Elzweiler is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde , a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate , Germany . It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kusel-Altenglan , whose seat is in Kusel .
113-536: The municipality lies at the entrance to the Sachsbach valley in the Western Palatinate . The village lies at the foot of the 536 m-high Herrmannsberg at an elevation of some 270 m above sea level on the local thoroughfare. Lying right on this only a few hundred metres away in a side valley is the neighbouring village of Welchweiler . The Sachsbach rises some 2 km up from the village of Elzweiler near
226-514: A shoemaker , a miller , a blacksmith and a carpenter . The Hintersasse was a bricklayer . During the 18th century, seven families emigrated to Southeast Europe (as far as is known, none went to the Americas ). Only because of industrial growth in the late 19th century and in the time before the First World War did workers, too, settle in the village. Eventually, they made up two thirds of
339-511: A treaty was signed between Austria and Bavaria in which the various territorial changes were agreed on. According to Article 2 of the treaty, Emperor Francis I of Austria ceded various regions to King Maximilian I of Bavaria . These included, in addition to various regions east of the Rhine, the following regions west of the Rhine: These changes took effect on 1 May 1816. In accordance with
452-474: A 1477 taxation roll, there were only three people in the village liable to pay taxes. In 1515, seven households were counted. It must be borne in mind, however, that as a result of deaths due to constant epidemics , the population figures sometimes underwent great swings. For 1609, documents from the ecclesiastical visitation show that there were 76 inhabitants living in 13 families. During the Thirty Years' War ,
565-565: A 1738 legal document was sealed with the Eltzweiler Gemein Siegel ( Siegel means “seal” in German ), which bore an anchor as its only device. Hupp then drew an unofficial coat of arms, but it was In Blau ein goldener Adler (“Azure an eagle Or”, that is, a blue field charged with a gold eagle). Elzweiler belonged until 1595 to the Waldgraves and Rhinegraves of Kyrburg, and thereafter to
678-447: A bend sinister wavy argent surmounting a lion rampant Or armed langued and crowned gules. The lion is drawn from an old municipal seal, but also refer to the arms formerly borne by the Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken , while the wavy bend sinister is a canting charge for the last syllable in the village's name ( Bach means “brook” in German ). Horschbach formerly bore arms that showed
791-747: A blood pudding sausage called grieweworscht ("griewe" are speck (bacon) cubes, so lit. "sausage with bacon bits"), lewwerknedel (Leberknödel) (or lewwerknepp , liver dumplings), and fleeschknepp (Fleischknödel: meat dumplings). Sauerkraut is the typical side dish in all seasons, but especially in winter, as are mashed potatoes and brown gravy. Also eaten are dampfnudels , which can be served with either sweet sauces or side dishes (such as wine, vanilla sauce, or canned fruit such as plums, prunes, or pears) or with savory side dishes (such as potato soup, vegetable soup, goulash, or pepper pork). 49°26′N 7°46′E / 49.433°N 7.767°E / 49.433; 7.767 Horschbach Horschbach
904-457: A clue as to the village's very small size at that time. Also named in the description is a Kaisermühle (“Emperor’s Mill”), which stood near Elzweiler on the Sachsbach. Another mill, the Lorenzenmühle , later stood between Elzweiler and Horschbach . During the Thirty Years' War , Elzweiler was utterly wiped out. Wartime events and sickness took their heavy toll on the villagers, and by the time
1017-547: A cooperation project with Kutztown University ). In the same village one can find the headquarters of the German-Pennsylvanian Association. Many more Palatines emigrated in the course of the 19th century, and the great majority of them to North America, so that in the US temporarily "Palatine" was a common designation for German Americans . Johann Heinrich Heinz (1811–1891), the father of Henry John Heinz who founded
1130-463: A demilion gules armed and langued azure and azure an anchor of the first. The charge in base is an anchor, but this is of unknown meaning. The upper field shows the lion charge borne by the village's former lords. The arms have been borne since 7 April 1975 when they were approved by the now defunct Rheinhessen-Pfalz Regierungsbezirk administration in Neustadt an der Weinstraße . Until that date,
1243-624: A history with the neighbouring village of Horschbach and all those in the Eßweiler Tal (dale). According to Johannes Hofmann's 1588 description of the Amt of Lichtenberg, the border between the Grumbacher Gebiet and the County Palatine of Zweibrücken ran between the villages of Elzweiler and Welchweiler. In this description, Elzweiler is described as a Hof (“estate” or “farm”), thereby giving
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#17328987121631356-493: A new creation. In 1818, the cantons were merged into 12 administrative districts called Landkommissariat . In 1862, these were designated individually as Bezirksamt . In 1939, each one became a Landkreis (rural district). As his first provincial governor, King Maximilian selected the Privy Councillor ( Hofrat ) Franz Xaver von Zwack , whose name gave rise to the popular Palatine nickname for Bavarians, Zwockel . In 1832
1469-669: A number of Franconian territories on both sides of the Rhine formerly held by the Counts palatine ( Pfalzgrafen ) of Lotharingia . By the late 12th century, the Count palatine had achieved the status of a Prince-elector ( Kurfürst ), becoming one of the seven higher nobles with the privilege of electing the Emperor , as confirmed by the Golden Bull of 1356 . In 1214, the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach
1582-593: A red tulip with green leaves on a gold field, growing out of green earth, a charge drawn from an 18th-century village seal. These arms, however, were never officially conferred, and only borne as a matter of custom. The current arms were approved by the now abolished Regierungsbezirk authorities in Neustadt an der Weinstraße and have been borne since 18 July 1975. The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate ’s Directory of Cultural Monuments: The kermis (church consecration festival)
1695-637: A royal palace in Edenkoben , and by restoring Speyer Cathedral under the direct supervision of King Ludwig I. The new town of Ludwigshafen was named after the king. Despite these attempts, the Palatinate's representatives to the Bavarian Parliament always prided themselves on the claim that they came from a more progressive region. Indeed, they tried to promote their liberalism, which the French had introduced to
1808-700: A squad under the command of Edgar Julius Jung . On 9 January 1924, Heinz was assassinated while dining at the Wittelsbacher Hof in Speyer. Other leading members of the separatist movement were killed on 12 February, in a shooting in Pirmasens . By then, a treaty between Bavaria and the Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission (the supreme council of the Allied occupation forces) of January 1924 recognised
1921-684: A winter school (a school geared towards an agricultural community's practical needs, held in the winter, when farm families had a bit more time to spare), which was subject to the Hinzweiler “main school”. A report from 1752 says that the school was supported by the Palatinate-Zweibrücken ’s quarterly collection. School season lasted from the grape harvest to Holy Week and lessons lasted six hours each day (1753). While other schools often had to be heated with coal , in Horschbach, firewood provided by
2034-537: Is Altenglan station on the Landstuhl–Kusel railway . There are hourly trains at this station throughout the day, namely Regionalbahn service RB 67 between Kaiserslautern and Kusel , named Glantalbahn after a former railway line that shared a stretch of its tracks with the Landstuhl–Kusel railway. Palatinate (region) The Palatinate ( German : Pfalz ; Palatine German : Palz ), or
2147-420: Is a countrywomen's club ( Landfrauenverein ). In 1970, Elzweiler's occupational structure broke down thus: agriculture and forestry 6.3%, manufacturing 41%, trade and transport 8.3%, service industries 10%, retired 34%. The field of agriculture has further shrunk since then, while the number of retired workers has grown. The great majority of people in the workforce must commute to jobs elsewhere. It
2260-570: Is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde , a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate , Germany . It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kusel-Altenglan , whose seat is in Kusel . The municipality lies at the foot of the Herrmannsberg hill in the Western Palatinate . Through Horschbach flows the village's namesake brook,
2373-510: Is hard to be sure of the villagers’ original ecclesiastical orientation. Right up until the late 18th century, the nearest church was the country chapel near Ulmet . After the placename Elzweiler appeared in the 1365 Veldenz document, the village may at least for a time have belonged to the Ulmet parish. During the time when Elzweiler belonged to the Rhinegraviate of Grumbach, however, it lay within
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#17328987121632486-460: Is held on the third weekend in July. Other old customs have not been preserved in Horschbach. Horschbach has three clubs: the shooting club, a tennis club and the “Liederkranz” singing club, founded in 1872. In 1898, villagers got their water from two public wells, or one of the 55 private ones. By 1902, however, a watermain had been built. Even as late as 1950, 75% of Horschbach's population worked
2599-403: Is it known for certain that there was population growth. According to a 1734 list of subjects, Elzweiler had 32 inhabitants living in seven families. There was also one further inhabitant, a Hintersasse (roughly, “dependent peasant”). Evidently, though, of the seven families then in the village, only two earned their livelihoods at farming. Six of the family heads were craftsmen: a cabinetmaker ,
2712-445: Is not particularly favourable for transport. It lies on Landesstraße 368, which links Altenglan with Hinzweiler . Along this stretch of the road runs a public bus route. Linking Landesstraße 368 with Bundesstraße 420 near Glanbrücken is Kreisstraße 29. The Autobahn interchange near Kusel lies some 20 km away. It is 8 km by road to either of the two nearest railway stations at Altenglan and Wolfstein ,
2825-602: Is one of the greatest wine-producing regions in Germany, and in the last two decades has become well known for its prize-winning white and reds of highest quality produced by a number of talented young winemakers. Major rivers include the Upper Rhine tributaries Lauter , Queich and Speyerbach , as well as Schwarzbach and Glan in the west. Historically the Electoral Palatinate and several other territories were part of
2938-410: Is only of lesser importance, and as for crafts, they can hardly truly claim to have any footing in the village anymore. Thus, most workers must now seek their livelihoods elsewhere, commuting to jobs in other centres. Tourism might hold some promise for the future. Its beginnings may lie in gastronomy , which has already arisen in Horschbach. In the earlier half of the 18th century, Horschbach got
3051-755: Is the Donnersberg with a height of 687 m (2,254 ft), situated in the North Palatine Uplands near Kirchheimbolanden . Most of the major Palatinate towns ( Ludwigshafen , Speyer , Landau , Frankenthal , Neustadt ) lie in the lower eastern part of the Upper Rhine Plain down to the River Rhine. Here the German Wine Route ( Deutsche Weinstraße ) passes through the Palatinate wine region . It
3164-520: Is unknown when a school was first opened in Elzweiler. Children might have attended a winter school (a school geared towards an agricultural community's practical needs, held in the winter, when farm families had a bit more time to spare) in neighbouring Welchweiler in the course of the 18th century. During the 19th century, the village got its own schoolhouse and thereafter school was taught in one room. Beginning in 1962, Hauptschule students were taught at
3277-569: The Amish , Mennonites , and Fancy Dutch in the United States, is derived primarily from the Palatine German language which many Mennonite refugees brought to Pennsylvania in the years 1717 to 1732. The only existing Pennsylvania German newspaper, Hiwwe wie Driwwe , was founded 1996 in the village of Ober-Olm , which is located close to Mainz, the state capital (and is published bi-annually as
