Wallmerod () is an Ortsgemeinde—a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde—in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
Location Wallmerod lies in the Westerwald between Montabaur and Rennerod. The community is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Wallmerod, a kind of collective municipality.
Neighbouring communities Wallmerod borders in the north on the community of Bilkheim, in the east on the community of Molsberg, in the south on the community of Weroth, and in the west on the community of Berod. To the southeast lies Hundsangen, which can easily be reached over Bundesstraße 8.
History On 4 February 1276, Wallmerode had its first documentary mention. On this day the Archbishops of Cologne and Trier and the Counts Gerhard von Diez, Heinrich von Sponheim and Diether von Molsberg all met, at which time Count Diether von Molsberg and his wife, Lisa von Isenburg, sealed a pledge in future not to harm the Marienstatt Monastery any longer, and to relinquish thereto all rights for evermore. Thus, in two archbishops’ and several princes’ presence, was a longstanding dispute between the Marienstatt Monastery and the Lords of Molsberg laid to rest.
In the Duchy of Nassau, the seat of the Amt of Meudt was shifted from Montabaur to Wallmerod, and given the new name Amt Wallmerod.
In the course of administrative reform, Wallmerod became the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde in 1972.
The community, which today has some 1400 inhabitants, was, owing to its location, already of great importance early on. Bundesstraße 8 running through the middle of Wallmerod and formerly called Hohe Straße (“High Road”) or Kölnische Straße (“Cologne Road”), was likely, in its main branch, an age-old transport link from the northwest to the southeast (from Antwerp to Innsbruck). Year 1815 1835 1871 1905 1939 1950 1961 1970 1980 1990 2000 2005Pop.24447854448459966967679176210071263
Coat of arms The spade with the W refers to the community’s name. The W is, of course, the initial letter, but moreover, the spade stands for the placename element –rod, from the root of Rodung (“clearing” in German; cognate with “Roding” found in some English placenames). The two churches Evangelical and Catholic.
Culture and sightseeing
Buildings Buildings under monumental protection are, among others, the tithe house built in 1834, the prison from the first half of the 19th century, and the old bakehouse.
Sport On 1 December 2006, the sport and culture hall was dedicated, which the Ortsgemeinde of Wallmerod shares with the Verbandsgemeinde of Wallmerod.
Economy and infrastructure Wallmerod station
Wallmerod station is a station on the Herborn–Montabaur railway (also called in German the Westerwaldquerbahn, Cross-Westerwald Railway), currently closed for passenger transport but still used for freight transport. The station opened on June 1, 1910, alongside the Montabaur–Westerburg section of the Herborn–Montabaur railway line. Passenger services were discontinued on 1 June 1955.
On September 18, 2005, the interest group IG Westerwald Querbahn e. V. (IWQ) organized the first special excursion on the line, using VT 98 railbuses chartered from the interest group Oberhessische Eisenbahnfreunde (OEF e. V.). The trip, originating from Montabaur station and terminating at Wallmerod station, passed the villages Bannberscheid, Staudt, Moschheim, Niederahr and Meudt. Similar excursions were offered again in the years 2006, 2007, and 2010.
Nowadays a walking and cycling path runs along the former railway alignment from Wallmerod station towards Westerburg station.
Local bus transport Wallmerod has access to the public bus transport through the lines 481, 482, 492, 959 and 994.
Wallmerof is located in the zone 423 of Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Mosel (VRM).
Wallmerod lies favourably with regard to transport on the old trade road (Hohe Straße), nowadays called Bundesstraße 8, between Frankfurt am Main (78 km) and Cologne (103 km) in the southern Westerwald. The Autobahn interchange Diez/Wallmerod on the A 3 (Cologne–Frankfurt) is 9 km away.
Wallmerod lies on the Cross Westerwald railway which now only is used for goods services. The nearest passenger stations, however, are Dreikirchen and Steinefrenz on the Limburg-Staffel–Siershahn railway (RB29). The InterCityExpress station at Montabaur is 13 km away, and the one at Limburg Süd is 21 km away.
Education Wallmerod has one kindergarten and one primary school.
Notable people Johannes Orth (born 14 January 1847 in Wallmerod; died 13 January 1923 in Berlin) was a German physician, anatomist and pathologist
Gallery
References
External links Wallmerod in the collective municipality’s Web pages