Melsbach () is a municipality in the district of Neuwied, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Since 2018, it has been part of the Rengsdorf-Waldbreitbach.
Description Melsbach is in the midst of thick, lush forests. It is located at the southern border of the Westerwald region and thus often described as a "border village". Nearby municipalities include: Rengsdorf, Niederbieber, and . The current mayor of Melsbach is Holger Klein.
History and special events The first reference to the village's name occurs in 1267 as "Melszbach" as part of a county that the earl Gottfried von Eppstein, the Younger, had to sell away. In 1396, the "Kreuzkirche" (church-of-the-cross) chapel was built and first mentioned in 1399 in curatorial documents. The chapel belonged to the St. Thomas monastery (a woman's diocese) of Andernach and it was a famous pilgrimage destination from the beginning.Wilhelm Fabricius: Erläuterungen zum geschichtlichen Atlas der Rheinprovinz: Fünfter Band: Die beiden Karten der kirchlichen Organisation, 1450 und 1610; zweite Hälfte: die Trierer und Mainzer Kirchenprovinz; die Entwicklung der kirchlichen Verbände seit der Reformationszeit. BoD, Trier 2015 (reprint of 1913), pp. 231 & 232. Today, the ruins of the Kreuzkirche reside at the southern entrance to the village and have become a tourist attraction and popular panorama motif.Thorsten Lensing: Limesweg: Von Eining an der Donau nach Rheinbrohl am Rhein. 30 Etappen. Mit GPS-Daten: Bergverlag Rother GmbH, Munich 2013, , p. 191 & 192.
In 1789, vast clay fields were found, containing both white and colored clay rich in siderite. It was also discovered that the clay contained high amounts of precious alum. The alum mining lasted until 1880; clay mining lasted until the late 1960s. Today's "soccer hill" at the south entrance of Melsbach, opposite to the Kreuzkirche, is the result of a huge scree slope. Only a winding tower marks the place where the mines' entrance once was. The tower has become a local emblem and can still be visited, though not climbed.Ralf Schaumann: Technik und technischer Fortschritt im Industrialisierungsprozess: dargest. am Beispiel d. Papier-, Zucker- u. chem. Industrie d. nördl. Rheinlande (= Rheinisches Archiv, vol. 101). Böhlau Verlag, 1977, , p. 233 & 403. The clay of Melsbach is described as "highly fireproof" and "of remarkable quality, often preferred for ceramic".R. Herrmann: Wo wird Ton abgebaut? In: Keramische Zeitschrift, 41. Ausgabe, 2. Jahreshälfte 1989. Verlag Schmid, 1989, p. 85.
Despite its rich mineral resources, Melsbach was described as being "poor" in curatorial documents. In contrast to the neighbourhood municipality Altwied, Melsbach had to pay taxes. And even with the mines, Melsbach grew surprisingly slowly. Between 1753 and 1807, for example, only six new houses were built, and from 1840 and 1895, 22. In 1840, Melsbach counted 399 inhabitants; by 1895 it had 559 citizens. The increase of houses may have been the result of the mining, but oddly enough, the increase of inhabitants in neighbourhood towns, such as Niederbieber, Oberbieber and Rengsdorf was disproportionately higher. It is possible that most of the mine workers came from the surrounding towns.Barbara Closhen: Die Entwicklung der mittelrheinischen Markgenossenschaft am Beispiel des Kreises Neuwied: ein Beitrag zum Gesamtproblem der deutschen Markgenossenschaft. Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn 1972, p. 80, 81 & 90.
The surroundings of Melsbach are of geological and archaeological interest: local investigations have led to discoveries of ammonites and plant fossils, as well as a bronze bucket from the late bronze era, dated to 500 BC. The area has also had some seismic activity.Klaus Steingötter: Geologie von Rheinland-Pfalz. Schweizerbart, 2005, , pp. 317. In April 1992, the citizens of Melsbach and the rest of Rhineland-Palatinate were surprised by an earthquake with the magnitude of 5,9 on the Richter scale. It occurred at 3:40 A.M. and lasted fifteen seconds.Historical press report mentioning the earthquake of 1992 in Rhineland-Palatinate at general-anzeiger-bonn.de (German). In 2011, another earthquake struck Melsbach with a magnitude of 4,8 on the Richter scale.Klaus Steingötter: Geologie von Rheinland-Pfalz. Schweizerbart, 2005, , pp. 223.
Timeline
500 BC: Date of the bronze bucket discovered by archaeologists 1267: First documents mentioning the village: Graf Gottfried von Eppstein, the Younger, sells his estate 1278: Melsbach becomes the parish of Rengsdorf 1357: Melsbach becomes an important customs facility 1399: First curatorial document entry about the Kreuzkirche (church-of-the-cross) as a pilgrimage destination 1692: Melsbach receives its own school 1747: Melsbach enparts to the parish of Altwied 1789: Lignite and clay deposits are found 1789–1880: Digging of alum in the first alum-mine of Rhineland-Palatinate 1812-1815: Destruction of most parts of Melsbach during the German Campaign of 1813 1850: At the Laubach creek blue schist is discovered 1863: First kermis in Melsbach, first mentioning of the regional wine "Melsbacher Goldberg" 1865: Foundation of the Burschenverein Melsbach 1907: Foundation of the Auxiliary Fire BrigadeTimeline of Melsbach's history at gemeinde-melsbach.de (German).
Population statistics The following list shows the population changes from 1815 - 2014 according to the statistical office of Rhineland-Palatinate.Population statistics of Melsbach at infothek.statistik.rlp.de (German). 1815: 345 1835: 382 1871: 431 1905: 576 1939: 609 1950: 731 1961: 973 1970: 1391 1987: 2015 2005: 2017 2011: 1996 2014: 2007
Local legends A rarely known legend from 14th century tells the legend of how and why the Kreuzkirche chapel was built:
Once upon a time, the surroundings of today Melsbach's and Rengsdorf's heights were covered in thick forests. These forests were crowded with wild animals in such amounts, that wealthy knights and earls greatly enjoyed hunting in these woods. One of these knights, who originated from the valley of the Wied, was known for hunting often in the high forests.
One day, he became so eagerly involved hunting a deer, that he completely lost his orientation and any feeling for time and space. Not only did he lose sight of his comrades, when he blew the horn, he received no audible response. Unfortunately, the sun was soon setting and night approached. The knight decided to set up a camp for night under an extraordinarily thick and lush oak tree.
Suddenly he saw an ominous bright, white light between the far trees and the figure of a white, shimmering lady appeared. The white lady was holding a shining cross in her hands and told the knight, "Follow me!" The man did so and the lady guided him home safely.
Right after this event the knight became a pious believer and he ordered his servants to erect a large, beautiful cross at the spot where he had encountered the white lady. Later, when he became rich, he gave order to the erection of a chapel at the place where the cross was placed. The chapel was then named "Kreuzkirche" (church-of-the-cross).Otto Runkel: Aus dem Sagenschatz der Heimat: Westerwaldsagen, gesammelt und erzählt, Volume 1. Sändig, Wiesbaden 1972 (reprint of 1929), pp. 96.
Sources Albert Hardt: Melsbach und seine Geschichte. In: Im Wiedischen Land, Rengsdorf 1989 – Geschichte der Orte in der Verbandsgemeinde Rengsdorf, page 377 ff.
References
External links Homepage of Melsbach (German)