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123-608: The municipality lies in the highlands in the Western Palatinate . With 833 inhabitants, Konken is, after Kusel and Pfeffelbach , the third biggest municipality in the Verbandsgemeinde . The long village of Konken lies roughly 330 m above sea level in a broad, flat-bottomed, seashell-shaped dale that opens towards the east and through which flows the Konker Bach in that same direction. The district seat of Kusel lies to

246-428: A butcher supplier and a car distribution centre. Locals can therefore get jobs in the village itself. Thus, it is also clear that commuting has risen over the course of the decades, but there has been a rise in inbound commuting as well as outbound. A biogas -powered local heating network is under construction. In Konken, the hub of a great parish, a school arose as early as the 16th century. Classes were taught by

369-668: A chapel . It was throughout the Middle Ages as seat of an Unteramt and as the hub of a parish always a place of greater importance than many. In 1112, Count Gerlach I, a scion of the Counts of the Nahegau , founded the new County of Veldenz and also exercised the Schutz vogtei (roughly “lord protectorship”) over the Remigiusland . In 1124, Archbishop Adalbert of Mainz confirmed to Abbot Odo of

492-614: A newspaper business. A new schoolhouse, dedicated in 1965, stands at the village’s northern edge. Farther northeast lies the sporting ground. Outside the village’s own built-up area, near the Kusel Autobahn interchange, is a commercial-industrial area called Erlenhöhe. The outlying Rundwieserhof homestead lies on the Rundwieshübel’s northern slope on Langenbacher Weg (a road), while the Hasenmühle (“Hare’s Mill”) can be found just outside

615-423: A sewage treatment plant was completed. Two new building areas were opened: Auf der Leinkaut , and later the smaller Hottergaß . Another new building area, which would be the biggest, Breitwies/Flur , with 40 building lots, is in the planning stage. In the 1980s, the commercial-industrial park Viererbenwald came into being. A boon for Konken was the opening, in cooperation with the Verbandsgemeinde of Kusel, of

738-511: 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

861-768: 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 Gallo-Roman culture Gallo-Roman culture

984-547: 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

1107-471: A few big farms were left, some of which specialized in certain kinds of agriculture, among others, pig farming and cattle farming. Meanwhile, Konken had a watermain by 1909; electric light had to wait until 1922. The craft and other businesses serving this farming village, which were well developed before the Second World War , likewise reached a sharp downturn, although it should be borne in mind that while

1230-509: A few of the Einfirsthäuser (houses with a single roof ridge), which as a rule stand with the eaves facing the street, and which are so typical of the Westrich, a historic region that encompasses areas in both Germany and France . An old schoolhouse, which was used as such until 1965, stands on the through road. It has served as a savings bank ( Sparkasse ) and a postal agency, but is now used by

1353-414: A local waterway. According to this view, Konken would have arisen as a Germanic village in its seashell-shaped dale whose pre-Germanic name was still known. Be that as it may, the village is still surely one of the oldest places in the countryside around Kusel . The time when the village actually arose, however, cannot be ascertained through documents. It is believed that a village grew up bit by bit around

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1476-532: A luxurious Roman villa called the Domus of Vesunna , built round a garden courtyard surrounded by a colonnaded peristyle enriched with bold tectonic frescoing, has been handsomely protected in a modern glass-and-steel structure that is a fine example of archaeological museum-making (see external link). Lyon , the capital of Roman Gaul, is now the site of the Gallo-Roman Museum of Lyon (rue Céberg), associated with

1599-400: A male heir. His daughter Anna wed King Ruprecht’s son Count Palatine Stephan . By uniting his own Palatine holdings with the now otherwise heirless County of Veldenz – his wife had inherited the county, but not her father’s title – and by redeeming the hitherto pledged County of Zweibrücken, Stephan founded a new County Palatine, as whose comital residence he chose the town of Zweibrücken :

1722-573: A multipurpose hall. Konken lies on Autobahn A 62 ( Kaiserslautern – Trier ) right near the Kusel interchange on the way out of the village going northwards. Through the village itself runs Bundesstraße 420. Branching off the Bundesstraße are Landesstraße 350 (Konken- Brücken ) and Kreisstraßen 15 (Konken- Albessen ) and 16 (Konken- Ehweiler ). These favourable transport links bode well for further economic development. The nearest station

