Kirchberg, Rhein-Hunsrück
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Kirchberg, the ''Stadt auf dem Berg'' (“Town on the Mountain”), called ''Kerbrich'' in
Moselle Franconian __NOTOC__ Moselle Franconian (german: Moselfränkisch, lb, Muselfränkesch) is a West Central German language, part of the Central Franconian languages area, that includes Luxembourgish. It is spoken in the southern Rhineland and along the ...
, is a town 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, Co ...
(
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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...
) 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 is the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', to which it also belongs.


Geography


Location

The town lies in the Hunsrück, 10 km west of the district seat of
Simmern Simmern (; officially Simmern/Hunsrück) is a town of roughly 7,600 inhabitants (2013) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, the district seat of the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis, and the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Simmern-Rheinböllen. In the Rhinelan ...
and 12 km east of Frankfurt-Hahn Airport. Kirchberg's skyline, with its three towers – two churchtowers and one watertower – can be seen from a long way off, for they stand on raised land that gives the town its nickname “Town on the Mountain”. From the churchtower at Saint Michael's, the following places can be seen: to the southeast, the Soonwald (a heavily wooded section of the west-central Hunsrück) with the Koppenstein castle ruin; to the south, the Lützelsoon (a little outlier of the
Soonwald The Soonwald is a forested, low mountain region, up to , which forms part of the Hunsrück mountains in the German Central Uplands. It lies within the counties of Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis and Bad Kreuznach in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Geo ...
); to the southwest, the Idarkopf and the Erbeskopf (mountains, the latter of which, at 816 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 standardise ...
is Rhineland-Palatinate's highest point); to the northeast, the area around
Kastellaun Kastellaun is a town in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (Districts of Germany, district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the Kastellaun (Verbandsgemeinde), like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality. Geography ...
; to the east, the district seat of Simmern. West of Kirchberg lies the Kyrbach valley, and to the east the Kauerbach valley. To the town's north runs the ''Hunsrückhöhenstraße'' (“Hunsrück Heights Road”, a scenic road across the Hunsrück built originally as a military road on
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
’s orders) from
Saarburg Saarburg (, ) is a city of the Trier-Saarburg district, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the banks of the river Saar (river), Saar in the hilly country a few kilometers upstream from the Saar's junction with the Moselle. Now know ...
to Koblenz (''
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'' ...
'' 327). Aerial photographs of Kirchberg clearly show how the town has developed in stages: The outlying centre of Denzen (from the
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
''Dumno''), lying in a hollow to the northeast, had its beginnings in a pre-Roman settlement; the town’s east end was a military base on the Roman road from
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 ...
over the Hunsrück to
Bingen am Rhein Bingen am Rhein () is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The settlement's original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant "hole in the rock", a description of the shoal behind the ''Mäuseturm'', k ...
and
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 joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
, nowadays known as the ''Via Ausonia'' (''Ausoniusstraße'' 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 **Ge ...
). The mediaeval town centre was girded by a wall with towers and town gates whose course can still be seen from aloft. Around the oval of this former town wall arose residential neighbourhoods,
school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes comp ...
s and sport facilities, allotments and industrial parks in the time that followed. The Old Town is today still crossed by the course of the old Roman road, which, as was so typical of roads that the
Romans 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 lette ...
built, is dead straight.


Land use

The area within the town’s limits measures 18 km², of which 50% is given over to
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 t ...
, 30% is wooded, 18% is built up and 2% is devoted to other uses.


