The Speyerbach is a left
tributary of the
Rhine in the
Palatinate
Palatinate or county palatine may refer to:
*the territory or jurisdiction of a count palatine
United Kingdom and Ireland
*County palatine in England and Ireland
* Palatinate (award), student sporting award of Durham University
*Palatinate (col ...
part of
Rhineland-Palatinate. In
Speyer, the river split into ''Gießhübelbach'' and ''Woogbach''. The Woogbach changes its name to ''Nonnenbach'', then flows into Gießhübelbach shortly before the latter flows into the Rhine.
Importance
Although only classified as a river of the third rank under
German river classification system, the Speyerbach is the largest river of the
Anterior Palatinate. It is long; its
catchment area is ; its discharge varies between . In extreme weather conditions with heavy rain in a short time, the discharge may be much higher; the highest peak was on 25 May 1978.
Course
The nominal source of the Speyerbach is located near the hamlet of
Speyerbrunn
Speyerbrunn is a community of the municipality Elmstein in the Landkreis of Bad Dürkheim in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Location
It is located in Palatinate forest about west of Elmstein.
History
Speyerbrunn was founded in 1754. Until ...
in the municipality of
Elmstein, in the middle of the
Palatinate 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 ...
. It has an elevation of
AMSL
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
; the surrounding
Frankenweide
The Frankenweide is a hill region in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It forms the central part of the Palatine Forest in the Palatinate region.
Geography
The Frankenweide is a single forest that, today, covers an area of a good 200& ...
hills climbing up to in height (
Eschkopf
The Eschkopf near Hofstätten in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate (Südwestpfalz county) is a major hill, high in the Palatine Forest.
Location
The Eschkopf is part of the Frankenweide, a rock massif in the centre of the Palatine ...
). Soon after its nominal source, it is joined by the much larger
Erlenbach, which rises at the ''Hussars Fountain'', further south, on the Eschkopf, at an elevation of . So, hydrologically speaking, the Hussars Fountain is the true source of Speyerbach.
From the Speyerbrunn, the Speyerbrunn winds through the narrow Elmstein valley, flowing East at first, then North-East, flowing past the main village of Elmstein. Above the valley, the ruins of four castles are lined in a row.
Erfenstein Castle
Erfenstein Castle (german: Burg Erfenstein) is a medieval spur castle in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It lies within the Palatine Forest above the Elmstein Valley at in the vicinity of the hamlet of Erfenstein in the municipality ...
and
Spangenberg Castle are well known from the
Legend of the Leather Bridge There is a legend of the Leather Bridge (german: Sage von der Ledernen Brücke) in several regions of Germany and Switzerland. The word ''lederne'' could also have meant "ladder" or "lantern".
Palatinate
According to legend, there was once a le ...
. About downstream from Elmstein, the
Helmbach flows into the Speyerbach at the hamlet of
the same name.
Below
Frankeneck, where the broader Lambrecht valley begins, the Speyerbach takes from the left's most important water supplier, the nearly long
Hochspeyerbach
The Hochspeyerbach is a long river in the Palatinate forest in Rhineland-Palatinate and a left tributary of the Speyerbach.
Course
The Hochspeyerbach rises in the municipality Hochspeyer in the immediate vicinity of the swimming pool. In ea ...
, and changes its direction to the southeast. The small town of
Lambrecht spreads on both sides of the river.
The Speyerbach breaks the eastern ridge of the Palatinate Forest shortly before
Neustadt an der Weinstrasse. The ridge is about above the river. On the left above the valley are the ruins of
Wolfsburg Castle and
Winzingen Castle, on the site where
Haardter Castle was later erected. About to the right of the valley is
Hambach Castle, the symbol of the German
democracy movement, which had an early peak with the
Hambach festival
The Hambacher Festival was a German national democratic festival celebrated from 27 May to 30 May 1832 at Hambach Castle, near Neustadt an der Weinstraße, in present-day Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The event was disguised as a nonpolitical co ...
of 1832.