3390-465: The Balkan Peninsula . As the 19th century wore on, emigration to the United States grew. By 1970, population figures were subject to only slight swings. Then came a sharp downswing towards today's level of about 300. This fall can be ascribed to the distance to economic centres and the rather unfavourable local transport links. The trend continues with people still moving out of Horschbach, although on
3503-542: The Bezirksämter : Speyer, Ludwigshafen, Frankenthal, Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, and Zweibrücken. They remain separate to this day. Between 1919 and 1923, during the occupation, there were French-backed attempts at separating the Palatinate from Bavaria and the Empire. On 1 June 1919, Eberhard Haaß, founder of the "Free Palatine Association" (1918), proclaimed the "Palatine Republic", but failed to occupy
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3616-704: The Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken , both of whose lords bore the lion as an heraldic device, the Palatines a gold one on a black field, and the Waldgraves a red one on a gold field. The current armorial design combines the anchor seal mentioned by Hupp (which apparently can no longer be confirmed) and the lion charge borne by the village's former lords. The Waldgraves’ red-on-gold version was adopted because it otherwise so seldom crops up in Palatine heraldry, and also, especially, because it
3729-483: The H. J. Heinz Company in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , emigrated from Kallstadt , Palatinate, to the United States in 1840. Arguably the most famous dish in Palatinate is the saumagen , literally "sow's stomach", a dish that consists of a thick, crispy-fried casing (sow stomach) stuffed with a mixture of pork, potatoes, and seasonings. Other traditional meat dishes of the region include bratwurst, Palatinate liverwurst,
3842-725: The Hauptschule Altenglan (now actually a Regionale Schule ), while the primary school pupils have been attending the Grundschule Altenglan in Rammelsbach . Elzweiler is a commuter community lying on Landesstraße 368 between Altenglan and Hinzweiler . To the southwest runs the Autobahn A ;62 ( Kaiserslautern – Trier ); the nearest Autobahn interchanges , near Kusel and Glan-Münchweiler , each lie some 15 km away. Serving Altenglan , 5 km away,
3955-610: The Landcommissariat (later Bezirksamt , later still Landkreis or district) of Kusel and the Canton of Wolfstein. Horschbach was also an administrative seat, home to the Bürgermeisterei (“mayoralty”) for the three Herrmannsberg municipalities of Horschbach, Elzweiler and Welchweiler , and from the beginning until 1838 also for Bedesbach , a village on the river Glan . Such was the uniting force of this arrangement that until 1853,
4068-651: The Landkommissariat (later Bezirksamt , then Landkreis , or “rural district”) and the Bürgermeisteramt (“Mayoralty”) of Horschbach, even being merged with Horschbach in 1835 into a single municipality. In the early 1930s, the Nazi Party (NSDAP) was quite popular in Elzweiler. In the 1930 Reichstag elections , 30.6% of the local votes went to Adolf Hitler ’s party. By the time of the 1933 Reichstag elections , after Hitler had already seized power , local support for
4181-596: The Late Middle Ages , it was not the seat of a parish, and indeed until the late 18th century, it did not even have its own village church . In the Reformation, the villagers all converted in 1556, as Rhinegravial subjects, to Lutheranism , and were still Lutheran in 1595 when the village was ceded by the Rhinegraviate to the Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken , which had already converted to Calvinism . Even so, most people in Horschbach also converted to Calvinism. After
4294-446: The Pfalz (Palatinate). The historic Electorate of the Palatinate had spanned both sides of the Rhine with Heidelberg and Mannheim as its capitals on the eastern side, whereas the new "Palatinate" established in 1815–16 lay solely on the left bank of the Rhine. It included territories that had never been part of the historical Palatinate (e.g., territories of the former Bishopric of Speyer,
4407-585: The Rheinkreis became the focal point of liberal movements. The Hambach Festival , a large gathering near Neustadt an der Weinstraße , proved fertile ground for what came to be considered a milestone in German history. In 1835, King Ludwig I of Bavaria 's romantic outlook gave rise to the adoption of new, historically evocative names for the administrative districts of Bavaria. As such, the Rheinkreis officially became
4520-496: The Rhenish Palatinate ( Rheinpfalz ), is a historical region of Germany . The Palatinate occupies most of the southern quarter of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate ( Rheinland-Pfalz ), covering an area of 2,105 square miles (5,450 km ) with about 1.4 million inhabitants. Its residents are known as Palatines ( Pfälzer ). The Palatinate borders Saarland in the west, historically also comprising
4633-461: The Thirty Years' War , though, there were once again Lutheran villagers, and beginning in the late 17th century, also Catholic ones. Of the 132 inhabitants in 1743, 117 were Reformed (Calvinist), 11 were Lutheran and 4 were Roman Catholic. The high share of the population that was Protestant , roughly 97%, shrank only slightly in the centuries that followed, although in more recent times, the drop in
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4746-581: The church , while north of the village, at the side of the road leading to Glanbrücken, lies the graveyard. Within the village itself are found the village community centre with the shooting club's clubhouse and a fire station for the villages of Horschbach, Elzweiler and Welchweiler. In 1910, some Roman coins, some potsherds and the foundations of a Roman settlement were unearthed on the Herrmannsberg. No prehistoric archaeological finds have ever come to light in Horschbach. The village likely arose in
4859-607: The 2004 mayoral election, there were no declared candidates, and so Michael Herrmann was chosen by council. In 2009, he was elected, this time by the voters, with 78% of the vote. The mayors since the establishment of the Verbandsgemeinde have been as follows: The German blazon reads: In Schwarz ein rotgekrönter und bewehrter goldener Löwe, überdeckt von einem silbernen schräg linken Wellenbalken. The municipality's arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Sable
4972-515: The 8th century in the broad Imperially immediate domain around the town of Kaiserslautern . Only in the 14th century did its name appear in a document (another source states that Horschbach's first documentary mention came in 1190 ). During the 13th century, great parts of the Imperially immediate domain were pledged to the counties at the edge of the Königsland (“King’s Land”). Horschbach then lay in
5085-626: The Duchy until it was dissolved in the time of the French Revolution . The other villages in the Pflegschaft of Hundheim passed back to the Rhinegraviate in 1755. Even then, Horschbach was the seat of an Unteramt . One Schultheiß at that time for the whole Amt was Peter Simon Gilcher (1762). During the French Revolution and Napoleonic times, Horschbach lay within the Department of Mont-Tonnerre (or Donnersberg in German ), whose seat
5198-603: The Horschbach. The village lies at an elevation of some 220 m above sea level on the north side of the Herrmannsberg (563 m above sea level) in the Horschbach valley, with most of its houses on the brook's right bank. The summit of the Herrmannsberg lies within the municipality's limits. Along the brook's left bank stretches the woodland known as the Großes Mayen , which reaches an elevation of 352 m above sea level. The Reibelsberg between Horschbach and Gumbsweiler reaches 309 m above sea level. The Spenzelberg down
5311-549: The Left Bank of the Rhine the former French départements of the Sarre and Mont-Tonnerre, except where set forth in the same treaty, were to fall "with full sovereignty" and ownership rights within the overlordship of His Majesty the Emperor of Austria ( Herrschaft Sr. Maj. des Kaisers von Oesterreich ). Initially, however, joint Austro-Bavarian administration was retained. On 14 April 1816,
5424-584: The Nazis had swollen to 83.6%. Hitler’s success in these elections paved the way for his Enabling Act of 1933 ( Ermächtigungsgesetz ), thus starting the Third Reich in earnest. Since the end of the Second World War , when the Palatinate was split off from Bavaria, the village has lain in the then newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate . Originally part of the Bürgermeisterei (“Mayoralty”) of Horschbach, in
5537-433: The Palatinate, but today belong to other German territories. The Palatinate is divided into four non-administrative sub-regions, comprising the following rural districts and independent towns and cities: Like most of Southwestern Germany, the Palatinate’s climate is either humid subtropical in areas below 300 meters or oceanic on higher ground. The average annual temperatures vary from around 11-14 degrees Celsius in
5650-400: The Palatinate, to the whole Bavarian kingdom. German historian Heiner Haan described the special status accorded the Palatinate within Bavaria as being one of a Hauptstaat (main state, i.e. Bavaria) with a Nebenstaat (adjacent state, i.e. the Palatinate). In May/June 1849, after the failed revolution of 1848 , and as part of the Imperial Constitution campaign , separatist elements wanted
5763-442: The Palatinate, was occupied by French revolutionary troops . As a result of the Treaty of Campo Formio (1797), the First French Republic annexed the region. In 1798, the French introduced a new administrative system with the establishment of departments. The area of the Palatinate largely became the Département of Mont Tonnerre , laying the cornerstone of its regional identity today. Minor parts of today's region were attached to
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#17328987121635876-423: The Protestants’ population share has been a bit more marked (96% in 1961, 86% in 1997). The mother church was originally the Hirsauer Kirche , a very old country church near Hundheim , and later it was the Church of Hinzweiler . The church in Horschbach itself was built in 1791 as a “ chapel ”; it included a 21 m-tall tower. It has Classicist style elements, but interior features all its own, characterized by
5989-427: The Rhine, and the southern part of the Prussian Rhine Province , to form the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate . The Palatinate formed the administrative district ( Regierungsbezirk ) of the Pfalz. This reorganisation came with smaller losses of former district territory to the Saarland, especially in the area of Sankt Wendel . As part of the 1969 administrative reform, some minor border changes were made in
6102-403: The Schneeweiderhof and empties into the river Glan near Glanbrücken . In its lower reaches, the stream bears the name Horschbach. The municipal area measures 209 ha, of which 95 ha is wooded. Elzweiler borders in the north and east on the municipality of Horschbach , in the southeast on the municipality of Eßweiler , in the south on the municipality of Bosenbach and in the west on
6215-420: The area belonged to the eastern part of Frankish Austrasia , which—as Rhenish Franconia —became part of East Francia according to the 843 Treaty of Verdun . From the Middle Ages until 1792, the Palatinate was divided into 45 secular and ecclesiastical territories , some of which were very small. The largest and most important of these was the Electorate of the Palatinate ( Kurfürstentum Pfalz ), encompassing
6328-425: The central school in Sankt Julian ( Zentralschule Sankt Julian ), and as of 1969 at the Hauptschule Offenbach-St. Julian . Primary school pupils from Elzweiler and Welchweiler were still taught at the Elzweiler school at first, but even this school did not last very long, and with the introduction of Verbandsgemeinden , schooling was thoroughly reorganized. Since 1974, the Hauptschule students have been attending
6441-458: The contest Unser Dorf soll schöner werden (“Our village should become lovelier”), and the renovated church (new pews and heating) became ready for use. Modern sewerage was laid in 1975. In 1976 came the last day of school. The local primary school was closed on 28 July, as the ones in Elzweiler (27 June 1973) and Welchweiler (30 November 1966) already had been. The schoolchildren thereafter had to go to school in Rammelsbach . Another building plan
