Location

The town lies in the North Palatine Uplands, in the so-called Königsland (“Kingsland”), between Idar-Oberstein and Kaiserslautern. The municipal area measures 1 377 ha, of which 644 ha is wooded. Also, 154 ha is given over to residential properties and transport facilities, 574 ha to agriculture and 5 ha is taken up by other uses and open water. Geographically, the municipal area belongs to the Glan-Alsenz mountain and hill country, which meets the Kaiserslauterer Senke (a depression) to the north. The town centre lies in the Lauter valley, cut narrowly into the land, between the steep slopes on either side of the Lauter, the Königsberg on the left bank and the Eisenknopf on the right. The Königsberg (not to be confused with the former East Prussian city) is the town's highest point at 568.4 m above sea level. Other selected elevations are as follows:

• Lang-Heck (Roßbach) — 404.1 m
• Neu-Wolfstein castle ruin — 238 m
• Stahlhausen valley floor (southern town limit) — 196 m
• Wolfstein railway station — 187.9 m^[4]

The town lies roughly 23 km northeast of Kusel, and 20 km northwest of Kaiserslautern.

Neighbouring municipalities

Wolfstein borders in the north on the municipalities of Lohnweiler and Heinzenhausen, in the northeast on the municipalities of Oberweiler-Tiefenbach and Einöllen, in the east on the municipality of Relsberg, in the southeast on the municipality of Niederkirchen, in the south on the municipality of Kreimbach-Kaulbach, in the southwest on the municipality of Rutsweiler an der Lauter and in the west on the municipality of Aschbach. Wolfstein also meets the municipalities of Hohenöllen, Eßweiler and Offenbach-Hundheim at single points in the northeast, southwest and northwest respectively.

Constituent communities

Wolfstein's Stadtteile are the main townsite, also called Wolfstein (1,792), Roßbach (178) and Reckweilerhof (11). The figures are populations as at 2007.^[5]

Town’s layout

Until 1905, the town's municipal area was limited to the area on the Lauter's left bank between Rutsweiler to the south, Lohnweiler to the north and Aschbach to the west. According to the original Bavarian cadastral survey (about 1840), Wolfstein's area measured 616 ha. In the 174 houses at that time lived 826 persons.

Spreading out from the old town (known as the Flecken, meaning “market town”) in the hollow, the settled parts of town lay in the 19th century on the slopes between the Tauchental (dale) and Schlossgasse (or Obergasse – a lane), on the narrow strips of land either side of Lauterstraße (or Untergasse) and on Hauptstraße (“Main Street”, but in an outlying neighbourhood). Worth mentioning are several old buildings in Wolfstein: the Evangelical church (1868, beside the town hall), the Catholic rectory (1845, outside town centre), the Evangelical rectory (1899, outside town centre), the court and prison building (1902/1903, outside town centre) and the former Kurhaus Lautertal (spa hotel, 1862, renovated in 1912, outside town centre).

With the expansion of Wolfstein's inhabited area, the old town's girding, mediaeval wall, which still stood in the early 19th century, had gaps knocked through it and eventually, along with both the town gates and the Bürgerturm (tower), it was torn down altogether.

It was not possible to expand Wolfstein onto lands over on the Lauter's right bank, for stretching for roughly 4 km between Kreimbach and Oberweiler was the village of Roßbach with, as it had then, its five Ortsteile: Stahlhausen, Roßbach (main centre), Mühle, Immetshausen and Kuhbrücker Hübel. The gap between Stahlhausen and the upper village, and the one between Immetshausen and Kuhbrücke, were used for farming. Any building work worthy of note within Roßbach's limits was never to be seen even as late as 1969. The number of houses there, beginning in 1900, hovered around 100.

In 1905, the Bavarian State Government – the Palatinate had belonged to the Kingdom of Bavaria since the Congress of Vienna – ordered the cession of the Kuhbrücker Hübel, with its railway station, seven houses on the slope side of Bahnhofsstraße (“Station Street”), seven others on Hefersweilerstraße, a few storage sheds next to the railway and the storehouse of the Consumvereine (“coöperatives”), to the town of Wolfstein. The decisive factor in favour of the amalgamation of this strip of land on both sides of the railway line, which had been opened in 1883, was economic considerations. For the goal of expanding the town's residential area, however, it was quite useless, for the slopes east of the ceded area on the valley floor still belonged to Roßbach. Thus, until the village of Roßbach in der Pfalz along with all its Ortsteile was merged into the town of Wolfstein in 1969, the town's foremost new building area remained the steep slope stretching up the Königsberg west of Hauptstraße (Bundesstraße 270), even after the Second World War (Röther Weg, Steinwiesen, Am Hang, Am Gericht, In der Trift, Bergstraße, Am Kirchpfad). Even this was hemmed in somewhat by the galleries at the chalk mine.