1845-493: 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

1968-669: 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

2091-637: 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

2214-418: A spacious aisleless church . The old tower was kept, but later also underwent considerable alterations. Also belonging to the parish, besides Konken, were the villages of Albessen , Herchweiler , Herschweiler , Krottelbach (the part to the left of the brook), Langenbach , Unter-Selchenbach and Pettersheim . There were changes now and then, but in general, this arrangement is the one that held true. After

2337-700: 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

2460-411: A townsman nor a subject something, whether by pledge, or on the strength of jewels or clothes, or chattels or real property, without the authorities’ foreknowledge and approval.” They were once even forbidden the right to represent themselves in court. Under these circumstances, only a few Jews settled in the principality at first, which is not to say that they did not come in greater numbers later, towards

2583-567: A toy gun “shooting” the New Year in. In earlier days, the children would receive a great big pretzel for their efforts, although more recently the reward has been money. On Epiphany , at Shrovetide ( Fastnacht ) and at Whitsuntide , too, children demand small gifts. At this last holiday, the children observe a custom called the Pfingstquack (“Whitsun” is Pfingsten in German ). The —quack part of

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2706-454: A village with a particularly high Jewish population ( Odenbach was 8% Jewish and Steinbach , then Leyen domain, though, was 29% Jewish). There was strong Jewish migration in the early 19th century. In 1835, there were 85 Jews in Konken, almost 15% of the inhabitants at that time. To this great Jewish community, which also comprised some Jews outside the village, belonged a Judenschultheiß . There

2829-639: Is Kusel station , which is the terminus of the Landstuhl–Kusel railway , connecting to Kaiserslautern and is served by an hourly Regionalbahn service RB 67, called the Glantalbahn (the name of which refers to the Glan Valley Railway , which shared some of the route of the Landstuhl–Kusel line). Palatinate (region) The Palatinate ( German : Pfalz ; Palatine German : Palz ), or

2952-527: Is a rather dull recitation of taxes levied on the village, it does offer a window on Konken’s early past. Translated from the Mediaeval Latin , it comes out as follows: Revenues from Konken: in one year 20 solidi and 8 denarii and a small donation. At Saint Martin’s festival 4 pounds and 3 solidi; from the workers 3 solidi, in mid-March 5 solidi in capital. On the Lord’s birthday 10 solidi; in chickens 25; at

3075-618: Is a voters’ group. Konken’s mayor is Karl Friedrich Knecht. The German blazon reads: Über erhöhtem, silbernem Schildfluß, darin eine blaue Muschel, aus der eine rote Flamme lodert, in Schwarz ein rotbewehrter, -bezungter und -bekrönter, goldener Löwe . The municipality’s arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Per fess abased sable a lion rampant Or armed, langued and crowned gules and argent an escallop’s edge, open to chief, issuant from which fire proper. The upper charge

3198-484: Is known. Schoolchildren from neighbouring villages, too, were allowed to attend the Konken school, until in the course of the 18th century winter schools (schools geared towards an agricultural community’s practical needs, held in the winter, when farm families had a bit more time to spare) were set up in the parish’s outlying villages. In 1740, the municipality decided to renovate the schoolhouse, which by that time had fallen into disrepair. The work took several years. Within

3321-602: 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

3444-647: Is something that comes to light in a 1339 document. At that time, the count’s young wife, Agnes, was granted the Amt of Konken as a morning gift . All five Schultheißen (head officials in the Unterämter ) in the Remigiusland appear in a 1385 document from Counts Heinrich III and Friedrich II of Veldenz, among them one named as “Clays in Concken”. In 1444, the County of Veldenz met its end when Count Friedrich III of Veldenz died without

3567-755: 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

3690-828: Is the Bavarian Lion, and it is drawn from a former coat of arms borne by the municipality bearing only this charge in the same tinctures (thus “Sable a lion rampant Or armed, langued and crowned gules”). The shell is said to be a canting charge for the village’s name (see Municipality’s name above). The arms have been borne since 1986 when they were approved by the now defunct Rheinhessen-Pfalz Regierungsbezirk administration in Neustadt an der Weinstraße . The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate ’s Directory of Cultural Monuments: Konken holds its four-day-long kermis (church consecration festival) on

