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Westerwald
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The Westerwald is a low mountain range on the right bank of the river Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge (Rhenish Slate Mountains). Its highest elevation, at 657 m above sea level, is the Fuchskaute in the High Westerwald.
Tourist attractions include the Dornburg (394 metres), site of some Celtic ruins from La Tène times (5th to 1st century BC), found in the community of the same name, and Limburg an der Lahn, a town with a mediaeval centre.
The geologically old, heavily eroded range of the Westerwald is in its northern parts overlaid by a volcanic upland made of Tertiary basalt layers.
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Encyclopedia
The Westerwald is a low mountain range on the right bank of the river Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge (Rhenish Slate Mountains). Its highest elevation, at 657 m above sea level, is the Fuchskaute in the High Westerwald.
Tourist attractions include the Dornburg (394 metres), site of some Celtic ruins from La Tène times (5th to 1st century BC), found in the community of the same name, and Limburg an der Lahn, a town with a mediaeval centre.
The geologically old, heavily eroded range of the Westerwald is in its northern parts overlaid by a volcanic upland made of Tertiary basalt layers. It covers an area of some 50 × 70 km, and thereby roughly 3 000 km², making the Westerwald one of Germany’s biggest mountain ranges by area. In areas of subsidence, it has in its flatter western part (Lower Westerwald) the characteristics of rolling hills. Typical for the economy of the Upper Westerwald, some 40% of which is actually wooded, are traditional slate mining, clay quarrying, diabase and basalt mining, pottery and the iron ore industry, and among other things mining in the Siegerländer Erzrevier (roughly “Siegerland Ore Grounds”). Despite its relatively slight elevation, the Westerwald has for a low mountain range a typical agreeable climate. Economically and culturally, it belongs among Germany’s best known mountain ranges.
The name “Westerwald” was first mentioned in 1048 in a document from the Electorate of Trier and described at that time the woodlands (Wald is German for “forest” or “woods”) around the three churches in Bad Marienberg, Rennerod and Emmerichenhain, west of the royal court at Herborn. Only since the mid 19th century has the name come into common usage for the whole range.
The High Westerwald has since the Middle Ages formed the heart of the Herrschaft zum (also vom or auf dem) Westerwald (“Lordship over the Westerwald”). This comprised the three court districts of Marienberg, Emmerichenhain and Neukirch. The Lordship later fell under the governance of the Lordship or County of Beilstein.
Geography
Location
The Westerwald lies mostly southwest of the three-state common point shared by Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia in the districts of Altenkirchen, Lahn-Dill, Limburg-Weilburg, Neuwied, Rhein-Lahn, Rhein-Sieg, Westerwaldkreis and partly in Siegen-Wittgenstein. It is found south of the Rothaargebirge, southwest of the Lahn-Dill-Bergland (another low mountain range), north of the Taunus and east of the Middle Rhine and stretches more or less southwards from Siegen and Burbach, southwestwards from Haiger, northwestwards from Weilburg, northwards from Limburg an der Lahn, northeastwards from Koblenz, eastwards from Linz am Rhein, southeastwards from Wissen and southwards from Betzdorf. In its centre lie Bad Marienberg and Hachenburg.
Clockwise, the Westerwald is bordered by the following rivers’ valleys: the Rhine between Koblenz and Linz, the Sieg as far as Betzdorf, the Heller, the Dill and from its mouth near Wetzlar, the Lahn up to Lahnstein.
Geomorphologically, the Westerwald belongs to the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge (Rhenish Slate Mountains), forming the greater part of that range’s eastern half on the Rhine’s right bank. Likewise, the Gladenbacher Bergland, lying east of the Dill, also belongs to the Westerwald, whereas the mountains reaching up to 680 m near the Haiger Saddle (Haiger Sattel) and east of Siegen are counted as part of the Rothaargebirge.
The Westerwald’s regions
The Westerwald is divided by elevation into these three regions:
- Unterer or Vorderer Westerwald, or Vorderwesterwald:
- Translated here as Lower Westerwald, this region borders on the Rhine and Lahn river valley landscapes and manifests itself as the western and southwestern part of the Westerwald, a heavily eroded mountain range with elevations ranging from 200 to 400 m. The subsidence areas found within (Dierdorfer Senke, Montabaurer Senke) are known for their clay deposits. Indeed, the name for this small region is the Kannenbäckerland, or “Jug Bakers’ Land”, a reference to the traditional ceramics industry here. In the southwest, in the richly wooded Montabaur Heights (Montabaurer Höhe) is found a monadnock made of quartzite, as well as the Malberg Conservation Area (Naturschutzgebiet Malberg). The Siebengebirge joining the range in the northwest near Bonn (reaching 464 m) is, however, regionally grouped with the Middle Rhine area.
