Neuleiningen
Encyclopedia
Neuleiningen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim
district in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
.
. To the west and southwest stretches the Palatinate Forest, to the northwest the North Palatine Highland
, and to the east spreads the Upper Rhine Plain
behind the Leiningerland’s vineyard-covered hills. Neuleiningen belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land
, whose seat is in Grünstadt
, although that town is itself not in the Verbandsgemeinde.
of Neuleiningen-Tal (Tal means “dale” or “valley” in German
), administratively part of Neuleiningen and consisting of only a few houses, lies south of the main centre at an elevation of 183 m, making it quite a bit lower than the main centre. Neuleiningen-Tal lies on the Eckbach. Downstream the valley opens onto a hilly landscape planted with vineyard
s on the western edge of the Upper Rhine Plain
. It abuts the neighbouring municipality of Kleinkarlbach
just to the east.
a few kilometres away – draws its name from the noble family, the House of Leiningen, to whom the Leiningerland – also named for these counts – once belonged and who also built the castle
in the 13th century. (The prefixes Alt— and Neu— simply mean “old” and “new” respectively). It was not long before a settlement had sprung up around this and begun to grow. Neuleiningen belonged until 1969 to the now abolished district of Frankenthal. The Verbandsgemeinde into which the municipality was later grouped was formed in 1972.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
might be described thus: Per bend azure semé of six crosses Or an eagle displayed argent armed and langued gules, the sinister wing couped at the partition, and sable semé of ten crosses of the second a key bendwise of the third, the wards to chief and turned to base.
The eagle is the heraldic device that was borne by the Counts of Leiningen. The key symbolizes the Prince-Bishopric of Worms
.
.
Neuleiningen Castle
Burg Neuleiningen
is typologically of the model of French
castles of the so-called “castrum type” found in the Île de France. It was built under Count Friedrich III of Leiningen-Dagsburg in the 1240s and is thereby one of the earliest castrum-type castles on German soil. From the castle’s lookout tower one has an outstanding view of the Upper Rhine Plain
in the east and the Palatinate Forest’s mountains in the west. The villages of Sausenheim and Kleinkarlbach
below Neuleiningen can be seen. In good weather one can also make out Ludwigshafen, Mannheim
, the Odenwald
and even aircraft taking off from Frankfurt Airport
.
Town fortifications
The fortifications with their four towers were built in connection with the castle and likewise come from the 13th century. They were restored and expanded in the 15th century. Of the once three town gates, only the western one from the latter half of the 15th century is preserved.
Saint Nicholas’s Parish Church
The Pfarrkirche St. Nikolaus was built in the 13th century as a castle chapel at the same time as the castle itself. It is also called Wallfahrtskirche der Gnadenmutter zu Neuleiningen (“Pilgrimage Church of the Mother of Grace at Neuleiningen”). The miraculous image at the festival of the Birth of Mary on 8 September is a Gothic
statue of Mary
with the Christ Child
in a mandorla. In the 15th century, the quire was expanded and the tower added. The single-nave inner space has after several restorations been thoroughly altered. Besides a Baroque
statue of Saint Nicholas
with his hand raised in blessing, the church houses several other Late Gothic wooden sculptures.
Rectory
The former Wachenheimer Hof (1561, thoroughly altered), where the former castle administrators, the Lords of Wachenheim
lived, now serves as a rectory
. The complex was part of Neuleiningen Castle
’s outer bailey.
Town Hall
The town hall on Mittelgasse, like the adjoining church, belonged in the 14th and 15th centuries to the Carmelite
monastery Zum Heiligen Kreuz (“To the Holy Cross”), which was dissolved in the Reformation
. In 1902, the municipality acquired the complex and converted it into its present form. Since 1957, the church, which was Lutheran
from 1555 to 1582 and thereafter a synagogue
until 1902, has once again been in Evangelical
hands.
Timber-frame houses
Well preserved timber-frame
houses (16th/17th century), some with oriel windows, characterize the village centre’s narrow lanes, particularly the rows along the parallel Obergasse, Mittelgasse and Untergasse.
Lion sculpture
The lion sculpture standing on a column at the Marktbrunnen (“Market Fountain”) on Mittelgasse from 1782 formerly bore the so-called Fasseiche, an official standard for wine barrel measurement. Today it bears the arms of the Prince-Bishop
s of Worms
.
