The Zellertal is a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...

region in the east of the

North Palatine Uplands The North Palatine Uplands (, ), sometimes shortened to Palatine Uplands (''Pfälzer Bergland''), is a low mountain range and landscape unit in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and belongs mainly to the Palatinate region. It is part of ...

in the German 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 ...

. Its western part belongs to

Palatine A palatine or palatinus (Latin; : ''palatini''; cf. derivative spellings below) is a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman Empire, Roman times.

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 ...

, its eastern part to Rhenish Hessian

Alzey-Worms Alzey-Worms () is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the district Groß-Gerau (district), Groß-Gerau (Hesse), the city of Worms, Germany, Worms and the districts of Bad Dürkheim (district) ...

. The valley is named after the old municipality of

Zell Zell may refer to: Places Austria * Zell am See, in Salzburg state * Zell am Ziller, in Tyrol * Zell, Carinthia, in Carinthia * in Upper Austria: ** Bad Zell ** Zell am Moos ** Zell an der Pram ** Zell am Pettenfirst Germany * Zell im Fich ...

, which became part of the new

Zellertal Zellertal is a municipality in the Donnersbergkreis district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The villages of , Harxheim and Niefernheim form Zellertal. Zellertal is located in the eponymous region, which in turn is part of the Palatinate w ...

municipality in 1976.

Geography

The Zellertal is a trough-shaped valley with relatively gently sides and is bounded in the north and south by two chains of low

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

s that are under 300 m. The distance between the two hill ridges is 2 to 3 kilometres. In between, the valley stretches from west to east, sheltered from north winds. Flowing through the valley in this direction is the

Pfrimm The Pfrimm () is a , left or western tributary of the Rhine in the Rhineland-Palatinate (Germany). Course The Pfrimm rises in the southern part of the Donnersbergkreis. Its spring lies in the northern part of the Palatinate Forest Nature P ...

, a left ban tributary 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 ...

which is just under 43 kilometres long. The exit to the valley in the east lies at a height of about 135 m in Rhenish Hesse in the collective municipality of Monsheim, to which belong the first 3 valley parishes of

Monsheim Monsheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location Monsheim lies in the southern Wonnegau ...

Wachenheim Wachenheim an der Weinstraße (formerly called ''Wachenheim im Speyergau'') is a small town in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, roughly 1 km south of Bad Dürkheim and 20 km west of Ludwigshafen. It is known ...

and Mölsheim as we travel upriver. To the west, on the Palatine side, follow the next three parishes of Zellertal ( Niefernheim, Zell and

Harxheim Harxheim is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Location Harxheim is a winegrowing village ...

) and the parishes of

Einselthum Einselthum is a municipality in the Donnersbergkreis district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, 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 no ...

Albisheim Albisheim is a municipality in the Donnersbergkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is part of the Zellertal region. Geography The village is located in the part of the Pfrimm Valley, known as ''Zellertal'', which forms part of the Alzey Hil ...

and

Marnheim Marnheim is a municipality in the Donnersbergkreis district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography Marnheim is located around 4 km (2.5 mi) south of Kirchheimbolanden. The nearest bigger cities are Worms and Kaiserslautern. The Pfrimm river ...

. The Zellertal ends here after 12 km at 185 m.

Sights

The symbol of the valley is the 15-metre-high Zellertal Memorial which can be seen from a long way off. The

Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

New Gothic New Gothic or Neo-Gothic is a contemporary art movement that emphasizes darkness and horror. Manifesto "The Art Manifesto" was written by Gothic subculture artist Charles Moffat in 2001, who also coined the term in an effort to differentiate i ...

monument was built in 1928 as a

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

in honour of the fallen of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. It is located on an exposed viewing point near the K 64 which runs along the hillside between Zell and Mölsheim. The

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

pilgrimage church A pilgrimage church () is a church to which Christian pilgrimage, pilgrimages are regularly made, or a church along a pilgrimage route, like the Way of St. James, that is visited by pilgrims. Pilgrimage churches are often located by the graves o ...

of Zell is dedicated to Philip of Zell, who was elevated to the

sainthood In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...

in the

Bishopric of Speyer The Prince-Bishopric of Speyer, formerly known as Spires in English, (German: ''Hochstift Speyer, Fürstbistum Speyer, Bistum Speyer'') was an ecclesiastical principality in what are today the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Wür ...

. Other sights are described in the individual village articles. File :Kriegerdenkmal-Zellertal-01.JPG, Zellertal Memorial File :Zellertal (Zell) 07.JPG, Pilgrimage church of Zell - exterior File :Wallfartskirche St. Philipp von Zell retouched.jpg, Pilgrimage church of Zell - interior File :Zellertal (Zell) 08.JPG, Vineyards in the Zellertal

Economy and infrastructure

Viticulture

The Zellertal is the northern end of the Palatine wine region; while the Rhenish Hesse wine area begins at the eastern end of the valley. The Zellertal wine region covers a larger area that the valley itself, has 15

vineyard 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 ...

s with a lagen with a vine area of 550 hectares. The wine region includes other wine-growing municipalities such as Bischheim, Rittersheim and

Gauersheim Gauersheim is a municipality in the Donnersbergkreis district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography The village is situated in the Alzey Hills part of the Rhenish-Hessian Hills, about 4 km (2.5 mi) east of Kirchheimbolanden. Neighbouring ...

, which are in the side valley of the Leiselsbach, a left bank tributary of the Pfrimm.

Transport

The Zellertal is accessed by the B 47 (

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

–Marnheim), which runs between the A 63 (

Kaiserslautern Kaiserslautern (; ) is a town in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, 666 kilometers (414 m ...

–

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

) in the west and the B 271 (

Neustadt an der Weinstraße Neustadt (German for ''new town'' or ''new city'') may refer to: Places * Neustadt (urban district) Czech Republic *Neustadt an der Mettau, Nové Město nad Metují *Neustadt an der Tafelfichte, Nové Město pod Smrkem * Nové Město na Mo ...

–

Alzey Alzey () is a ''Verband''-free town – one belonging to no ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the fifth-largest town in Rhenish Hesse, after Mainz, Worms, Germany, Worms, Ingelheim am Rhei ...

) in the east. On the western edge of Wachenheim, the B 47 has been extended to the west as a

ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...

. On Sundays and holidays from the beginning of May to the end of October the

Zeller Valley Railway References External links StreckeninformationenFörderverein Eistalbahn e. V.– Fahrplaninformationen, Betriebsführung und Instandhaltung Infrastrukturbetreiber der Strecke Railway lines in Rhineland-Palatinate North Palatinate Palatinate ...

runs from Monsheim via Langmeil to

References

External links

Location of the Zellertal
at: {{GeoQuelle, DE-RP, LANDIS-Karte, ref=nein Valleys of Rhineland-Palatinate North Palatinate