- Translated here as Upper Westerwald, this is a partly wooded land of volcanic crests with major basalt layers, above all in the area of the Westerwald Lake Plateau (Westerwälder Seenplatte), with elevations ranging from some 350 to 500 m. To the south, as part of the Lahn valley, the hilly Limburg Basin (Limburger Becken) abuts the Upper Westerwald.
- The High Westerwald is an undulating and basalt-rich tableland decked with woodlands that has a distinctly agreeable climate, and elevations ranging from roughly 450 to 657 m. Here is found the Fuchskaute, the Westerwald’s highest peak.
Places
District seats in the Westerwald are: Altenkirchen (Altenkirchen district), Montabaur (Westerwaldkreis) and Neuwied (Neuwied district). Furthermore, the Lahn-Dill-Kreis, the Mayen-Koblenz district, the Rhein-Lahn-Kreis and the Limburg-Weilburg district each have shares of the Westerwald. If Sieg is taken as the Westerwald’s northernmost limit, then the Rhein-Sieg district likewise belongs here, at least in parts (for example the Siebengebirge and the communities of Eitorf and Windeck).
Transport connections
The Westerwald and its outer edges are crossed by stretches of Bundesstraßen 8, 42, 49, 54, 62, 255, 256, 277, 413 and 414, over which there are connections to the Autobahnen A 3 (Cologne–Frankfurt), A 45 (Dortmund–Aschaffenburg) and A 48.
Several railway lines also lead through the Westerwald, among them the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line with stops in Montabaur and Limburg an der Lahn. Moreover, the Westerwald can also be reached by air through the Siegerland Airport, which lies in the High Westerwald, south of Burbach.
Geology
Geologically, the Westerwald is part of the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge, and likewise represents a heavily eroded remnant of a great Variscan mountain system which in the Mesozoic characterized a great deal of Europe.
The Devonian bedrock is covered by volcanic masses from the Tertiary, particularly basalt and tuffs. Economically important, besides slate, limestone and clay quarrying, were, and still are, iron and its processing industry between Rheintal (Unkel, Linz) and the lower Wied, pumice gravel in the Neuwied Basin, various mineral springs and, once, brown coal mining.
The whole Westerwald region lay under a tropically warm arm of the sea in the Palaeozoic (600 to 270 million years ago). This sea deposited layers of sediments many kilometres thick into the Variscan geosyncline, which were heavily folded in the orogeny that followed. The towns of Siegen and Koblenz on the Westerwald’s north and southwest edges even gave two Lower Devonian layers, with their colourful slates, their names. The upper mountain layers are formed of volcanic strata made of basalt containing tuffs.
In a few areas, slate and clay have long been quarried, the latter notably in the so-called Kannenbäckerland, but also in a few other places where the clay is worked into the salt-glazed grey Westerwald Pottery with cobalt blue decoration. The pottery industry is centred around Höhr-Grenzhausen. Exports, particularly to Italy, are also important (more than one million metric tons each year). In the mid 16th century, potters from Raeren in Belgium migrated into the Westerwald, bringing with them some of their moulds. This type of pottery was taken to the New World and was found in the early Chesapeake settlements. Today one finds not only highly crafted moulded vases and mugs but also a range of handcrafted utility ware, with hand-painted swirling floral motifs.
In the eastern Westerwald (the part lying in Hesse) are found interesting limestone deposits from the most varied of geological times. Erdbach limestone from the Lower Carboniferous gave one small time period the name “Erdbachian”.
Near Breitscheid are found the remnants of an atoll from the subtropical Devonian sea that was here 380,000,000 years ago. Parts of this limestone formation are worked in open-pit mining; near Enspel, a “fossil conservation area” has been instituted, in which institutes from several colleges conduct research and excursions. A few karst caves are of interest to spelaeology and bring about the temporary disappearance and reappearance of the Erdbach.
