Utzenhain 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''

Hunsrück-Mittelrhein Hunsrück-Mittelrhein is a ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' is in Emmelshausen. It was formed on 1 January 2020 by the merger of the fo ...

, whose seat is in

Emmelshausen Emmelshausen is a town in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Hunsrück-Mittelrhein, to which it also belongs. Emmelshausen is a state-recognized climatic spa (''Luftku ...

Geography

Location

The municipality lies in a sloped location in the eastern

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 ...

between the

Rhine Gorge The Rhine Gorge is a popular name for the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a 65 km section of the Rhine between Koblenz and Rüdesheim in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse in Germany. It was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage S ...

and 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 61. North of the village flows the Gründelbach. Utzenhain lies 10 km from each of Emmelshausen,

Oberwesel Oberwesel () is a town on the Middle Rhine in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Hunsrück-Mittelrhein, whose seat is in Emmelshausen. Geography Location Oberwesel lies ...

and

Sankt Goar Sankt Goar is a town on the west bank of the Middle Rhine in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (Districts of Germany, district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Hunsrück-Mittelrhein, whose seat is in Emmelshausen. ...

, the last two named being at the Hunsrück's outer edge at the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

History

The village might well have arisen in the early 16th century. Beginning in 1794, Utzenhain 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. In 1814 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 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 ...

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 6 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 fess Or a lion rampant couped just above the line of partition at the thighs guardant and with a forked tail gules armed, langued and crowned azure, and azure a hornbeam seed catkin slipped palewise embowed to dexter, the stem to chief and two hornbeam leaves conjoined at the stem couped bendwise sinister, the stems to chief, the two charges in fess argent. 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 ...

above the line of partition, the lion, is a reference to the village's former allegiance to the

Counts of Katzenelnbogen The County of Katzenelnbogen was an immediate state of the Holy Roman Empire. Chatti Melibokus is a very old tribe who stayed on a high hill in the Bergstraße region of Hesse (the part that lies south), in Germany. It existed between 109 ...

. The two charges below refer to the municipality's great wealth of wooded land and its ever-important forestry using parts of the

European hornbeam ''Carpinus betulus'', the European or common hornbeam, is a species of tree in the birch family (botany), family Betulaceae, native species, native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. It require ...

, a common tree in Utzenhain's woods. The

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

s used in the arms are drawn from those borne by the Counts of Katzenelnbogen and by the

House of Hesse The House of Hesse is a European dynasty, directly descended from the House of Brabant. They ruled the region of Hesse, one branch as prince-electors until 1866, and another branch as grand dukes until 1918. Burke's Royal Families of the World, ...

, which eventually inherited the Katzenelnbogen lordship.

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> * Before Hauptstraße 18 – former town hall tower; three-floor tower with tapered cupola, 1782 * Between Zum Eichenberg 6 and 12 – fire engine house; one-floor quarrystone building, marked 1840 * Before Zum Eichenberg 10 – warriors’ memorial, pylon with soldier Among Utzenhain's other noteworthy sights are the renovated village square and an old mill.

References

External links

Utzenhain in the collective municipality’s webpages

Utzenhain in the television programme ''Hierzuland''
{{Authority control Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis