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57-573: Meddersheim lies in the Nahe valley between Idar-Oberstein and Bad Kreuznach . South of the village is the edge of the North Palatine Uplands . Fertile vineyards, fields, and wooded heights surround the village. Clockwise from the north, Meddersheim's neighbours are the municipality of Nußbaum , the town of Bad Sobernheim , and the municipalities of Lauschied , Bärweiler , Kirschroth , Merxheim , and Monzingen , all of which likewise lie within

114-480: A Landesverwaltungsamt (county administration office) with three offices at the former seats of the Bezirksregierungen . On 1 January 2005, Lower Saxony followed suit, disbanding its remaining four Regierungsbezirke of Brunswick , Hanover , Lüneburg , and Weser-Ems . On 1 August 2008, Saxony restructured its counties ( Landkreise , German: [ˈlantˌkʁaɪ̯zə] ), changed

171-674: A kindergarten ( Kindergarten Rasselbande ) and the Volksbildungswerk Meddersheim (a "people's education" programme), but other than these, all education is to be found in neighbouring municipalities or farther afield in the case of colleges and universities. The Grundschule Monzingen ( primary school ) is in neighbouring Monzingen , while the Realschule plus Bad Sobernheim and the Emanuel-Felke - Gymnasium are both in neighbouring Bad Sobernheim . Running through Meddersheim

228-567: A ceiling-high sacramental shrine in the Gothic quire and a Stumm organ, together with a series of pictures in the gallery, bear witness to the wealth of this winegrowing , farming and craft village. In 1960, Meddersheim had some 750 inhabitants. By 2010, it was nearly 1,400. Meddersheim had a small Jewish community in the 19th century. It arose in the 18th century. The forebears of the Families Feibelmann and Ostermann lived here as early as

285-893: A favourable, flat site as a crossroads outside the River Nahe's floodplain. Until the 13th century, the village of Meddersheim belonged to the Archbishops of Mainz , then passing by way of pledge to the Waldgraves at the Kyrburg ( castle ). They held it until the French Revolutionary Wars in the late 18th century. It was administered by a Mainz Schultheiß responsible for the Burgrave at Disibodenberg , beginning in 1240 in Sobernheim and then beginning in 1279 at Castle Böckelheim. In 1239, there

342-548: A flow of more than 1,000 cubic metres per second (35,000 cu ft/s) was measured and more than 1,300 cubic metres per second (46,000 cu ft/s) at its mouth into the Rhine. The dimensions of the drainage basin are shown in the map. Its boundaries clock-wise, beginning in the East: The rocks in the Nahe region are predominantly of Cisuralian (early Permian ) age and part of

399-524: A hill between the junction of the Nahe and the Glan , was founded at the beginning of the 8th century by Saint Disibod , an Irish missionary. Saint Hildegard of Bingen , a famous Christian mystic , also lived here for a while. Gemstone town Idar-Oberstein - The town is famous for its historic gemstone mines and related trades. Some of them are open to visitors. The German Gemstone Museum boasts many gemstone exhibits. Bad Kreuznach - The baths which give

456-440: A horse passant argent bridled sable and saddled of the field Saint Martin reguardant with nimbus Or vested gules cutting his mantle with a sword of the second for a beggar man sitting on the ground, in sinister chief an inescutcheon of the fourth charged with a lion's head erased of the fifth crowned of the first. This scene from Saint Martin's life appears in many German civic coats of arms. Indeed, Meddersheim's arms are not even

513-524: A long time, seven were killed during Nazi persecution (birthdates in brackets): As at 30 November 2013, there are 1,344 full-time residents in Meddersheim, and of those, 811 are Evangelical (60.342%), 250 are Catholic (18.601%), 15 (1.116%) belong to other religious groups and 268 (19.94%) either have no religion or will not reveal their religious affiliation. The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected by proportional representation at

570-444: A postglacial warm period to Europe but became extinct in most regions when the climate changed again to significantly cooler and more humid conditions. They only survived in small but still warm and dry places due to special geographic situations. In the Nahe valley and its tributaries these are mostly rocky precipices towards South or South-East, furthermore sunny slopes with shrubs, bushes and dry broad-leaved forests. On hot summer days

627-471: A steep cliff nearby with a height of 202 metres (663 ft) and a length of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) was formed by the Nahe. Bad Sobernheim - The open-air museum of Rhineland-Palatinate in Bad Sobernheim has an exhibition four traditional villages with refurbished historic houses from different regions of Rhineland-Palatinate. The region is accessible via federal highway B41 which is connected to

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684-473: A steep decline of all waters and hence to strong erosion activities. Particularly strong erosion occurred in warmer melting periods during the ice ages, when tundra climate reigned, and the soil was not protected by a dense cover of vegetation. Depending on the underground, narrow gorges with cliffy precipices arose in areas with hard volcanic rocks or wide gentle valleys with flood plains in areas with soft sedimentary deposits. The frequent change between both forms

741-546: Is Landesstraße 232, which is met in the village core by Kreisstraße 52 and Landesstraße 376. Just over 2 km along the first of these roads is an interchange onto Bundesstraße 41 in Bad Sobernheim 's west end. Also serving Bad Sobernheim is a railway station on the Nahe Valley Railway ( Bingen – Saarbrücken ). Nahe (Rhine) The Nahe ( German pronunciation: [ˈnaːə] )

798-778: Is a river in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland , Germany , a left tributary to the Rhine . It has also given name to the wine region Nahe situated around it. The name Nahe is derived from the Latin word Nava , which is supposed to be based upon the Celtic origin for the wild river . The Nahe separates the northern part of the Palatinate from the Hunsrück . It rises in the area of Nohfelden (Saarland), flowing through Rhineland-Palatinate and joining

855-518: Is a type of administrative division in Germany. Currently, four of sixteen Bundesländer ( states of Germany ) are split into Regierungsbezirke . Beneath these are rural and urban districts Regierungsbezirke ( pronounced [ʁeˈɡiːʁʊŋsbəˌt͡sɪʁkə] ) serve as regional mid-level local government units in four of Germany's sixteen federal states : Baden-Württemberg , Bavaria , Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia . Each of

912-556: Is charming along the Nahe. In the Nahe valley, a huge number of thermophile species appear which usually can only be found in the mediterranean region or Eurasian steppe habitats. Characteristical species of plants are e. g. Alyssum montanum , Aster linosyris ("Goldilocks Aster"), Dictamnus albus ("White Dittany"), Dianthus grationopolitanus ("Cheddar Pink"), Gagea bohemica subsp. saxatilis ("Early-Star-of-Bethlehem"), Galium glaucum ("Glaucous Bedstraw"), Oxytropis pilosa or Stipa tirsa . These plants immigrated in

969-556: Is listed as missing in action on the warriors' memorial at Meddersheim's municipal graveyard. Also lost in the Great War was Gefreiter Richard Feibelmann (b. 26 November 1889 in Meddersheim, d. 21 November 1917), but he had moved to Sobernheim by 1914. About 1924, when there were still 16 members of the local Jewish community, they had joined the Jewish community in Sobernheim. Research in

1026-608: The French overran the German lands on the Rhine 's left bank and imposed their administrative system on the land. Meddersheim became the seat of a mairie ("mayoralty") in the Canton of Meisenheim, which also comprised Kirschroth and Staudernheim and lay in the Department of Sarre . No, later than Napoleonic times, something akin to gavelkind  – an equal land division among heirs –

1083-548: The Nazis seized power , 12 Jews were still living in Meddersheim. In the years that followed, though, some of the Jews moved away or even emigrated in the face of the boycotting of their businesses, the progressive stripping of their rights and repression, all brought about by the Nazis. The livestock dealer Leo Rauner went to Pittsburgh in 1938, and a few Family Ostermann members also went to

1140-929: The Oberamt of Meisenheim an exclave of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg . In 1866, it passed to the Grand Duchy of Hesse . Then, in 1869, the region passed to the Kingdom of Prussia , and Meddersheim now belonged to the Meisenheim district in the Regierungsbezirk of Koblenz in the Rhine Province . In 1919, after the First World War , the Bürgermeistereien ("Mayoralties") of Meddersheim and Merxheim were merged. After

1197-564: The Rotliegendes . At that time, an impetuous volcanism appeared in the region. Huge deposits of the reddish volcanic rock Rhyolite and of the more alkaline volcanic rock Andesite were left. The valleys of the Nahe and its tributaries have been being formed since 2.6 million years ago during the Quaternary , the geologically latest period, as a result of ground heaving of the surrounding mountains of Hunsrück and North Palatine Uplands. This led to

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1254-471: The Schultheißerei again, this time for good. The feudal and tithing rights were always shared among several lordships. The oldest part of the church , the steeple , comes from the 12th century, while after several conversions and additions, the nave comes from 1756. Particularly worthy of mention are the pulpit from the 18th century, the 1753 Stumm organ , and the 16th-century baptismal font. In 1798,

1311-661: The United States . In April 1942, the last Jews living in the village, the four-headed Family Braun, were deported. According to the Gedenkbuch  – Opfer der Verfolgung der Juden unter der nationalsozialistischen Gewaltherrschaft in Deutschland 1933-1945 ("Memorial Book – Victims of the Persecution of the Jews under National Socialist Tyranny ") and Yad Vashem , of all Jews who either were born in Meddersheim or lived there for

1368-660: The state parliament . Regierungsbezirk is a German term variously translated into English as "governmental district", "administrative district" or "province", with the first two being the closest literal translations. The first Regierungsbezirke were established in the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Kingdom of Prussia in 1808. During the course of the Prussian reforms between 1808 and 1816, Prussia subdivided its provinces into 25 Regierungsbezirke , eventually featuring 37 such districts within 12 provinces. By 1871, at

1425-556: The 12 villages in the main class, Meddersheim earned a respectable place in the middle of the field. Before this, Meddersheim had qualified at the district and regional (Koblenz) contests as a winner in the main class. This was quite outstanding for a village that had not competed in this contest – then known as Unser Dorf soll schöner werden ("Our village should become lovelier") – for more than 20 years. The following clubs are active in Meddersheim: Meddersheim has

1482-473: The 18th century, whereafter yellow-grey quarried sandstone from surrounding villages was used. In the Reformation , the inhabitants of Meddersheim became Protestant under the then-local lordship. The Baroque screen around the altar was removed during renovations at Saint Martin's Evangelical church in 1964. For generations, the church was shared . During Catholic Mass , the gate was closed. A few epitaphs,

1539-453: The 1960s. Made here, right in the village, were field-fired bricks. In Andreas Gottfried's former potter's shop, pottery was made until 1968. The flax extensively grown here on the heaths, whose poorer soils were subjected to controlled burns , was retted in a great flax-retting tank, which is believed to have been communally organized. In the area of Brechkaut and Brechlöcher (laneways?), there were major brick kilns, and at their ends lay

1596-647: The Bad Kreuznach district. Also belonging to Meddersheim are the outlying homesteads of Lohmühle, Schliffgesmühle, Am Meisenheimer Pfad, and the "Felke-Kurhaus Menschel" ("Englischer Hof"). The area that is now Meddersheim was settled as far back as Celtic and Roman times, and perhaps even earlier. Various archaeological finds of remnants of a Roman estate on Römerstraße (" Roman road "), extensive foundations, and an ancient watermain bear witness to this. The current clump village arose in Frankish times (6th century) at

1653-473: The Dornberg near the so-called Mühlenwäldchen ("Little Mill Wood"). Meddersheim has four wineries ( Weingüter ) and one winemakers' collective. The Meddersheim winegrowing area belongs to the winemaking appellation – Großlage  – of "Paradiesgarten". Well known individual winegrowing locations – Einzellagen  – are the "Altenberg", the "Edelberg" and the "Rheingrafenberg". On roughly 60% of

