The village of Ramschied is a district of the town of

Bad Schwalbach Bad Schwalbach (; called Langenschwalbach until 1927) is the district seat of Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Geography Geographic location Bad Schwalbach is a spa town some 20 km northwest of Wiesbaden. It lies at 289 to 465&n ...

in the

Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis Rheingau-Taunus is a Kreis (Districts of Germany, district) in the west of Hesse, Germany. Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis is part of the Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt region; its main administrative seat is Bad Schwalbach. Outposted sections of the local ad ...

region of the state of

Hessen Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major historic cities are Da ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is also referred to as Bad Schwalbach - Ramschied.

Location

Ramschied is located in the heart of the

Taunus The Taunus () is a mountain range in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located north west of Frankfurt and north of Wiesbaden. The tallest peak in the range is '' Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are '' Kleiner Feldberg' ...

Mountains, northwest of

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

. The aptly named

Wisper The Wisper is a river in Hesse, Germany, right tributary of the Rhine. Its source is in the western Taunus, Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district, near a small village named Wisper (municipality Heidenrod). It flows southwest through a densely forested ...

River, and the forested valley which bears the same name, both begin in Ramschied. Ramschied is surrounded by the following towns; Bad Schwalbach to the east, Bärstadt (part of Schlangenbad) to the southeast, Fischbach to the south, Langenseifen to the southwest, Watzelhain (part of

Heidenrod Heidenrod is a municipality in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Seat of municipal administration is to be found in the most populated municipal district, in Laufenselden. Geo ...

) to the west, Kemel and Heimbach to the north. Many residents of Ramschied commute to destinations as close as a brief stroll and as far away as

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. Some of the commuters include Americans from the

Wiesbaden Army Airfield Lucius D. Clay Kaserne () , commonly known as Clay Kaserne, formerly known as Wiesbaden Air Base and later as Wiesbaden Army Airfield, is an installation of the United States Army in Hesse, Germany. The ''kaserne'' is located within Wiesbaden- ...

History

Many remnants of a long and memorable history can be observed in and around Ramschied. During the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

, Ramschied constituted part of the frontier of Rome with Germania, called the

Limes Germanicus The (Latin for ''Germanic frontier''), or 'Germanic Limes', is the name given in modern times to a line of frontier () fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, dividing the Roman ...

. An ancient piece of graffiti, attributed to a Roman soldier named Justin can be hiked to from Ramschied. A few minutes down the Wisperstrasse there are ruins of the medieval castles and . As early as 883, Ramschied was mentioned as belonging to the parish of Bleidenstadt (now part of

Taunusstein Taunusstein () is the biggest town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany. It has 30,068 inhabitants (2020). Geography Location Taunusstein lies roughly 10 km northwest of Wiesbaden and abou ...

). Before the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

Ramschied was divided into two separate villages; Oberramschied (Upper Ramschied) and Niederramschied (Lower Ramschied). Historical records also find the area referred to as Rumeschied (around 1195) and Oberrumscheit (in 1400). Around 1380, Ramschied was counted as part of the parish of Bärstadt. Church records show that each of the two villages had their own sets of nobles, resulting in the peasants paying higher taxes to the landlords. Such a crushing obligation on a relatively barren and infertile land resulted in bitter poverty. Records show that by 1200, Werner II of Bolanden, a Count of Katzenelnbogen, was receiving income from Ramschied. In 1400 and 1427, the lords of Gerolstein-Oberramscheid established

manor court The manorial courts were the lowest courts of law in England during the feudal period. They had a civil jurisdiction limited both in subject matter and geography. They dealt with matters over which the lord of the manor had jurisdiction, primari ...

s for their

fiefdom A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

. Since 1404, Ramschied was included in

enfeoffment In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of t ...

to the zu Volrads noble family of Nassau-Dillenburg. After the destruction of the Thirty Years' War in the 1600s, Ramschied was rebuilt on its present site. Since 31 December 1971, Ramschied is affiliated with the town of Bad Schwalbach.Bad Schwalbach City Website
Historical Population Statistics: 1587: 8 Households, 1809: 142 inhabitants, 1827: 155, 1846: 187, 1871: 176, 1895: 199, 1939: 171, 1961: 211, 1970: 299, 2000: 520 Historical Government Affiliation: 1530: Lower Hessian county office Hohenstein 1806-1813:

First French Empire The First French Empire or French Empire (; ), also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from ...

, Lower

Katzenelnbogen Katzenelnbogen () is the name of a castle and small town in the district of Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Katzenelnbogen is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Aar-Einrich. History Katzenelnbog ...

1816:

Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German language, German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what became the Germany, German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a States of the Confederation of th ...

Langenschwalbach Bad Schwalbach (; called Langenschwalbach until 1927) is the district seat of Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Geography Geographic location Bad Schwalbach is a spa town some 20 km northwest of Wiesbaden. It lies at 289 to 465&n ...

Office 1849: Duchy of Nassau,

district 1867:

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n province of

Hesse-Nassau The Province of Hesse-Nassau () was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944. Hesse-Nassau was created as a consequence of the Austro-Prussian War of ...

, Wiesbaden region, Untertaunuskreis 1945:

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

, Wiesbaden region, Untertaunuskreis 1968: Hesse, Darmstadt region, Untertaunuskreis 1977: Hesse,

Activities

Ramschied a lovely community that won the nationwide "Most Beautiful Town" Award in 1985. Part of the attractiveness of the village comes from the rolling hills, mountaintop views, classic pasture lands, forest trails, abundant farms, a natural

mineral spring Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produce hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage un ...

(which is located at the end of Sebastian Kneipp Strasse and highlighted in the village crest), and a natural Kneipp

hydrotherapy Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and Physical therapy, physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and ...

pool. Tourists from far and wide visit the village for the day, or a longer stay. Licensed hunters have ample game and anglers can drive a couple of minutes down to the Wispersee, which is a lake stocked with fish. Once the snow covers the steep fields, winter sport activities like sledding, snowboarding and skiing are enjoyed.

References

External links

*

Ramschied Fire Department *

Zum Wispertal Inn and Restaurant *

Wisper Park Camp Area *

Taunus Wunderland Family Theme Park {{authority control Villages in Hesse Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis