Merzweiler 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 Lauterecken-Wolfstein .
122-635: Merzweiler lies in the Jeckenbach valley in the Western Palatinate between the Palatinate Forest and the Hunsrück at elevations ranging from 250 to 260 m above sea level . The elevations around the village reach heights of more than 300 m above sea level (Brecherberg 362 m, Rüllberg 350 m). The municipal area measures 226 ha, of which roughly 2 ha is settled and 27 ha
244-526: A kindergarten and an outdoor swimming pool . Bosenbach was hooked up to the electrical grid only after the First World War . On the other hand, the village had already installed a network of watermains by 1895. Coming from Friedelhausen, Landesstraße 370 runs through the village and links Bosenbach with the neighbouring village of Jettenbach . In the middle of the village, a Kreisstraße (District Road) branches off towards Niederstaufenbach . To
366-738: A knacker and died in 1777 in Merzweiler. Bückler's grandmother Maria Magdalena Riemenschneider (1738–1770) came from Merzweiler. Johannes Bückler (1758–1803), Schinderhannes's father, was born in Merzweiler. During the time of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era that followed, the German lands on the Rhine ’s left bank were annexed by France. Merzweiler now belonged to the Mairie (“Mayoralty”) of Grumbach,
488-511: 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
610-704: A Palatine fief by the Counts of Veldenz . About 1282, the Amt of Bosenbach (Bosenbach, Niederstaufenbach and Friedelhausen) was held in common ownership by the Counts of Veldenz and the Waldgraves . Later, in the 14th and 15th centuries, the common ownership had ended and it was owned by the Waldgraves and Rhinegraves (one group). In 1595, through territorial trade, the Amt found its way back into
732-482: A Uranus symbol surmounting a hammer and pick per saltire, the whole Or and in base a fess wavy of the second surmounted by a narrower one azure, and Or a churchtower argent with quoins, roof, Gothic tracery windowframes and Romanesque sound holes gules, the window glass of the first. The churchtower charge on the sinister (armsbearer's left, viewer's right) side is a depiction of the one at the well known Wolfskirche (“Wolf’s Church”) near Bosenbach. The Uranus symbol on
854-745: 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 Bosenbach Bosenbach
976-460: A complex with a diameter of some “200 paces”. The digs yielded some valuable statues, among them a “ Hercules with the club”. One statue had an inscription on its base reading Merkurius . The excavation site can still be picked out today in the cadastral area called “Auf Burg”. About the unearthed sculpture's whereabouts today, though, nothing is known. It is likely that the Frankish farm that became
1098-547: 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
1220-454: A crossroads of Landesstraße 373 ( Kappeln — Langweiler ), and Kreisstraße 53 ( Unterjeckenbach — Grumbach ). Kreisstraße 67 towards Hoppstädten also branches off here. Running to the southwest is Bundesstraße 270. Langweiler and Grumbach each lie roughly 2 km away. The nearest Autobahn interchanges at Kusel and Kaiserslautern are quite far away, and can be reached only after driving 35 to 45 km. Serving Lauterecken
1342-400: A crossroads of one road running east–west from Kappeln to Langweiler , and another running north–south from Hoppstädten to Grumbach . The village community centre stands in the middle of the village where the road to Hoppstädten branches off. In the past, the village won prizes on various occasions in the contest Unser Dorf soll schöner werden (“Our village should become lovelier”). Among
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#17328723889781464-438: A few decades ago, the greater part of Merzweiler's population earned its livelihood mainly at agriculture . Besides the farmers, there were also farmhands, forestry workers and a few craftsmen. There were hardly any other jobs to be had. Even today, the land within municipal limits is still worked, although few people nowadays work in farming. A good deal of those in the workforce must seek employment elsewhere. As early as 1955, of
1586-546: A few landholds. To better describe where these landholds lay, both Reichenbach and Bosenbach were named. Either Franko or his heirs yielded these lands shortly after 945 to Saint Maximin's Abbey in Trier . Until about 1100, Bosenbach was listed time and again as being among the monastery's holdings. Territorially, Bosenbach belonged to the Imperial Domain ( Reichsland ) around Kaiserslautern and about 1130, it came to be held as
1708-515: A few years later. The masonry in this east quire tower is reckoned to date from the transitional time between Romanesque and Gothic . The fresco-secco paintings, which were first painted over in the time of the Reformation , were laid bare in 1952. About 1970, a graveyard hall was built onto the tower. As early as 1442, there was a village church in Bosenbach, consecrated to Saint Anthony, as well as
