Alterkülz | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Alterkülz within Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis district  | |
  Alterkülz  Alterkülz | |
| Coordinates:50°01′56″N7°27′57″E / 50.03222°N 7.46583°E /50.03222; 7.46583 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| District | Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis |
| Municipal assoc. | Kastellaun |
| Area | |
• Total | 7.58 km2 (2.93 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 380 m (1,250 ft) |
| Population (2022-12-31)[1] | |
• Total | 380 |
| • Density | 50/km2 (130/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 56288 |
| Dialling codes | 06762 |
| Vehicle registration | SIM |
| Website | www |
Alterkülz is anOrtsgemeinde – amunicipality belonging to aVerbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in theRhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) inRhineland-Palatinate,Germany. It is also atourism community (Fremdenverkehrsgemeinde).
The municipality lies in the Külzbach valley, stretching strikingly alongLandesstraße (State Road) 108, which is known locally asHauptstraße (“Main Street”) where it actually passes through the village. Its length along this road has led to Alterkülz being called the “Longest Village in theHunsrück”. Also belonging to the municipality is the outlying centre of Osterkülzmühle in the Osterkülz valley, southeast of the main centre.
Alterkülz's neighbours, by compass direction, are as follows:
Places adjacent to Alterkülz | |
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Alterkülz belonged until 1417 to the “Further”County of Sponheim, and locally to theAmt of Kastellaun. After this line of the Sponheims died out, the village went with Kastellaun to the “Hinder” part of the County.
Over the centuries, Alterkülz grew together from several villages: Unterdorf (“Lower Village”), Mitteldorf (“Middle Village”), Überbach and Wehr. As late as 1865, the nowOrtsteil of Wehr was mentioned as ahamlet in its own right.
On the way out of the village to the south, near the Külzbach, the local river, are found remnants of amediaevaliron smelter and what is left of the mine whence theore came, the Grube Eid. Also found there is a slope on which once stood aRoman estate, avilla rustica.
From 1901 to 1983, the village was a stop on the oldSimmern–Kastellaun–BoppardHunsrückbahn (railway). At the beginning of the 21st century, the former railway right-of-way was converted into anasphalt-paved cycle andhiking path, theSchinderhannes-Radweg, named after a famous German outlaw.
In 2005, the municipality reached fifth place in the area in the state contestUnser Dorf hat Zukunft (“Our village has a future”).
The council is made up of 8 council members, who were elected at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
Alterkülz's mayor is Alfons Rockenbach.[2]
The German blazon reads:Im geteilten Schild oben in Schwarz ein aufspringender goldener Ziegenbock, beseitet von zwei goldenen Ähren, unten von Rot und Silber geschachtet, belegt mit schräggekreuzten schwarzen Schlägel und Hammer.
The municipality'sarms might in Englishheraldic language be described thus: Per fess sable a billygoat springing between two ears of wheat couped in base Or and chequy of twenty-four gules and argent a hammer and a sledge per saltire of the first.
The red and silver checkerboard pattern in the lower half of theescutcheon refers to the village's former allegiance to the “Hinder”County of Sponheim and theAmt of Kastellaun. As early as 1283, Alterkülz was being mentioned in a few Sponheim documents (cule,kultze). Thecharge here, the hammer and sledge, recall the iron ore mining that was undertaken at the Grube Eid (mine) from 1780 (as it is established in historical records) until theFirst World War. The ears of wheat stand foragriculture, once every villager's occupation. Many lordships were enfeoffed here, the Sponheims, the Koppensteins, the Hunolsteins and the Bourscheids. The springing billygoat represents the outlying centre of Wehr, where theWehrer Bick live,Bick being a local form of theGermanBöcke (“bucks”, “male animals”, and thus in this case, “billygoats”). The billygoat also graces the new town hall's roof.
The arms have been borne since 23 February 1981.[3]
The following are listed buildings or sites inRhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
| Name | Founded | No. of members | Chairperson | Activity | As at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bauernverein (“Farmers’ Club”) | 19th century | 30 | Horst Bender | Information, courses, fire insurance, representing interests in buying and selling land | 1983 |
| Evangelische Frauenhilfe (“Evangelical Women’s Aid”) | 1932 | 60 | Elisabeth Berg, Elli Schneider (Alterkülz) | Bible classes, singing at burials | 1983 |
| Frauengymnastikgruppe (“Women’s Gymnastic Group”) | 1975 | 23 | Ingrid Meurer | Women's sport | 1983 |
| Feuerwehrverein Alterkülz (“Alterkülz Firefighting Club”) | 1934 | 21 | Axel Werner | Firefighting practice, information evenings onfire prevention | 2007 |
| Gemischter Chor Alterkülz (Meisterchor) (“Alterkülz Mixed Choir – Master Choir”) | 1830 | 36 | Horst Peuter | Concerts, collaboration at village and social events, participation in singing festivals | 2007 |
| Jugendraum Alterkülz (“Alterkülz Youth Centre”) | 1999 | * | * | Social gathering | 2007 |
| Landfrauenvereinigung (“Country Women’s Association”) | 1960 | ~36 | Regina Messerle | Courses, informational trips, social events | 2007 |
| Musikverein Alterkülz e. V. (“Alterkülz Music Club”) | 1924 | 60 active | Heinz-Walter Nowak | Concerts, collaboration at village events, participation in music festivals, training and developing youth's musical skills | 2008 |
| Spielvereinigung Oberkülztal (“Oberkülztal Games Club”) | 1928 | 82 active | Jürgen Meurer | football,table tennis | 2008 |
Among others, there are a large steel building firm, a carpentry company specializing in buildingconservatories, a masonry business, aninn and several agricultural businesses. On a hill east of the village stands awind farm with sevenwind turbines made byVestas.
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