Meisenheim
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Meisenheim () is a town in the
Bad Kreuznach Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, most well known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke, which is one of the few remaining bridges in th ...
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 like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', and is also its seat. Meisenheim is a state-recognized recreational resort (''Erholungsort'') and it is set out as a middle centre in state planning.


Geography


Location

Meisenheim lies in the valley of the River Glan at the northern edge of 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 municipal area measures 1 324 ha.


Neighbouring municipalities

Clockwise from the north, Meisenheim's neighbours are
Raumbach Raumbach is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Pala ...
,
Rehborn Rehborn is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Nahe-Glan. Geo ...
,
Callbach Callbach is a municipality in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Meisenheim, whose seat is in the like-named town. Geography Location Callbach is a linear village (by some def ...
,
Reiffelbach Reiffelbach is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Meisenheim, ...
, Odenbach, Breitenheim and
Desloch Desloch is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Meisenheim, who ...
, all of which likewise lie within the Bad Kreuznach district, except for Odenbach, which lies in the neighbouring Kusel district.


Constituent communities

Also belonging to Meisenheim are the outlying homesteads of Hof Wieseck, Keddarterhof and Röther Hof.


History

Meisenheim is believed to have arisen in the 7th century AD, and its name is often derived from the town's hypothetical founder "Meiso" (thus making the meaning "Meiso's Home"). In 1154, Meisenheim had its first documentary mention. Sometimes cited as such, however, is a document dated 14 June 891 from the
West Frankish In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...
king
Odo Odo or ODO may refer to: People * Odo, a given name; includes a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Franklin Odo (born 1939), Japanese-American historian * Seikichi Odo (1927–2002), Japanese karateka * Yuya Odo (born 1990), J ...
(for example by K. Heintz in ''Die Schlosskirche zu Meisenheim a. Gl. u. ihre Denkmäler'' in ''Mitteilungen d. Histor. Vereins d. Pfalz 24'' (1900) pp. 164–279, within which p. 164, and by W. Dotzauer in ''Geschichte des Nahe-Hunsrück-Raumes'' (2001), pp. 69 & 72), but this document is falsified (''cf.'' H. Wibel: ''Die Urkundenfälschungen Georg Friedrich Schotts'', in ''Neues Archiv d. Ges. f. Ältere Dt. Gesch.kunde Bd. 29'' (1904), pp. 653–765, within which p. 688 & pp. 753– 757). In the 12th century, Meisenheim was raised to the main seat of the
Counts of Veldenz The County Palatine of Veldenz was a principality in the contemporary Land Rhineland-Palatinate with full voting rights to the Reichstag. The county was located partially between Kaiserslautern, Sponheim and Zweibrücken, partially on the Mose ...
and in 1315 it was granted town rights by King Ludwig IV. On what is now known as Schlossplatz ("Palace Square"), the Counts of Veldenz built a
castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
, bearing witness to which today are only two buildings that were later built, the ''Schloss Magdalenenbau'' (nowadays called the ''Herzog-Wolfgang-Haus'' or "Duke Wolfgang House") and above all the ("Palace
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 ...
"), building work on which began in 1479. Both buildings were built only after the Counts of Veldenz had died out in 1444 and the county had been inherited by the Dukes of
Palatine Zweibrücken Palatine Zweibrücken (), or the County Palatine of Zweibrücken, is a former state of the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Zweibrücken (french: Deux-Ponts). Its reigning house, a branch of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was also the Royal House of ...
. This noble house, too, at first kept their seat at Meisenheim, but soon moved it to
Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; olde ...
. From 1538 to 1571, Duke Wolfgang of Zweibrücken maintained in Meisenheim a
mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaAES g ...
, with one interruption, although this was then moved to
Bergzabern Bad Bergzabern () is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, on the German Wine Route in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated near the border with France, on the south-eastern edge of the Palatinate forest, approximately ...
. The ''Doppeltaler'' (double Thaler), ''Taler'' (
Thaler A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter of ...
) and ''Halbtaler'' (half Thaler)
coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
s minted in the time when the mint was in Meisenheim remain among the highest-quality mintings from Palatinate-Zweibrücken. In 1799, Duke of Zweibrücken Maximilian IV inherited the long united lands of the Electorate of Bavaria and 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 ...
. While these three states were now ''
de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...
'' in
personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...
, this did not shift the power structures on the ground at all, for Palatinate-Zweibrücken had already been
occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2 ...
by French Revolutionary troops along with the other left-bank territories. After the end of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars in 1815, 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 ...
assigned the part of Palatinate-Zweibrücken lying north of the Glan, including Meisenheim, to the
Landgraviate Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), a ...
of
Hesse-Homburg Hesse-Homburg was formed into a separate landgraviate in 1622 by the landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt; it was to be ruled by his son, although it did not become independent of Hesse-Darmstadt until 1668. It was briefly divided into Hesse-Homburg and H ...
rather than Maximilian's
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 ...
. From 1816 onwards, Meisenheim was the administrative seat of the of Meisenheim and an . In 1866 the
Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (german: link=no, Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Grand Duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 ...
inherited Hesse-Homburg but had to cede its territory to the
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
later that same year following its defeat in the
Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
. The town of Meisenheim itself was not wholly reunited until 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 ...
when state 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 ...
was founded. Until then, the lands just across the Glan had been Bavarian (either as foreign territory or as another province within
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 ...
,
Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
or
Nazi Germany 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 ...
) since the Congress of Vienna.