Mountains
The Westerwald’s highest mountain is the Fuchskaute in the High Westerwald, whose somewhat surprising name means, “Fox Hollow”. This apparently refers to a spot on the mountain that the fox used for his lair (the "hollow"). Many peaks and crests exceed the 600-m level. Sorted by elevation above sea level, these are some of the Westerwald’s highest elevations:
- Fuchskaute (657 m), near Willingen, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate
- Stegskopf (654 m), near Emmerzhausen, Altenkirchen district, Rhineland-Palatinate
- Salzburger Kopf (653 m), near Salzburg, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate
- Höllberg (643 m), near Driedorf, Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Hesse
- Auf der Baar (618 m), near Driedorf/Breitscheid, Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Hesse
- Barstein (614 m), near Breitscheid, Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Hesse
- Knoten (605 m), near Driedorf, Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Hesse
- Die Höh (598 m), near Burbach, Siegen-Wittgenstein, North Rhine-Westphalia
- Köppel (540 m), near Montabaur, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate
- Hohenseelbachskopf (530 m), near Daaden, Siegen-Wittgenstein and Altenkirchen district, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate
- Mahlscheid (509 m), near Herdorf, Siegen-Wittgenstein and Altenkirchen district, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate
- Malberg (422 m), near Ötzingen, Westerwaldkreis, Rhineland-Palatinate
- Hummelsberg (389 m), near Linz am Rhein, Neuwied district, Rhineland-Palatinate
- Beulskopf (388 m), near Altenkirchen, Altenkirchen district, Rhineland-Palatinate
Waterways
Flowing waters
The following are the Westerwald’s rivers and streams:
- Rivers whose valley systems border the range (clockwise):
- Rhine – southwest edge
- Sieg – north edge
- Dill – east edge, tributary to the Lahn
- Lahn – southeast edge
- Smaller rivers within the range:
- Sayn – in the southern (Lower) Westerwald, flows west to the Rhine
- Wied (between Sieg und Sayn) – flows west to the Rhine
- Nister (in the northeast, boundary of Upper Westerwald) – flows northwest to the Sieg
- Elbbach (Sieg) – near Wissen to the Sieg
- Heller – rises in northern Westerwald and flows through the Siegerland to Betzdorf and into the Sieg.
- Elbbach (Lahn) – near Ailertchen to the Lahn
- Daade – empties between Alsdorf and Grünebach into the Heller.
- Greater streams and brooks:
- Aubach, Brexbach, Dietzhölze, Erdbach, Fockenbach, Gelbach, Hellerbach, Holzbach, Kerkerbach, Masselbach, Saynbach, Ulmbach.
Standing waters
- Breitenbachtalsperre (Rennerod) (reservoir)
- Stausee Driedorf (reservoir)
- Großer Weiher
- Fischweiher
- Heisterberger Weiher
- Krombachtalsperre (reservoir)
- Seeweiher near Mengerskirchen
- Waagweiher
- Waldsee Maroth
- Westerwälder Seenplatte (Westerwald Lake Plateau)
- Brinkenweiher
- Dreifelder Weiher (or Seeweiher)
- Haidenweiher
- Hausweiher
- Hofmannsweiher
- Postweiher
- Wölferlinger Weiher
- Wiesensee (reservoir)
Weiher is a German word meaning “pond”.
History
Early times
Through prehistoric finds it can be determined that the Celts settled in the Westerwald and were using the iron ore deposits in the so-called Hallstatt times (Iron Age, roughly 750 to 500 BC). In all likelihood they came into the area from the Hunsrück. From La Tène times come the Celtic ringwall-girded defensive and sheltering castles which may be found on, among other peaks, the Malberg. Already by La Tène times, Germanic peoples were thrusting in from the east and from the Sieg valley. They came about 380 BC into the Upper Westerwald, bypassing the High Westerwald, seeing it as nothing more than a trackless wooded wilderness, after which they eventually came up against the Rhine in the second century.
Roman times
Even in the time when the Celts found themselves having to avoid the Germanic invaders by moving to the west, the Romans were also pushing in from the Rhine's left bank to the southwest. However, the Romans only managed to seize a strip of land on the Rhine's right bank and the so-called Rhine-Westerwald; the Westerwald itself lay outside the Roman-occupied area, for the Romans preferred to maintain a little-settled, most likely pathless wilderness as their border.
Chatti times
The Westerwald's permanent settlement and thereby its territorial history began with the Chatti (Hessians) pushing their way into the area after the Romans were driven out in the third century. Placename endings such as –ar, –mar and –aha ("Haigraha" = Haiger) stemming from the Migration Period ("Völkerwanderung") can still be found now. These lie around the forest's outer edges in basins and dales whose soils and climate were favourable to early settlers, and include, for instance, Hadamar, Lahr and Wetzlar. From the fourth to the sixth century, the settlements from the time of the taking of the land arose in formerly pathless areas, taking endings such as –ingen and –heim, like Bellingen and Bladernheim; these lie on the broad, raised plains in the Upper Westerwald.
