Neidenfels is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Neidenfels
Neidenfels
Neidenfels
Coat of arms of Neidenfels
Location of Neidenfels within Bad Dürkheim district
Bad DürkheimGrünstadtGrünstadtHaßlochMeckenheimNiederkirchen bei DeidesheimRuppertsbergForst an der WeinstraßeDeidesheimWattenheimHettenleidelheimTiefenthalCarlsbergAltleiningenEllerstadtGönnheimFriedelsheimWachenheimElmsteinWeidenthalNeidenfelsLindenbergLambrechtFrankeneckEsthalKindenheimBockenheim an der WeinstraßeQuirnheimMertesheimEbertsheimObrigheimObersülzenDirmsteinGerolsheimLaumersheimGroßkarlbachBissersheimKirchheim an der WeinstraßeKleinkarlbachNeuleiningenBattenbergNeuleiningenKirchheim an der WeinstraßeWeisenheim am SandWeisenheim am SandWeisenheim am SandErpolzheimBobenheim am BergBobenheim am BergDackenheimDackenheimFreinsheimFreinsheimHerxheim am BergHerxheim am BergHerxheim am BergKallstadtKallstadtWeisenheim am BergWeisenheim am BergAlzey-WormsWormsLudwigshafenFrankenthalRhein-Pfalz-KreisGermersheim (district)Neustadt an der WeinstraßeSüdliche WeinstraßeLandauKaiserslauternKaiserslautern (district)DonnersbergkreisKaiserslauternSüdwestpfalz
Neidenfels is located in Germany
Neidenfels
Neidenfels
Neidenfels is located in Rhineland-Palatinate
Neidenfels
Neidenfels
Coordinates: 49°23′20″N 8°02′47″E / 49.3889°N 8.0464°E / 49.3889; 8.0464
CountryGermany
StateRhineland-Palatinate
DistrictBad Dürkheim
Municipal assoc.Lambrecht (Pfalz)
Government
 • Mayor (2019–24) Sybille Höchel[1] (CDU)
Area
 • Total
6.65 km2 (2.57 sq mi)
Elevation
434 m (1,424 ft)
Population
 (2022-12-31)[2]
 • Total
764
 • Density110/km2 (300/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
67468
Dialling codes06325
Vehicle registrationDÜW
Websitewww.neidenfels.de

Geography

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Location

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The municipality, a papermaking village in the middle of the Palatinate Forest, lies between Neustadt an der Weinstraße und Kaiserslautern. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Lambrecht, whose seat is in the like-named town.

History

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Neidenfels came into being in the early 15th century in the protection of Niedenfels Castle, which sometime came to be called Neidenfels. The castle itself dated back to 1330 when it was built by Count Palatine Rudolf II.

Religion

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In 2007, 41.8% of the inhabitants were Evangelical and 41.3% Catholic. The rest belonged to other faiths or adhered to none.[3]

Politics

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Town council

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The council is made up of 12 council members, who were elected at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.

The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:[4]

SPD CDU Total
2009 5 7 12 seats
2004 7 5 12 seats

Coat of arms

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The German blazon reads: In Rot ein steinernes silbernes Haus in Vorderansicht mit Treppengiebel.

The municipality's arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Gules a stone house gable affronty argent with a crow-stepped gable.

The arms were approved in 1971 by the now abolished Regierungsbezirk administration in Neustadt. The one charge is canting for an old noble family's name, Steinhausen von Neidenstein (Stein is “stone” in German and Haus is “house”).[5]

Culture and sightseeing

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Buildings

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Above the village stands Neidenfels Castle, a ruin from the 14th century. In the village itself is a papermill.

Near Neidenfels lies the Drachenfels rocky plateau, which can be reached from Neidenfels over hiking trails.

Economy and infrastructure

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Transport

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Stopping at Neidenfels railway station are RheinNeckar S-Bahn trains on the Saarbrücken–Mannheim line. Lines S1 and S2 afford direct links to Kaiserslautern in the west and Ludwigshafen, Mannheim and Heidelberg in the east. Public transport is integrated into the VRN, whose fares therefore apply.

Further reading

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  • Alexander Thon (Hrsg.): Wie Schwalbennester an den Felsen geklebt. Burgen in der Nordpfalz. 1. Aufl. Schnell + Steiner, Regensburg 2005, S. 112–115, ISBN 3-7954-1674-4.

References

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  1. ^ Direktwahlen 2019, Landkreis Bad Dürkheim, Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz, accessed 3 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Bevölkerungsstand 2022, Kreise, Gemeinden, Verbandsgemeinden" (PDF) (in German). Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz. 2023.
  3. ^ KommWis, Stand: 31. Dezember 2007 Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Kommunalwahl Rheinland-Pfalz 2009, Gemeinderat
  5. ^ Karl Heinz Debus: Das große Wappenbuch der Pfalz. Neustadt an der Weinstraße 1988, ISBN 3-9801574-2-3
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