Jewish history

Meisenheim had a Jewish community possibly even as far back as the
Middle Ages 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 ...
, after it was granted town rights in 1315. The first documentary mention of a Jew, however, did not come until 1551 when a "Jud Moses" cropped up in the record. He was selling a house on Schweinsgasse (a lane that still exists now). In 1569, the Jews were turned out of the town. After 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 ...
, two Jewish families were allowed to live in the town. In 1740, the number of Jewish families was still supposed to be kept down to four, but this rule was often not upheld. The reasons given for these restrictions were mainly economic.
…Fourteenthly, no more than four Jewish families should live and be tolerated in the local town; this rose under High Prince Gustav’s state government to 7 such, …which has not only caused the local grocers through the constant
hawking Hawking may refer to: People * Stephen Hawking (1942–2018), English theoretical physicist and cosmologist *Hawking (surname), a family name (including a list of other persons with the name) Film * ''Hawking'' (2004 film), about Stephen Haw ...
and the butchers through shechita great harm and loss of sustinence, but also has already put many citizens and peasants to ruination, and furthermore still means that the little
protection money A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from viol ...
that Your High-Princely Serene Highness draws from these people by far does not offset this harm, whereby Your High-Princely Serene Highness harms his truest subjects. If a few provisions have been indulged-in as a result of the hawking and shechita, bizarrely the butchers' guild article, then these Jews, as a dogged and naughty people, are not troubled by them, but rather begin their abuses anew after some time has gone by; we therefore ask, most humbly, that Your High-Princely Serene Highness most kindly deign to reduce the Jews here, to the citizenry’s greatest consolation, back to 4, by strengthening the provisions for the forbidden hawking and the butchers' guild article for excessive shechita.
Following the 1740 decree, the Jews moved to nearby villages, still keeping themselves near the "market", which to them was a matter of survival, and which was of course also necessary for economic growth. The "grocers" and above all the butchers could thus not be wholly free of their competition, especially as the government knew enough to prize good taxpayers. This shift also applied across borders, and thus not only to the villages belonging to the canton of Meisenheim, but also to the bordering Palatine villages such as Odenbach. A more thorough analysis of this shift of town and country Jews appears in W. Kemp's review, and this work also contains a taxation roll of Jews in the canton of Meisenheim, showing the tax burdens borne by Jews living in the outlying villages of
Medard Medard () is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel (district), Kusel Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, German ...
, Breitenheim, Schweinschied,
Löllbach Löllbach is an – a municipality belonging to a , a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the , whose seat is in the like-named town. Geography Location Löllbach is ...
,
Merxheim Merxheim is a small town and ''Ortsgemeinde'' in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Bad Sobernheim. The town's economy is traditionally based on wine making. The town is ...
,
Bärweiler Bärweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Bad Sobernhe ...
,
Meddersheim Meddersheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Bad Sobernhe ...
,
Staudernheim Staudernheim is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous countr ...
and
Hundsbach Hundsbach is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Meisenheim, ...
. The modern Jewish community arose in the 18th century, According to a report from 1860, the oldest readable gravestone then at the Meisenheim graveyard bore the date 1725. Thus presumably Jews were then still allowed to live in the town. In the time 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 ...
, there were fewer Jewish families, among whom was a butcher who was allowed to ply his trade in town. About 1800, it is clear that several families fled to the town to escape Johannes Bückler's (''Schinderhannes's'') crime wave. In the earlier half of the 19th century, the number of Jewish inhabitants grew sharply, mostly because of the arrival of newcomers from Jewish villages in the
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 ...
area. The number of Jewish inhabitants developed as follows: in 1808, there were 161; in 1860, 260; in 1864, 198 (12% of the population); in 1871, 160 (8.73% of 1,832 inhabitants); in 1885, 120 (7.05% of 1701); in 1895, 87 (5.01% of 1738); in 1902, 89 (5.01% of 1,777). Also belonging to the Breitenheim Jewish community were the Jews living in Breitenheim. In 1924 they numbered two. In the way of institutions, there were a
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
(see Former synagogue below), a Jewish primary and religious school (present no later than 1826, and as of 1842 housed in the building at Wagnerstraße 13), a
mikveh Mikveh or mikvah (,  ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or (Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity. Most forms of ritual impurity can be purif ...
and a graveyard (see Jewish graveyard below). To provide for the community's religious needs, a primary and religious schoolteacher, alongside the
rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
, was hired, who also busied himself as the
hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this pr ...
and the shochet (preserved is a whole series of job advertisements for such a position in Meisenheim from such publications as the ''Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums''). For a time, the hazzan's position was separate from the schoolteacher's. In the 19th century, a man named Benjamin Unrich worked as primary schoolteacher from 1837 to 1887 – 50 years. In 1830, he taught 32 children, in 1845, 46 and in 1882, 21. At either Unrich's retirement or his death in 1890, the Jewish
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 ...
was closed, and thereafter Jewish schoolchildren attended 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 ...
school, while receiving religious instruction at the Jewish religious school. 1875 to 1909, the community's hazzan and religion teacher was Heyman de Beer. The last religion teacher, from 1924 to 1928, was Julius Voos (b. 1904 in
Kamen Kamen () is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the district Unna. Geography Kamen is situated at the east end of the Ruhr area, approximately 10 km south-west of Hamm and 25 km north-east of Dortmund. Neighbouring cities, t ...
,
Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...
, d. 1944 at
Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
). In 1924, he taught 15 children, but by 1928, this had shrunk to 7. After he left, the few school-age Jewish children left were taught by the schoolteacher from
Sobernheim Bad Sobernheim is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', and is also its seat. It is a state-recognized spa town, and is well known for two fossil discovery sites ...
(Julius Voos earned his doctorate in
Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...
in 1933, and between 1936 and 1943 he was a rabbi in
Guben Guben (Polish and Sorbian: ''Gubin'') is a town on the Lusatian Neisse river in Lower Lusatia, in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. Located in the Spree-Neiße district, Guben has a population of 20,049. Along with Frankfurt (Oder) and Görlitz ...
,
Lusatia Lusatia (german: Lausitz, pl, Łużyce, hsb, Łužica, dsb, Łužyca, cs, Lužice, la, Lusatia, rarely also referred to as Sorbia) is a historical region in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. Lusatia stretches from the Bóbr ...
, then in
Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...
, whence he was deported to Auschwitz in 1943). Meisenheim was in the 19th century the seat of a rabbinate, with the rabbi bearing the title of the of Meisenheim in
Hesse-Homburg Hesse-Homburg was formed into a separate landgraviate in 1622 by the landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt; it was to be ruled by his son, although it did not become independent of Hesse-Darmstadt until 1668. It was briefly divided into Hesse-Homburg and H ...
times and ("District Rabbi") in
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 ...
n times. Serving as rabbi were the following: One member of Meisenheim's Jewish community fell in 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 ...
, Leo Sender (b. 12 July 1893 in
Hennweiler Hennweiler is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Kirner Land, who ...
, d. 20 October 1914). Also lost in the Great War was Alfred Moritz (b. 16 May 1890 in Meisenheim, d. 20 June 1916), but he had moved to Kirn by 1914. About 1924, when there were still 55 members of the Jewish community (3% of roughly 1,800 to 1,900 inhabitants), the community's leaders were Moritz Rosenberg, Simon Schlachter, Albert Kaufmann and Hermann Levy. The representatives were Louis Strauß, Levi Bloch, Albert Cahn and Siegmund Cahn. Employed as schoolteacher was Julius Voos. He taught at the community's religion school and taught Jewish religion at the public schools. In 1932, the community's leaders were Moritz Rosenberg (first), Simon Schlachter (second) and Felix Kaufmann (third). The community had since found itself without a schoolteacher. Instruction was then being given the Jewish schoolchildren by Felix Moses from Sobernheim. Worthy of mention among the then still active Jewish clubs is the Jewish Women's Club, which concerned itself with supporting the poor. In 1932 its chairwoman was Mrs. Schlachter. In 1933, the year when
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 ...
and the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
seized power, there were still 38 Jews living in 13 families in Meisenheim. Thereafter, though, some of the Jews moved away or even
emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
in the face of the progressive stripping of their rights and repression, all brought about by the Nazis. Already by that year, intimidating measures were being undertaken: Shochet's knives were being seized by
Brownshirt The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ral ...
and ''
Der Stahlhelm ' (German, 'The Steel Helmet, League of Front-Line Soldiers'), commonly known as ''Der Stahlhelm'' ('The Steel Helmet'), was a German First World War veteran's organisation existing from 1918 to 1935. It was part of the "Black Reichswehr" and ...
'' thugs. Several well known Jewish businessmen (grain wholesaler Hugo Weil, wine dealer Julius Levy, other livestock and grain wholesalers) were taken into so-called "
protective custody Protective custody (PC) is a type of imprisonment (or care) to protect a person from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many prison administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within pri ...
". Jewish businesses were " Aryanized", the last ones in June 1938. On Kristallnacht (9–10 November 1938), the
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
sustained substantial damage, and worse, the Jewish men who were still in town were arrested. With the deportation of the last Jews living in Meisenheim to the South of France in October 1940, the Meisenheim Jewish community's history came to an end. According to the ''Gedenkbuch – Opfer der Verfolgung der Juden unter der nationalsozialistischen Gewaltherrschaft in Deutschland 1933-1945'' ("Memorial Book – Victims of the Persecution of the Jews under National Socialist Tyranny") and
Yad Vashem Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
, as compared against other data, critically examined and completed by Wolfgang Kemp, of all Jews who either were born in Meisenheim or lived there for a long time, 44 died in the time of the Third Reich (birthdates in brackets): #Ferdinand Altschüler (1865) #Thekla Bär ''née'' Fränkel (1862) #Hedwig de Beer (1887) #Klara de Beer (1889) #Cäcilia (Zili) de Beer (1891) #Sigmund Cahn (1874) #Ida Cahn ''née'' Kaufmann, Sigmund's wife (1885) #Adolf David (1879) #Julius David (1883) #Leo Fränkel (1867) #Julius Fränkel (1873) #Karl Josef Fränkel (1902) #Pauline Goldmann, ''née'' Fränkel (1864) #Frieda Hamburger, ''née'' Schlachter (1885) #Willy Hamburger, Sohn von Frieda (1911) #Albert Löb (1870) #Flora Löb ''née'' de Beer (1895) #Julius Maas (1876) #Martha Mayer ''née'' Fränkel (1866) #Georg Meyer (1894) #Selma Meyer, ''née'' Schlachter, Georg's wife, Simon's and Elise's daughter (1894) #Johanna Nathan ''née'' Strauss (1873) #Moritz Rosenberg (1866) #Auguste Rosenberg ''née'' Stern, Moritz's wife (1863) #Elsa (Else) Rosenberg, Moritz's and Auguste's daughter (1894) #Flora Sandel ''née'' de Beer (1884) #Justine Scheuer ''née'' Fränkel (1861) #Simon Schlachter (1858) #Schlachter, Elisabeth Elise, ''née'' Sonnheim, Simon's wife (1867) #Adele Silberberg ''née'' David (1871) #Simon Schlachter (1877) #Isidor (Juda, Justin) Stern (1893) #Walter Stern (1899) #Ida Strauss ''née'' Strauss (1862) #Isaac Julius Strauss (1866) #Isaac (called 'Louis/Ludwig') Strauss (1887) #Laura Strauss ''née'' Michel, Louis's wife (1883) #Lilli Strauss, Louis's and Laura's daughter (1924) #Rudolf Strauss, Louis's and Laura's son (1928) #Isidor Weil, Jakob's brother (1875) #Friederike 'Rika' Weil ''née'' Stein, Jakob's widow (1875) #Dr. Otto Weil, Jakob's and his first wife Therese ''née'' Schwartz's son (1894) #Hedwig Weil ''née'' Mayer, wife of Hugo Emanuel, Jakob's and his second wife Friederike ''née'' Stein's son (1911) #Alfred Abraham Weil, Hedwig's and Hugo's son (1936) After 1945, the only Jews who came back to Meisenheim were one married couple, Otto David and his wife. Listed in the table that follows are the fates of some of Meisenheim's Jewish families: In comparison with the list of victims, it comes to light that idyllic and introspective Meisenheim was gladly sought out by expectant mothers as a place to give birth. Those born in Meisenheim markedly outnumbered those who had moved there. Three persons, who indeed were also born in Meisenheim but whose lives did not centre around it, lived in
Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
at a seniors’ home and thus were seized in the ''Saar/Pfalz/Baden-Aktion'' undertaken by the two ''Gauleiter'' Bürckel and Wagner and thereby sent to
Gurs Gurs is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. History Gurs was the site of the Gurs internment camp. Nothing remains of the camp; after World War II, a forest was planted on the site where it stood. Geogr ...
. They were Ferdinand Altschüler (76) and the sisters Ida and Johanna Strauss (79 and 68). Now standing in memory of many of those Jews who died or were driven out in the
Shoa SHOA or Servicio Hidrográfico y Oceanográfico de la Armada de Chile (Spanish for Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy) is an agency of the Chilean Navy managing situations dealing with hydrography and oceanography, includin ...
are so-called '' Stolpersteine'', which were only laid in the town on 23 November 2007 after town council's unanimous vote in response to the Meisenheim Synagogue Sponsorship and Promotional Association chairman Günter Lenhoff's proposal.