History

Archaeological finds make it clear that by 400 BC, the
Treveri The Trēverī ( Gaulish: *''Trēueroi'') were a Celtic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, if not earlier, until their displacement by the Franks. Their domain lay within the southern fri ...
, a people of mixed
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
and Germanic stock, from whom the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
name for the city of
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 ...
, ''
Augusta Treverorum Trier in Rhineland-Palatinate, whose history dates to the Roman Empire, is often claimed to be the oldest city in Germany. Traditionally it was known in English by its French name of Treves. Prehistory The first traces of human settlement in ...
'', is also derived, had settled here. In the 1st century BC, the Romans built a military road, the so-called ''Via Ausonia'', from Trier by way of Neumagen, the ''Stumpfer Turm'' (“Stub Tower”) near Wederath (the Roman ''Belginum'' on the boundary between the Roman provinces of Belgica and
Germania Inferior Germania Inferior ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed Germania Secunda in the fourth century, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Agripp ...
), Kirchberg and Bingen to Mainz. In what is now the town's east end, they built a settlement called ''Dumno'' or ''Vicus Dumnissus''. This name is shown on a roadmap from late antiquity – the 4th century AD – of which today still exists an accurate copy from the 12th century, the
Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-ce ...
, named after its discoverer,
Konrad Peutinger Conrad Peutinger (14 October 1465 – 28 December 1547) was a German humanist, jurist, diplomat, politician, economist and archaeologist (serving as Emperor Maximilian I's chief archaeological adviser). A senior official in the municipal governme ...
. In 368, the Roman poet and educator Decimius Magnus Ausonius also mentioned ''Dumnissus'' in his poem ''Mosella'', which contains a poetic description of his trip from Bingen by way of the Hunsrück to Neumagen and Trier. This makes Kirchberg the oldest known settlement on the heights framed by the Moselle, the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
, the Nahe and the
Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name *Saar Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player * Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist *Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), Est ...
. In the 5th century, Rome's holdings passed to the
Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
kings’ crown estate. From the Roman settlement of ''Vicus Dumnissus'' arose a new settlement, which no later than the 7th century got its first church, a wooden building that was likely built on the same spot where Saint Michael's Church now stands. This new settlement was named ''Chiriperg'', from which developed the modern name Kirchberg. In 995, King Otto III bestowed upon Count of the
Trechirgau The Trechirgau was a mediaeval administrative district, a gau. It belonged to the Duchy of Lorraine. Its exact extent is only roughly known and it lay in the triangle formed by Enkirch, Koblenz and Oberwesel. History The Trechirgau was clos ...
Bezelin, the forefather of the Gau-comital family
Berthold-Bezelin {{Short description, German noble family The Berthold-Bezelins (german: Berthold/Bezeline) were a German noble family from the 10th century, whose sphere of influence and property laid about the Trechirgau and Maifeldgau. They were the Counts of S ...
, the hitherto royal estate of Denzen (''praedium Domnissa''). In 1074, the family then transferred the eastern half of this holding, along with the village of Denzen, to the Ravengiersburg
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...
Canonical Foundation, which the counts had endowed. The western half, along with Kirchberg, passed in 1248 to the Counts of Sponheim. Thereafter, Kirchberg's historical development was tightly bound to the Sponheims and their heirs. Kirchberg was granted town rights in 1259, making it the oldest town on the Hunsrück. When the County of Sponheim was partitioned in the 13th century into the “Further” and “Hinder” Counties, the ''
Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...
'' of Kirchberg passed to the former, and then once the Sponheims had died out in 1437 to the joint lordship of the
Elector of the Palatinate The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (german: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 915 to 1803. The title was a kind ...
, the Margrave of
Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...
and the Count of Veldenz (later
Palatinate-Simmern The House of Palatinate-Simmern (german: Pfalz-Simmern) was a German- Bavarian cadet branch of the House of Wittelsbach. The house was one of the collateral lineages of the Palatinate. The Palatinate line of the House of Wittelsbach was divided i ...
) with the administrative seat in Kirchberg. In 1689, French troops destroyed the town and its defences. The joint lordship was brought to an end by the 1708 ''Realteilung'' (literally “material division”), whereby the ''Amt'' of Kirchberg passed, along with the ''Unteramt'' of Koppenstein, to Baden; Kirchberg became the seat of the like-named Badish ''Oberamt''. The last Badish ''Oberamtmann'' was Baron Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Friedrich Drais von Sauerbronn, whose son was
Karl Drais Karl Freiherr von Drais (full name: Karl Friedrich Christian Ludwig Freiherr Drais von Sauerbronn) (29 April 1785 – 10 December 1851) was a noble German forest official and significant inventor in the Biedermeier period. He was born and died ...
, the inventor of the
velocipede A velocipede () is a human-powered land vehicle with one or more wheels. The most common type of velocipede today is the bicycle. The term was probably first coined by Karl von Drais in French as ''vélocipède'' for the French translation ...
and the
draisine A draisine () is a light auxiliary rail vehicle, driven by service personnel, equipped to transport crew and material necessary for the maintenance of railway infrastructure. The eponymous term is derived from the German inventor Baron Karl ...
. From 1794 to 1814, Kirchberg was the administrative seat of a French canton in the arrondissement of Simmern; in 1815 the town became the seat of a
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 ...
n ''Landbürgermeisterei'' (“Rural Mayoralty”) with 18 outlying municipalities. On 10 February 1928, the neighbouring village to the east, Denzen, the former ''Dumnissus'', was amalgamated with the town of Kirchberg despite the villagers’ resistance to the move. Since 1946, the town 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 ...
.


Religion


Ecclesiastical relations

As early as Carolingian times, the greater parish of Kirchberg had arisen on the lands of the Denzen crown estate with a central
baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
al church in Kirchberg along with
chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
s in Gemünden,
Dickenschied Dickenschied is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of K ...
,
Womrath Womrath is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kirchb ...
, Denzen, Kappel, Metzenhausen, Ober Kostenz, Würrich and Altlay. Until the 16th century, Kirchberg was one of the important centres of clerical organization on the countryside. The pastoral region of Kirchberg comprised 51 towns and villages. Elector Palatine Ottheinrich arranged visitation for the ''Amt'' of Kirchberg and introduced the
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
faith. In May 1599 came another official
conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...
: under
Frederick IV, Elector Palatine Frederick IV, Elector Palatine of the Rhine (german: Kurfürst Friedrich IV. von der Pfalz; 5 March 1574 – 19 September 1610), only surviving son of Louis VI, Elector Palatine and Elisabeth of Hesse, called "Frederick the Righteous" (german: ...
, the Reformed faith became the prescribed belief. This was not the last time that religious beliefs were imposed by lords or military authorities. As of 1625, under
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
occupation,
Catholicism 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 ...
was reintroduced; between 1631 and 1635, under
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
influence, it was the Reformed faith once again; between 1635 and 1648 it was once again Catholicism; as of 1648, it was yet again the Reformed faith. By agreement in 1652, the Catholics were granted the right to celebrate
Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...
at the Badish seneschal’s house.


''Michaelskirche''

