Rothselberg 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
Kusel
Kusel (; written ''Cusel'' until 1865) is a town in the Kusel (district), Kusel Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the Kusel-Altenglan ''Verbandsgemeinde'' and is also the district seat.
The well-kno ...
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'' Lauterecken-Wolfstein.
Geography
Location
Rothselberg lies at the foot of the 546 m-high Selberg 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 ...
. The village's elevation is some 340 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 it lies on the ridge between the Talbach and
Lauter
Lauter may refer to:
People
* Lauter (surname)
Places
*Lauter, Saxony, town in the district of Aue-Schwarzenberg, Saxony, Germany
* Lauter, Bavaria, village in the district of Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany
Rivers
* Lauter (Baunach), tributary to th ...
valleys. Near the village rises the Breitenbach, which flows into the Jettenbach about 3 km away to the northwest in
Eßweiler
Eßweiler (, with a short E; also ''Essweiler'') 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 ''Verba ...
. At the foot of the Selberg rises the Lammelbach, which flows through the ''Löffelmannsgraben'' and empties into the Lauter near the Schmeißbachermühle (a former mill). To the west, towards
Jettenbach
Jettenbach is a municipality in the district of Mühldorf in Bavaria, Germany. It lies on the river Inn
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located ...
, the land rises up, peaking at the Eisenstein (460 m above sea level), while to the south, towards
Kollweiler
Kollweiler is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country i ...
, it also rises, reaching the peak of the Galgenberg (“Gallows Mountain”) at 431 m above sea level. The municipal area measures 875 ha, of which 170 ha is wooded and 20 ha is built up.
Neighbouring municipalities
Rothselberg borders in the northeast on the municipality of
Rutsweiler an der Lauter, in the east on the municipality of
Kreimbach-Kaulbach
Kreimbach-Kaulbach 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-Wolf ...
, in the southeast on the municipality of
Frankelbach, in the southwest on the municipality of
Kollweiler
Kollweiler is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country i ...
, in the west on the municipality of
Jettenbach
Jettenbach is a municipality in the district of Mühldorf in Bavaria, Germany. It lies on the river Inn
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located ...
and in the northwest on the municipality of
Eßweiler
Eßweiler (, with a short E; also ''Essweiler'') 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 ''Verba ...
. Rothselberg also meets the municipalities of
Erzenhausen
Erzenhausen is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country ...
and
Sulzbachtal at a single point in the south.
Constituent communities
Rothselberg's ''
Ortsteil
A village is a clustered human settlement or Residential community, community, larger than a hamlet (place), hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population t ...
e'' are the main centre, likewise called Rothselberg, and the outlying homestead of the Sonnenhof. The Sonnenhof arose as an outlying
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 ...
settlement (''
Aussiedlerhof'') south of the actual village.
Municipality’s layout
The houses around the old
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
can be considered Rothselberg's village core. Around this neighbourhood in turn over time, new residential areas have arisen. New building zones were laid out in the village's north end after 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 ...
. During the 19th century, the village expanded only slightly, and even the new building work done in the wake of the Second World War was not very great. The houses that are still standing today from earlier times are often still farmhouses, designed as ''Einfirsthäuser'' (houses with a single roof ridge). The Sonnenhof, whose name means “Sun Farm” or “Sun Estate”, arose as a rural ''Aussiedlerhof'' (farming estate established after the war to increase food production) south of the actual village site. The graveyard, too, lies at the village's southern outskirts.
History
Antiquity
The Rothselberg area has been rich in
prehistoric
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
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 ...
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. The
hammerstone
In archaeology, a hammerstone is a hard cobble used to strike off lithic flakes from a lump of tool stone during the process of lithic reduction. The hammerstone is a rather universal stone tool which appeared early in most regions of the wo ...
s found by Hugo Molter come from the
Old Stone Age
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tool ...
, making them more than 500,000 years old. Also unearthed were
arrowhead
An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...
s, cutting tools and
hand axe
A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history, yet there is no academic consensus on what they were used for. It is made from stone, usually flint or che ...
s. Five archaeological sites within Rothselberg's limits are believed to be
''villae rusticae''. One, in the strip-field known as Ahlenkirchen, was excavated by Sprater, and from its footprint, it was measured. Further finds from the other presumed Roman estate sites have been confirmed as being from Roman times.
Middle Ages
In 1377, Rothselberg had its first documentary mention. The
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
church was built in the earlier half of the 14th century.
[''Kulturdenkmäler in Rheinland-Pfalz Band 16: Kreis Kusel''. Herausgegeben im Auftrag des Ministeriums für Kultur, Jugend, Familie und Frauen vom Landesamt für Denkmalpflege, , Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Worms 1999] From the time of its founding, Rothselberg lay within the free
Imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imperial, Nebraska
* Imperial, Pennsylvania
* Imperial, Texa ...
Domain (''Reichsland'') around
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 ...
. Thus, every village in the domain, one after another, was pledged to various lordships beginning in the 14th century, and so it also was with Rothselberg. In 1350, it was in the trusteeship of the
County of Veldenz
The County of Veldenz was a principality in the contemporary Land Rhineland-Palatinate. The county was located partially between Kaiserslautern, Sponheim and Zweibrücken, partially on the Mosel in the Archbishopric of Trier. A municipality of ...
and the
Electorate of Trier
The Electorate of Trier (german: Kurfürstentum Trier or ' or Trèves) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the end of the 9th to the early 19th century. It was the temporal possession of the prince- ...
. According to Goswin Widder, in 1419, Konrad von Randeck the Younger was enfeoffed with, among other things, the tithes from the ''Rade von Seelberg'' (that is, Rothselberg; ''Rade'' was a word that meant “clearing”). In 1420, Archbishop Konrad III of
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
gave Friedrich von Flörsheim one sixth of the tithes from the ''Rode Seelberg'' (another former form of the village's name). In 1455,
Frederick I, Elector Palatine
Frederick I, the Victorious (''der Siegreiche'') (1 August 1425, Heidelberg – 12 December 1476, Heidelberg) was a Count Palatine of the Rhine and Elector Palatine from the House of Wittelsbach in 1451–1476.
Biography
He was a son of Louis II ...
claimed in a
feud letter A feud letter (german: Fehdebrief or ''Absagebrief'') was a document in which a feud was announced, usually with few words, in medieval Europe. The letter had to be issued three days in advance to be legally valid.
To prevent the feud from becomin ...
– one used to declare a
feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...
– sent to his cousin
Louis I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
Louis I of Zweibrücken (; 1424 – 19 July 1489) was Count Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken and Count of Veldenz from 1444 until his death in 1489.
Life
He was the younger son of Stephen, Count Palatine of Simmern-Zweibrücken and his wife An ...
that he had been done a disservice ''im Riche zu Rade Seelberg'' (“in the realm at Rothselberg”). Thus, it is known that at this time, Rothselberg lay in the
Electorate of the Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
.
Modern times
Rothselberg remained in the Electorate of the Palatinate until
feudalism
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
was abolished in the course of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
. Electorate of the Palatinate further pledged the village for a while (mid 16th century) to the County of Sickingen. During the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
, the village was destroyed. The population was decimated not only by this war but also by the
Plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pes ...
. After the war ended, the village was settled once again. Only in the 18th century did the population once again rise at any great rate. It cannot be determined with any certainty when Rothselberg became the centre of a court region. Goswin Widder, though, wrote in 1788: “The court of Roth-Seelberg along with the villages that are counted as part of it,
Rußweiler,
Kaulbach, Kreimbach and
Frankelbach, has posted to it one ''
Schultheiß
In medieval Germany, the ''Schultheiß'' () was the head of a municipality (akin to today's office of mayor), a ''Vogt'' or an executive official of the ruler. As official (''villicus'') it was his duty to order his assigned village or county (' ...
'' and four ''Schöffen'' (roughly “lay jurists”). It bears in its seal a springing wolf.”
Recent times
During
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 from 1801 to 1814, Rothselberg belonged to the ''Mairie'' (“Mayoralty”) of Wolfstein, the
Canton of Wolfstein, the
Arrondissement
An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands.
