Hoppstädten-Weiersbach
Encyclopedia
Hoppstädten-Weiersbach 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 Birkenfeld
, whose seat is in the like-named town
.
nor the Palatinate
, but rather near the boundary with the Saarland
in the Nahe valley in the Upper Nahe Highlands (Oberes Nahebergland), part of the Saar-Nahe Highlands (Saar-Nahe-Bergland). The countryside and the municipality itself are characterized by the Hoppstädt Nahe valley, a broad floodplain
with vast meadowlands and wooded mountain slopes on both sides. These mountains are known as the Hoppstädter Berg and the Weiersbacher Berg. Lying higher up are great cropfields. Many parts of the Nahe valley between Hoppstädten-Weiersbach and Idar-Oberstein
have been left in their natural state and, accordingly, in 1991, parts of it were declared a scenic conservation area (Landschaftsschutzgebiet
).
, the villages of Weiersbach and Hoppstädten, along with Leitzweiler
, Heimbach
and Freisen
, belonged to the lordship of Werdenstein. It was a sideline of the Lords of Oberstein who first named themselves Werdenstein, after the lordship. Jakob von Eberstein married the daughter who held hereditary rights, and about 1550 he built the castle that bore the same name. It stood between the municipality’s two main centres and had been completely dismantled by the early 19th century.
In the outlying centre of Neubrücke in 1944 and 1945, the Hinzert concentration camp
maintained a satellite camp.
Also at Neubrücke, on a 44-hectare lot, the United States Army
set up its 98th General Hospital in 1952. The emergency and reserve hospital had at its disposal 1,000 beds and various medical departments for, among others, surgery
, dentistry
, orthopaedics
, radiology
, rehabilitation and ophthalmology
. A complete hospital train
was kept standing by at all times. In 1994, the hospital was closed.
The hospital’s former lands now house the Environment Campus Birkenfeld
.
The municipality of Hoppstädten-Weiersbach was newly formed on 7 June 1969 from the two dissolved municipalities of Hoppstädten and Weiersbach.
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:
might be described thus: Per fess sable issuant from the line of partition a demilion Or armed, langued and crowned gules, and argent a pale wavy azure between a wheel spoked of four, the rim couped between the two uppermost spokes of the third and the hub surmounted by the blade of a sword palewise of the first the hilt and pommel of the third, and a factory of the third with five windows and a door of the first.
The arms are a fusion of both Hoppstädten’s and Weiersbach’s former arms from the time before the 1969 merger.
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
(Kaiserslautern
–Trier
) near the Birkenfeld
interchange
(indeed, nearer than Birkenfeld itself), and also on the Nahe Valley Railway (Bingen
–Saarbrücken
), which here runs concurrently with the important Saarbrücken-Mainz
link. There is a regional railway station in the municipality, Neubrücke (Nahe), and a further halt called Hoppstädten-Weiersbach in Hoppstädten.
Between the municipality’s two main centres of Hoppstädten and Weiersbach lies the Hoppstädten-Weiersbach Special Airfield (ICAO code
: EDRH).
Hoppstädten-Weiersbach is the location of the Landessammelstelle für radioaktive Abfälle (“State Collection Point for Radioactive Waste”) of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Office for the Environment, Water Management and Trade Supervision (LUWG).
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 Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld (Verbandsgemeinde)
Birkenfeld is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Birkenfeld, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Birkenfeld....
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld is a town and the district seat of the Birkenfeld district in southwest Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde.-Location:...
.
Location
The municipality lies in neither 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...
nor the Palatinate
Palatinate
The County Palatine of the Rhine , later the Electoral Palatinate , was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire, a palatinate administered by a count palatine...
, but rather near the boundary with 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...
in the Nahe valley in the Upper Nahe Highlands (Oberes Nahebergland), part of the Saar-Nahe Highlands (Saar-Nahe-Bergland). The countryside and the municipality itself are characterized by the Hoppstädt Nahe valley, a broad floodplain
Floodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
with vast meadowlands and wooded mountain slopes on both sides. These mountains are known as the Hoppstädter Berg and the Weiersbacher Berg. Lying higher up are great cropfields. Many parts of the Nahe valley between Hoppstädten-Weiersbach and Idar-Oberstein
Idar-Oberstein
Idar-Oberstein is a town in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. As a Große kreisangehörige Stadt , it assumes some of the responsibilities that for smaller municipalities in the district are assumed by the district administration...
have been left in their natural state and, accordingly, in 1991, parts of it were declared a scenic conservation area (Landschaftsschutzgebiet
Protected area
Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...
).
Constituent communities
Hoppstädten-Weiersbach’s Ortsteile are Hoppstädten, Weiersbach (with Bleiderdingen) and Neubrücke.History
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...
, the villages of Weiersbach and Hoppstädten, along with 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...
, 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...
and 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...
, belonged to the lordship of Werdenstein. It was a sideline of the Lords of Oberstein who first named themselves Werdenstein, after the lordship. Jakob von Eberstein married the daughter who held hereditary rights, and about 1550 he built the castle that bore the same name. It stood between the municipality’s two main centres and had been completely dismantled by the early 19th century.
In the outlying centre of Neubrücke in 1944 and 1945, the Hinzert concentration camp
Hinzert concentration camp
Hinzert was a Nazi concentration camp located in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, 30 km from the Luxembourg border....
maintained a satellite camp.
Also at Neubrücke, on a 44-hectare lot, the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
set up its 98th General Hospital in 1952. The emergency and reserve hospital had at its disposal 1,000 beds and various medical departments for, among others, surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
, dentistry
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
, orthopaedics
Orthopedic surgery
Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system...
