Esthal
Encyclopedia
Esthal is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim
district in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
.
, whose seat is in the like-named town
.
. The rest practised other faiths or none.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: Under a chief argent sable a cross pattée couped, the lower arm longer than the others, and in each end a roundle Or.
The arms were approved in 1954 by the Mainz Ministry of the Interior and they go back to a court seal from 1772.
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 Bad Dürkheim
Bad Dürkheim (district)
Bad Dürkheim is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Kaiserslautern, Donnersbergkreis and Alzey-Worms, the city of Worms, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, the city of Neustadt/Weinstraße, the districts of Südliche Weinstraße, the city of Landau , the district...
district 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...
.
Location
The municipality lies on a plateau in the Palatinate Forest. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of LambrechtLambrecht (Verbandsgemeinde)
Lambrecht is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Bad Dürkheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Lambrecht....
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Lambrecht
Lambrecht is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany lying roughly 6 km northwest of Neustadt an der Weinstraße. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde.- Location :...
.
Constituent communities
Esthal’s Ortsteile, or Annexen, as they are known, are Esthal, Breitenstein, Erfenstein and Sattelmühle.History
In 1380, Esthal had its first documentary mention as Estall. It was held until 1794 by the Lords of Erfenstein, whose seat was at the nearby castle.Religion
In 2007, 71% of the inhabitants were Catholic and 17% EvangelicalEvangelical 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...
. The rest practised other faiths or none.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
| SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
CDU | FWG | Total | |
| 2009 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 16 seats |
| 2004 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 16 seats |
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Unter silbernem Schildhaupt in Schwarz ein schwebendes kugelbesetztes goldenes Tatzenkreuz.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: Under a chief argent sable a cross pattée couped, the lower arm longer than the others, and in each end a roundle Or.
The arms were approved in 1954 by the Mainz Ministry of the Interior and they go back to a court seal from 1772.
Culture and sightseeing
- On the village’s outskirts is found Saint Mary’s Convent (Kloster St. Maria) of the Niederbronn Sisters, which was built in 1951-1959, and which functions as a provincial mother house. The building was planned by the architect Hebgen (Ludwigshafen), and the church was consecrated on 7 March 1959. Worth mentioning as an unusual piece of decoration is a cross, now found in the church’s chancel, that was acquired from a private owner in SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and that holds importance for art history. The greater part of the rest of the décor was newly created in 1986 by Josef Henger. - In the village centre stands the Catholic Saint Konrad’s Church (Kirche St. Konrad or sometimes Bruder-Konrad-Kirche) built in 1933 and 1934, whose nave joins onto the former BaroqueBaroque architectureBaroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
church (Saint Catherine’s, or St. Katharina). The church was built to plans by architects Schönwetter and Schaltenbrand (Neustadt), who in turn were influenced by Albert Boßlet. The consecration date is 23 September 1934. The windows and the chancel décor stem in the main from Günter Zeuner. In the Baroque part of the church is found a ClassicistClassicismClassicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
high altar by Bernhard Würschmitt from about 1825. - In the area around Esthal are several historic washing fountains.
- Within Esthal’s limits stands Erfenstein Castle (Burg Erfenstein), and across the dale, just inside Neustadt an der WeinstraßeNeustadt an der WeinstraßeNeustadt an der Weinstraße is a town located in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With 53,892 inhabitants as of 2002, it is the largest town called Neustadt.-Etymology:...
is Spangenberg Castle (Burg Spangenberg). - A further castle ruin is to be found in the outlying centre of Breitenstein.
- Near Erfenstein Castle’s ruins, in the like-named Ortsteil, the Kuckucksbähnel (“Little Cuckoo Railway”) makes a stop. This is a heritage railwayHeritage railwaythumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
running between Neustadt an der WeinstraßeNeustadt an der WeinstraßeNeustadt an der Weinstraße is a town located in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With 53,892 inhabitants as of 2002, it is the largest town called Neustadt.-Etymology:...
and ElmsteinElmsteinElmstein is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :Elmstein lies in the Palatinate Forest...
.
Sources
- Gemeinde Esthal (Hrsg.), Geschichte des Walddorfes Esthal, 1980
- Niederbronner Schwestern (Hrsg.), Provinz Pfalz 1951-2001, 2001