1830-493: 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
1952-621: 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
2074-637: 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
2196-456: A small mill. In the latter half of the 19th century, another mill was built and used as a coöperative. Chalk was already being mined in the 16th century. The mine's galleries, though, which still exist, may for safety reasons not be visited. In the 18th century, Bosenbach's craftsmen joined those in the Eßweiler Tal in three guilds . The village had a few craft businesses that were typical of
2318-700: 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
2440-450: A standalone word means “ hamlet ” (originally “homestead”), to which is prefixed a syllable Merz— , believed to have arisen from a personal name, Morizo , suggesting that the village arose from a homestead founded by an early Frankish settler named Morizo. The earlier notion that the village already existed in Roman times with the name Martis Villa ( Martis being the genitive of Mars ,
2562-486: A village. Quite early on, though, there were also workers who worked in the stone quarries, coalmines and chalk mines. Today, agriculture plays only a subordinate role. The village is today home to people of the most varied of occupations, who must commute to work. With respect to religion, the overwhelming majority belong to the Evangelical denomination of Christianity . Population figures rose steadily from about 500 in
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#17328723889782684-665: Is a railway station on the Lautertalbahn . Palatinate (region) The Palatinate ( German : Pfalz ; Palatine German : Palz ), or 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
2806-668: 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 in the Kusel Musikantenland ("Musicians’ Land") in the Western Palatinate . Bosenbach lies at an elevation of some 250 m above sea level in
2928-784: Is made up of 12 council members, who were elected by majority vote at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. Bosenbach's mayor is Martin Volles. The German blazon reads: Von schwarz und gold gespalten, rechts über einem gesenkten goldbesäumten blauen Wellenbalken zwei gekreuzte goldene Hämmer, belegt mit dem Zeichen des Planeten Uranus in Gold, links ein rotgefasster und -gedeckter silberner Kirchturm mit gotischem Maßwerkfenster und romanischen Schallöffnungen in schwarz. The municipality's arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Per pale sable in chief
3050-432: 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. Merzweiler's mayor is Klaudia Schneider. The municipality's arms might be described thus: Per bend sinister Or a lion rampant sinister gules armed and langued azure and gules two roses, the smaller surmounting the larger, the larger reversed, both argent and barbed vert and
3172-400: Is wooded. Merzweiler borders in the north on the municipality of Hoppstädten , in the east on the municipality of Kappeln , in the southeast on the municipality of Grumbach , in the southwest on the municipality of Herren-Sulzbach and in the west on the municipality of Langweiler . Merzweiler also meets the municipality of Homberg at a single point in the southwest. Merzweiler lies at
3294-593: The Amt at Meisenheim”). Merzweiler must have been among these villages. Even before 1426, the Counts of Veldenz had granted the court at Merzweiler to the House of Boiz von Reipoltskirchen, first to Conrad Boiz, then to Hermann the Elder and last to Hermann the Younger. In 1438, the fief passed to Hermann the Younger's son-in-law, Godelmann Blick von Lichtenberg. As a Veldenz, and later Zweibrücken village, Merzweiler always belonged to
3416-555: The Palatinate wine region . It 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
3538-569: 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
3660-594: The Amt , later Oberamt , of Meisenheim. Merzweiler was a church seat, possibly right from the Early Middle Ages . This church was enfeoffed with the St. Antoniushof (estate) near Sobernheim . In 1563, the church gave this fief for one hundred years to Guff Hansen. In the Treaty of Meisenheim of 20 March 1595, Count Palatine Johannes I gave Merzweiler to the regents of Rhinegrave Christoph von Grumbach's sons, exchanging it for
3782-542: 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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3904-778: The Canton of Grumbach, the Arrondissement of Birkenfeld and the Department of Sarre . As early as 1793, French Revolutionary troops advanced through the Glan valley and billeted themselves in the villages in the Grumbach area. There were assaults by Revolutionary troops against the local populace. After the French were driven out in 1814, the Congress of Vienna established a new political order in post-Napoleonic Europe . In 1816, Merzweiler thus passed to
