Gemünden () 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 Kirchberg, whose seat is in the town of-Kirchberg.

Geography

Location

The municipality lies at the southwest edge of the Soonwald, a heavily wooded section of the west-central

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 ...

. The village is found between Kirchberg to the northwest and

Simmertal Simmertal 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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea ...

to the southeast. In Gemünden, the Lametbach empties into the Simmerbach, whereupon the combined stream is known down to its mouth into the river Nahe as the Kellenbach.

Constituent communities

The outlying centre of Panzweiler is part of Gemünden.

History

In 1304, Gemünden had its first documentary mention. This holding of the

Counts of Sponheim The House of Sponheim or Spanheim was a medieval German noble family, which originated in Rhenish Franconia. They were immediate Counts of Sponheim until 1437 and Dukes of Carinthia from 1122 until 1269. Its cadet branches ruled in the Imperial C ...

was granted town rights along with its trappings, namely fortifications, a court and a market. Beginning in 1794, Gemünden 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 ...

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

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

Gemünden’s mayor is Agnes Chudy.

Coat of arms

The German blazon reads: ''Schild geteilt, oben blau/gold geschacht, unten in Rot eine silberne Gewandschließe.'' The municipality’s

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

might in English

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

language be described thus: Per pale chequy of eight azure and Or and gules an arming buckle argent. The “chequy” pattern above the line of partition refers to the village’s former allegiance to the “Further” County of Sponheim. The lower half of the

escutcheon Escutcheon may refer to: * Escutcheon (heraldry), a shield or shield-shaped emblem, displaying a coat of arms * Escutcheon (furniture), a metal plate that surrounds a keyhole or lock cylinder on a door * (in medicine) the distribution of pubic ha ...

is a reference to the

Schmidtburg The Schmidtburg is a ruined hill castle next to Schneppenbach (Hunsrück) in Germany. The castle was built up in 926, and was destroyed during the War of the Grand Alliance (1688–1697) by French troops in 1688. File:Schmidtburg Castle Panora ...

Culture and sightseeing

For its historic village centre and its valley location, locals call Gemünden the “Pearl of the Hunsrück” (''Perle des Hunsrücks''). Standing above the Simmerbach is Schloss Gemünden, a residential castle still used as a private home today. A good two kilometres south of Gemünden stands the Castle Koppenstein ruin on the Koppensteiner Höhe, a 555 m-high hilltop in the Soonwald. Five kilometres to the east is the Alteburgturm, a lookout tower on the Alteburg (mountain). Southwest of Gemünden is the

Lützelsoon The Lützelsoon (also called the Kleiner Soon) is a part of the Hunsrück hills, , in the county of Bad Kreuznach, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Location The Lützelsoon is a hill ridge southwest of the Soonwald range and north of ...

plateau.

Buildings

The following are listed buildings or sites in

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

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

church, Schloßstraße – tower’s lower floors Late Romanesque, earlier half of the 13th century; Late Gothic quire, about 1450; nave and – tower’s upper floors 1905/1906;

Classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

monument, after 1822 *

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

’s and Saint Paul’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. Peter und Paul''), Hauptstraße – two-naved

hall church A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...

, mixed

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

and

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

forms, 1899, architect Lambert von Fisenne,

Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; ) is the List of cities in Germany by population, 25th-most populous city of Germany and the 11th-most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher, Emscher River (a tribu ...

, tower 1900/1901 * Schloss Gemünden, Schloßstraße 20 – older castle house, about 1300 (?), partly in ruins, arcade gallery “new building” mentioned about 1417, extensively restored in 1520, rectangular building with corner towers, after 1689 destruction rebuilt as three-floor building, 1718-1728, Electoral-Trier Court master builder Hans Georg Judas; commercial estate, early 18th century; whole complex of buildings with the Schlossberg (mountain) * Auf der Hohl –

electrical substation A substation is a part of an electrical generation, transmission, and distribution system. Substations transform voltage from high to low, or the reverse, or perform any of several other important functions. Between the generating station an ...

tower; three-floor quarrystone building, marked 1927 * Burgweg 1 – one-floor plastered villa, about 1930 * Hauptstraße 13 –