6554-435: The course of the 1968 administrative restructuring in Rhineland-Palatinate, Elzweiler was grouped into the Verbandsgemeinde of Altenglan . According to a 1515 description of the Eßweiler Tal, Elzweiler was made up of only two residents, or perhaps households. It can be assumed that there were two farms, whose occupants worked land practically throughout what is now the municipal area, and to whose households belonged not only
6667-487: The current spelling of the village's name, Horschbach, appeared. The placename ending —bach (“brook”) is a very common one locally; most villages with names ending in —bach were founded sometime around the 8th century. To this ending is prefixed the syllable Horsch— , which goes back to a personal name. Researchers Dolch and Greule believe it to have been Hargun . There was another interpretation, now discounted by today's placename researchers, that held that it derived from
6780-404: The district to secede from Bavaria and establish its own " Palatine Republic ". A separatist uprising was suppressed by Prussian military intervention. The Palatinate's union with Bavaria persisted after it became part of the German Empire in 1871, and, indeed, after the Wittelsbach dynasty was deposed, and Bavaria became a free state of the Weimar Republic in 1918. In 1910, the town of Landau
6893-410: The farmers and their families, but also menservants and maidservants. Nevertheless, for 1477 and 1478, fifteen villagers who owed taxes were named, leading to the conclusion that the population must have shrunk drastically sometime about the beginning of the 16th century, perhaps as a result of an epidemic . Exact population figures for the village's early history are unknown. Only during the 18th century
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#17328987121637006-556: The former French administrative structure, the subdivision of the district into arrondissements, cantons, mayoralties, and municipalities was, in large measure, retained. The Bavarian government also preserved the French legal system (Code Napoléon), giving the Palatinate a distinct legal status within the Bavarian kingdom. At the next lower level, the three former French arrondissements were continued as Kreisdirektion ("Circle", i.e. district, "direction") of Frankenthal, Kaiserslautern, and Zweibrücken. Kreisdirektion Landau was, however,
7119-439: The founding of the Verbandsgemeinden . Since 1974, Hauptschule students have been attending classes at the Hauptschule Altenglan (now the Regionalschule Altenglan ), while the primary school pupils have been attending the Grundschule Altenglan in Rammelsbach . The Horschbach schoolhouse has since been torn down. To the southwest runs the Autobahn A 62 ( Kaiserslautern – Trier ). Even so, Horschbach's location
7232-446: The government building in Speyer. On 23 November 1923, Franz Josef Heinz proclaimed the "Government of the Autonomous Palatinate in the Association of the Rhenish Republic " at Speyer, after gaining control of the towns of Kaiserslautern, Neustadt, and Landau, and after the capitulation of the Palatine government. In the following days, several more towns fell into his group's hands. The Bavarian government reacted sharply. It organised
7345-410: The houses were built before 1900. Owing to only slight population growth, the original built-up area has not significantly spread outwards. Signs of human activity in prehistoric or Roman times in Elzweiler have thus far not been confirmed. Elzweiler is believed to have been founded by the Franks , but an exact founding date for the village cannot be pinpointed, though it is certain that Elzweiler
7458-586: The imperial city of Speyer or Kirchheimbolanden , which had formerly belonged to the Weilburg branch of Nassau ). To avoid confusion of the new Palatinate and the former one (and with the Upper Palatinate ), the name Rhenish Palatinate ( Rheinpfalz ) became common and is still used today, but was never made its official name. Another term, that of Rhenish Bavaria ( Rheinbayern ), though used occasionally, never gained great currency, but can, nonetheless, be found sometimes on older maps. The Bavarian Royal Family tried to encourage Palatine unity with Bavaria by erecting
7571-428: The land for their livelihoods. Earnings were also to be had in forestry. There was once even winegrowing in Horschbach: in 1879, the municipality had 6 ha of vineyards . There were also, even quite early on, rather a great number of craftsmen in the village. All these industries are in decline nowadays. Agriculture is today nobody's main source of income, with farms being run only as secondary businesses. Forestry
7684-427: The late 1920s and early 1930s, the Nazi Party (NSDAP) became quite popular in Horschbach. In the 1928 Reichstag elections , none of the local votes went to Adolf Hitler ’s party, but by the 1930 Reichstag elections , this had grown to 23.9%. By the time of the 1933 Reichstag elections , after Hitler had already seized power , local support for the Nazis had swollen to 92.5%. Hitler’s success in these elections paved
7797-434: The matter guesswork. What can be gathered is that the border ran along the brook down from Welchweiler as far as the forks with the Sachsbach, whence it doubled back upstream into the woods. With regard to Elzweiler's territorial allegiance, this had the effect of the village sometimes being seen as part of the Remigiusland and at other times part of the originally Imperially immediate Königsland (“King’s Land”). Apart from
7910-401: The mention of the “Elzweiler Bach” (that is, the Sachsbach) in this 1355 border Weistum (a Weistum – cognate with English wisdom – was a legal pronouncement issued by men learned in law in the Middle Ages and early modern times), the first documentary mention of the village itself is found in a 1364 document, according to which Count Heinrich II of Veldenz transferred the tithes from
8023-405: The mountain's woods. About the castle's history, nothing is known, and even its name has been forgotten over the ages. In 1595, the whole Pflegschaft of Hundheim, along with other villages in the area, was transferred to the Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken . Horschbach, and also Niedereisenbach and Hachenbach (both nowadays outlying centres of Glanbrücken ), along with Elzweiler remained with
