Breitenstein (Esthal)

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Breitenstein
Local church Esthal
Coordinates: 49 ° 20 ′ 38 ″  N , 8 ° 0 ′ 8 ″  E
Height : 200 m above sea level NHN
Postal code : 67466
Area code : 06325
Breitenstein castle ruins
Breitenstein castle ruins

Breitenstein in the Elmsteiner Tal is a hamlet that belongs to the local community Esthal in the Rhineland-Palatinate district of Bad Dürkheim .

Geographical location

Breitenstein is located in the middle of the Palatinate Forest in the southern area of ​​the Esthal community. It is located at about 200  m above sea level. NHN and is traversed by the Speyerbach , into which the Argenbach flows from the right and then the Breitenbach from the left at the level of the hamlet . At the hamlet, the Speyerbach valley is bordered on the left, in the north, by the Gleisberg massif ( 471.2  m ), behind which the main town of Esthal is located. South of Breitenstein, the approximately 489  m high Kanzelkopf closes the Speyerbach valley to the right. The settlements to the northeast, down the Speyerbach, are also districts of the Esthal community. On the Speyerbach up to the west, the local community of Elmstein extends with its districts.

history

In the Middle Ages , Breitenstein was on the northern route of the Palatinate Way of St. James . The place was connected to the railway network in 1909 with the opening of the Kuckucksbähnel . Passenger traffic, which had always played a subordinate role due to the sparse population in the Speyerbach Valley, was discontinued as early as 1960, as was freight traffic at the end of the 1970s. Since 1984, serving steam locomotives and historic wagons on the route reactivated as museum train the excursion traffic .

Attractions

The most striking building on site is Breitenstein Castle , which is 220 meters above the left bank of the Speyerbach. Built around 1246, it was destroyed during the Weißenburg feud in 1470/71 between the Palatinate Elector Friedrich I and his cousin Ludwig I , the Duke of Pfalz-Zweibrücken , and has been in ruins ever since. Other cultural monuments are the weirs on the Speyerbach and the Trift facilities on the Breitenbach. Further down in the Speyerbach valley on the right side of the stream is the Breitenstein forester's lodge , which, however, is already on the forest area of ​​the Kirrweiler community .

Infrastructure

economy

Kuckucksbähnel :
Breitenstein stop

Säge- und Hobelwerk Fath GmbH & Co. KG , which emerged from a medieval sawmill and mainly produces wooden parts as building material, is based as a commercial enterprise. Although located outside the district boundary, represents the Forsthaus Breitenstein, where a forest restaurant is operated, the second economic factor at the Breitenbach mouth is. Mountain bikers reach the settlement on Tour 5 , hikers can three castles trail with the ruins Breitenstein, Erfenstein and Commit Spangenberg .

traffic

Breitenstein forms the northwestern end point of Totenkopfstrasse ( Landesstrasse  514), which has its southeastern starting point at Sankt Martin . The more important connection for motor traffic, however, is the state road 499, which leads down to the B 39 ( Frankenstein - Neustadt an der Weinstraße ) in the Elmstein Valley . Branching off the L 499,  the main town of Esthal is reached via county road 23. Breitenstein has a bus stop for the 517 bus (Neustadt– Iggelbach ).

The Breitenstein stop on the route of the Kuckucksbähnel ( Lambrecht –Elmstein) is mainly used by hikers. The station sign for the stop on the way is written in Fraktur , the platform is overgrown with grass.

Individual evidence

  1. Map service of the landscape information system of the Rhineland-Palatinate nature conservation administration (LANIS map) ( notes )
  2. ^ A b Forsthaus Breitenstein: Forsthaus Breitenstein in the Elmsteiner Valley. Retrieved June 23, 2011 .
  3. ^ Medium- sized marketplace: sawmill and planing mill in Fath. Retrieved September 22, 2011 .