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coat of arms	Germany map
	Coordinates: 49 ° 35 '  N , 7 ° 24'  E
Basic data
State :	Rhineland-Palatinate
County :	Kusel
Association municipality :	Kusel-Altenglan
Height :	310 m above sea level NHN
Area :	5.62 km 2
Residents:	214 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	38 inhabitants per km 2
Postal code :	66871
Area code :	06381
License plate :	KUS
Community key :	07 3 36 070
Association administration address:	Marktplatz 1 66869 Kusel
Website :	vg-kusel-altenglan.de
Local Mayor :	Walter Dick
Location of the local community Oberalben in the Kusel district

Landscape of the North Palatinate highlands in the area of ​​Oberalben

Oberalben is a municipality in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate . It belongs to the Kusel-Altenglan community , within which it is the sixth smallest local community in terms of population.

geography

location

Oberalben lies in the Saar-Nahe Hills belonging Nordpfälzer mountains within the Kuseler highlands . The Mayweilerhof residential area also belongs to the community . Neighboring communities are - clockwise -  Baumholder , Ulmet , Erdesbach , Blaubach , Körborn and Dennweiler-Frohnbach .

Elevations and waters

The high Steinerne Mann ( 460  m above sea level ) stretches in the far east on the border with Ulmet .

The Kaueralb , alternatively called Stegbach , runs through the middle of the village and drains beyond the municipal marker via the Totenalb and Steinalp . The Blaubach , which flows in a south-westerly direction and flows into the Kuselbach in the town of the same name, also has its source in the southeast of the municipality . Both rivers thus belong to the Glan river system .

history

The word "Alb" is probably of Celtic origin, means brook and refers to the Kuralb flowing through the place. "Alb" also means bright, shiny and is also related to the Latin word "albus", which translates as "white". The ancestors probably adopted the name used by the Celts. The brook name carried over to the settlement that developed on it. The village, first mentioned in a document in 1387, was called "Alben" until the 16th century, before the syllable "Ober" was added to distinguish it from the village of Alben an der Steinalb -  Niederalben . &

From 1798 to 1814, when the Palatinate was part of the French Republic (until 1804) and then part of the Napoleonic Empire , the place was incorporated into the canton of Kusel . In 1815 the community first belonged to Austria . After the Congress of Vienna , it was added to Bavaria a year later . From 1818 to 1862 "Ober-Alben" - as it was spelled at the time - continued to belong to the Kusel canton and was part of the Kusel Land Commissioner , which was then converted into a district office.

In 1939 the place was incorporated into the Kusel district. After the Second World War , Oberalben became part of the then newly formed state of Rhineland-Palatinate within the French occupation zone . In the course of the first Rhineland-Palatinate administrative reform , Oberalben was incorporated into the newly formed Kusel association .

In 2017 a merger with the neighboring community of Dennweiler-Frohnbach was considered. After assessing the advantages and disadvantages, the two municipal councils unanimously decided in a joint meeting on August 10, 2018 not to pursue this plan any further. Since 2018 the place has also been part of the Kusel-Altenglan Association .

Population development

In 1840 there were 23 houses with 229 inhabitants in the village. It was designated as a Protestant village and was assigned to the parish of Ulmet . The development of the population of Oberalben, the values ​​from 1871 to 1987 are based on censuses:

year Residents 1815 188 1835 229 1871 310 1905 349 1939 324

year Residents 1950 340 1961 311 1970 293 1987 260 2005 262

politics

Municipal council

The council in Oberalben consists of six council members, who in the local elections on May 26, 2019 in a majority vote were elected, and the honorary mayor as chairman.

mayor

Walter Dick became mayor of Oberalben in 2009. Since there was no candidate in the direct election on May 26, 2019, the upcoming election was carried out by the council in accordance with the municipal regulations. He unanimously confirmed Dick on June 26, 2019 for another five years in his office. Dick's predecessor in office was Dietmar Hennchen.

coat of arms

Blazon : "In blue a silver diagonal right-hand wave bar, top right the entwined, golden capital letters 'A' and 'V', bottom left a red-armored and tongued, golden lion." In 1983 the coat of arms was approved by the district government of the Palatinate in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse .

Justification for the coat of arms: The silver, wavy sloping beam represents the village stream, the Kuralb. The golden lion shows that it once belonged to the Duchy of Pfalz-Zweibrücken . The blue background is reminiscent of the former location in the county of Veldenz . The letters "AV" mean Amt Ulmet and refer to the Zweibrücken Amt Ulmet (also Schultheisserei Ulmet), to which Oberalben belonged until the end of the 18th century. The entwined letters have been handed down in seals of the office since 1753.

Culture and sights

Emigration Museum

The only cultural monument on site is the so-called Emigration Museum ; it shows the background, the process and the settlement of emigrants . Over three centuries, many people emigrated to North America in particular; among these were the ancestors of the American baseball player Babe Ruth .

Events

In 2006 the German-Pennsylvania Day took place on site .

Economy and Infrastructure

traffic

The above Dennweiler-Frohnbach and Körborn according Thallichtenberg leading County Road 23 binds the nucleus to to the road network. In the east this opens into Kreisstraße 22 ; the latter passes the Mayweilerhof and leads from Ulmet via Blaubach to Kusel. The A 62 is in the south . In Kusel there is a train station on the Landstuhl – Kusel railway line . The public transport system is in the transport association Rhein-Neckar integrated (VRN).

tourism

A variant of the Fritz-Wunderlich-Weg runs through Oberalben .

literature

• Literature on top albums in the Rhineland-Palatinate state bibliography

Web links

Commons : Oberalben  - collection of images

• Local community Oberalben on the website of the association community Kusel-Altenglan
• Top albums at regionalgeschichte.net
• Emigration Museum Oberalben

Individual evidence

1. ↑ State Statistical Office of Rhineland-Palatinate - population status 2019, districts, communities, association communities ( help on this ).
2. ↑ State Statistical Office Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Official directory of the municipalities and parts of the municipality. Status: January 2019 ^{[ Version 2020 is available. ]} . S. 158 (PDF; 3 MB).
3. ↑ Susanne Cahn: Dennweiler-Frohnbach and Oberalben: Off for voluntary merger. Die Rheinpfalz, August 30, 2018, accessed on May 10, 2020 . 
4. ^ Max Siebert: The Kingdom of Bavaria topographically and statistically in lexicographical and tabular form , Verlag Georg Franz, Munich 1840. p. 156 ( Google Books )
5. ↑ State Statistical Office Rhineland-Palatinate - regional data
6. ^ The Regional Returning Officer Rhineland-Palatinate: Local elections 2019, city and municipal council elections
7. ↑ Susanne Cahn: Candidacy: Walter Dick wants to remain mayor in Oberalben. Die Rheinpfalz, March 21, 2019, accessed on May 15, 2020 . 
8. ^ The Regional Returning Officer Rhineland-Palatinate: direct elections 2019. see Kusel-Altenglan, Verbandsgemeinde, 25th line of results. Retrieved May 15, 2020 . 
9. ↑ Susanne Cahn: Walter Dick will remain local mayor in Oberalben for another five years. Die Rheinpfalz, June 27, 2019, accessed on May 15, 2020 .