3813-541: The Verbandsgemeinde of Kusel . In 1999, Konken celebrated what was at the time believed to be the 875th anniversary of its first documentary mention (1124), at which time a comprehensive village chronicle was also published. Konken was originally said to be purely a farming village, but in the late 18th century, the share of the population held by workers was rising steadily, and by the First World War , they were in

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3936-515: The numen of Augustus , came to play a prominent role in public religion in Gaul, most dramatically at the pan-Gaulish ceremony venerating Rome and Augustus at the Condate Altar, near Lugdunum , annually on 1 August. Gregory of Tours recorded the tradition that after the persecution under the co-emperors Decius and Gratus (250–251), the future Pope Felix I sent seven missionaries to re-establish

4059-604: The Alans . The Gaulish language is thought to have survived into the 6th century in France, despite considerable Romanization of the local material culture. The last record of spoken Gaulish deemed to be plausibly credible was when Gregory of Tours wrote in the 6th century (c. 560–575) that a shrine in Auvergne which "is called Vasso Galatae in the Gallic tongue" was destroyed and burnt to

4182-569: 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

4305-581: The Aquitanian language , which may have been the parent language of Basque , and parts of the coast near Marseille spoke Ligurian with some Greek-speaking colonies on the Mediterranean coast, notably including Massilia . In the northeastern zone of Belgica , there may have been some presence of Germanic languages , but that is disputed. During the late empire, there was some settlement in Gaul by tribes speaking Germanic or Eastern Iranian languages , such as

4428-581: The Archbishopric of Mainz . Either way, the village was the hub of a parish. It is unknown when a church was first built in Konken, but it was likely in the Early Middle Ages . If the church that still stands now goes back to 1124, then there must once have been an older one. The church’s patron saint before the Reformation was Vitus (or locally, Veith ). The mediaeval nave was replaced in 1771 with

4551-542: 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

4674-710: The Crisis of the Third Century , from 260 to 274, Gaul was subject to Alamannic raids during a civil war. In reaction to local problems, the Gallo-Romans appointed their own emperor, Postumus . The rule over Gaul, Britannia and Hispania by Postumus and his successors is usually called the Gallic Empire although it was just one set of many usurpers who took over parts of the Roman Empire and tried to become emperor. The capital

4797-556: The Franks , would develop into Merovingian culture instead. Roman life, centered on the public events and cultural responsibilities of urban life in the res publica and the sometimes luxurious life of the self-sufficient rural villa system, took longer to collapse in the Gallo-Roman regions, where the Visigoths largely inherited the status quo in 418. The Gallo-Roman language persisted in

4920-569: The Gallo-Italic languages and the Rhaeto-Romance languages . Latin epigraphy in Gaul has peculiarities such as the occasional variant ⟨ Ꟶ ⟩ instead of ⟨H⟩ . Roman culture introduced a new phase of anthropomorphized sculpture to the Gaulish community, synthesized with Celtic traditions of refined metalworking, a rich body of urbane Gallo-Roman silver developed, which

5043-640: The Gallo-Romance dialects which include French and its closest relatives. The influence of substrate languages may be seen in graffiti showing sound changes that matched changes that had occurred earlier in the indigenous languages, especially Gaulish. The Vulgar Latin in the North of Gaul evolved into the langues d'oïl and Franco-Provencal , and the dialects in the South evolved into the modern Occitan and Catalan tongues. Other languages held to be Gallo-Romance include

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5166-483: 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,

5289-446: 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,

5412-519: The Plague and the Thirty Years' War , the latter being particularly frightful in the Konken area. According to an Oberamt of Lichtenberg ecclesiastical organizational protocol, in 1609 – nine years before the war – there were 127 inhabitants living in Konken, all of whose names were recorded. As a rule, no village in the region had anywhere near 100 inhabitants. The village’s importance could also be seen in

5535-430: The Rhaeto-Romance languages , Occitano-Romance languages and Gallo-Italic languages . Gaul was divided by Roman administration into three provinces, which were subdivided during the later 3rd-century reorganization under Diocletian , and divided between two dioceses, Galliae and Viennensis, under the Praetorian prefecture of Galliae. On the local level, it was composed of civitates , which preserved, broadly speaking,

