Dienstweiler
Encyclopedia
Dienstweiler is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld
district
in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Birkenfeld
, whose seat is in the like-named town
.
, southeast of the district seat of Birkenfeld, 2 km away. The old village centre is nestled in a dale on a small brook at an average elevation of 400 m above sea level
. Outlying centres can be reached from the crossroads in the middle of the village, as can the “old new” building development called Auf dem Ellenberg, which sits at 450 m above sea level. The municipal area measures 667 ha, of which some 320 ha is wooded.
. The homestead of Eborn, which still exists today (roughly a kilometre outside the village itself) was formerly a self-administering municipality, but it merged with Dienstweiler sometime about 1544.
As early as the time around 1000 BC, the area where Dienstweiler now lies took its first steps into the realm of history. It is known from archaeological
finds made in the “Auf Brand” barrow
fields that quite a few people must have lived here then. These were the Treveri
, a people of mixed Celtic and Germanic
stock, from whom the Latin
name for the city of Trier
, Augusta Treverorum
, is also derived. They were followed by the Romans
(58 BC to AD 400) from whose time come the foundations of a country house – a villa rustica
– unearthed in the municipality. Also brought to light at this site was a bronze
wine service, which today is a major draw at the Birkenfelder Landesmuseum (Birkenfeld State Museum).
With the coming of the first permanent teacher, children from both Dienstweiler and Castle Birkenfeld were taught together beginning in 1785, although this institution did not last long. After it folded, Dienstweiler acquired its own school
building in 1825, but this soon fell into such disrepair that it could no longer be used. At a municipal council meeting on 13 February 1849, it was decided that a new school would be built, and this was finished the following year. A new wing was built onto this school more than a century later, in 1955, and the school continued in this form until 1968, when school reform saw it close altogether. Now bereft of its original function, the school building gained a new purpose in 1985 when it was converted into a village community centre.
The early 1960s were a time of progress. In 1962 and 1963, Dienstweiler became the first village in the Amt of Birkenfeld to build its own sewer system
and central sewage treatment
plant. In 1960, a new building zone was laid out; 49 houses were built there, which made necessary a further development to the north (hence the reference to the “old new” building development). Although the inhabitants once drew their livelihoods mainly from agriculture
, most now commute to jobs elsewhere in the area. Of the 26 agricultural operations that were once found here, only 4 are left.
In 1998, Dienstweiler had 159 families living in 90 houses on 9 streets. Fifty-nine percent are Evangelical
. Foreign nationals are 5.7% of the population.
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: Per bend chequy gules and argent and argent an urn with lid sable.
The “chequy” pattern on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side is a reference to the village’s former allegiance to the “Hinder” County of Sponheim
, Oberamt of Birkenfeld, while the lidded urn on the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side stands for the find of such an artefact at a barrow within the municipality’s limits.
The arms have been borne since 7 December 1962.
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
41 and to the south lies the Autobahn A 62
(Kaiserslautern
–Trier
). Serving nearby Neubrücke
is a railway station on the Nahe Valley Railway (Bingen
–Saarbrücken
).
Municipalities of Germany
Municipalities are the lowest level of territorial division in Germany. This may be the fourth level of territorial division in Germany, apart from those states which include Regierungsbezirke , where municipalities then become the fifth level.-Overview:With more than 3,400,000 inhabitants, the...
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
Verbandsgemeinde
A Verbandsgemeinde is an administrative unit in the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt.-Rhineland-Palatinate:...
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld (district)
Birkenfeld is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Sankt Wendel , Trier-Saarburg, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Rhein-Hunsrück, Bad Kreuznach and Kusel.- History :...
district
Districts of Germany
The districts of Germany are known as , except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where they are known simply as ....
in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld (Verbandsgemeinde)
Birkenfeld is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Birkenfeld, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Birkenfeld....
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld is a town and the district seat of the Birkenfeld district in southwest Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde.-Location:...
.
Location
Dienstweiler lies at the edge of the HunsrückHunsrück
The Hunsrück is a low mountain range in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the river valleys of the Moselle , the Nahe , and the Rhine . The Hunsrück is continued by the Taunus mountains on the eastern side of the Rhine. In the north behind the Moselle it is continued by the Eifel...
, southeast of the district seat of Birkenfeld, 2 km away. The old village centre is nestled in a dale on a small brook at an average elevation of 400 m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. Outlying centres can be reached from the crossroads in the middle of the village, as can the “old new” building development called Auf dem Ellenberg, which sits at 450 m above sea level. The municipal area measures 667 ha, of which some 320 ha is wooded.
Constituent communities
Also belonging to Dienstweiler are the outlying homesteads of Eborn and Eborner Berg.History
Until the 17th century, the village went by the names Dintzwilr, Dyntzwilr, Dynczwiller and Dientzweiler before settling on the current form of the name, Dienstweiler. In 1367, Dienstweiler had its first documentary mention, and belonged to the “Hinder” County of SponheimCounty of Sponheim
The County of Sponheim was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire which lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century...