1710-611: The Meisenheim district was dissolved in 1932, the Amt (as it had been called since 1927) no longer existed. In 1935, Meddersheim had the same municipal administration – as it were, a " personal union " at the municipal level – but in 1940, the former Amt of Meddersheim was merged with the Amt of Sobernheim, from which arose the Verbandsgemeinde of Sobernheim in 1969. On Lehmkaut (a street), remnants of brickworks could still be seen until

1767-455: The Province of Hanover and Schaumburg-Lippe. These differences in autonomy and size were levelled on 1 January 1978, when four Regierungsbezirke replaced the two Verwaltungsbezirke and the six Regierungsbezirke : Brunswick and Oldenburg, Aurich , Hanover (remaining mostly the same), Hildesheim, Lüneburg, Osnabrück and Stade . Following the reunification of Germany in 1990,

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1824-515: The Rhine in Bingen . Its length is 125 kilometres (78 mi). Towns along the Nahe include Idar-Oberstein , Kirn , Bad Kreuznach and Bingen. The drainage basin of the river covers an area of 4,067 square kilometres (1,570 sq mi). Due to this relatively large area compared to the river's length high floods can occur along its middle and lower course within only a few hours, however flowing off also quickly. In 1993 and 1995 in Bad Kreuznach

1881-483: The armsbearer, and thus upper right to the viewer). The charge thereon, a lion's head, is a reference to historical lordships. Meddersheim was an Oberschultheißerei in the Waldgraviate -Rhinegraviate. In 1750 it belonged as a condominium to the lines of Salm-Kyrburg and Dhaun, with each holding a one-half share. Salm-Kyrburg bore arms gules three lions Or (a red shield with three gold lions). For heraldic reasons ,

1938-475: The course of the Nahe. For instance can be mentioned the "Hellberg" near Kirn , the "Flachsberg" near Martinstein , the "Heimberg" near Waldböckelheim , the "Gangelsberg" near Duchroth and the "Rotenfels" as well as the "Rheingrafenstein" near Bad Münster am Stein . The Nahe region offers various tourist attractions: Nahe cycling route – The route leads along the river from its spring to its entry. Nahe wine region – The wine-producing area surrounding

1995-412: The free dispensing of the contents by the incumbent mayor. As well, the local clubs supply the guests with alcohol-free drinks and food. This festival draws hundreds to the village each year. Vying in 2012 in the contest Unser Dorf hat Zukunft ("Our village has a future") at the state level were 269 municipalities. Twenty-four villages qualified in the state judging in the main and special classes. Among

2052-459: The hot-air shaft measuring about 2 × 3 m on which the flax was retted so that it could then be scutched and heckled . The former herdsmen's houses of the herding association have been gone since the 1950s. Five mills and one pig farm were listed for a time within Meddersheim's limits. At the Ilsberg was a quarry. The red shale sandstone was quarried until some time towards the end of

2109-486: The latter half of the 18th century. In the 19th century, the number of Jewish inhabitants developed as follows: In the latter half of the 19th century, the number shrank owing to migration to the towns and cities, particularly because Meddersheim had no railway link so in 1895, only 23 Jewish inhabitants were left. The Family Feibelmann moved to Sobernheim , while a branch of the Family Ostermann moved to Bochum . In

2166-421: The lion's head is borne in Meddersheim's arms in reversed tinctures . Meddersheim fosters partnerships with the following places: The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate 's Directory of Cultural Monuments: The Jewish graveyard in Meddersheim was laid out the earlier half of the 19th century (about 1840?) and is documented until sometime after 1933. The last confirmed burial there

2223-727: The middle and lower river is famous for its white wines, dominated by the Riesling grape variety. Castles and monasteries – On the heights on both shores numerous medieval castles and abbeys can be visited, most of them fallen into ruin. Most noted are the Kyrburg Castle in Kirn , the castles Ebernburg and Rheingrafenstein in Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg and the Klopp Castle in Bingen . The monastery ruin of Disibodenberg , located on top of

