Rimsberg
Encyclopedia
Rimsberg 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 Birkenfeld
, whose seat is in the like-named town
.
, and to the southeast, Nohen
.
, only one family was left. The houses were deserted and bare, plundered by Spanish
troops, and the fields, too, were bare, for nobody was there to work them now. From 1665 to 1792, the village’s name was Reinsberg, and until the late 18th century, it belonged to the “Hinder” County of Sponheim
. After this, the village was under French
rule until 1830. At this time, Rimsberg was called Rimsbach.
It was during the time of French rule that the notorious outlaw Johannes Bückler (1777–1803), commonly known as Schinderhannes
, brought fear and dread to this part of Germany. Merchants with freight carts were ambushed in the woods by Schinderhannes’s band of robbers and had everything stolen. In the end, though, Schinderhannes, together with his band, were caught, and in 1803 they were beheaded
in Mainz
by the French.
In 1835, the school
was built. Shortly thereafter a fountain was installed in the garden and the school was given a bell. It was also about this time that a graveyard was laid out, which ended the practice of Rimsberg burying its dead in Nohen. Before the school was built, classes were taught at people’s houses. According to the school chronicle, classes were taught at the school building from 1796 to 1966, when the school was closed. It has since become a community centre.
From 1750 to 1865, many families from Rimsberg emigrated
. Two brothers with the surname Nagel went to Brazil
to try their luck in 1835 after the agate
pits began to become depleted. In 1865, a widow named Roth left for the United States
in 1865 with her five children. Other families went to Hungary
, Romania
and Algeria
.
On 31 July 1896, Rimsberg was struck by a heavy storm whose hail
wiped the local farmers’ crops right out. Some houses lost their roofs, too. By contrast, the summers of 1911 and 1921 were so dry that there was a dearth of livestock fodder.
Many young men from Rimsberg lost their lives in France and Russia
in the First World War. Much the same befell the village in the Second World War. Those from Rimsberg who fell or went missing
now have their names on a memorial plaque at the old school.
Rimsberg was long a purely agricultural
village. After 1945 only four farming families were left, all of whom worked the land as a secondary occupation. Until 1950, it was still done the time-honoured way, with ox
en, cows
and horse
s. Only then was work eased somewhat by tractor
s and threshing machine
s. In 1964, the village’s first combine harvester
was brought into service.
In 1959, farming began on a rapid decline until in 2000, there were only four families who still worked the land. Some of the forsaken farmland, however, has been sold or let to those who still earn their livelihoods in agriculture.
In 1931 and 1932, Rimsberg’s watermain was completed, having been dug by hand. A smith from Birkenfeld named Weirich had set up a field smithy at the works to sharpen pickaxe
s and chisel
s. The field smithy was constantly at work with workers bringing their blunted tools to be sharpened. When the workers came up against particularly big or hard rocks, an explosives expert from Saarbrücken
was standing by specially. The waterpipes themselves were sealed using pieces of tar
and molten lead
.
Upon the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, men from the Wehrmacht
were stationed in Rimsberg. The winter that year was also bitterly cold. One night there came a loud bang as the water pressure canister at the pumphouse flew through the pumphouse roof, landing 15 m away from the pumphouse in the bushes on Bornwieserweg. The pressure had apparently built up to dangerous levels. For a week, Rimsbergers were forced to return to their old well while the Wehrmacht officer in the village saw to it that the piece of equipment in question was repaired and set back in its former place.
In the 1960s, the volunteer fire brigade was founded. At first, it was rather primitively equipped, with a small, portable pumping unit, although eventually a fire engine
with modern firefighting equipment was acquired, necessitating an expansion of fire station facilities. In 1970, the old pond was dredged and equipped to be a fire pond. The local fire brigade has won many prizes at contests within the Birkenfeld district for its speediness.
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 bend vert an armring with a gap Or pointing into which a lancehead bendwise argent, and chequy gules and argent.
The arms have been borne since 1965.
41, which to the south leads to the Autobahn A 62
(Kaiserslautern
–Trier
). Serving nearby Nohen
is a railway station on the Nahe Valley Railway (Bingen
–Saarbrücken
).
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 Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld (Verbandsgemeinde)
Birkenfeld is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Birkenfeld, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Birkenfeld....
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Birkenfeld
Birkenfeld is a town and the district seat of the Birkenfeld district in southwest Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde.-Location:...
.
Location
The municipality lies northwest of the district seat of Birkenfeld. To the north lies SchmißbergSchmißberg
Schmißberg is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, and to the southeast, Nohen
Nohen
Nohen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
.
Constituent communities
Also belonging to Rimsberg are the outlying centre of Vogelsbüsch and the outlying homestead of Lindenhof.History
In 1269, Rimsberg had its first documentary mention in the “Schwarzenburg Document”. Its name was Rummersberg then, and later Rymsberg. In the years after 1465, there were 15 families living in Rimsberg, but after the Thirty Years' WarThirty 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....
, only one family was left. The houses were deserted and bare, plundered by Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
troops, and the fields, too, were bare, for nobody was there to work them now. From 1665 to 1792, the village’s name was Reinsberg, and until the late 18th century, it belonged 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...
. After this, the village was 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 until 1830. At this time, Rimsberg was called Rimsbach.
It was during the time of French rule that the notorious outlaw Johannes Bückler (1777–1803), commonly known as 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...
, brought fear and dread to this part of Germany. Merchants with freight carts were ambushed in the woods by Schinderhannes’s band of robbers and had everything stolen. In the end, though, Schinderhannes, together with his band, were caught, and in 1803 they were beheaded
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
in Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
by the French.
