Rinzenberg
Encyclopedia
Rinzenberg 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 area measures 1 133 ha, of which somewhat more than half is state forest, and indeed 76.5% of it is wooded. The area makes Rinzenberg the district’s seventh biggest municipality by land area. Only the three towns (Birkenfeld
, Idar-Oberstein
and Baumholder
) and the municipalities of Allenbach
, Hoppstädten-Weiersbach
and Brücken
have larger municipal areas. Rinzenberg’s elevation is roughly 532 m above sea level
, and above the village looms the 668 m-high “Wehlenstein”.
, in the east on the municipality of Gollenberg
and in the south on the municipalities of Ellenberg
and Buhlenberg
.
after they had enfeoffed Wilhelm von Schwarzenberg with them.
Rinzenberg had its heyday in the 16th century when the village profited from business earned by the Hambacher Sauerbrunnen – a mineral spring
from which flowed acidic water – which allowed the village to become a spa. The wealth in Rinzenberg manifested itself in stately stone buildings. In the war-wracked times of the 17th century, few people travelled to Rinzenberg for its waters, and the village’s star faded.
Sponheim rule came to an end with the French Revolutionary Wars
. Beginning then, Rinzenberg lay under French
rule.
After the Wehrmacht
was defeated and the Third Reich
fell as the Second World War drew to an end in 1945, Rinzenberg had to share the burden of the war’s consequences. A whole army of French forestry workers – for Rinzenberg was in the French zone of occupation – descended on the Schwarzwälder Hochwald and built a sawmill, and whole forest districts were then clearcut
. This went on for years. According to precise plans, usable, high-quality stands of trees were felled, sawn and shipped to France for reconstruction efforts. The formerly gentle contours of the Schwarzwälder Hochwald became cleft-filled and jagged against the sky in the background.
Since 1946, Rinzenberg has been part of the then newly founded state
of Rhineland-Palatinate
.
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: Per bend sinister chequy gules and argent and vert a well Or with a pail of the second.
The “chequy” field on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side is a reference to the village’s former allegiance to the “Hinder” County of Sponheim
, Oberamt of Birkenfeld, while the charge
on the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side, the well, stands for the Legend of Old Rinzenberg (see below).
The arms have been borne since 1964.
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
This story has even found its way into the municipality’s coat of arms, which shows a golden well, meant to represent the one in the story.
269, which to the south leads to the Autobahn A 62
(Kaiserslautern
–Trier
). Serving nearby Neubrücke
is a railway station on the Nahe Valley Railway (Bingen
–Saarbrücken
).
and forestry
, which once characterized the local economy. Both these former mainstays have seen their importance dwindle as they have become mechanized. Most working people commute
to jobs in the local area, with the district seat of Birkenfeld, only five kilometres away, being a particularly common destination.
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 at the southern edge of the Schwarzwälder Hochwald, a self-contained forest within 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 area measures 1 133 ha, of which somewhat more than half is state forest, and indeed 76.5% of it is wooded. The area makes Rinzenberg the district’s seventh biggest municipality by land area. Only the three towns (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:...
, 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 Baumholder
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...
) and the municipalities of Allenbach
Allenbach
Allenbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Hoppstädten-Weiersbach
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 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...
have larger municipal areas. Rinzenberg’s elevation is roughly 532 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...
, and above the village looms the 668 m-high “Wehlenstein”.
Neighbouring municipalities
Rinzenberg borders in the northeast on the municipality of OberhambachOberhambach
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...
, in the east on the municipality of Gollenberg
Gollenberg, Rhineland-Palatinate
Gollenberg is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
and in the south on the municipalities of Ellenberg
Ellenberg, Rhineland-Palatinate
Ellenberg is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
and Buhlenberg
Buhlenberg
Buhlenberg is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
.
History
In 1269, Rinzenberg probably had its first documentary mention as Ritzeberg, and thereafter belonged to those villages that were bought back by the Counts of SponheimCounty of Sponheim
The County of Sponheim was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire which lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century...
after they had enfeoffed Wilhelm von Schwarzenberg with them.
Rinzenberg had its heyday in the 16th century when the village profited from business earned by the Hambacher Sauerbrunnen – a mineral spring
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
from which flowed acidic water – which allowed the village to become a spa. The wealth in Rinzenberg manifested itself in stately stone buildings. In the war-wracked times of the 17th century, few people travelled to Rinzenberg for its waters, and the village’s star faded.
Sponheim rule came to an end with the French Revolutionary Wars
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...
. Beginning then, Rinzenberg lay under 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...
rule.
After the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
was defeated and 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...
fell as the Second World War drew to an end in 1945, Rinzenberg had to share the burden of the war’s consequences. A whole army of French forestry workers – for Rinzenberg was in the French zone of occupation – descended on the Schwarzwälder Hochwald and built a sawmill, and whole forest districts were then clearcut
Clearcutting
Clearcutting, or clearfelling, is a controversial forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Clearcutting, along with shelterwood and seed tree harvests, is used by foresters to create certain types of forest ecosystems and to promote select species that...
