Rückweiler
Encyclopedia
Rückweiler is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld
district
in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Baumholder
, whose seat is in the like-named town
.
, at Rhineland-Palatinate’s boundary with the Saarland
. The municipal area measures roughly 274 ha, and the elevation is 524 m above sea level
.
, in the east on the municipality of Rohrbach
, in the southeast on the municipality of Freisen
, in the southwest on the municipality of Hahnweiler
and in the northwest on the municipality of Leitzweiler
. Rückweiler also meets the municipality of Gimbweiler
to the west at a single point, which is also shared with two other municipalities. All municipalities named here are in the Birkenfeld district but for Freisen, which is in the Sankt Wendel
district in the Saarland.
from the Iron Age
going back as far as the 6th century BC. The people of the Hunsrück-Eifel Culture were Celtic, raised livestock, and were also already raising crops. They burnt their dead and buried them with their belongings. Their “princes”, however, were buried in great mounds under hefty stones. An extensive burying ground was discovered near Rückweiler on the western slope of the Rückeberg. This discovery and other burying grounds in Freisen and near Hoppstädten-Weiersbach
show that the region was already attracting settlers then.
The Rückweiler burying ground comprised 12 graves sunk into the rock within an area of 3 000 m² at a sport field, which now no longer exists. Brought to light from these graves were handmade and thrown
pots of various shapes. The way that the graves were laid out as a group suggested that the burying ground was a family plot, or perhaps one used by an estate. The graves were either elliptical
or Rectangle|rectangular]] and more than a metre long. They lay as far down as 90 cm below the ground and were filled with dark earth coloured by charcoal
remnants. The number of pots found in each grave varied from one to ten. For the voyage to the hereafter, some pots contained food, jewellery, items of clothing and other belongings. One peculiarity was the graves’ superstructures, which had, of course, long since vanished. However, the upright posts of these structures had left dark soil where they had once been sunk into the earth. The superstructure remnants at two of the graves suggested that the superstructures might have been replicas of the dead’s houses, further suggesting a Mediterranean influence from La Tène times
. The superstructures served as remembrance to the dead and also were important in the care of the departed souls, for the builders believed that without such care, the dead were left to wander about without peace, bringing the living bad luck and harm. To ward off any such outcome, the dead were given food, drink and sacrifices.
According to old documents, the Rückweiler area belonged in the 12th century to the Bishop of Verdun. Even the Counts of Veldenz, who as fiefholders ruled the land, named the Bishop as the actual landowner. Given this, it can easily be concluded that the whole area once belonged to a greater landhold, Tholey, which Deacon Adelgisel, known as Grimo, a great Merovingian
landholder, donated to the Church of Verdun on 30 December 634.
On 5 March 1332, Rückweiler had its first documentary mention under the name Rickwilre. In the villages of Rohrbach and Rückweiler, which belonged to the Pflege (literally “care”, but actually a local geopolitical unit) of Rohrbach, the land was held, as it was in the neighbouring court district of Baumholder at that time, by enfeoffed lords. On the date in question, Dietrich Gauwer von Lichtenberg allocated 299 Mark Pfennige from his holdings in Rohrbach and Rückweiler for his wife as a dower. In 1386, Johann von Lewenstein paid Count of Veldenz Heinrich 100 Gulden
(roughly equivalent to €4000 or €5000 in modern funds) for his villages, courts, paupers, water and meadowland at “Roirbach, Zingswilre und Rickwilre” along with three bondsmen outside these villages. In 1428, the Count of Veldenz awarded the court fief to the House of Winterbecher. Three years later, half of each of the two villages of Rohrbach and Rückweiler, along with their people, interest payments and earnings, were under Count of Sponheim
Wolf’s ownership. He in turn sold the rights along with other goods and sources of income for 487.5 Gulden to Count of Veldenz Friedrich. The other halves of the fiefs of Rohrbach and Rückweiler were held by the family Gauwer von Lichtenberg, and thereafter by Hildebrand von Boxberg. Owing to disputes between Count of Veldenz Stephan and Lord of Oberstein Wyrich von Dhaun, a judicial decision on 26 January 1440 stipulated that the Boxberg fief of Rohrbach, Rückweiler and Würtzweiler was to be awarded in whole to the House of Veldenz. Four years later, when the House of Veldenz died out in its male line, Rückweiler passed to Palatinate-Zweibrücken
.
In the Thirty Years' War
, the region around Rückweiler suffered heavily. After the war, in 1675, Rückweiler had only one family left.
In French Revolution
’s wake, Rückweiler, having formerly belonged to the Amt of Berschweiler, and for a short while to the Amt of Nohfelden, was assigned under French
rule, beginning in 1793, to the Mairie (“Mayoralty”) of Berschweiler in the canton
of Baumholder
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 fess, argent issuant from the line of partition a demilion azure armed and langued gules, and vert a wreath Or and gules surmounting the three short arms and surmounted by the lower arm of a cross Latin issuant from base of the fifth.
