The Leiningerland is an historic

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or human-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

in the

Palatinate region The Palatinate (; ; Palatine German: ''Palz''), or the Rhenish Palatinate (''Rheinpfalz''), is a historical region of Germany. The Palatinate occupies most of the southern quarter of the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate (''Rheinla ...

in the German federal state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

. It is named after an aristocratic family that used to be the most important in the region, the

House of Leiningen The House of Leiningen is the name of an old German noble family whose lands lay principally in Alsace, Lorraine, Saarland, Rhineland, and the Palatinate. Various branches of this family developed over the centuries and ruled counties with Imp ...

Geography

The Leiningerland lies in northeast Palatinate, mostly in the county of

Bad Dürkheim Bad Dürkheim () is a spa town in the Rhine-Neckar urban agglomeration. It is the seat of the Bad Dürkheim (district), Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and the site of the discovery of the element caesium, in 1860. Geogra ...

. Its area coincides with large parts of the collective municipalities of Hettenleidelheim and Grünstadt-Land as well as the town of

Grünstadt Grünstadt () is a town in the Bad Dürkheim (district), Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with roughly 13,200 inhabitants. It does not belong to any ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – a kind of collective municipality – but is noneth ...

. Also a part of the historic Leiningerland is the region around the town of Eisenberg, which is in the county of

Donnersbergkreis The Donnersbergkreis is a district (''Kreis'') in the middle of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bad Kreuznach, Alzey-Worms, Bad Dürkheim, Kaiserslautern, Kusel. History The district was created in 1969 by merging the dist ...

today. Its total area is just under 200 km². The region does not have a uniform topography, but shares in three

geological Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth s ...

features: the

Central Uplands The Central UplandsDickinson (1964), p.18 ff. (N.B. In German die ''Mittelgebirge'' (plural) refers to the Central Uplands; das ''Mittelgebirge'' refers to a low mountain range or upland region (''Mittel'' = "medium" and ''-gebirge'' = "range").) ...

, the Rhine Rift Valley and the

Rhine Plain The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben (German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the s ...

. the Leiningerland extends from the northeastern foothills of the

Palatine Forest The Palatinate Forest (; ), sometimes also called the Palatine Forest, is a low-mountain region in southwestern Germany, located in the Palatinate in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The forest is a designated nature park () covering 1,771&n ...

in the west across the northern part of the German Wine Road near

to Dirmstein in the east, where the

vineyards A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

spread out into the

Upper Rhine Plain The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben ( German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the ...

. The village of Dirmstein itself, which is today included in the Leinigerland, was never owned by the House of Leiningen, however. Depending on altitude - about 400 metres in the west to about 100 metres to the east - the climate of the different areas also varies. The soils in the area of the fault scarp benefit from fertile

loess A loess (, ; from ) is a clastic rock, clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loesses or similar deposition (geology), deposits. A loess ...

deposits whilst, in places, there are steep rock faces on the scarp slopes which are a result of

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

and which are now classified as

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. They can be natural geological and geographical features such as w ...

s and

biotope A biotope is an area of uniform environmental conditions providing a living place for a specific assemblage of flora (plants), plants and fauna (animals), animals. ''Biotope'' is almost synonymous with the term habitat (ecology), "habitat", which ...

s. The Leinigerland is drained by two,

orographic Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as ''oreography'', ''orology,'' or ''oreology'') falls within the broader disc ...

ally left-hand

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

: the Eckbach and den Eisbach.

History

In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the Eckbach stream was called the ''Leinbach'', which referred to the so-called ''Leinbaum'' or Norway maple. At that time, both the

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

and the large-leaved lime occurred locally, especially on the banks of the Eckbach. The old name of the stream may have been the origin of the name given to the castle seat of the

, probably

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

nobles who came from the area of the upper Eckbach and whose coat of arms bore a lime tree. The castle was called the Leiningen, but is known today as Altleiningen Castle. Records of its occupation go back at least to the early 12th century - to Count Emich II (died before 1138). Not certain, but probable, is that his predecessor, Emich I, was also his father. Many communities, both locally and further afield, bearn the silver eagle of the Leiningens in their municipal coat of arms. The most important lords in the area until the

Early Modern Era The early modern period is a historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There is no exact date ...