4026-733: The Counts Palatine of Palatinate-Veldenz . Only towards the end of the 16th century did the Duke of Palatinate-Zweibrücken alone exercise this function, using it to force the subjects to convert to the Reformed faith. In 1595, the Amt of Bosenbach also became territorially part of the Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, Oberamt of Lichtenberg. During the Thirty Years' War , the Schultheißerei of Bosenbach
4148-620: The Electoral Palatinate and several other territories were part of 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
4270-613: The First World War , the Treaty of Versailles stipulated, among other things, that 26 of the Sankt Wendel district's 94 municipalities had to be ceded to the British - and French - occupied Saar . The remaining 68 municipalities then bore the designation “Restkreis St. Wendel-Baumholder”, with the first syllable of Restkreis having the same meaning as in English, in the sense of “left over”. Merzweiler belonged to this district until 1937, when it
4392-483: 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,
4514-446: 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,
4636-588: The Principality of Lichtenberg , a newly created exclave of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld , which as of 1826 became the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha . As part of this state, it passed by sale in 1834 to the Kingdom of Prussia , which made this area into the Sankt Wendel district within the Rhine Province . This district was split into several Ämter ; Merzweiler belonged to the Amt of Grumbach. Later, after
4758-536: 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
4880-521: The Straußrede (“bouquet speech”). Older villagers still remember the custom of the Brezeltanz (“pretzel dance”). In 1832 there was a Pressverein – Press Club – in Bosenbach. Bosenbach has limetrees both in the village and out at the graveyard. Towards the end of the 18th century, the predominant form of cropraising was the three-field system . Given the unfavourable location – the village lay in
5002-518: The Wolfskirche in the countryside. This church, which may have been only a prayer hall, was given up in the face of disrepair and thus, a new one was built in 1591. This church was open until 1802 to members of all three denominations ( Catholic , Lutheran and Calvinist ), but it was owned outright by the Reformed church (Calvinist). Then, that same year, the Calvinists built a new, bigger church in
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5124-547: The Wolfskirche tower's stonework, building blocks from Roman times can still be found, some with inscriptions. a fragment of a Roman “god stone” is incorporated into the entrance portal to the graveyard. A sculpture from Roman times, a lion tearing at an animal that it has caught and a relief can be found in the church's sanctuary. Northeast of Bosenbach ran an old Roman road leading from Landstuhl to Trier . In 945, Bosenbach had its first documentary mention when Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor , granted his faithful follower Franko
5246-554: The 12th century to the County of Veldenz when this was founded by Count Gerlach I. Nevertheless, the village's name did not appear among those listed in the 1387 “brotherly partition” between Counts Friedrich and Heinrich of Veldenz either. However, that document does say, in archaic German , that Count Friedrich was to receive “ die dorffer und armelude zu Meisenheim, die bisher in das Ampt zu Meisenheim gehörig sind ” (“the villages and poor people at Meisenheim , which hitherto have belonged in
5368-561: The 14th century. Until the late 19th century, it served the villages of Bosenbach, Friedelhausen and Niederstaufenbach together as a place to bury their dead. Today it is still used only by Bosenbach. The kermis (church consecration festival, locally known as the Kerwe ) is held each year on the last weekend in August. The old custom of the Kerwestrauß is still observed at this festival, complete with
5490-430: The 56 active workforce members in Merzweiler, 48 had to commute to jobs. The following table shows population development over the centuries for Merzweiler: In a copy of a document from 1341, Merzweiler is named as Mertzwilr . In 1375 it was called Mortzwiler , and in 1426 Mortzwilre . In 1500, the form Mertzwiler appeared. The village's name, Merzweiler, has the common German placename ending —weiler , which as
5612-495: The 56 active workforce members in Merzweiler, 48 had to commute to jobs. The number of commuters has since risen. With certainty, schoolchildren from Merzweiler were being taught even before 1595, perhaps in a neighbouring village. From 1595 to 1762, schoolchildren attended the school in Herren-Sulzbach , and thereafter the one in Grumbach . In 1909, the village got its own school. The schoolhouse still stands today, although
