Wiesweiler
Wiesweiler | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 49°38′16″N 7°34′16″E / 49.63778°N 7.57111°E | |
Country | Germany |
State | Rhineland-Palatinate |
District | Kusel |
Municipal assoc. | Lauterecken-Wolfstein |
Government | |
• Mayor (2019–24) | Ingfried Klahr[1] |
Area | |
• Total | 3.33 km2 (1.29 sq mi) |
Elevation | 160 m (520 ft) |
Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 385 |
• Density | 120/km2 (300/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 67744 |
Dialling codes | 06382 |
Vehicle registration | KUS |
Website | www.wiesweiler.de |
Wiesweiler is an
Geography
Location
Wiesweiler lies on the river Glan in the Western Palatinate. Unlike neighbouring places on the Glan, Wiesweiler was not built at the lower end of a side valley opening into the Glan valley, but rather right on the valley's slopes. The ridge to the east is made up of several peaks that run together from the Königsberg (mountain, not the former East Prussian city) to Lauterecken, while to the west, the ridge is made up of several outliers of a mountain north of Deimberg.
Wiesweiler lies at an elevation of roughly 165 m above sea level downstream from Offenbach-Hundheim and upstream from the town of Lauterecken. The elevations either side of the Glan reach about 320 m above sea level. The municipal area measures 333 ha, of which 11 ha is settled and 24 ha is wooded.[3][4]
Neighbouring municipalities
Wiesweiler borders in the northeast on the town of Lauterecken, in the east on the municipality of Lohnweiler, in the south on the municipality of Offenbach-Hundheim, in the southwest on the municipality of Buborn and in the northwest on the municipality of Hausweiler.
Constituent communities
Wiesweiler's
Municipality’s layout
The original villages were each laid out in the form of linear villages (by some definitions, thorpes) running parallel to the river, the road and the
Berschweiler's historical built-up area, which comprises only a few properties, is grouped around Kirchenstrasse (“Church Street”) with focal points on the south side of the mediaeval churchyard and on both sides of the street leading to the bridge. Predominant are the Quereinhäuser of various sizes, some of which have been expanded into corner houses, with some with the gable facing the street and others with the eaves at the front. With one exception, these all come from the 19th century. In the more heavily settled Wiesweiler, too, the historical built-up area, made up of great Quereinhäuser and homesteads, comes mainly from the 19th century. It is grouped around the crossroads formed by the old road across the Glan valley and the highway that runs along it. In the northern sloped area, a second row of buildings has developed. Since the end of the 19th century, the village's growth has taken place mainly along Bergstrasse, which snakes its way up the slope.[7]
History
Antiquity
Berschweiler in the east may be the older of the two
It is certain that Wiesweiler's surrounding area was already settled in prehistoric times. In Roman times, a villa rustica stood where the village now lies, whose foundations were discovered as early as 1855 on the Glan's right bank underneath the mill. Unearthed were, among other things, bricks, potsherds and a kind of stone altar, but nothing of any particular importance. There was another archaeological dig in 1897, which was not particularly successful. Roman spolia at the church also make it clear that the area was settled in Roman times.[8][9]
Middle Ages
When it was that Wiesweiler and Berschweiler first arose is something that is not known with any certainty. They may well have arisen before the year 1000. Both villages originally lay in the
Accordingly, Wiesweiler and Berschweiler were in the Late Middle Ages Veldenz holdings, sometimes together and sometimes asunder, and they were repeatedly granted as fiefs to the Waldgravial Knights vom Stein (“of the Stone”) and the family Hubenriß von Odenbach. Wiesweiler alone was for a short time also a Veldenz fief held by the Lords of Oberstein and the family Fust von Stromberg. While Berschweiler was for a time in the Late Middle Ages the seat of its own court, it otherwise belonged to the court of Hinzweiler in the Eßweiler Tal (dale). Wiesweiler may have been in the Hochgericht auf der Heide on into the 16th century.[10]
Modern times
After the time of the
Like most Glan-area villages, Wiesweiler and Berschweiler, too, suffered much in the 17th century's wars, both the
In 1694, the County Palatine of Veldenz-Lützelstein was left without a ruler by the last ruling County Palatine, Leopold Ludwig's death. There then arose a dispute over it as to whether it – along with the villages of Wiesweiler and Berschweiler – should pass to the
While the two villages were nominally united as of 1558, only in the course of the 18th century did they finally grow together, all the while recovering from the various wars’ ravages. During the
Recent times
During the time of the French Revolution and Napoleonic French rule, the Rhine’s left bank, and thereby Wiesweiler and Berschweiler too, were ceded to France. By this time, the two villages had been bound fast into one, under the name Wiesweiler. The village belonged to the Canton of Grumbach and the Mairie (“Mayoralty”) of Offenbach, as well as to the Arrondissement of Birkenfeld and the Department of Sarre. As early as 1793, French Revolutionary troops marched into the Glan valley and stationed themselves in the villages around Grumbach. This led to assaults on the local population.