5658-431: 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

5781-436: 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

5904-431: The Tyrol bolstered the now almost annihilated pre-war population, although some of the refugees came back, too. By 1675, Konken once again had nine families and roughly 36 inhabitants. Then, towards the end of the 17th century came the plundering by French King Louis XIV’s troops, which further reduced the population. From that time onwards, however, steady expansion with strong population growth set in, and already by

6027-617: The Vandal and Gothic interlopers. Other bishops drew the faithful to radical asceticism. Bishops often took on the duties of civil administrators after the contraction of the Roman imperial administration during the barbarian invasions of the 5th century by helping fund building projects and even acting as arbiters of justice in the local community. Miracles attributed to both kinds of bishops, as well as holy men and women, attracted cult veneration , sometimes very soon after their death. A great number of locally venerated Gallo-Roman and Merovingian saints arose from 400 to 750. The identification of

6150-441: The 18th century, some villagers were leaving to seek their fortunes abroad. In the time of Napoleonic French rule from 1801 to 1814, the village was the seat of a mairie (“mayoralty”) in the Department of Sarre , the Arrondissement of Birkenfeld and the Canton of Kusel. The Congress of Vienna grouped the region in 1816 with the Kingdom of Bavaria . In this Bavarian time that followed, beginning in 1818, Konken became

6273-448: The Abbey of Saint-Remi in Reims in the form Conchis , and again in an 1124 document as Chonchis . Other forms that cropped up in later records are Concham (1152), Concka (1270), Kuncke (1298), Conken (1304), Kuncha (1328), Kuncken (1377) and Konken (1824). The word originally meant “seashell”, which may well have been a reference to the broad, seashell-shaped dale in which the village lies. Local historians, however, have derived

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6396-502: The Abbey of Saint-Remi in Reims the Church of Kusel with its three affiliated churches in Konken, Altenglan and Pfeffelbach . In 1270, Heinrich von Geroldseck founded the Younger Line of Veldenz. In a 1326 document, Count Georg of Veldenz obliged the “ Amt of Konken” to pay the knight Sir Harnisch of Bitsch a yearly amount of 100 Heller . That the Amt of Concken also had to pay the knight Sir Johann of Randeck, one of Count of Veldenz Heinrich II’s Burgmannen , 15 pounds in Heller

6519-412: The County Palatine – later Duchy – of Palatinate-Zweibrücken . Beginning in the Middle Ages , Konken was a market centre . From all over the region came the dealers and farmers to the Martinimarkt (“ Saint Martin’s Day Market”). Later a Sommermarkt (“Summer Market”) was also held. By the mid 18th century, marketgoers could reach the market on one of the district’s few paved roads. Konken now shared

6642-447: The Duchy’s history until this new state itself came to an end in the time of the French Revolution . Surviving from 1556 is a Weistum from the village (a Weistum – cognate with English wisdom – was a legal pronouncement issued by men learned in law in the Middle Ages and early modern times) which deals mainly with how high the taxes were that had to be paid. Like all the Kusel region’s villages, Konken, too, suffered greatly from

6765-417: The Gallic nations to participate in Roman magistracy. The request having been accepted, the Gauls decided to engrave the imperial speech on bronze. In Metz , once an important town of Gaul , the Golden Courtyard Museums displays a rich collection of Gallo-Roman finds and the vestiges of Gallo-Roman baths, revealed by the extension works to the museums in the 1930s. In Martigny , Valais , Switzerland, at

6888-399: 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,

7011-433: 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

7134-400: 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

7257-442: 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

7380-447: The Reformation was introduced, which was binding on everyone, the hitherto autonomous parish of Quirnbach also long belonged to Konken, bringing along with it not only Quirnbach , but also Frutzweiler , Liebsthal, Rehweiler , Sangerhof and Trahweiler . As well as the 1556 Weistum mentioned above, an ecclesiastical one (a Kirchenweistum ) has also survived from the Church of Konken. By the principle of cuius regio, eius religio , all

7503-427: 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

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7626-420: 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

7749-570: The bishop and the civil prefect, who operated largely in harmony within the late-imperial administration. Some of the communities had origins that predated the 3rd-century persecutions. The personal charisma of the bishop set the tone, as 5th-century allegiances for pagans and Christians switched from institutions to individuals. Most Gallo-Roman bishops were drawn from the highest levels of society as appropriate non-military civil roads to advancement dwindled, and they represented themselves as bulwarks of high literary standards and Roman traditions against