Europe
France
The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...
of Kaiserslautern and the
Department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
of
Mont-Tonnerre
Mont-Tonnerre was a department of the First French Republic and later the First French Empire in present-day Germany. It was named after the highest point in the Palatinate, the ''Donnersberg'' ("Thunder Mountain", possibly referring to Donar, ...
(or Donnersberg 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 ...
), whose seat was at
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
. After
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
ic times ended and 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 ...
went into effect, Rothselberg passed in 1816 along with the rest of the
Palatinate to the
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...
, within which it was still grouped into the Canton of Wolfstein, but now within the ''Landkommissariat'' of Kusel, which over time became the ''Bezirksamt'' of Kusel, and finally the district of Kusel. At the end of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Bavaria lost its status as a kingdom, and at 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 ...
, Bavaria lost its
exclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
in the Palatinate. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
(NSDAP) became very popular in Rothselberg. In the
1928 Reichstag elections, only 17.8% of the local votes went to
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
’s party, but by the
1930 Reichstag elections, this had grown to 31.0%. By the time of the
1933 Reichstag elections, after Hitler had already
seized power, local support for the Nazis had swollen to 95.9%. Hitler's success in these elections paved the way for his
Enabling Act of 1933
The Enabling Act (German: ') of 1933, officially titled ' (), was a law that gave the German Cabinet – most importantly, the Chancellor – the powers to make and enforce laws without the involvement of the Reichstag or Weimar Presi ...
(''Ermächtigungsgesetz''), thus starting 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 ...
in earnest. Beginning in 1945, the Palatinate lay within 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 ...
and was in the course of series of administrative reforms in 1968 united with
Rhenish Hesse
Rhenish Hesse or Rhine HesseDickinson, Robert E (1964). ''Germany: A regional and economic geography'' (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 542. . (german: Rheinhessen) is a region and a former government district () in the German state of Rhineland- ...
. These reforms to boundaries and administration brought changes for Rothselberg as well. The village was now grouped as an ''Ortsgemeinde'' into the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Wolfstein.
Population development
The Rothselberg villagers originally all earned their livelihoods at
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 even by 1933, fully 43% of them still did. Nowadays, only a small minority work the land. In earlier times there were also
day labourers and forestry workers. Since that time, the great majority in the village has come to be workers who must
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 elsewhere, mainly to
Wolfstein and
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 contrast with other out-of-the-way villages in the Western
Palatinate, transport links are relatively favourable because the village lies near Wolfstein and Kaiserslautern, and there has been no great drop in population as there has been in comparable villages whose transport links are not quite as favourable.
In the late 18th century, 52 families lived in Rothselberg, amounting to 332 inhabitants. By 1825 this had grown to 589 inhabitants, all cleaving to the
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
faith. As the 19th century wore on, the population growth was steady: in 1835 there were 704, and 778 by 1871; the population peaked in 1905 at 801. By 1935, however, Rothselberg had only 695 inhabitants. In 1961, because of
ethnic Germans driven out of Germany's former eastern territories who had come to settle, the figure was back up to 793 inhabitants, 30 of whom were
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 ...
. In 1998, 782 people were living in Rothselberg, and in 2005 the inhabitants numbered 795.
The inhabitants’ voting patterns in earlier years exhibited a moderate conservative tendency, but since then, there has been a strong swing to support for the left-of-centre
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been the ...
(SPD).
The following table shows population figures for Rothselberg over the centuries, and in some instances breaks the population down by religious affiliation:
Vanished villages
According to author J. G. Widder, in the late 18th century, there were still 11 “minor estates” lying within Rothselberg's limits, which likely meant small, manageable agricultural areas upon which possibly only one farmhouse stood. A place named Ahlenkirchen was still being named in 1742. This village lay in the area where the
reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
for the former local waterworks was built in 1906.