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 ...

building house, partly solid, half-hipped roof, about 1700 * Hauptstraße 19/21 – ''Forellenhof'' (“Trout Estate”); timber-frame house, partly solid, earlier half of the 18th century * Hauptstraße 54 – timber-frame house, partly solid, about 1700 * Kaisergrube (monumental zone) – slate mine, in terraces and galleries; site protected by law against digging (''Grabungsschutzgebiet'') * Kirchberger Straße 3 – timber-frame house, plastered, partly slated, marked 1721 * Kirchberger Straße 4 – narrow timber-frame house, about 1700, timber-frame addition from the 19th century * Kirchberger Straße 5 – former inn; timber-frame house, partly solid, half-hipped roof, late 17th or early 18th century * Kirchberger Straße 7 – timber-frame house, partly solid, about 1700 * Kirchberger Straße 12 – timber-frame house, partly solid, first third of the 18th century * Kirchberger Straße 13 – timber-frame house, partly solid, 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 ...

, marked 1721 * Kirchberger Straße 15 – timber-frame house, partly solid, plastered, 17th century * At Kirchberger Straße 17/19 – wooden smithy coat of arms * Kirchberger Straße 23 – town hall; timber-frame house, partly solid, apparently from 1692/1694, more likely from earlier half of the 18th century * Kirchberger Straße 25 – timber-frame house, partly solid, plastered, essentially from the 17th century * Kirchberger Straße 31 – timber-frame house, partly solid, plastered, gatehouse, 18th century; Schüler tomb slab, about 1753 * Raiffeisenstraße 6/8 – former

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

; quarrystone building, mid 19th century, expansion in the latter half of the 19th century * Schloßstraße 4/6 – former Badish tollhouse; double house, timber-frame bungalow, mansard roof, marked 1719 *

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

graveyard (monumental zone) – possibly opened in 1815/1820, 92 grave steles beginning from 1814; 14 gravestones from the early 19th century, last burial in 1970

Regular events

By longstanding tradition, the

kermis Kermesse, or kermis, or kirmess, is an outdoor fair or festival usually organized for charitable purposes. The term was derived from 'kerk' (church) and 'mis' (mass) in the original Dutch language term, and was borrowed in English, French, Spa ...

is held on the last weekend in July and the

fire brigade A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and ...

festival on the last weekend in August.

Economy and infrastructure

Tourism

A 4 km-long

geological Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth s ...

teaching path begins and ends in Gemünden. Twenty-three mineral groups from the Hunsrück-Nahe region are shown and explained on display boards. On the way, the path comes into contact with the ''Kaisergrube'', the mine opened in 1873, where until 1969

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

was mined. Slate mining began in Gemünden in the early 19th century. On average, 600 t of slate was mined each year, and up to 35 miners were employed. Gemünden is the starting point of the ''

Schinderhannes Johannes Bückler ( 177821 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 Flayer ...

-Soonwald-Radweg'' (cycle path) to Simmern.

Famous people

Louis Wirth Louis Wirth (August 28, 1897 – May 3, 1952) was an American sociologist and member of the Chicago school of sociology. His interests included city life, minority group behavior, and mass media, and he is recognised as one of the leading urban ...

(1897-1952),

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

sociologist ( Chicago school) of

German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

heritage * Joseph Grohé (1902-1987),

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a ''Administrative divisions of Nazi Germany, Gau'' or ''Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest Ranks and insignia of the Nazi Party, rank in ...

and

Reichskommissar (, rendered as "Commissioner of the Empire", "Reich Commissioner" or "Imperial Commissioner"), in German history, was an official governatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and Nazi Germany. Ger ...

of the

Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France The Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France () was a Nazi German civil administration (''Zivilverwaltung'') which governed most of occupied Belgium and northern parts of occupied France in the second half of 1944 during World War II. ...

References

External links

Municipality's official webpage

Abicht, Friedrich Kilian: ''Kirchengeschichte des Fleckens Gemünden und seines Filials Schlierschied auf dem Hunnsrück : ein Beitrag zur Kirchen- und Reformationsgeschichte des Hunsrücks''. Kreuznach, 1845
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gemunden, Rhein-Hunsruck Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis