Roßbach (Westerwald)

Basic data
State :	Rhineland-Palatinate
County :	Westerwaldkreis
Association municipality :	Hachenburg
Height :	300 m above sea level NHN
Area :	7.47 km 2
Residents:	826 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	111 inhabitants per km 2
Postal code :	56271
Area code :	02680
License plate :	WW
Community key :	07 1 43 287
Association administration address:	Gartenstrasse 11 ; 57627 Hachenburg
Website :	www.rossbach-ww.de
Local Mayor :	Wilfried Oettgen
Location of the local community Roßbach in the Westerwaldkreis

Roßbach (Westerwald), aerial photo (2016)

Protestant church

Otfried Preussler Elementary School

Roßbach is a municipality in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate . It belongs to the Hachenburg community .

geography

The community Roßbach is located in the Grenzbachtal, a side valley of the Holzbach in the Westerwald , between Hachenburg and Dierdorf ; it borders directly on the Neuwied district . Roßbach is surrounded by large areas of forest, such as the Roßbacher Wald in the east.

The residential areas Hof Heiderück, Hof Waldeck, Mühlenhof and Roßbacher Mühle also belong to Roßbach.

Neighboring communities of Roßbach are: Berod near Hachenburg and Wahlrod in the north, Welkenbach in the northeast, Mündersbach in the east, Marienhausen in the southeast, Maroth in the south, Dierdorf in the southwest, Woldert in the west and Oberdreis in the northwest.

history

In the middle of the 9th century a moth emerged near Roßbach , the remains of which can still be seen today. The area belonged to the property of the St. Maximin Abbey in Trier and so the first church in Roßbach - probably a simple half-timbered building - was consecrated by the Archbishop Bertholf of Trier as early as 876 . The first stone church was built around the year 1000 and served as a place of worship for about 150 years. Between 1150 and 1260 the three-aisled pillar basilica was built , which became a Protestant church through the Reformation in 1560. In 1954 the dilapidated church tower was torn down and the 700-year-old church remained as a ruin with the foundation walls of the central nave and choir, which is now a listed building and often serves as a romantic setting for celebrations and offers a devout space under the open sky.

In 1957, not far from the ruins, construction began on the new church, which was consecrated in 1958. The old St. Mary's bell, cast in 1370, which has survived all wars and confusions of the centuries without damage, is still in service today together with the two new bells in the church tower that were purchased in 1958.

Rossbach was until the late 18th century country wonderfully to Sayn-Hachenburg . In 1799 the county came to the princes of Nassau-Weilburg by inheritance . In connection with the formation of the Rhine Confederation , the region and with it Roßbach came to the newly established Duchy of Nassau in 1806 . Under the Nassau administration, the community was assigned to the Hachenburg office. After the annexation of the Duchy of Nassau, the place came to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866 and from 1868 belonged to the province of Hessen-Nassau and the Oberwesterwaldkreis . Roßbach has been part of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate since 1946 .

Population development

The development of the population of Roßbach, the values from 1871 to 1987 are based on censuses:

year	Residents
1815	397
1835	415
1871	457
1905	573
1939	603
1950	656

year	Residents
1961	636
1970	691
1987	724
1997	940
2005	921
2019	826

politics

Municipal council

The local council in Roßbach consists of twelve council members, who were elected in the local elections on May 26, 2019 in a personalized proportional representation, and the honorary local mayor as chairman.

The distribution of seats in the municipal council:

choice	SPD	CDU	Flat share	FWG	total
2019	3	2	2	5	12 seats
2014	4th	3	-	5	12 seats
2009	5	3	-	4th	12 seats
2004	5	3	-	4th	12 seats

FWG = Free Voter Group Roßbach e. V.

mayor

Wilfried Oettgen became mayor of Roßbach in 1993. In the direct election on May 26, 2019, he was confirmed in office for a further five years with a share of 68.78% of the votes.

coat of arms

Blazon : "Above a green mountain in the base of the shield, in it three silver pointed bars, a red cross in silver framed by a black Romanesque round arch."

Justification for the coat of arms: The mountain in the shield foot symbolizes the nearby Prangenberg; the pointed bars, the form in which pig iron was traded, point to late medieval smelting furnaces in the Roßbacher district; the cross commemorates the former church patron St. Maximin von Trier and the Romanesque round arch of the 13th century church, which only stands as a ruin after mining damage. There is also the memorial for the fallen of both world wars.