The municipality lies at the southern edge of the Schwarzwälder Hochwald, a self-contained forest within the Hunsrück. The municipal area measures 1 133 ha, of which somewhat more than half is state forest, and indeed 76.5% of it is wooded. The area makes Rinzenberg the district's seventh biggest municipality by land area. Only the three towns and the municipalities of Allenbach, Hoppstädten-Weiersbach and Brücken have larger municipal areas. Rinzenberg's elevation is roughly 532 m above sea level, and above the village looms the 668 m-high “Wehlenstein”.
Neighbouring municipalities
Rinzenberg borders in the northeast on the municipality of Oberhambach, in the east on the municipality of Gollenberg and in the south on the municipalities of Ellenberg and Buhlenberg.
History
In 1269, Rinzenberg probably had its first documentary mention as Ritzeberg, and thereafter belonged to those villages that were bought back by the Counts of Sponheim after they had enfeoffed Wilhelm von Schwarzenberg with them. Rinzenberg had its heyday in the 16th century when the village profited from business earned by the Hambacher Sauerbrunnen – a mineral spring from which flowed acidic water – which allowed the village to become a spa. The wealth in Rinzenberg manifested itself in stately stone buildings. In the war-wracked times of the 17th century, few people travelled to Rinzenberg for its waters, and the village's star faded. Sponheim rule came to an end with the French Revolutionary Wars. Beginning then, Rinzenberg lay under French rule. After the Wehrmacht was defeated and the Third Reich fell as the Second World War drew to an end in 1945, Rinzenberg had to share the burden of the war's consequences. A whole army of French forestry workers – for Rinzenberg was in the French zone of occupation – descended on the Schwarzwälder Hochwald and built a sawmill, and whole forest districts were then clearcut. This went on for years. According to precise plans, usable, high-quality stands of trees were felled, sawn and shipped to France for reconstruction efforts. The formerly gentle contours of the Schwarzwälder Hochwald became cleft-filled and jagged against the sky in the background. Since 1946, Rinzenberg has been part of the then newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
Politics
Municipal council
The council is made up of 8 council members, who were elected by majority vote at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
Mayor
Rinzenberg's mayor is Sven Becker, and his deputies are Siegfried Blunz and Brunhilde Gordner.
The German blazon reads: In schräglinks geteiltem Schild vorne rot-silbern geschacht, hinten in Grün ein goldener Ziehbrunnen mit silbernem Eimer. The municipality's arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Per bend sinister chequy gules and argent and vert a well Or with a pail of the second. The “chequy” field on the dexter side is a reference to the village's former allegiance to the “Hinder” County of Sponheim, Oberamt of Birkenfeld, while the charge on the sinister side, the well, stands for the Legend of Old Rinzenberg. The arms have been borne since 1964.
Culture and sightseeing
Buildings
The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
The Legend of Old Rinzenberg is a story about a man from the village: This story has even found its way into the municipality's coat of arms, which shows a golden well, meant to represent the one in the story.
Rinzenberg's 300 or so inhabitants no longer earn their livelihoods mainly from agriculture and forestry, which once characterized the local economy. Both these former mainstays have seen their importance dwindle as they have become mechanized. Most working people commute to jobs in the local area, with the district seat of Birkenfeld, only five kilometres away, being a particularly common destination.
