Herrstein
Encyclopedia
Herrstein is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld
district
in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde
south of the Idar Forest
on the Deutsche Edelsteinstraße (“German Gem Road”) in the Naheland, roughly 10 km north of Idar-Oberstein
. The Fischbach flows through the village.
to watch over the lordly holdings near Niederwörresbach
, from which Herrstein was at first administered. At the foot of this stronghold on the so-called Herren-Stein (“Lord’s Stone”) arose a village, as so often happened when a castle was built in the Middle Ages
. The castle and the village belonged then to the Counts of Sponheim
, and Herrstein grew in importance as the seat of a Sponheim Oberamtmann
The exact time when the village was first settled is lost in the mists of history, but on 9 April 1279, Herrstein had its first documentary mention along with a knight named Ruther von Heresteyn. The Count of Sponheim eventually granted this slowly developing village town and market rights in 1428, although there was still sometimes compulsory labour, and the townsmen were also obliged to do maintenance on the town wall.
It is unknown whether these town fortifications arose before town rights were granted or only afterwards, but whatever the case, they only afforded the inhabitants protection from attack, and thereby also only offered any incentive to settle here, until firearm
s were developed. In the 17th and 18th centuries, they had rather the opposite effect to the originally intended one, provoking enemies’ attacks instead, for it was believed that the town must harbour considerable booty. It was the Herrsteiners themselves who actually knocked parts of their girding wall down in 1674 when the enemy was making his way through the country.
Whether the wall was ever reconstructed and whether the second town gate planned in 1710 was ever built are things that are uncertain. What is known is that as early as the earlier half of the 18th century, the first house outside the town wall was built. Until that time, the only buildings there had been barns and buildings that had needed to be on the Fischbach, namely tanneries
and mill
s.
In 1792, during the French Revolutionary Wars
and Napoleonic times, Herrstein lost its town rights. However, Herrstein has kept its function as an administrative centre of one kind or another until the present day; it is currently the Verbandsgemeinde seat.
The Schinderhannesturm, a tower in Herrstein, gets its name from Schinderhannes
(Johannes Bückler), Germany’s most famous robber, who was locked up there for one night in 1798.
Further growth in the 18th and 19th centuries was largely thwarted by the municipality’s failure to undergo population growth as so many places did at this time. The only expansion in the 19th century was a new “ring road” outside the old town wall, which allowed some new houses to be built right onto the outside of the wall.
The legacy of this time of meagre growth, however, had an unexpected advantage: nowhere else in the Nahe-Hunsrück area was there a mediaeval town that was so well preserved. Restoration on the old village centre began in 1971, including partial reconstruction of the town wall, most of which had been torn down to give the village growth room, and the result has been the driving force behind the village’s tourism
industry. Timber-frame
houses that had had their framing plastered over or even covered with asbestos
slabs were stripped to reveal their structure.
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 fess abased an endorse argent between chequy azure and Or and chequy gules and argent, and argent issuant from base a mount of three of the second.
The two “chequy” fields in the arms are a reference to the village’s former allegiance to the County of Sponheim
. The composition is said to have been drawn from that in a court seal from the mid 17th century.
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
At the so-called Hankelbrunnen, a fountain in Herrstein, the adult figure represents the Hankel. That the Hankel was often exposed to the chaffing of his surrounding area is symbolized by the boy, who is squirting him with water. The figures were created by the artist Hans-Ulrich Pauly (Veitsrodt
) after an idea by mayor Wolfgang Hey, and poured in 1983 by the Glocken- und Kunstgießerei Rincker, a foundry in Sinn that makes bell
s and artistic objects.
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 is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde
Herrstein (Verbandsgemeinde)
Herrstein is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Birkenfeld, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Herrstein....
Location
The municipality lies in 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...
south of the Idar Forest
Idar Forest
The Idar Forest is part of the Hunsrück low mountain range in the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Geography :...
on the Deutsche Edelsteinstraße (“German Gem Road”) in the Naheland, roughly 10 km north of Idar-Oberstein
Idar-Oberstein
Idar-Oberstein is a town in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. As a Große kreisangehörige Stadt , it assumes some of the responsibilities that for smaller municipalities in the district are assumed by the district administration...
