Wahlenau
Encyclopedia
Wahlenau is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district
) in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kirchberg
, whose seat is in the like-named town
.
, roughly 13 km westsouthwest of Kirchberg and 3 km south of Frankfurt-Hahn Airport
. Wahlenau’s municipal area measures 4.46 km², of which 1.78 km² is wooded.
barrows
in District 5 in the municipal forest. Archaeological
finds from these are to be found at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn
. Roman
potsherds have also been found on the Via Ausonia (or Ausoniusstraße in German
), which forms the southern municipal limit. According to a document from King Albrecht
dated 27 October 1301, Count Johann II of Sponheim
-Kreuznach held the Sohren Imperial
fief, to which Wahlenau also belonged. Beginning in 1794, Wahlenau lay under French
rule. In 1815 it was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia
at the Congress of Vienna
. Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly founded state
of Rhineland-Palatinate
. In 1961, the Evangelical
church was built.
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: Tierced in mantle dexter vert two annulets embraced in pale argent, sinister Or an eagle displayed sable armed and langued gules and in base chequy of twelve azure and of the third.
The “embraced” (that is, linked) rings on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side refer to the prehistoric
arm rings that were recovered in the Zappenheck forest district. The charge
on the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side is the Imperial Eagle
, held to refer to the time when Wahlenau was an Imperial estate, part of the Pflege (literally “care”, but in this context taken to mean “administrative area”) of Sohren, which in 1301 King Albrecht gave to the Counts of Sponheim
, who themselves are represented in the arms by the “chequy” base. These two tincture
s, blue and gold, stood for the “Further” County (there was also a neighbouring “Hinder” County of Sponheim, whose arms were chequy, too, but red and silver instead), to which Wahlenau belonged.
The arms have been borne since 2000.
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 Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (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 Kirchberg
Kirchberg (Verbandsgemeinde)
Kirchberg is a Verbandsgemeinde in the Rhein-Hunsrück district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Its seat is in Kirchberg.The Verbandsgemeinde Kirchberg consists of the following Ortsgemeinden :...
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Kirchberg, Rhein-Hunsrück
-History:Archaeological finds make it clear that by 400 BC, the Treveri, a people of mixed Celtic and Germanic stock, from whom the Latin name for the city of Trier, Augusta Treverorum, is also derived, had settled here...
.
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...
, roughly 13 km westsouthwest of Kirchberg and 3 km south of Frankfurt-Hahn Airport
Frankfurt-Hahn Airport
-Cargo airlines:-Other facilities:AirIT Services AG, a subsidiary of Fraport, has its head office in Building 663 at Hahn Airport.-References:*Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 USAF Reference Series, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force,...
. Wahlenau’s municipal area measures 4.46 km², of which 1.78 km² is wooded.
History
Witnessing early habitation in what is now Wahlenau is a group of Iron AgeIron 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...
barrows
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...
in District 5 in the municipal forest. Archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
finds from these are to be found at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn
Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn
The Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn, or LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, is a museum in Bonn, Germany, run by the Rhineland Landscape Association. It is one of the oldest museums in the country. In 2003 it completed an extensive renovation...
. Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
potsherds have also been found on the Via Ausonia (or Ausoniusstraße 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....
), which forms the southern municipal limit. According to a document from King Albrecht
Albert I of Germany
Albert I of Habsburg was King of the Romans and Duke of Austria, the eldest son of German King Rudolph I of Habsburg and his first wife Gertrude of Hohenburg.-Life:...
dated 27 October 1301, Count Johann II 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...
-Kreuznach held the Sohren Imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
fief, to which Wahlenau also belonged. Beginning in 1794, Wahlenau 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. In 1815 it was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
at the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
. Since 1946, it 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 ....
. In 1961, the 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...
church was built.
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
Mayor
Wahlenau’s mayor is Rolf Müller, and his deputies are Bernd Everding and Andrea Westermann.Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Gespalten durch eingeschweifte, erniedrigte blau-golden geschachte Spitze, vorn in grün zwei verschlungene silberne Ringe, pfahlweis, hinten in gold ein rot bewehrter schwarzer Adler.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: Tierced in mantle dexter vert two annulets embraced in pale argent, sinister Or an eagle displayed sable armed and langued gules and in base chequy of twelve azure and of the third.
The “embraced” (that is, linked) rings on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side refer to the prehistoric
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...
arm rings that were recovered in the Zappenheck forest district. 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 is the Imperial Eagle
Reichsadler
The Reichsadler was the heraldic eagle, derived from the Roman eagle standard, used by the Holy Roman Emperors and in modern coats of arms of Germany, including those of the German Empire, the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany...
, held to refer to the time when Wahlenau was an Imperial estate, part of the Pflege (literally “care”, but in this context taken to mean “administrative area”) of Sohren, which in 1301 King Albrecht gave to the Counts 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...
, who themselves are represented in the arms by the “chequy” base. These two tincture
Tincture (heraldry)
In heraldry, tinctures are the colours used to emblazon a coat of arms. These can be divided into several categories including light tinctures called metals, dark tinctures called colours, nonstandard colours called stains, furs, and "proper". A charge tinctured proper is coloured as it would be...
s, blue and gold, stood for the “Further” County (there was also a neighbouring “Hinder” County of Sponheim, whose arms were chequy, too, but red and silver instead), to which Wahlenau belonged.
The arms have been borne since 2000.