Hahnweiler
Encyclopedia
Hahnweiler is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld
district
in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Baumholder
, whose seat is in the like-named town
.
at the southwesternmost end of the Birkenfeld district and the Verbandsgemeinde of Baumholder. In the south it borders on the Saarland
. With its 218 inhabitants – which includes those who hold only a secondary residence here – (as at 31 January 2011), Hahnweiler is the third smallest municipality in the Verbandsgemeinde. By land area – the municipal area measures only 228.5 ha – it is the smallest. Its elevation ranges between 450 and 552 m above sea level
.
, in the south on Freisen
in the Saarland, in the west on Gimbweiler
and Nohfelden
-Wolfersweiler, also in the Saarland, and in the north on Leitzweiler
.
, belonged to the comital House of Tholey holdings in the Moselgau (a territory that stretched along the Moselle). The Vogt
ei rights over the Moselgau were granted Count Gerlach V in 1235 by the Bishop of Verdun
. By 1397, Count Friedrich von Veldenz had bought from Geretrud Broich, her son Emmerich and his wife the estate, along with its serfs, interests and rights at Hanwilre and Moysberg (now Mosberg, part of Mosberg-Richweiler, itself an outlying centre of Nohfelden) for 50 Rhenish guilder
s. In the time that followed, the village belonged to the Amt of Nohfelden and thereby to the Oberamt of Lichtenberg. After the Nohfelden Gerichtsweistum (a Weistum – cognate with English
wisdom – was a legal pronouncement issued by men learned in law in the Middle Ages
and early modern times; Gericht means “court”), the rightful judges of the high court
were deemed to be the Counts Palatine
of Zweibrücken
. Hahnweiler was part of the great fief given Wirich II of Oberstein in 1432 by the Duke of Lorraine. The 1480 Bede register (the Bede was a kind of taxation) lists for Hahnweiler two inhabitants who had to pay the May Bede and three who had to pay the autumn Bede. Wendel Gelzenleichter, his wife Agnes, son Nickel and daughter Elisa from Hahnweiler were Oberstein serfs in 1603. Wendel performed “along with the thresher at Hanwiller and his fellow heirs at Berßwiller
a goods transport for the Count of Oberstein. As to further compulsory service, the said Wendel yearly gave the Count some money, about 1 Thaler
. What else he yearly gave in money and produce in levies has not been determined.”
The 1675 description of the Oberamt compiled by D. König after the Thirty Years' War
counted two families in Hahnweiler, while 115 years later, there were 18 families in the village. In 1816, 13 houses, 14 families and 94 souls were counted. The village’s Reformed
parishioners were parochially bound with Wolfersweiler before French Revolutionary
times, and thereafter with Berschweiler. The Catholics belonged to the parish of Freisen. Until 1793, Hahnweiler was part of the Zweibrücken Amt of Nohfelden. The municipal boundary between Hahnweiler and Rückweiler
was also the old boundary between the Rohrbach and Nohfelden court regions. During the French
occupation, the village belonged to the Mairie (“Mayoralty”) of Nohfelden in the canton of Baumholder. Beginning in 1819, after the Congress of Vienna
, it was part of the Bürgermeisterei (also “Mayoralty”) of Berschweiler. In 1819, Hahnweiler had 13 families and 107 souls; by 1843, these figures had grown to 21 and 131 respectively.
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
The following is a list of Hahnweiler’s mayors since 1936. The gap between 1938 and 1945 represents a loss of official records from the time of the Third Reich
.
might be described thus: Per fess argent a demilion azure armed and langued gules, and vert a cock sinister crowing, his sinister leg raised, Or.
The charge
in the upper field, the demilion, is a reference to the village’s former allegiance to the County of Veldenz. The cock (Hahn in German
) is canting
for the municipality’s name.
(Kaiserslautern
–Trier
). Available in nearby Heimbach
is a railway station on the Nahe Valley Railway (Bingen
–Saarbrücken
).
Municipalities of Germany
Municipalities are the lowest level of territorial division in Germany. This may be the fourth level of territorial division in Germany, apart from those states which include Regierungsbezirke , where municipalities then become the fifth level.-Overview:With more than 3,400,000 inhabitants, the...
