Quirnheim
Encyclopedia
Quirnheim is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
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...

. It lies in the northwest of the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration.

Location

The municipality lies in the Palatinate on a rise at the edge of the Haardt near the north end of the German Wine Route. Until 1969 it belonged to the now abolished district of Frankenthal. It has belonged to the Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land
Grünstadt-Land
Grünstadt-Land is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Bad Dürkheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the north-eastern edge of the Palatinate forest...

, whose seat is in Grünstadt
Grünstadt
Grünstadt is a town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with roughly 13,200 inhabitants. It does not belong to any Verbandsgemeinde – a kind of collective municipality – but is nonetheless the administrative seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Grünstadt-Land.- Location :The...

 (although that town is itself not in the Verbandsgemeinde) since it was formed in 1972.

Constituent communities

To the village belong the Ortsteile of Quirnheim-Tal and Boßweiler.

History

In May 771, Saint Mary’s and Saint Martin’s Church (Kirche St. Maria und St. Martin) had its first documentary mention. It is therefore said to be the district’s oldest church. The outlying centre of Boßweiler was mentioned as early as 767 in the Lorsch codex
Lorsch codex
The Lorsch Codex is an important historical document created between about 1175 to 1195 AD in the Monastery of Saint Nazarius in Lorsch, Germany. It consists of 460 pages in large format containing more than 3800 entries...

. In 1467, Quirnheim came to be under the ownership of the Counts of Leiningen-Westerburg. In the 17th century, Quirinus von Merz was enfeoffed with both places.

Religion

In 2007, 41.9% of the inhabitants were 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...

 and 32.6% Catholic. The rest belonged to other faiths or adhered to none.

Municipal council

The council is made up of 12 council members (as at municipal election held on 7 June 2009).

The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
2009 SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...

 
CDU  FWG
Free Voters
Free Voters is a German concept in which an association of persons participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it is a locally organized group of voters in the form of a registered association . In most cases, Free Voters are active only at the...

 
WG Würtz
Free Voters
Free Voters is a German concept in which an association of persons participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it is a locally organized group of voters in the form of a registered association . In most cases, Free Voters are active only at the...

 
Total
Seats 2 3 4 3 12

Coat of arms

The German blazon reads: In geteiltem und oben gespaltenem Schild, oben rechts wiederum gespalten, rechts von Silber und Blau dreizeilig geschachtet, links in Gold ein goldbekrönter halber schwarzer Adler am Spalt, oben links in Blau ein rotbewehrter und -bezungter silberner Löwe, unten in Silber ein blaues Hufeisen mit abwärts gekehrten Stollen.

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, in chief per pale, in dexter per pale chequy of six argent and azure and Or a demi-eagle reguardant sable couped at the partition, in sinister a lion rampant of the first armed and langued gules, in base argent a horseshoe of the second.

The arms were approved in 1926 by the Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior and go back to a court seal from 1674.

Regular events

  • Erbsenkerwe (“Pea Fair”), held in July
  • Dorfkerwe (“Village Fair”), held in the first week in October

Air sports

On one of the municipality’s hills is found the model aircraft
Model aircraft
Model aircraft are flying or non-flying models of existing or imaginary aircraft using a variety of materials including plastic, diecast metal, polystyrene, balsa wood, foam and fibreglass...

 site of the Luftfahrtvereins Grünstadt und Umgebung (“Grünstadt and Area Air Travel Club”).

Museum

On the lands of the former US Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 Nike-Hercules launcher area for C Btry 2nd/1st ADA
2nd Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment (United States)
The 2nd Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment is a battalion in the 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, a regiment in the United States Army, first formed in 1812.-Lineage:...

. is found a commercial area that houses, among other things, a motorcycle and technology museum run by unpaid workers. Right next to it are the airfield and the abandoned Nike-Hercules IFC (Integrated Fire Control) Area of C Btry 2nd/1st ADA
2nd Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment (United States)
The 2nd Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment is a battalion in the 1st Air Defense Artillery Regiment, a regiment in the United States Army, first formed in 1812.-Lineage:...

.

Famous people

The forebears of German resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...

 fighter against Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

 and 20 July plot co-conspirator Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim
Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim
Albrecht Ritter Mertz von Quirnheim was a German officer and a resistance fighter in Nazi Germany involved in the 20 July plot against Adolf Hitler.-Biography:...

were connected to the village.

External links

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