Beginning in 1970, work shifted to what had until recently been a self-administering, neighbouring village, and building began in Roßbach on formerly agricultural lands east of the railway line between Sandfeld (Immetshausen) and Eisenknopf (Schlettweg, Barbarossastraße, Habsburgerstraße, Kurpfalzstraße, Stauferstraße, Wingerstbergstraße, Hahnbach and Sandfeld). By 2000, 78 residential buildings had arisen here, mostly one- and two-family houses. The amalgamation increased Wolfstein's area by 616 ha to 1 377 ha.^[6]

Climate

Yearly precipitation in Wolfstein amounts to 729 mm, which falls into the middle third of the precipitation chart for all Germany. At 46% of the German Weather Service's weather stations, lower figures are recorded. The driest month is April. The most rainfall comes in June. In that month, precipitation is 1.4 times what it is in April. Precipitation varies only slightly and is spread extremely evenly over the year. Only at 1% of the weather stations are lower seasonal swings recorded.

Antiquity

Archaeological finds from both the Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age on the Königsberg's and the Selberg's west flank, barrows in the Jungenwald (forest) at the town limits with Aschbach and Lohnweiler that have been explored and many finds of Roman coins with effigies of Roman emperors at the old Celtic settlement, which was once surrounded by a ringwall, on the Kreimberg at the town limit with Kreimbach-Kaulbach (known as the Heidenburg, or “Heathen Castle”) bear witness to the presence of people in what is now Wolfstein in prehistoric times and early historic times. Leading over the ridge of the Königsberg was the “Roman road”, one of the Palatinate's oldest settlement roads. Nevertheless, there was never any Roman settlement within what are now Wolfstein's limits.^[7]

Middle Ages

Until 1768, the river Lauter was a border, cleaving today's unified town into the town of Wolfstein on the one side, which was held by Electoral Palatinate, and the village of Roßbach on the other, which lay within territory held by the Dukes of Palatine Zweibrücken. The Reckweilerhof belonged as an either Ducal or Electoral fief to the holdings of the Offenbach am Glan Benedictine Monastery. These three centres, therefore, did not share a common history until that date, and accordingly, they are treated separately for the time up to the 18th century.

Modern times

Population development

Living in Wolfstein about 1600, according to the townsmen’s register in the Stattbuch (“town book”), which was begun in 1599, were some 150 people in 36 households. In 1618, there were 50 families with some 200 persons, but this is estimated to have dropped to only 50 inhabitants by the time the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) ended. The 1618 population level was once again reached in 1684. Thereafter, the population figures kept rising. No records of Roßbach's population from the 17th century are available. In 1885 – only “present” persons were counted, while soldiers and the wandering musicians for which the region was then famous were left out of the total – there were 471 inhabitants (95 houses, no rented dwellings, no multi-family houses with separated living areas; occupancy per dwelling 4.95 persons). In 1900, there were 577 inhabitants (Kuhbrücke 78, Immetshausen 55, Roßbach main centre 381, Stahlhausen 63). In 1905, after the Kuhbrücke had been transferred to Wolfstein, there were 489 inhabitants. In 1918 there were 466 in 100 dwellings. In 1925, there were 504 in 98 houses. In 1933, there were 483 and in 1939, 515 (263 male and 252 female). In 1969, just before amalgamation with Wolfstein, there were 541 inhabitants.

The following table shows population development over the centuries for Wolfstein, with some figures broken down by religious denomination:^[17]

The two separate figures for 1969 indicate numbers before and after Roßbach's amalgamation. The figures for Roßbach itself before amalgamation are as follows:

*42 households

Town’s name

The name “Wolfstein” has appeared in many different spellings over the ages: Woluisstein (1275), Wolffestein (1387), Wolffstein (1438), Wolfsstein (1477), Wolfstein (1824). Also, in the local dialectal speech, the town is called Wolschde.

The name “Roßbach” has likewise undergone spelling changes: Ruosbach (1024), Roßbach or Ruspach (1544), Roßbach (1558). In the local dialectal speech, the village is called Roschbach.