. The Fischbach flows through the village.
Constituent communities
Also belonging to Herrstein are the outlying homesteads of Lindenhof, Steinäckerhof and Walkmühle.History
Herrstein owes its beginnings to the crags at which a little stream called the Dietersbach emptied into the Fischbach, which seemed like a good place to build a castleCastle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
to watch over the lordly holdings near Niederwörresbach
Niederwörresbach
Niederwörresbach 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 Herrstein, whose seat is in the like-named municipality.Niederwörresbach was...
, from which Herrstein was at first administered. At the foot of this stronghold on the so-called Herren-Stein (“Lord’s Stone”) arose a village, as so often happened when a castle was built in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. The castle and the village belonged then to the Counts 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...
, and Herrstein grew in importance as the seat of a Sponheim Oberamtmann
Amtmann
Amtmann can be :*a feudal, administrative and/or gubernatorial title, such as Bezirksamtmann . Amtmann, ammann and amman were a kind of bailiff in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and in Brussels....
The exact time when the village was first settled is lost in the mists of history, but on 9 April 1279, Herrstein had its first documentary mention along with a knight named Ruther von Heresteyn. The Count of Sponheim eventually granted this slowly developing village town and market rights in 1428, although there was still sometimes compulsory labour, and the townsmen were also obliged to do maintenance on the town wall.
It is unknown whether these town fortifications arose before town rights were granted or only afterwards, but whatever the case, they only afforded the inhabitants protection from attack, and thereby also only offered any incentive to settle here, until firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s were developed. In the 17th and 18th centuries, they had rather the opposite effect to the originally intended one, provoking enemies’ attacks instead, for it was believed that the town must harbour considerable booty. It was the Herrsteiners themselves who actually knocked parts of their girding wall down in 1674 when the enemy was making his way through the country.
Whether the wall was ever reconstructed and whether the second town gate planned in 1710 was ever built are things that are uncertain. What is known is that as early as the earlier half of the 18th century, the first house outside the town wall was built. Until that time, the only buildings there had been barns and buildings that had needed to be on the Fischbach, namely tanneries
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
and mill
Mill
Mill may refer to:* Mill , an equipment for the grinding or pulverizing of grain and other raw materials using millstones* Milling machine, metalworking machine that operates by rotating a cutting bit while the workpiece is moved against the cutter on an XY table.* Mill ** Arithmetic logic unit,...
s.
In 1792, during the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and Napoleonic times, Herrstein lost its town rights. However, Herrstein has kept its function as an administrative centre of one kind or another until the present day; it is currently the Verbandsgemeinde seat.
The Schinderhannesturm, a tower in Herrstein, gets its name from Schinderhannes
Schinderhannes
Johannes Bückler , nicknamed Schinderhannes, was a German outlaw who orchestrated one of the most fascinating crime sprees in German history. He was born at Miehlen, the son of Johann and Anna Maria Bückler. He began an apprenticeship to a tanner, but turned to petty theft. At 16 he was arrested...
(Johannes Bückler), Germany’s most famous robber, who was locked up there for one night in 1798.
Further growth in the 18th and 19th centuries was largely thwarted by the municipality’s failure to undergo population growth as so many places did at this time. The only expansion in the 19th century was a new “ring road” outside the old town wall, which allowed some new houses to be built right onto the outside of the wall.
The legacy of this time of meagre growth, however, had an unexpected advantage: nowhere else in the Nahe-Hunsrück area was there a mediaeval town that was so well preserved. Restoration on the old village centre began in 1971, including partial reconstruction of the town wall, most of which had been torn down to give the village growth room, and the result has been the driving force behind the village’s tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
industry. Timber-frame
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
houses that had had their framing plastered over or even covered with asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
slabs were stripped to reveal their structure.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 12 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
Herrstein’s mayor is Reiner Schäfer, and his deputies are Eberhard Weber and Bernd Ackermann.Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Über silbernem Schildfuß, darin ein blauer Dreiberg, von silbernem Faden gespalten, vorn blau-goldenes Schach, hinten rot-silbernes Schach.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 fess abased an endorse argent between chequy azure and Or and chequy gules and argent, and argent issuant from base a mount of three of the second.