7872-413: The boundaries of the formerly-independent Gaulish tribes, which had been organised in large part on village structures, which retained some features in the Roman civic formulas that overlaid them. Over the course of the Roman period, an ever-increasing proportion of Gauls gained Roman citizenship . In 212, the Constitutio Antoniniana extended citizenship to all free-born men in the Roman Empire. During

7995-421: The broken and scattered Christian communities: Gatien to Tours, Trophimus to Arles, Paul to Narbonne, Saturninus to Toulouse, Denis to Paris, Martial to Limoges and Austromoine to Clermont . In the 5th and the 6th centuries, Gallo-Roman Christian communities still consisted of independent churches in urban sites, each governed by a bishop . Christians experienced loyalties that were divided between

8118-447: The built-up area on the Konker Bach right before the Autobahn. Archaeological finds bear witness to prehistoric human habitation in the environs. Within almost every neighbouring municipality’s limits, untouched prehistoric graves have been unearthed, while in Konken itself, it is suspected that there are such graves in the Hohe Warte area. Richer have been finds in Konken from Gallo-Roman times. Building work in 1966 brought to light

8241-483: The course of the 19th century. Even today, Konken is the hub of a major Evangelical church community within the deaconry of Kusel, while Catholics belong to the Catholic church community and the Catholic deaconry of Kusel. Since there were formerly many Jews living in the village, Judaism earned itself some importance. In the Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken before the Thirty Years' War, Jews stood under strict surveillance. They were allowed to “…lend usuriously neither

8364-424: The custom’s name refers to a rhyme that the children recite as they go door to door begging for money with their gorse -decked wagon. The rhyme generally begins with the line “Quack, Quack, Quack”. Further customs are detailed in Rudi Häßel’s Chronik der Gemeinde Konken , a village chronicle. The following clubs are currently active in Konken: Agriculture characterized Konken’s economic life in earlier times. It

8487-476: The diocesan administration with the secular community, which took place during the 5th century in Italy, can best be traced in the Gallo-Roman culture of Gaul in the career of Caesarius , bishop and Metropolitan of Arles from 503 to 543. (Wallace-Hadrill). Before the Roman incursion, most of Gaul spoke Celtic dialects that are now considered to be the Gaulish language with considerable variation . The south-western region that would later become Gascony spoke

8610-404: 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

8733-412: The end of the 17th century, despite lingering reprisals, settling mostly in bigger villages and smaller towns as tradesmen. Many of them lived with a minimal livelihood. A few of them amassed great fortunes through trade, but very few of them ever made careers of being officials. With a population that was just short of 10% Jewish in 1825, Konken, at the time in the Oberamt of Lichtenberg, was said to be

8856-607: 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,

8979-495: The framework of general school renovation in Bavarian times, a schoolhouse came into being in 1822/1823 with two classrooms and a staff dwelling. Throughout the time until 1965, the schoolteachers were all Protestant . There came another school building in 1928, to be used as the teacher’s dwelling, but after the Second World War , it housed the municipal administration’s offices. In 1965, a new school built to an ample design opened in

9102-673: 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

9225-473: The graveyard, and Hohlstraße (“Hollow Street”), at what was then the village’s western end. Likewise as far back as the early 19th century, residential developments sprang up on Wahnweger-Straße and Straße Im Eck. All these residential areas spread in the course of the 19th century and early 20th century. In the time after the Second World War , new building zones opened up, mainly in the village’s north. The old, long-settled neighborhoods are still characterized by

9348-465: The ground. Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French, with effects including loanwords and calques (including oui , the word for "yes"), sound changes, and influences in conjugation and word order. The Vulgar Latin in the region of Gallia took on a distinctly local character, some of which is attested in graffiti, which evolved into

9471-458: The growth curve flattened significantly in the 20th century. The following table shows population development over the centuries for Konken, with some figures broken down by religious denomination: It is highly likely that the name Konken is of Celtic origin, although it clearly did not arise from a pre-Germanic settlement. The name appeared as early as the 9th century in the Polyptique kept by