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
Verbandsgemeinde
A Verbandsgemeinde is an administrative unit in the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt.-Rhineland-Palatinate:...
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld (district)
Birkenfeld is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Sankt Wendel , Trier-Saarburg, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Rhein-Hunsrück, Bad Kreuznach and Kusel.- History :...
district
Districts of Germany
The districts of Germany are known as , except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where they are known simply as ....
in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Baumholder
Baumholder (Verbandsgemeinde)
Baumholder is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Birkenfeld, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Baumholder....
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Baumholder
Baumholder is a town in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, in the Westrich, an historic region that encompasses areas in both Germany and France...
.
Location
The municipality lies in the HunsrückHunsrück
The Hunsrück is a low mountain range in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the river valleys of the Moselle , the Nahe , and the Rhine . The Hunsrück is continued by the Taunus mountains on the eastern side of the Rhine. In the north behind the Moselle it is continued by the Eifel...
at the southwesternmost end of the Birkenfeld district and the Verbandsgemeinde of Baumholder. In the south it borders on the Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
. With its 218 inhabitants – which includes those who hold only a secondary residence here – (as at 31 January 2011), Hahnweiler is the third smallest municipality in the Verbandsgemeinde. By land area – the municipal area measures only 228.5 ha – it is the smallest. Its elevation ranges between 450 and 552 m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
.
Neighbouring municipalities
Hahnweiler borders in the northeast on RückweilerRückweiler
Rückweiler is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Baumholder, whose seat is in the like-named town.-Location:The municipality lies in...
, in the south on Freisen
Freisen
Freisen is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel , in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approx. 12 km northeast of Sankt Wendel, and 20 km southwest of Idar-Oberstein. The greater Freisen/Oberkirchen area is noted for its Turkish Cuisine, particularly the Donner Kebab...
in the Saarland, in the west on Gimbweiler
Gimbweiler
Gimbweiler is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
and Nohfelden
Nohfelden
Nohfelden is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approx. 15 km north of Sankt Wendel, and 20 km southwest of Idar-Oberstein....
-Wolfersweiler, also in the Saarland, and in the north on Leitzweiler
Leitzweiler
Leitzweiler is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
.
History
Hahnweiler, or Hanwilre as it was known in the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, belonged to the comital House of Tholey holdings in the Moselgau (a territory that stretched along the Moselle). The Vogt
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...
ei rights over the Moselgau were granted Count Gerlach V in 1235 by the Bishop of Verdun
Bishopric of Verdun
The Bishopric of Verdun was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire; it was located at the western edge of the Empire and was bordered by France, the Duchy of Luxembourg, and the Duchy of Bar. It was annexed to France in 1552; this was recognized by the Holy Roman Empire in the Peace of Westphalia of...
. By 1397, Count Friedrich von Veldenz had bought from Geretrud Broich, her son Emmerich and his wife the estate, along with its serfs, interests and rights at Hanwilre and Moysberg (now Mosberg, part of Mosberg-Richweiler, itself an outlying centre of Nohfelden) for 50 Rhenish guilder
Rhenish guilder
Rhenish guilder is the name of the golden, base currency coin of the Rhineland in the 14th and 15th centuries.- Formation :...
s. In the time that followed, the village belonged to the Amt of Nohfelden and thereby to the Oberamt of Lichtenberg. After the Nohfelden Gerichtsweistum (a Weistum – cognate with English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
wisdom – was a legal pronouncement issued by men learned in law in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and early modern times; Gericht means “court”), the rightful judges of the high court
Blood court
Blood Court or high justice in the Holy Roman Empire referred to the right of a Vogt to hold a criminal court inflicting bodily punishment, including the death penalty.Not every Vogt held the blood court...
were deemed to be the Counts Palatine
Count palatine
Count palatine is a high noble title, used to render several comital styles, in some cases also shortened to Palatine, which can have other meanings as well.-Comes palatinus:...
of Zweibrücken
Palatinate-Zweibrücken
Palatinate-Zweibrücken is a former state of the Holy Roman Empire. Its capital was Zweibrücken.-Overview:→ History before 1394 see main article County of Zweibrücken→ History before 1444 see main article County of Veldenz...