The name “Reckweilerhof” has undergone some more pronounced changes: Regewilre (1200), Reckweiler (1509), Rögswiller or Röchswiller (1600), Reckweylerhof (1777/1778), Röckweilerhof (1917) and now Reckweilerhof, or in the local dialectal speech, Reckwillerhof.^[18]

Town council

The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected by proportional representation 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:^[20]

“FWG” is a voters’ group.

Mayor

Wolfstein's mayor is Herwart Dilly, and his deputies are Paul Schmelzer, Gerhard Spaugschuss and Christian Nickel.^[21][22]

Coat of arms

The German blazon reads: Im goldenen Schild ein rechtsgewendeter schwarzer rotbewehrter Wolf, der einen roten Forsthaken (Wolfsangel) in den Tatzen hält. Oben zwischen Kopf und Schwanz schweben 3 rote Rautensteine (2:1).

The town's arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Or a wolf rampant sable armed and langued gules supporting a cramp of the last, between his head and tail three lozenges per chevron reversed of the last.^[23]

Town partnerships

Wolfstein fosters partnerships with the following places:^[24]

• Verdun-sur-le-Doubs, Saône-et-Loire (Burgundy), France since 2000

Buildings

Wolfstein, from an engraving by Matthäus Merian in his Topographia Palatinatus Rheni et Vicinarum Regionum

The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:^[25]

Alt-Wolfstein castle ruin (monumental zone)

Neu-Wolfstein castle ruin (monumental zone)

Wolfstein, Hauptstraße 48: chalk mine

Schloßgasse 16: Saint Philip’s and Saint James’s Catholic Parish Church

Chalk mine

One witness to the town's industrial past is the Historische Besichtigungs-Kalkbergwerk (“Historic Visitable Chalk Mine”) in Wolfstein. A mine railway leads the visitor, with knowledgeable guidance, into the chalk mine at the Königsberg, where until 1967 chalk blocks were quarried underground and processed in town. All apparatus is still on hand in its original form. The chalk mine is held to be an industrial monument of special rank, and is unique in Germany.

Sport and leisure

Signposted paths open the Königsberg and its environs to the hiker. The Glan-Lautertal-Höhenweg, part of the Großer Westpfalzwanderweg (“Great West Palatinate Hiking Trail”) leads through the town's municipal area. Hiking destinations of particular note are the Laufhauser Weiher (pond), the Neu-Wolfstein and Alt-Wolfstein castle ruins, the Eisenknopf (peak) with its pavilion, the Zweikirche, the Heidenburg (“Heathen Castle”) on the Kreimberg, the Selberg (545 m above sea level) with its lookout tower and the gliderport near Eßweiler. Worth seeing in the town itself are the inn “Zur Alten Schenke”, which from 1590 to 1753 was the town hall, today's town hall, the former Amtskellerei, which was once an administrative centre, the Schlossplatz (“Castle Square”) with its Musikantenbrunnen, a fountain celebrating the local tradition of the Musikanten (see the Hinzweiler article – sections History and Famous people – for more about this), the remodelled Schlossgasse (“Castle Lane”) with its Eulenbrunnen (“Owl Fountain”) and the remodelling area around the Alte Mühle (“Old Mill”, on Mühlgasse).

The 112-kilometre-long Palatine Ridgeway (hiking trail) leads from Winnweiler by way of Rockenhausen to Wolfstein.

The Sport- und Freizeit-Center Königsland has games, sport and swimming with sporting grounds and a heated outdoor swimming pool. Other sporting facilities in Wolfstein are riding halls and other equestrian facilities (CJD), shooting facilities, tennis courts and a fistball court, among yet others.^[26]

Regular events

• Whitsun:
  • Open-air theatre performance
  • Fireworks
  • Maikur (forest hike on Whit Monday)
• Wolfsteiner Stadtfest, town festival before beginning of summer holidays, every other year, alternating with the next
• Feuerwehrfest (“Fire Brigade Festival”), every other year, alternating with the foregoing
• Herbstmarkt (“Autumn Festival”) in October
• Roßbacher Zeltkerwe (“tent fair”) in August
• Weihnachtsmarkt (“Christmas Market”), Saturday before the first day of Advent
• Reitertage (“Riders’ Days”) held by the CJD of national importance, last weekend in June^[27]

Clubs

Of the 26 clubs in town at the turn of the 20th century, those worthy of mention are:

