Kirn

Kirn
Town
Panorama of Kirn, seen from Kyrburg
Coat of arms
Location of Kirn within Bad Kreuznach district
Kirn Show map of Germany Kirn Show map of Rhineland-Palatinate
Coordinates: 49°47′17″N 7°27′26″E / 49.78806°N 7.45722°E / 49.78806; 7.45722
Country	Germany
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District	Bad Kreuznach
Municipal assoc.	Kirner Land
Government
• Mayor (2020–28)	Frank Ensminger[1] (FDP)
Area
• Total	16.53 km2 (6.38 sq mi)
Elevation	250 m (820 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)[2]
• Total	8,450
• Density	510/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	55606
Dialling codes	06752
Vehicle registration	KH
Website	www.kirn.de

Kirn is a town in the

Kirn lies in a landscape characterized by the Nahe valley and the valley of the Hahnenbach, cut deeply into the Lützelsoon, roughly 10 km northeast of Idar-Oberstein and 30 km west of Bad Kreuznach. The valley floors are heavily settled in places, whereas the steep slopes in the higher areas are mostly bare of buildings and decked with forest. Rising up above the woodland canopy in many places are freestanding quartzite crags. Particularly striking among these are the Oberhauser Felsen, the Kallenfels and the Wehlenfelsen north of the town. Flowing through the unhurried inner town is the Hahnenbach, which rises in the Hunsrück, and not too much farther downstream empties into the Nahe. Also characterizing the town's appearance is the quarry up from the town centre, which stretches eastwards all the way to the town limit.

Land use

Kirn's municipal area measures 16.53 km², and by percentages, the uses of this land break down thus:^[3]

• Agriculture — 15.1
• Woodland — 51.9
• Open water — 2.4
• Residential and transport — 28.6
• Other — 2.0

Neighbouring municipalities

Clockwise from the north, Kirn's neighbours are the municipalities of Oberhausen bei Kirn, Hochstetten-Dhaun, Meckenbach, Heimweiler and Bärenbach, the town of Idar-Oberstein and the municipalities of Fischbach, Bergen and Hahnenbach. Idar-Oberstein, Fischbach and Bergen all lie in the neighbouring Birkenfeld district, whereas all the others likewise lie within the Bad Kreuznach district.

Constituent communities

Kirn's

The first settlement is believed to have lain on the bank of the Kyrbach (another name for the Hahnenbach although, strictly speaking, it designates only the Hahnenbach's headstream some distance upstream from Kirn), in an area today bordered by Gerbergasse and Langgasse (lanes), with the marketplace in the middle. In other words, at the crossroads, a market grew up. This was the seed from which the town's history sprouted. The roads leading over the heights brought the people of the Nahegau to this market town. The Marktmeile ('market mile'), within whose tightly defined boundaries no other market was allowed to be held, protected the markets and those who fed them in a tightly bordered area around the town. Great parts of the market town were held during the High Middle Ages by Saint Maximin's Abbey in Trier, which also held the market rights.

In 926, the Abbey gave three

Even after various divisions of inheritance, Kirn remained between 1258 and 1790 a joint holding of the Houses of Dhaun and Kyrburg. Despite its economic and ecclesiastical importance, Kirn had at its disposal since earliest times only a small municipal area, which even today has not changed. The vineyards strewn over the hills all about the town surely only provided for local demand. The scant, stony soils allowed no more than limited yields when farmed. Livestock raising, on the other hand, seems to have played a certain role. These circumstances favoured the growth of various handicrafts in the town.

Livestock raising, the low-lying oak forest right nearby and the water from the Nahe and the Kyr consequently led to the establishment of tanning and wool processing. Reports of a woollen weavers' guild crop up as early as 1359. The tanners' and tailors' guilds seem to have arisen about this time, too. The tanners, and the dyers, too, settled along the flat bank of the Hahnenbach. The later tanners' quarter between Gerbergasse and the Nahe only arose in modern times. Their products were marketed by both local people and those from farther afield, mainly at the four great yearly markets and the weekly markets. The houses around the marketplace had on their ground floors recesses in which local handicraftsmen would offer their wares for sale in their “shops”.

On the marketplace itself were, besides the two fountains, also lockable market stalls that could be hired by bakers, butchers and potters. On the Hahnenbach side of the square stood the 1508 town hall, which was torn down in 1849 to make way for what was even then a growing amount of traffic. The prison there once held the thirteen-year-old Johannes Bückler – better known as Schinderhannes – in 1796, but not for very long, for he quickly escaped. The townsfolk's self-assurance in those days showed itself in the establishment of civic institutions such as a bathing parlour and an infirmary. The great many donations to the Church bear witness to the people's wealth.

Around the church over on the Kyr's left bank stood clerics' houses as well as the

Kirn's and its economy's favourable growth came to a dead stop with the Thirty Years' War. Foreign fighters (Spaniards, Croats, Frenchmen and Swedes, to name but a few) along with two Plague epidemics wrought havoc with the town, reducing its 230 families in 1616 (two years before the war broke out) to only 74 afterwards. These losses were somewhat offset by the arrival of newcomers from Lombardy, the Tyrol and the Engadin. These immigrants and their offspring quickly became a force not only in the town's economy but also in its cultural life. From the Family Englisch, who had come from the Davos area, sprang the painter Johann Georg Englisch (1668-1741), who did paintings in many churches over a broad area, and Johann Bernhard Englisch (1709-1768), who as a much sought-after ébéniste plied his trade as far away as Lake Geneva.