, apart from the Leiningens, were the electors of the Palatinate and the prince-bishops of Worms. French troops caused great destruction under General Mélac during the

War of the Palatine Succession The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between France and the Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial possessions in the Americas, India, and West Africa. Relat ...

(1689–1697). The Leiningerland was also heavily influenced by Bavarian rule of the Palatinate, which lasted from 1816 to the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Sights

Altleiningen Castle "above" the

eponymous An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...

village recalls the Leiningen lords, as does

Neuleiningen Castle Neuleiningen Castle is a ruin on the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest in the States of Germany, state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany in the Municipalities of Germany, municipality of Neuleiningen in the Bad Dürkheim (district), Bad D ...

, 5 kilometres to the northeast in the centre of the

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

of the same name. Both castles have been partially restored. Today, Altleiningen Castle is home to a

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

, an open-air swimming pool in the old castle

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...

and the "professional amateur theatre" of the Altleiningen Castle Players (''Burgspiele Altleiningen''). The remains of other Leiningen castles are in Battenberg, where there was once a castle of the same name, and in Bockenheim where Emichsburg Castle stands. File:Burg Altleiningen Schwimmbad.JPG, Altleiningen Castle File:Burg Neuleiningen Bergfried.JPG, Neuleiningen Castle File:Battenberg.JPG, Battenberg Castle File:Emichsburg.JPG, The Emichsburg In the Altleiningen village of Höningen are various elements of the Augustinian canon church of St. Peter and the former Höningen Latin School as well as the Romanesque Church of St. James. Near Neuleiningen Castle lies the ''Alte Pfarrey'' ("Old Vicarage"), in which one of the leading restaurants in the Palatinate is housed. File:Gruenderzeithaus Hettenleidelheim.jpg, A ''

Gründerzeit The (; ) was a period of Economic history of Europe (1000 AD–present), European economic history in mid- and late-19th century German Empire, Germany and Austria-Hungary between Industrialization in Germany, industrialization and the great P ...

'' villa in Hettenleidelheim File:St.jacob.jpg, Romanesque Church of St. James in Höningen File:Grünstadt stilisiert um 1680.JPG, Grünstadt around 1680 (wood painting) File:Grünstadter um 1800 JS.jpg, Grünstadt around 1800 (decorative plate) St Lawrence's Church in Dirmstein is a fine example of

baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...

. It was built from 1742 to 1746 by Franz Rothermel to modified plans from the famous church architect,

Balthasar Neumann Johann Balthasar Neumann (; c. 27 January 1687 – 19 August 1753), usually known as Balthasar Neumann, was a German architect and military artillery engineer who developed a refined brand of Baroque architecture, fusing Austrian, Bohemian, Ita ...

, as a

simultaneum A shared church (), simultaneum mixtum, a term first coined in 16th-century Germany, is a church in which public worship is conducted by adherents of two or more religious groups. Such churches became common in the German-speaking lands of Europe ...

. Nearby, in the historic centre, are three restored palace-like manor houses: the Sturmfedersches Schloss, the Koeth-Wanscheidsches Schloss and the Quadtsches Schloss, as well as two

English garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal ...

s in the ''

schloss ''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house. Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cogn ...

'' park and the cellar garden. The town of Grünstadt and the municipalities of Großkarlbach and

Neuleiningen Neuleiningen is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim (district), Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. ...

have picturesque centres with numerous

timber-framed Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

buildings. File:2006 Dirmstein-Laurentiuskirche-Süd.jpg, Dirmstein: St. Lawrence Church... File:2006 Dirmstein-Sturmfeder-Schloss retouched.jpg, ...Sturmfedersches Schloss File:2008-Dirmstein-Koeth-Wanscheid-Schloss-Norden-032.jpg, ...Koeth-Wanscheidsches Schloss File:2006 Dirmstein-Quad-Schloss.jpg, ...Quadtsches Schloss The Eckbach Mill Path, which was created in 1997 on the initiative of the Kleinkarlbach mill researcher, Wolfgang Niederhöfer, runs for 23 kilometres along the Eckbach stream and past 23 old

