Speyerbach

Course of Speyer Bach through the Palatinate Forest and Rhine valley to the Rhine

Speyerbach in the local situation of Speyer

Course of Gießhübelbachs by Speyer

The Gießhübelbach under the Old Town of Speyer

The Speyerbach is a western, orographic left tributary of the Rhine in the Palatinate ( Rheinland - Pfalz). He is as waters III. Classified order.

The headwaters and its tributaries are divided with a branched system of valleys the middle Palatinate Forest; the Speyerbach forms one of the four major drainage systems of this low mountain range. Then, in the Upper Rhine Valley, the Speyerbach is the most powerful river of Vorderpfalz, though he at three Flussbifurkationen a portion of its water volume loses, he receives back again only in the third case.

The lower reaches of the Speyerbach is out for at least 1200 years in an artificial bed that follows the southern edge of its large alluvial fan of sediment. In Speyer, where a section is also called Gießhübelbach, opens the Speyerbach into the Rhine.

• 4.1 Economics
• 4.2 traffic

Water data

Overview

From the source to the mouth of Speyerbach is 60 kilometers long, its catchment area covers 596 km ². The average discharge ( MQ ) is at the level in Neustadt on the Wine Route, so when it leaves the mountains, about 2.4 m³ / s; the previously measured peak value was 19.5 m³ / s on 25 May 1978. branches in Neustadt in an artificially created bifurcation, the Winzinger Wassergescheid, to the left of the Rehbach from where the Speyerbach remain only two thirds of the water supply. In the district of Neustadt Speyerdorf he loses again water to the branching to the left Ranschgraben. On Hanhofer Wassergescheid is derived to the left of the Woogbach (also Nonnenbach ) ( amount of water 1:1), which flows back into the Speyerbach later. This and smaller tributaries of the average discharge of Speyer Bach to the mouth grows to just over 3 m³ / s.

Course

The Speyerbach rises nominally 296 m above sea level. NN in the center of the Palatinate Forest east of Palatine main watershed near the hamlet Speyerbrunn, which belongs to the municipality as a district Elmstein. The surrounding mountains of Middle Franconia pasture are up to 609 meters high ( Eschkopf ). Immediately on his alleged source of the pond Speyerbach takes on the much stronger Erlenbach, five kilometers to the south on Eschkopf massif in the 460 -meter high fountain Hussars outcrops and hydrologically than the actual Speyerbach source applies.

Initially, mainly in the east, later a northeasterly direction to the Speyerbach overcome first by the relatively narrow Elmsteiner Valley, where he happened also the capital of the municipality, Elmstein. Above the valley are the ruins of four castles rows one behind the other. Best-known are connected by the legend of the bridge castles Leather Erfenstein and Spangenberg. Five kilometers from Elmstein brook flows down from the right side as a strong inflow of Helmbach the same hamlet. His most important water suppliers, the nearly 20 -kilometer Hochspeyerbach, the Speyerbach from left receiving her beneath Frankeneck where the wider Lambrechter valley begins. He turns to the southeast and flows through the small town of Lambrecht.

Shortly before Neustadt on the Wine Route exits the Speyerbach from the Palatinate Forest, the striking edge height, the Haardt, the valley at about 300 meters above projects. Links above the Taleinschnitts the nature reserve is located on Wolf mountain with the ruins of Wolfsburg, it follows the Winzingen castle and the castle Haardter developed later. Only three kilometers south is the Hambach Castle, a symbol of German democracy movement that had there with the Hambach Festival of 1832 an early climax.

In Neustadt, where it is discharged to the left of the Rehbach, the Speyerbach crosses the narrow, lined with vines hills on both sides of the German Wine Route. The Upper Rhine Valley, it flows through the south-east. He touches the Neustadt district Speyerdorf with the branch of the Ranschgrabens and the municipalities Hanhofen and Dudenhofen. Shortly before Hanhofen flows from the right Mühlbachgraben, right after that separates the left from the Woogbach. Over the next three kilometers flows first to the right of the Mode Stream, then crosses under the Hainbach the Speyerbach in Dole. After recording of Bach's grove, the Woogbach united, now called Nonnenbach, the wood market in Speyer with the Speyer Bach again. This then opens at Rhine kilometer 400.3 at Speyer port into the Rhine.

Tributaries

• Erlenbach ( right), 4.9 km
• Schwarzenbach ( left), 3.8 km
• Sink Bach ( left), 2.6 km
• Mückentalbach (left), 0.9 km
• Weltersbach (left), 2.8 km
• Oselbach (left), 2.1 km
• Legelbach (left), 4.2 km
• Möllbach (right) 1.1 km
• Haselbach (right), 3.2 km
• Helmbach (right), 11.0 km
• Argenbach (right), 5.5 km
• Breitenbach (left), 6.7 km
• Erfensteinertalbach (left), 1.5 km
• Höllischtalbächlein (right), 2.7 km
• Esthalbach (left), 4.4 km
• Hochspeyerbach (left), 21.3 km
• Luhrbach (left), 2.0 km
• Snakes Albach (left), 3.8 km
• Heidenbrunnertalbach (right), 4.1 km
• Kaltenbrunnertalbach (right), 6.6 km
• Rehbach (left), 29.0 km ( outflow )
• Bürgergraben ( Enggraben, right)
• Hainbach (right), 33.6 km

History

The Speyerbach was developed early on, probably in Roman, but perhaps only in the Carolingian period, to the channel. In the Middle Ages goods were transported from the surrounding countryside towards the Rhine on it. Thus, the sandstone was broken for the construction of Speyer Imperial and St. Mary's Cathedral in the quarries of the Haardt edge and shipped across the Speyerbach in the Speyer 40 km away.