The two “chequy” fields in the arms are a reference to the village’s former allegiance to the 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...
. The composition is said to have been drawn from that in a court seal from the mid 17th century.
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:
- Castle Herrstein, on the north side of the town settlement (monumental zone) – built in the latter half of the 13th century by the Counts of Sponheim; upper castle: fortress-type originally with four towers at the ringwall’s corners, three of which are preserved: Schinderhannesturm (“SchinderhannesSchinderhannesJohannes Bückler , nicknamed Schinderhannes, was a German outlaw who orchestrated one of the most fascinating crime sprees in German history. He was born at Miehlen, the son of Johann and Anna Maria Bückler. He began an apprenticeship to a tanner, but turned to petty theft. At 16 he was arrested...
Tower”), Stumpfer Turm (“Blunt Tower” or “Stubby Tower”; keepKeepA keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
, today a churchtower), Sichelturm (“Sickle Tower”); former castle chapelChapelA chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
since the 15th century a parish church; on the site of the bailey so-called Schloss (palatial castle) built in 1742 (Schlossweg 12) - EvangelicalEvangelical Church in GermanyThe 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...
parish church Schlosskirche, Schloßweg 14 – single-naved building, partly GothicGothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
, partly 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...
; quire arch and east part of the south wall possibly from the late 13th century, five-eighths quire 1416, nave expanded in 1437 (dendrochronologicallyDendrochronologyDendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year...
dated), west wall marked 1766; memorial stones from the 17th century - Village centre, Hauptstraße, Niederhosenbacher Weg, Pfarrgasse, Schlossweg, Uhrturmgasse (monumental zone) – late mediaevalLate Middle AgesThe Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....
town settlement that arose in connection with the lordly castle within the town walls, houses with eaves facing the street in tight rows, partly going back to the 16th century, many timber-frameTimber framingTimber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
buildings - Town fortifications – built beginning with the granting of town rights in 1428, abandoned in 1677, partly reconstructed in the late 20th century; Schinderhannesturm, Oberpforte (“Upper Gate”; 1711), Uhrturm (“Clocktower”), Sichelturm, parts preserved at Pfarrgasse 5, Uhrturmgasse 3, 4, 6, 8, Schlossweg 3, 5, 6, 10, 13
- Bachweg – two-arch sandstoneSandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
quarrystone bridge over the Fischbach - Hauptstraße 30 – former Bürgermeisterei (mayoral house); plastered building on a high melaphyr pedestal, hipped mansard roofMansard roofA mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
, 1915; characterizes village’s appearance - Hauptstraße 44 – three-floor corner house, partly timber-frame, 1712; characterizes village’s appearance
- Hauptstraße 45 – timber-frame row house, in the back two-floor wooden gallery, 1716
- Hauptstraße 46 – so-called Französische Schule (“French School”); Late 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...