Market Fountain
Below the Marktbrunnen on Untergasse, the Spülbrunnen (“Washing Fountain”) has been preserved. It caught water in a basin that had spilt out of the Market Fountain that was still suitable for washing wine barrels.
Upstream from (west of) the two mills, the Eckbach is dammed up to form the Eckbachweiher, a manmade lake. This once served on the one hand as a guard against flooding, and on the other hand as a water reservoir for running the mills even in time of drought.
Obermühle
The Obermühle (“Upper Mill”), first mentioned in a document in 1615, is a former gristmill and papermill. In 1864 it was converted into a porcelain
and earthenware
factory that ended up in financial difficulties after the First World War and had to be liquidated in 1937. The converted complex is used now, in the 21st century, by a forwarding company.
Felsenmühle
The Felsenmühle (“Crag Mill”), standing roughly 300 m downstream, was first mentioned in a document in 1490. It is made up of the main house in the north, a dwelling wing in the east, a big, old barn in the south and the mill wing in the west. In the middle spreads a cobbled inner yard. The main house’s ground floor sits one floor’s height above the yard, which is reached by a double stairway built onto the middle.
In the mid 18th century, the Felsenmühle was bought at auction by miller Matthias Geißler, the owner of the Obermühle after he put his craftiness to work: Instead of transferring his tailwater, as the last owner had, along a channel running parallel to the Eckbach and down to the Felsenmühle, he had it flow right back into the Eckbach. Since this flowed by the Felsenmühle about 50 m to the south, the lower mill was left high and dry, bereft of its very reason for existing. Geißler then acquired it and soon thereafter was running it himself. In 1749, he received approval for a wine bar at the mill. In the 19th and 20th centuries, it served various purposes: glaze making for the earthenware factory that was then running at the Obermühle, then a bar, and in the Second World War a prison camp.
From 1994 it was once again an inn in which were also run a wine parlour and a bed and breakfast
. In the guest parlour, a gigantic undershot waterwheel could be seen. After the innkeeper had to shut the complex down in 2004 owing to his advancing age, it stood empty and suffered damage from both frost and breakins. After being renovated, it has been open once again since the summer of 2007.
Eckbachmühlen-Rad- und Wanderweg
A section of the Eckbachmühlen-Rad- und Wanderweg (cycling and hiking path) runs along the Eckbach, linking 23 of the region’s mills, some of which have been restored. This includes the two described above.
site of the Luftfahrtvereins Grünstadt und Umgebung e. V. (“Grünstadt and Area Air Travel Club”).
, the municipality’s main livelihood. The vineyard
s lie in the east of the municipality towards the Upper Rhine Plain
. The way the slopes lean towards the morning sun has two advantages: The soil warms up early after it has cooled off during the night, and colder air masses can swiftly flow off onto the plain, forestalling late frosts early in the year that damage the new shoots.
Winegrowing in Neuleiningen has tradition. There are several wineries in the municipality whose existence goes back to the 18th century. They make both white wines (Riesling
, Chardonnay
, Pinot blanc
, Müller-Thurgau
) and red wines (Pinot noir
, Dornfelder
, Pinot meunier
, Blauer Portugieser
). Some wines are aged in oaken casks. Smaller areas are also planted with new grape varieties. In autumn, Federweisser is on offer at the wineries, and at Christmas
time, they also have mulled wine
made with their own products.
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 Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim (district)
Bad Dürkheim is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Kaiserslautern, Donnersbergkreis and Alzey-Worms, the city of Worms, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, the city of Neustadt/Weinstraße, the districts of Südliche Weinstraße, the city of Landau , the district...
district 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...
.
Location
On a foothill near the northern end of the Haardt, Neuleiningen gathers round the like-named castle at an elevation of some 300 m above sea levelSea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. To the west and southwest stretches the Palatinate Forest, to the northwest the North Palatine Highland
North Palatine Highland
The North Palatine Uplands , sometimes incorrectly shortened to Palatine Uplands , is a landscape unit in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and belongs largely to the Palatinate region.- Location and name :...
, and to the east spreads the Upper Rhine Plain
Upper Rhine Plain
The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben is a major rift, straddling the border between France and Germany. It forms part of the European Cenozoic Rift System, which extends across central Europe...
behind the Leiningerland’s vineyard-covered hills. Neuleiningen belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land
Grünstadt-Land
Grünstadt-Land is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Bad Dürkheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the north-eastern edge of the Palatinate forest...
