Buch is an – a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

belonging to a , a kind of collective municipality – in the

Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis is a district () in the middle of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The neighbouring districts are (from north clockwise) Mayen-Koblenz, Rhein-Lahn, Mainz-Bingen, Bad Kreuznach, Birkenfeld, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Cochem-Zell. His ...

(

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

) in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) 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 sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kastellaun, whose seat is in the like-named town.

Geography

Location

The municipality lies on a ridge in the

Hunsrück The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced mountain range, upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle (river), Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued ...

between the deeply cut valleys of two local streams, the Wohnrother Bach and the Dünnbach at an elevation of some 400 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. The municipality’s centres (''

Ortsteil A village is a human settlement or Residential community, community, larger than a hamlet (place), hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located ...

e'') of Buch and Mörz lie some 45 km south-southwest of

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

and 4 km west of

Kastellaun Kastellaun () is a town in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality. Geography Location The town lies in the eastern Hunsrüc ...

History

In 1052, Buch had its first documentary mention. In 1332,

Louis the Bavarian Louis IV (; 1 April 1282 – 11 October 1347), called the Bavarian (, ), was King of the Romans from 1314, King of Italy from 1327, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1328 until his death in 1347. Louis' election as king of Germany in 1314 was cont ...

acknowledged to Archbishop Baldwin of Trier all the holdings of the Archiepiscopal Foundation of Trier, among which were Balduinseck (

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

) and Buch. Buch belonged to the

Beltheim Beltheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde (Germany), Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (Districts of Germany, district) in Rhinel ...

court. Until the late 15th century, it is known that there was a knightly family named “von Buch”. Beginning in 1794, Buch lay under

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

rule. In 1815 it was assigned to the Kingdom of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

at the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

. Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly founded

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

. The municipality in its current form came into being on 17 March 1974 through the amalgamation of the municipality of Buch with what was until then the self-administering municipality of Mörz.

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 12 council members, who were elected at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.

Mayor

Buch’s mayor is Tobias Vogt. The outlying centre of Mörz also has an administrative head on council bearing the title ''Ortsvorsteher''. The current one is Stefanie Schneiders.

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

The following are listed buildings or sites in

’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:

Buch (main centre)

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

’s

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Parish Church (''Pfarrkirche St. Nikolaus''), Hauptstraße 56 – tower, marked 1723, slate quarrystone columned basilica, 1901/1902, architect E. Endler,

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

; two

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

grave crosses, one marked 1743; basalt tomb slab; basalt warriors’ memorial; whole complex of buildings * Beller Weg 6 – former monastic estate; L-shaped estate;

timber-frame Timber framing () 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 pegs. If the struc ...

house, partly slated, half-hipped roof, 18th century, commercial wing, 19th and 20th centuries; whole complex of buildings * Hauptstraße – graveyard;

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

graveyard cross, marked 1833 * Hauptstraße 21 – building with hipped

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

, timber-frame, sided, early 19th century * Hauptstraße 28 – building with hipped mansard roof, timber-frame, partly slated, last fourth of the 18th century * Between Hauptstraße 28 and 30 – basalt

wayside cross A wayside cross is a cross by a footpath, track or road, at an intersection, along the edge of a field or in a forest. It can be made of wood, stone or metal. Stone crosses may also be conciliation crosses. Often they serve as waymarks for wal ...

, 18th century * Hauptstraße 39 – building with hipped mansard roof, timber-frame, partly solid and slated, marked 1802 * Hauptstraße, on the way out of Buch on ''

Landesstraße ''Landesstraßen'' (singular: ''Landesstraße'' ) are roads in Germany and Austria that are, as a rule, the responsibility of the respective German or Austrian federal state. The term may therefore be translated as "state road". They are road ...

'' 204 –

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

, quarrystone building, marked 1858;

cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...

grave cross,

Rheinböllen Rheinböllen () is a town in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Simmern-Rheinböllen, whose seat is in Simmern. It was the seat of the former ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Rhein ...

Ironworks, 1870 * Im Gäßchen 7 – timber-frame ''Quereinhaus'' (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street), partly solid, 19th century * Mörsdorfer Straße 1 – ''Quereinhaus''; building with hipped mansard roof, timber framing plastered, about 1880, stable-barn wing from late 19th or early 20th century; whole complex of buildings * Balduinseck

ruin (monumental zone) – built beginning in 1325 by Archbishop Baldwin of Luxembourg, finished about 1332, by 1780 in disrepair, parts of the courtyard wall renovated in 1966; castle courtyard with mighty residential tower, bailey with partial moat * On a byway of ''Landesstraße'' 203, going towards Mastershausen – basalt wayside cross, marked 1775 * At the ''Landesstraße'' 204/''

Kreisstraße A Kreisstraße (, or 'county road') is a class of road in Germany. It carries traffic between the towns and villages within a ''Districts of Germany, Kreis'' or district or between two neighbouring districts. In importance, the ''Kreisstraße'' ...

'' 30 crossroads – cast-iron wayside cross, 19th century * On ''Landesstraße'' 203 southwest of Buch on a ridge – chapel; quarrystone building, marked 1878 * On ''Landesstraße'' 204 east of Buch – sandstone wayside cross

Mörz

* Catholic Church of the

Assumption Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Assumption may also refer to: Places * Assumption, Alberta, Canada * Assumption, Illinois, United States ** Assumption Town ...

(''Katholische Kirche Mariä Himmelfahrt''), Hauptstraße 13 –

aisleless church An aisleless church () 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 from the nave by col ...

, marked 1735/1736, with parts of walls from the foregoing

mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

building, conversion possibly in 1783; old graveyard, two grave crosses, marked 1771 and 1717; wooden cross, marked 1814; whole complex of buildings * North of the village – ''Sabelsmühle''; three-floor mill building, partly quarrystone or partly slated timber framing, stable, barn, 1848; whole complex of buildings with bridge * West of Mörz – grave cross; Rheinböllen Ironworks, latter half of the 19th centuryDirectory of Cultural Monuments in Rhein-Hunsrück district
/ref>

Notable people

* Cláudio Cardinal Hummes,

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

theologian and

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

References

External links

Municipality's official webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buch, Rhein-Hunsruck Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis