Recent from talks
Leitzweiler
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Leitzweiler
Leitzweiler is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Baumholder, whose seat is in the like-named town.
Leitzweiler lies near the state boundary with the Saarland, roughly 3 km southeast of Hoppstädten-Weiersbach and 9 km west of Baumholder. The municipal area measures 3.02 km2, of which 30% is wooded.
Also belonging to Leitzweiler is the outlying homestead of Lindenhof.
Leitzweiler was founded in the 8th or 9th century by nobility. At that time, all the places ending in —weiler were founded as a result of the growth in population. In Leitzweiler's case, the leading syllable would give a clue as to the founder's name. It was likely Leudoin, for this was a very common name in the Early Middle Ages.
In 1440, Leitzweiler belonged to the County of Veldenz, and the Counts of Dhaun held it as a fief. This time is recalled in Leitzweiler's civic coat of arms; the lion in the upper half of the escutcheon is drawn from the arms formerly borne by the Counts of Veldenz. Leitzweiler – older forms of the name were Leideßweiler, Leydesweiler or Laitzweiler – was certainly very small at this time, not so much a village as a farm, and with few inhabitants. In 1444, the tiny centre passed by inheritance to Stephen, Count Palatine of Simmern-Zweibrücken (later passing to his second son Louis I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken), and was assigned to the Oberamt of Lichtenberg. In 1533, the Lords of Oberstein were enfeoffed with Leitzweiler, along with Mettweiler, Fohren and Linden. A 1539 agreement between the Oberamt of Lichtenberg and the Lords of Oberstein set forth clearly that authority in civil, personal and practical matters lay with the Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken. The Lordship of Oberstein, however, did not hold with the arrangement very long, for it was out of force by 1559, and thereafter Leitzweiler was a fief held by the Lordship of Wertenstein. At first, the Lordship comprised Leitzweiler, Heimbach, Weiersbach, Namborn, Ellweiler and Bleiderdingen. Near the last-named place stood the Wertensteiner Schloss, the Lordship's seat. In 1570, Leitzweiler burnt down utterly, although by 1587, Laitsweiler der Hof (Hof means “farm” in German) once again boasted four houses.
In 1620, a new agreement between Palatinate-Zweibrücken and Wertenstein came into force. This one set forth that authority in civil, personal and practical matters lay with the Lordship of Wertenstein, but high jurisdiction was reserved to Palatinate-Zweibrücken. Among other things dealt with in the agreement was the question of appearances at the weekly market in Baumholder by the villagers of Leitzweiler. These were compulsory, and failure to show up there on market day was punished, even if the villagers were bound to do compulsory labour in Wertenstein that same day. The new agreement rectified this, and after it came into force, failure to appear at Baumholder Market was no longer punishable, as long as a Wertenstein official could show a certificate indicating that there was compulsory labour to be done that day.
The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) brought plundering, devastation and destruction to Leitzweiler and its surrounding area. In their wake came hunger and sickness and the resulting unending decimation of the population. In 1635, Leitzweiler and Heimbach burnt down utterly. According to one account, people from Leitzweiler fled to Castle Birkenfeld. It was 1664 before there were once again inhabitants in either Leitzweiler or Heimbach – two each. The man in Leitzweiler, according to an oft-told story, was not even German, but rather a French soldier named Werle, and indeed, the first families listed in the Hoppstädten-Weiersbach Family Book with the surname Werle were all in Leitzweiler. Since then, the name has spread, so that there is now hardly a village in the local area in which the name Werle is not amply represented.
The new village that sprang up after the Thirty Years' War was built on Leitzweiler's current site, but the village had thereby shifted its location somewhat from where the old one had been. It is believed that the old Leitzweiler lay some 100 or 200 m nearer Heimbach.
Hub AI
Leitzweiler AI simulator
(@Leitzweiler_simulator)
Leitzweiler
Leitzweiler is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Baumholder, whose seat is in the like-named town.
Leitzweiler lies near the state boundary with the Saarland, roughly 3 km southeast of Hoppstädten-Weiersbach and 9 km west of Baumholder. The municipal area measures 3.02 km2, of which 30% is wooded.
Also belonging to Leitzweiler is the outlying homestead of Lindenhof.
Leitzweiler was founded in the 8th or 9th century by nobility. At that time, all the places ending in —weiler were founded as a result of the growth in population. In Leitzweiler's case, the leading syllable would give a clue as to the founder's name. It was likely Leudoin, for this was a very common name in the Early Middle Ages.
In 1440, Leitzweiler belonged to the County of Veldenz, and the Counts of Dhaun held it as a fief. This time is recalled in Leitzweiler's civic coat of arms; the lion in the upper half of the escutcheon is drawn from the arms formerly borne by the Counts of Veldenz. Leitzweiler – older forms of the name were Leideßweiler, Leydesweiler or Laitzweiler – was certainly very small at this time, not so much a village as a farm, and with few inhabitants. In 1444, the tiny centre passed by inheritance to Stephen, Count Palatine of Simmern-Zweibrücken (later passing to his second son Louis I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken), and was assigned to the Oberamt of Lichtenberg. In 1533, the Lords of Oberstein were enfeoffed with Leitzweiler, along with Mettweiler, Fohren and Linden. A 1539 agreement between the Oberamt of Lichtenberg and the Lords of Oberstein set forth clearly that authority in civil, personal and practical matters lay with the Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken. The Lordship of Oberstein, however, did not hold with the arrangement very long, for it was out of force by 1559, and thereafter Leitzweiler was a fief held by the Lordship of Wertenstein. At first, the Lordship comprised Leitzweiler, Heimbach, Weiersbach, Namborn, Ellweiler and Bleiderdingen. Near the last-named place stood the Wertensteiner Schloss, the Lordship's seat. In 1570, Leitzweiler burnt down utterly, although by 1587, Laitsweiler der Hof (Hof means “farm” in German) once again boasted four houses.
In 1620, a new agreement between Palatinate-Zweibrücken and Wertenstein came into force. This one set forth that authority in civil, personal and practical matters lay with the Lordship of Wertenstein, but high jurisdiction was reserved to Palatinate-Zweibrücken. Among other things dealt with in the agreement was the question of appearances at the weekly market in Baumholder by the villagers of Leitzweiler. These were compulsory, and failure to show up there on market day was punished, even if the villagers were bound to do compulsory labour in Wertenstein that same day. The new agreement rectified this, and after it came into force, failure to appear at Baumholder Market was no longer punishable, as long as a Wertenstein official could show a certificate indicating that there was compulsory labour to be done that day.
The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) brought plundering, devastation and destruction to Leitzweiler and its surrounding area. In their wake came hunger and sickness and the resulting unending decimation of the population. In 1635, Leitzweiler and Heimbach burnt down utterly. According to one account, people from Leitzweiler fled to Castle Birkenfeld. It was 1664 before there were once again inhabitants in either Leitzweiler or Heimbach – two each. The man in Leitzweiler, according to an oft-told story, was not even German, but rather a French soldier named Werle, and indeed, the first families listed in the Hoppstädten-Weiersbach Family Book with the surname Werle were all in Leitzweiler. Since then, the name has spread, so that there is now hardly a village in the local area in which the name Werle is not amply represented.
The new village that sprang up after the Thirty Years' War was built on Leitzweiler's current site, but the village had thereby shifted its location somewhat from where the old one had been. It is believed that the old Leitzweiler lay some 100 or 200 m nearer Heimbach.
Recent media