5734-475: The Count Palatine was responsible for both high and low Oberkeit (something akin to “superiority”), could have incomes and levies at his disposal, and had hunting rights. It also names all the serfs , 13 families with 44 inhabitants. A serf here belonged, together with his family, to the Count of Palatinate-Veldenz, whose residence was at Lauterecken , but was nevertheless ready to show the Duke of Zweibrücken
5856-482: The Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken , it was then subject to Zweibrücken ecclesiastical organization. That changed right away when Merzweiler was traded for Bosenbach and Staufenbach in 1595, and thereby ended up with the Rhinegraviate of Grumbach. It was then subject to Rhinegravial ecclesiastical organization. Merzweiler thus belonged first to the parish of Sulzbach, then passing to the parish of Grumbach when this became self-administering in 1808. In Zweibrücken times,
5978-412: The Duchy of Palatine Zweibrücken . From the years 1514, 1537 and 1578 come three Weistümer dealing with Bosenbach (a Weistum – cognate with English wisdom – was a legal pronouncement issued by men learned in law in the Middle Ages and early modern times; Weistümer is the plural). Ecclesiastical law at the time of the Reformation was made jointly by the Counts Palatine of Zweibrücken and
6100-433: The German- French border separates the Palatinate from Alsace . One-third of 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
6222-419: The Interior. The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate ’s Directory of Cultural Monuments: Merzweiler holds its kermis (church consecration festival) on the third weekend in August. Old customs, such as were once observed in all villages of the Glan area, are hardly practised at all nowadays. The following clubs are active in Merzweiler: In the time after the Second World War ,
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#17328723889786344-399: 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,
6466-410: The Meisenheim church steward. During the Thirty Years' War (1618–48), Merzweiler was drawn harshly into hardship, particularly in 1635 and 1636 when Croatian troops, who were on the Emperor's side, attacked, as did troops under the likewise Imperial General Matthias Gallas . The villagers fled to the nearby woods and watched as the village's houses were destroyed. Hunger and the Plague decimated
6588-454: The Palatinate is densely forested and mountainous. Its highest mountain 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
6710-400: 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
6832-442: 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
6954-563: The Reichenbach, itself a tributary to the river Glan . The elevations up the sides of the dales in the north reach heights of more than 400 m above sea level on the slopes of the Herrmannsberg (Schmutzerhübel 416 m), in the northeast in the foothills of the Bornberg more than 500 m above sea level, and in the south more than 300 m above sea level (Hertle-Wald 338 m). Interesting rural cadastral toponyms in Bosenbach include “Selgut”, which could be interpreted as meaning “Soul Estate” – it might well once have been an endowment to
7076-427: 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
7198-420: 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
7320-501: The change in religion made by Duke Johannes I of Zweibrücken in 1588, in which he made Reformed teaching the duchy's religion. In 1566, the parish of Bosenbach was founded. The at first Lutheran parish comprised the villages of Bosenbach, Friedelhausen and Niederstaufenbach. At times, the villages of Neunkirchen am Potzberg , Oberstaufenbach and Föckelberg , which belonged to the ecclesiastical region of Neunkirchen, were also tended by Bosenbach. In 1601, Eßweiler , which had belonged to
7442-459: The charges themselves stand for the local art, economy and landscape, the tinctures stand for the municipality's historical lords. The gules and Or (red and gold) on the sinister side were the tinctures borne by the Waldgraves , who held sway until 1595, and the sable and Or (black and gold) on the dexter side were the Palatine colours. The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate ’s Directory of Cultural Monuments: Among
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#17328723889787564-458: The church could be shared with members of other denominations. Even today, Reichenbach is the parish seat for the few Catholics in Bosenbach. The first Jew in Bosenbach was named as early as 1704. Towards the end of the 18th century there were at least three Jewish families living in the village. In the 19th century, there were five from time to time. By the beginning of the 20th century, though, no more Jews were living in Bosenbach. The council