• Musiker-Unterstützungsverein (“Musician Support Club”), for musicians who were ill or otherwise unable to work
• Johannis-Verein, for people unable to work
• Kriegerverein (“Warriors’ Club”), for supporting sick veterans and their families
• Liberaler Verein (“Liberal Club”), for the promotion of national and liberal politics
• Deutscher Flottenverein (Navy League)
• Radfahrerverein (cycling)
• Ziegenzuchtverein (goat breeding)

Today there are 25 clubs in town, the oldest of which is the Männergesangsverein 1858 e.V., a men's singing club. Roßbach's oldest club is the gymnastic club (Turnverein), founded in 1924.^[28]

Economic structure

In Electoral Palatinate times, handicrafts and smallhold agriculture defined the town's economic structure. The greater part of Wolfstein's inhabitants lived in poverty. In the late 18th century, improvement came with the mining of cinnabar-bearing stone that yielded quicksilver on the Princely-Electoral side of the Königsberg, a pursuit promoted by Prince-Elector Karl Theodor. Under the leadership brought by experienced professionals who had come to town, this mining reached its highest point between 1770 and 1790. Nevertheless, the mining lasted no longer than 30 years before coming to a complete end in the 19th century, with destitution and hardship as the upshot for the now jobless miners and their families.

While it was true that new ventures arose in the 19th century through Wolfstein citizens’ initiatives, such as chalk mining, coalmining, tanning, brewing, linen and cotton article manufacturing, bricks, and so on, these fell far short of employing everybody who sought a job. Thus, out of the need for a livelihood arose the Musikant business, not only in Wolfstein but also in many of the outlying villages. For a time, more than 750 professional musicians from the Canton of Wolfstein tried their luck “on the world’s roads”, in circus orchestras, on Siberian noblemen's estates, aboard pleasure boats and elsewhere. Within what is now the Verbandsgemeinde of Wolfstein, all together roughly 3,500 people were active as Musikanten.

In the early 20th century, the economic situation generally improved: for one thing, the Lauter Valley Railway (Lautertalbahn), which had been opened in 1883, made it possible for workers to commute to the nearby quarries or to jobs in Kaiserslautern, and for another, new commercial establishments in Wolfstein and across the river in Roßbach offered earning potential. These included the Pfälzische Schwerspatwerke Braun, Krieger u. Cie. (1902-1950; baryte works), the Pfälzische Bandagenfabrik Karl Otto Braun (1903; forerunner of Karl Otto Braun KG; bandages), the Zigarrenfabrik Felsenthal u. Co. (1910-late 1920s; cigars), the Industriewerke Roßbach and the Kort brothers’ brush factory (1896-1923). Likewise of importance, as early as the 19th century, was the family Martin's pottery business.

Currently, the greater part of Wolfstein's inhabitants work in the secondary sector of the economy (all figures are rounded): 1,200 persons, or 67% of the workforce, of whom 1,030 employees and 60 trainees are at KOB KG alone, Europe’s biggest bandage factory, which recently gave up part of its independence to coöperate with the biggest distributor of bandage material, Paul Hartmann AG. Only 240 employees actually live in Wolfstein. Most of the commuters who come to town come from places around the Königsberg, which speaks to the factory’s importance to the “Königsland” region's economic situation.

Working in the tertiary sector of the economy are 600 persons, of whom 330 persons, or 19% of the workforce, are in “not-for-profit organizations” (CJD, Verbandsgemeinde and town administration, ecclesiastical institutions, schools), 80 persons, or 4%, are in trade, credit business or transport and 180 persons, or 10%, are in other fields (senior citizens’ homes, hospitality, healthcare, etc.).

The share of workers in agriculture and forestry in the agrarian community of Roßbach in 1949 was still 46%. There were 84 operations, 28 of them full-time, but with relatively small working areas (all under 20 ha) and widely scattered plots of land.

In the town itself, farming, somewhat limited by the steep slopes and the lean soils, always played a subordinate role. Now, however, even the outlying centre of Roßbach is purely residential, although some 90 ha of its cropland and meadowland is worked by the CJD. The last full-time farming operation within Wolfstein's limits is run by the family Sonn at the Reckweilerhof.^[29]

Education

Transport

Sons and daughters of the town

• Friedrich Jakob Sander (1809–1876), musical instrument builder
• Franz Schmitt (1816–1891), painter
• Ernst Krieger (1867–1943), chess compositor
• Pauline König (1868–1938), Palatine “homeland poet”, honorary citizen of Wolfstein.
• Fritz Zolnhofer (1896–1965), painter
• Friedrich Jossé (1897–1994), painter and graphic artist