Hattgenstein

Hattgenstein 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 Birkenfeld, whose seat is in the like-named town.

Hattgenstein
Coat of arms
Location of Hattgenstein within Birkenfeld district
Hattgenstein Show map of Germany Hattgenstein Show map of Rhineland-Palatinate
Coordinates: 49°41′55″N 7°09′37″E
Country	Germany
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District	Birkenfeld
Municipal assoc.	Birkenfeld
Government
• Mayor	Rudi Gordner
Area
• Total	8.21 km^2 (3.17 sq mi)
Elevation	534 m (1,752 ft)
Population  (2018-12-31)[1]
• Total	248
• Density	30/km^2 (78/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	55767
Dialling codes	06782
Vehicle registration	BIR

Geography

Location

The municipality lies at the edge of the Schwarzwälder Hochwald (forest) in the Hunsrück, and 72.2% of the municipal area is wooded. There is a widespread misconception that Hattgenstein, with its average elevation of 534 m above sea level, is the highest place in Rhineland-Palatinate, but this is not true. There are a few places, such as Stein-Neukirch in the High Westerwald and Nürburg in the Eifel, that are higher.[2]

Neighbouring municipalities

To the northeast lies Schwollen, and to the south, Oberhambach.

Constituent communities

Also belonging to Hattgenstein are the outlying homesteads of Helmhof, Waldfriede and Zur Zimmerei.[3]

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 6 council members, who were elected by majority vote at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.[4]

Mayor

Since 1984, Hattgenstein’s mayor has been Rudi Gordner, and his deputy is Günter Helm.[5]

Coat of arms

The municipality’s arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Over a base countercompony gules and argent, gules on a mount vert the Hattgenstein Glockenhaus argent with timber framing sable and doors and windows of the field.

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

From the 28-metre-high lookout tower, a view of the Hunsrück countryside is possible

The 1762 built Glockenhaus

The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:[6]

• Am Brunnen 2 – Quereinhaus (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street), partly timber-frame, partly slated, late 18th or early 19th century
• Am Brunnen 4 – former winepress house, timber-frame building
• Flurstraße 3 – Quereinhaus, partly timber-frame, possibly from the earlier half of the 19th century
• Hauptstraße 13 – so-called Glockenhaus (“Bell House”); partly timber-frame, half-hipped roof, bell turret, 1762; characterizes village’s appearance
• Hauptstraße 17 – stately Quereinhaus, partly timber-frame, possibly from the early 19th century

The Glockenhaus (“Bell House”) is Hattgenstein’s main landmark. It was built in 1762 as a school building and a dwelling for the beadle.

Natural monuments

Hattgensteiner Fels, a crag with a lookout tower near the sporting ground, is believed to be the village’s namesake.

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

To the west runs Bundesstraße 269, and to the south, the Autobahn A 62 (Kaiserslautern–Trier). Available in nearby Neubrücke is a railway station on the Nahe Valley Railway (Bingen–Saarbrücken).

References

1. "Bevölkerungsstand 2018 - Gemeindeebene". Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz (in German). 2019.
2. Elevation misconception
3. Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz – Amtliches Verzeichnis der Gemeinden und Gemeindeteile Archived 2015-11-25 at the Wayback Machine, Seite 19 (PDF)
4. Kommunalwahl Rheinland-Pfalz 2009, Gemeinderat
5. Hattgenstein’s council
6. Directory of Cultural Monuments in Birkenfeld district

External links

• Municipality’s official webpage (in German)