Even as a transport route for wood, the river was important. Logs or timbers to about 1.40 meters in length were getriftet, for rafts of logs, the water supply was too low. Before the drift wood was in man-made storage ponds, the Woogen or Klausen, collected to be placed on the waterway with the snow begins to melt. This timing was necessary because during the drift, the water could not be used to operate the mills located on the stream, saw and hammer works, so that failure fees had to be paid. In 1832 there were, according to a contemporary account of the main teacher W. Häge had on which to take alone in the valley Elmsteiner three flour mills, five saw mills, a forge and a paper factory, the drift into consideration. For the purpose of regulating the operation in 1320, there was a raft of procedure for the Speyerbach. Thereafter, the drift had on 23 April, the " Jörgetag " ( George's Day), be terminated. As was done in the remaining Palatinate waters of trift driven expansion of Speyer Bach after the Palatinate was in 1816 came under Bavarian rule. Since 1822 there was a drift in Neustadt office, and was established as 1852 in Elmstein a Triftmeisterei, decreed the Neustadt region about 140 km well drift waters. But from 1882 to the drift was gradually abandoned. On the Speyerbach she held until 1902, however, only above Frankeneck. The last time drift yielded 6193 Ster wood.

Today Speyerbach is mainly on the middle and lower reaches largely the work of man. First, a completely new course was created; later the bed, which in parts still followed the old sink was further straightened and channeled in modern times, in part. The former meanders were at the Battle of Speyerbach on November 15, 1703 during the Spanish War of Succession the French, but also imperial troops undoing.

The risks that have been created by the elimination of the former water loops in the open country, manifested again and again by floods because appropriate retention areas are missing. In built-up areas, the aesthetic was mainly affected by piping. So the 20th century both Speyerbach and Rehbach are almost completely disappeared from the cityscape, especially in Neustadt during the second half. In the first decade of the 21st century were made as a green corridor Wallgasse and in the festival meadow restoration measures, which were completed in June 2010. They cost 2.7 million euros, most of which was borne by the State of Rhineland -Palatinate.

The Neustadt east to southeast at Speyer supplying the lower reaches of Speyer Bach was probably created since Roman times, in order to provide Noviomagus Nemetum the Germanic settlement precursor of Speyer with firewood from the Palatinate Forest. The underflow is fed into an embankment up to three meters above the surrounding terrain. Previously, he was the geological drain line of the current Ranschgrabens followed from about south of the present community Haßloch, which flows between Altrip and Ludwigshafen in the Rhine, having previously united in Limburgerhof Rehhütte with the Rehbach.

The also branching watercourses Rehbach (from Neustadt ) and Woogbach (from Hanhofen ) are not original, they were established in the late Middle Ages.

Attractions

The castle ruins Elmstein, located above the small town on the southwest edge of the 458 meter high castle hill, is privately owned and can only be viewed from the outside. At the hamlet Breitenstein is the ruin of castle Breitenstein, about one kilometer on Speyerbach down to the hamlet Erfenstein left the ruins of the castle Erfenstein, right from the castle Spangenberg.

The forest work Elmstein Museum, set up in the house of the last crest blacksmith Henry Hague, informed since 1990, fully aware of the work in the forest, including on the drift on the Speyerbach.

The former Rangers Otto Feyock from the Elmsteiner district Appenthal has called the drift trail Elmstein and his large information boards to life.

The museum railway Kuckucksbähnel wrong with historic steam locomotives and wagons between Neustadt and Elmstein. The reactivated route part of Lambrecht after Elmstein leads on Speyerbach along and measures just under 13 kilometers.

The Fronmühle on Speyerbach between Haßloch and the Neustadt district Geinsheim offers its Waldgaststätte a mill still in operation, as well as a natural monument a huge weeping willow. The Aumuehle between Haßloch and Hanhofen waiting for gastronomy and a working water wheel.

Near the Speyerbach are the Holiday Park Hassloch and a pony stud farm.

Economy and infrastructure

Economy

Because the wood raw material and energy supplier of water were next to each other available originated in Lambrechter valley especially in the 19th century, large paper mills. Because of the very labor-intensive work, they were for the regional labor market is of great importance, which still persists today, although technical progress has a workforce reduction causes.

Traffic

The Federal Highway 39 ( Speyer- Neustadt- Frankenstein ) is largely guided along the lower reaches up to the Holiday Park in close proximity to Speyerbach; then removes them to Neustadt to get back to accompany a few kilometers to the south in Lambrechter valley to the mouth of the brook high Speyer Speyer Bach. The valley runs parallel to the route of the railway line between Saarbrücken and Mannheim. The formerly disused Kuckucksbähnel Lambrecht - Elmstein is reactivated since 1984.