In 1688, a
simultaneum A shared church (german: Simultankirche), simultaneum mixtum, a term first coined in 16th-century Germany, is a church in which public worship is conducted by adherents of two or more religious groups. Such churches became common in the German-s ...
was introduced at Saint Michael’s Church (''Michaelskirche'') on the condition that Catholics and Evangelicals were to hold their services alone at predetermined times at the church whose ownership they shared, each holding half. The Catholics were furthermore granted the sole right to use the quire with its High Altar, the two side altars and the
confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall in which the priest in some Christian churches sits to hear the confessions of penitents. It is the usual venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Churches, but si ...
s. This simultaneum was dissolved by a notarial agreement with both denominations’ assent on 15 June 1965, and a new arrangement was put in place: the Evangelical parish sold the Catholic parish its one-half share in the church, which allowed the former to make possible a new church building, the ''Friedenskirche'' (“Peace Church”) with a community centre. A further ruling allowed the Evangelical parish to use Saint Michael's Church, as before, until its own church was ready for use, and further still, it allowed the Catholic parish to be guests at the ''Friedenskirche'' as long as thorough restoration work was being undertaken at Saint Michael's and its tower and until preliminary archaeological digs by the Koblenz Office for
Prehistory 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 ...
and
Protohistory Protohistory is a period between prehistory and history during which a culture or civilization has not yet developed writing, but other cultures have already noted the existence of those pre-literate groups in their own writings. For example, in ...
(''Amt für Vor- und Frühgeschichte, Koblenz'') were over. All work was complete on 6 July 1969. The digs under Saint Michael's Church brought to light that the buildings were the most historically important and quite possibly the oldest church buildings on the Hunsrück, and that the current Late Gothic
hall church A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...
in Kirchberg's town centre had three stone predecessor buildings. Their foundations were partly unearthed and can now be visited under the church's quire. Building I from the time after 700 was a small, rectangular
aisleless church An aisleless church (german: Saalkirche) is a single-nave church building that consists of a single hall-like room. While similar to the hall church, the aisleless church lacks aisles or passageways on either side of the nave and separated fr ...
with a square quire that was narrower than the nave. Among other things found in this building was a fragment of an early Christian tomb slab with inscription, held to be the oldest evidence that there were already Christians on the Hunsrück in
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 lette ...
times. Building II, built about 850, was another aisleless church roughly twice the size of the earlier church, but with a baptismal facility and a gallery somewhere near the entrance. Building III was a three-naved, flat-ceiled
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...
with a semicircular
apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...
built sometime before 1050, likewise with a baptismal facility and a west gallery. Today's churchtower was built about 1200 on the lower floor of Building III, and later made taller and more complete. From 1460 to 1485, yet another church, the one that still stands today, was built on the foundations of the three foregoing churches, with the inside doubled in size once again. The new church was given a main portal and a porch on the south side. Among the things inside the church that are worthy of note are the stonemasons’ marks in the nave, found on pillars and ribs, the
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
pulpit from about 1490, grave memorials from the 15th to 18th century with Catharina von Hoising's well known tomb in the quire (Master Johann von Trarbach, after 1577), the baptismal font with the combined
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
of the families who put forth the endowment (earlier half of the 18th century), the High Altar, the two side altars and the design of the
organ pipe An organ pipe is a sound-producing element of the pipe organ that resonates at a specific pitch when pressurized air (commonly referred to as ''wind'') is driven through it. Each pipe is tuned to a specific note of the musical scale. A set o ...
ranks from the latter half of the 18th century. The church's paintings were done in 1969 working from remnants that had been found and expanding thereon from historical models. The church square around Saint Michael's Church, which until 1792 was still serving as a graveyard, is today framed on all sides by rows of houses. On the west side stands the Baroque building of the former
Piarist The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium pauperum Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the ...
monastery from 1765, which today serves as a rectory and a community centre. The restored coat of arms above the portal shows the arms borne by
Augustus George, Margrave of Baden-Baden Augustus George, Margrave of Baden-Baden (August Georg Simpert; 14 January 1706, Rastatt, Margraviate of Baden – 21 October 1771) was the ruling Margrave of Baden-Baden from 1761 till his death in 1771. He succeeded his brother Louis Georg ...
along with his other arms in right of his various holdings: the “Further” County of Sponheim, the County of Eberstein, the
Breisgau The Breisgau () is an area in southwest Germany between the Rhine River and the foothills of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, ...
,
Badenweiler Badenweiler ( High Alemannic: ''Badewiler'') is a health resort and spa in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, historically in the Markgräflerland. It is 28 kilometers by road and rail from Basel, 10 kilomet ...
, the Margraviate of Baden, the Lordship of Üsenberg, Rötteln,
Lahr Lahr (officially Lahr/Schwarzwald since 30 September 1978) (); gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Lohr) is a town in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany, approximately 50 km north of Freiburg im Breisgau, 40 km southeast of Strasbourg, and 95&nb ...
, Mahlberg and the “Hinder” County of Sponheim.


''Friedenskirche''

The
Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual expe ...
''Friedenskirche'' (“Peace Church”) with a community centre was built mainly to Trier architect H.O. Vogel's plans. The foundation stone was taken from the walling beside the portal at Saint Michael's Church. The baptismal font, carved from a stone worked in Roman times and unearthed during the digs under Saint Michael's, is a gift from the
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 ...
parish. In return, the Evangelical parish gave the Catholic parish a bronze basin for the baptismal font in the quire at Saint Michael's. The church's organ, with 23 stops, was built by ''Gebr. Oberlinger Orgelbau'' of Windesheim near Bad Kreuznach. The garden pavilion and the well before the Peace Church formed the centre of a walled garden about 1780, supposedly laid out by the then Badish ''Oberamtmann''.


