Southwest Palatinate district

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coat of arms Germany map
Coat of arms of the district of Südwestpfalz Map of Germany, position of the district of Südwestpfalz highlighted

Coordinates: 49 ° 13 '  N , 7 ° 40'  E

Basic data
State : Rhineland-Palatinate
Administrative headquarters : Pirmasens
Area : 953.65 km 2
Residents: 94,831 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density : 99 inhabitants per km 2
License plate : PS , ZW
Circle key : 07 3 40
Circle structure: 84 municipalities
Address of the
district administration:
Unterer Sommerwald 40–42
66953 Pirmasens
Website : www.lksuedwestpfalz.de
District Administrator : Susanne Ganster ( CDU )
Location of the district of Südwestpfalz in Rhineland-Palatinate
Niederlande Belgien Frankreich Luxemburg Baden-Württemberg Hessen Nordrhein-Westfalen Saarland Frankenthal (Pfalz) Kaiserslautern Koblenz Landau in der Pfalz Landau in der Pfalz Ludwigshafen am Rhein Mainz Pirmasens Speyer Trier Worms Zweibrücken Landkreis Ahrweiler Landkreis Altenkirchen (Westerwald) Landkreis Alzey-Worms Landkreis Bad Dürkheim Landkreis Bad Kreuznach Landkreis Bernkastel-Wittlich Landkreis Birkenfeld Landkreis Cochem-Zell Donnersbergkreis Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm Landkreis Germersheim Landkreis Kaiserslautern Landkreis Kusel Landkreis Mainz-Bingen Landkreis Mayen-Koblenz Neustadt an der Weinstraße Landkreis Neuwied Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis Rhein-Lahn-Kreis Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis Landkreis Südliche Weinstraße Landkreis Südwestpfalz Landkreis Trier-Saarburg Landkreis Vulkaneifel Westerwaldkreismap
About this picture

The district of Südwestpfalz is a regional authority in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate . The seat of the district administration is the independent city of Pirmasens , which is completely enclosed by the district and is not part of the district. The most populous municipality is the town of Rodalben . The district borders both the Saarland and France .

geography

location

The district of Südwestpfalz has a two-part landscape structure. To the east are the hills of the Palatinate Forest . A varied forest landscape spreads out on sandstone cliffs, interrupted by floodplains of various streams. The source of the Lauterbach is located near Pirmasens . In Dahn , standing in the freestanding sandstone rocks, tourism is on.

The west of the district is part of the Westrich plateau and is dominated by open, agricultural landscapes. In the extreme southwest of the district is Hornbach , whose former Benedictine monastery was one of the most important cultural and development centers of the German Empire in the High Middle Ages.

Neighboring areas

The district borders clockwise in the southwest, beginning with the Saarpfalz district (in Saarland ), the independent city of Zweibrücken and the districts of Kaiserslautern and Bad Dürkheim , an exclave of the independent city of Landau in the Palatinate and the district of Südliche Weinstrasse (all in Rhineland-Palatinate). In the south it borders on the French districts of Haguenau-Weißenburg and Saargemünd and thus on the departments of Bas-Rhin and Moselle . The independent city of Pirmasens is completely enclosed by the district of Südwestpfalz.

history

Before 1800, the area of ​​today's district was split up into numerous domains. The most important were the Electorate of Palatinate , the County of Hanau-Lichtenberg and the Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken . From 1816 it belonged to Bavaria. This made 1818 & a. the Landkommissariat Pirmasens , from which the District Office Pirmasens emerged in 1862 .

On March 1, 1920, the city of Pirmasens left the district office of Pirmasens and became a city ​​immediately within the district . In 1939 the district office, like all Bavarian district offices, was renamed the district . After the Second World War , the district became part of the French zone of occupation . The district of Pirmasens became part of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in 1946 , initially in the administrative region of Palatinate .

As part of the territorial reforms in Rhineland-Palatinate , there were initially several territorial changes on June 7, 1969:

On April 22, 1972, there were further changes to the area:

The district of Pirmasens was renamed on January 1, 1997 in the district of Südwestpfalz .

For a long time, the seat of the district administration was in the district office in Bahnhofstrasse in Pirmasens, which was temporarily occupied by Palatinate separatists in 1923/24 . When the separatists were driven out, it was set on fire and then had to be rebuilt. In the post-war period the building became too small and a new district administration was set up on the summer forest .

Population statistics

year Residents source
1864 41,800
1885 50,383
1900 71,072
1910 86,981
1925 54.506
1939 64,147
1950 67,341
1960 76,200
1970 80,800
1980 98,700
1990 100,300
2000 105,400
2010 98,887
2019 94,831

Denomination statistics

According to the 2011 census , in 2011 35.9% of the population were Protestant , 49.9% were mostly Roman Catholic and 14.2% were non-denominational , belonged to another religious community or did not provide any information. The number of Protestants and Catholics has fallen since then. Currently (as of February 29, 2020) 32.6% of the population are Protestant, 44.7% are predominantly Roman Catholic and 22.7% are non-denominational or belong to another religious community.

politics

District council

Distribution of seats in the Südwestpfälzer Kreisag 2019
1
4th
10
5
3
14th
5
4th 10 14th 
A total of 42 seats
Election for the Südwestpfälzer Kreisag 2019
Participation: 70.5% (+ 3.2% p)
 %
50
40
30th
20th
10
0
33.1
(-7.1)
23.4
(-6.1)
12.7
(-0.7)
11.1
( n. K. )
10.1
(+3.8)
6.6
(+1.6)
3.0
(-0.4)
2014

2019


The district assembly of the district of Südwestpfalz consists of 42 district assembly members elected in a personalized proportional representation and the district administrator as chairman.

Because of the special features of the Rhineland-Palatinate electoral system in local elections (personalized proportional representation), the percentages given are shown as weighted results that only represent the voting behavior in arithmetic.

The district council elections on May 26, 2019 led to the following result:

Parties and groups of voters %
2019
Seats
2019
%
2014
Seats
2014
CDU 33.1 14th 40.2 17th
SPD 23.4 10 29.5 12
FWG 12.7 5 13.4 6th
AfD 11.1 5 - -
B90 / greens 10.1 4th 6.3 3
FDP 6.6 3 5.0 2
left 3.0 1 3.4 1
Others - - 2.3 1
total 100.0 42 100.0 42
Voter turnout in% 70.5 67.3

District administrators

Susanne Ganster won the direct election on May 7, 2017 with a share of 53.79% of the vote against Peter Spitzer (SPD) and took office on October 1, 2017.

badges and flags

The district of Südwestpfalz has a coat of arms as well as a hoist and banner flag .

Coat of arms of the district of Südwestpfalz
Blazon : "Split: On the right in gold three red rafters one above the other, on the left in black a red crowned and armored golden lion."
Justification of the coat of arms: The lion symbolizes the Electorate of Palatinate, the rafters the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg. Before 1800, both rulers shared most of the district area. The coat of arms was approved on December 20, 1972.

Economy and Transport

In the Future Atlas 2016 , the district of Südwestpfalz was ranked 314 out of 402 districts, municipal associations and independent cities in Germany, making it one of the regions with “future risks”.

At 15,349 euros, the district of Südwestpfalz has the lowest gross domestic product per capita of all cities and districts in Germany.

traffic

The federal highways 8 ( Perl –Zweibrücken – Pirmasens) and 62 (Pirmasens– Landstuhl ) run through the district . In addition, the district is accessed by several federal and district roads, including the B 10 , B 270 and B 427 .

The most important railway line that crosses the district is the single- track Landau – Rohrbach line running in an east-west direction , which has since lost supra-regional traffic. The Biebermühlbahn , which connects Pirmasens with Kaiserslautern and runs from Pirmasens Nord to Steinalben in the district, has also lost its importance . The Wieslauterbahn from Hinterweidenthal Ost to Bundenthal-Rumbach is only used for leisure traffic . From 1913 to 1971 the Hornbachbahn existed , which tied Althornbach and Hornbach to the railway network. From 1921 to 1930 there was also the narrow-gauge Wasgauwaldbahn from Bundenthal to Ludwigswinkel.

cities and communes

Association municipalities with their associated cities and municipalities

(Population figures as of December 31, 2019; the seat of each municipality is marked with *)

  1. Bobenthal (295)
  2. Bruchweiler-Bärenbach (1549)
  3. Bundenthal (1078)
  4. Busenberg (1185)
  5. Dahn , City * (4553)
  6. Erfweiler (1189)
  7. Erlenbach near Dahn (331)
  8. Fischbach near Dahn (1464)
  9. Hirschthal (93)
  10. Ludwigswinkel (767)
  11. Niederschlettenbach (287)
  12. Nothweiler (130)
  13. Rumbach (438)
  14. Schindhard (528)
  15. Schoenau (Palatinate) (408)
  1. Darstein (200)
  2. Dimbach (179)
  3. Hauenstein (Palatinate) * (4016)
  4. Hinterweidenthal (1559)
  5. Lug (Palatinate) (579)
  6. Schwanheim (Palatinate) (590)
  7. Spirkelbach (679)
  8. Wilgartswiesen (997)
  1. Clausen (1457)
  2. Donsieders (917)
  3. Leimen (Palatinate) (951)
  4. Merzalben (1146)
  5. Münchweiler an der Rodalb (2845)
  6. Rodalben , City * (6711)
  1. Biedershausen (191)
  2. Herschberg (818)
  3. Hettenhausen (229)
  4. Höheischweiler (854)
  5. Cave Frogs (894)
  6. Knopp-Labach (406)
  7. Crows Mountain (177)
  8. Maßweiler (947)
  9. Nünschweiler (748)
  10. Obernheim-Kirchenarnbach (1615)
  11. Petersberg (881)
  12. Tire Mountain (801)
  13. Rieschweiler-Mühlbach (2055)
  14. Saalstadt (319)
  15. Schauerberg (186)
  16. Schmitshausen (400)
  17. Thaleischweiler frogs * (3272)
  18. Wallhalben (861)
  19. Weselberg (1293)
  20. Winterbach (Palatinate) (506)
  1. Geiselberg (757)
  2. Heltersberg (2020)
  3. Hermersberg (1743)
  4. Höheinöd (1190)
  5. Horbach (Palatinate) (519)
  6. Schmalenberg (753)
  7. Stone albums (382)
  8. Waldfischbach-Burgalben * (4688)
  1. Althornbach (666)
  2. Battweiler (667)
  3. Bechhofen (2138)
  4. Contwig (4932)
  5. Dellfeld (1338)
  6. Dietrichingen (341)
  7. Grossbundenbach (335)
  8. Grosssteinhausen (598)
  9. Hornbach , town (1430)
  10. Käshofen (629)
  11. Kleinbundenbach (427)
  12. Kleinsteinhausen (731)
  13. Mauschbach (295)
  14. Riedelberg (468)
  15. Rosenkopf (354)
  16. Walshausen (306)
  17. Wiesbach (518)
  1. Bottenbach (741)
  2. Eppenbrunn (1308)
  3. Hilst (315)
  4. Kröppen (674)
  5. Lviv (3759)
  6. Obersimten (624)
  7. Ruppertsweiler (1503)
  8. Schweix (294)
  9. Trulben (1124)
  10. Vinningen (1690)
Darstein Dimbach (Pfalz) Hauenstein (Pfalz) Hinterweidenthal Lug (Pfalz) Schwanheim (Pfalz) Spirkelbach Spirkelbach Wilgartswiesen Wilgartswiesen Clausen Donsieders Leimen (Pfalz) Merzalben Münchweiler an der Rodalb Rodalben Bottenbach Eppenbrunn Hilst Kröppen Kröppen Lemberg (Pfalz) Obersimten Ruppertsweiler Schweix Trulben Vinningen Bobenthal Bruchweiler-Bärenbach Bundenthal Busenberg Dahn Erfweiler Erlenbach bei Dahn Fischbach bei Dahn Hirschthal (Pfalz) Ludwigswinkel Niederschlettenbach Nothweiler Rumbach Schindhard Schönau (Pfalz) Biedershausen Herschberg Hettenhausen (Pfalz) Knopp-Labach Krähenberg Obernheim-Kirchenarnbach Saalstadt Schauerberg Schmitshausen Wallhalben Weselberg Winterbach (Pfalz) Geiselberg Heltersberg Hermersberg Höheinöd Horbach (Pfalz) Schmalenberg Steinalben Waldfischbach-Burgalben Althornbach Battweiler Bechhofen (Pfalz) Contwig Dellfeld Dietrichingen Großbundenbach Großsteinhausen Hornbach Käshofen Kleinbundenbach Kleinsteinhausen Mauschbach Riedelberg Rosenkopf Walshausen Wiesbach (Pfalz) Höheischweiler Höhfröschen Maßweiler Nünschweiler Petersberg (Pfalz) Reifenberg Rieschweiler-Mühlbach Thaleischweiler-Fröschen Pirmasens Zweibrücken Saarland Saarland Frankreich Landkreis Südliche Weinstraße Kaiserslautern Landkreis Kaiserslautern Landkreis Kaiserslautern Landkreis Kusel Landau in der Pfalz Landkreis Bad DürkheimAssociation communities in PS.svg
About this picture
Former parishes

For lists of the term "area changes" see area reforms in Rhineland-Palatinate

License Plate

On July 1, 1956, the district was assigned the distinctive sign PS when the vehicle registration number that is still valid today was introduced . It is still issued today. Since February 2, 2015, in connection with the license plate liberalization , the distinctive sign ZW (Zweibrücken) has also been available.

Individual evidence

  1. a b State Statistical Office of Rhineland-Palatinate - population status 2019, districts, municipalities, association communities ( help on this ).
  2. ^ Official Journal of the French High Command in Germany, No. 35 (1946), p. 292
  3. Official municipality directory 2006 ( Memento from December 22, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) (= State Statistical Office Rhineland-Palatinate [Hrsg.]: Statistical volumes . Volume 393 ). Bad Ems March 2006, p. 205 (PDF; 2.6 MB). Info: An up-to-date directory ( 2016 ) is available, but in the section "Territorial changes - Territorial administrative reform" it does not give any population figures.  
  4. ^ Eugen Hartmann: Statistics of the Kingdom of Bavaria . Ed .: Royal Bavarian Statistical Bureau. Munich 1866, population of the district offices 1864, p. 74 ( digitized version ).
  5. Royal Bavarian Statistical Bureau (ed.): Localities directory of the Kingdom of Bavaria . Munich 1888, population of the district offices 1885, p. VI ( digitized version ).
  6. a b c d e f Michael Rademacher: German administrative history from the unification of the empire in 1871 to the reunification in 1990. pirmasens.html. (Online material for the dissertation, Osnabrück 2006).
  7. Statistical Yearbook for the Federal Republic of Germany 1972
  8. Statistical Yearbook for the Federal Republic of Germany 1981
  9. Statistical Yearbook for the Federal Republic of Germany 1992
  10. Statistical Yearbook for the Federal Republic of Germany 2002
  11. District of Südwestpfalz Religion , 2011 census
  12. District of Südwestpfalz, municipal statistics , accessed on April 6, 2020
  13. Explanation by the Land Returning Officer on weighted results.
  14. ^ Result of the election at the regional returning officer Rhineland-Palatinate
  15. ^ Mechthild Treusch: The Southwest Palatinate chooses Susanne Ganster. Die Rheinpfalz, May 8, 2017, accessed on December 7, 2019 .
  16. Future Atlas 2016. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on October 2, 2017 ; accessed on March 23, 2018 .
  17. ^ State Statistical Office of Baden-Württemberg: Current results - VGR dL. Retrieved March 27, 2018 .

Web links

Commons : Landkreis Südwestpfalz  - Collection of images, videos and audio files