. The term comes from European castle st ...

for the prince-bishops of Speyer. Today it hosts the Edesheim Castle Festival (''Edesheimer Schlossfestspiele''), which includes open-air performances on the lake stage by the castle pond, fed by the Modebach.

Viewing points

The edge of the mountain range north of Hainfeld offers viewing points from a height of 600 metres above sea level over the Rhine Plain below. These include the Ludwig Tower on the Blättersberg or the

Rietburg The Rietburg is a ruined hillside castle on the edge of the Palatinate Forest above the village of Rhodt unter Rietburg, Rhodt in the county of Südliche Weinstrasse in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The remains of this castle are loca ...

, which is served by a

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They ...

. Below the Rietburg the little ''schloss'' of

Villa Ludwigshöhe Villa Ludwigshöhe is a former summer residence of Ludwig I of Bavaria overlooking Edenkoben and Rhodt unter Rietburg in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Villa Ludwigshöhe is located at the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest, ...

was built in the 19th century for the

King of Bavaria King of Bavaria was a title held by the hereditary Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria in the state known as the Kingdom of Bavaria from 1805 until 1918, when the kingdom was abolished. It was the second time Bavaria was a kingdom, almost a thousand ...

Roman Catholic 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 ...

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

s take place from

Burrweiler Burrweiler is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. References

Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate Südliche Weinstraße {{SüdlicheWeinstraße-geo-stub ...

to the

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

St. Anne According to Christianity, Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Gospel#Canonical gospels, canonical gospels. ...

on the southeastern slopes of the Teufelsberg.

References