Waldbreitbach

coat of arms	Germany map
	Coordinates: 50 ° 33 '  N , 7 ° 25'  E
Basic data
State :	Rhineland-Palatinate
County :	Neuwied
Association municipality :	Rengsdorf-Waldbreitbach
Height :	140 m above sea level NHN
Area :	6.39 km 2
Residents:	1858 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	291 inhabitants per km 2
Postal code :	56588
Area code :	02638
License plate :	NO
Community key :	07 1 38 076
Association administration address:	Westerwaldstrasse 32–34 56579 Rengsdorf
Website :	www.waldbreitbach.de
Local Mayor :	Martin Lerbs ( CDU )
Location of the local community Waldbreitbach in the district of Neuwied

Waldbreitbach is a local community and a state-recognized health resort on the Wied in the Neuwied district in Rhineland-Palatinate . It belongs to the community of Rengsdorf-Waldbreitbach .

geography

Geographical location

The place is about 16 km north of Neuwied and west of junction 36 of the A3 motorway .

Community structure

The local community Waldbreitbach includes the districts and living quarters: Heilstätte Antoniushaus, Gasbitze, Glockscheid, Gutshof, Marienhaus Monastery, Over, Rabental, Walburg Castle, Wüscheid.

history

The first written mention of the place is documented for the year 857, when the spelling Bretpah was used to describe the border to the castor community of Rengsdorf . In the following time there was always reports of the Breitbach valley , in which - in the words of Mechthild von Sayn  - the two Breitbach had trained. From the Middle Ages to modern times today Waldbreitbach was always with Breitbach , referred to as the term "Walt" -Breitbach today (Grefe Breitbach) Niederbreitbach was meant, because the office of the Management same place Walt was -ung. In the imagination of the inhabitants, the attribution is mistakenly associated with forest.

In the judgment of historical research, the Breitbacher Land belonged to the Thuringian free float on the Rhine in the pre-Mechthild period. Via the Cologne Elector and Archbishop Philipp I von Heinsberg (1167–1191), this land came under the jurisdiction of Sayn as a marriage gift in order to end disputes between Cologne, Thuringia and Sayn later . With the death of Heinrich III. von Sayn (1202-1246), husband of Matilda, fell turbulent inheritance disputes the wide Bacher country in 1250 as the official New Castle in the Electorate of Cologne sovereignty back. The Middle Ages are characterized by repetitive Cologne pledges. It was not until the middle of the 17th century that the period of pledges ended under Archbishop Clemens August of Cologne .

Ore mining took on considerable proportions as early as the late Middle Ages. The German Order conversed one with the will of Mechthild von Sayn in Waldbreitbach Commandery . From 1313 this was assigned to the Deutschmeister zu Mergentheim and in 1602 passed to the Ballei Koblenz . The order was also the patron saint of the parish church there (Johannes Baptista, later Beata Maria Virgo ). In the late Middle Ages, a secular court in Waldbreitbach had replaced the originally ecclesiastical one, which was repealed in the middle of the 19th century after great resistance from the population and moved to Neuwied. The Electoral Cologne period ended when the Neuerburg office became runkel-wiedisch in 1803. From 1806 to 1815 the country was Nassau , then Prussian . Against the background of increasing economic hardship, at the turn of the 20th century, Waldbreitbach opened up to tourism. The existing agriculture also declined in the 1960s. In 2010 there were still six farms left.

Population development

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

year Residents 1815 406 1835 744 1871 803 1905 1,329 1939 1,591 1950 1,401

year Residents 1961 1,857 1970 1,841 1987 1.912 1997 2.118 2005 1,957 2019 1,858

politics

Municipal council

The municipal council in Waldbreitbach consists of 16 council members, who were elected in a personalized proportional representation in the local elections on May 26, 2019 , and the honorary local mayor as chairman.

The distribution of seats in the municipal council:

choice	SPD	CDU	FDP	FWG	total
2019	5	10	1	-	16 seats
2014	5	11	-	-	16 seats
2009	3	7th	-	6th	16 seats
2004	2	9	-	5	16 seats

mayor

Martin Lerbs (CDU) became mayor of Waldbreitbach in 2014. In the direct election on May 26, 2019, he was confirmed in his office for a further five years with a share of the vote of 70.85%. Martin Lerbs' predecessor was Karl Willi Engels, who held the office for 15 years.