The latter half of the 17th century, though, brought Kirn many

Johann Dominik (1708-1778) was an enlightened, affable prince, who through future-oriented measures, such as building streets and boulevards, boosted the economy. Many of his master builder Thomas Petri's buildings still characterize Kirn's appearance, and the same is true for a number of the outlying villages that then belonged to the Oberamt. Particularly worthy of mention here are the winery on Kallenfelser Straße, the Piarist monastery (nowadays the town hall) and many official and private buildings throughout the town. Meanwhile, in 1767, Kirn received a town charter. Johann Dominik's nephew and successor Friedrich III ruined the country's finances with his impecunious ways of conducting his life, to the point at which the Reichskammergericht even imposed a bankruptcy régime on the town. In 1794, he met his end in Paris at the guillotine.

Beginning in 1797, the little state that was Kirn belonged, like all the

Together with seven villages, Kirn now formed the Bürgermeisterei ('Mayoralty') of Kirn, an arrangement that lasted until 1857 when, by Royal Cabinet Order, Kirn was granted the rank of town. Now, however, there was only one leader, the mayor, who held the reins of both the town and the now supposedly separate outlying villages. This "personal union" lasted until 1896.

Only after the fall of the customs barriers and the building of the Rhine-Nahe Railway (1856-1859) was there once again an appreciable economic upswing. Leathermaking began to recover once the tanners, both those using bark tanning and those using mineral tanning, set up shop – sometimes jointly – in the area between the Nahe, the Hahnenbach and the millpond, after traditionally keeping their tanneries along the bank of the Hahnenbach.

After 1850, a few tanning families moved on and rose with new businesses in new locations, sometimes to worldwide importance. After the Rhine-Nahe Railway had been completed, not only leather products could be shipped to market, but so could the melaphyre being quarried at Kirn's quarries. With the rise of the brewery near the winery in 1863, the town eventually earned itself the title "Town of Leather, Stones and Beer". As industry grew, so too did the demand for manpower, and thus between 1850 and 1910, the town's population swelled from roughly 1,500 to 7,000.

This positive development was, however, interrupted by the upshot from the

Bernhard Weil, third from the bottom in the list and also mentioned earlier, was born on 19 June 1868 in Eichstetten to Isaak Weil and Pauline née Rotschild. He had himself trained as a schoolteacher and a cantor and worked as such from 1908 to 1939 in Kirn (and before that in Leutershausen [Bergstraße], among other places).[7]

Religion

As at 30 September 2013, there are 8,220 full-time residents in Kirn, and of those, 4,180 are

The council is made up of 24 council members, who were elected by personalized proportional representation at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the mayor as chairman. The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:^[9]

Gains and losses (“+/–”) are reckoned against the 2004 election results. Voter turnout was 48.5% (48.3% in 2004).

Mayor

Kirn's mayor is Frank Ensminger (FDP), and his deputies are Christa Hermes (CDU), Michael Kloos (SPD), and Hartmut Ott (FWG).^[10]

Coat of arms

The town's arms might be described thus: Gules two lions combatant Or armed and langued azure holding two cramps per saltire argent, crowning the shield a mural coronet with three towers embattled of the second.

Town partnerships

Kirn fosters partnerships with the following places:

• Fontaine-lès-Dijon, Côte-d'Or (Burgundy), France since 10 May 1986^[11]

Since the partnership documents were signed, there have been regular exchanges between Kirn and the commune of Fontaine-lès-Dijon (which lies just outside Dijon and about 500 km from Kirn) of families, groups and officials. The official yearly meeting takes place at Whitsun, with the venue alternating between the two towns each year, and this is attended by up to 250 citizens.

• Lorraine), France since 7 November 2010^[12]

The commune of Marange-Silvange lies 12 km northwest of Metz. The partnership’s goal is mainly to bring youth from both places together. Since the signing of the agreement, there have already been contacts and meetings.

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:^[13]

Kirn (main centre)