Frankish times
The Franks built their old settlements on the edge of the Westerwald in the central areas of their districts, to build up slowly and permanently strongholds in the interior. There arose places with names ending in –rode, –scheid, –hahn, –berg, –tal and –seifen. Once clearing settlements had been established and logging for iron ore smelting was under way, the widespread destruction of the forest began. Between the sixth and ninth centuries came settlement expansion from the old settlements towards the edges, a process still witnessed in placename endings such as –hausen, –hofen, –kirch, –burg or –tal.
Middle Ages
The last settlement period in the Westerwald began in the tenth century and ended about 1300. Through Carolingian policy and therefore the Trier and Cologne mission, this area underwent Christianization. Trier advanced up the Lahn, Cologne to the Rhine and Sieg. Trier-Lothringian and Lower Rhine influences were nevertheless brought into the Westerwald. Among the witnesses to the art of building at that time is the monastery church at Limburg-Dietkirchen, in its oldest parts.
After many changes in ownership between the Ottonian and Salian noble families, it was in the end the Counts of Sayn, Diez and Wied who managed to take hold of extensive landholdings. Particular importance was achieved by the Counts of Laurenburg, who later called themselves the Counts of Nassau. In the east, the Landgraves of Hesse put it about that they could beat the Archbishopric of Mainz on the battlefield. Moreover, the Counts of Wied, the Counts of Sayn-Wittgenstein and the Electorate of Trier were all prominent landlords.
Modern times
Political relations were simplified until the 16th century. Among the four greater powers' spheres of influence (Mainz, Cologne, Trier, Hesse), the House of Nassau managed to expand and strengthen its hold its territory on the Dill between Siegen and Nassau. After the Napoleonic upheavals, Nassau had to share broad swathes of the Westerwald with the newly minted power Prussia. A sovereign Duchy of Nassau existed until it was annexed by Prussia in 1866.
Nowadays, the Westerwald is shared among three German federal states: Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate.
Famous people
- Sabine Bätzing (German politician, SPD)
- Hans-Arthur Bauckhage (German politician, FDP)
- Johann Wilhelm Bausch (Bishop of Limburg 1834–1840)
- Joseph Blank (German politician, CDU)
- Theodor Blank (former Federal minister, CDU)
- Wilhelm Boden (German politician, CDU; Premier of Rhineland-Palatinate 1946–1947)
- Katja Burkard (German television moderator)
- Ralph Dommermuth (entrepreneur)
- Paul Deussen (German philosophic historian and Indologist)
- Paul Dickopf (co-founder of the BKA)
- Thomas Enders (manager)
- Dieter Fritsch (German surveyor)
- Erhard Geyer (former Federal Chairman of the German Officials’ Federation)
- Frank Göbler (German Slavist)
- Paul Grimm (German artist)
- Dieter Hackler (Federal Commissioner for the Civil Service 1991–2006)
- Annegret Held (German writer)
- Hendrik Hering (German politician, SPD)
- Joseph Höffner (Bishop of Münster 1962–1969 and Archbishop of Cologne 1969–1987)
- Joachim Hörster (German politician CDU, Member of the Bundestag)
* Bodo Illgner (German national football player)
* Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom Stein (Prussian politician)
- Clemens Wilmenrod (German television cook)
- Jan Schlaudraff (German national football player)
- Dominik Schwaderlapp (Vicar-General of the Archbishopric of Cologne)
- Johann Philipp von Walderdorff (as Johann IX Elector and Archbishop of Trier 1756-1768, Prince-Bishop of Worms 1763-1768)
- Hermann Heinrich Traut (German librarian)
- Erich Wenderoth (German jurist and co-founder of the Rheinische Post)
- Siegfried von Westerburg (Archbishop of Cologne 1275–1297)
- Peter, Manfred, Uwe and Günter Ludolf, the main producers of the television series Die Ludolfs
Westerwaldlied
The Westerwald is also internationally known in songs, above all in folksongs, and particularly the Westerwaldlied (“Westerwald Song”), as well as Westerwald-Marsch (“Westerwald March”), Westerwald, du bist so schön (“Westerwald, you are so lovely”), the neues Westerwaldlied (“New Westerwald Song”) by songwriter Ulrik Remy, Ich bin aus 'm Westerwald (“I am from the Westerwald”) and Das schönste Mädchen vom Westerwald (“The Loveliest Girl from the Westerwald”) by Karl-Eberhard Hain and Jürgen Hardeck, made well known by "De Höhner", "Die Schröders" and other groups.