Culture and sights

See also: List of cultural monuments in Waldbreitbach

The Kreuzkapelle between Waldbreitbach and Hausen (Wied)

Church of the Assumption of Mary

Mill on the Wied

• The Catholic parish church Maria Himmelfahrt , which can be reached via a staircase from the main street , was founded in the 13th century by the Teutonic Order . Only the tower with double arcades on the upper floor, divided by Ionic columns, has survived from this period. The bell was cast by Johannes Berdaller from Koblenz-Ehrenbreitstein in 1694 . The nave was rebuilt from 1876 to 1878 after its predecessor was torn down, according to the plans of the architect Reinhold Wirtz . After being destroyed in the Second World War, the church was gradually (1950–1976–2012) renovated and repainted according to historical models.
• Above the Catholic parish church is the former Teutonic Order House, which was first mentioned in 1239 as the Deutsches Huis zu Brettbach . The Commandery belonging to the Deutschordensballei Koblenz had around 400 acres of land in the 18th century. After the property had moved in after the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss by the Duchy of Nassau (1809) Hermann Fürst zu Wied bought the property. After his death, it served various purposes - as a daughter school, kindergarten, outpatient clinic and finally as a home for the elderly of the Order of the Franciscan Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Angels , named after its founder Rosa Flesch Commende Rosa-Stift . The property has not been used since 1988. The complex, which was in need of renovation, was acquired by a private investor in 2008. The building was rebuilt in 2009/2010 in the style of the early baroque core building erected in 1703, taking into account monument conservation issues and now serves as a residential and commercial building.
• Due to the destruction in the Second World War, the structure of the site is heterogeneous; a closed old town center is missing. Some privately owned half-timbered houses have been restored. In some buildings, which have been changed a lot and now serve other purposes, reference is made to local handicraft traditions, for example the old smithy (half-timbered house from 1794) and the carpentry shop (since 1875).
• There is an oil mill on the Wied, which received its first concession from Kurköln in 1676, but was destroyed four years later by a flood. The engine of the pan mill, made of oak, comes from the reconstruction in 1700. This makes it the oldest preserved oil mill of this type in the Rhineland . It was in operation until 1948 and produced oils from linseed, rape, beechnuts and poppy seeds.
• Next to the oil mill there is a handicraft and trade museum in a half-timbered house that is over 300 years old. For this purpose, the half-timbered house in nearby Bremscheid was dismantled in the mid-1990s and rebuilt here.
• Approx. 100 m uphill there is a mill with a water wheel from 1911; further mills are accessible by hiking trails.
• Historical trees in the municipality (a hollow linden tree in front of the church, a linden tree in front of the village smithy center, a chestnut tree at the oil mill) is designated as a "natural monument".
• The Kreuzkapelle on the Wiedufer, built in 1694 and a popular place of pilgrimage in the 18th century, is located on the municipal boundary of Hausen . In the 19th century it was the nucleus for the establishment of two Franciscan religious orders in Waldbreitbach: Peter Wirth founded the Franciscan Brothers of the Holy Cross here in 1862 , which maintains its motherhouse and various social institutions in Hausen; Before that, between 1851 and 1860, Rosa Flesch, who built her mother house on Kapellenberg in the district of Glockscheid ( Marienhaus monastery ), lived in the hermitage of the Kreuzkapelle.

Waldbreitbach, Marienhaus Monastery

Tourist infrastructure

• Hotels, holiday apartments and two campsites accommodate holiday guests who want to discover the nature of the Westerwald on hiking trails, by bike or by canoe on the Wied, and the four km long Wiedpromenade is also accessible to people with disabilities.
• The oldest hotel restaurant in Waldbreitbach (with a half-timbered bay) was already a pub in 1777; there are also other restaurants and ice cream parlors.

Waldbreitbach-Over, Walburg Castle

Waldbreitbach-Wüscheid, aerial photo (2016)

• Designated main circular hiking trails (up to 15 km) open up the Marienhaus monastery in Glockscheid, the Fockenbachtal and Verscheid, the Walburg castle and some viewpoints in the area of ​​the Westerwaldklinik .
• Since May 2015, an 11.6 km long premium hiking trail has been signposted as a circular route around Waldbreitbach as the “Bärenkopp” Wäller tour. This circular hike offers wonderful views of the Wiedtal.
• The Westerwaldsteig long-distance hiking trail, opened on May 24, 2008, touches Waldbreitbach.
• The 17 km long “Klosterweg” connects the Rheinsteig in Rengsdorf with the Westerwaldsteig in Waldbreitbach as a so-called premium hiking trail.
• A rowing and pedal boat rental is located opposite the historic mills in Waldbreitbach.
• The indoor and outdoor pools in the neighboring community of Hausen have been expanded to include a sauna area since November 2006 .