• Evangelical church, Kirchstraße 4 – former Saint Pancras's Collegiate Church (Stiftskirche St. Pankratius), Late Gothic Revival hall church, 1891–1893, architect Wiethase; Late Gothic quire, after 1467; six-floor tower, fifth floor inserted in between in 1893, mid 13th century; Late Gothic vestry (see also below
  )
• Saint Pancras's Catholic Parish Church (Pfarrkirche St. Pankratius), Kolpingweg 1 – Late Gothic Revival basilica, 1892–1894, architect Max Meckel, Limburg
• Alter Oberhauser Weg 8 – house, Baroquified building with hipped mansard roof, 1937, architect Friedrich Otto, Kirn
• Altstadt 1 – former manufacturer's villa for member of the Family Simon; Late Historicist representative building, last fourth of the 19th century, setting important to town building layout
• Auf der Schanze, at the graveyard – graveyard gate,
  Child
  , about 1902
• Auf der Schanze, Jewish graveyard (monumental zone)^[14] – about 1870 to 1939, area with many tombs (see also below)
• Bahnhofstraße 21 – Gründerzeit clinker brick building, Gothic Revival motifs, about 1900
• Bahnhofstraße 23 – three-floor Late Classicist house, latter half of the 19th century
• Bahnhofstraße 27 – villalike Late Classicist house, mid 19th century
• Bahnhofstraße 31 – former Böcking leather factory, long three-floor quarrystone building, two- to three-floor factory building, about 1860 to 1880, expansion into the 20th century
• Bahnhofstraße 35 – Late Gründerzeit villa with hip roof, about 1900
• Bürgermeister-Tschepke-Straße 18–66 (even numbers) (monumental zone) – housing estate for workers at the Jakob Müller leatherware factory, 1950s; 13 semi-detached bungalows with front gardens, Heimatstil
• Dhauner Straße – so-called Weiße Brücke (“White Bridge”); concrete-trough bridge, 1905
• Dominikstraße 41 – Dominikschule (school); three-floor plastered building, Renaissance Revival, gymnasium, toilet facility, 1903–1905
• Fasanenweg – water cistern; sandstone, about 1900/1910
• Gerbergasse 1 – five-floor shophouse, Bauhaus architecture, 1931, architect Otto Deyhle
• Gerbergasse 4 – three-floor shophouse, building with mansard roof, clinker brick, about 1890/1900
• Gerbergasse 12 – three-floor timber-frame shophouse, partly slated, essentially Baroque, possibly from the 18th century, corner setting important to town building layout
• Gerbergasse 13 – former tanning house; partly timber-frame, roof with penthouse-roof aeration zone, latter half of the 19th century
• Halmer Weg 10 – Late Gründerzeit villa, partly timber-frame, Art Nouveau motifs, about 1905
• Halmer Weg 14 – villa; two- to three-floor building with knee wall, partly timber-frame, about 1900/1905
• Halmer Weg 27 – school; two- to three-floor three-wing building, stairway and gymnasium, mixed forms, Heimatschutzarchitektur/1950s, about 1953/54, architect possibly Julius Schneider, Idar-Oberstein or Friedrich Otto, Kirn
• Im Hohen Rech 8 – house, about 1900
• Jahnstraße 11 – hospital; two- to three-floor Neoclassical building with mansard roof, about 1910
• Kallenfelser Straße (no number) – Andres brewery; stately three-floor Late Classicist main building, long works building, quarrystone, further older works buildings
• Kallenfelser Straße 1 – former princely winery; two-and-a-half-floor three-wing complex, mansard roof, 1769–1771, architect Johann Thomas Petri (see also below)
• Kallenfelser Straße 2 – Villa Andres; Late Historicist plastered building with mezzanine, about 1890/1900
• Kasinoweg 3 – Baroque Revival building with mansard roof, partly slated timber framing, 1930, architect Otto, Kirn
• Kasinoweg 5 – former casino; Late Classicist villa, 1876
• Kirchstraße 3 – former Piarist monastery (town hall); three-floor Late Baroque three-wing complex, 1765–1769, architect Johann Thomas Petri; former rectory and schoolhouse, 1753, floor added in 1768 (see also below)
• Kolpingweg 1 – Catholic rectory, Gothic Revival plastered building, about 1900
• Linke Hahnenbachstraße 10 – house; Gründerzeit sandstone-block building with knee wall, late 19th century
• Linke Hahnenbachstraße 11 – “An der Bach” inn; partly timber-frame, late 16th or early 17th century, in alteration 19th century
• Marktplatz – fountain figure, Saint George; bronze, about 1910, sculptor Hugo Cauer, Bad Kreuznach
• Marktplatz 4 – “Haus Kölsch”; Baroque house-inn; three-floor timber-frame building, half-hip roof, 17th century
• Marktplatz 7 – former summer house; eight-sided Rococo pavilion, 1776, architect Johann Thomas Petri
• Marktplatz 4, 5, 6, 7, (8), 9 (monumental zone) – two- to three-floor shophouses, partly timber-frame, from the 16th to 19th centuries, form the marketplace's west side
• Nahegasse 2 – shophouse; three-floor Late Gothic building with half-hip roof, partly timber-frame, possibly from the 16th century, altered in the 18th or 19th century
• Nahegasse 5 – three-floor shophouse; Baroque timber-frame building, slated, marked 1666
• Nahegasse 9 – three-floor shophouse; Baroque timber-frame building, slated, 17th century
• Nahegasse 11 – three-floor shophouse; Baroque timber-frame building, slated, essentially from the 17th century (?)
• Neue Straße 13 – Evangelical parish hall; building with hip roof with gable risalto, about 1880/1890
• Ohlmannstraße 24 – châteaulike Baroquified building with mansard roof, Rococo Revival pavilion, possibly from the 1920s
• Steinweg 2 – four-floor Expressionist shophouse, 1922; commercial building
• Steinweg 8 – Alte Apotheke (“Old Pharmacy”); rich three-floor timber-frame building, marked 1592
• At Steinweg 15 – relief stone of a Late Baroque portal, marked 1769
• Steinweg 16 – “Haus Fuchs”; former Salm-Salm government chancellery, 1760–1765, architect Johann Thomas Petri; Late Baroque building with hipped mansard roof, marked destroyed 1798/renewed 1933, architect Friedrich Otto, Kirn (?)
• Steinweg 17 – shophouse; three-floor Baroque Revival building with hipped mansard roof, 1920s/1930s, architect Otto, Kirn
• Steinweg 25 – “Goldener Löwe”; shophouse, former smithy; Late Baroque solid building, marked 1791
• Steinweg 41 – “Haus Benkelberg”; shophouse; three-floor building with hipped mansard roof, Art Nouveau, about 1900/1910
• Sulzbacher Straße – former garden enclosure; Art Nouveau, about 1905
• Sulzbacher Straße 15 – one-and-a-half-floor three-wing Late Classicist house, about 1880
• Teichweg 3 – three-floor corner building formerly belonging to Schloss Amalienlust, about 1780/1790, upper floor 1920s
• Teichweg 6/8 – two-and-a-half-floor Late Classicist pair of semi-detached houses, latter half of the 19th century
• Teichweg 7 – former Schloss Amalienlust, pavilion; Late Baroque building with hipped mansard roof, about 1780/1790; see also no. 11
• Teichweg 11a – house, Late Baroque building with hipped mansard roof, 18th century
• Teichweg 11 – former Schloss Amalienlust, pavilion; Late Baroque building with hipped mansard roof, about 1780/1790; see also no. 7
• Teichweg 12 – theatre of the former Schloss Amalienlust; Late Baroque-Early Classicist building with hip roof, about 1780/1790
• Teichweg 24 – Historicized Art Nouveau building, 1906
• Teichweg 26 – house, Heimatstil with Gothic Revival motifs, about 1900/1905
• Teichweg 28 – Late Classicist house, latter half of the 19th century
• Teichweg 30 – villalike Late Classicist house, latter half of the 19th century
• Übergasse 6 – house, building with mansard roof, clinker brick, Renaissance Revival, about 1900
• Übergasse 7 – shophouse; Baroque timber-frame building, late 17th century
• At Übergasse 8a – armorial stone, at the former Piarist College, “Haus Holinga”, Late Baroque, marked 1770
• Übergasse 10 – two shophouses, timber-frame, partly slated, 16th century and about 1800
• Übergasse 12 – Late Baroque building with mansard roof, possibly from the latter half of the 18th century
• Übergasse 14 – three-floor timber-frame house, partly slated, 17th century
• Übergasse 18 – three-floor shophouse with knee wall, about 1800
• Übergasse 20 – three-floor shophouse with knee wall, timber-frame, about 1800
• Denkmalzone Übergasse 5–9, 10–14, 18, 20, Kirchstraße 1, 2, Sackgasse 2 – mostly continuous two- to three-floor row of buildings from the 16th to 19th centuries, among them mainly timber-frame houses
• Wassergasse 3 – timber-frame house, partly solid, about 1800
• Wilhelm-Dröscher-Platz 1 – former
  Amt
  court; three-floor sandstone building, Renaissance Revival, 1876; sculptural adornment, sculptor Hanna Cauer, Bad Kreuznach; entrance design Friedrich Otto sen.
• Wörther Weg 10–14 (monumental zone) – façade made less tight by spire lights, oriel windows and timber-frame sections of five one-and-a-half- to two-and-a-half-floor houses, about 1905
• Wörtherweg 13 – Late Gründerzeit house, 1907, building
  entrepreneur
  Franz Reuther
• Bismarck Column on the Gauskopf, melaphyre-block building, 1901
• Castle Kyrburg ruin (monumental zone)^[14] – mentioned in 1128, expansion into palatial castle in the 16th century, destroyed in 1734; preserved a Baroque dwelling building, 18th century (about 1764?), ruin of a Renaissance building; slope retaining walls, vaulted cellar, remnants of round towers, former gunpowder tower, marked 1526, Eselsbrunnen (“Ass’s Fountain”) (see also below)