. The homestead of Eborn, which still exists today (roughly a kilometre outside the village itself) was formerly a self-administering municipality, but it merged with Dienstweiler sometime about 1544.
As early as the time around 1000 BC, the area where Dienstweiler now lies took its first steps into the realm of history. It is known from archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
finds made in the “Auf Brand” barrow
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
fields that quite a few people must have lived here then. These were the Treveri
Treveri
The Treveri or Treviri were a tribe of Gauls who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, at the latest, until their eventual absorption into the Franks...
, a people of mixed Celtic and Germanic
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
stock, from whom the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
name for the city of Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
, Augusta Treverorum
History of Trier
Trier in Rhineland-Palatinate, whose history dates to the Roman Empire, is often claimed to be the oldest city in Germany. Traditionally it was known in English by its French name of Treves.- Prehistory :...
, is also derived. They were followed by the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
(58 BC to AD 400) from whose time come the foundations of a country house – a villa rustica
Villa rustica
Villa rustica was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a villa set in the open countryside, often as the hub of a large agricultural estate . The adjective rusticum was used to distinguish it from an urban or resort villa...
– unearthed in the municipality. Also brought to light at this site was a bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
wine service, which today is a major draw at the Birkenfelder Landesmuseum (Birkenfeld State Museum).
With the coming of the first permanent teacher, children from both Dienstweiler and Castle Birkenfeld were taught together beginning in 1785, although this institution did not last long. After it folded, Dienstweiler acquired its own school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
building in 1825, but this soon fell into such disrepair that it could no longer be used. At a municipal council meeting on 13 February 1849, it was decided that a new school would be built, and this was finished the following year. A new wing was built onto this school more than a century later, in 1955, and the school continued in this form until 1968, when school reform saw it close altogether. Now bereft of its original function, the school building gained a new purpose in 1985 when it was converted into a village community centre.
The early 1960s were a time of progress. In 1962 and 1963, Dienstweiler became the first village in the Amt of Birkenfeld to build its own sewer system
Sewerage
Sewerage refers to the infrastructure that conveys sewage. It encompasses receiving drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, screening chambers, etc. of the sanitary sewer...
and central sewage treatment
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
plant. In 1960, a new building zone was laid out; 49 houses were built there, which made necessary a further development to the north (hence the reference to the “old new” building development). Although the inhabitants once drew their livelihoods mainly from agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, most now commute to jobs elsewhere in the area. Of the 26 agricultural operations that were once found here, only 4 are left.
Population development
- 1958: 217
- 1978: 267
- 1998: 335
- 2004: 320 (49.4% female)
In 1998, Dienstweiler had 159 families living in 90 houses on 9 streets. Fifty-nine percent are Evangelical
Evangelical Church in Germany
The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
. Foreign nationals are 5.7% of the population.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 8 council members, who were elected by majority votePlurality voting system
The plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
Mayor
Dienstweiler’s mayor is Helmut Finck (independent), and his deputies are Herbert Märker and Norbert Banner. Finck’s predecessor, Werner Bruch, held office from 1964 to 1989.Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: In schräglinks geteiltem Schild vorne rot-silbern geschacht, hinten in Silber eine schwarze Urne mit Deckel.The municipality’s arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
might in English heraldic
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
language be described thus: Per bend chequy gules and argent and argent an urn with lid sable.
The “chequy” pattern on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side is a reference to the village’s former allegiance to the “Hinder” County of Sponheim
County of Sponheim
The County of Sponheim was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire which lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century...
, Oberamt of Birkenfeld, while the lidded urn on the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side stands for the find of such an artefact at a barrow within the municipality’s limits.
The arms have been borne since 7 December 1962.
Buildings
The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-PalatinateRhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
- Dorfstraße 9 – four-sided estate, begun in 1870; Quereinhaus (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street); stable wing and barn less old
- Im Eck 1 – corner estate, essentially 1650, commercial wing less old
- Near Im Eck 5 – cast-ironCast ironCast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
Gothic RevivalGothic Revival architectureThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
fountain, late 19th century - Im Eck 5 – former stately estate complex, 1862
Transport
To the west runs BundesstraßeBundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
41 and to the south lies the Autobahn A 62
Bundesautobahn 62
is an autobahn in southwestern Germany, connecting the A 1 with the A 6. It also connects numerous communities throughout the central Hunsrück mountains...
(Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
–Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
). Serving nearby Neubrücke
Hoppstädten-Weiersbach
Hoppstädten-Weiersbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
is a railway station on the Nahe Valley Railway (Bingen
Bingen am Rhein
Bingen am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.The settlement’s original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant “hole in the rock”, a description of the shoal behind the Mäuseturm, known as the Binger Loch. Bingen was the starting point for the...
–Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
).