''Nikolaus-Kapelle''

The ''Nikolaus-Kapelle'' – or Saint Nicholas’s
Chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
– that stands today in Kirchberg-Denzen, with its Romanesque quire tower, looks back on a long tradition: An earlier building had until 955
John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
as its patron. In
Ottonian The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the ...
times, the chapel was reconsecrated to Saint Nicholas, following what was then customary in the Rhineland.


Synagogue

The
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
s who lived in Kirchberg, mainly in the time from the 18th to 20th century, together formed a religious community. They owned a small synagogue on Glöcknergasse, a religious school and their own graveyard on Metzenhausener Straße, which is still preserved.


Politics


Town council

The council is made up of 20 council members, who were elected by
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:


Mayor

Kirchberg's mayor is Werner Wöllstein (FDP).


Coat of arms

The German blazon reads: ''Das Stadtwappen zeigt in einem spätgotischen Rundschild auf rotem Grund winkelmäßig angeordnet abwechselnd je 16 in gold und blau gehaltene Quadrate. Darunter befindet sich die gräfliche Krone.'' The town's
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 bran ...
language be described thus: Gules a chevron countercompony Or and azure throughout, in base a crown of the second. The whole coat of arms refers to Kirchberg's former allegiance to the “Further” County of Sponheim. The chevron countercompony (that is, chequered in two rows) refers to the “chequy” arms borne by the Counts, with the squares here in the same
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 as they were in theirs. The crown, too, refers to the town's bygone days as a Sponheim holding. Earlier compositions of the arms also included a mural crown (that is, a crown resembling a castle wall with battlements) on top of the escutcheon; this referred to the town's old fortifications.


Town partnerships

Kirchberg fosters partnerships with the following places: *
Villeneuve-l'Archevêque Villeneuve-l'Archevêque () is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. See also *Communes of the Yonne department The following is a list of the 423 communes of the Yonne department of France. ...
,
Yonne Yonne () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight constituent departments, it is l ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, a
commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...
in Burgundy


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:Directory of Cultural Monuments in Rhein-Hunsrück district
/ref>


Kirchberg (main centre)

* Saint Michael’s
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 ...
Parish Church (''Pfarrkirche St. Michael''), Kirchplatz 12 – Late Gothic
hall church A hall church is a church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height, often united under a single immense roof. The term was invented in the mid-19th century by Wilhelm Lübke, a pioneering German art historian. In contrast to an archi ...
, about 1490, west tower 13th century, upper floors about 1500, spire about 1700 (see also above) * Auf der Schied 12 – watertower * Eifelgasse (no number) – ''Altes Zollhaus'' (“Old Tollhouse”) of the Badish ''Truchsesserei'' (seneschal's office); building with hipped roof, 18th century * Eifelgasse 1 –
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 ...
house, partly solid, mansard roof, 18th century, timber-frame barn, 19th century * Hauptstraße 39 – post office;
Historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...
plastered façade, mid 19th century * At Hauptstraße 75 – staircase tower on back of house, marked 1578 * Kirchplatz – former graveyard cross, originally marked 174(?), destroyed in 1919 and renovated * Kirchplatz 2 – former
Piarist The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium pauperum Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the ...
monastery; today a Catholic rectory, seven-axis Baroque building with mansard roof, marked 1765; in rectory garden a fountain * Kirchplatz 3 – former sexton's house; timber-frame house, partly solid and slated, hipped mansard roof, marked 1754 * Kirchplatz 5 – building with hipped mansard roof, timber framing plastered, about 1800 * Kirchplatz 9 – timber-frame house, partly solid and slated, hipped mansard roof, 18th century * Kirchplatz 1–12, Marktplatz 9–11, Hauptstraße 20, 24–36 (even numbers), (monumental zone) – tree-lined square around the Catholic parish church with rectory and former graveyard cross * Marktplatz 4 – ''Schwanenapotheke'' (“Swans’ Pharmacy”), timber-frame house, partly solid, mid to latter half of the 17th century * Marktplatz 5/6 – no. 5 town hall, timber-frame building, partly solid, hipped mansard roof, early 17th century, conversion in 1746; no. 6 former ''Haus der Weber'' (“Weavers’ House”), timber-frame building, partly solid, timber-frame oriel marked 1698, house possibly from the earlier half of the 17th century * Marktplatz 7 – timber-frame house, partly solid, plastered, about 1700, mansard roof towards 1800 * Marktplatz 9 – timber-frame house, partly slated, 19th century * Marktplatz 11 – timber-frame house, partly solid, latter half of the 17th century * Marktplatz 1, 3–11, Hauptstraße 15–25 (odd numbers), 18 (monumental zone) – grouped round the nearly rectangular marketplace, houses, all with two floors, from the 17th to 19th century * Oberstraße 1 – building with hipped mansard roof, partly plastered and slated, early 19th century * Schülergasse 2 – local history museum; wedge-shaped timber-frame house, possibly from the 18th or 19th century * Simmerner Straße – garden pavilion, polygonal Baroque plastered building, 18th century *
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
graveyard (monumental zone) – opened before 1850, 67 gravestones from 1865 to 1937


