Sommerloch

Sommerloch
Municipality
Coat of arms
Location of Sommerloch within Bad Kreuznach district
Sommerloch Show map of Germany Sommerloch Show map of Rhineland-Palatinate
Coordinates: 49°53′N07°46′E / 49.883°N 7.767°E / 49.883; 7.767
Country	Germany
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District	Bad Kreuznach
Municipal assoc.	Rüdesheim
Government
•  Mayor (2019–24)	Thomas Haßlinger [1]
Area
• Total	2.53 km2 (0.98 sq mi)
Elevation	246 m (807 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31) [2]
• Total	396
• Density	160/km2 (410/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	55595
Dialling codes	06706
Vehicle registration	KH
Website	www.vg-ruedesheim.de

Sommerloch is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach administrative region in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany.

Greeting Sign at Sommerloch

Geography

Location

Sommerloch lies 12km northwest of Bad Kreuznach in the vicinity of the Nahe Valley, on the edge of the Soonwalds. The village is surrounded by vineyards. Seven wineries grow about 100 hectares of vines, primarily Riesling grapes. This wine region is not far from the "middle" Rhine River, just 25km from Bingen am Rhein or 33 km from Ingelheim am Rhein.

In the town on Weinbergstraße (Wine Mountain Street) is Saint Aegidius Roman Catholic church built in 1789.

Nearby villages include Sankt Katharinen, Braunweiler and Wallhausen.

History

A valley, not a summer hole

In the 1158 Sommerloch was mentioned as managed by the Rupert Monastery of Bingen. In the first documents, the area was noted as "Sumerlachen". Later the location was ruled by the Herrschaft Dalberg.

The name originally referred to the location as being a wet basin or a wet valley. Today the village is situated in the pleasant Nahe valley surrounded by hills planted with rows of grapes.

The Schünemann house also belongs to Sommerloch.

The German newsmedia term Sommerloch refers to a boring time in the summer when news is lacking.

Alternatively, the popular translation of the German word Sommerloch is in English "silly season".

Year Population 1815 175 1835 268 1871 233 1905 261 1939 264

Year Population 1950 319 1961 331 1970 349 1987 386 2005 434 2011 430 2017 417 2023 388

Religion

The population of Sommerloch is mostly Roman Catholic. Saint Aegidius is the only church in the village; built in 1789. The church is managed by the church staff of nearby Wallhausen.

St Aegidius Church Interior

Council and Mayor

The Sommerloch council consists of eight council members. The members are voluntary; the mayor is the council chairman.

Local mayor is Bernard Boos since 2024. ^[1]

Business and infrastructure

In the south is the Federal Highway 41. In the nearby town of Bad Kreuznach is a station of the railway Bingen-Saarbrücken.

The largest employer of Sommerloch is HUM-Festerbau.

Industrial Park - includes HUM-Festerbau

Literature

• K. Eckes: The history of the village of Sommerloch and its church. In: 200 years St. Ägidius. Sommerloch 1789 to 1989. Sommerloch 1989, pp. 9–36.

References

1. Direktwahlen 2019, Landkreis Bad Kreuznach, Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz, accessed 2 August 2021.
2. "Bevölkerungsstand 2022, Kreise, Gemeinden, Verbandsgemeinden" (PDF) (in German). Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz. 2023.

External links

Media related to Sommerloch at Wikimedia Commons

See also

• A list of Cultural Monuments in Sommerloch (German language)