The charge
in the upper field, the lion, is a reference to the village’s former allegiance to the County of Veldenz. The composition of charges in the lower field is known as a harvest cross (Erntekreuz in German
) and refers to the municipality’s yearly harvest festival in which thanks are given for the harvest.
The arms have been borne since 25 November 1965.
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
The Catholic church mentioned above is popularly known as the Heidedom (“Heath Cathedral”), although it is not actually a cathedral
.
(Kaiserslautern
–Trier
). Serving nearby Heimbach
is a railway station on the Nahe Valley Railway (Bingen
–Saarbrücken
).
Municipalities of Germany
Municipalities are the lowest level of territorial division in Germany. This may be the fourth level of territorial division in Germany, apart from those states which include Regierungsbezirke , where municipalities then become the fifth level.-Overview:With more than 3,400,000 inhabitants, the...
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
Verbandsgemeinde
A Verbandsgemeinde is an administrative unit in the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt.-Rhineland-Palatinate:...
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld (district)
Birkenfeld is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Sankt Wendel , Trier-Saarburg, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Rhein-Hunsrück, Bad Kreuznach and Kusel.- History :...
district
Districts of Germany
The districts of Germany are known as , except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where they are known simply as ....
in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Baumholder
Baumholder (Verbandsgemeinde)
Baumholder is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Birkenfeld, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Baumholder....
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Baumholder
Baumholder is a town in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, in the Westrich, an historic region that encompasses areas in both Germany and France...
.
Location
The municipality lies in the HunsrückHunsrück
The Hunsrück is a low mountain range in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the river valleys of the Moselle , the Nahe , and the Rhine . The Hunsrück is continued by the Taunus mountains on the eastern side of the Rhine. In the north behind the Moselle it is continued by the Eifel...
, at Rhineland-Palatinate’s 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 roughly 274 ha, and the elevation is 524 m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
.
Neighbouring municipalities
Rückweiler borders in the north on the municipality of BerglangenbachBerglangenbach
Berglangenbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, in the east on the municipality of Rohrbach
Rohrbach, Birkenfeld
Rohrbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, in the southeast on the municipality of Freisen
Freisen
Freisen is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel , in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approx. 12 km northeast of Sankt Wendel, and 20 km southwest of Idar-Oberstein. The greater Freisen/Oberkirchen area is noted for its Turkish Cuisine, particularly the Donner Kebab...
, in the southwest on the municipality of Hahnweiler
Hahnweiler
Hahnweiler 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 northwest on the municipality of 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...
. Rückweiler also meets the municipality of Gimbweiler
Gimbweiler
Gimbweiler is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
to the west at a single point, which is also shared with two other municipalities. All municipalities named here are in the Birkenfeld district but for Freisen, which is in the Sankt Wendel
Sankt Wendel (district)
Sankt Wendel is a Kreis in the north of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are Trier-Saarburg, Birkenfeld, Kusel, Neunkirchen, Saarlouis, and Merzig-Wadern.-History:...
district in the Saarland.
History
Bearing witness to early habitation in the Rückweiler area are grave goodsGrave goods
Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body.They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods are a type of votive deposit...
from the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
going back as far as the 6th century BC. The people of the Hunsrück-Eifel Culture were Celtic, raised livestock, and were also already raising crops. They burnt their dead and buried them with their belongings. Their “princes”, however, were buried in great mounds under hefty stones. An extensive burying ground was discovered near Rückweiler on the western slope of the Rückeberg. This discovery and other burying grounds in Freisen and near 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...
show that the region was already attracting settlers then.
The Rückweiler burying ground comprised 12 graves sunk into the rock within an area of 3 000 m² at a sport field, which now no longer exists. Brought to light from these graves were handmade and thrown
Potter's wheel
In pottery, a potter's wheel is a machine used in asma of round ceramic ware. The wheel may also be used during process of trimming the excess body from dried ware and for applying incised decoration or rings of color...
pots of various shapes. The way that the graves were laid out as a group suggested that the burying ground was a family plot, or perhaps one used by an estate. The graves were either elliptical
Ellipse
In geometry, an ellipse is a plane curve that results from the intersection of a cone by a plane in a way that produces a closed curve. Circles are special cases of ellipses, obtained when the cutting plane is orthogonal to the cone's axis...
or Rectangle|rectangular]] and more than a metre long. They lay as far down as 90 cm below the ground and were filled with dark earth coloured by charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
remnants. The number of pots found in each grave varied from one to ten. For the voyage to the hereafter, some pots contained food, jewellery, items of clothing and other belongings. One peculiarity was the graves’ superstructures, which had, of course, long since vanished. However, the upright posts of these structures had left dark soil where they had once been sunk into the earth. The superstructure remnants at two of the graves suggested that the superstructures might have been replicas of the dead’s houses, further suggesting a Mediterranean influence from 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....
. The superstructures served as remembrance to the dead and also were important in the care of the departed souls, for the builders believed that without such care, the dead were left to wander about without peace, bringing the living bad luck and harm. To ward off any such outcome, the dead were given food, drink and sacrifices.