building with hipped roof, 1854; characterizes village’s appearance - Hauptstraße 47 – timber-frame row house, in the back two-floor wooden gallery; 1716
- Hauptstraße 48 – house, partly timber-frame, 1715
- Hauptstraße 75 – Alte Schule (“Old School”); building with forms of Oldenburg Classicism, about 1840
- Niederhosenbacher Weg 12 – timber-frame house with commercial wing in the back, 1829; brick building inbetween about 1900
- Pfarrgasse 2 – house, partly timber-frame, 1680
- Pfarrgasse 5 – timber-frame barn with mansard roof, 1795; characterizes village’s appearance
- Pfarrgasse 6 – house, partly timber-frame, partly slated, about 1595, conversion in the earlier half of the 19th century
- Pfarrgasse 7 – timber-frame house, about 1890, ground floor and gable use some pieces of wood from 1589
- Pfarrgasse 9 – rectory; two- or three-floor solid building, partly timber-frame (slated), 1716
- Schloßweg 1 – stately corner house, partly timber-frame, in the back wooden gallery, hipped mansard roof, marked 1801
- Schloßweg 2 – wood-shingled house, 1743
- Schloßweg 3 – timber-frame house, marked 1710
- Schloßweg 4 – three-side estate, partly timber-frame, in the inner yard surrounding wooden gallery, 1715
- Schloßweg 6 – stately timber-frame house, 1709/1710
- Schloßweg 11 – scattered estate; house, wooden gallery, marked 1855
- Schloßweg 12 – so-called Schloss (palatial castle); building with mansard roof above two vaulted cellars, 1741; terraced gardens
- Before Schloßweg 12 – warriors’ memorial for the victims of the First World War, stele with relief, design by Wilhelm Heilig, 1922
- Schloßweg 13 – former tithe barn, building with half-hipped roof, marked 1526
- Schloßweg 17 – house, partly timber-frame, 1692
- Schloßweg 18 – parallel estate, buildings with half-hipped roofs, partly timber-frame, partly slated, 1784
- Schloßweg 22 – former commercial building, partly timber-frame, mansard roof, marked 1816, essentially possibly older
- Schloßweg 24 – former innINNInterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
, partly timber-frame, hipped mansard roof, 1723, spire lightSpire lightSpire light , the term given to the windows in a spire which are found in all periods of English Gothic architecture, and in French spires form a very important feature in the composition....
from the 19th century; characterizes street’s appearance - Uhrturmgasse – Uhrturm (“Clocktower”); three-floor Late Gothic gatetower, hipped roof, 1449 (dendrochronologically dated); Marienglocke (“Mary’sMary (mother of Jesus)Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
Bell”) from time of building - Uhrturmgasse 3 – former house with stable on ground floor, timber-frame building, 1575; in the back commercial buildings, about 1775
- Uhrturmgasse 4 – corner house, partly timber-frame, 1698
- Uhrturmgasse 8 – house, partly timber-frame, partly slated, 1740; characterizes street’s appearance
- Uhrturmgasse 9 – house, partly timber-frame, 1478
- Uhrturmgasse 10 – barn, partly timber-frame, marked 1747; characterizes street’s appearance
- Uhrturmgasse 11 – house, partly timber-frame (plastered), in the back wooden gallery, mansard roof, after 1840
- Uhrturmgasse 12 – corner house, partly timber-frame, 1712
- Uhrturmgasse 14 – house, partly timber-frame (plastered), marked 1547
- Uhrturmgasse 16 – timber-frame corner house, partly solid, 1682; escutcheon in relief “Zur Krone”, 1844
Inhabitants’ nickname
Hankel is a word that has been used as a nickname for Herrstein’s inhabitants. It arose from the once locally common hyphenated forename “Johann-Karl”, which was elided to “Hann-Karl”, and then eventually to “Hankel”. Among the Hankels themselves, the term seems to mean a self-assured and usually also somewhat bigheaded member of the landed bourgeoisie. In the surrounding villages, though, the perception of the term rather differs.At the so-called Hankelbrunnen, a fountain in Herrstein, the adult figure represents the Hankel. That the Hankel was often exposed to the chaffing of his surrounding area is symbolized by the boy, who is squirting him with water. The figures were created by the artist Hans-Ulrich Pauly (Veitsrodt
Veitsrodt
Veitsrodt is a municipality in the district of Birkenfeld, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany....
) after an idea by mayor Wolfgang Hey, and poured in 1983 by the Glocken- und Kunstgießerei Rincker, a foundry in Sinn that makes bell
Bell
-Sound and music:* Bell , a percussion instrument, usually cup-shaped* Bell * Bell cymbal* Bell effect, a musical technique* Bell Orchestre, a six-piece instrumental band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
s and artistic objects.
Regular events
- Handwerkermarkt (Craftsmen’s Market), second weekend in September
- Martinimarkt (Saint Martin’s Market), first weekend in November
Famous people
- Count Heinrich II of Sponheim, the Younger (b. between 1292 and 1295; d. before 11 October 1323), Loretta’s husband, lived at Castle Herrstein
- Loretta of Sponheim (b. 1300; d. 1346), Count Heinrich II’s wife, lived at Castle Herrstein