In 1835, the school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
was built. Shortly thereafter a fountain was installed in the garden and the school was given a bell. It was also about this time that a graveyard was laid out, which ended the practice of Rimsberg burying its dead in Nohen. Before the school was built, classes were taught at people’s houses. According to the school chronicle, classes were taught at the school building from 1796 to 1966, when the school was closed. It has since become a community centre.
From 1750 to 1865, many families from Rimsberg emigrated
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
. Two brothers with the surname Nagel went to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
to try their luck in 1835 after the agate
Agate
Agate is a microcrystalline variety of silica, chiefly chalcedony, characterised by its fineness of grain and brightness of color. Although agates may be found in various kinds of rock, they are classically associated with volcanic rocks and can be common in certain metamorphic rocks.-Etymology...
pits began to become depleted. In 1865, a widow named Roth left for the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1865 with her five children. Other families went to Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
.
On 31 July 1896, Rimsberg was struck by a heavy storm whose hail
Hail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...
wiped the local farmers’ crops right out. Some houses lost their roofs, too. By contrast, the summers of 1911 and 1921 were so dry that there was a dearth of livestock fodder.
Many young men from Rimsberg lost their lives in France and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in the First World War. Much the same befell the village in the Second World War. Those from Rimsberg who fell or went missing
Missing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
now have their names on a memorial plaque at the old school.
Rimsberg was long a purely agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
village. After 1945 only four farming families were left, all of whom worked the land as a secondary occupation. Until 1950, it was still done the time-honoured way, with ox
Ox
An ox , also known as a bullock in Australia, New Zealand and India, is a bovine trained as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration makes the animals more tractable...
en, cows
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
and horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s. Only then was work eased somewhat by tractor
Tractor
A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
s and threshing machine
Threshing machine
The thrashing machine, or, in modern spelling, threshing machine , was a machine first invented by Scottish mechanical engineer Andrew Meikle for use in agriculture. It was invented for the separation of grain from stalks and husks. For thousands of years, grain was separated by hand with flails,...
s. In 1964, the village’s first combine harvester
Combine harvester
The combine harvester, or simply combine, is a machine that harvests grain crops. The name derives from the fact that it combines three separate operations, reaping, threshing, and winnowing, into a single process. Among the crops harvested with a combine are wheat, oats, rye, barley, corn ,...
was brought into service.
In 1959, farming began on a rapid decline until in 2000, there were only four families who still worked the land. Some of the forsaken farmland, however, has been sold or let to those who still earn their livelihoods in agriculture.
In 1931 and 1932, Rimsberg’s watermain was completed, having been dug by hand. A smith from Birkenfeld named Weirich had set up a field smithy at the works to sharpen pickaxe
Pickaxe
A pickaxe or pick is a hand tool with a hard head attached perpendicular to the handle.Some people make the distinction that a pickaxe has a head with a pointed end and a flat end, and a pick has both ends pointed, or only one end; but most people use the words to mean the same thing.The head is...
s and chisel
Chisel
A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal. The handle and blade of some types of chisel are made of metal or wood with a sharp edge in it.In use, the chisel is forced into the material...
s. The field smithy was constantly at work with workers bringing their blunted tools to be sharpened. When the workers came up against particularly big or hard rocks, an explosives expert from Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
was standing by specially. The waterpipes themselves were sealed using pieces of tar
Tar
Tar is modified pitch produced primarily from the wood and roots of pine by destructive distillation under pyrolysis. Production and trade in tar was a major contributor in the economies of Northern Europe and Colonial America. Its main use was in preserving wooden vessels against rot. The largest...
and molten lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
.
Upon the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, men from the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
were stationed in Rimsberg. The winter that year was also bitterly cold. One night there came a loud bang as the water pressure canister at the pumphouse flew through the pumphouse roof, landing 15 m away from the pumphouse in the bushes on Bornwieserweg. The pressure had apparently built up to dangerous levels. For a week, Rimsbergers were forced to return to their old well while the Wehrmacht officer in the village saw to it that the piece of equipment in question was repaired and set back in its former place.
In the 1960s, the volunteer fire brigade was founded. At first, it was rather primitively equipped, with a small, portable pumping unit, although eventually a fire engine
Fire apparatus
A fire apparatus, fire engine, fire truck, or fire appliance is a vehicle designed to assist in fighting fires by transporting firefighters to the scene and providing them with access to the fire, along with water or other equipment...
with modern firefighting equipment was acquired, necessitating an expansion of fire station facilities. In 1970, the old pond was dredged and equipped to be a fire pond. The local fire brigade has won many prizes at contests within the Birkenfeld district for its speediness.
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: In schräggeteiltem Schild vorne in Grün ein goldener geöffneter Armreif, darin eine silberne schrägaufwärts gerichtete Lanzenspitze, hinten rot-silbern geschacht.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 bend vert an armring with a gap Or pointing into which a lancehead bendwise argent, and chequy gules and argent.
The arms have been borne since 1965.
Transport
Running west of the municipality is BundesstraßeBundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
41, which to the south leads to the Autobahn A 62
Bundesautobahn 62
is an autobahn in southwestern Germany, connecting the A 1 with the A 6. It also connects numerous communities throughout the central Hunsrück mountains...
(Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
–Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
). Serving nearby Nohen
Nohen
Nohen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
is a railway station on the Nahe Valley Railway (Bingen
Bingen am Rhein
Bingen am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.The settlement’s original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant “hole in the rock”, a description of the shoal behind the Mäuseturm, known as the Binger Loch. Bingen was the starting point for the...
–Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
).