9594-413: The highly-Romanized governing class is examined by R.W. Mathisen, the struggles of bishop Hilary of Arles by M. Heinzelmann. Into the 7th century, Gallo-Roman culture would persist particularly in the areas of Gallia Narbonensis that developed into Occitania , Cisalpine Gaul , Orléanais , and to a lesser degree, Gallia Aquitania . The formerly-Romanized northern Gaul, once it had been occupied by

9717-694: 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

9840-456: The industrial-commercial park called Erlenhöhe right by the Autobahn interchange (thus affording favourable transport links), making Konken one of the few major industrial locations in the district (roughly 280 jobs in industry, crafts and trade). More than ten craft and industrial businesses soon opened there. Among businesses that have located themselves at the park are a waste management firm,

9963-591: The last weekend in August. Straußbuben (“Bouquet Lads”) decorate a bouquet and carry it through the village, after which the Straußrede (“Bouquet Speech”) is given. Another custom that is still kept is the Wanderstag (“ Hiking Day”, 27 December), on which the young men go about while the locals offer them schnapps. Other old customs, however, are slowly being forgotten. Ever less often nowadays do children go door to door with

10086-432: The majority. Going by religious affiliation, Evangelical Christians predominate even today. There was a Jewish community in the village quite early on. Comparatively, even today a great portion of the population earns its livelihood at agriculture , although as a whole, the inhabitants work at the most varied of occupations, and many must seek jobs elsewhere. Between 1825 and 1961, the population figures doubled, whereas

10209-624: The name from the Latin conca , with its similar meaning of oyster , scallop or more broadly mollusk , apparently also a reference to the local geography. A seashell also stands as a charge in the municipality’s coat of arms . In the Remigiusland , Konken was subject to the lordship of either the Bishopric of Reims or the Abbey of Saint-Remi in Reims , but in terms of ecclesiastical organization, it belonged to

10332-678: 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

10455-707: 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

10578-797: The northeast into the Silva Carbonaria , which formed an effective cultural barrier with the Franks to the north and the east, and in the northwest to the lower valley of the Loire , where Gallo-Roman culture interfaced with Frankish culture in a city like Tours and in the person of that Gallo-Roman bishop confronted with Merovingian royals, Gregory of Tours . Based upon mutual intelligibility , David Dalby counts seven languages descended from Gallo-Romance: Gallo-Wallon , French , Franco-Provençal (Arpitan), Romansh , Ladin , Friulian , and Lombard . However, other definitions are far broader, variously encompassing

10701-668: The northeast. In the south and east, the dale abuts a vista of four separate hills, known as the Hettersberg, the Rundwieshübel (404 m), the Harzberg or Harzhöhe (412 m) and the Konker Wart or Konker Warte (414 m). To the north, the other side of the dale is formed by a ridge coming from the west, on whose south slope most of the village stands. This climbs somewhat steeply up to an elevation of roughly 350 m above sea level. In

10824-639: The old craft business were vanishing, new businesses more suited to the new economy were coming in to replace them. Particularly worthy of mention is the Haus der kulinarischen Landstraße (“House of the Culinary Highway”). Also after the war, a village with both farmers and workers slowly developed. The latter earned their living as miners, ironworkers and quarrymen. They sometimes also had a small agricultural operation of sorts alongside their main jobs: they kept goats . Work began in 1953 on laying sewerage, and in 1965,

10947-551: The oldest places in the so-called Remigiusland . In the 9th-century holding and taxation register kept by the Abbey of Saint-Remi in Reims , the Polyptique , one can read: Census de Conchis. Uno anno XX solidos et VIIII denarios et obulum. In festo Sancti Martini iiii liberas et iii solidos; de sartis iii solidos. Medio martio v solidos de capitalicio. Ad natale Domini x solidos; de oblationibus pullos xxv; cum unoquoque x ova … de mappagiis xxv modios et dimidium de avena, de siligine xii modios et dimidium. While this in itself

11070-407: The pastor himself. In 1575, the bellringer was to have taken over the teaching, but the deal fell through when it turned out that he was only to be paid six Rhenish guilders each year over and above what he earned as a bellringer. It could be that schooling was given up in the course of time, for until 1685, records were no longer mentioning a school. From that time onwards, every schoolteacher’s name