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

s from southwest to northeast through the Leiningerland. In 2007 in the Großkarlbach village mill the Leiningerland Mill Museum (''Mühlenmuseum Leiningerland'') was opened. From a hydro-engineering perspective the 20-Pipe Well of Altleiningen is important; it is fed from a mine gallery which was driven deep into the rock around 1600 in order to supply the castle. Today, the well delivers most of the water for the Eckbach. File:Neuleiningen Kirche von Osten.JPG, St.Nikolaus in Neuleiningen File:Neuleiningen Fachwerkhaus Obergasse.JPG, Timber-framed houses in Neuleiningen File:2006 Dirmstein-Eckbachweg.jpg, Eckbach Mill Path File:2006 Dirmstein-Eckbach-Laumersheim.jpg, The Eckbach and the Laumersheim File:2007.0601.03 Dorfmuehle Grosskarlbach.jpg, Großkarlbach village mill and mill museum The upper reaches of the Eisbach and its valley, the ''Eistal'', which is natural in places, also flow through the Leiningerland. Its main attractions are the 6 hectare reservoir of the Eiswoog, the bridges of the regional Eis Valley Railway, the local Stumpfwald Railway, which is a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

, heritage line that carries tourists through the forest, and, near Eisenberg, archaeological site of a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus ...

and the protected landscape of Erdekaut. There are several old churches dating to Romanesque and Gothic periods, especially on the middle course of the Eisbach. File:Eiswoog.jpg, The Eiswoog in the Stumpfwald forest near Ramsen File:Eiswooglrp-2.jpg, The Eis Valley Viaduct on the Eis Valley Railway File:Stumpfwaldbahn Lok.jpg, Train on the Stumpfwald Railway In addition to the mill museum in Großkarlbach there are also the Hettenleidelheim Local History Museum (''Heimatmuseum Hettenleidelheim'', clay mining), the Quirnheim Museum of Technology (''Technikmuseum Quirnheim'', bicycles), the museum in the castle tower at Neuleiningen (castle history,

stoneware Stoneware is a broad class of pottery fired at a relatively high temperature, to be impervious to water. A modern definition is a Vitrification#Ceramics, vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire ...

manufacturing, gallery of local artist, Simon Conradi) and the museum in the Old Town Hall (''Altes Rathaus'') at Grünstadt (Counts of Leiningen, stoneware manufacture,

brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

, paintings by Johann Adam Schlesinger).

Events

The Leiningerland is heavily dependent on

viticulture Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine ...

; its vineyards being part of the Palatinate wine region. During the warmer months, a festival takes place almost every weekend somewhere - be it a

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

, kermesse or wine festival. The best known nationally is probably the Kändelgassenfest in Großkarlbach. Every year, the ''Wine Countess of the Leiningerland'' is selected, who then represents the region at events and festivals in the next twelve months. One of the wine countesses, Sylvia Benzinger, later also became the Palatine Wine Queen and German Wine Queen. Every year in early October - usually on

German Unity Day German Unity Day (, ) is the national day of Germany, celebrated on 3 October as a public holiday. It commemorates German Reunification in 1990 when the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) joined the Federal Republic of Germany (West Ger ...

- the "Car-Free Eis Valley Day of Action" attracts many visitors to the region. The L 395 road, which runs from Asselheim through the Eise valley to Enkenbach, is closed to

motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as a motorized vehicle, automotive vehicle, automobile, or road vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on railway track, rails (such as trains or trams), does not fly (such ...

s for the whole of one Sunday and the valley is open exclusively to pedestrians, usually hikers, and to cyclists. Every October since 1953 there has been a Palatine language poetry competition at Bockenheim. The Kirchheim Winter Concert was established in 1990 and takes place in St Andrew's Church in Kirchheim. Its founder and artistic director is the

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three ...

and International Bach Prizewinner, Dominik Wörner. The focus of the concert series is on

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750) or Ancient music (before 500 AD). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad Dates of classical ...

. File:Haus-der-Deutschen-Weinstrasse.jpg, Haus der Deutschen Weinstraße in Bockenheim File:2006-Dirmstein-Riesling-Weinberg.jpg,

Riesling Riesling ( , ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling ...

vineyard near Dirmstein File:2006 Dirmstein-Kelter.jpg, Celtic replica by master cooper, Emil Steigner File:Sylvia Benzinger-Ausschnitt.jpg, German Wine Queen, Sylvia Benzinger (2005)

External links

Website of the Leiningerland Tourism Association – The Gateway to the Palatinate

Website of the concert series Kirchheimer Konzertwinter
{{coord missing, Rhineland-Palatinate Historical regions in Germany Regions of Rhineland-Palatinate Anterior Palatinate Former states and territories of Rhineland-Palatinate