Leiningen, Germany
Encyclopedia
Leiningen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district
) in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Emmelshausen
, whose seat is in the like-named town
.
(“Fore-Hunsrück”) roughly 15 km from the Rhine and the Moselle, and 30 km from Koblenz
. The direct interchange
onto the Autobahn A 61
affords a quick link to places to the north and south.
From here run a great many hiking
trails and a direct link to the Schinderhannes
-Radweg (cycle path); the outlying centre of Lamscheid lies right on this cycle path.
, not a castle or a palace.
were Leiningen’s lords in the Middle Ages
. Beginning in 1794, Leiningen lay under French
rule. In 1815 it was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia
at the Congress of Vienna
. Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly founded state
of Rhineland-Palatinate
.
The current municipality came into being on 7 June 1969 under the name Leiningen-Lamscheid and was a merger of two hitherto self-administering municipalities that had been dissolved, called Leiningen and Lamscheid. On 1 January 1981, however, the name was shortened to Leiningen.
– the name means “Sour Spring” or “Sour Well” – which had its first documentary mention in 1565. In 1780, this spring was set in stone as a token of thanks by Imperial Countess Marianne von der Leyen. About 1786, Sauerbrunnen was a spa centre and the water was sold abroad. By 1789, the well was falling into disrepair. In 1898, a housing was built to contain it, which was renovated in 1910, and on 11 June of that year, the spring was officially recognized as the Lamscheider Stahlbrunnen.
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 argent a fountain basin on a short pedestal sable issuant from which four streams of the same, two each falling into each of two two-handled jugs gules standing on each side of the basin, and azure a pale of the first aligned precisely with the pedestal.
The lower part of the escutcheon recalls the Counts of Leyen at Gondorf
, to whom Leiningen once belonged. The charge
s above the line of partition refer to the sour spring – Sauerbrunnen – which was well known even as far back as the 16th century for its good mineral water
. The jugs symbolize the former exportation of the springwater.
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
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 Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (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 Emmelshausen
Emmelshausen (Verbandsgemeinde)
Emmelshausen is a Verbandsgemeinde in the Rhein-Hunsrück district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Its seat is in Emmelshausen....
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Emmelshausen
Emmelshausen is a town in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde, to which it also belongs...
.
Location
The municipality lies in the heights of the VorderhunsrückHunsrück
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...
(“Fore-Hunsrück”) roughly 15 km from the Rhine and the Moselle, and 30 km from Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
. The direct interchange
Interchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
onto the Autobahn A 61
Bundesautobahn 61
is an autobahn in Germany that connects the border to the Netherlands near Venlo in the northwest to the interchange with A 6 near Hockenheim. In 1965, this required a re-design of the Hockenheimring....
affords a quick link to places to the north and south.
From here run a great many hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
trails and a direct link to the 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...
-Radweg (cycle path); the outlying centre of Lamscheid lies right on this cycle path.
Constituent communities
Leiningen’s Ortsteile besides the main centre, also called Leiningen, are Lamscheid, Sauerbrunnen and Schloß Reifenthal, which despite its name is actually a hamletHamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
, not a castle or a palace.
History
The Counts of Leyen at GondorfKobern-Gondorf
Kobern-Gondorf is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....
were Leiningen’s lords 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...
. Beginning in 1794, Leiningen lay under French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
rule. In 1815 it was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
at the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
. Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly founded state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of 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 ....
.
The current municipality came into being on 7 June 1969 under the name Leiningen-Lamscheid and was a merger of two hitherto self-administering municipalities that had been dissolved, called Leiningen and Lamscheid. On 1 January 1981, however, the name was shortened to Leiningen.
Sauerbrunnen
This village’s history is closely bound with its namesake mineral springSpring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
– the name means “Sour Spring” or “Sour Well” – which had its first documentary mention in 1565. In 1780, this spring was set in stone as a token of thanks by Imperial Countess Marianne von der Leyen. About 1786, Sauerbrunnen was a spa centre and the water was sold abroad. By 1789, the well was falling into disrepair. In 1898, a housing was built to contain it, which was renovated in 1910, and on 11 June of that year, the spring was officially recognized as the Lamscheider Stahlbrunnen.
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.
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Über erhöhtem blauem Schildfuß, darin ein silberner Pfahl, in Silber ein schwarzer Schalenbrunnen mit geteiltem schwarzen Wasserstrahl, begleitet rechts und links von einem roten Krug.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 argent a fountain basin on a short pedestal sable issuant from which four streams of the same, two each falling into each of two two-handled jugs gules standing on each side of the basin, and azure a pale of the first aligned precisely with the pedestal.
The lower part of the escutcheon recalls the Counts of Leyen at Gondorf
Kobern-Gondorf
Kobern-Gondorf is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....
, to whom Leiningen once belonged. 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...
s above the line of partition refer to the sour spring – Sauerbrunnen – which was well known even as far back as the 16th century for its good mineral water
Mineral water
Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...
. The jugs symbolize the former exportation of the springwater.
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:
Leiningen (main centre)
- Catholic Church of the Raising Aloft of Christ’s Cross (branch church; Filialkirche Kreuzerhöhung Christi), Kirchstraße – quire tower, late 13th or early 14th century, 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...
, possibly from before 1400; whole complex of buildings with graveyard - Hauptstraße 11 – estate complex along the street, timber framingTimber 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...
, partly slated, stable and barn, 19th century, old yard paving stones; whole complex of buildings - Marktplatz – Gothic RevivalGothic Revival architectureThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
hand-pumped 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...
well, RheinböllenRheinböllenRheinböllen is a town in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde, and also belongs to it.-Location:...
Ironworks, latter half of the 19th century
Sauerbrunnen
- Koblenzer Straße 8 – well housing; Baroque Revival plastered building, 1911, one-floor storage hall; whole complex of buildings