7686-403: The church in the hopes of securing Salvation – and “Kastellwiese” (“ Castrum Meadow”), supposedly a reference to a Roman castrum here, although this is rather doubtful. The municipal area measures 816 ha, of which 563 ha is given over to agricultural use and 132 ha is wooded. The rest is meadow and fields. Bosenbach borders in the north on the municipality of Elzweiler , in
7808-465: The clergyman would hold services during the week at the Merzweiler church, while on Sundays he would hold them at the Kappeln church. About the church building itself little is known. A 1584 ecclesiastical visitation protocol noted that the church had fallen into disrepair and needed to be renovated. Obviously nothing came of this and the church was simply given up. There were never very many Catholics or Jews in Merzweiler in earlier days. The council
7930-430: The course of administrative restructuring, the Amt of Grumbach was dissolved, and Merzweiler was then transferred to the Kusel district, in which it remains today. In 1972, Merzweiler passed to the then newly founded Verbandsgemeinde of Lauterecken , and at the same time from the Regierungsbezirk of Koblenz to the newly founded Regierungsbezirk of Rheinhessen-Pfalz , which has, however, since been dissolved. Until
8052-469: The customary subservience. At the time of the exchange, it was clearly laid out what taxes and payments Merzweiler's inhabitants had to pay before 1595. The Duke of Zweibrücken received from the Beth (tax) each year 1 Rhenish guilder , 4 Alben and 2 Pfennige . From land taxes he got 19 Rhenish guilders and 4 Batzen . In kind, each household had to deliver to him 11 chickens along with 1 Simmer of fodder oats for each horse, all together 7 Simmer . Even
8174-399: The dale and most fields were up on the hillsides – fields had to be worked under the burden of a great overhead . There was winegrowing at one time, but the Thirty Years' War put an end to this. The fields themselves took the form of small plots, criss-crossing short strips of cropland. In the municipal area's west, however, block-shaped fields were also seen. In the 18th century, there was
8296-406: The dexter (armsbearer's right, viewer's left) side recalls the limestone mining in the two centres of Bosenbach and Friedelhausen until 1971. This symbol is also to be seen at the old mine entrance. The wavy fess in dexter base is canting for the placename ending —bach , which in German means “brook”. It also stands for the brook running through the municipality, which has the same name. Just as
8418-404: 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
8540-407: The early 18th century was there a separate school in Bosenbach. Late in 1784, a new, Reformed schoolhouse was opened. This school had an upper floor added in 1837. Bosenbach then had a two-stream school until sometime after 1960. Today, primary school pupils and Hauptschule students attend their respective schools in Altenglan . Higher schools are available in Kusel . Located in Bosenbach are
8662-447: The early 19th century to roughly 900 in the late 20th century, then growth stagnated and recently there has been a slight drop. The following table shows population development over the centuries for Bosenbach, with some figures broken down by religious denomination: The placename ending —bach (“brook”) is combined in the village's name with the element Baso , which goes back to an early Frankish personal name. The village has borne
8784-406: The east, outside the village on the road leading to Jettenbach. When the old Wolfskirche was torn down, it was suggested to the pastor that he turn all Roman artifacts, which were still being kept there, over to Speyer. In 1825, a hundred Roman copper coins were found near Bosenbach. These came from an urnfield. A grave hollow with five urns was hewn into a cliffside near the village. Today in
8906-418: The following names over the ages: Basinbahc (945) ; Basinbach (latter half of the 14th century); Basenbecher ampt (1393); Basenbach (1417); Boßenbach (1567); Bosenbach. In earliest times, Bosenbach belonged to the parish of Deinsberg ( Theißberg ). In 1323, a chaplaincy for the later ecclesiastical region of Bosenbach was built and given its own chaplain. The Feldkirche (“Field Church”) outside
9028-607: 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,
9150-673: 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
9272-615: The grain tithe, yearly 6 to 7 Malter , half corn ( wheat or rye ) and half oats, one third went to the Meisenheim parish priest while the other two thirds went to the Lords Cratz von Scharfenstein. Payments had to be made to the Church of Merzweiler itself, too, yearly in money 14 Rhenish guilders and 7 Alben , in grain 3 Malter , 2 Simmer 2 Dreiling and 2 Sester of corn and 3 Malter and 1 Simmer of oats. These were received and tallied by
9394-694: 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