11193-407: 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

11316-709: 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

11439-659: 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

11562-616: The remains of the theater and odeon of Roman Lugdunum . Visitors are offered a clear picture of the daily life, economic conditions, institutions, beliefs, monuments and artistic achievements of the first four centuries of the Christian era . The "Claudius Tablet" in the Museum transcribes a speech given before the Senate by the Emperor Claudius in 48, in which he requests the right for the heads of

11685-461: The remnants of a villa rustica when its foundations were dug up. Artefacts were unearthed there as well, such as coins and ceramics, as well as a terra sigillata plate with the stamped inscription VERECUNDUS . Some of these finds were given to the museum in Speyer while others ended up in private ownership. There have also been finds from several other estates. Konken is without a doubt one of

11808-509: 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

11931-420: The same time also 10 eggs … furthermore 25 and a half bushels of oats , in legumes 12 and a half bushels. It is unclear, however, which standard of “ bushel ” was being used. Nevertheless, what is indeed clear is that when the figures given here for Konken are compared against those for the eighteen other Remigiusland places listed in this Polyptique , Konken comes out as one of the wealthiest places in

12054-620: The seat of a Bürgermeisterei (“mayoralty”) within the Baierischer Rheinkreis (“Bavarian Rhine District”), the Landkommissariat (later Bezirksamt , then Landkreis ) of Kusel and the Canton of Kusel. Later, the cantons only had a very minor meaning. In the course of administrative restructuring in Rhineland-Palatinate in 1968, the mayoralty of Konken was dissolved on 1 January 1972. Since then, Konken has formed an Ortsgemeinde within

12177-492: The smith-god Gobannus , but of the Celtic deities, only the horse-patroness Epona penetrated Romanized cultures beyond the confines of Gaul. The barbarian invasions began in the late 3rd century and forced upon Gallo-Roman culture fundamental changes in politics, economic underpinning and military organization. The Gothic settlement of 418 offered a double loyalty, as Western Roman authority disintegrated at Rome. The plight of

12300-448: The southeast on the municipality of Hüffler , in the south on the municipalities of Wahnwegen and Herschweiler-Pettersheim , in the southwest on the municipality of Langenbach and in the northwest on the municipality of Albessen . Konken also meets the municipality of Selchenbach at a single point in the west. Also belonging to Konken are the outlying homestead of Rundwieserhof and the commercial park Erlenhöhe. Originally, Konken

12423-801: 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

12546-564: 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

12669-512: The taxes assessed for it, which were notably higher than for the neighbouring villages. During the Thirty Years' War, though, all the inhabitants left the village. Most were likely killed, particularly given the 1635 massacre by Croatian troops from the Imperial army, and in the end, Konken, along with its church, was burnt down. After the war ended in 1648, newcomers mainly from Switzerland and

12792-707: The three Gauls were bound together in a network of Roman roads , which linked cities. Via Domitia (laid out in 118 BC), reached from Nîmes to the Pyrenees , where it joined the Via Augusta at the Col de Panissars . Via Aquitania reached from Narbonne , where it connected to the Via Domitia, to the Atlantic Ocean through Toulouse to Bordeaux . Via Scarponensis connected Trier to Lyon through Metz . At Périgueux , France,

12915-541: The upheavals of the 3rd and the 5th centuries motivated hiding away in hoards , which have protected some pieces of Gallo-Roman silver, from villas and temple sites, from the universal destruction of precious metalwork in circulation. The exhibition of Gallo-Roman silver highlighted specifically Gallo-Roman silver from the treasures found at Chaourse (Aisne), Mâcon (Saône et Loire), Graincourt-lès-Havrincourt (Pas de Calais), Notre-Dame d'Allençon (Maine-et-Loire) and Rethel (Ardennes, found in 1980). The two most Romanized of

13038-647: 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

13161-550: The village. The last Jewish inhabitant was taken away by the Nazis in 1940 and deported to the Gurs internment camp in the South of France . The council is made up of 12 council members, who were elected by proportional representation at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results: “WGR”

13284-570: The villagers had to convert in 1523 to Lutheranism , and in 1588, at Count Palatine Johannes I’s behest, everyone had to convert again, this time to Calvinism . In the times of the Thirty Years' War and French King Louis XIV’s wars of conquest, the parish of Niederkirchen in the Oster valley was likewise attached to the Church of Konken, although it was split away again as a parish in its own right in 1710. The parish of Quirnbach, too, along with all