, whose seat is in Grünstadt
Grünstadt
Grünstadt is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with roughly 13,200 inhabitants. It does not belong to any Verbandsgemeinde – a kind of collective municipality – but is nonetheless the administrative seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land.- Location :The...
, although that town is itself not in the Verbandsgemeinde.
Constituent communities
The hamletHamlet (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 Neuleiningen-Tal (Tal means “dale” or “valley” 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....
), administratively part of Neuleiningen and consisting of only a few houses, lies south of the main centre at an elevation of 183 m, making it quite a bit lower than the main centre. Neuleiningen-Tal lies on the Eckbach. Downstream the valley opens onto a hilly landscape planted with vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s on the western edge of the Upper Rhine Plain
Upper Rhine Plain
The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben is a major rift, straddling the border between France and Germany. It forms part of the European Cenozoic Rift System, which extends across central Europe...
. It abuts the neighbouring municipality of Kleinkarlbach
Kleinkarlbach
Kleinkarlbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
just to the east.
History
Neuleiningen – as with neighbouring AltleiningenAltleiningen
Altleiningen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
a few kilometres away – draws its name from the noble family, the House of Leiningen, to whom the Leiningerland – also named for these counts – once belonged and who also built the castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
in the 13th century. (The prefixes Alt— and Neu— simply mean “old” and “new” respectively). It was not long before a settlement had sprung up around this and begun to grow. Neuleiningen belonged until 1969 to the now abolished district of Frankenthal. The Verbandsgemeinde into which the municipality was later grouped was formed in 1972.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 12 council members, who were elected 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 | FWG Free Voters Free Voters is a German concept in which an association of persons participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it is a locally organized group of voters in the form of a registered association . In most cases, Free Voters are active only at the... |
Total | |
| 2009 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 12 seats |
| 2004 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 12 seats |
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 bend azure semé of six crosses Or an eagle displayed argent armed and langued gules, the sinister wing couped at the partition, and sable semé of ten crosses of the second a key bendwise of the third, the wards to chief and turned to base.
The eagle is the heraldic device that was borne by the Counts of Leiningen. The key symbolizes the Prince-Bishopric of Worms
Bishopric of Worms
The Bishopric of Worms was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Located on both banks of the Rhine around Worms just north of the union of that river with the Neckar, it was largely surrounded by the Palatinate. Worms had been the seat of a bishop from Roman times...
.
Culture and sightseeing
Sightseeing in the main town
Many buildings have histories reaching back to 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...
.
Neuleiningen Castle
Burg Neuleiningen
Neuleiningen castle
Neuleiningen Castle is a castle ruin on the eastern outskirts of the Palatinate Forest in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany in the municipality of Neuleiningen in the Bad Dürkheim district.- External links :*...
is typologically of the model of 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...
castles of the so-called “castrum type” found in the Île de France. It was built under Count Friedrich III of Leiningen-Dagsburg in the 1240s and is thereby one of the earliest castrum-type castles on German soil. From the castle’s lookout tower one has an outstanding view of the Upper Rhine Plain
Upper Rhine Plain
The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben is a major rift, straddling the border between France and Germany. It forms part of the European Cenozoic Rift System, which extends across central Europe...
in the east and the Palatinate Forest’s mountains in the west. The villages of Sausenheim and Kleinkarlbach
Kleinkarlbach
Kleinkarlbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
below Neuleiningen can be seen. In good weather one can also make out Ludwigshafen, Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, the Odenwald
Odenwald
The Odenwald is a low mountain range in Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Location :The Odenwald lies between the Upper Rhine Rift Valley with the Bergstraße and the Hessisches Ried in the west, the Main and the Bauland in the east, the Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin – a subbasin of...
and even aircraft taking off from Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport may refer to:Airports of Frankfurt, Germany:*Frankfurt Airport , the largest airport in Germany*Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport, a general aviation airport*Frankfurt-Hahn Airport , a converted U.S...
.
Town fortifications
The fortifications with their four towers were built in connection with the castle and likewise come from the 13th century. They were restored and expanded in the 15th century. Of the once three town gates, only the western one from the latter half of the 15th century is preserved.