Westerwaldlied lyrics
| German | English translation |
|---|
| First verse |
|---|
Heute wollen wir marschier'n
Einen neuen Marsch probier'n
In dem schönen Westerwald
Ja da pfeift der Wind so kalt
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Today we want to march
To try out a new march
In the lovely Westerwald
Yes, there the wind whistles so cold
| | Chorus |
|---|
Oh, Du schöner Westerwald
Über Deine Höhen pfeift der Wind so kalt
Jedoch der kleinste Sonnenschein
Dringt tief ins Herz hinein
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Oh, you lovely Westerwald
Over your heights the wind whistles so cold
However, the smallest sunshine
Thrusts deep into the heart
| | Second verse |
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Und die Gretel und der Hans
Gehn des Sonntags gern zum Tanz
Weil das Tanzen Freude macht
Und das Herz im Leibe lacht
Wiederhole Refrain
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And Gretel and Hans
Gladly go dancing on Sunday
Because dancing makes joy
And the heart in the body laughs
Repeat chorus
| | Third verse |
|---|
Ist das Tanzen dann vorbei
Gibt es meistens Keilerei
Und dem Bursch, den das nicht freut,
sagt man nach, er hat kein' Schneid
Wiederhole Refrain
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When the dancing is over
There is mostly fighting
And the lad whom that does not please
Is accused of having no grit
Repeat chorus
| | Fourth verse |
|---|
Oh, Du schöner Westerwald
Bist ja weit und breit bekannt
Echte Menschen der Natur
Von Falschheit keine Spur
Wiederhole Refrain
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Oh, you lovely Westerwald
Are known far and wide
True people of nature
Of falsehood no trace
Repeat chorus
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Other
The standard German term for a Westerwald dweller is Westerwälder (; plural: same), but they are also popularly known as Basaltköpp (“Basalt Heads”), as they are said to be thickheaded, and they live in a basalt-rich region. Wäller is another vernacular name for them.
Bibliography
Hermann Josef Roth: Naturkundliche Bibliographie des rechtsrheinischen Schiefergebirges zwischen Lahn und Sieg (= Planaria, 3). Overath 1989, ISSN 0931-3737
Further reading
- Hellmuth Gensicke: Landesgeschichte des Westerwaldes. 2., ergänzter Nachdruck der Ausgabe von 1958. Veröffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission für Nassau, Nr. 13. Gemeinsam mit der Landesarchivverwaltung Rheinland-Pfalz herausgegeben von der Historischen Kommission für Nassau. Historische Kommission für Nassau, Wiesbaden 1987, XVIII/659 S., ISBN 3-922244-80-7
- Hermann Josef Roth: Der Westerwald. Vom Siebengebirge zum Hessischen hinterland. Kultur und Landschaft zwischen Rhein, Lahn und Sieg. 4. Aufl. Köln 1989, ISBN 3-7701-1198-2
- Hermann Josef Roth: Siegerland, Westerwald, Lahn und Taunus. Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläonztologie. 2. Aufl. Bindlach 1993, ISBN 3-8112-1055-6
- Hermann J. Roth, Herbert A. Ebert & Bruno P. Kremer: Kulturlandschaft Westerwald. Perspektiven einer ökologischen Regionalentwicklung (= Pollichia-Buch 35). Bad Dürkheim 1997, ISBN 3-925754-34-2
- Markus Müller: Gemeinden und Staat in der Reichsgrafschaft Sayn-Hachenburg 1652-1799. Wiesbaden 2005, Verlag der Historischen Kommission für Nassau. Beiträge zur Geschichte Nassaus und des Landes Hessen, Bd. 3/561 S., ISBN 3-930221-14-4
- Heiner Feldhoff: Westerwald. In: Literarischer Reiseführer Rheinland-Pfalz. Herausgegeben von Josef Zierden. Frankfurt 2001, ISBN 3-86099-483-2
- Oliver Greifendorf: Kriegsschauplatz Westerwald - Einmarsch der Amerikaner im Frühjahr 1945. Helios-Verlag, Aachen 2003, ISBN 3-938208-05-8
- Ulrich Fliess: Volkskundliche Abteilung. Ausstellungskatalog des Historischen Museum am Hohen Ufer Hannover II. Hannover 1972. Seite 99-102: "Westerwälder Steinzeug" und "Wandvitrine 142" nebst Tafel 15.
- Hermann-Josef Hucke (Redaktion) (Hrsg.): Großer Westerwaldführer. 3. Auflage. Verlag Westerwald-Verein e.V., Montabaur 1991, ISBN 3-921548-04-7.
External links
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- Heiner Feldhoff: (PDF), in: Kritische Ausgabe, Heft 2/2001
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