Waldbreitbach Christmas and Nativity Village

→ Main article : Waldbreitbach Christmas Village

Permanent nativity scene exhibition Waldbreitbach: Nativity scene from Bolivia

Triggered by a now (as of 2014) comprehensive than 2200 exhibits cribs Imagery and own crib designs of the local former hoteliers and cribs builder Gustel Hertling began a trans-regional tourism Christmas to Waldbreitbach in the late 1990s.

societies

• FC Waldbreitbach - The local soccer club that was founded in 1982.
• Bachelor club "Gemütlichkeit" Waldbreitbach e. V., organizer of the fair in August with the large fireworks "Wied in Flammen".
• Church choir "Cäcilia", founded in 1777
• Musikverein Wiedklang was founded in 1958.
• VfL Waldbreitbach, founded in 1969, as the Waldbreitbacher club with the largest number of members, offers a wide range of offers in the areas of gymnastics, athletics and table tennis in the field of competitive and popular sports. VfL Waldbreitbach organizes the Malberglauf every Friday evening in mid-August. The mountain run goes over a length of approx. 6 km with approx. 370 meters of altitude, whereby approx. 100 m must be run downhill. It starts in Hausen / Wied at the sewage treatment plant in the Au. The route leads partly over the Westerwaldsteig and ends on the Malbergskopf at the Malberg ski hut. The award ceremony with a wonderful panoramic view also takes place there. The Malberglauf is also advertised for Nordic walkers. The West German Mountain Running Championships took place here in 2003 and 2008.
• Männgergesangverein "Wiedperle", founded in 1924
• "Bräpe Jonge", the association stands for the maintenance and entertainment of old customs, restores historical sites and supports the bachelor association for the fair.
• St. Sebastianus Rifle Brotherhood, founded in 1864
• Carnival society "Brave Jonge", the carnival society takes care of the preservation of customs and the carnival meeting.
• The Waldbreitbach trade association is an association of businesses, tradespeople and freelancers who want to strengthen and promote economic activities in Waldbreitbach and the central Wiedtal.

traffic

The town is connected to Neuwied and Neustadt (Wied) or Asbach via Landesstraße 255 . The next motorway junctions are Neuwied and Neustadt / Wied on the federal motorway 3 .

The nearest train stop is in Bad Hönningen on the right-hand Rhine route . The high-speed line Cologne – Rhine / Main runs northeast of the town (next train stations in Montabaur and Siegburg ).

Personalities

• Reinhold Wirtz (1842–1898), architect, master builder of the Trier diocese
• Paul-Georg Schmidt (1902–1987), from 1937 to 1961 chief physician at the lung sanatorium
• Rosa Flesch (1826–1906), actually Margaretha Flesch, founder of the order of the Waldbreitbach Franciscan Sisters in the Marienhaus, beatified in 2008

literature

• Hellmuth Gensicke : State history of the Westerwald. Wiesbaden 1958.
• Albert Hardt: In the land of Neuerburg an der Wied. Waldbreitbach 1987.

Web links

Commons : Waldbreitbach  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of the local community Waldbreitbach
• Information on events and tourism in the central Wiedtal!
• Christmas Waldbreitbach and the Waldbreitbacher Nativity Paths
• On the history of the coming Waldbreitbach of the Teutonic Order
• Open picture gallery of the Wiedtal

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} State Statistical Office of Rhineland-Palatinate - population status 2019, districts, municipalities, association communities ( help on this ).
2. ↑ State Statistical Office Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Official directory of the municipalities and parts of the municipality. Status: January 2018 ^{[ Version 2020 is available. ]} . S. 35 (PDF; 2.2 MB).
3. ^ State Chancellery Rhineland-Palatinate: My village, my city. Retrieved March 22, 2018 . 
4. ↑ State Statistical Office Rhineland-Palatinate - regional data
5. ^ The Regional Returning Officer Rhineland-Palatinate: Local elections 2019, city and municipal council elections
6. ↑ Martin Lerbs is to remain mayor. NR-Kurier, November 25, 2018, accessed on March 14, 2020 . 
7. ^ The Regional Returning Officer for Rhineland-Palatinate: direct elections 2019. see Rengsdorf-Waldbreitbach, Verbandsgemeinde, last line of results. Retrieved March 14, 2020 . 
8. ^ Martin Lerbs candidate for mayor of the CDU. NR-Kurier, January 30, 2014, accessed on March 14, 2020 .