Denzen

* Saint Nicholas's Catholic Church (''Kirche St. Nikolaus''), Dumnissusstraße – Romanesque quire tower, 13th century,
aisleless church An aisleless church (german: Saalkirche) is a single-nave church building that consists of a single hall-like room. While similar to the hall church, the aisleless church lacks aisles or passageways on either side of the nave and separated fr ...
, 1966, architect O. Vogel (see also above) * Near Oststraße 24 – Baroque baptismal font, 17th century File:Jüdischer-Friedhof-Kirchberg04.jpg, Jewish graveyard (monumental zone) File:Kirchberg, toren 2009-08-03 17.21.JPG, Auf der Schied 12: watertower File:Denzen01.jpg, Dumnissusstraße: Saint Nicholas's Catholic Church Other buildings and sites worth seeing are: * the historical Roman fountain in the outlying centre of Denzen; * the youth centre “Am Zug”, an interdenominational meeting place for youth with all-day supervision sponsored by the club “we-SHARE”, which is involved in international humanitarian endeavours.


Museums

The ''Kirchberger Heimatmuseum'' (local history museum) on Eifelgasse gives the visitor an impression of the townsfolk's lives in bygone centuries.


Old pictures of the town

In both the important collections of town portraits from the 17th century, the one by Daniel Meisner and Eberhard Kieser entitled ''Thesaurus philopoliticus'' (“Political Treasure Chest”) and also the one by
Matthäus Merian Matthäus is a given name or surname. Notable people with the name include: ;Surname * Lothar Matthäus, (born 1961), German former football player and manager ;Given name * Matthäus Aurogallus, Professor of Hebrew at the University of Wittenbe ...
entitled ''Topographia Germaniae'', are found copper engravings of Kirchberg. The former image, from 1623, was actually done by copper engraver Sebastian Furck, as witnessed by the
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
signature ''SF fecit'' (“SF made it”). The second town portrait, by Matthäus Merian, comes from 1645. In the accompanying description, it says of Kirchberg: “''Ist nicht groß, aber vor diesem Krieg fein erbaut gewesen''”, or “Is not big, but before this war (meaning the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
) was nicely built”. An
oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...
of Kirchberg from before 1610 is only preserved in old photographs. Also most instructive about the town's history are three town plans from 1635, 1655 and 1688.


Sport and leisure

Kirchberg has both an indoor and an outdoor swimming pool, a
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
hall, the open youth centre “Am Zug” and an indoor climbing hall. The ''Freiherr von Drais Radweg'' (“Baron von Drais Cycle Path”) leads in a loop round the town for 14 km. The ''Lützelsoon-Radweg'', another cycle path, to
Kirn Kirn is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. It is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Kirner Land. Kirn is a middle centre serving an area on the Nahe and in the Hunsrück. Geography Location Kirn lies in a la ...
, begins in Kirchberg. Moreover, there are a sport club called TuS Kirchberg 1909 and a handball club called HSV Kirchberg 1974.