Criminal history

Like many places in the region, Meisenheim can claim to have had its dealings with the notorious outlaw
Schinderhannes Johannes Bückler (c.1778 – 21 November 1803) was a German outlaw who orchestrated one of the most famous crime sprees in German history. He has been nicknamed Schinderhannes and Schinnerhannes in German and John the Scorcher, John the Flaye ...
(or Johannes Bückler, to use his true name). In early 1797, the already well known robber committed one of his earliest
burglaries Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...
in Meisenheim. One night, he climbed into a master tanner's house and stole part of his leather stock, which he then apparently tried to sell back to the tanner the next day. In the spring of 1798, Schinderhannes went dancing several times at
inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
s in Meisenheim.


Religion

Meisenheim's
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 ...
Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
belong, as one of the church's southernmost communities, to the
Evangelical Church in the Rhineland Protestant Church in the Rhineland (german: Evangelische Kirche im Rheinland; EKiR) is a United Protestant church body in parts of the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Hesse (Wetzlar). This is actually th ...
, while the
Catholics 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 ...
belong to the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
(0.289%), 1 belongs to the
New Apostolic Church The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a Christian denomination, Christian church that split from the Catholic Apostolic Church during an 1863 schism in Hamburg, Germany. The church has existed since 1863 in Germany and since 1897 in the Ne ...
(0.036%), 41 (1.483%) belong to other religious groups and 384 (13.893%) either have no religion or will not reveal their religious affiliation.


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

Meisenheim's mayor is Gerhard Heil.


Coat of arms

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 be described thus: Per fess argent a demilion azure armed and langued gules and crowned Or, and gules a blue tit proper. The charge in the upper field, the lion, is a reference to the town's former allegiance to the
Counts of Veldenz The County Palatine of Veldenz was a principality in the contemporary Land Rhineland-Palatinate with full voting rights to the Reichstag. The county was located partially between Kaiserslautern, Sponheim and Zweibrücken, partially on the Mose ...
, while the one in the lower field, the blue tit, is a canting charge for the town's name, ''Meise'' being the
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 ...
word for “ tit”. This, however, is not actually the name's derivation. Meisenheim was raised to town in 1315 by King Ludwig IV. From the 12th century onwards, the town was held by the Counts of Veldenz. The arms are based on the town's first seal from the 14th century. It already bore the two charges that the current arms bear. In the 18th century, there was another composition in the town's seal showing a lion above a bendy lozengy field (slanted diamond shapes of alternating tinctures) while the tit appeared on an inescutcheon. This change reflected a change in the lordship after the Counts of Veldenz died out in 1444 and were succeeded by the
House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...
, who bore arms bendy lozengy argent and azure (silver and blue). This pattern can still be seen in
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
’s coat of arms and flag today. The former arms, however, were reintroduced in 1935. The article and the website Heraldry of the World show three different versions of the arms. The oldest, seen at Heraldry of the World, comes from the
Coffee Hag albums The Coffee Hag albums were published in the early 20th century by the Kaffee Handelsgesellschaft AG (Kaffee HAG, Coffee Hag) in Bremen, Germany, starting with heraldic stamps and collector's albums. The stamps and books were the initiative of the ...
from about 1925. It shows the tit in different
tinctures 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 ...
, namely argent and sable (silver and black). The arms with the Wittelsbach bendy lozengy pattern are not shown.