9516-414: The lowly serf who belonged to the Counts of Palatinate-Veldenz (Lauterecken) had to pay their part in all of this. Out of the wine tithes, one third each had to go to the Count Palatine, the Meisenheim parish priest and Antoni Bos's widow , meaning a rich landholder's family. In an ordinary year, the wine tithe could be as much as 4 or 5 Ohm (an Ohm was usually something between 134 and 174.75 L). Of
9638-528: The merger of Lutheranism and Calvinism . In the summer of 1893, a few families in Bosenbach approached the Inner Mission . This tendency, however, had already run its course within a year. Only a deep religiosity remained in a few families in the village. In the 18th century, Bosenbach's Catholics belonged to the Catholic parish of Kusel, passing about 1800 to the Catholic parish of Reichenbach. In Bosenbach
9760-529: The middle of the village. This Late Baroque church with its belltower, with the style of spire known as a welsche Haube , presents itself in a good state of repair in Bosenbach's village core. Found here, too, are the parish's two old bells. The older of the two comes from 1474 and hung together with two others until 1591 in the tower at the Wolfskirche . Its Latin inscription reads: o rex glorie criste veni cvm pace m cccc lxxiiii ave maria (“O King of glory Christ, come with peace 1474 hail Mary”). The other bell
9882-501: The nave was torn down. The last relic of this church left standing was the churchtower with its fresco-secco paintings. These wall paintings are from the 14th century, and such artworks are otherwise only known from examples found in Italy . During thorough renovations in 1985, a dendrochronological investigation of the roof frame yielded the knowledge that the wood had come from trees felled in 1310. The roof frame itself would have been built
10004-678: 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
10126-707: 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
10248-478: The northeast on the municipality of Eßweiler , in the east on the municipality of Jettenbach , in the southeast on the municipality of Reichenbach-Steegen , in the south on the municipality of Niederstaufenbach , in the southwest on the municipality of Föckelberg and in the west on the municipality of Altenglan . Bosenbach also meets the municipality of Welchweiler at a single point in the north. Bosenbach has an outlying Ortsteil called Friedelhausen, which
10370-418: The number of agricultural operations in Merzweiler shrank greatly, though the lands used for farming remained mostly preserved. Thus, the farms still in business simply got bigger. Primary income-earning operations mostly shifted to secondary income earners, but all together most of these businesses were reduced to a minimum. Workers therefore had to seek jobs outside the village. As mentioned above, in 1955, of
10492-399: The odd exception, everybody works outside the village. Already by the late 16th century, the pastor was holding school in Bosenbach. Since there was no pastor posted to the village after the Thirty Years' War , the villagers temporarily hired a schoolmaster (as early as 1651). Once the parish had been reëstablished in 1671, the job of schooling once more fell to the pastor. Only beginning in
10614-512: The old farmhouses, the Einfirsthaus (“house with a single roof ridge”) is predominant. The small graveyard lies in the village's south end on the road leading to Grumbach. It is certain that the Merzweiler area was settled in prehistoric times . In Roman times, a villa rustica stood where the village is now, and according to old literary citations, as early as 1756, the remnants of a round Roman temple with mighty stone blocks were unearthed,
10736-475: The oldest churches in the region is the former countryside church near Bosenbach, the Wolfskirche (“Wolf’s Church”), which is among the Palatinate's most important cultural monuments. This church, which stands outside the village in the ancient graveyard, comes from the Middle Ages . Since there was a separate church in the village, the countryside church fell ever further into disrepair, until eventually, in 1834,
10858-417: The parish of Hirsau, was merged into the parish of Bosenbach. The Reformed parish of Bosenbach remained in existence on into the Thirty Years' War , and the pastor also had to tend the villages in the Eßweiler Tal (dale). In 1637 (during the war), the parochial seat was shifted from Bosenbach to Hinzweiler . Owing to the great loss of population, the pastor's post was not filled again until 1671 (23 years after
10980-590: The parish of Rothselberg. In 1709, ecclesiastical regions were established for the Lutherans in the Oberamt of Lichtenberg, with one with Bosenbach as its hub to which the Reformed followers made their church available. The Lutherans did not get their own minister, though. It was 1744 before the two ecclesiastical regions of Bosenbach/Ulmet and Eßweiler Tal were transferred to a pastor. In 1818, these parishes were dissolved with
11102-409: The population. Many villagers moved to places that were not quite as harshly affected by the war. When the war ended, a taxation report read “Here it must be said that owing to all kinds of war danger most people have died and owing to dearth have moved out of the land and the taxes and levies are therefore not being raised.” In French King Louis XIV's wars of conquest, there were once more losses. It
11224-456: 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
11346-659: 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
11468-691: The region's Wandermusikanten . For more information about this once thriving endeavour, see the Musikanten and Otto Schwarz sections of the Hinzweiler article as well as the article on the West Palatine travelling music tradition . In the 20th century, there were many quarrymen who worked at the Schneeweiderhof stone quarry in Eßweiler . Today, though, Bosenbach is a typical commuter community. With only
11590-509: 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
11712-614: The school that it housed was dissolved in 1969. The last schoolteacher was Adolf Bender. Until 2010, primary school pupils attended the primary school in Grumbach / Hoppstädten , which has since been closed. The Hauptschule students went straight to the Hauptschule in Lauterecken , and now, the primary school pupils, too, are taught in Lauterecken. The Gymnasium Lauterecken is relatively easy to reach from Merzweiler. Merzweiler lies at
11834-612: The seed that grew into Merzweiler arose sometime between 800 and 1000. Originally, from 960 to 1140, the village lay in the Nahegau , ruled by the Emichones , but was not mentioned in the documents according to which various villages of the Heidegericht (“Heath Court”) were pledged by the Waldgraves to either the Counts of Veldenz or the Dukes of Zweibrücken . The village likely passed as early as
11956-464: The side dales. The way in which the built-up area has developed still clearly shows its original character as a farming village. Also living in Bosenbach then, however, were craftsmen, stonemasons and musicians. In the 18th century, the Lanzenbach drove a small mill, which owing to longstanding disputes with the miller was bought out by the villagers. About 1850, some farmers built a coöperative mill, which
12078-503: The smaller seeded of the first. The charge on the dexter (armsbearer's right, viewer's left) side is the lion once borne as an heraldic device by the Waldgraves and Rhinegraves, the area's last feudal rulers. The roses symbolize the village's beauty, bearing witness to which are its showings in various contests. The arms have been borne since 20 July 1964 when they were approved by the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of
12200-575: The southwest runs the Autobahn A ;62 ( Kaiserslautern – Trier ) with the Kusel interchange 8 km away. Kaiserslautern is 35 km away by road. Serving nearby Altenglan 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
12322-564: 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
12444-558: The valley of its namesake brook, the Bosenbach, which rises near Jettenbach and flows into Bosenbach from the southeast after being joined by the Klingelbach. The Bosenbach is further fed in the village core by the Walschbach from the south and the Lanzenbach from the north, and then flows farther westwards, being further strengthened by the Schambach coming from the north before emptying into
12566-647: 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
12688-517: The village, which had already been standing before the turn of the second millennium, was granted burying rights by 1323. Buried here were the dead from the villages of Bosenbach, Friedelhausen and Niederstaufenbach. The Bosenbach chaplaincy also remained in existence in the time of the Reformation . During the Reformation, the Lutheran faith was introduced into the parish of Bosenbach. This changed with
12810-515: The village, which were needed to supply the local people. There were also the Wandermusikanten , travelling musicians who plied their trade all over Europe and even overseas as well. As early as 1840, the local clergymen were bemoaning this growing Musikantentum , but later they praised it. Right up until the years just before the Second World War , Bosenbach had a considerable share of
12932-540: The villages of Bosenbach and Staufenbach . At the same time, the Count Palatine was granted leave to develop the brine spring near Sankt Julian . The Antoniushof, as an ecclesiastical fief to the Lords of Hansen, was confiscated by the Rhinegraves. In the course of the treaty negotiations, Count Palatine Johannes had a report put together from which one can learn details from the late 16th century about Merzweiler. It says that
13054-477: The war god, and thus this name would have meant “Mars’s Estate”) or Villa Mercis (“Warehouse Estate”) is not nowadays shared by regional historians. In Merzweiler, from the Middle Ages onwards, up to the late 16th century, stood a church. Whether the village was originally a self-administering parish is unknown. In the Late Middle Ages , the church was a branch of Medard . Since the village then belonged to
13176-461: The war's end). Once it was, the pastor also had to tend the villages in the parish of Altenglan. Only in 1746 did that parish once again become fully autonomous, and Bosenbach acquired Eßweiler once again as a parochial branch. The parish now comprised the three villages of Bosenbach, Eßweiler and Niederstaufenbach. This arrangement remained in place until the beginning of 1971 when the parish was dissolved. Today, Bosenbach and Niederstaufenbach belong to
13298-536: The west was known as Oberbosenbach or das Oberdorf (“the upper village”). Both centres had grown together by the late 19th century since the building of the road now known as Landesstraße 370 about 1844. As early as the 15th century, a small church stood in the middle of the village, as opposed to the Feldkirche (“Field Church”) outside the village. This village church was built in its current form in 1802. The originally loosely built clump village has since spread into
13420-651: The west, historically also comprising 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,
13542-581: 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,
13664-569: 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
13786-462: Was abolished and combined with the court region of Eßweiler Tal. In Bosenbach itself, after the war, lived only one fifth as many people as before the war. Only about 1700 did the Schultheißerei once again become separate. After the new order introduced during French Revolutionary and Napoleonic times, Bosenbach became the seat of a mairie (“mayoralty”). In Bavarian times, too, the village
13908-450: Was amalgamated with the municipality on 1 January 1971 in the course of administrative restructuring in Rhineland-Palatinate . Also belonging to Bosenbach is the outlying homestead of Kelterhof, an Aussiedlerhof (farmstead established after the Second World War to enhance food production) built about 1970, but which is now no longer worked as a farm. Before the Thirty Years' War , Bosenbach actually had two centres. The smaller one in
14030-432: Was central to the municipalities involved. Bosenbach was also the location of the forester's office for the forest region of Bosenbach. In the 1933 Reichstag elections , the people of Bosenbach voted 86.3% for Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party (NSDAP). On 1 January 1971, Friedelhausen was amalgamated with Bosenbach. Bosenbach was inhabited not only by farmers, but also by the craftsmen who would normally be found in such
14152-639: 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
14274-521: Was poured in 1746 in Bosenbach and bears the German inscription Jauchzet dem Herrn alle Welt, singet, rühmt und lobet ihn (Cheer the Lord, all the world, sing, praise and laud Him”). Until the church renovations in 1990 and 1991, there was a sundial at the village church, originally from 1851, although that one was replaced with a new one in 1963. The village's graveyard out by the Wolfskirche already existed in
14396-504: Was relatively calm in the 18th century. The population grew once again, and there was even emigration for the first time. In Merzweiler once lived Johannes Bückler's (1777–1803) grandparents, whose notorious grandson was better known as Schinderhannes . Bückler's grandfather Otto Philipp Bückler was born about 1709 in Hilscheid in the Idar Forest near Thalfang , worked as a headsman and
14518-409: Was run until the early 20th century. This stood at about at the same elevation as the old mill, but on the other side of the brook. The graveyard lies to the east, far outside the village on the road going towards Friedelhausen and Altenglan . Well known is the tower of the former Wolfskirche (“Wolf’s Church”) on the graveyard lands with its paintings from the Middle Ages . The sporting ground lies in
14640-691: 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
14762-442: Was the mayoral seat for several villages. At the same time, a taxation authority was located in Bosenbach. Both offices would exercise their functions until administrative restructuring in Rhineland-Palatinate and the formation of Verbandsgemeinden in 1972. As early as 1816, several Bürgermeistereien (“mayoralties”) acquired a communal hand-pumped fire engine, which until 1870 was kept at a fire station in Bosenbach, whose location
14884-633: Was transferred to the Birkenfeld district , formed out of the Restkreis and a formerly Oldenburg -held district, also called Birkenfeld. This new, bigger Birkenfeld district lay within the Prussian Regierungsbezirk of Koblenz. After the Second World War , the village at first lay within the Regierungsbezirk of Koblenz in the then newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate . In 1968, in
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