2280-754: The motorways A60 / A61 in the East and A62 in the West. Moreover, there is a railway line along the Nahe with regular connections between Mainz and Saarbrücken and stations in all bigger towns. Some 40 kilometres (25 mi) to the north the Frankfurt-Hahn Airport is in the Hunsrück, offering daily flights to London Stansted and further weekly and seasonal connections. Regierungsbezirk A Regierungsbezirk ( German pronunciation: [ʁeˈɡiːʁʊŋsbəˌtsɪʁk] ) means "governmental district" and

2337-703: The municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairwoman. The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results: Meddersheim's mayor is Renate Weingarth-Schenk, and her deputies are Karl Curt Bamberger, Michael Engisch and Günter Weinel. The German blazon reads: In Blau auf silbernem Roß, der golden nimbierte, rot gekleidete St. Martin, der mit silbernem Schwert den roten Mantel dem auf der Erde sitzenden Bettler zuteilt; im linken Obereck ein goldenes Schildchen, darin ein roter, blau gekrönter Löwenkopf. The municipality's arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Azure on

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2394-739: The name of its Regierungsbezirke to Direktionsbezirke (directorate districts), and moved some responsibilities to the districts. The Direktionsbezirke were still named Chemnitz , Dresden , and Leipzig , but a border change was necessary because the new district of Mittelsachsen crossed the borders of the old Regierungsbezirke . On 1 March 2012, the Direktionsbezirke were merged into one Landesdirektion (county directorate). Currently, only four German states out of 16 in total are divided into Regierungsbezirke ; all others are directly divided into districts without mid-level agencies. Those four states are divided into

2451-457: The nineteen Regierungsbezirke features a non- legislative governing body called a Regierungspräsidium (governing presidium) or Bezirksregierung (district government) headed by a Regierungspräsident (governing president), concerned mostly with administrative decisions on a local level for districts within its jurisdiction. Saxony has Direktionsbezirke (directorate districts) with more responsibilities shifted from

2508-470: The only ones in the Bad Kreuznach district to bear this image, with Norheim and Rüdesheim an der Nahe likewise bearing arms depicting Martin cutting off a piece of his cloak for a beggar. In Meddersheim's case, the image goes back to the village's old court seal, which also bore this image. Meddersheim's arms are distinguished, however, by the small inescutcheon in sinister chief (upper left corner to

2565-399: The project, citing the municipality's empty coffers. In 1973, too, the graveyard was refurbished, with gravestones that had fallen over or been thrown about being set upright again. The graveyard's area is 1 358 m. Thirty-one graves can still be made out. The gravestones quite likely do not all stand in their original places. The graveyard lies southeast of Meddersheim on the slope of

2622-434: The soil temperatures in these places can reach 60 °C/140 °F and above with truly steppe-like circumstances. A characteristical thermophile animal species is the insulated population of the dice snake ( Natrix tessellata ) that exists along the Nahe. The snake is very addicted to water and captures small fishes. Places of botanical and/or zoological significance are classified as nature protection areas and accompany

2679-780: The state of North Rhine-Westphalia in modern Germany are in direct continuation of those created in the Prussian Rhine and Westphalia provinces in 1816. Regierungsbezirke never existed in Bremen , Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein , and Saarland . In 1946, Lower Saxony was founded by the merger of the three former Free States of Brunswick , Oldenburg , Schaumburg-Lippe , and the former Prussian province of Hanover . Brunswick and Oldenburg became Verwaltungsbezirke [fɛɐ̯ˈvaltʊŋsbəˌt͡sɪʁkə] (roughly administrative regions of extended competence) alongside six less autonomous Prussian-style Regierungsbezirke comprising

2736-513: The territory of the former East Germany was organized into six re-established new federal states , including a reunified Berlin . Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt established three Regierungsbezirke each, while the other new states didn't implement them. During the 2000s, four German states discontinued the use of Regierungsbezirke . On 1 January 2000, Rhineland-Palatinate disbanded its three Regierungsbezirke of Koblenz , Rheinhessen-Pfalz and Trier . The employees and assets of

