Birkenheide

Birkenheide
Municipality
Coat of arms
Location of Birkenheide within Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis district
Birkenheide Show map of Germany Birkenheide Show map of Rhineland-Palatinate
Coordinates: 49°29′N8°16′E / 49.483°N 8.267°E / 49.483; 8.267
Country	Germany
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District	Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis
Government
•  Mayor (2019–24)	Rainer Reiß [1] (CDU)
Area
• Total	3 km2 (1 sq mi)
Elevation	90 m (300 ft)
Population  (2021-12-31) [2]
• Total	3,118
• Density	1,000/km2 (2,700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	67134
Dialling codes	06237
Vehicle registration	RP
Website	www.birkenheide.de

Birkenheide is a municipality in the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany and is part of the Verbandsgemeinde Maxdorf.

Geography

Birkenheide is located about 10 kilometers west of Ludwigshafen in the Palatinate. Adjacent communities - clockwise starting north - are Weisenheim am Sand, Lambsheim, Maxdorf, Fußgönheim, Ellerstadt, Bad Dürkheim and Erpolzheim.

History

In 1936, the Großsiedlung Hundertmorgen was built on a stretch of land by the German Labor Front, where Eyersheim had been located before it was abandoned. The settlement had 528 people and was initially managed by Weisenheim am Sand. In 1939, the settlement was expanded by the development of today's town center with larger one- and two-family houses. In 1946, the population had grown to about 1200, mainly by immigrants and refugees who were housed in makeshift shelters in the northeast of the village.

On 1 October 1952 the settlement became the independent municipality Birkenheide. Its first mayor was Albertine Scherer. Soon a separate elementary school, kindergartens, a fire station and other communal facilities were built. The temporary housing facilities were replaced between 1964 and 1970 by blocks of flats and houses.

In 1970 Birkenheide made an incorporation agreement with Ludwigshafen, however this was rejected by Maxdorf and the Rhineland-Palatinate government. A subsequent lawsuit was unsuccessful. ^[3] In 1983, the village community house was built. ^[4]

Religion

The Protestant church, the Lukaskirche, was built in 1951 due to a post-war emergency church program and was designed by Otto Bartning. ^[5] As the church remained relatively unchanged, it has been listed as a Kulturdenkmal. ^[6]

The first Catholic church was built in 1968, but was replaced by the new church of St. Josef in 1995. The building includes meeting and youth rooms. ^[7]

On October 31, 2014, 36.079% of the population was Protestant, 28.321% Catholic, 3.522% had other religions, and 32.088% undenominational or unspecified. ^[8]

Politics

Municipal council

The municipal council of Birkenheide consists of 20 council members, who were elected in last election on 25 May 2014.

Municipal Council 2014 [9]			Municipal Council 2009 [10]			Municipal Council 2004 [11]
Party	Votes	Seats	Party	Votes	Seats	Party	Votes	Seats
SPD	40.5%	8	SPD	42.5%	9	SPD	33.5 %	7
CDU	42.7%	9	CDU	52.5%	11	CDU	59.7%	12
FWG	16.7%	3				FDP	6.7%	1
Voter Participation: 62.5%			Voter Participation: 63.2%			Voter Participation: 67.6%

Mayor

The current voluntary mayor of Birkenheide is Rainer Reiß (CDU), elected in May 2019. ^[1]

Coat of Arms

Blazon: "Divided in black and gold, on the top half three silver birch trees, on the botton half a red mill wheel."

It was approved in 1979 by the district government of Neustadt an der Weinstraße. ^[12]

Sights

Natural monuments

The Silbergrasflur (grey hair-grass land parcel) was declared a natural monument in 1987. ^[13]

Infrastructure

Birkenheide is located north of Bundesautobahn 650. There are bus connections to the surrounding towns. In Maxdorf, Fußgönheim and Ellerstadt there are stops of the Stadtbahn Bad Dürkheim-Ludwigshafen (formerly Rhein-Haardtbahn). Birkenheide is part of the tariff area of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Neckar.

Education

In Birkenheide there are two kindergartens and a primary school. ^{[14] [15]}

References

1. Direktwahlen 2019, Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz, accessed 3 August 2021.
2. "Bevölkerungsstand 2021, Kreise, Gemeinden, Verbandsgemeinden" (in German). Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz. 2022.
3. City archive of Ludwigshafen am Rhein: Geschichte der Stadt Ludwigshafen am Rhein: Bd. 2., Vom Ende des Ersten Weltkrieges bis zur Gegenwart. Ludwigshafen am Rhein 2003, ISBN   3-924667-35-7, p. 770
4. History of Birkenheide Archived 2018-04-21 at the Wayback Machine , Website of the Verbandsgemeinde Maxdorf (in German)
5. Prot. Kirchengemeinde Birkenheide - Historisches, Official website of the Lukaskirchengemeinde Birkenheide (in German)
6. Verzeichnis der Kulturdenkmäler - Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis (PDF, 6.6MB), Generaldirektion Kulturelles Erbe Rheinland-Pfalz (in German)
7. Pfarrei Hl. Antonius von Padua Maxdorf - Birkenheide Archived 2018-04-21 at the Wayback Machine , Official website of the local Parish (in German)
8. Gemeindestatistik Birkenheide, In: KommWis, October 2014 (in German)
9. Kommunalwahl 2014 - Birkenheide - Final results, Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz (in German)
10. Kommunalwahl 2009 - Birkenheide - Final results, Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz (in German)
11. Kommunalwahl 2004 - Birkenheide - Final results, Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz (in German)
12. Wappenbeschreibungen - VG Maxdorf, Website of the Verbandsgemeinde Maxdorf (in German)
13. Naturdenkmale | Kreisverwaltung Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, Official website of the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis (in German)
14. Kindergärten & Tagesstätten VG Maxdorf Archived 2018-04-21 at the Wayback Machine , Website of the Verbandsgemeinde Maxdorf (in German)
15. Regionaldaten - Birkenheide, Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz (in German)