Kallenfels

• Castle Steinkallenfels ruin^[14] – mentioned in 1158, in 1682/1684 blown up, remnants of the three castles “Stock im Hane”, “Kallenfels” with keep and wall remnants, “Stein” with gate tower, shield and ringwalls, round towers and so on (see also below)
• Evangelical church, Burgweg 12 – Gothic Revival
  quarrystone building, latter half of the 19th century
• Eulenweg 1 – former school; one-floor Gründerzeit group of buildings, marked 1895
• At Kallenfelser Hof 1 – spolia, armorial stone, possibly from the 16th or 17th century
• Kallenfelser Hof 4 – remnant of a round tower

Kirn-Sulzbach

• Evangelical Church, Kirner Straße 62 – Baroque aisleless church, essentially from the 18th century
• Saint Joseph Calasanz's Catholic Church (Kirche St. Josef Calasanza) – inside Kirner Straße 79, two Baroque stone altars, endowed in 1753, design possibly by Johann Thomas Petri, execution by Johann Philipp Maringer
• Kirner Straße, at the graveyard – warriors’ memorial 1914–1918, stele with relief, 1920s, expanded after 1945
• Near Kirner Straße 85 – drink kiosk, 1929

More about buildings

Evangelical church

This Gothic Revival hall church, originally consecrated to Saint Pancras, with its Late Gothic quire and Romanesque steeple from the 11th or 12th century was renovated in 1992 and 1993 to give it back its original form and interior design. Inside are found several tombs of Walgraves-Rhinegraves that are worth seeing. Between 1681 and 1892, the church served both Protestants and Catholics as a simultaneous church. During this time, a wall split of the Protestant section of the church from the sanctuary, which was reserved for the Catholics. After the frightful flood of 1875, new building was required at the church. As a result of this, the Catholics thought it best to build themselves their own church on Halmer Weg.