According to old documents, the Rückweiler area belonged in the 12th century to the Bishop of Verdun. Even the Counts of Veldenz, who as fiefholders ruled the land, named the Bishop as the actual landowner. Given this, it can easily be concluded that the whole area once belonged to a greater landhold, Tholey, which Deacon Adelgisel, known as Grimo, a great Merovingian
Merovingian dynasty
The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that came to rule the Franks in a region largely corresponding to ancient Gaul from the middle of the 5th century. Their politics involved frequent civil warfare among branches of the family...
landholder, donated to the Church of Verdun on 30 December 634.
On 5 March 1332, Rückweiler had its first documentary mention under the name Rickwilre. In the villages of Rohrbach and Rückweiler, which belonged to the Pflege (literally “care”, but actually a local geopolitical unit) of Rohrbach, the land was held, as it was in the neighbouring court district of Baumholder at that time, by enfeoffed lords. On the date in question, Dietrich Gauwer von Lichtenberg allocated 299 Mark Pfennige from his holdings in Rohrbach and Rückweiler for his wife as a dower. In 1386, Johann von Lewenstein paid Count of Veldenz Heinrich 100 Gulden
Gulden
Gulden is the historical German term for gold coin Gulden is the historical German term for gold coin Gulden is the historical German term for gold coin (from Middle High German guldin [pfenni(n)c] "golden penny", equivalent to the Dutch term guilder...
(roughly equivalent to €4000 or €5000 in modern funds) for his villages, courts, paupers, water and meadowland at “Roirbach, Zingswilre und Rickwilre” along with three bondsmen outside these villages. In 1428, the Count of Veldenz awarded the court fief to the House of Winterbecher. Three years later, half of each of the two villages of Rohrbach and Rückweiler, along with their people, interest payments and earnings, were under Count 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...
Wolf’s ownership. He in turn sold the rights along with other goods and sources of income for 487.5 Gulden to Count of Veldenz Friedrich. The other halves of the fiefs of Rohrbach and Rückweiler were held by the family Gauwer von Lichtenberg, and thereafter by Hildebrand von Boxberg. Owing to disputes between Count of Veldenz Stephan and Lord of Oberstein Wyrich von Dhaun, a judicial decision on 26 January 1440 stipulated that the Boxberg fief of Rohrbach, Rückweiler and Würtzweiler was to be awarded in whole to the House of Veldenz. Four years later, when the House of Veldenz died out in its male line, Rückweiler passed to 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...
.
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....
, the region around Rückweiler suffered heavily. After the war, in 1675, Rückweiler had only one family left.
In French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
’s wake, Rückweiler, having formerly belonged to the Amt of Berschweiler, and for a short while to the Amt of Nohfelden, was assigned 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, beginning in 1793, to the Mairie (“Mayoralty”) of Berschweiler in the canton
Cantons of France
The cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 342 arrondissements and 101 departments.Apart from their role as organizational units in certain aspects of the administration of public services and justice, the chief purpose of the cantons today is to serve as...
of Baumholder
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.
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: In geteiltem Schild oben in Silber ein rotbewehrter und gezungter wachsender blauer Löwe, unten in Grün ein goldener, mit rotem Band umwundener Erntekranz, belegt mit einem goldenen Kreuz.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 fess, argent issuant from the line of partition a demilion azure armed and langued gules, and vert a wreath Or and gules surmounting the three short arms and surmounted by the lower arm of a cross Latin issuant from base of the fifth.
The charge
Charge (heraldry)
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...
in the upper field, the lion, is a reference to the village’s former allegiance to the County of Veldenz. The composition of charges in the lower field is known as a harvest cross (Erntekreuz 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....
) and refers to the municipality’s yearly harvest festival in which thanks are given for the harvest.
The arms have been borne since 25 November 1965.
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:
- Heart of JesusSacred HeartThe Sacred Heart is one of the most famous religious devotions to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of His divine love for Humanity....
Catholic Parish Church (Pfarrkirche Herz Jesu), Hauptstraße 18 – Gothic RevivalGothic Revival architectureThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
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 brecciaBrecciaBreccia is a rock composed of broken fragments of minerals or rock cemented together by a fine-grained matrix, that can be either similar to or different from the composition of the fragments....
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...
, 1907, architect Wilhelm Hector, SaarbrückenSaarbrückenSaarbrücken 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.... - Freisener Straße 2 – stately Quereinhaus (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street), possibly about 1850
The Catholic church mentioned above is popularly known as the Heidedom (“Heath Cathedral”), although it is not actually a cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
.
Transport
Running south of the municipality is 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....
). Serving nearby Heimbach
Heimbach, Rhineland-Palatinate
Heimbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
is a railway station on the Nahe Valley Railway (Bingen
Bingen am Rhein
Bingen am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.The settlement’s original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant “hole in the rock”, a description of the shoal behind the Mäuseturm, known as the Binger Loch. Bingen was the starting point for the...
–Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
).