2793-540: The three Bezirksregierungen ( German pronunciation: [bəˈt͡sɪʁksʁeˌɡiːʁʊŋən] ) were converted into three public authorities responsible for the whole state, each covering a part of the former responsibilities of the Bezirksregierung ( German: [bəˈt͡sɪʁksʁeˌɡiːʁʊŋ] ). On 1 January 2004, Saxony-Anhalt disbanded its three Regierungsbezirke of Dessau , Halle and Magdeburg . The responsibilities are now covered by

2850-921: The time of German unification , the concept of Regierungsbezirke had been adopted by most States of the German Empire . Similar entities were initially established in other states under different names, including Kreishauptmannschaft (district captainship) in Saxony , Kreis (district) in Bavaria and Württemberg (not to be confused with the present-day Kreis or Landkreis districts), and province in Hesse. The names of these equivalent administrative divisions were standardized to Regierungsbezirk in Nazi Germany , but after World War II these naming reforms were reverted. The Regierungsbezirke in

2907-585: The town its name contain the noble gas radon, with supposedly curative properties. The town's most famous site is the Alte Nahebrücke (Old Nahe Bridge), one of the few remaining bridges in the world with buildings on it. Saline valley - Between Bad Münster am Stein and Bad Kreuznach the scenic valley of the Nahe has some bathing sites with hydrothermal and saline springs. Graduation towers , formerly used for salt production, are regarded as having beneficial health effects. The so-called "Rotenfels" (red rock),

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2964-400: The village has drawn different accounts from Meddersheim inhabitants regarding where the former Jewish community's prayer room was. It could be that services were held at various Jewish houses because no room in the village had been specifically set up for the purpose. Towards the end, services were surely irregular and perhaps held only on high holidays. In 1933, the year when Adolf Hitler and

3021-472: The village's vineyard area, it is the Riesling grape that is grown. Meddersheim's wineries are listed here: Meddersheim belongs to the Nahe wine region . Far beyond the district's limits, Meddersheim is known for its wine festival . The local winemakers offer their wares each year on the last weekend in August at the village square. There the festival begins with the tapping of the Meddersheim wine barrel and

3078-421: The way of institutions, there was a prayer room in one of the Jewish houses and a graveyard. Jewish children, too, likely got their schooling in one of the Jewish houses. One member of Meddersheim's Jewish community fell in the First World War , Arthur Ostermann (b. 16 September 1890 in Meddersheim, d. 8 December 1914). His name can be found on the memorial to the fallen at the Jewish graveyard in Bad Sobernheim. He

3135-722: Was a serious dispute between the Archbishop and the Counts in the Nahe region, who opposed the Prince-Archbishop-Elector's political reach into the Nahe region. Moreover, there was a disagreement over the pledge of Meddersheim with Kirschroth , which was always bound with Meddersheim. Although the Archbishop redeemed both villages, the Waldgrave at the Kyrburg, heir to the Counts of Saarbrücken, did not wish to give them up. The Archbishop prevailed, but later, one of his successors pledged

3192-564: Was in 1935 (Julius Feibelmann, d. 16 September 1935), although it is also believed that Salomon and Babette Braun, as well as a child born in 1937 to the Family Braun who died quite young (Salomon's and Babette's grandchild), were buried at the graveyard later. After the Second World War , the graveyard was first refurbished and fenced in in 1955 with state funding, because the mayor and municipal council had refused to contribute financially to

3249-507: Was introduced. his led to a splintering of businesses and, in many cases, to impoverishment among smallholder farmers. After Napoleon had been driven out in 1814, Meddersheim was, after a short transitional time, assigned under the terms of the Congress of Vienna in 1816 to the Oberamt of Meisenheim, and it was then furthermore the seat of an Oberschultheißerei . Thus did Meddersheim become, with

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