Meckenbach, Birkenfeld
Encyclopedia
Meckenbach 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
.
. The municipal limit runs concurrently for more than 5 km with the boundary with the Saarland
. The municipal area measures 378 ha, of which 220 ha is wooded, mainly with mixed forest, and it is also mostly privately owned.
took over the land between the 6th and 9th century. The land had already been settled in prehistoric times
, of course. A dig by Prof. Dr. H. Baldes before the First World War at a barrow
500 m southwest of the village in the cadastral area known as “Auf dem Bühl in Sangbösch” yielded objects from early La Tène times
(no later than 225 BC).
Meckenbach’s history is tightly bound with the Pflege (literally “care”, but actually a local geopolitical unit) and the parish of Achtelsbach, to which also belonged, among others, the villages of Brücken
(the part on the Traun’s right bank only), Traunen, Eisen and Obersötern, and an estate between Meckenbach and Obersötern called Haupenthal.
Beginning in 1480 the lordship and court were held by the Duke of Palatinate-Zweibrücken
. The Counts Palatine of Birkenfeld, even though they were the Duke’s kin, had no say in the village’s affairs. The Lords of Sötern, and thereby the Duchy of Lorraine, had taxation rights in the Pflege of Achtelsbach, and also determined who the parish priest would be. This often complicated matters. For instance, in 1523, the Reformation
was introduced into the Duchy of Zweibrücken, but much to the Duke’s displeasure, the priest in Achtelsbach kept preaching Catholic belief for some years thereafter, until the Reformation also took hold in Sötern.
What is clear from the Achtelsbach church books is that 400 years ago, a milder climate must have prevailed in the area. In 1579, for instance, the clergyman deemed it worthy of mention that “in the middle of October, a great cold fell, and the grapes froze on the vine”. Also from these books, it is known that in 1609, Meckenbach was a hamlet
of seven houses and 29 inhabitants: 6 married couples, 12 children, 3 widows, 1 manservant and 1 maidservant.
Prof. Dr. H. Baldes reports that in the 19th century, in and near Meckenbach, money, sometimes in great amounts, was sometimes found, presumably having been hidden in the Thirty Years' War
. It may have been that since Meckenbach lay somewhat off the military road that led from Birkenfeld by way of Brücken, Achtelsbach and Sötern to Tholey
, it was considered a safe haven of sorts.
On 25 September 1635, when the fleeing Swedish
-French
army under Duke Bernard of Weimar was using the said military road to retreat to France, Meckenbach escaped calamity. Brücken, Eisen and Haupenthal were not so lucky and were burnt down; it was 30 years before they were once again settled. In June 1639, on the other hand, Meckenbach was the only village in the local area to be plundered by the Spaniards
, who luckily did not also burn the village down.
The municipality of Meckenbach took part in the contest Unser Dorf soll schöner werden (“Our village should become lovelier”) from 1971 to 1975 with great success, as witnessed by several awards on the state level. The high point came on 23 November 1973 when Meckenbach won the Rhineland-Palatinate gold medal in the contest. This was presented at the Electoral Palace in Mainz
amid great festivity, with the municipality’s male singing club, Männergesangverein 1896 Meckenbach, participating.
Since that time, there have been infrastructure improvements in the municipality such as roadway upgrades, the building of a fire station and a community centre and sewerage. As of 2004, the contest commission began appraising Meckenbach again. In 2004, in the district contest, now known as Unser Dorf hat Zukunft (“Our village has a future”), Meckenbach managed third place, and the regional commission currently ranks it as second in the main class.
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
might be described thus: Per fess vert a cramp fesswise between six mullets, three chevronwise above and three chevronwise reversed below, all argent, and sable issuant from base a demilion Or armed, langued and crowned gules.
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
n 41 and 269. Two Autobahnen also pass near Meckenbach: the A 62
(Kaiserslautern
–Trier
) to the south and the A 1 to the west. The Bostalsee and Oberhambach
recreational areas are each about ten minutes’ drive away. Saarbrücken
, Trier
and Kaiserslautern
can all be reached by Autobahn in roughly half an hour, as can the towns of Idar-Oberstein
and Sankt Wendel
over Bundesstraße 41.
Serving nearby Neubrücke
and Türkismühle
are railway stations on the Nahe Valley Railway (Bingen
–Saarbrücken
).
Agriculture
once characterized the village scene in Meckenbach, but in recent decades, the village’s economic underpinnings have undergone a great shift. Nowadays, Meckenbach has only one fulltime farmer tending a farm in the municipality. Meckenbach is a rather quiet village, despite lying right near two Autobahnen (which would usually make a place attractive to commercial interests), and to satisfy the demand for building land from both its own citizens and those from outside, the municipality had to open up a new building area.
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 the westernmost part of the Birkenfeld district on the like-named river Meckenbach in a hollow at the edge of the Schwarzwälder Hochwald (forest) 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...
. The municipal limit runs concurrently for more than 5 km with 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...
. The municipal area measures 378 ha, of which 220 ha is wooded, mainly with mixed forest, and it is also mostly privately owned.