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: * ''Altstadt'' (“Old Town”) (monumental zone) – Old Town with building begun in the 14th century within and including the 14th-century town wall, the Gießen (arm of the Glan, possibly an old millrace) with the
tanning Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
houses as well as the building before the former ''Obertor'' (“Upper Gate”) and ''Schlosskirche'' (“Palace Church”) (see also
below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor *Bottom (disambiguation) Bottom may refer to: Anatomy and sex * Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
) * Former Powder Tower (''Pulverturm'' also called ''Bürgerturm'') – round town wall corner tower, after 1315, later altered *
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 ...
''Schlosskirche'' (“Palace
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 ...
”), Schlossplatz 1 – former
Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...
church, Late Gothic hall church, 1479–1504, architect Philipp von Gmünd, 1766–1770 interior conversion by Philipp Heinrich Hellermann; breast wall with Late Gothic portal, marked 1484 (see also
below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor *Bottom (disambiguation) Bottom may refer to: Anatomy and sex * Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
) * Saint Anthony of Padua
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. Antonius von Padua''), Klenkertor 7 – former
Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
monastery church:
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
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 fro ...
, 1685–1688, architect Franz Matthias Heyliger,
Baroque Revival The Baroque Revival, also known as Neo-Baroque (or Second Empire architecture in France and Wilhelminism in Germany), was an architectural style of the late 19th century. The term is used to describe architecture and architectural sculptur ...
tower, 1902, architect Ludwig Becker,
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 ...
(see also
below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor *Bottom (disambiguation) Bottom may refer to: Anatomy and sex * Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
) * Town fortifications – long sections, partly with allure, of the town fortifications begun before 1315, partly destroyed in 1689 * Am Herrenschlag – ''Eiserner Steg'' (“Iron Footbridge”); iron construction with segmental arches, 1893 * Am Herrenschlag 1 – ''Gelbes Haus'' (“Yellow House”), former Knights Hospitaller
commandry In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...
; essentially from 1349 (?) or before 1489, conversion in early 18th century; stately
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 ...
building with half-hip roof, towards the back a “shield gable” (that is, a gable that forms part of the façade). Furnishing; bridge to the ''Schlosskirche'' churchyard, estate gate complex * Am Herrenschlag 2 – Late Baroque house, partly slated timber framing, marked 1765 * Am Untertor – ''Untertorbrücke'' (“Lower Gate Bridge”); three-arch
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) ...
bridge, possibly after 1784, put back in order after damage in 1811, widened in 1894 * Am Untertor – ''Untertor'' (“Lower Gate”); three-floor town gate, 13th century and later * Am Wehr – town wall remnant with allure; 13th century and later * Am Wehr 2 – Gründerzeit sandstone-block building with knee wall, Late Classicist façade, 1879 * Am Wehr 3 – former tanning house; quarrystone building, partly timber-frame, between 1768 and 1820 * Am Wehr 4 – former tanning house; essentially from the latter half of the 19th century * Amtsgasse 1 – stately Baroque estate complex; building with hipped
mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...
, great barn, 1763–1765, architect Philipp Heinrich Hellermann (?) * Amtsgasse 2 – former '' Amtsgericht''; Late Classicist sandstone-block building, 1865/1866 * Amtsgasse 4 – plastered building with eaves facing the street, about 1822/1826 * Amtsgasse 5 – three-floor Classicist house, marked 1833 * Amtsgasse 7 – Classicist house, about 1822/1823 * Amtsgasse 11 – timber-frame house, partly solid, 1631 * Amtsgasse 13 – former ''Hunoltsteiner Hof''; three-wing complex, 16th to 18th centuries; main wing, partly timber-frame, 16th century, Baroque side building, 1791–1721, timber-frame building above a columned hall * Amtsgasse 15 – Late Baroque house, marked 1752 * Amtsgasse 19 – Late Baroque house, marked 1778; essentially possibly from the 17th century * An der Bleiche – sandstone arch bridge, latter half of the 19th century * Bismarckplatz 1 –
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 ...
; Late Historicist sandstone-block building with tower, goods shed, side building, 1894 * At Hammelsgasse 1 – Late Baroque door leaf, late 18th century * Hammelsgasse 3 – house, essentially before 1726, marked 1833 * Hammelsgasse 5 – Baroque timber-frame house, before 1739 * Hans-Franck-Straße – one-arch quarrystone bridge, marked 1761 * Herzog-Wolfgang-Straße 9 – former agricultural school; Neoclassical plastered building, marked 1922/1923 * Hinter der Hofstatt 9 –
clinker brick Clinker bricks are partially-vitrified bricks used in the construction of buildings. Clinker bricks are produced when wet clay bricks are exposed to excessive heat during the firing process, sintering the surface of the brick and forming a shin ...
building,
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
motifs, 1904 * At Hinter der Hofstatt 11 – Classicist summer house, about 1830 * Klenkertor 2 – Late Baroque building with hipped mansard roof, marked 1784, essentially possibly after 1686 * Klenkertor 3 – shophouse, partly timber-frame, marked 1604, conversion in the late 18th century * Klenkertor 6 –
inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
„Zum Engel“; stately timber-frame building, possibly from the early 18th century * Klenkertor 7 – Catholic rectory; former Franciscan monastery, Baroque two-wing complex, marked 1716 and 1732, former monastery garden * Klenkertor 9 – inn with dwelling; two Baroque timber-frame houses with gables facing the street, partly solid, 1704 and 1714, joined in 1818 * Klenkertor 16 – timber-frame house, partly solid, possibly from the 16th or 17th century * Klenkertor 20 – quarrystone barn, before 1768, conversion marked 1853 * Klenkertor 26 – rich three-floor timber-frame house, marked 1618 and 1814 * Klenkertor 30 – house, possibly from the 17th century and later * Klenkertor 36 – post-Baroque building with half-hip roof, 1822 * Lauergasse 3 – Late Baroque house, marked 1770, essentially possibly older * Lauergasse 5 – Baroque house, marked 1739 * Lauergasse 8 – Baroque house, essentially possibly from the early 18th century * Liebfrauenberg – sculpture group mother and child, 1937/1938, sculptor
Arno Breker Arno Breker (19 July 1900 – 13 February 1991) was a German architect and sculptor who is best known for his public works in Nazi Germany, where they were endorsed by the authorities as the antithesis of degenerate art. He was made official ...
* Lindenallee 2 – Late Classicist house with knee wall, 1843 * Lindenallee 9 –
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 compuls ...
, Heimatstil building with Renaissance motifs, 1908, Building Councillor Häuser,
Kreuznach Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, most well known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke, which is one of the few remaining bridges in th ...
(see also
below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor *Bottom (disambiguation) Bottom may refer to: Anatomy and sex * Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
) * Lindenallee 21 – stately Late Historicist villa, 1911 * Marktgasse 2 – Baroque timber-frame house, before 1761, conversion 1782 * Marktgasse 3 – timber-frame house, partly solid, essentially possibly from the 16th century, conversion marked 1809 * Marktgasse 5/7 – Classicist house, about 1830, essentially possibly from the 17th or 18th century * Marktgasse 9 – three-floor Late Baroque house, marked 1782 * Marktplatz 2 – ''Mohren-Apotheke'' (