Municipality’s name
Over the ages, the village has borne the following names in documents: ''Rode'' (1377), ''Rodeselberg'' (1400), ''Rade am Seelberg'' (1419), ''Rodeseleberg'' (1420), ''Rode'' (1437/1438), ''im Rich zu Rodeselberg'' (1455), ''zu Röde'' (1500), ''Rottselberg'' (1555), ''Rodtselberg'' (about 1600), ''Rodt Selberg'' (1684), ''Roth am Selberg'' (1822), ''Rothseelberg'' (1824). The name's meaning is simple enough to discern: it denotes a village on land that was cleared relatively late near the Selberg, a mountain within the municipality's limits just north of the actual village.
Religion
Rothselberg belonged to the
Diocese of Mainz
The Diocese of Mainz, historically known in English as ''Mentz'' as well as by its French name ''Mayence'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It was founded in 304, promoted in 780 to Metrop ...
until the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, whereupon all the villagers
converted to
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
. Unlike what happened in many places in the
Electorate of the Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
, there was no appreciable
reversion to
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 ...
belief later on. Even today, the overwhelming majority of the villagers is
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
. The church itself arose as far back as the
Romanesque period, and extensive conversions notwithstanding – especially the ones undertaken about 1787 – it still specifically bears features of Romanesque architecture. In the quire tower,
mediaeval
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 ...
paintings have been uncovered and restored. Rothselberg was the seat of a parish that also comprised the villages of Kaulbach, Kreimbach with Schmeißbach, and Frankelbach. Even today, Rothselberg is home to an Evangelical parish office. Catholics attend church services in
Wolfstein.
Politics
Municipal council
The council is made up of 12 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: Or on ground vert a wolf salient sable langued gules over, issuant from dexter base, a stone argent.
As Widder attests
above, the former court bore a springing wolf in its seal. This was adopted as a
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 ...
in the municipality's new coat of arms. A wolf in a similar
attitude
Attitude may refer to:
Philosophy and psychology
* Attitude (psychology), an individual's predisposed state of mind regarding a value
* Metaphysics of presence
* Propositional attitude, a relational mental state connecting a person to a pro ...
can be seen in nearby
Kreimbach-Kaulbach
Kreimbach-Kaulbach 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-Wolf ...
’s arms. As also mentioned above, this municipality (originally two villages) belonged to the same court region until the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
. The arms have been borne since 8 August 1988, when they were approved by the now defunct
Rheinhessen-Pfalz
Rheinhessen-Pfalz (rarely anglicized as "Rhine-Hesse-Palatinate") was one of the three ''Regierungsbezirke'' of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located in the south of the state. It was created in 1968 out of ''Regierungsbezirke'' Rheinhessen and ...
''
Regierungsbezirk
A ' () means "governmental district" and is a type of administrative division in Germany. Four of sixteen ' ( states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts.
Saxony has ' (directorate districts) with more res ...
'' administration in
Neustadt an der Weinstraße
Neustadt an der Weinstraße (, formerly known as ; lb, Neustadt op der Wäistrooss ; pfl, Naischdadt) is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With 53,300 inhabitants , it is the largest town called ''Neustadt''.
Geography
Location
T ...
.
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:
* Protestant parish church, Hauptstraße 60 –
Late Gothic quire, 14th century, and belltower 1433/1434, quire and nave converted in 1754–1756; wall painting fragments from the earlier half of the 14th century; bell 1496 by Johannes Otto, Kaiserslautern; before the church a warriors’ memorial by Rudolf Henn, Kaiserslautern
Regular events
Rothselberg holds its
kermis
Kermesse, or kermis, or kirmess, is a Dutch language term derived from 'kerk' (church) and 'mis' (mass) that became borrowed in English, French, Spanish and many other languages, originally denoting the mass said on the anniversary of the foundat ...
(church consecration festival, locally known as the ''Kerb'') on the weekend before
Johannistag
The Nativity of John the Baptist (or Birth of John the Baptist, or Nativity of the Forerunner, or colloquially Johnmas or St. John's Day (in German) Johannistag) is a Christian feast day celebrating the birth of John the Baptist. It is observed ...
. Other customs follow the general pattern seen throughout the North Palatinate.