8136-412: The municipality bore arms azure and anchor Or (a blue field charged with a gold anchor), without the lion, although these arms had never officially been granted. Therefore, the municipality legally had no arms, nor even a seal. According to Otto Hupp in his Die Wappen und Siegel der deutschen Städte, Flecken und Dörfer, Heft 7: Die Ortswappen und Gemeindesiegel der Rheinpfalz (1928) p. 36, though,
8249-400: The municipality of Welchweiler and in the northwest on the municipality of Sankt Julian . Branching away from each other in Horschbach's village centre are the roads to Glanbrücken , Welchweiler and Hinzweiler , each one of which is only loosely built up. South of this mesh of roads is a housing development whose streets climb up the Herrmannsberg massif. In the village's east end stands
8362-478: The municipality of Welchweiler . Elzweiler also meets the municipality of Altenglan at a single point in the southwest. The village's houses stand on a spur road that branches off the Glanbrücken - Altenglan through road in the Sachsbach valley and ends behind the village's last houses and at several short sidestreets. As a general rule, houses are simple and often modernized, and belong to commuters . About half
8475-461: The municipality was used. Although winter school was held in Horschbach, the municipality had to deliver to the main school in Hinzweiler, even if Horschbach pupils made no use of that school (it was allowed, though), one Malter , three barrels and one Sester of grain, along with a yearly payment of 4 Rhenish guilders , 13 Batzen and 7 Pfennige . For the year 1776, one Jakob Schneider was named as
8588-626: The neighbouring departments of the Sarre and Bas-Rhin . The French further subdivided the department into cantons, mayoralties and municipalities, and introduced their legal system ( Napoleonic Code ) and the metric system . Following the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813 and the capture of the Left Bank of the Rhine by the Allies in January 1814, the region was, from 2 February 1814, initially under
8701-707: The north. The Diocese of Speyer and the Evangelical Church of the Palatinate still exist today largely based on the historic boundaries of the old Bavarian district. The Pfalz was initially one of five districts in Rhineland-Palatinate; however, in 1968, the district was merged with the neighbouring district of Rheinhessen to form the district of Rheinhessen-Pfalz . On 1 January 2000, all administrative districts of Rheinland-Pfalz were dissolved. Many Pennsylvania Dutchmen are descendants of Palatine immigrants. The Pennsylvania Dutch language , spoken by
8814-569: The other hand, their favourably priced empty houses and flats ensure that there are also newcomers. This has led to a marked shift in the population's age structure towards greater ages. The following table shows population development over the centuries for Horschbach: The name has taken the following forms over the ages: Horgesbach (1336), Horginsbach and Harrisbach (14th century), Hargessbach (1393), Hargessbach (1460), Harsbach (1480), Horrsbach (1528), Hornsbach (1550), Horßbach (1573), Horspach (1614), Horschbach (1824). In 1709,
8927-597: The parish of Hinzweiler and attend the chapel of ease in Horschbach . The Catholic Christians are tended by the Church of Rammelsbach . The council is made up of 6 council members, who were elected by majority vote at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. Elzweiler's mayor is Hartmut Jung, and his deputy is Martin Knoblauch. The municipality's arms might be described thus: Per fess Or
9040-484: The population once again shrank sharply, only to climb quickly in the early 18th century. In 1743, the village counted 132 souls at 26 hearths (that is to say, households). Of the 26 men who headed families, 19 worked at craft occupations. At the turn of the 19th century, the population figures were once again growing fast. The Kingdom of Bavaria announced the following population figures for Horschbach and Elzweiler together: 451 for 1827, 614 for 1835 and 662 for 1850. There
9153-621: The population. After the Second World War, a slight but continuous rise in population could be noted at first, which was followed beginning in 1975 by a likewise slight but continuous drop in population. The following table shows population development over the centuries for Elzweiler: The village's name has taken the following forms over the ages: Eltzenbach (1355), Eltzwijlre (1364), Eltzwiller (1512), Eltzwiler (1515), Eltzweiller (1593). The common placename ending —weiler , meaning “ hamlet ” or, originally, “homestead”, indicates that
9266-456: The prevailing Bavarian administrative structure, the region became one of eight Bavarian districts ( Kreise ). From 1808, Bavaria embarked on the administrative reorganisation of its territory, creating districts which, as in France, were named after the main local rivers. Thus, the new district along the Rhine was given the name Rheinkreis (i.e. the Rhine district), with Speyer as its capital. Of
9379-709: The provisional authority of the General Government of the Middle Rhine . However, from 16 June of the same year, it was placed under the administration of the Imperial-Royal ("k.k.") Austrian and Royal Bavarian Joint Land Administration Commission ( k. k. östreichischen und k. bairischen gemeinschaftliche Landes-Administrations-Kommission ). In the main treaty agreed at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and dated 9 June 1815, Article 51 stated ( inter alia ) that on
9492-659: The region is covered by the Palatinate Forest ( Pfälzerwald ), including the Palatinate Forest Nature Park popular with hikers. With about 1,771 km (684 sq mi), it is Germany's largest contiguous forested area, and is part of the Franco-German Palatinate Forest-North Vosges Biosphere Reserve . The western and northern part of the Palatinate is densely forested and mountainous. Its highest mountain