Princely winery

The princely winery building was built about 1771 on Prince Dominik von Salm-Kyrburg's orders. The horseshoe-shaped building, whose front is still adorned with the princely family's

Kirn's foremost landmark, standing above the town, is the Kyrburg (also written “Kirburg”), a former

Steinkallenfels (also written “Stein-Kallenfels”) is yet another hill castle ruin in Kirn, this one in outlying Kallenfels. In 1158, the

Town hall

Today's town hall was built in the years from 1752 to 1771. The master builder Johann Thomas Petri built here, once again on Prince Dominik's orders, a

From the country house named “St. Johannisberg” is an outstanding view, dominated as it is by the Hellberg, the biggest stone run north of the Alps. Although it is in an area where stone has long been quarried, it is a natural formation made up of weathered stone. The stones slowly slide down the slope over time. Quarrying is not allowed, as the Hellberg lies within a conservation area.^[15]

Synagogue

Beginning in the early 1870s there was a Jewish prayer room in Kirn. Rented for this purpose was a backyard behind the inn “Zur Krone” on Übergasse (a lane), which had once been used as a gymnasium (today a carpark occupies this spot). In 1887, the foundation stone was laid for a synagogue on Amthofstraße, whose architects and building contractors were the Brothers Benkelberg from Kirn. On 24 and 25 February 1888, the synagogue was festively consecrated. The building was conjoined with its neighbours, which all stood in an unbroken row, and its eaves faced the street. The side with the eaves was framed with lesenes between which were found windows, Rundbogen windows in both the outer fields and above these tracery-filled round windows, while in both the inner fields, twinned windows with mullions, also topped with tracery. A report appeared about the consecration in the Kirner Zeitung on 26 February 1888:

“On 24 and 25 February, on the part of the local Jewish religious community, the consecration of its newly built synagogue took place. From near and far, a great number of coreligionists attended to participate in this lovely festival. The consecration unfolded according to a programme. At 3 o’clock in the afternoon in the old synagogue, the farewell service took place amid the removal of the Torah scrolls. Hereupon, the procession made its way to the new synagogue, which was made up of the following: schoolchildren and teachers, music, synagogue choir, the community elders with the Torah scrolls, accompanied by the festival virgins, rabbis and cantors, Mr. Mayor and the synagogue board, the guests of honour, the members of the worship community and a great number of festival participants. Having reached the new synagogue, Rabbi Dr. Goldschmidt held a short but apt speech, whereupon Mr. Michel II’s little daughter, who had borne the key to the new synagogue on a cushion in the festive procession, passed this to the building contractor Mr. Benkelberg. He thereupon handed the key over to the mayor, Mr. Rau, who as representative of the town handed it to the synagogue board, who then delivered it to the rabbi for the purpose of opening the synagogue. After all the festival participants had entered the new temple, the consecration and the festive service took place, at which we cannot fail to express our full approval to Rabbi Dr. Goldschmidt for his exceedingly bold consecration speech. After the conclusion of this celebration came a service and following this at the community hall was a great festive meal, partaking of which were not only festival attenders but also a great number of local citizens. The festive meal proceeded in the nicest way and the Gregorius’sche Musikkapelle (orchestra) contributed much to its beautification. The job of food catering was given to a Jewish restaurateur from Kreuznach, while the drink catering was taken care of by a local innkeeper. Yesterday morning, there was once again a festive service at the synagogue. The concert announced for 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon at the community hall was attended by quite a number and spread with its precise presentation of the individual musical pieces on the part of the Gregorius’sche Musikkapelle a special enjoyment. At the ball set for the evening many participants likewise showed up and, young and old, kept together merrily through the course of the evening until the early morning hours.”

In February 1928, a commemorative service was held for the synagogue's 40th anniversary. Participating at the celebration were the town's dignitaries, led by Mayor Bongartz. On 28 February 1928, the Kirner Zeitung also published a report about this:

“Memorial service at the synagogue on the occasion of the 40-year anniversary of the existence of the place of worship. On 26 February 1888, the Kirner Zeitung reported on the consecration festivities of the newly built synagogue, which ran a pleasant course amid great participation of the whole citizenry. The former Jewish house of worship was housed before 1888 at the former gymnasium, Übergasse (owner Mr. Nonweiler). Of the generation of that time when the house of worship was built, the last, Mr. L. Rothschild died only a short time ago. In the sermon on Saturday the 25th of this month, Cantor Demant, among others, commemorated the time forty years ago, when the building work was carried out at great sacrifice. The donations flowed richly. It was received as an especially fine stroke of noble humanity that even those fellow townsfolk of other beliefs took part in the donations in great measure, thus earning themselves the Jewish community’s thanks for ever. Certainly a sign of the good comity that prevails among the local citizenry, whatever their faith, then and now. Subsequently, after the sermon, a prayer of thanks was offered for salvation, in which all late donors of any belief were included.”