Economy and infrastructure


Transport

Kirchberg lies at the crossing of two old highways: Trier-Kirchberg-Bingen-Mainz (now ''
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'' ...
'' 50) and
Middle Moselle The Middle Moselle or Central Moselle (german: Mittelmosel) refers to the approximately 120-kilometre-long section of the river Moselle, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany from the city of Trier to Zell. The subsequent section of t ...
-Nahe (now ''Bundesstraße'' 421). Since 1990, the inner town has been spared heavy traffic by the B 50 bypass. Foreseen for the
railway 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 ...
line, the '' Hunsrückquerbahn'' (Langenlonsheim-Stromberg-Rheinböllen-Simmern-Kirchberg-Hermeskeil), is at least partial reactivation to serve Frankfurt-Hahn Airport, although for the time being it still lies idle. West of the town, 12 km away, lies Frankfurt-Hahn Airport with international connections.


Education

The town of Kirchberg has a
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 ...
, a
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 ...
and a
Realschule ''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), ...
.


Famous people


Sons and daughters of the town

* Otto Back (1834-1917), district chairman in Simmern, Mayor of Strasbourg (now in France; then Straßburg, Germany), ''Landtag'' president


Further reading (in chronological order)

* Jakob Göhl: ''Aus Kirchbergs Vergangenheit''; Kirchberg 1949 * Albert Rosenkranz: ''Kirchberg, eine kleine Geschichte der evgl. Gemeinde dieser vordersponheimischen Oberamtsstadt''; Simmern 1959 * Hans Eiden, Norbert Müller-Dietrich, Ferdinand Pauly u.a.: ''St. Michael in Kirchberg. Geschichte – Grabung – Gestalt''; Kirchberg 1969 * Karl Faller: ''Kirchberg, älteste Stadt des Hunsrücks''; Simmern 1974 *
Magnus Backes Magnus Backes (17 September 1930 – 21 May 2019) was a German art historian and historic preservationist. From 1983 to 1991, he succeeded Werner Bornheim gen. Schilling and Hartmut Hofrichter as the third of the General Directorate for Cultura ...
, Hans Caspary, Norbert Müller-Dietrich: ''Die Kunstdenkmäler des Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreises, Teil 1: Ehemaliger Kreis Simmern''; München 1977 (mit ausführlichen Literaturnachweisen) * J. Kalb: ''Der Marktplatz in Kirchberg – Stadtbaukunst auf dem Hunsrück''; in: Rheinische Heimatpflege N.F. 18 (1981), S. 179 ff. * Hans Georg Wehrens: ''St. Michael in Kirchberg/Hunsrück''; München 1983 * Wolfgang Seibrich: ''Zur Geschichte der Pfarrei St. Michael in Kirchberg''; Vortragsmanuskript vom 27. September 1985 (Katholisches Pfarrarchiv) * Hans Georg Wehrens: ''Das badische Wappen am Portal des ehemaligen Piaristenklosters in Kirchberg''; in: Hunsrücker Heimatblätter 1988, S. 169 ff. * Willi Wagner, Alfred Bauer, Peter Casper, Hans Dunger: ''1000 Jahre Denzen 995–1995''; Kirchberg 1995 * Hans Georg Wehrens, Willi Wagner: ''Kirchberg im Hunsrück''; Rheinische Kunststätten Heft 46; Köln 19972 * Alfred Bauer, Hans Dunger: ''Das römische Kirchberg''; Schriftenreihe zur Geschichte der Stadt Kirchberg Band 1; Kirchberg 1999 * Hans Dunger, Willi Wagner: ''875 Jahre Ersterwähnung von Kirchberg''; Schriftenreihe zur Geschichte der Stadt Kirchberg Band 5; Kirchberg 2002 * Hans Dunger: ''Kirchberg um die Jahrtausendwende – Erinnerungen eines Hunsrücker Stadtbürgermeisters''; Schriftenreihe zur Geschichte der Stadt Kirchberg Band 8; Kirchberg 2006 * Hans Dunger: ''Die Kirchberger Bürgermeister seit 1800''; Schriftenreihe zur Geschichte der Stadt Kirchberg Band 11; Kirchberg 2009


References


External links

*
Private page about Kirchberg

Jubilee page, 750 years of town rights

Webpage about the Kirchberg watertower
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirchberg, Rhein-Hunsruck Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis