Langweiler, Birkenfeld
Encyclopedia
Langweiler 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
.
For its particularly attractive location with a view of the Wildenburg (a nearby castle
) and the Steinbachsee (a lake), the inhabitants sometimes call their municipality the Perle des Hochwalds (“Pearl of the High Forest”).
. The municipal area is 91.7% wooded. Langweiler’s elevation is some 530 m above sea level
.
times. When the children’s home was being built in 1921, workers happened upon two cist
s, one of which had a wall around it. Among other grave goods
was a coin from Emperor Antoninus Pius
’s time (ruled AD 138-161). Furthermore, near the village stand three ruins from Roman times or somewhat later. These are called die Schanze am Schneidberg (“the redoubt on the Schneidberg”), das alte Schloß (“the old palatial castle”) and das Franzosenlager (“the Frenchman’s camp” or “lair”).
In 1037, Langweiler had its first documentary mention as Habschied. In 1237, the name lange willere cropped up for the first time in official deeds, and the form langewillre appeared in 1279. In feudal
times the village belonged to the Amt of Allenbach in the “Hinder” County of Sponheim
. The village arose in the Habschied wooded district, which is why names for the village such as Habscheid, Habescheid or Habschied sometimes also crop up in old documents. The name was still in use as late as 1730.
In the Middle Ages
, the village’s field area was made up of five Hufen (roughly “oxgang
s”), which were held by five farmers under a Schultheiß
. The five Hufen were subject to payment of the Besthaupt (“best head”, that is, best head of cattle) from a serf’s estate upon his death to the lord. This levy was later changed to a payment in money, namely 10 Gulden
to the Kellerei (feudal administration) of the Amt in Allenbach
. There must however also have been at least one Waldgravial
subject in the village. In 1515, this was a man named Vix Henne; he had to pay two capon
s yearly to the Amt of Wildenburg. The Counts of Sponheim
, though, exercised both high
and low jurisdiction.
The dwellers of the forest region must either not have particularly liked living there and moved elsewhere, or have been compelled by sickness or other misfortune to leave their homes. This might explain the disappearance of Balsbach near Kempfeld
, for instance. Nevertheless, when the Thirty Years' War
laid waste to so many villages, people once again fled back into the forests. In this time, scattered soldiers and refugees in the Idar Forest
supposedly built themselves cabins near Langweiler, Hüttgeswasen and Tranenweier, among other places, and eked out their livelihoods as lumberjacks, charcoal
makers, basket weavers and so on. Thus arose the new Langweiler.
In census
es between 1607 and 1699, Langweiler was listed as having no inhabitants, but by 1772, there were once again 13 families who were Sponheim subjects. As subjects who were bound by oath to the Counts of Sponheim, they had free use of the Habschied woods for however many beech
nuts they needed for their household swine.
The children’s home mentioned above was built by the town of Oberhausen and used as a convalescent home for the town’s children. After the Second World War, the house changed hands and now belongs to a Catholic women’s order, which runs it as a home for the elderly and an orphanage
.
After the Second World War, the village was part of the municipality of Wirschweiler
, whose council decided in 1965 to abolish the arrangement and split the double municipality into two. The decision was overturned in the course of administrative restructuring in Rhineland-Palatinate
in 1969, but then Langweiler was amalgamated with another municipality, Sensweiler
. On 1 January 1992, Langweiler finally became a separate, self-administering municipality.
Because Langweiler is mainly Catholic, it has been given its own parish.
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: Quarterly, first and fourth chequy of nine gules and argent, second Or a baptismal font ensigned with a cross sable and third Or a charcoal kiln with fire and smoke proper.
The German blazon speaks of a “narrow, white cross” separating the arms into its “quarterly” division, but this is not in evidence in any execution of the arms available on the Internet
, including the one on the municipality’s own website. The writer has also reverses left and right in the blazon, for these are always told from the armsbearer’s point of view in heraldry, never the viewer’s.
The two “chequy” fields are a reference to the village’s former allegiance to the “Hinder” County of Sponheim
. The charge
in dexter base, the cutaway view of a charcoal kiln, refers to Langweiler’s more recent history after the Thirty Years' War
; Langweiler was then said to be the village of charcoal makers and lumberjacks. The charge in sinister chief is an old baptismal font, named in the German blazon simply as a Gefäß (“vessel”). This once stood in the local church, and is about 150 cm tall. It can now be found standing in the local graveyard.
During restoration work on the Haus Marienhöh, an old armorial stone was found in the main building’s outer wall. The arms shown thereon have the same arrangement of two chequy fields as the municipal arms.
The arms were designed by Michael Franz from Herrstein
.
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
A further site worth seeing is the restored Marienhöh Monastery, which nowadays houses a four-star hotel
.
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 Herrstein
Herrstein (Verbandsgemeinde)
Herrstein is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Birkenfeld, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Herrstein....
, whose seat is in the like-named municipality
Herrstein
Herrstein is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
.
For its particularly attractive location with a view of the Wildenburg (a nearby castle
Castle
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...
) and the Steinbachsee (a lake), the inhabitants sometimes call their municipality the Perle des Hochwalds (“Pearl of the High Forest”).
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...
. The municipal area is 91.7% wooded. Langweiler’s elevation is some 530 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...
.
Constituent communities
Also belonging to Langweiler is the outlying homestead of Forsthaus Langweiler.History
The area that is now Langweiler must already have been settled in RomanAncient 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....
times. When the children’s home was being built in 1921, workers happened upon two cist
Cist
A cist from ) is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East....
s, one of which had a wall around it. Among other grave goods
Grave goods
Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body.They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods are a type of votive deposit...
was a coin from Emperor Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius , also known as Antoninus, was Roman Emperor from 138 to 161. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii. He did not possess the sobriquet "Pius" until after his accession to the throne...
’s time (ruled AD 138-161). Furthermore, near the village stand three ruins from Roman times or somewhat later. These are called die Schanze am Schneidberg (“the redoubt on the Schneidberg”), das alte Schloß (“the old palatial castle”) and das Franzosenlager (“the Frenchman’s camp” or “lair”).
In 1037, Langweiler had its first documentary mention as Habschied. In 1237, the name lange willere cropped up for the first time in official deeds, and the form langewillre appeared in 1279. In feudal
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
times the village belonged to the Amt of Allenbach in 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...
. The village arose in the Habschied wooded district, which is why names for the village such as Habscheid, Habescheid or Habschied sometimes also crop up in old documents. The name was still in use as late as 1730.
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 village’s field area was made up of five Hufen (roughly “oxgang
Oxgang
An oxgang or bovate is an old land measurement formerly used in Scotland and England. It averaged around 20 English acres, but was based on land fertility and cultivation, and so could be as low as 15.Skene in Celtic Scotland says:...
s”), which were held by five farmers under a Schultheiß
Schultheiß
In medieval Germany, the Schultheiß was the head of a municipality , a Vogt or an executive official of the ruler.As official it was...
. The five Hufen were subject to payment of the Besthaupt (“best head”, that is, best head of cattle) from a serf’s estate upon his death to the lord. This levy was later changed to a payment in money, namely 10 Gulden
Gulden
Gulden is the historical German term for gold coin Gulden is the historical German term for gold coin Gulden is the historical German term for gold coin (from Middle High German guldin [pfenni(n)c] "golden penny", equivalent to the Dutch term guilder...
to the Kellerei (feudal administration) of the Amt in Allenbach
Allenbach
Allenbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
. There must however also have been at least one Waldgravial
Waldgrave
The noble family of the Waldgraves or Wildgraves descended of a division of the House of the Counts of Nahegau in the year 1113....
subject in the village. In 1515, this was a man named Vix Henne; he had to pay two capon
Capon
A capon is a rooster that has been castrated to improve the quality of its flesh for food.-History:The Romans are credited with inventing the capon. The Lex Faunia of 162 BC forbade fattening hens in order to conserve grain rations. In order to get around this the Romans castrated roosters, which...
s yearly to the Amt of Wildenburg. 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...
, though, exercised both high
Blood court
Blood Court or high justice in the Holy Roman Empire referred to the right of a Vogt to hold a criminal court inflicting bodily punishment, including the death penalty.Not every Vogt held the blood court...
and low jurisdiction.