Ten years later, on Kristallnacht (9–10 November 1938), Brownshirt thugs thrust their way into the synagogue and destroyed the whole institution. Pews and Judaica were dragged outside and burnt. On 13 April 1939, the Jewish community was forced to sell the synagogue property for 5,358 ℛℳ. In connection with the restitution proceedings in 1950, a further payment of 4,000 DM was made. That same year, the building was torn down. A cinema was built there instead. A memorial has recalled the fate of the town's Jewish community and its synagogue since 9 November 1988 – the fiftieth anniversary of Kristallnacht. This can be found on Steinweg between Neue Straße and Langgasse. Another memorial plaque dating from earlier – 1978 – can be found at the memorial to the war dead at the graveyard. The synagogue's address was Amthofstraße 2.^[16]

Jewish graveyard

A Jewish graveyard in Kirn was being mentioned as of 1555 (cadastral area called “off'm Judenkirchhof”), which presumably meant a graveyard for the mediaeval Jewish community. Its whereabouts are now unknown. In 1870, a new graveyard was laid out. It was expanded in 1915. The graveyard's area is 1 000 m². Preserved on part 1 are 33 graves, and on part 2, 21. In the 1990s, the graveyard was desecrated several times. It lies on Kallenfelser Straße right next to the municipal (Christian) graveyard. The Jewish graveyard actually comprises the north corner of the municipal graveyard, but lies outside the graveyard wall.^[17]

Cultural and leisure institutions

At the community hall (Gesellschaftshaus), which was built in 1879 by the leather company of Carl Simon & Söhne in the

Tourism

Kirn is a starting point for the Hunsrück Schiefer- und Burgenstraße (“Hunsrück Slate and Castle Road”), the Soonwaldsteig (hiking trail), the Keltenweg Nahe–Mosel (likewise) and the Lützelsoon-Radweg (cycle path), as well as being a stage on the Nahe-Hunsrück-Mosel-Radweg (another cycle path).

Clubs

The following clubs are active in Kirn:^[18]

• Angelsportverein “Forelle” — angling club
• Angelsportverein “Hahnenbachtal” — angling club
• Arbeiterwohlfahrt Betreuungsverein — workers’ welfare
• Arbeiterwohlfahrt, Ortsverein — workers’ welfare, local chapter
• Behindertensportgruppe Kirn
  disabled sports
  group
• Brieftaubenverein 08 146 —
  carrier pigeon
  club
• Bund der Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder, Stamm Wildgrafen Kirn — scouts’ and guides’ association, Wildgrafen Kirn troop
• Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz, Ortsgruppe Kirn — environmental and conservation association, local chapter
• Bundesbahn-Sozialwerk — DB charitable organization
• Chorgemeinschaft “Vivace” — choir union
• Club der Briefmarkenfreunde — philately club
• CVJM, Christlicher Verein Junger Menschen — YMCA
• Deutscher Amateur-Radio-Club, Ortsverband Kirn — amateur radio club, local chapter
• Deutsches Rotes Kreuz, Ortsverein Kirn-Stadt und Land — German Red Cross, local chapter for the town and the outlying Verbandsgemeinde
• Deutsch-Russischer-Chor — German-Russian choir
• DLRG Ortsgruppe Kirn e.V. —
  DLRG
  , local chapter
• Eagle-Kai-Karate Nahe-Hunsrück e.V.
• Eisenbahn-Turn- und Sportverein — railway
  sport club
• Evangelische Frauenhilfe —
  Evangelical
  women's aid
• Evangelische Frauenhilfe Kirn-Sulzbach — Kirn-Sulzbach Evangelical women's aid
• Evangelische Stadtmission Kirn e.V. — Evangelical town mission
• Evangelischer Jugendtreff “Der Treff” — Evangelical youth meeting place
• Evangelischer Jugendtreff “JuCa” — Evangelical youth meeting place
• Evangelischer Kirchenchor Kirn — Kirn Evangelical church choir
• Evangelischer Kirchenchor Kirn-Sulzbach — Kirn-Sulzbach Evangelical church choir
• FCK-Fanclub Naheteufel — 1. FC Kaiserslautern fan club
• Fischereisportverein — sport fishing club
• Flugsportverein — air sport club
• Förderer der Feuerwehr der Stadt Kirn —
  fire brigade
  promoters
• Förderverein des Gymnasiums Kirn e.V. — Gymnasium promotional association
• Förderverein für Jugendarbeit der evangelischen Kirche — promotional association for Evangelical Church youth work
• Förderverein Kita Ohlmannstraße — Ohlmannstraße daycare promotional association
• Förderverein Realschule plus Kirn —
  Realschule plus
  promotional association
• Freundeskreis und Förderverein der Hellberg-Grundschule e.V. — Hellberg primary school circle of friends and promotional association
• Gewerbeinitiative Kirner Land — commercial initiative association
• Gymnastikverein Kirn-Sulzbach — gymnastic club
• Handwerksgesellenverein — handicraft club
• Hunsrück Schiefer- und Burgenstraße — “Hunsrück Slate and Castle Road”
• Hunsrückverein e.V.
  — local history and geography club
• Interessengemeinschaft “Steinweg” — interest group
• “Kallenfelser Eulen” — Shrovetide Carnival (Fastnacht) club
• Karachi-Gruppe-Kirn — church aid group
• Karnevalsgesellschaft “Rappelköpp” — Shrovetide Carnival club
• Katholischer Chor der Pfarreiengemeinschaft Kirn — Catholic church choir
• Kirn aktiv — advertising association
• Kirner Tafel — food bank
• Kolpingfamilie — charitable organization
• Kolpingfamilie Karneval — Shrovetide Carnival charitable organization
• Lions-Club Kirn-Mittlere Nahe
• Männergesangverein “Edelweiß” — men's singing club
• Männergesangverein “Frohsinn” — men's singing club
• Männergesangverein Kallenfels — men's singing club
• Mentor-die Leselernhelfer Nahe-Hunsrück e.V. — language tutoring (reading and speaking)
• Motorradfreunde Kirn e.V. — motorcycle club
• Musikschule KMS e.V. Kirn — music school
• Musikverein 1878 — music club
• Obst- und Gartenbauverein Kirn-Sulzbach — fruitgrowing and gardening club
• Reit-, Fahr- und Zuchtverein — riding club
• Schützenverein 1960 Kirn —
  shooting sport
  club
• Schützenverein Kallenfels — shooting sport club
• Siedlergemeinschaft “Über Nahe” — community association
• Spielgemeinschaft 09 Borussia DPSG e.V. — team partnership
• Sport-Club 1911 Kirn-Sulzbach
• Sportfahrerteam “Brunkenstein” — rally racing club
• St.-Georg-Pfadfinder Kirn-Sulzbach DPSG — scouting
• SV Vatanspor Kirn —
  sport club
• Tanzgruppe “Gingers” des TUS Kirn — dance club
• Tennisclub Kirn
• terre des hommes
• Theatergruppe Kolping — theatrical group
• Tierschutzverein Kirn und Umgebung e.V. — animal welfare
• Tischtennisclub “Grün-Weiß” — table tennis club
• Türkisches und Islamisches Kulturzentrum Kirn und Umgehung e.V. — Turkish and Islamic Cultural Centre
• Turn- und Sportgemeinde 1862 — gymnastic and sport association
• Turn- und Sportgemeinde 1862 Abteilung Tennis — tennis department of foregoing
• Turnverein Kallenfels — gymnastic club
• VCP Verein Christlicher Pfadfinder — Christian
  scouting
• VdK-Ortsgruppe — social advocacy group local chapter
• Verein der Freunde und Förderer der Dominikschule Kirn e.V. — friends and promoters of the Dominikschule (school)
• Verein der Förderer des Kirner Krankenhauses e.V. — hospital promoters
• Verein der Hundefreunde — dog lovers’ club
• Verein Freunde und Förderer Realschule plus Kirn - Auf Halmen — friends and promoters of the
  Realschule plus
  Kirn - Auf Halmen
• Verein für Karate und Selbstverteidigung — karate and self-defence club
• Verein für Rasenspiele 07 Kirn e.V. — grass sport club
• Verschönerungs- und Heimatverein Kirn-Sulzbach — beautification and local history club
• Volkshochschule — folk high school
• Wanderfreunde Kirn-Sulzbach — hiking club