. Hahnweiler was part of the great fief given Wirich II of Oberstein in 1432 by the Duke of Lorraine. The 1480 Bede register (the Bede was a kind of taxation) lists for Hahnweiler two inhabitants who had to pay the May Bede and three who had to pay the autumn Bede. Wendel Gelzenleichter, his wife Agnes, son Nickel and daughter Elisa from Hahnweiler were Oberstein serfs in 1603. Wendel performed “along with the thresher at Hanwiller and his fellow heirs at Berßwiller
Berschweiler bei Baumholder
Berschweiler bei Baumholder is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Baumholder, whose seat is in the like-named town...
a goods transport for the Count of Oberstein. As to further compulsory service, the said Wendel yearly gave the Count some money, about 1 Thaler
Thaler
The Thaler was a silver coin used throughout Europe for almost four hundred years. Its name lives on in various currencies as the dollar or tolar. Etymologically, "Thaler" is an abbreviation of "Joachimsthaler", a coin type from the city of Joachimsthal in Bohemia, where some of the first such...
. What else he yearly gave in money and produce in levies has not been determined.”
The 1675 description of the Oberamt compiled by D. König after the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
counted two families in Hahnweiler, while 115 years later, there were 18 families in the village. In 1816, 13 houses, 14 families and 94 souls were counted. The village’s Reformed
Reformed churches
The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations characterized by Calvinist doctrines. They are descended from the Swiss Reformation inaugurated by Huldrych Zwingli but developed more coherently by Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger and especially John Calvin...
parishioners were parochially bound with Wolfersweiler before French Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
times, and thereafter with Berschweiler. The Catholics belonged to the parish of Freisen. Until 1793, Hahnweiler was part of the Zweibrücken Amt of Nohfelden. The municipal boundary between Hahnweiler and Rückweiler
Rückweiler
Rückweiler is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Baumholder, whose seat is in the like-named town.-Location:The municipality lies in...
was also the old boundary between the Rohrbach and Nohfelden court regions. During the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
occupation, the village belonged to the Mairie (“Mayoralty”) of Nohfelden in the canton of Baumholder. Beginning in 1819, after the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
, it was part of the Bürgermeisterei (also “Mayoralty”) of Berschweiler. In 1819, Hahnweiler had 13 families and 107 souls; by 1843, these figures had grown to 21 and 131 respectively.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 6 council members, who were elected by majority votePlurality voting system
The plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
Mayors
Hahnweiler’s mayor is Dietmar Schmitt, and his deputies are Jürgen Loch and Heiko Bier.The following is a list of Hahnweiler’s mayors since 1936. The gap between 1938 and 1945 represents a loss of official records from the time of the Third Reich
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
- 1936-1938 Otto Stephan
- 1945-1952 Otto Haupenthal
- 1952-1956 Josef Becker
- 1956-1961 Emil Bier
- 1961-1969 Bernhard Werle
- 1969-1979 Otto Schmitt
- 1979-1988 Günter Mohr
- 1988-1999 Hermann Bier
- 1999-2004 Axel Mohr
- 2004- Dietmar Schmitt
Coat of arms
The municipality’s armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
might be described thus: Per fess argent a demilion azure armed and langued gules, and vert a cock sinister crowing, his sinister leg raised, Or.
The charge
Charge (heraldry)
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...
in the upper field, the demilion, is a reference to the village’s former allegiance to the County of Veldenz. The cock (Hahn in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
) is canting
Canting arms
Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name in a visual pun or rebus. The term cant came into the English language from Anglo-Norman cant, meaning song or singing, from Latin cantāre, and English cognates include canticle, chant, accent, incantation and recant.Canting arms –...
for the municipality’s name.
Transport
Directly to the north runs the Autobahn A 62Bundesautobahn 62
is an autobahn in southwestern Germany, connecting the A 1 with the A 6. It also connects numerous communities throughout the central Hunsrück mountains...
(Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
–Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
). Available in nearby Heimbach
Heimbach, Rhineland-Palatinate
Heimbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
is a railway station on the Nahe Valley Railway (Bingen
Bingen am Rhein
Bingen am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.The settlement’s original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant “hole in the rock”, a description of the shoal behind the Mäuseturm, known as the Binger Loch. Bingen was the starting point for the...
–Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
).