The Odenbach is a
orographically
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 discip ...
right bank
tributary
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 ...
of the
Glan in the counties 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
Kusel
Kusel (; written ''Cusel'' until 1865) is a town in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the Kusel-Altenglan ''Verbandsgemeinde'' and is also the district seat.
The well-known operatic tenor Fritz Wunderlich was ...
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 ...
.
Geography
Course
The Odenbach rises about north 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 ...
in the
North Palatine Uplands
The North Palatine Uplands (german: Nordpfälzer Bergland), sometimes shortened to Palatine Uplands (''Pfälzer Bergland''), is a low mountain range and landscape unit in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and belongs mainly to the Palat ...
near the hamlet of
Sonnenhof. It flows – mainly in a north-northwesterly direction – through the municipalities of
Schneckenhausen,
Schallodenbach and
Niederkirchen in the county of Kaiserslautern and through
Hefersweiler,
Reipoltskirchen,
Ginsweiler
Ginsweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Lauterecken-Wolfstein.
...
and
Adenbach
Adenbach is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Lauterecken-Wolfstein.
Ge ...
in the county of Kusel, before emptying into the Glan in the eponymous village of
Odenbach
Odenbach is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel (district), Kusel Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany ...
after a distance of just under 23 kilometres.
Catchment
The catchment of the Odenbach covers an area of and consist of 50% arable land, 25.6% pasture, 20.2% woodland and 4.2% settlements.
[Gewässerzustandsbericht 2010](_blank)
Struktur- und Genehmigungsdirektion Nord (SGD Nord)
ImageSize = width:600 height:150
PlotArea = width:90% height:66% bottom:25% left:5%
DateFormat = x.y
Period = from:0 till:100
Legend = columns:1 columnwidth:250 left:12% top:95%
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:0
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:5 start:0
# The formatting blanks in the Colors-section are in fact figure spaces (U+2007)
Colors =
id:Wald value:teal legend:20,2_% Waldfläche
id:Acker value:yelloworange legend:50,0_% Ackerland
id:Wiese value:green legend:25,6_% Grünland
id:Orte value:red legend: 4,2_% Siedlungsbereich
PlotData =
from:00.0 till:20.2 color:Wald
from:20.2 till:70.2 color:Acker
from:70.2 till:95.8 color:Wiese
from:95.8 till:100.0 color:Orte
Tributaries
The most important tributary of the Odenbach is the , which alone drains 21% of the catchment of the Odenbach. The other streams have a catchment of less than .
The following table shows the tributaries of the Odenbach from source to mouth, as listed by the Water Management Authority of Rhineland-Palatinate. The table gives the name, whether it is a left or right tributary, its length, its catchment area,, the location of its confluence, the height of its confluence and its waterbody number.
Transport routes
The L 201 runs through the Odenbach valley.
Leisure pursuits
The Odenbach Valley Cycleway runs through the Odenbach valley for . It runs from
Otterberg
Otterberg is a town in the district of Kaiserslautern in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate with about 7,350 (as of 6/2006) inhabitants. It is situated approximately north of Kaiserslautern.
Otterberg is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde ...
via Niederkirchen to Odenbach
Tourenplaner Rheinland-Pfalz
Die Pfalz
Sights
The best known sights in the valley are the two 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 ...
s:
Wasserburg reipoltskirchen.jpg
CoA Hohenfels-Reipoltskirchen.svg
* Reipoltskirchen Castle, built in the 12th century, lies on a rocky hill spur
A spur is a lateral ridge or tongue of land descending from a hill, mountain or main crest of a ridge. It can also be defined as another hill or mountain range which projects in a lateral direction from a main hill or mountain range.
Examples of ...
above the Odenbach. It was the seat of the lords of Hohenfels-Reipoltskirchen and is first recorded in 1276. The site has largely survived and been restored. It is used by the municipality of Reipoltskirchen ''inter alia'' as the Standesamt
A Standesamt (German, plural "Standesämter") is a German civil registration office, which is responsible for recording births, marriages, and deaths.
Soon after the German Empire was created in 1871 from the previous collection of German states ...
. Its bergfried
''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under German ...
is used by tourist
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 mo ...
s as an observation tower
An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...
.
Odenbach 2.jpg
Wappen Grafschaft Veldenz.svg
* Odenbach Castle, at the confluence of the river with the Glan, was built in the 2nd half of the 12th century by the counts of Veldenz
The County Palatine of Veldenz was a principality in the contemporary Land Rhineland-Palatinate with full voting rights to the Reichstag. The county was located partially between Kaiserslautern, Sponheim and Zweibrücken, partially on the Mose ...
and blown up in 1683 by troops of the French king, Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
. The ruins include the renovated remains of the ''bergfried
''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under German ...
'', which is built of impressive rusticated ashlar
Two different styles of rustication in the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence; smooth-faced above and rough-faced below.">Florence.html" ;"title="Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence">Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence; smooth-faced above and r ...
blocks and, as the ''Weiherturm'', has become the symbol of the village of Odenbach.
See also
*List of rivers of Rhineland-Palatinate
A list of rivers of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany:
A
* Aar
* Adenauer Bach
*Ahr
* Alf
* Alfbach
*Appelbach
*Asdorf
* Aubach
B
* Birzenbach
*Blattbach
* Breitenbach
* Brexbach
* Brohlbach, tributary of the Moselle
* Brohlbach, tributary of the R ...
References
External links
Verlauf des Odenbachs
at
auf dem {{GeoQuelle, DE-RP, WW, ref=no
Western Palatinate
Kaiserslautern (district)
Kusel (district)
Rivers of Rhineland-Palatinate
North Palatinate
Rivers of Germany