Niederweiler 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

Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis is a district (german: Kreis) in the middle of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The neighbouring districts are (from north clockwise) Mayen-Koblenz, Rhein-Lahn, Mainz-Bingen, Bad Kreuznach, Birkenfeld, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Coc ...

(

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 ...

) 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 ...

. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kirchberg, whose seat is in the like-named town.

Geography

Location

The municipality is residential and characterized by

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and lies 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 ...

roughly 1 km south of

Büchenbeuren Büchenbeuren is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' o ...

. Just beyond Büchenbeuren is Frankfurt-Hahn Airport. Niederweiler's municipal area measures 4.81 km², of which 1.45 km² is wooded.

History

There are a great many prehistoric and

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 ...

barrows on the ''Via Ausonia'', a

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

(called the ''Ausoniusstraße'' 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 **Ger ...

). Unearthed there in 1926 was a Roman site, apparently a grave monument from the 2nd century, with a hefty base and a balustraded enclosure. Some of the finds made there can now be found in the Bonn State Museum (''Bonner Landesmuseum''). This monument stood right next to a burial site (

chariot burial Chariot burials are tombs in which the deceased was buried together with their chariot, usually including their horses and other possessions. An instance of a person being buried with their horse (without the chariot) is called horse burial. Fin ...

) from Hallstatt times, roughly 600 to 500 BC, likely a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

prince's grave. Niederweiler was first officially mentioned in a document in 1279. A bell from 1756 hangs in the tower at the municipal building. Beginning in 1794, Niederweiler lay under French rule. In 1815 it was assigned to the Kingdom of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

at the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

. Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly founded state of

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 8 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: Tierced in mantle, gules an urn argent, chequy Or and azure, and gules two ears of wheat each leafed of one per saltire of the third. The silver urn on the dexter (armsbearer's right, viewer's left) side refers to the true Celtic

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

finds within Niederweiler's limits. The ears of wheat on the sinister (armsbearer's left, viewer's right) side stand for the municipality's

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

structure. The “chequy” pattern in the middle is a reference to the village's former allegiance to the

County of Sponheim The County of Sponheim (german: Grafschaft Sponheim, former spelling: Spanheim, Spanheym) was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire that lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century. The name comes from the municipality ...

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

The following are listed buildings or sites in

’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:Directory of Cultural Monuments in Rhein-Hunsrück district
/ref> * Hauptstraße 8/10 –

timber-frame 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 ...

semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced house ...

house, partly solid or slated, hipped

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...

, 18th century, timber-frame barn, marked 1888; whole complex of buildings

Other sites

* Roman grave monument from the 2nd century with a balustraded enclosure, unearthed in 1926 *

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 ...

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 ...

, modern building from 1914 to 1919

References

External links

Niederweiler in the collective municipality’s webpages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niederweiler, Rhein-Hunsruck Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis