Birkenhördt is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, 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 ...

, and is an officially recognized tourist resort.Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz – Regionaldaten
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Geography

Birkenhördt lies in the Wasgau, which is composed of the southern part of the Palatine Forest and the northern part of the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

Mountains. Neighboring municipalities are - clockwise - Silz, Bad Bergzabern, Dörrenbach, Böllenborn,

Erlenbach bei Dahn Erlenbach bei Dahn is a municipality in Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. Above the village is Berwartstein Castle on one side of the Erlenbach stream and the outwork Little France Little France is a suburb of ...

, and Vorderweidenthal. The source of the Erlenbach is located in Birkenhördt.

History

In the 1930s Birkenhördt was annexed to the district of Bad Bergzabern. With the local-government reform in Rhineland-Palatinate in 1969 Birkenhördt, along with most communities of the district was incorporated into the newly created district Landau-Bad Bergzabern. This in turn was renamed in 1978 as the '' Südliche Weinstraße'' district.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms shows a golden lion on a black field symbolizing Birkenhördt's one-time allegiance to the Palatinate, and a green

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

branch as a

visual pun A visual pun is a pun involving an image or images (in addition to or instead of language), often based on a rebus. Visual puns in which the image is at odds with the inscription are common in cartoons such as ''Lost Consonants'' or ''The Far ...

on the name "Birkenhördt". They might be heraldically described "Party per bend sinister, sable a lion passant bendwise sinister or crowned armed and langued gules, or a three-leaved birch branch vert."

Culture and sightseeing

There are a total of six cultural monuments in the municipality, including the 1862 parish church of

Saint Gall Gall ( la, Gallus; 550 646) according to hagiographic tradition was a disciple and one of the traditional twelve companions of Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent. Deicolus was the elder brother of Gall. Biography The ...

Transportation

Bundesstraße (Federal Highway) 427 runs through the middle of the town. Birkenhördt is connected by the bus lines to the local transport network. The nearest railway station is located at Bad Bergzabern.

References

External links

Birkenhördt official siteThe Birkenhördt Project – Genealogy in the Southern Palatinate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birkenhordt Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate Palatinate Forest Südliche Weinstraße