pharmacy Pharmacy is the science and practice of discovering, producing, preparing, dispensing, reviewing and monitoring medications, aiming to ensure the safe, effective, and affordable use of medicines. It is a miscellaneous science as it links heal ...
); three-floor
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
building, essentially from the 16th century * Marktplatz 3 – three-floor shophouse, essentially from the 16th century (?), conversion 1841 * Marktplatz 4 – former market hall; long rich building with pitched roof, timber-frame, columned portico, possibly about 1550/1560 or from the 17th century * Marktplatz 5 – Late Classicist sandstone-block building, 1856 * Mühlgasse 3 – former town mill; town wall tower/mill tower, great building with half-hip roof, essentially from the late 18th century, conversion marked 1860; three- to four-floor storage building,
Rundbogenstil (round-arch style) is a nineteenth-century historic revival style of architecture popular in the German-speaking lands and the German diaspora. It combines elements of Byzantine, Romanesque, and Renaissance architecture with particular ...
, 1897, with town wall tower, 14th century, wall remnants * Mühlgasse 6 – Baroque timber-frame house, plastered, marked 1705 * Mühlgasse 8 – former stable (?), partly timber-frame, 18th century (?) * Mühlgasse 10 – barn, partly timber-frame, 18th/19th century * Mühlgasse 12 – house, essentially 1565 (?), timber-frame upper floor possibly from the 18th century * Mühlgasse 14 – former hospital; plastered building, before 1768, conversions in the 19th and 20th centuries, barn 1706 * Obergasse 1 – Late Classicist house, marked 1852, essentially possibly older * Obergasse 2 – Baroque timber-frame house, partly solid, marked 1720 * Obergasse 3 – ''Kellenbacher Hof'' (estate); Late Gothic solid building with box
oriel window An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, bracket (architecture), brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window is most commonly found pro ...
and staircase tower, marked 1530 * Obergasse 4 – so-called ''Ritterherberge'' (“Knights’ Hostel”); two- to three-floor pair of
semi-detached A semi-detached house (often abbreviated to semi) is a single family duplex dwelling house that shares one common wall with the next house. The name distinguishes this style of house from detached houses, with no shared walls, and terraced house ...
houses, partly timber-frame (Baroque), essentially from the latter half of the 16th century; marked 1723 * Obergasse 5 – ''Steinkallenfelser Hof'' (estate); Late Gothic solid building with staircase tower, about 1530, in 18th and 19th centuries made over * Obergasse 6 – pair of semi-detached houses, partly timber-frame, essentially Late Gothic (15th/16th century), façade made over in Classicist style about 1840 * Obergasse 7 – former
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 ...
rectory; Late Baroque building, about 1760, timber-frame barn * Obergasse 8 – ''Fürstenwärther Hof'' (estate); 16th century; three-floor house, Late Classicist façade, 1855, Master Builder Krausch, side building 18th and 19th centuries * Obergasse 12 – Late Baroque house, before 1768 * Obergasse 13 – Baroque timber-frame house, plastered, 1713, converted before 1823 * Obergasse 15 – Baroque timber-frame house, 17th or early 18th century * Obergasse 16 – house, partly slated timber-frame, essentially before 1730, conversion in the early 19th century; hind wing on Marktgasse (“Market Lane”): timber-frame house, partly solid, essentially from the 17th century, conversion about 1800 * Obergasse 17 – Renaissance timber-frame house, 16th century * Obergasse 18 – former
mikveh Mikveh or mikvah (,  ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or (Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity. Most forms of ritual impurity can be purif ...
; Art Nouveau house door * Obergasse 19 – so-called ''Inspektorenhaus'' (“Inspector’s House”); former
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
rectory, Renaissance timber-frame building with polygonal staircase tower, after 1588 * Obergasse 21 – Baroque timber-frame house, partly solid, marked 1728 * Obergasse 22 – Late Gründerzeit house, clinker brick façade, 1906–1908, Master Builder Wilhelm * Obergasse 23 – timber-frame house, partly solid, essentially possibly from the 17th century, Late Baroque conversion (1764?) * Obergasse 25 – house with
relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
s on windowsills, marked 1931 * Obergasse 26 – ''Boos von Waldeck’scher Hof'' (estate); essentially from the
Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...
; three-floor plastered building, staircase tower, marked 1669, conversion 1822 * Obergasse 29 – Baroque timber-frame house, partly solid, 17th century * Obergasse 31 – house, marked 1612, essentially possibly Gothic (13th or 14th century?), conversion 1891, addition, partly timber-frame, about 1900 * Obergasse 33 – inn „Zur Blume“; Late Baroque building with mansard roof, before 1768 * At Obergasse 35 – Gothic window and
corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...
s * Obergasse 41 – three-floor Baroque timber-frame house, about 1704 * Obertor 13 – Art Nouveau villa, 1906/1907 * Obertor 15 – former Bonnet
brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...
; whole rambling complex of Gründerzeit buildings with former malt house and storage building with four
chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typic ...
s, commercial yard,
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style elements, last third of the 19th century * Obertor 24 – villa; Late Gründerzeit building with hip roof, Renaissance Revival, three-floor tower, 1890–1893, architect Jean Rheinstädter, Kreuznach * Obertor 30 – former forester's house; one-floor Late Gründerzeit building with half-hip roof, 1898 * Obertor 34 – Late Gründerzeit villa, 1896/1897 * Obertor 36 – Historicized villa, 1906 * Obertor 38 – villa, Historicized Art Nouveau, 1906 * Rapportierplatz – running well, 1938, fountain bowl and post by Jordan,
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
figure by
Emil Cauer the Younger Emil Cauer the Younger (1867-1946) was a German sculptor, known for his monuments and fountains in Berlin. Life and work He was born to the sculptor, Karl Cauer and his wife Elisabeth Magdalene, née Schmidt. His grandfather, Emil Cauer the Eld ...
* Rapportierplatz 4 – inn with dwelling, timber-frame house, partly solid, essentially from the late 16th century, in 1754 described as made over in Baroque * At Rapportierplatz 5 – portal, Baroque, marked 1718 * Rapportierplatz 6 – Baroque timber-frame house, partly solid, 17th century, marked 1758 * Rapportierplatz 7 – Late Baroque building with mansard roof, mid-18th century * Rapportierplatz 8 – three-floor timber-frame house, plastered, earlier half of the 19th century * Rapportierplatz 12/14 – three-floor Late Baroque house with knee wall, before 1768, conversion 1870 * Rathausgasse 1 – former Lutheran ''Christianskirche'' (church); Late Baroque building with hip roof, 1761–1771, architect Philipp Heinrich Hellermann * Rathausgasse 3 – former barn, partly timber-frame, before 1550 (apparently 1495) * Rathausgasse 7, 9 – house, barn, mainly Baroque group of buildings, 18th century, building with half-hip roof, gateway with timber-frame superstructure, quarrystone side building * Rathausgasse 8 – house, essentially possibly Late Gothic (16th century?), made over in the 18th century, about 1820 and in the 20th century; stately timber-frame side building * Rathausgasse 10 – Baroque building with hipped mansard roof, 18th century * Raumbacher Straße, ''Alter Friedhof'' (“Old Graveyard”) (monumental zone) – laid out before 1829; gravestones from the 17th century to about 1900; surrounding wall * Raumbacher Straße 3 – house, Art Nouveau, 1906, architect Wilhelm * Raumbacher Straße 5 – bungalow, Art Nouveau motifs, 1906/1907 * Raumbacher Straße 7/7a – one-and-a-half-floor pair of semi-detached houses, 1905 * Raumbacher Straße 9/11 – pair of semi-detached houses; bungalow with mansard roof, Art Nouveau, 1907/1908 * Behind Saarstraße 3 – summer house,
Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
, 1766 * Saarstraße 3A – former
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
; three-floor sandstone-block building, Rundbogenstil, 1866 (see also
below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor *Bottom (disambiguation) Bottom may refer to: Anatomy and sex * Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
) * Saarstraße 6 – stately Late Classicist complex with single roof ridge, about 1840 * Saarstraße 7 – leprosarium's former
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 ...
(?); marked 1745, made over about 1900; Late Classicist house, about 1850/1860, belonging to it? * Saarstraße 9 – villa, Renaissance Revival, 1893 * Saarstraße 12 –
post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
; Heimatstil building with
Expressionistic Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
motifs, 1933, Postal Building Councillor Lütje * Saarstraße 16 – shophouse, three-floor Late Gründerzeit house, Renaissance motifs, 1898 * Saarstraße 17 – villalike Late Historicist house, 1908–1910 * Saarstraße 21 – former
bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...
building; Late Gründerzeit house, Renaissance motifs, 1901/1902, garden architect Karl Gréus, carried out by architect Schöpper * Saarstraße 23 – Late Gründerzeit inn, Renaissance motifs, 1904 * Inside Schillerstraße 4 – two Classicist doors, stairway * Schillerstraße 6 – former oilmill; Baroque timber-frame house, half-hip roof, 1693 * Schillerstraße 8 – Late Gründerzeit house, Renaissance Revival, 1902 * Schillerstraße 18 – former saddler's shop (?); one-floor workshop building with shop about 1900 * Schlossplatz – on the town wall a relief of a warriors’ memorial 1914-1918, angel with trumpet,
terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
, sandstone, 1924, sculptor
Robert Cauer the Younger Robert Cauer the Younger (3 January 1863, Bad Kreuznach - 28 February 1947, Darmstadt)Roland Dotzert: ''Stadtlexikon Darmstadt.'' Konrad Theiss Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart, 2006, , pg.125. was a German sculptor. Life and work His father was the sc ...
* Schlossplatz 3 – former palace of the Dukes of
Palatine Zweibrücken Palatine Zweibrücken (), or the County Palatine of Zweibrücken, is a former state of the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Zweibrücken (french: Deux-Ponts). Its reigning house, a branch of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was also the Royal House of ...
, ''Magdalenenbau'' (“Magdalene Building”) of the former palace; eight-sided staircase tower, 1614, architect Hans Grawlich, floor added in 1825; side wing, 1825, architect Georg Moller (see also
below Below may refer to: *Earth *Ground (disambiguation) *Soil *Floor *Bottom (disambiguation) Bottom may refer to: Anatomy and sex * Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
) * Schmidtsgasse 1 – three-floor timber-frame house, plastered, essentially from the 16th or early 17th century, conversion 1885 * Schmidtsgasse 2 – one-and-a-half-floor magazine building, 1876 * Schweinsgasse 7 – house with knee wall, essentially possibly from the 18th century, made over in Late Classicist style about 1830 * At Schweinsgasse 12 – Classicist house door leaf, earlier half of the 19th century * Schweinsgasse 14 – former barn, essentially before 1768 * Schweinsgasse 16 – house, 1905 * Near Stadtgraben 7 – Classicist summer house, about 1820 * Near Stadtgraben 9 – Classicist summer house, marked 1836 * Untergasse 1 – Baroque timber-frame house, plastered and slated, possibly from the 17th century, marked 1716 * Untergasse 2 – three-floor building with half-hip roof, essentially from the 15th century, west eaves side from the 17th and 18th centuries * Untergasse 8 – three-floor shophouse, timber-frame, essentially possibly from the latter half of the 16th century, possibly made over in the 18th century * Untergasse 10 – Baroque shophouse, marked 1724 * Untergasse 12 – timber-frame house, partly solid, mid-16th century, Baroque makeover in the 17th century * Untergasse 15/17 – shophouse, marked 1658, made over in the 19th century, shop built in about 1900 * Untergasse 18 – shophouse; three-floor Late Classicist sandstone-block building, 1872; belonging thereto Late Classicist house, mid-19th century * Untergasse 19 – timber-frame house, partly solid, marked 1529, Baroque makeover in the later 18th century * Untergasse 20/22 – three-floor shophouse (pair of timber-frame semi-detached houses), essentially before 1768; volute stone with mason's mark, possibly 16th or 17th century * Untergasse 23 – former town hall; three-floor Late Gothic building with half-hip roof, partly slated timber framing, hall ground floor, about 1517, architect possibly Philipp von Gmünd; staircase tower 1580, newel 1652 * Untergasse 24 – shophouse façade, building with hipped mansard roof, essentially before 1768, floor added about 1825 * Untergasse 28 – three-floor shophouse; timber-frame, essentially from the earlier half of the 16th century * At Untergasse 29 – former house door and closet, 1797 * Untergasse 32 – three-floor Late Baroque house, formerly marked 1787 * Untergasse 33 – three-floor shophouse, late 17th century * Untergasse 34 – shophouse, timber-frame house with box oriel window, apparently from 1526, possibly rather from the latter half of the 16th or early 17th century * Untergasse 35 – three-floor shophouse; timber-frame, essentially before 1768, conversion in the 19th century * Untergasse 36/38 – shophouse; no. 36: essentially from the late 18th century, Classicist shop built in; no. 38: 1932, architect Wilhelm * At Untergasse 37 – house door; Rococo door leaf, about 1780 * At Untergasse 39 – Classicist door leaves, about 1820; stone tablet with builder's inscription, 1817; wooden stairway, 1817 * Untergasse 40 – three-floor Classicist house, 1822/1823 * Untergasse 53 – three-floor shophouse, timber-frame, early 17th century * Untergasse 54 – three-floor timber-frame house, partly solid, polygonal staircase tower, about 1570/1580, portal marked 1775 * Untergasse 55/57 – three-floor shophouse; two timber-frame houses combined under one roof, 16th century * Untergasse 56 – Baroque shophouse, 17th or 18th century * Untergasse 59 – timber-frame shophouse, partly solid, essentially possibly from the 18th century, conversion 1838 * Untergasse 60 – shophouse, marked 1820; Baroque hind wing, 18th century * Untergasse 62 – three-floor shophouse, essentially from the 15th century (?), timber-frame possibly from the 18th century * Untergasse 66 – inn „Zum Untertor“ (“At the Lower Gate”); Baroque inn with dwelling, before 1768 (possibly from the 17th century) * Wagnergasse 1 – Classicist house, essentially about 1800 * Wagnergasse 2 – Baroque house, before 1712 * Wagnergasse 5 – timber-frame house, essentially before 1685, marked 1772 * Wagnergasse 8 – former postal station; timber-frame house, partly solid, marked 1671, made over in Late Baroque marked 1780 * Wagnergasse 11 – Late Classicist house, mid-19th century * Wagnergasse 13 – Baroque timber-frame house, partly solid, 17th or 18th century * Wagnergasse 20 – Baroque timber-frame house, partly solid, mansard roof, marked 1743 * Bridge, in the valley of the Glan – two-arch Baroque sandstone bridge, marked 1749 * Summer house, Obern Klink – Late Baroque plastered building with upswept roof, 1766 * Summer house, Im Bendstich – Late Baroque plastered building, apparently from 1793 * Jewish graveyard, east of the Meisenheim–
Rehborn Rehborn is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Nahe-Glan. Geo ...
road (monumental zone) – opened early in the 18th century, expanded in 1850, some 150 gravestones * Water cistern, on ''
Kreisstraße A Kreisstraße (literally: "district road" or "county road") is a class of road in Germany. It carries traffic between the towns and villages within a '' Kreis'' or district or between two neighbouring districts. In importance, the ''Kreisstraße ...
'' 6 – sandstone-block front, marked 1899