In Neustadt an der Weinstrasse the
Rehbach splits off to the left at the ''Winzinger Wassergescheid'', carrying one third of the water. The Speyerbach then flows through a narrow valley in the hill country of the
German Wine Route; both sides of the valley are lined with
vineyards. It then continues through the
Upper Rhine Valley, in a South-Easterly direction. In
Speyerdorf the ''Ranschgraben'' splits off to the left. Here, the Speyerbach flows through the municipalities of
Hanhofen and
Dudenhofen. At the ''Hanhofer Wassergescheid'', the ''Mühlbachgraben'' joins from the right, and the ''Woogbach'' split off on the left, taking half the water. Two more tributaries join in the next 3 kilometres: the
Modenbach
The Modenbach is a stream, just under {{convert, 30, km long, and a right-hand tributary of the Speyerbach in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Course
The Modenbach rises in the Palatine Forest east of the Palatine Watershed at a heigh ...
and the
Hainbach. In
Speyer, the Woogbach rejoins, and then the Speyerbach flows into the Rhine in the port of Speyer, at Rhine kilometre mark 400.3.
Tributaries
*
Erlenbach (right),
* Schwarzenbach (left),
* Enkenbach (left),
* Mückentalbach (left),
* Weltersbach (left),
* Oselbach (left),
* Legelbach (left),
* Möllbach (right),
* Haselbach (right),
*
Helmbach (right),
* Argenbach (right),
*
Breitenbach (left),
* Erfensteinertalbach (left),
* Höllischtalbächlein (right),
* Esthalbach (left),
*
Hochspeyerbach
The Hochspeyerbach is a long river in the Palatinate forest in Rhineland-Palatinate and a left tributary of the Speyerbach.
Course
The Hochspeyerbach rises in the municipality Hochspeyer in the immediate vicinity of the swimming pool. In ea ...
(left),
*
Luhrbach (left),
* Schlangentalbach (left),
* Heidenbrunnertalbach (right),
* Kaltenbrunnertalbach (right),
*
Rehbach (left), (distributary)
* Bürgergraben (a.k.a. ''Enggraben'') (right)
History
In the past, the Speyerbach was an important
freight transport route for
timber. Transportation was done by
drifting
Drifting may refer to:
*Drifting (motorsport)
*Pipe drift or drifting, measuring a pipe's inner roundness
Film
* ''Drifting'' (1923 film), a film directed by Tod Browning
* ''Drifting'' (1982 film), the first Israeli gay-themed film
* ''Drifting'' ...
of logs or timber up to about long; the water discharge was too low for
rafts made of tree trunks. The timber was collected before being left in artificial ponds called ''Woogen'' or 'Klausen', to be drifted in spring, as the snow melt began. The timing was crucial, because during the drifting season, the
water mills,
sawmills and
iron works could not be operated and mill workers had to be paid compensation. In an account from 1832, head teacher ''W. Häge'' reported the presence, in Elmstein Valley alone, of three mills, five sawmills, one forge and one
paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...
, all of which the drifters had to take into account. Drifting on the Speyerbach was regulated by a "drifting order" of 1320, which decreed that drifting had to be completed on
St George's Day (23 April).
After the palatinate had come under Bavarian rule in 1816, drifting on the Speyerbach and other rivers was expanded. In 1822, a "Drifting Office" was opened in Neustadt. When in 1852, a "Drifting Master's Office" was established in Elmstein, the Neustadt had more than 140 km of drifting waters. From 1882 onwards, drifting was gradually abandoned. On the Speyerbach, drifting was practised until 1902, but only above Frankeneck. The last drift contained 6193
stère of timber.
The middle and lower reaches of today's Speyerbach, are largely the product of human intervention, both in terms of its course and its being
canalized. The
meanders that existed during the
Spanish Succession War led to the undoing of both French and Imperial troops during the
Battle of Speyerbach
The Battle of Speyerbach took place on 15 November 1703 in the War of the Spanish Succession. A French army besieging Landau surprised and defeated a German relief army near Speyer.
Prelude
In mid October 1703, the allied armies prepared to ...
in September 1703.
The elimination of the former meanders causes frequent
floods
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...
, because overflow areas are now missing. In built-up areas, the aesthetics of the river suffered from the canalization and covering. In Neustadt both the Speyerbach and the Rehbach have largely disappeared from view during the second half of the twentieth century. In the first decade of the 21st century, the rivers were partially restored, in order to form a ''green corridor''. The project was completed in June 2010, at a cost of 2.7 million euro, most of which was paid by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate
[Newspaper Die Rheinpfalz, local edition Mittelhaardter Rundschau: ''Premiere beim Landesfest: Beck eröffnet die Wallgasse'', 14 June 2010 (in German)]
The lower reaches of the Speyerbach, east of Neustadt, flowing South-East to Speyer were probably created by the
Romans to transport timberfrom the Palatinate Forest to ''Noviomagus Nemetum'', the
Germanic precursor of Speyer. The water level in this section is up to above the surrounding terrain. Previously, it probably followed a more northerly course, south of
Haßloch and then along the course of the current ''Ranschgraben'', taking up the Rehbach near
Limburgerhof-Rehhütte and flowing into the Rhine between
Altrincham and
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 ...
.
The distributaries Rehbach (splitting off at Neustadt) and Woogbach (at Hanhofen) are both artificial; they were created in the
Late Middle Ages.
Tourist attractions
Castles
The ruins of
Elmstein Castle
Elmstein Castle (german: Burg Elmstein) is a castle ruin built in the High Middle Ages overlooking Elmstein in the Palatinate Forest in the Germany, German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It was built in the 12th century.
Location
The ruins are ...
, above Elmstein on the southwestern edge of the high castle hill, is privately owned and can only be viewed from the outside. In the hamlet of
Breitenstein are the ruins of
Breitenstein Castle
The ruins of Breitenstein Castle (german: Burg Breitenstein) stand on a crag, high, on the northern side of the Speyerbach valley in the Palatine Forest in Germany. The castles is east of the village of Elmstein in the county of Bad Dürkheim i ...
; just over down the Speyerbach from the hamlet of
Erfenstein and on the left are the ruins of
Erfenstein Castle
Erfenstein Castle (german: Burg Erfenstein) is a medieval spur castle in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It lies within the Palatine Forest above the Elmstein Valley at in the vicinity of the hamlet of Erfenstein in the municipality ...
, on the right those of
Spangenberg Castle.
Forest service museum
The Forestry Museum Elmstein, situated in the house of ''Heinrich Haag'', the last
blacksmith, provides the public since 1990 with information about working in the forest, including drifting on the Speyerbach.
Drift path
Otto Feyock, a retired ranger, has created the Drift Path Elmstein. It has large information panels and starts in the
Appenthal part of
Elmstein.
Museum railway line
The
Cuckoo Railway
The Cuckoo Railway (german: Kuckucksbähnel, literally "Little Cuckoo Railway"), in its early days the Elmstein Valley Railway (''Elmsteiner Talbahn''), is a 12.97 kilometre long branch line in the central Palatine Forest, which runs through the re ...
(''Kuckucksbähnel''), a heritage railway line, runs historic steam locomotives and carriages between Neustadt and Elmstein. The reactivated part of the track from
Lambrecht to
Elmstein follows the Speyerbach and just under long.
Mills
The Frohnmühle Mill on Speyerbach between
Haßloch and the Neustadt district of
Geinsheim
Geinsheim is a village in the town of Neustadt an der Weinstraße in the Anterior Palatinate in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It was incorporated into the town on 7 June 1969, its parent town lying 10 kilometres to the northwest o ...
is in working order. It has a Green restaurant and a
weeping willow as a green
monument. The Aumühle Mill between Haßloch Hanhofen has a
waterwheel
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...
in working order, and a very good restaurant.
Leisure facilities
Near the Speyerbach are
Holiday Park and a pony farm with a
stud farm.
Economy and infrastructure
Economy
Because the raw material (wood) and a supply of energy (water) were available next to each other, large paper mills developed in Lambrecht valley in the 19th century. Because this was very labor-intensive work, they were at the time very important for the regional labor market. The paper mills still exist today, although technological progress has led to job cuts.
Transport
Federal road B39
Frankenstein – Neustadt – Speyer and the
Palatine Ludwigsbahn
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. railroad line between
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 ...
and
Mannheim run side by side through Lambrecht valley. The previously abandoned Cuckoo Railway line from Lambrecht to Elmstein was reactivated in 1984.
See also
*
List of rivers of Rhineland-Palatinate
Footnotes
External links
The unusual history of SpeyerbachLarge Online Project "Speyerbach"(since 2005)
{{Authority control
Rivers of Rhineland-Palatinate
Anterior Palatinate
Rivers of Germany