Ellweiler 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.
Ellweiler | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 49°36′54″N 7°08′40″E / 49.61500°N 7.14444°E | |
Country | Germany |
State | Rhineland-Palatinate |
District | Birkenfeld |
Municipal assoc. | Birkenfeld |
Government | |
• Mayor (2019–24) | Ellen Breuer[1] |
Area | |
• Total | 7.46 km2 (2.88 sq mi) |
Elevation | 358 m (1,175 ft) |
Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 323 |
• Density | 43/km2 (110/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 55765 |
Dialling codes | 06782 |
Vehicle registration | BIR |
Website | www.ellweiler.de |
Geography
editLocation
editThe municipality lies on the Traunbach in the Schwarzwälder Hochwald (forest) in the Hunsrück near the boundary with the Saarland. The municipal area is 67.6% wooded.
Neighbouring municipalities
editEllweiler borders in the north on the municipality of Dambach, in the east on the municipality of Hoppstädten-Weiersbach (Ortsteil of Neubrücke) and in the south on the municipality of Nohfelden in the Saarland.
Constituent communities
editAlso belonging to Ellweiler are the outlying homesteads of Haumbach, Neubrücker Mühle and Steinautal.[3]
History
editIn the 12th century, Ellweiler had its first documentary mention. After first being an Electoral-Trier fief, it passed in 1480 to the Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken.
Politics
editMunicipal council
editThe council is made up of 8 council members, who were elected by majority vote at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.[4]
Mayor
editEllweiler's mayor is Ellen Breuer.[1]
Coat of arms
editThe German blazon reads: In geteiltem Schild oben eine rote Elchschaufel in Gold, unten ein rotbewehrter, -gezungter und -gekrönter wachsender goldener Löwe in Schwarz.
The municipality's arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Per fess Or an elk's attire fesswise gules and sable issuant from base a demilion of the first armed, langued and crowned of the second.
The elk's attire (that is, antler) is a canting charge for the German word Elch, meaning “(Eurasian) elk” (that is to say, “moose”), which is taken to be the source of the first syllable in the village's name (the Weiler part means “hamlet”, but there is no canting charge for that). The lion is drawn from the arms formerly borne by the Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken.
The arms have been borne since 1963.
Culture and sightseeing
editBuildings
editThe following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:[5]
- Evangelical church, Bohnenhübel 2 – aisleless church with ridge turret, 1776, architect Philipp Heinrich Hellermann, Zweibrücken; characterizes village’s appearance
Economy and infrastructure
editTransport
editTo the southeast run Bundesstraße 41 and the Autobahn A 62 (Kaiserslautern–Trier). Serving nearby Neubrücke is a railway station on the Nahe Valley Railway (Bingen–Saarbrücken).
Uranium
editFrom 1958 to 1967, uranium ore was mined by the Gewerkschaft Brunhilde (a limited company) in an open pit north of Ellweiler on the “Bühlskopf” (49°37′04″N 07°08′49″E / 49.61778°N 7.14694°E – position of abandoned Ellweiler uranium open-pit mine). Smaller uranium deposits were also found 650 m northwest of the Bühlskopf on the northeast slope of “Der Stein” as well as in a couple of places near Nohfelden.[6] Processing was done at the Uranerzaufbereitungsanlage Ellweiler (Ellweiler Uranium Ore Processing Facility).
References
edit- ^ a b Direktwahlen 2019, Landkreis Birkenfeld, Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz, accessed 10 August 2021.
- ^ "Bevölkerungsstand 2022, Kreise, Gemeinden, Verbandsgemeinden" (PDF) (in German). Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz. 2023.
- ^ Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz – Amtliches Verzeichnis der Gemeinden und Gemeindeteile Archived 2015-11-25 at the Wayback Machine, Seite 19 (PDF)
- ^ Kommunalwahl Rheinland-Pfalz 2009, Gemeinderat
- ^ Directory of Cultural Monuments in Birkenfeld district
- ^ H. Schmeltzer: Mineral-Fundstellen. Band 6: Rheinland-Pfalz und Saarland, Ch. Weise Verlag, München 1977
External links
edit- Ellweiler at mineralienatlas.de (in German)