More about buildings


Old Town

Meisenheim's Old Town is the only one in the area that can boast of continuous development, uninterrupted by war, fire or other destruction, since the 14th century. It also has an in places well preserved girding wall with a still preserved town gate, the ''Untertor'' (“Lower Gate”), the 1517 town hall, many noble estates and townsmen's buildings as well as a
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 ...
scale for weighing freight carts. The town's oldest noble estate, the ''Boos von Waldeckscher Hof'', was built about 1400. The building is today livened up by an event venue and can be visited.


Palatial residence

Left over from the ''
Schloss ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cognate ...
'' (palatial residence), formerly held by the
Counts of Veldenz The County Palatine of Veldenz was a principality in the contemporary Land Rhineland-Palatinate with full voting rights to the Reichstag. The county was located partially between Kaiserslautern, Sponheim and Zweibrücken, partially on the Mose ...
and later the Dukes of
Palatine Zweibrücken Palatine Zweibrücken (), or the County Palatine of Zweibrücken, is a former state of the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Zweibrücken (french: Deux-Ponts). Its reigning house, a branch of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was also the Royal House of ...
, extensively renovated in the 15th century but beset with fire in the 18th century and a round of demolition in the 19th, is only one major building, the ''Magdalenenbau'', which was built in 1614 as a residence for Magdalena, the Ducal Zweibrücken widow, and considerably remodelled in the 19th century by the Landgraves of
Hesse-Homburg Hesse-Homburg was formed into a separate landgraviate in 1622 by the landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt; it was to be ruled by his son, although it did not become independent of Hesse-Darmstadt until 1668. It was briefly divided into Hesse-Homburg and H ...
. It is nowadays used by the
Evangelical Church 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 exper ...
and hence also bears the name ''Herzog-Wolfgang-Haus'' (“ Duke Wolfgang House”) after the Duke who lent 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 ...
considerable favour.


Palace Church

The Evangelical ''Schlosskirche'' (“Palace
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 ...
”), a three-naved hall church, was built between 1479 and 1504. At the time of building, it stood right next to the ''Schloss'' and was the estate church, the town parish church and the
Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...
commandry In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...
’s church. Its Late Gothic west tower is shaped by rich stonemasonry. In the grave
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 ...
, the 44 mostly Renaissance-style tombs of the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken and the rich Gothic
rib vault A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic ...
ing bear witness to sculptors’ highly developed art; also often praised is the wooden
Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
. The
organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...
restored in 1993/1994 on the west gallery with its
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
console was completed in 1767 by the renowned Brothers Stumm, and was already at the time, with its 29 stops, 2 manuals and pedal, one of the most opulent works of organ building in the Middle Rhine region. Together with the organ at the
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 ...
Church (Augustinerkirche) in
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 ...
, it is one of the biggest preserved instruments built by this Hunsrück organ-building family.


Catholic church

The Baroque
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, Saint
Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua ( it, Antonio di Padova) or Anthony of Lisbon ( pt, António/Antônio de Lisboa; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Catholic Church, Catholic priesthood (Cath ...
, has very lovely interior décor, parts of which were endowed by former
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
king Stanisław Leszczyński, who for a time during his
exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...
lived in Meisenheim.


Former school

On Lindenallee, which was fully renovated amid great controversy in 2007, stands the stately old ''Volksschule'' (public school), which after serving 90 years as a
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 compuls ...
is now an “adventure
hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
”.


Former synagogue

At first, there was a
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 ...
prayer room. In 1808, a
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
was built on Lauergasse. After it grew too small to serve the burgeoning Jewish community in the 19th century, the community decided in 1860 to build a new synagogue at the town's bleachfield on what is now called Saarstraße. From the earliest time during which donations were being gathered comes a report from the
magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
''Der Israelitische Volkslehrer'' published in October 1860:
Meisenheim. This time, the local community has celebrated a very nice ''matnat yad''. After using considerable sums to expand and beautify the graveyard two years ago, and one year ago, for the rabbi’s maintenance, correspondingly voting for a payrise for him, it granted over the last few festive days the sum of 2,000 Rhenish guilders to build a new synagogue. The one used until now was at the time of its founding 52 years ago was reckoned on a much smaller membership and even about 12 years ago became bereft of light as its neighbouring properties on all sides were built up; so that, seen from the point of view of the demands for better taste, it lacked light, air and room. Anyone who knows the local community’s circumstances will not consider this willingness to make sacrifices slight and will not refuse the community’s goodwill the fullest approval. Of course, this sum is still not enough and it is hoped all the more that there will be outside help, as people here never stood idly by when a call for help came from outside.
The earlier synagogue was torn down a few years later. The new building was to become a representative building. The financing – costs reached 15,200 Rhenish guilders – could be ensured with a bit of effort. On 3 August 1866, the consecration of the new synagogue, designed by architect Heinrich Krausch, took place. It had seating for 160 worshippers. It was equipped with, among other things, six
Torah scrolls A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tora ...
, elaborate Torah ornamentation,
silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
candlesticks, an
organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...
and a library. The prayer books were kept in six lecterns. Outwardly, it was a six-axis aisleless building with a three-floor façade with twin towers. On Kristallnacht (9–10 November 1938), the Meisenheim synagogue sustained considerable damage. All doors, windows and great parts of the galleries were reduced to rubble and a fire was set, although this was quickly quenched once the
Brownshirt The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing protection for Nazi ral ...
thugs realized that one of the neighbouring buildings was an SA house. The synagogue, however, was not torn down as so many others were, although the upper levels of the twin towers were removed in 1940. In the time 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 ...
, the building was mainly used as an industrial works, quite contrary to its originally intended purpose, and thereafter as a municipal storehouse. From 1951 on, it was a private storehouse for grain, fodder and fertilizer. In a conversion, the remnants of the women's galleries were torn out, the windows were walled up and upper floors were built inside. In 1982, the building was placed under monumental protection. In 1985, the Meisenheim Synagogue Sponsorship and Promotional Association was founded, which acquired the former synagogue the following year and had it restored. On 9 November 1988 – fifty years to the day after Kristallnacht – the former synagogue building was opened to the public as the ''Haus der Begegnung'' (“House of Meeting”). This new name corresponds to the literal meaning of the
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
term for “synagogue”: (''beyt knesset'', literally “house of assembly”). On the upper floor, as a visible reminder of the former synagogue, a glass window by the
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i artist Ruth van de Garde-Tichauer was installed. The window was created with technical assistance from Karl-Heinz Brust from
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 ...
. The window's content is the return of the
Twelve Tribes of Israel The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( he, שִׁבְטֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל, translit=Šīḇṭēy Yīsrāʾēl, lit=Tribes of Israel) are, according to Hebrew scriptures, the descendants of the biblical patriarch Jacob, also known as Israel, throu ...
to
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
based on the text from the ''
Amidah The ''Amidah Amuhduh'' ( he, תפילת העמידה, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' at each o ...
'' (; ''Tefilat HaAmidah'' “The Standing Prayer”), also called the ''Shmoneh Esreh'' (; “The Eighteen”): “Sound the great shofar for our freedom; raise a banner to gather our exiles, and bring us together from the four corners of the earth into our land.” In a decision taken on 21 May 1997, the synagogue building received the protection of the Hague Convention as a cultural property especially worthy of protection. Since 1999, above the entrance, has been a
Star of David The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...
made of Jerusalem
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, endowed by the
Bad Kreuznach Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, most well known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke, which is one of the few remaining bridges in th ...
district's partner town in
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, Kiryat Motzkin. The former synagogue's address in Meisenheim is Saarstraße 3.


Jewish graveyard

The Jewish graveyard in Meisenheim was laid out no later than the early 18th century. The oldest preserved gravestone dates from 1725. In 1859, the graveyard was expanded with the addition of the “newer part”. The last burial that took place there was in 1938 (Felix Kaufmann). The graveyard has an area of 4 167 m2. In the graveyard's “older part”, gravestones are still standing at 105 of the graves, and in the “newer part”, this is so for a further 125 graves. The “newer part” is bordered on the east by a quarrystone wall. There is a great wrought-iron entrance gate. The graveyard lies outside the town to the east, east of the road from Meisenheim to
Rehborn Rehborn is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Nahe-Glan. Geo ...
, in a wood called the “Bauwald”. It can be reached by walking about 200 m along a farm lane that branches off the highway.