, radiology
Radiology
Radiology is a medical specialty that employs the use of imaging to both diagnose and treat disease visualized within the human body. Radiologists use an array of imaging technologies to diagnose or treat diseases...
, rehabilitation and ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...
. A complete hospital train
Hospital train
A hospital train is a railway train with carriages equipped for the provision of healthcare. Historically this has ranged from trains equipped to transport wounded soldiers, with basic nursing and first aid facilities on board, to fully equipped mobile medical centres, sometimes including operating...
was kept standing by at all times. In 1994, the hospital was closed.
The hospital’s former lands now house the Environment Campus Birkenfeld
Environment Campus Birkenfeld
The Environment Campus Birkenfeld is a branch of the largest University of Applied Sciences in the state Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is close to the small town of Birkenfeld in Rhineland-Palatinate, close to the border of Saarland, Luxembourg, Belgium and France. There are 2,200 students...
.
The municipality of Hoppstädten-Weiersbach was newly formed on 7 June 1969 from the two dissolved municipalities of Hoppstädten and Weiersbach.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 20 council members, who were elected by proportional representationProportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
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:
| SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
CDU | WGR | Total | |
| 2004 | 5 | 13 | 2 | 20 seats |
| 2009 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 20 seats |
Mayor
Hoppstädten-Weiersbach’s mayor is Welf Fiedler, and his deputies are Edmund Schulz, Jörg Schunath and Günter Decker.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 sable issuant from the line of partition a demilion Or armed, langued and crowned gules, and argent a pale wavy azure between a wheel spoked of four, the rim couped between the two uppermost spokes of the third and the hub surmounted by the blade of a sword palewise of the first the hilt and pommel of the third, and a factory of the third with five windows and a door of the first.
The arms are a fusion of both Hoppstädten’s and Weiersbach’s former arms from the time before the 1969 merger.
Buildings
The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-PalatinateRhineland-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 ....
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
Hoppstädten
- Saint Catherine’sCatherine of AlexandriaSaint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius...
Catholic Church (Kirche St. Katharinen), Hauptstraße – aisleless churchAisleless churchAn 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 either side of the nave separated from the nave by colonnades or arcades, a row of pillars or columns...
with ridge turretRidge turretA ridge turret is a turret build on the peak of a roof....
, 1787; in the east wall a wayside cross, marked 1724 - Saarstraße 19 – railway station of the former Rhein-Nahe-Bahn (railway); built to standard plan; one- or two-floor sandstoneSandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
-framed brick building - Saarstraße 20 – seven-axis house, 1870; characterizes square’s and village’s appearance
- Rhein-Nahe-Bahn railway bridge – four-arch sandstone bridge over the Steinaubach, 1880
- JewishJudaismJudaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
graveyard, east of the village on the slope of the Eborner Berg (monumental zone) – 168 gravestones, 1770 to 1958; on the older part of the graveyard sandstone tomb slabs with fragments of HebrewHebrew languageHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
inscriptions preserved; biggest Jewish graveyard in the broader area
Weiersbach
- Saint Mark’sMark the EvangelistMark the Evangelist is the traditional author of the Gospel of Mark. He is one of the Seventy Disciples of Christ, and the founder of the Church of Alexandria, one of the original four main sees of Christianity....
Catholic Parish Church (Pfarrkirche St. Markus), in Bleiderdingen – aisleless church 1738/1739, lengthening and west tower 1862; GothicGothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
quire, before 1235; décor - In Bleiderdingen/corner of Auf dem Sand – wayside cross, Station cross, marked 1847
- Roadbridge, between Hoppstädten and Bleiderdingen – three-arch sandstone quarrystone bridge over the Nahe
Transport
Hoppstädten-Weiersbach lies on 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....
) near the Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld is a town and the district seat of the Birkenfeld district in southwest Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde.-Location:...
interchange
Interchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
(indeed, nearer than Birkenfeld itself), and also 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....
), which here runs concurrently with the important Saarbrücken-Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
link. There is a regional railway station in the municipality, Neubrücke (Nahe), and a further halt called Hoppstädten-Weiersbach in Hoppstädten.
Between the municipality’s two main centres of Hoppstädten and Weiersbach lies the Hoppstädten-Weiersbach Special Airfield (ICAO code
International Civil Aviation Organization airport code
The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-character alphanumeric code designating each airport around the world. These codes are defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization, and published in ICAO Document 7910: Location Indicators.The ICAO codes are used by air traffic...
: EDRH).
Hoppstädten-Weiersbach is the location of the Landessammelstelle für radioaktive Abfälle (“State Collection Point for Radioactive Waste”) of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Office for the Environment, Water Management and Trade Supervision (LUWG).
Famous people
- David EinhornDavid EinhornDavid Einhorn was a German rabbi and leader of the Jewish reform movement in the United States. Einhorn was chosen in 1855 as the first rabbi of the Har Sinai Congregation in Baltimore, the oldest congregation in the United States that has been affiliated with the Reform movement since its...
(b. 10 November 1809 in DiespeckDiespeckDiespeck is a municipality in the district of Neustadt -Bad Windsheim in Bavaria in Germany....
; d. 2 November 1879 in New YorkNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
), from 1842 to 1847 Rabbi of Hoppstädten and State Rabbi of the Principality of Birkenfeld. - Alex Lewin (b. 5 October 1888 in Adelsheim; d. 1942 at AuschwitzAuschwitz concentration campConcentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
), last State Rabbi of the Oldenburg Principality of Birkenfeld with seat and home in Hoppstädten.