9605-509: The reorganisation of German states during the Allied occupation of Germany after World War II . While Bavaria itself was part of the U.S. occupation zone, the Palatinate was occupied by French forces. The French reorganised their occupation zone by founding new states, so that in 1947 the Palatinate was combined with Rhenish Hesse ( Rheinhessen ), the former parts of the People's State of Hesse west of
9718-601: The schoolteacher. In 1820, Horschbach’s first schoolhouse was built. It still stands today, but is used as a house. In 1880, another schoolhouse was built, now somewhat ironically called the “Old Schoolhouse”. Beginning in 1962, Hauptschule students attended classes at the Zentralschule Sankt Julian , and as of 1969 at the Hauptschule Offenbach-St. Julian . The primary school pupils at first stayed in Horschbach. Further school reorganization came with
9831-525: The so-called Pflegschaft Hundheim ( Pflegschaft means something like “trusteeship”), which was pledged to the Rhinegraves of Grumbach. The whole Pflegschaft , to which belonged all the villages of the Eßweiler Tal (dale), shared the Rhinegraviate's history for some 250 years. A mediaeval castle complex below the Herrmannsberg's peak was utterly destroyed long ago and lies at a rather unreachable spot in
9944-801: The state's Saarpfalz District. In the northwest, the Hunsrück mountain range forms the border with the Rhineland region. The eastern border with Hesse and the Baden region runs along the Upper Rhine river, while the left bank, with Mainz and Worms as well as the Selz basin around Alzey , belong to the Rhenish Hesse region. In the south, the German- French border separates the Palatinate from Alsace . One-third of
10057-564: The status quo and guaranteed that the Palatinate would remain a part of Bavaria, thereby putting an end to separatist attempts. Under Nazi rule, from 1933 to 1945, the Palatinate officially remained part of Bavaria, but was otherwise totally reorganised—it was merged with the Saarland into the Gau Westmark , with headquarters in Saarbrücken . The union with Bavaria was finally dissolved following
10170-547: The sway of the Eßweiler Tal and the Hirsauer Kirche (an ancient country church, still standing today, near Offenbach-Hundheim ), and later the Church of Hinzweiler . At the time of the Reformation , the village belonged to the Rhinegraviate of Grumbach, and accordingly, under the principle of cuius regio, eius religio , Elzweiler's inhabitants, like all Rhinegravial subjects, had to convert to Lutheranism in 1556. When
10283-630: The time of French rule from 1801 to 1814, Elzweiler lay in the Department of Mont-Tonnerre (or Donnersberg in German ), whose seat was in Mainz , in the Arrondissement of Kaiserslautern and in the Canton of Wolfstein. After the French had withdrawn in 1814 and Napoleon had been defeated at Waterloo , the Congress of Vienna awarded the Palatinate to the Kingdom of Bavaria . Within this state, Elzweiler lay in
10396-451: The use of simple wooden beams. Said to be a particular jewel is the Stumm organ from 1792, which was built into the church in 1822. A bell was also added in 1792. Catholic Christians are tended by the Rammelsbach pastorate. The council is made up of 6 council members, who were elected by majority vote at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. At
10509-406: The valley is 305 m high. The municipal area measures 705 ha, of which 93 ha is wooded. Horschbach borders in the north on the municipality of Glanbrücken , in the northeast on the municipality of Hinzweiler , in the southeast on the municipality of Oberweiler im Tal , in the south on the municipality of Eßweiler , in the southwest on the municipality of Elzweiler , in the west on
10622-647: The valleys and 8-10 degrees in the highlands. Wet air from the prevailing westerly and southwesterly winds leads to precipitation in the Mittelgebirge ranges, while it warms up on its way further down to the Rhine Valley; giving the valleys a considerably drier climate than the surrounding Palatine Forest . During the Holy Roman Empire prior to World War II , it was also referred to as Rhenish Bavaria and Lower Palatinate ( Unterpfalz ), which designated only
10735-610: The village can be explained by new settlers coming to repopulate the village after the Thirty Years' War and during French King Louis XIV's occupation . In the late 17th century, the French promoted the Roman Catholic faith, while the Swedish kings, who then held sway in the County Palatine, did the same with the Lutheran faith. Today, a 90% majority of Elzweiler's inhabitants is Evangelical . The Evangelical Christians belong to
10848-617: The village was founded sometime before the 12th century as a homestead. The prefix Elz— might be derived from a personal name. According to researchers Dolch and Greule, this name might have come from Agiwalt . This was later corrupted to Eiwalt and eventually shortened to Elt and Etz . If this holds true, the name's original meaning was “Agiwalt’s homestead”. Filhop, named in Hofmann's 1588 work mentioned above, had at that time already been abandoned. Its name still appears in rural cadastral toponyms within Elzweiler's limits, however. Today, it
10961-474: The village was incorporated into the County Palatine of Zweibrücken , the Zweibrücken subjects had already converted to Calvinism , and Elzweiler's inhabitants now had to follow suit. It can, however, be gathered from the 1734 list of subjects that of the then 33 inhabitants, 14 were Lutheran, 11 were Catholic and indeed only seven were Reformed . This rather striking variety in the denominations represented in
11074-623: The villages in the Amt of Altenglan-Brücken, and later the Niederamt of Ulmet, to the newlywed comital couple Lauretta and Heinrich. This younger Heinrich would later become Count Heinrich II of Veldenz. According to this document, Elzweiler belonged to the Remigiusland within the County of Veldenz. As time wore on, though, the village came to be regarded as lying outside the Remigiusland , and it thereby shared
11187-487: The villages of Horschbach and Elzweiler were regarded as one village. In 1923, the warriors’ memorial for those who fell in the First World War was built. The following year, electric lighting was installed in Horschbach. At elections between 1920 and 1933 – in Weimar times – the strongest showings were among centre-right and rightwing parties, a common pattern in places with a strongly developed agricultural structure. Indeed, in