. This went on for years. According to precise plans, usable, high-quality stands of trees were felled, sawn and shipped to France for reconstruction efforts. The formerly gentle contours of the Schwarzwälder Hochwald became cleft-filled and jagged against the sky in the background.
Since 1946, Rinzenberg has been part of the then newly founded state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of 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 ....
.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 8 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.
Mayor
Rinzenberg’s mayor is Sven Becker, and his deputies are Siegfried Blunz and Brunhilde Gordner.Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: In schräglinks geteiltem Schild vorne rot-silbern geschacht, hinten in Grün ein goldener Ziehbrunnen mit silbernem Eimer.The municipality’s arms
Coat 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 in English heraldic
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
language be described thus: Per bend sinister chequy gules and argent and vert a well Or with a pail of the second.
The “chequy” field on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side is a reference to the village’s former allegiance to the “Hinder” County of Sponheim
County of Sponheim
The County of Sponheim was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire which lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century...
, Oberamt of Birkenfeld, while 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...
on the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side, the well, stands for the Legend of Old Rinzenberg (see below).
The arms have been borne since 1964.
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:
- Before Am Brunnen 4 – cast-ironCast ironCast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
Gothic RevivalGothic Revival architectureThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
fountain (AsbachAsbachThere are communes and places that have the name Asbach:*Asbach, Birkenfeld, in the Birkenfeld district, Rhineland-Palatinate*Asbach , in the Neuwied district, Rhineland-Palatinate*Asbach-Sickenberg, in the Eichsfeld district, Thuringia...
Ironworks?), 1886 - Across from Buchenweg 6 – cast-iron Gothic Revival fountain (Asbach Ironworks?), 1886
- Hauptstraße 9 – Quereinhaus (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street), essentially from the late 16th century, marked 1590 (spoliaSpoliaSpolia is a modern art-historical term used to describe the re-use of earlier building material or decorative sculpture on new monuments...
?) and 1825 - Hauptstraße 11 – former 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...
, oven addition, possibly from the earlier half of the 19th century - Beside Kirchenweg 2 – cast-iron Gothic Revival fountain (Asbach Ironworks?), 1886
The Legend of Old Rinzenberg
The Legend of Old Rinzenberg (die Sage von Altrinzenberg) is a story about a man from the village:- There once was a man in Old Rinzenberg whose worries over his daily bread weighed heavily upon him. Despite honest, hard work, things only ever got worse for him, and it became ever harder to keep himself and his loved ones fed. One night, he had an odd dream: at his bed stood a man who said “You go to too much toil and trouble! To KoblenzKoblenzKoblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
with you, onto the bridge. There you will find your luck.” The dream recurred, and after the third time, he told his wife about it. She thought it would do no harm to go there once and have a look. So, the man set off from the Hochwald to the Rhine, hardly bothering to stop for food or sleep along the way, for he did not want to miss out on his luck.
- When he arrived in Koblenz, he went straight to the old bridge on the Moselle to seek his luck. He left no stone unturned, he looked in every crack of the bridge’s old stonework, but nowhere could he find any luck. For three long days he sought his luck on the bridge, but in vain. He became annoyed with himself and called out “What an ass I am, believing in dreams! May the devil take the Koblenz Bridge together with its luck!”
- Then, a rather serious-looking man came up to him. Giving him a puzzled look in the face, he said, “You may well not be very bright to believe so in dreams. How on earth can one seek luck on the Koblenz Bridge? If I were as simple as you, I would long ago have sought out the little nest of Rinzenberg, which I have seen three times in dreams.”
- At this, the Hochwald man pricked up his ears, and, curious, he asked, “What is this about Rinzenberg?”
- “Ah,” began the Moselle man, “there, deep in the village well has lain for centuries a chest full of gold, supposedly. What one can make of such dreamt-up treasures, though, you now ought to see quite clearly for yourself!”
- No sooner had the Rinzenberg man heard this than he sped off like lightning. As quickly as he could, he hurried up the Rhine and the Nahe to his little Hochwald village. Then, at night, when the world was asleep, he climbed into the village well and there found an iron chest full of gold, which he fetched out. Thus, he had found his luck on the bridge at Koblenz.
This story has even found its way into the municipality’s coat of arms, which shows a golden well, meant to represent the one in the story.
Transport
Running east of the municipality is BundesstraßeBundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
269, which to the south leads to the Autobahn 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....
). 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...
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....
).
Economy
Rinzenberg’s 300 or so inhabitants no longer earn their livelihoods mainly from agricultureAgriculture
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...
and forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
, which once characterized the local economy. Both these former mainstays have seen their importance dwindle as they have become mechanized. Most working people commute
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...
to jobs in the local area, with the district seat of Birkenfeld, only five kilometres away, being a particularly common destination.