In 1816, Wiesweiler passed to the
After the
The municipality of Wiesweiler celebrated its 675-year jubilee of first documentary mention in 2011, in line with information from writers Dolch and Greule holding that the village's first documentary mention was in a 1336 document, known from a 1440 copy, under the name Winsewilre. Investigation has since uncovered an earlier mention, under the name Wiswilre, as early as 1287 in a document from the Hornbach Monastery. This supposedly means that the municipality will be celebrating an 800-year jubilee of first documentary mention in 2087.[12]
Population development
The village has remained to this day rurally structured. In earlier times, besides agriculture, wool weaving was a means of earning a living. Even today, the municipal area is used for agriculture. However, other opportunities for a livelihood are mostly lacking in Wiesweiler. As early as 1955, 173 out of the 179 villagers engaged in the workforce had to commute to jobs outside the village. Wiesweiler's location near the town of Lauterecken long kept its population level relatively steady, until 2000. Ever since, as in other villages in the area, a serious drop has been noted.
The following table shows population development over the centuries for Wiesweiler:[13]
Year | 1788 | 1815 | 1860 | 1900 | 1925 | 1958 | 2000 | 2007 | 2010 |
Total | 156 | 269 | 465 | 527 | 523 | 594 | 600 | 456 | 451 |
Municipality’s names
Wiesweiler
In the copy of the 1336 document, which was made out sometime about 1440, and in an original 1366 document, the village is named each time as Winsewilre. Other names that the village has borne over the ages are Winsswilr (1393), Wyneswilre (1415), Wensewilre (1436), Winzewiller (1445), Wenßwiler (1477), Wentzweiller (1535) and Winßwiller (1578). In 1790, the form Weißweiler cropped up, which Dolch and Greule hold to be a wrongly interpreted High-Germanization. The placename ending —weiler is one that is quite widespread, and the prefix most likely comes from an early settler – possibly the village's founder – named Winso.
Berschweiler
The originally self-administering village was known as Bernswilre in 1364. Other names that the village has borne over the ages are Berswijlre uf dem Glane bi Winsewijlre (1366), Bersswilr (1393), daz gerichte zu Berßwilre (1411) and Berschweiller (1581 and 1643). From the analysis of the placename ending —weiler and the prefix Berni—, it would seem that the place must originally have been settled by a man named Berni.[14]
Religion
A church may have stood in the
It is unknown when the first church was built at the spot now occupied by the current church. The Romanesque tower still standing today may have been built in its original shape in the early 12th century. There were surely conversions in Late Gothic times. The original nave was torn down in 1818 and replaced with a new building. This remained standing even after the Second World War and was renovated in 1970 and 1971 to plans by a Trier architect. Under the current church organization, Wiesweiler is a branch of Offenbach in the Sankt Wendel church district of the Rhenish Church.[15]
Politics
Municipal council
The council is made up of 8 council members, who were elected by
Mayor
Wiesweiler's mayor is Ingfried Klahr and his deputies are Ralf Schneider and Harald Brand.[17]
Coat of arms
The municipality's arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Per fess argent a demilion azure armed and langued gules, and a pale of the first between vert a lily of the first and gules a lozenge of the first charged with a cross Greek sable.
The
Culture and sightseeing
Buildings
The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:[20]
- Evangelische Kirche, Kirchstraße 19 – two-part plastered building, 1970/1971, architects Otto Vogel, Trier, and W. Simon, Wiesweiler, post-Baroque portal, marked 1819; Romanesque quire tower, Roman spolia
- Kirchstraße, no number – stately corner estate complex; quarrystone dwelling wing marked 1547, expansion possibly in the 18th century
- Kirchstraße 1 – former mill; ample three-sided estate; nine-axis plastered building, 1880, stable-barn 1834; bridge built of hewn stone blocks, 1844
- Kirchstraße 9 – great corner estate, 1829; characterizes village's appearance
Regular events
Wiesweiler's
Clubs
- Angelsportverein – angling
- Bischoff-Club – cultural events, open-air concerts, group travel[22]
- Dart-Club
- Evangelische Frauenhilfe – EvangelicalWomen's Aid
- Förderverein der Freiwilligen Feuerwehr – fire brigadepromotional association
- Gesangverein – singing club
- Landfrauenverein – countrywomen's club
- Turn- und Sportverein mit Förderverein – sport clubwith promotional association
- VdK – advocacy group[23]
Economy and infrastructure
Economic structure
Besides
Education
It is highly likely that there were already efforts underway in Wiesweiler as early as the 16th century to teach the village children to
Transport
Running through the village is
References
- ^ Direktwahlen 2019, Landkreis Kusel, Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz, accessed 2 August 2021.
- Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz. 2023.
- ^ Location
- ^ Wiesweiler's and Berschweiler's location
- ^ Constituent communities
- ^ Municipality’s layout
- ^ Wiesweiler's and Berschweiler's layout
- ^ Antiquity
- ^ Wiesweiler's and Berschweiler's ancient history
- ^ Middle Ages
- ^ Modern times
- ^ Recent times
- ^ "Wiesweiler - regionalgeschichte.net".
- ^ Municipality’s name
- ^ Religion
- ^ Kommunalwahl Rheinland-Pfalz 2009, Gemeinderat
- ^ Wiesweiler’s executive
- ^ Description and explanation of Wiesweiler’s arms
- ^ Description and explanation of Wiesweiler’s arms
- ^ Directory of Cultural Monuments in Kusel district
- ^ Regular events
- ^ Bischoff-Club Wiesweiler
- ^ Clubs
- ^ Economic structure
- ^ Education
- ^ Transport
External links
- Municipality’s official webpage (in German)