Economy and infrastructure

Markets

Given its central geographical location, Kirn was always a lively market centre. Still preserved today, alongside the flea markets held on the first Monday of each month, are two prominent markets: the Andreasmarkt – which celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2000 – on the last weekend in November, and the Thomasmarkt on the second Saturday in December. These markets are quite a boon for Kirn in that they always draw many visitors from the surrounding region. At the Handwerker- und Bauernmarkt (“Craftsmen’s and Farmers’ Market”) in October, small businesses from the Kirn area present their handmade wares and offer them for sale. There is also a Wochenmarkt (weekly market – which despite this name is held twice weekly) on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Established businesses

Kirn once earned itself countrywide fame as the “Town of Leather”. Most of the tanneries and leather-finishing plants of yore are now long gone, and all that remains of them in town is their head offices. Because such a great deal of the production has been shifted to countries where wages are low, very few people are now employed in the leather industry in Kirn itself. World-famous among what little is left of the industry are the Müller & Meirer Lederwarenfabrik

GmbH (locally known as “Müller Hein” and its products marketed under the name Maître) and the Braun GmbH & Co. KG (local name and marketing brand: Braun Büffel).^[19] Throughout Rhineland-Palatinate, the town is also well known for its local brewery and the beer that it brews, Kirner Pils. Kirn's biggest employer is SIMONA AG, a worldwide-active manufacturer and distributor of thermoplastic semi-finished products, which originally grew out of the leatherware field. Further important branches of the economy are woodworking, plant construction, the hard-rock industry, packaging and automotive supply. Many small and midsize craft and retail businesses are also represented in town. Over the last few years, tourism

, too, has been growing in importance.

Education

For a town of its size, Kirn has a rather comprehensive offering of educational institutions. Besides five

Realschule and the Wilhelm-Dröscher-Schule for pupils with special needs. The vocational schools of the Bad Kreuznach district are represented in Kirn in the fields of mechanics, commerce and industry, home economics, economics and administration. The programmes offered by the folk high school and the music school round out Kirn's educational offerings.^[20]

Medicine

Medical services are supplied by the

pharmacies

. For seniors, the town has two homes for the elderly, both under church sponsorship.

Transport

Kirn is linked by

Frankfurt-Hahn Airport

lies some 30 km away from Kirn and can be reached from the town by car in just under a half hour.