Clubs
Rothselberg currently has the following clubs:
*
Fire brigade
A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...
promotional association
* Youth promotional association
*
Kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...
promotional association
*
Nursing
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...
association
* Countrywomen's club
* “Reerer Biker”
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
fans’ club
* ''Sellberg-Chor'' (
choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
)
* ''Sellberg-Verein'' (“Sellberg Club”)
* Local
SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been the ...
association
* Sport club
Economy and infrastructure
Economic structure
Originally, Rothselberg was a purely
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 ...
village in which there were also the customary craftsmen. Today, agriculture plays only a lesser role in the village's economy. Rothselberg is said to be a rural residential community for people from the most varied of occupations and is now making an effort to further its tourism industry.
Education
From Kramer's book, ''Schulwesen im Herzogtum Zweibrücken'' (“Schooling in the Duchy of
Palatinate-Zweibrücken”) it can be seen that Rothselberg was the seat during the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
of a
Reformed
Reform is beneficial change
Reform may also refer to:
Media
* ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang
* Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group
* ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine
*''Reforme'' ("Reforms"), initial name of the ...
parish, and that the pastor also had to inspect the schools within that jurisdiction. Today,
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
pupils and
Hauptschule
A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...
students attend their respective schools in
Wolfstein. The village itself also has a
kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...
.
Transport
Two kilometres to the east of Rothselberg runs ''
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'' ...
'' 270, which can be reached at a
T-junction
A three-way junction (or three-way intersection) is a type of road intersection with three arms. A Y junction (or Y intersection) generally has three arms of equal size coming at an acute or obtuse angle to each other; while a T junction (or T i ...
2 km from the village on ''
Landesstraße
''Landesstraßen'' (singular: ''Landesstraße'') are roads in Germany and Austria that are, as a rule, the responsibility of the respective German or Austrian federal state. The term may therefore be translated as "state road". They are roads t ...
'' 370 (
Altenglan
Altenglan 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'' of Kusel-Altenglan. Alten ...
-
Wolfstein), on which Rothselberg also lies. ''Landesstraße'' 372 also crosses the municipality. This leads to
Offenbach am Glan towards the north and
Landstuhl
Landstuhl () is a town in the Kaiserslautern district of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It is the seat of ''Verbandsgemeinde Landstuhl'', a kind of "collective municipality." Landstuhl is situated on the north-west edge of the Palatinate F ...
towards the south. The nearest
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'. ...
interchanges
Interchange may refer to:
Transport
* Interchange (road), a collection of ramps, exits, and entrances between two or more highways
* Interchange (freight rail), the transfer of freight cars between railroad companies
* Interchange station, a rai ...
are near
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), Kusel Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the Kusel-Altenglan ''Verbandsgemeinde'' and is also the district seat.
The well-kno ...
. Serving
Kreimbach-Kaulbach
Kreimbach-Kaulbach 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-Wolf ...
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 ''
Lautertalbahn
The Lauter Valley Railway (german: Lautertalbahn) is a branch line in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It runs from Kaiserslautern along the Lauter river to Lauterecken. The railway, which was opened in 1883, has only regional importan ...
''.
Transport
/ref>
Famous people
Sons and daughters of the town
* Wilhelm Weißmann (b. 18 June 1856; d. 27 December 1937 in Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...
), politician in Alsace-Lorraine, one of the few “Old Germans” (that is, the ones who had moved from other parts of Imperial Germany
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
to Alsace-Lorraine after the 1871 Treaty of Frankfurt The Treaty of Frankfurt may refer to one of three treaties signed at Frankfurt, as follows:
* Treaty of Frankfurt (1489) - Treaty between Maximilian of Austria and the envoys of King Charles VIII of France
*Treaty of Frankfurt (1539) - Initiated ...
) whom the 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 ...
authorities allowed to remain in the region once France had taken it back over after the 1919 Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
.
References
External links
Rothselberg in the collective municipality’s webpages
e.V.">Website of ''Förderverein historische Dorfkirche Rothselberg Eingetragener Verein, e.V.
'' (historical village church promotional association)
Historical information at ''regionalgeschichte.de''
{{Authority control
Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate
Kusel (district)