The dwellers of the forest region must either not have particularly liked living there and moved elsewhere, or have been compelled by sickness or other misfortune to leave their homes. This might explain the disappearance of Balsbach near Kempfeld
Kempfeld
Kempfeld is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, for instance. Nevertheless, when the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
laid waste to so many villages, people once again fled back into the forests. In this time, scattered soldiers and refugees in 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 :...
supposedly built themselves cabins near Langweiler, Hüttgeswasen and Tranenweier, among other places, and eked out their livelihoods as lumberjacks, charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
makers, basket weavers and so on. Thus arose the new Langweiler.
In census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
es between 1607 and 1699, Langweiler was listed as having no inhabitants, but by 1772, there were once again 13 families who were Sponheim subjects. As subjects who were bound by oath to the Counts of Sponheim, they had free use of the Habschied woods for however many beech
Beech
Beech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
nuts they needed for their household swine.
The children’s home mentioned above was built by the town of Oberhausen and used as a convalescent home for the town’s children. After the Second World War, the house changed hands and now belongs to a Catholic women’s order, which runs it as a home for the elderly and an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
.
After the Second World War, the village was part of the municipality of Wirschweiler
Wirschweiler
Wirschweiler is a municipality in the district of Birkenfeld, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany....
, whose council decided in 1965 to abolish the arrangement and split the double municipality into two. The decision was overturned in the course of administrative restructuring 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 ....
in 1969, but then Langweiler was amalgamated with another municipality, Sensweiler
Sensweiler
Sensweiler 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.- Geographie :Sensweiler...
. On 1 January 1992, Langweiler finally became a separate, self-administering municipality.
Because Langweiler is mainly Catholic, it has been given its own parish.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 6 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.
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Schild, durch ein schmales, weißes Kreuz in vier Flächen aufgeteilt. Das linke-obere, sowie das rechte-untere Viertel sind rot-silber geschachtelt. Im oberen-rechten Viertel ist auf goldenem Grund ein schwarzes Gefäß, im unteren-linken ein brennender Kohlenmeiler auf goldenem Grund dargestellt.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: Quarterly, first and fourth chequy of nine gules and argent, second Or a baptismal font ensigned with a cross sable and third Or a charcoal kiln with fire and smoke proper.
The German blazon speaks of a “narrow, white cross” separating the arms into its “quarterly” division, but this is not in evidence in any execution of the arms available on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, including the one on the municipality’s own website. The writer has also reverses left and right in the blazon, for these are always told from the armsbearer’s point of view in heraldry, never the viewer’s.
The two “chequy” fields are 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...
. The charge
Charge (heraldry)
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...
in dexter base, the cutaway view of a charcoal kiln, refers to Langweiler’s more recent history after the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
; Langweiler was then said to be the village of charcoal makers and lumberjacks. The charge in sinister chief is an old baptismal font, named in the German blazon simply as a Gefäß (“vessel”). This once stood in the local church, and is about 150 cm tall. It can now be found standing in the local graveyard.
During restoration work on the Haus Marienhöh, an old armorial stone was found in the main building’s outer wall. The arms shown thereon have the same arrangement of two chequy fields as the municipal arms.
The arms were designed by Michael Franz from Herrstein
Herrstein
Herrstein is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
.
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:
- Saint Nicetius’sNicetiusSaint Nicetius was a bishop of Trier, born in the latter part of the fifth century, exact date unknown; died in 563 or more probably 566....
Catholic Parish Church (Pfarrkirche St. Nicetius), Roter Weg – aisleless churchAisleless churchAn Aisleless church is a single-nave church building that consists of a single hall-like room. While similar to the hall church, the aisleless church lacks aisles or passageways either side of the nave separated from the nave by colonnades or arcades, a row of pillars or columns...
with ridge turretRidge turretA ridge turret is a turret build on the peak of a roof....
, 1856 - Warriors’ memorial, northwest of the village – terraces, stairway, small 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,...
, 1921-1931, design by Pastor Nikolaus Philipp
A further site worth seeing is the restored Marienhöh Monastery, which nowadays houses a four-star hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
.