Saint Nicholas’s Parish Church
The Pfarrkirche St. Nikolaus was built in the 13th century as a castle chapel at the same time as the castle itself. It is also called Wallfahrtskirche der Gnadenmutter zu Neuleiningen (“Pilgrimage Church of the Mother of Grace at Neuleiningen”). The miraculous image at the festival of the Birth of Mary on 8 September is a Gothic
Gothic art
Gothic art was a Medieval art movement that developed in France out of Romanesque art in the mid-12th century, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, but took over art more completely north of the Alps, never quite effacing more classical...
statue of Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
with the Christ Child
Child Jesus
The Child Jesus represents Jesus from his Nativity to age 12. At 13 he was considered to be adult, in accordance with the Jewish custom of his time, and that of most Christian cultures until recent centuries.The Child Jesus is frequently depicted in art, from around the third or fourth century...
in a mandorla. In the 15th century, the quire was expanded and the tower added. The single-nave inner space has after several restorations been thoroughly altered. Besides a Baroque
Baroque art
Baroque painting is the painting associated with the Baroque cultural movement. The movement is often identified with Absolutism, the Counter Reformation and Catholic Revival, but the existence of important Baroque art and architecture in non-absolutist and Protestant states throughout Western...
statue of Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
with his hand raised in blessing, the church houses several other Late Gothic wooden sculptures.
Rectory
The former Wachenheimer Hof (1561, thoroughly altered), where the former castle administrators, the Lords of Wachenheim
Wachenheim, Alzey-Worms
Wachenheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
lived, now serves as a rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
. The complex was part of Neuleiningen Castle
Neuleiningen castle
Neuleiningen Castle is a castle ruin on the eastern outskirts of the Palatinate Forest in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany in the municipality of Neuleiningen in the Bad Dürkheim district.- External links :*...
’s outer bailey.
Town Hall
The town hall on Mittelgasse, like the adjoining church, belonged in the 14th and 15th centuries to the Carmelite
Carmelites
The Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...
monastery Zum Heiligen Kreuz (“To the Holy Cross”), which was dissolved in 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...
. In 1902, the municipality acquired the complex and converted it into its present form. Since 1957, the church, which was Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
from 1555 to 1582 and thereafter a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
until 1902, has once again been in Evangelical
Evangelical Church in Germany
The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
hands.
Timber-frame houses
Well preserved timber-frame
Timber framing
Timber 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...
houses (16th/17th century), some with oriel windows, characterize the village centre’s narrow lanes, particularly the rows along the parallel Obergasse, Mittelgasse and Untergasse.
Lion sculpture
The lion sculpture standing on a column at the Marktbrunnen (“Market Fountain”) on Mittelgasse from 1782 formerly bore the so-called Fasseiche, an official standard for wine barrel measurement. Today it bears the arms of the Prince-Bishop
Prince-Bishop
A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office...
s of Worms
Bishopric of Worms
The Bishopric of Worms was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Located on both banks of the Rhine around Worms just north of the union of that river with the Neckar, it was largely surrounded by the Palatinate. Worms had been the seat of a bishop from Roman times...
.
Market Fountain
Below the Marktbrunnen on Untergasse, the Spülbrunnen (“Washing Fountain”) has been preserved. It caught water in a basin that had spilt out of the Market Fountain that was still suitable for washing wine barrels.
Sightseeing in Neuleiningen-Tal
EckbachweiherUpstream from (west of) the two mills, the Eckbach is dammed up to form the Eckbachweiher, a manmade lake. This once served on the one hand as a guard against flooding, and on the other hand as a water reservoir for running the mills even in time of drought.
Obermühle
The Obermühle (“Upper Mill”), first mentioned in a document in 1615, is a former gristmill and papermill. In 1864 it was converted into a porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
and earthenware
Earthenware
Earthenware is a common ceramic material, which is used extensively for pottery tableware and decorative objects.-Types of earthenware:Although body formulations vary between countries and even between individual makers, a generic composition is 25% ball clay, 28% kaolin, 32% quartz, and 15%...
factory that ended up in financial difficulties after the First World War and had to be liquidated in 1937. The converted complex is used now, in the 21st century, by a forwarding company.
Felsenmühle
The Felsenmühle (“Crag Mill”), standing roughly 300 m downstream, was first mentioned in a document in 1490. It is made up of the main house in the north, a dwelling wing in the east, a big, old barn in the south and the mill wing in the west. In the middle spreads a cobbled inner yard. The main house’s ground floor sits one floor’s height above the yard, which is reached by a double stairway built onto the middle.
In the mid 18th century, the Felsenmühle was bought at auction by miller Matthias Geißler, the owner of the Obermühle after he put his craftiness to work: Instead of transferring his tailwater, as the last owner had, along a channel running parallel to the Eckbach and down to the Felsenmühle, he had it flow right back into the Eckbach. Since this flowed by the Felsenmühle about 50 m to the south, the lower mill was left high and dry, bereft of its very reason for existing. Geißler then acquired it and soon thereafter was running it himself. In 1749, he received approval for a wine bar at the mill. In the 19th and 20th centuries, it served various purposes: glaze making for the earthenware factory that was then running at the Obermühle, then a bar, and in the Second World War a prison camp.
From 1994 it was once again an inn in which were also run a wine parlour and a bed and breakfast
Bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
. In the guest parlour, a gigantic undershot waterwheel could be seen. After the innkeeper had to shut the complex down in 2004 owing to his advancing age, it stood empty and suffered damage from both frost and breakins. After being renovated, it has been open once again since the summer of 2007.
Eckbachmühlen-Rad- und Wanderweg
A section of the Eckbachmühlen-Rad- und Wanderweg (cycling and hiking path) runs along the Eckbach, linking 23 of the region’s mills, some of which have been restored. This includes the two described above.
Gastronomy
The castle’s vaulted cellar has been expanded into a “castle bar”, and next door to the castle is the Alte Pfarrey (“Old Rectory” – archaically spelt with a Y instead of an I), which today is as much a restaurant for fine dining as Liz’ Stuben on the village’s outskirts.Air sports
On one of the municipality's hills is found the model aircraftModel aircraft
Model aircraft are flying or non-flying models of existing or imaginary aircraft using a variety of materials including plastic, diecast metal, polystyrene, balsa wood, foam and fibreglass...
site of the Luftfahrtvereins Grünstadt und Umgebung e. V. (“Grünstadt and Area Air Travel Club”).
Winegrowing
Winegrowing is, more so than tourismTourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, the municipality’s main livelihood. The vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s lie in the east of the municipality towards the Upper Rhine Plain
Upper Rhine Plain
The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben is a major rift, straddling the border between France and Germany. It forms part of the European Cenozoic Rift System, which extends across central Europe...
. The way the slopes lean towards the morning sun has two advantages: The soil warms up early after it has cooled off during the night, and colder air masses can swiftly flow off onto the plain, forestalling late frosts early in the year that damage the new shoots.
Winegrowing in Neuleiningen has tradition. There are several wineries in the municipality whose existence goes back to the 18th century. They make both white wines (Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...
, Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
, Pinot blanc
Pinot Blanc
Pinot blanc is a white wine grape. It is a point genetic mutation of Pinot noir. Pinot noir is genetically unstable and will occasionally experience a point mutation in which a vine bears all black fruit except for one cane which produced white fruit....
, Müller-Thurgau
Müller-Thurgau
Müller-Thurgau is a variety of white grape which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882. It is a crossing of Riesling with Madeleine Royale. It is used to make white wine in Germany, Austria, Northern Italy, Hungary, England, in Australia, Czech Republic, Slovakia,...
) and red wines (Pinot noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
, Dornfelder
Dornfelder
Dornfelder is a dark-skinned variety of grape of German origin used for red wine. It was created by August Herold at the grape breeding institute in Weinsberg in the Württemberg region in 1955. Herold crossed the grape varieties Helfensteiner and Heroldrebe, the latter which bears his name, to...
, Pinot meunier
Pinot meunier
Pinot Meunier, , also known as Meunier or Black Riesling, is a variety of black wine grape most noted for being one of the three main grapes used in the production of champagne...
, Blauer Portugieser
Blauer Portugieser
Blauer Portugieser is a red Austrian and German wine grape found primarily in the Rheinhessen, Pfalz and wine regions of Lower Austria. It is also one of the permitted grapes in the Hungarian wine Egri Bikavér . In Germany, the cultivated area covered or 4.5% of the total vineyard area in 2007...
). Some wines are aged in oaken casks. Smaller areas are also planted with new grape varieties. In autumn, Federweisser is on offer at the wineries, and at Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
time, they also have mulled wine
Mulled wine
Mulled wine, variations of which are popular in Europe, is wine, usually red, combined with spices and typically served warm. It is a traditional drink during winter, especially around Christmas and Halloween.-Glühwein:...
made with their own products.