Media

Appearing in Kirn are two local editions of regional daily newspapers: the Kirner Zeitung (Rhein-Zeitung, Koblenz) and the Allgemeine Zeitung (Kirn edition) (Verlagsgruppe Rhein Main, Mainz).

Famous people

Sons and daughters of the town

• Bernhard Stroh (1822–1882), founder of the once third biggest brewery in the United States (Stroh Brewery Company in Detroit)
• Friedrich Niebergall (1866–1932),
  Evangelical
  theologian
• Karl Andres (1876–1935), landowner,
  winegrowing lobbyist and politician (NLP
  )
• Fritz Oswald Bilse (1878–1951), Prussian officer and writer
• Julius Zerfaß (1886–1956), journalist and writer
• Wilhelm Dröscher (1920–1977), politician (SPD), Member of the Bundestag (MdB), Member of the Rhineland-Palatinate Landtag (MdL), beginning in 1975 SPD federal treasurer
• Werner Schoop (1924–2011), angiologist, textbook author and recipient of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
• Karl-Georg Faber (1925–1982), historian
• Volker Bierbrauer (1940–0000), prehistorian and mediaeval archaeologist
• Frank Farian (1941–2024; né Franz Reuther), music producer (Milli Vanilli, Boney M.)
• Peter Wilhelm Dröscher (1946–0000), politician (SPD), MdL (Rhineland-Palatinate)
• Gerhard Wöllstein (1963–0000), pianist
• Fabian Schönheim (1987–0000), footballer

Famous people associated with the town

• Bernhard Weil (1868–1940), schoolteacher and synagogue cantor in Kirn, deported to Gurs internment camp, died at Noé concentration camp, born in Eichstetten
• Berno Wischmann (1910–2001), athlete, college teacher and official in the
  Deutscher Leichtathletik-Verband, born in Tondern, Prussia (now Tønder, Denmark
  )
• Frank Farian born Franz Reuther on 18.07.41.Record producer of Boney M,Gilla & Milli Vanilli.

Schinderhannes

Like many places in the region, Kirn can claim to have had its dealings with the notorious outlaw Schinderhannes (or Johannes Bückler, to use his true name). He often found himself in Kirn and the surrounding area. In 1796, he and his accomplices went about stealing mutton several times around Kirn, which they sold to a butcher in town. For other misdeeds, he was punished with 25 strokes of the cane at the marketplace. On 10 December 1796 he was caught and locked up in the dungeon at Kirn town hall, only to escape that very night by way of the roof. On 22 December 1797 he amused himself at the Kirn Christkindchen-Markt (“Christ Child Market”) and shortly thereafter committed his first murder in Hundheim.^[21]

Further reading

• Bernd Brinken, Gerd Danco: Kirn, Weidlich, Frankfurt 1983 (3. Aufl.).
• Ulrich Hauth: Die Stadt Kirn und ihr Umland, erschienen in der Reihe: Heimatkundliche Schriftenreihe des Landkreises Bad Kreuznach. Bd. 34, 2006
• Becker, Kurt (Hrsg.): Heimatchronik des Kreises Kreuznach, Köln 1966

References

1. ^ Direktwahl 2020, Kirn, Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz, accessed 11 August 2021.
2. Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz
   . 2023.
3. ^ Land use
4. ^ Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz – Amtliches Verzeichnis der Gemeinden und Gemeindeteile Archived 2015-11-25 at the Wayback Machine, Seite 14 (PDF; 2,3 MB)
5. ^ http://www.kirn.de/fileadmin/user_data/Stadt_Kirn/Bilder/Die_Stadt/Geschichte/Kirn_stadt_neu1.pdf Archived 2018-03-19 at the Wayback Machine ^{[bare URL PDF]}
6. ^ "Geschichte". Archived from the original on 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
7. ^ Jewish history
8. ^ Religion
9. ^ Municipal election results for Kirn
10. ^ "Kirn's council". Retrieved 2021-05-02.
11. ^ "Partnership with Fontaine-lès-Dijon". Archived from the original on 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
12. ^ "Partnership with Marange-Silvange". Archived from the original on 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
13. ^ Directory of Cultural Monuments in Bad Kreuznach district
14. ^ ^{a b c} Landkreis Bad Kreuznach – Inhaltsverzeichnis des Kreisrechtes Archived 2012-12-05 at archive.today; retreieved, October 31, 2011
15. ^ Armin Seibert (2013-02-12). "Kirner Steinbruch wird Besuchermagnet". Rhein-Zeitung. Archived from the original on 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
16. ^ Synagogue
17. ^ Jewish graveyard
18. ^ "Clubs". Archived from the original on 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
19. ^ "Kirn – die alte Stadt des Leders". kreiselkunst.com. Retrieved 2011-07-17.
20. ^ "Education". Archived from the original on 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
21. ^ Aus den Gerichtsakten des Schinderhannes

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kirn.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kyrburg.

• Town’s official webpage (in German)
• Die alte Stadt des Leders (“The Old Town of Leather”) (in German)
• History of the town of Kirn (PDF) Archived 2018-03-19 at the Wayback Machine (22 kB) (in German)
• SWR Mediathek - Straßen und Plätze: Kirn (streets and squares) (in German)
• History of the Kyrburg (in German)
• Steinkallenfels reconstruction drawing by Wolfgang Braun