Langenthal is an ''
Ortsgemeinde Ortsgemeinde may refer to:
* Ortsgemeinde (Austria), a type of municipality in Austria
* Ortsgemeinde (Germany)
A (; plural ) is a low-level administrative division, administrative unit in the Germany, German States of Germany, federal states ...
'' – 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 ''
Verbandsgemeinde
A (; plural ) is a low-level administrative division, administrative unit in the Germany, German States of Germany, federal states of Brandenburg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A is typically composed of a small group of Municipalitie ...
'', a kind of collective municipality – in the
Bad Kreuznach
Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke (Bad Kreuznach), Alte Nahebrücke, ...
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 Bad Sobernheim, whose seat is in the
like-named town.
Geography
Location
Langenthal lies in the Hoxbach and Gaulsbach valley, a side valley of the
Nahe.
Neighbouring municipalities
Clockwise from the north, Langenthal's neighbours are the town of
Bad 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 sit ...
(although only its northern
exclave
An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...
containing Pferdsfeld, not the section containing the townsite), and the municipalities of
Auen,
Monzingen
Monzingen is an ''Ortsgemeinde (Germany), 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, d ...
,
Weiler bei Monzingen and
Seesbach
Seesbach 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 t ...
, all of which likewise lie within the Bad Kreuznach district.
History
Langenthal's name cropped up for the first time in 1322 and it refers to a narrow dale that stretches along a watercourse. Langenthal was until the 18th century united with neighbouring
Monzingen
Monzingen is an ''Ortsgemeinde (Germany), 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, d ...
, to whose market business it had been attached. No later than the 13th century, it belonged to 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 ...
, who had granted some knightly families the court and the
tithe
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...
s (Emmerich von Nussbaum and after him Klaus von Ellenbach in the 14th century). In 1708, Langenthal passed along with some other places to
Electoral Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy Roman Empero ...
, and within that to the ''
Amt
Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...
'' of Böckelheim. In 1798, after
French Revolutionary troops had overrun the German lands on the
Rhine
The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
’s left bank, it was assigned to the ''Mairie'' (“Mayoralty”) of Monzingen. The court to which Langenthal was subject, called the ''Friedensgericht'' (“Peace Court”), had its seat in
Sobernheim
Bad Sobernheim () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Bad Sobernheim (Verbandsgemeinde), like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', and is also its seat. ...
. This was converted into an ''
Amtsgericht
An ''Amtsgericht'' (District Court) in Germany is an official court. These courts form the lowest level of the ' ordinary jurisdiction' of the German judiciary (German ''Ordentliche Gerichtsbarkeit''), which is responsible for most criminal and ...
'' in 1879 (after
Germany was unified). After the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
had ended and
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
had been driven out and defeated, 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 ...
assigned this administrative region 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, ...
. Monzingen remained the seat of a ''Bürgermeisterei'' (“mayoralty”) within the newly formed Kreuznach district, to which Langenthal also belonged. In the course of administrative restructuring 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 ...
after the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Langenthal found itself grouped into the
''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Bad Sobernheim.
Population development
Langenthal's population development since
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
ic times is shown in the table below. The figures for the years from 1871 to 1987 are drawn from census data:
[Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz – Regionaldaten](_blank)
/ref>
Religion
As at 30 September 2013, there are 99 full-time residents in Langenthal, and of those, 57 are 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 ...
(57.576%), 29 are 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 ...
(29.293%) and 13 (13.131%) either have no religion or will not reveal their religious affiliation.
Politics
Municipal council
The council is made up of 6 council members, who were elected by majority vote
A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the "#Related terms, Related terms" section below.
It is a subset of a Set (mathematics), set consisting of more than half of the se ...
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
Mayor
Langenthal's mayor is Diethelm Stallmann.
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: ''Im Schild in Rot ein silberner Wellenschrägbalken, begleitet vorne von einem silbernen sechsspeichigen Rad, hinten von einer silbernen Kapelle.''
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: Gules a bend wavy between in dexter base a wheel spoked of six and in sinister chief a chapel, all argent.
The wavy bend (slanted stripe) symbolizes the long Hoxbach and Gaulsbach valley, on which the village lies. The charge
Charge or charged may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary
Music
* ''Charge'' (David Ford album)
* ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album)
* '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...
on the sinister (armsbearer's left, viewer's right) side, the 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 ...
, is the village church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
, which was built towards the end of the 15th century, expanded in the 16th century and renovated in 1954. Even today, both the 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 ...
and the 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 ...
communities have rights to this house of worship. The other charge, the Wheel of Mainz
The Wheel of Mainz or , in German language, German, was the coat of arms of the Archbishopric of Mainz and thus also of the Electorate of Mainz (Kurmainz), in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It consists of a silver wheel with six spokes on a red ...
on the dexter (armsbearer's right, viewer's left) side, was taken from Monzingen
Monzingen is an ''Ortsgemeinde (Germany), 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, d ...
’s arms, as Langenthal, first mentioned in 1322, shared a common municipal area with Monzingen until the 17th century and thereby had much the same history as its neighbour.
Culture and sightseeing
Buildings
The following are listed buildings or sites 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 ...
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:Directory of Cultural Monuments in Bad Kreuznach 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
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
, Hauptstraße 22 – Late Gothic 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 ...
, late 15th and early 16th centuries
* Near Hauptstraße 4 – Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
house (with ground-floor stable?), partly 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 ...
, possibly from about 1700
* Hauptstraße 12 – estate complex along the street, 18th or 19th century; one-floor house with ground-floor stable, partly timber-frame, barn, partly timber-frame
Economy and infrastructure
Transport
Running to the south is ''Bundesstraße
''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.
Germany
Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km.
German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...
'' 41. Serving neighbouring Monzingen
Monzingen is an ''Ortsgemeinde (Germany), 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, d ...
is a railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
on the Nahe Valley Railway
The Nahe Valley Railway () is a two-track, partially electrified main line railway in the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, which runs for almost 100 kilometres along the Nahe (Rhine), Nahe. It was built by the Rhine-Nahe Railway ...
( Bingen–Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...
). There is a bus service linking Langenthal to Monzingen.
References
External links
Langenthal in the collective municipality’s webpages
{{Authority control
Bad Kreuznach (district)