13407-487: The villages associated with it, was eventually split off to become autonomous again once the population had grown so quickly in the 18th and 19th centuries. Even though other denominations were once again allowed after the Thirty Years' War, the villagers all remained Reformed (Calvinist) up to the merger of the Calvinist and Lutheran Churches in the 1818 Palatine Union. Roman Catholic Christians settled sporadically only in

13530-517: The village’s east, where the ridge flattens out, the Konker Bach flows round in a broad bow into which the Weiherbach, coming from the south, empties within the village itself. Right near the church is found the core of the village. On the village’s north side, the Konker Bach empties into the eastward-flowing Albessbach at the Hasenmühle (“Hare’s Mill”), which is seated within Konken’s municipal limits. To

13653-766: The village’s north end, but it was only used as a school for all Konken’s children until 1972, for the new policy of centralizing schools was coming into effect. Hauptschule students were now to attend school in Herschweiler-Pettersheim , although later they had to go to the Roßberg in Kusel . Today, the Konken schoolhouse teaches primary school pupils from Konken itself and from the neighbouring villages of Albessen , Ehweiler , Herchweiler and Selchenbach . Other kinds of higher schools and special schools are to be found in Kusel. Konken also has one kindergarten . Konken has

13776-423: The village’s north runs Autobahn A 62 ( Kaiserslautern – Trier ) with its Kusel interchange , which lies partly within Konken’s municipal limits. The major woodlands spread out to the village’s east and in the far west. The municipal area measures 704 ha, of which 10 ha is wooded. Konken borders in the north on the municipality of Ehweiler , in the east on the municipality of Schellweiler , in

13899-581: 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,

14022-479: The whole region. The name’s pre-Germanic origins might lead one to the assumption that there was continuous settlement in what is now Konken beginning in Gallo-Roman times. The name “Konken”, though, furnishes no such proof. Theoretically, it could be a settlement from Gallo-Roman times, but what is likelier is that it arose in Frankish times, and simply has a pre-Germanic name drawn from a name still borne at that time by

14145-416: Was Trier , which was used as the northern capital of the Roman Empire by many emperors. The Gallic Empire ended when Aurelian decisively defeated Tetricus I at Chalons. The pre-Christian religious practices of Roman Gaul were characterized by syncretism of Graeco-Roman deities with their native Celtic , Basque or Germanic counterparts, many of which were of strictly local significance. Assimilation

14268-518: 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

14391-509: Was a synagogue in Konken, which was most likely built in the earlier half of the 19th century. By the latter half of the 19th century, though, the Jewish population was already beginning to shrink. There were still 24 Jews living in Konken in 1919, but by 1933, the same year that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis seized power , only 14 were still living in the village. After 1933, most of those remaining left

14514-596: Was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire . It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context. The well-studied meld of cultures in Gaul gives historians a model against which to compare and contrast parallel developments of Romanization in other less-studied Roman provinces . Interpretatio romana offered Roman names for Gaulish deities such as

14637-427: Was a long, narrow linear village (or by some definitions, a “thorpe”) along its through road, which is nowadays called Bundesstraße 420. There were, however, already settled sidestreets by the turn of the 19th century. Sprouting off the main street to the north are Kirchstraße (“Church Street”), at whose corner stands the church with its mediaeval tower, Friedhofsstraße (“Graveyard Street”), at whose upper end lies

14760-687: 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

14883-529: Was eased by interpreting indigenous gods in Roman terms , such as with Lenus Mars or Apollo Grannus . Otherwise, a Roman god might be paired with a native goddess, as with Mercury and Rosmerta . In at least one case, that of the equine goddess Epona , a native Gallic goddess was also adopted by Rome. Eastern mystery religions penetrated Gaul early on, which included the cults of Orpheus , Mithras , Cybele and Isis . The imperial cult , centred primarily on

15006-589: Was once purely a farming village with craft industries that saw to its needs. There were smiths, wainwrights, shoemakers and a nailer. Here, too, though, there was a shift in living circumstances as there was in almost every other village in the Kusel area with advancing industrialization in the 19th and 20th centuries. Throughout the 20th century, the number of agricultural operations steadily shrank. The ones that were left then became bigger. Smaller farms kept running at first as secondary businesses, but likewise slowly disappeared as their owners gave up farming. Thus, only

15129-691: 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

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