Kirchheimbolanden

Kirchheimbolanden, the capital of Donnersbergkreis, is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, south-western Germany. It is situated approximately 25 km west of Worms, and 30 km north-east of Kaiserslautern. The first part of the name, Kirchheim, dates back to 774. It became a town in 1368, and the Sponheim family improved its security with many towers and walls. William, Duke of Nassau, ancestor of the royal families of Belgium, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, and of the grand-ducal family of Luxembourg, was born in Kirchheimbolanden. It was also ruled by First French Empire between 1792 and 1814 before passing to Kingdom of Bavaria in 1815. It was a rural district centre in the Rheinkreis which was renamed Pfalz (Palatinate) in 1835.

Kirchheimbolanden
Town walls with the Grey Tower
Coat of arms
Location of Kirchheimbolanden within Donnersbergkreis district
Kirchheimbolanden
Kirchheimbolanden
Coordinates: 49°39′59″N 8°0′42″E
CountryGermany
StateRhineland-Palatinate
DistrictDonnersbergkreis
Municipal assoc.Kirchheimbolanden
Government
 • MayorKlaus Hartmüller (CDU)
Area
 • Total26.36 km2 (10.18 sq mi)
Elevation
232 m (761 ft)
Population
 (2019-12-31)[1]
 • Total7,898
 • Density300/km2 (780/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
67292
Dialling codes06352
Vehicle registrationKIB
Websitewww.kirchheimbolanden.de

Geography

Location

Kirchheimbolanden lies in the Palatinate at the transition point of the Nordpfälzer Bergland to the Alzeyer Hügelland bordering to the east. The city centre is located about four kilometres (as the crow flies) northeast of Donnersberg on the slope of Wartberg, also known as Schillerhain. The Leiselsbach, a left tributary of the Pfrimm, rises in the urban area. The lowest point lies at 229 m above sea level, the highest at 496 m above sea level.

Urban division

Kirchheimbolanden is divided into the city centre with the district Haide and the districts Ambach, Bolanderhof, Edenbornerhof, Hessenhütte, Neuhof, Rothenkircherhof and Schillerhain[5] Further places of residence are railway station 2262, Brunnenberg, brickworks Ebert, Kohlhütte and Ziegelhütte.

Climate

The annual precipitation is 585 mm. The precipitation lies in the lower quarter of the values recorded in Germany. Lower values are registered at 18 percent of the measuring stations of the German Weather Service. The driest month is February (approx. 38 mm). Most precipitation falls from May to July (approx. 58 mm in June). Lower seasonal fluctuations are registered at only one percent of the measuring stations. MeteoGroup (formerly MeteoMedia) operates a local weather station. The community and the local group Donnersberg of the association Pollichia participated in the financing. The station's data is displayed on an electronic display board in the city centre. They are also included in the weather report, which is presented daily by the company on ARD and SWR3 television programmes. Remarkable is a high value of the annual sunshine duration of 1940 hours measured at this station (average value 2010 to 2017, the long-term average value in Germany is 1595 hours).

Politics

In 2019 the town gained international attention after Lisel Heise, a 100-year old former physical education teacher ran for the local council and was elected.[2][3]

Sons and daughters of the city

Year up to 1900
Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg
Georg von Neumayer 1905

20th century
Kirchheimbolanden
Grey tower
Kirchheimbolanden Liebfrauenkirche (Liebfrauen church)

See also

References
  1. "Bevölkerungsstand 2019, Kreise, Gemeinden, Verbandsgemeinden". Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz (in German). 2020.
  2. Cole, Deborah (July 25, 2019). "Drawing inspiration from youth climate movement, 100-year-old German granny enters politics". Japan Times. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  3. Noack, Rick (October 1, 2019). "Germany's oldest politician is a 100-year-old woman who loves Obama and hates Brexit". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
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