Rinzenberg 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
Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld () is a town and the district seat of the Birkenfeld district in southwest Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde''. The town itself has approximately 7,000 inhabitants.
Geography
...
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 Birkenfeld, whose seat is in the
like-named town.
Geography
Location
The municipality lies at the southern edge of the ''Schwarzwälder Hochwald'', a self-contained forest within 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 ...
. The municipal area measures 1 133 ha, of which somewhat more than half is state forest, and indeed 76.5% of it is wooded. The area makes Rinzenberg the district's seventh biggest municipality by land area. Only the three towns (
Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld () is a town and the district seat of the Birkenfeld district in southwest Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde''. The town itself has approximately 7,000 inhabitants.
Geography
...
,
Idar-Oberstein
Idar-Oberstein () is a town in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. As a ''Große kreisangehörige Stadt'' (large city belonging to a district), it assumes some of the responsibilities that for smaller municipalities in ...
and
Baumholder
Baumholder () is a town in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, in the Westrich, an historic region that encompasses areas in both Germany and France. The town of Baumholder is the administrative seat of the like-named ''Verb ...
) and the municipalities of
Allenbach,
Hoppstädten-Weiersbach
Hoppstädten-Weiersbach is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Bi ...
and
Brücken have larger municipal areas. Rinzenberg's elevation is roughly 532 m above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...
, and above the village looms the 668 m-high “Wehlenstein”.
Neighbouring municipalities
Rinzenberg borders in the northeast on the municipality of
Oberhambach
Oberhambach is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Birkenfeld, wh ...
, in the east on the municipality of
Gollenberg
Gollenberg is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Havelland (district), Havelland district, in Brandenburg, Germany consisting of Schönholz-Neuwerder, Stölln and Ohnewitz.
History
The municipality is named after the Gollenberg nea ...
and in the south on the municipalities of
Ellenberg and
Buhlenberg
Buhlenberg is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Birkenfeld, wh ...
.
History
In 1269, Rinzenberg probably had its first documentary mention as ''Ritzeberg'', and thereafter belonged to those villages that were bought back by the
Counts of Sponheim
The House of Sponheim or Spanheim was a medieval German noble family, which originated in Rhenish Franconia. They were immediate Counts of Sponheim until 1437 and Dukes of Carinthia from 1122 until 1269. Its cadet branches ruled in the Imperial C ...
after they had enfeoffed Wilhelm von Schwarzenberg with them.
Rinzenberg had its heyday in the 16th century when the village profited from business earned by the ''Hambacher Sauerbrunnen'' – a mineral
spring
Spring(s) may refer to:
Common uses
* Spring (season), a season of the year
* Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy
* Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water
* Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...
from which flowed acidic water – which allowed the village to become a spa. The wealth in Rinzenberg manifested itself in stately stone buildings. In the war-wracked times of the 17th century, few people travelled to Rinzenberg for its waters, and the village's star faded.
Sponheim rule came to an end with the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
. Beginning then, Rinzenberg lay under
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
rule.
After the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
was defeated and the
Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
fell as 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 ...
drew to an end in 1945, Rinzenberg had to share the burden of the war's consequences. A whole army of French forestry workers – for Rinzenberg was in the
French zone of occupation
Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France ...
– descended on the ''Schwarzwälder Hochwald'' and built a sawmill, and whole forest districts were then
clearcut
Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters to create certain types of forest ...
. This went on for years. According to precise plans, usable, high-quality stands of trees were felled, sawn and shipped to France for reconstruction efforts. The formerly gentle contours of the ''Schwarzwälder Hochwald'' became cleft-filled and jagged against the sky in the background.
Since 1946, Rinzenberg has been part of the then newly founded
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
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 ...
.
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: Per bend sinister chequy gules and argent and vert a well Or with a pail of the second.
The “chequy” field on the dexter (armsbearer's right, viewer's left) side is a reference to the village's former allegiance to the “Hinder”
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 ...
, ''
Oberamt'' of Birkenfeld, while the
charge
Charge or charged may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary
Music
* ''Charge'' (David Ford album)
* ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album)
* ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqua ...
on the sinister (armsbearer's left, viewer's right) side, the well, stands for the Legend of Old Rinzenberg (''see below'').
The arms have been borne since 1964.
Culture and sightseeing
Buildings
The following are listed buildings or sites 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 ...
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
* Before Am Brunnen 4 –
cast-iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
fountain (
Asbach Ironworks?), 1886
* Across from Buchenweg 6 – cast-iron Gothic Revival fountain (Asbach Ironworks?), 1886
* Hauptstraße 9 – ''Quereinhaus'' (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street), essentially from the late 16th century, marked 1590 (
spolia
''Spolia'' (Latin: 'spoils') is repurposed building stone for new construction or decorative sculpture reused in new monuments. It is the result of an ancient and widespread practice whereby stone that has been quarried, cut and used in a built ...
?) and 1825
* Hauptstraße 11 – former ''Quereinhaus'', partly
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 ...
, oven addition, possibly from the earlier half of the 19th century
* Beside Kirchenweg 2 – cast-iron Gothic Revival fountain (Asbach Ironworks?), 1886
The Legend of Old Rinzenberg
The Legend of Old Rinzenberg (''die Sage von Altrinzenberg'') is a story about a man from the village:
:There once was a man in Old Rinzenberg whose worries over his daily bread weighed heavily upon him. Despite honest, hard work, things only ever got worse for him, and it became ever harder to keep himself and his loved ones fed. One night, he had an odd dream: at his bed stood a man who said “You go to too much toil and trouble! To
Koblenz
Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary.
Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...
with you, onto the bridge. There you will find your luck.” The dream recurred, and after the third time, he told his wife about it. She thought it would do no harm to go there once and have a look. So, the man set off from the ''Hochwald'' to the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
, hardly bothering to stop for food or sleep along the way, for he did not want to miss out on his luck.
:When he arrived in Koblenz, he went straight to the old bridge on the
Moselle
The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...
to seek his luck. He left no stone unturned, he looked in every crack of the bridge’s old stonework, but nowhere could he find any luck. For three long days he sought his luck on the bridge, but in vain. He became annoyed with himself and called out “What an ass I am, believing in dreams! May the devil take the Koblenz Bridge together with its luck!”
:Then, a rather serious-looking man came up to him. Giving him a puzzled look in the face, he said, “You may well not be very bright to believe so in dreams. How on earth can one seek luck on the Koblenz Bridge? If I were as simple as you, I would long ago have sought out the little nest of Rinzenberg, which I have seen three times in dreams.”
:At this, the ''Hochwald'' man pricked up his ears, and, curious, he asked, “What is this about Rinzenberg?”
:“Ah,” began the Moselle man, “there, deep in the village well has lain for centuries a chest full of gold, supposedly. What one can make of such dreamt-up treasures, though, you now ought to see quite clearly for yourself!”
:No sooner had the Rinzenberg man heard this than he sped off like lightning. As quickly as he could, he hurried up the Rhine and the
Nahe to his little ''Hochwald'' village. Then, at night, when the world was asleep, he climbed into the village well and there found an iron chest full of gold, which he fetched out. Thus, he had found his luck on the bridge at Koblenz.
This story has even found its way into the municipality's coat of arms, which shows a golden well, meant to represent the one in the story.
Economy and infrastructure
Transport
Running east of the municipality is ''
Bundesstraße
''Bundesstraße'' (German for "federal highway"), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.
Germany
Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km.
German ''Bundesstraßen'' ...
'' 269, which to the south leads to the
Autobahn
The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...
A 62 (
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 ...
–
Trier
Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...
). Serving nearby
Neubrücke is a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
on the
Nahe Valley Railway
The Nahe Valley Railway (german: Nahetalbahn) is a two-track, partially electrified main line railway in the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, which runs for almost 100 kilometres along the Nahe (Rhine), Nahe. It was built by the ...
(
Bingen–
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...
).
Economy
Rinzenberg's 300 or so inhabitants no longer earn their livelihoods mainly from
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
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...
, which once characterized the local economy. Both these former mainstays have seen their importance dwindle as they have become mechanized. Most working people
commute
Commute, commutation or commutative may refer to:
* Commuting, the process of travelling between a place of residence and a place of work
Mathematics
* Commutative property, a property of a mathematical operation whose result is insensitive to th ...
to jobs in the local area, with the district seat of Birkenfeld, only five kilometres away, being a particularly common destination.
Rinzenberg’s economy
/ref>
References
External links
Municipality’s official webpage
{{Authority control
Birkenfeld (district)