Gemünden, Rhein-Hunsrück


Gemünden is an Ortsgemeinde in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kirchberg, whose seat is in the town of-Kirchberg.

Geography

Location

The municipality lies at the southwest edge of the Soonwald, a heavily wooded section of the west-central Hunsrück. The village is found between Kirchberg to the northwest and Simmertal to the southeast. In Gemünden, the Lametbach empties into the Simmerbach, whereupon the combined stream is known down to its mouth into the river Nahe as the Kellenbach.

Constituent communities

The outlying centre of Panzweiler is part of Gemünden.

History

In 1304, Gemünden had its first documentary mention. This holding of the Counts of Sponheim was granted town rights along with its trappings, namely fortifications, a court and a market. Beginning in 1794, Gemünden lay under French rule. In 1815 it was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia at the Congress of Vienna. Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected by proportional representation at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
SPDCDUFWG
Gemünden
WG
Jung
other
voter
groups
Total
2009345416 seats
200446616 seats

Mayor

Gemünden’s mayor is Dieter Kaiser, and his deputies are Dieter Bajohr, Didacus Kühnreich and Wolfgang Jonda.

Coat of arms

The German blazon reads: Schild geteilt, oben blau/gold geschacht, unten in Rot eine silberne Gewandschließe.
The municipality’s arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Per pale chequy of eight azure and Or and gules an arming buckle argent.
The “chequy” pattern above the line of partition refers to the village’s former allegiance to the “Further” County of Sponheim. The lower half of the escutcheon is a reference to the Schmidtburg.

Culture and sightseeing

For its historic village centre and its valley location, locals call Gemünden the “Pearl of the Hunsrück”. Standing above the Simmerbach is Schloss Gemünden, a residential castle still used as a private home today. A good two kilometres south of Gemünden stands the Castle Koppenstein ruin on the Koppensteiner Höhe, a 555 m-high hilltop in the Soonwald. Five kilometres to the east is the Alteburgturm, a lookout tower on the Alteburg. Southwest of Gemünden is the Lützelsoon plateau.

Buildings

The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
By longstanding tradition, the kermis is held on the last weekend in July and the fire brigade festival on the last weekend in August.

Economy and infrastructure

Tourism

A 4 km-long geological teaching path begins and ends in Gemünden. Twenty-three mineral groups from the Hunsrück-Nahe region are shown and explained on display boards. On the way, the path comes into contact with the Kaisergrube, the mine opened in 1873, where until 1969 slate was mined. Slate mining began in Gemünden in the early 19th century. On average, 600 t of slate was mined each year, and up to 35 miners were employed.
Gemünden is the starting point of the Schinderhannes-Soonwald-Radweg to Simmern.

Famous people