Regular events

* ''Mai'n Sonntag'' (shops open on Sunday), each year on the third Sunday in May * ''Heimbacher Brunnenfest'', folk festival on the first weekend in July * ''Wasserfest'' (“Water Festival”), staged by the volunteer fire brigade * ''Mantelsonntag'' (shops open on Sunday), each year on the third Sunday in October * ''Weihnachtsmarkt'' (“Christmas Market”, with craft presentation at town hall)


Economy and infrastructure


Transport

In 1896, Meisenheim was joined to 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 ...
network with the opening of the Lauterecken
Odernheim Odernheim am Glan is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach Districts of Germany, district in Rhi ...
stretch of the
Lauter Valley Railway 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 importance ...
. This section was absorbed in 1904 into the ''Glantalbahn'', which was fully opened that year. Meisenheim's
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 ...
was important to all resident industry. In 1986, though, passenger service between Lauterecken-Grumbach and
Staudernheim Staudernheim is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous countr ...
was discontinued. Today, the station is only used as a stop on the adventure draisine journeys between Staudernheim and Kusel. Snaking through Meisenheim, mostly along the town's outskirts, is '' Bundesstraße'' 420.


Schools

Meisenheim has three schools: * '' Astrid-Lindgren-Grundschule'' (
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 ...
) * Realschule plus in integrative form. * '' Paul-Schneider- Gymnasium'', an extensive complex built in 1953 with adjoining
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
, built as a successor to the town's former ''Progymnasium'', the “Latin school”, which stood at the now likewise vanished ''Obertor'' (“Upper Gate”)


Healthcare

The ''Glantal-Klinik Meisenheim'' has two
hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
s at its disposal. The ''Haus „Hinter der Hofstadt“'' covers the demand for
surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...
, internal medicine and ambulant
family medicine Family medicine is a medical specialty within primary care that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, genders, diseases, and parts of the body. The specialist, who is usually a primary ...
. The ''Glantal-Klinik'' is a centre for acute neurology,
neurological Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal ...
rehabilitation, surgery and accident surgery, internal medicine and
communication disorder A communication disorder is any disorder that affects an individual's ability to comprehend, detect, or apply language and speech to engage in dialogue effectively with others. The delays and disorders can range from simple sound substitution to t ...
therapy. Adjoining the clinic is a speech-language pathology centre.


Famous people


Sons and daughters of the town

* Carl von Coerper (1854–1942), admiral and naval attaché * Heinrich Coerper (1863–1936), clergyman, founder of the
Liebenzell Mission The Liebenzell Mission is a cluster of like-minded Evangelism, Evangelical mission organizations in Austria, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States. With roots in German Pietism, their missionarie ...
* Friedrich Karl von Fürstenwärther (1769–1856),
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
field marshal-lieutenant and baron, from the
House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...
* Leopold von Fürstenwärther (1769–1839), Bavarian officer and baron, from the
House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...
* Frederick, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Vohenstrauss-Parkstein (1557–1597) * Karl Koehl (1847–1929), doctor and prehistorian, pioneer of
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
and
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
research * Marco Reich (born 1977),
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
* Melitta Sundström (1964–1993); actually Thomas Gerards, entertainer


Famous people associated with the town

* Stanisław Leszczyński (b. 20 October 1677 in Lwów, Poland ow Lviv, Ukraine">Lviv.html" ;"title="ow Lviv">ow Lviv, Ukraine">Lviv">ow_Lviv<_a>,_Ukraine.html" ;"title="Lviv.html" ;"title="ow Lviv">ow Lviv, Ukraine">Lviv.html" ;"title="ow Lviv">ow Lviv, Ukraine d. 23 February 1766 in Lunéville, France) — King of Poland; between 1714 and 1718 often in Meisenheim * Ferdinand Heinrich Friedrich von Hessen-Homburg (b. 26 April 1783 in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Homburg vor der Höhe; d. 24 March 1866 in Homburg vor der Höhe) — Last Landgrave of
Hesse-Homburg Hesse-Homburg was formed into a separate landgraviate in 1622 by the landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt; it was to be ruled by his son, although it did not become independent of Hesse-Darmstadt until 1668. It was briefly divided into Hesse-Homburg and H ...
*
Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom Princess Elizabeth (22 May 1770 – 10 January 1840) was the seventh child and third daughter of King George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. After marrying the Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, Frederick VI, she took permanent residence i ...
(b. 22 May 1770 in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
; d. 10 January 1840 in
Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
) — also Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg; lady of the house at the ''Magdalenenbau'' (“Magdalene Building”) of the former palace * Friedrich VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (b. 30 July 1769 in Homburg vor der Höhe; d. 2 April 1829 in Homburg vor der Höhe) — lord of the house at the ''Magdalenenbau'' of the former palace * Georg Moller (b. 21 January 1784 in
Diepholz Diepholz (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Deefholt'') is a town and capital of the district of Diepholz in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the rivers Hunte and Lohne, approximately 45 km northeast of Osnabrück, and 60 km southwest of ...
; d. 13 March 1852 in
Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
) — architect and town planner, responsible for, among other things, the ''Magdalenenbau'' * Johann Georg Martin Reinhardt (1794–1872), chairman of the ''Oberamt''/district of Meisenheim from 1832 to 1872 * Johann Christoph Beysiegel (1778–1843), goldsmith and silversmith as well as
first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...
in the
Landwehr ''Landwehr'', or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national army, armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fortif ...
(1819).Scheffler, Wolfgang. „Johann Christoph Beysiegel.“ Goldschmiede Rheinland-Westfalens: Daten, Werke, Zeichen. Vol. 2. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1973. 740. * Hellmut von Schweinitz (1901-1960), writer and journalist, clergyman at 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 ...
''Schlosskirche'', 1947-1960, founder of the ''Meisenheimer Dichterwochen'' (“poet weeks”) File:After Nattier - So-called portrait of Stanisław Leszczyński - Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon.jpg, Stanisław Leszczyński File:Princess elizabeth of the united kingdom.jpg, Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom and Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg File:FriedrichVIHessenHomburg.jpg, Friedrich VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg File:Georg Moller.jpg, Georg Moller


Further reading

* ''Der „historische Stadtrundgang“.'' In: ''Meisenheim am Glan.'' (24 S.), (Hrsg.: Stadt Meisenheim am Glan), Seite 1-11 * Udo Salomon, Meisenheim. Eine kleine Stadt und ihre Bewohner in den Spannungsfeldern der europäischen Geschichte. Verlag M. Ess, Bad Kreuznach 2015, . * Peter H. Kemp, Meisenheimer Jugend aus Saar-Lor-Lux. Berlin 2000. . * Peter H. Kemp, Kinnerzit & Jeunesse in Saare-Lor-Lux. In Moselfränkischer Mundart. Paris 2012. . * Werner Vogt: ''Meisenheim am Glan als Zweitresidenz der Wittelsbacher Herzöge und Pfalzgrafen von Zweibrücken.'' In: ''Jahrbuch für westdeutsche Landesgeschichte.'' 19, 1993, Seite 303-324.


References


External links


Meisenheim in the collective municipality’s webpages


{{Authority control Towns in Rhineland-Palatinate Bad Kreuznach (district) Naheland Burial sites of the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken Holocaust locations in Germany