11300-461: The war had ended, there were no longer any people living in the village. Bit by bit, though, it was repopulated with new settlers. In 1594, the village passed together with Niedereisenbach, Hachenbach , Horschbach and the villages in the Eßweiler Tal to Palatinate-Zweibrücken in exchange for Kirchenbollenbach . Thereafter, Elzweiler remained with the County Palatine until its downfall after French Revolutionary troops began their occupation . During
11413-479: The way for his Enabling Act of 1933 ( Ermächtigungsgesetz ), thus starting the Third Reich in earnest. It was not until 1949 that the first tractor , owned by a man named Ernst Mäurer, made its appearance in Horschbach. Bavarian times ended with the Allied occupation after the Second World War and the region became part of the then newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate . The Bürgermeisterei of Horschbach, however, remained in force until 1968, when there
11526-639: The western part of the Electorate of the Palatinate ( Kurfürstentum Pfalz ), as opposed to the Upper Palatinate ( Oberpfalz ). Formerly a Celtic region, this area was conquered by the Roman Empire under Emperor Augustus in about 12 BCE; thereafter, it was part of the province of Germania Superior . During the decline of the Empire, Alamannic tribes settled here; their territory was conquered by Francia under King Clovis I about 496. From 511 onwards,
11639-523: The word Harun (“grove”; Modern High German , Hain ). Yet another interpretation is found at Horschbach's own website, stating that the prefix derives from harges , a word for “sanctuary” or “place of worship”. Church history in the time of the Reformation was characterized by belonging to the Archbishopric of Mainz and the Glan chapter . Although Horschbach was the seat of an Unteramt as early as
11752-569: Was enfeoffed with these estates, which they ruled until 1918, together with the collateral branch of Palatine Zweibrücken from 1410. Needing stronger protection, they lost control with the reunification with Bavaria under Elector Charles Theodore in 1777. The major ecclesiastical territory in the region was the Bishopric of Speyer . The Imperial city of Landau joined the Alsatian Décapole in 1521 to preserve its status. Nevertheless, it
11865-493: Was at Mainz , the Canton of Wolfstein and the Arrondissement of Kaiserslautern. After French rule ended and Napoleon met his ultimate political fate at Waterloo , the Congress of Vienna awarded a great swathe of territory in this region to the Kingdom of Bavaria , and by 1817, Horschbach found itself within this exclave , called the Bayerischer Rheinkreis (“Bavarian Rhine District”). More locally, it lay within
11978-450: Was built. That same year, the church got a new organ. In a turnaround from what was the pattern in Weimar times, left-leaning parties now do somewhat better in local elections, if not as strongly as in the other Herrmannsberg municipalities of Elzweiler and Welchweiler. In 1972, the “Mühlgärten und Steinbach” building plan was set forth. In 1973, Horschbach came in second at the district level in
12091-687: Was declared independent of the Bezirksamt . After World War I , French troops occupied the Palatinate under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles . In 1920, the western Bezirksämter of Sankt Ingbert and Homburg ( Saarpfalz ) were separated from the Bavarian Palatinate, and became part of the newly established Saarland , which, according to the peace treaty, was governed by the League of Nations . That same year, seven more towns were declared independent of
12204-561: Was felt that using the Palatinate-Zweibrücken gold-on-black version would have made it necessary to modify the tinctures . The old, now ruined, town walls can still be made out. The only old festival still held is the kermis (church consecration festival, locally known as the Kerb ), on the third weekend in June. There is also a summer festival in July. The only club in Elzweiler currently
12317-573: Was founded after the Archbishopric of Reims had established the so-called Remigiusland . Going by the border description for the Remigiusland , the small village must have lain right on the border. It could even be that houses on the brook's right bank lay within the Free Imperial Domain ( freies Reichsland ) while houses on the brook's left bank lay within the Remigiusland . The border's exact 1355 alignment, however, cannot be fully gathered from this oldest surviving description, making much of
12430-644: Was seized by France after the Thirty Years' War . Other larger regional entities included the Duchy of Zweibrücken and the Prince-Bishopric of Speyer . The Prince-Bishopric held possessions on both sides of the Rhine. For centuries, the Electoral Palatinate and Bavaria maintained dynastic links because both were ruled by members of the Wittelsbach family. In 1794, the Left Bank of the Rhine , including
12543-470: Was set forth in 1998, “Am Hofacker”. A linking street was built to the site the following year. In 2009, a photovoltaic array was installed on the former schoolhouse's roof. Of the three Herrmannsberg municipalities of Horschbach, Elzweiler and Welchweiler, Horschbach was at almost every time in history the biggest. Originally, most people earned their livelihoods at farming , though quite early on, some inhabitants began to specialize in crafts. According to
12656-400: Was sweeping administrative restructuring in Rhineland-Palatinate. Horschbach then lost its administrative function, and since 1972 it has been an Ortsgemeinde within the Verbandsgemeinde of Altenglan . In 1956, a third schoolhouse was built. Like the first one, it is now used as a house. In 1968, 23 years after the war ended, the warriors’ memorial for those who fell in the Second World War
12769-483: Was thus no continuous rise in the figures throughout the 19th century. On the contrary, it is believed that the village's population peaked at over 400 sometime in the earlier half of the 19th century. There must also have been heavy population losses due to emigration . As early as the 19th century, it is known that 13 families sought new lives abroad. Seven went to the United States while the other six went to lands in
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