History
In 1334, Meckenbach had its first documentary mention. On this occasion, a certain “Cuno in den Gassen zu Birkenfeld” (“Cuno in the laneways at Birkenfeld”) vowed that he would “improve” his holding at the estate in Meckenbach and in future try harder to maintain it in a better state. The very name Meckenbach, though, makes it clear that the place was settled a few centuries earlier, for it is typical of placenames from the time when the FranksFranks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
took over the land between the 6th and 9th century. The land had already been settled in prehistoric times
Prehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
, of course. A dig by Prof. Dr. H. Baldes before the First World War at a barrow
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
500 m southwest of the village in the cadastral area known as “Auf dem Bühl in Sangbösch” yielded objects from early La Tène times
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
(no later than 225 BC).
Meckenbach’s history is tightly bound with the Pflege (literally “care”, but actually a local geopolitical unit) and the parish of Achtelsbach, to which also belonged, among others, the villages of Brücken
Brücken, Birkenfeld
Brücken 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.-Location:The municipality lies on the...
(the part on the Traun’s right bank only), Traunen, Eisen and Obersötern, and an estate between Meckenbach and Obersötern called Haupenthal.
Beginning in 1480 the lordship and court were held by the Duke of Palatinate-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...
. The Counts Palatine of Birkenfeld, even though they were the Duke’s kin, had no say in the village’s affairs. The Lords of Sötern, and thereby the Duchy of Lorraine, had taxation rights in the Pflege of Achtelsbach, and also determined who the parish priest would be. This often complicated matters. For instance, in 1523, the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
was introduced into the Duchy of Zweibrücken, but much to the Duke’s displeasure, the priest in Achtelsbach kept preaching Catholic belief for some years thereafter, until the Reformation also took hold in Sötern.
What is clear from the Achtelsbach church books is that 400 years ago, a milder climate must have prevailed in the area. In 1579, for instance, the clergyman deemed it worthy of mention that “in the middle of October, a great cold fell, and the grapes froze on the vine”. Also from these books, it is known that in 1609, Meckenbach was a hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of seven houses and 29 inhabitants: 6 married couples, 12 children, 3 widows, 1 manservant and 1 maidservant.
Prof. Dr. H. Baldes reports that in the 19th century, in and near Meckenbach, money, sometimes in great amounts, was sometimes found, presumably having been hidden in 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....
. It may have been that since Meckenbach lay somewhat off the military road that led from Birkenfeld by way of Brücken, Achtelsbach and Sötern to Tholey
Tholey
Tholey is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approx. 10 km west of Sankt Wendel, and 30 km north of Saarbrücken....
, it was considered a safe haven of sorts.
On 25 September 1635, when the fleeing Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
-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...
army under Duke Bernard of Weimar was using the said military road to retreat to France, Meckenbach escaped calamity. Brücken, Eisen and Haupenthal were not so lucky and were burnt down; it was 30 years before they were once again settled. In June 1639, on the other hand, Meckenbach was the only village in the local area to be plundered by the Spaniards
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, who luckily did not also burn the village down.
The municipality of Meckenbach took part in the contest Unser Dorf soll schöner werden (“Our village should become lovelier”) from 1971 to 1975 with great success, as witnessed by several awards on the state level. The high point came on 23 November 1973 when Meckenbach won the Rhineland-Palatinate gold medal in the contest. This was presented at the Electoral Palace in 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...
amid great festivity, with the municipality’s male singing club, Männergesangverein 1896 Meckenbach, participating.
Since that time, there have been infrastructure improvements in the municipality such as roadway upgrades, the building of a fire station and a community centre and sewerage. As of 2004, the contest commission began appraising Meckenbach again. In 2004, in the district contest, now known as Unser Dorf hat Zukunft (“Our village has a future”), Meckenbach managed third place, and the regional commission currently ranks it as second in the main class.
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.
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 vert a cramp fesswise between six mullets, three chevronwise above and three chevronwise reversed below, all argent, and sable issuant from base a demilion Or armed, langued and crowned gules.
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:
- Dorfstraße 10 – Quereinhaus (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street), 1808
- Trauntalweg 3 – stately Quereinhaus, partly timber-frameTimber framingTimber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
, 1816
Transport
To the east run BundesstraßeBundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
n 41 and 269. Two Autobahnen also pass near Meckenbach: the A 62
Bundesautobahn 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....
) to the south and the A 1 to the west. The Bostalsee and Oberhambach
Oberhambach
Oberhambach 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.Oberhambach is a tourism...
recreational areas are each about ten minutes’ drive away. 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....
, 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....
and 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...
can all be reached by Autobahn in roughly half an hour, as can the towns of 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...
and Sankt Wendel
Sankt Wendel
St. Wendel is a municipality in northeastern Saarland. It is situated on the river Blies 36 km northeast of Saarbrücken, the capital of Saarland, and is named after Saint Wendelin of Trier.- Geography :...
over Bundesstraße 41.
Serving nearby Neubrücke
Hoppstädten-Weiersbach
Hoppstädten-Weiersbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
and Türkismühle
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....
are railway stations 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....
).
Agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
once characterized the village scene in Meckenbach, but in recent decades, the village’s economic underpinnings have undergone a great shift. Nowadays, Meckenbach has only one fulltime farmer tending a farm in the municipality. Meckenbach is a rather quiet village, despite lying right near two Autobahnen (which would usually make a place attractive to commercial interests), and to satisfy the demand for building land from both its own citizens and those from outside, the municipality had to open up a new building area.