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{{For|the Verbandsgemeinde in which Kirchheimbolanden is located|Kirchheimbolanden (Verbandsgemeinde)}}
{{Infobox German place
|type               = Stadt
|image_coa            = DEU Kirchheimbolanden COA.svg
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
  | total_width            = 280
  | border                 = infobox
  | perrow                 = 1/2/1
  | caption_align          = center
  | image1                 = KirchheimbolandenGrauerTurm.jpg
  | caption1               = city wall and grey tower
  | image2                 = Kirchheimbolanden, the tower "Apothekerturm".jpg
  | caption2               = ''Apothekerturm''
  | image3                 = Peterskirche-(Kirchheimbolanden)-01.JPG
  | caption3               = St. Peter‘s church
  | image4                 = Kirchheimbolanden, Häuserzeile in der Amtsstraße.jpg
  | caption4               = ''Amtsstraße''
  }}
|coordinates       = {{coord|49|39|59|N|8|0|42|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan = Kirchheimbolanden in KIB.svg
|state        = Rheinland-Pfalz
|district         = Donnersbergkreis
|Verbandsgemeinde  = Kirchheimbolanden
|elevation              = 232
|area            = 26.36
|postal_code               = 67292
|area_code           = 06352
|licence               = KIB
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 07 3 33 039
|mayor             = Marc Muchow<ref>[https://www.wahlen.rlp.de/de/kw/wahlen/kd/gebiete/3330000000000.html Direktwahlen 2019, Donnersbergkreis], Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz, accessed 9 August 2021.</ref>
|leader_term       = 2019&ndash;24
|party             = CDU
|website = {{URL|http://www.kirchheimbolanden.de/}}
}}

'''Kirchheimbolanden'''{{efn|{{IPA|de|ˌkɪʁçhaɪmboˈlandn̩|lang|De-Kirchheimbolanden.ogg|link=yes|small=no}} or {{IPA|de|-ˈboːlandn̩|}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kleiner |first1=Stefan |last2=Knöbl |first2=Ralf |last3=Mangold |first3=Max |title=Duden – das Aussprachewörterbuch |date=2023 |publisher=Dudenverlag |location=Berlin |isbn=9783411040681}}</ref>}} is the capital and the second largest city of the [[Donnersbergkreis]], in [[Rhineland-Palatinate]]. Situated in south-western [[Germany]], it is approximately 25&nbsp;km west of [[Worms, Germany|Worms]], and 30&nbsp;km north-east of [[Kaiserslautern]].

The first part of the name, ''Kirchheim'', dates back to 774.  It became a town in 1368, and the [[Sponheim]] family improved its security with many towers and walls. [[William, Duke of Nassau]], ancestor of the royal families of [[Belgium]], [[Sweden]], [[Denmark]] and [[Norway]], and of the grand-ducal family of [[Luxembourg]], was born in Kirchheimbolanden. It was also ruled by the [[First French Empire]] between 1792 and 1814, before passing to the [[Kingdom of Bavaria]] in 1815. It was a rural district centre in the ''Rheinkreis'', which was renamed ''Pfalz'' ([[Palatinate (region)|Palatinate]]) in 1835.

== Etymology ==
The name ''Kirchheim'' was first mentioned in the [[Lorsch codex]] on 28 December 774, which can be traced back to the 7th century, where a [[parish church]] stood in present-day Kirchheimbolanden named ''St. Remigius''.{{efn|Confirmed to have remained standing until at least 1570, named after [[Saint Remigius]].{{Sfn|Döhn|1968|p=60}}}} The term ''Kirch'' is derived from the [[Old High German]] word for "church," while the suffix ''-heim'' was commonly used during the [[Frankish colonisation]] to denote a "home" or "settlement".{{Sfn|Döhn|1968|p=60–64}} After Kirchheimbolanden gained [[town privileges]] in 1368, it was first mentioned as ''Kirchheim bei Bolanden'' in 1370, owing its name to the {{ill|Lords of Bolanden|de|Herren von Bolanden}}.{{Sfn|Döhn|1968|p=92}}

==History==
===Middle ages===
The place Kirchheim was first mentioned in 774, later it belonged to the Lords of Bolanden.

It is mentioned in the [[Descriptio Wormatiensis civitatis|Wormser wall-building ordinance]] from around 900 as one of the places that shared responsibility for maintaining the [[city wall]] of [[Worms, Germany|Worms]].<ref name=CVDKJFN>C. Van De Kieft and J. F. Niermeyer, eds. (1967), ''Elenchus fontium historiae urbanae'' (Leiden: E. J. Brill), pp. 43–44.</ref> At the end of the 13th century, Kirchheim was inherited by the Sponheim branch line Bolanden-Dannenfels. Count Heinrich II. Von Sponheim-Bolanden raised the village to a town in 1368 and made it his residence. Via his granddaughter Anna von Hohenlohe<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.lagis-hessen.de/de/subjects/idrec/sn/bio/id/3690 |website=Lagis-Hessen |publisher=LAGIS|title=Hessische Biografie : Erweiterte Suche : LAGIS Hessen }}</ref> († 1410) and her husband [[Philipp I, Count of Nassau-Weilburg]], Kirchheimbolanden and the entire Sponheim-Bolander family property finally fell to the [[House of Nassau|Nassau House]], which owned it until the end of the feudal period.

===Early modern age===
[[Charles August, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg]] moved his residence from [[Weilburg]] to Kirchheim in 1737. [[Charles Christian, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg]] temporarily owned his own infantry regiment (1755–1759) in [[Mannheim]] with the Elector of the [[Electoral Palatinate]] and was temporarily general of the Netherlands, where he was governor. [[Frederick William, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg]] (1788–1816) left the city in 1793 because of the French Revolution and went to [[Bayreuth]]. This ended the time as the royal seat for Kirchheimbolanden, then only called Kirchheim.

It experienced its greatest heyday under Prince Charles August (1719–1753) and especially under Carl Christian (1753–1788) of the House of Nassau-Weilburg and his rich, clever and musical wife [[Princess Carolina of Orange-Nassau]].

===From the 19th century===
After 1792, [[French Revolution|French revolutionary troops]] occupied the region and after the [[Treaty of Campo Formio]] (1797), [[Annexation|annexed]] the [[left bank of the Rhine]]. From 1798 to 1814, Kirchheim belonged to the French [[Mont-Tonnerre|department of Donnersberg]] and was the main town (chef-lieu) of the canton of the same name.

Due to the agreements made at the [[Congress of Vienna]] (1815) and an exchange contract with [[Austrian Empire|Austria]], the region became part of the [[Kingdom of Bavaria]] in 1816. From 1818, Kirchheim was the seat of a land commissioner in the Bavarian [[Circle of the Rhine|Rhine circle]].

When the Rhenish Hessian Legion hurriedly evacuated Kirchheim from a Prussian overwhelming power during the [[Palatine uprising|Palatinate uprising on 14 June 1849]], Palatine militants remained in the palace garden without notification. In the [[battle of Kirchheimbolanden]] in the presence of the [[William I, German Emperor|Prince of Prussia]], 17 militants were killed.

From 1939, the place was part of and administrative seat of the district of the same name. After the [[World War II|Second World War]], Kirchheimbolanden became part of the then newly formed state of [[Rhineland-Palatinate]], within the [[French occupation zone in Germany|French occupation zone]]. In the course of the first Rhineland-Palatinate administrative reform, the city moved in 1969 to the newly formed [[Donnersbergkreis]] and its seat; three years later, Kirchheimbolanden was incorporated into the also newly created community of the same name.

==Geography==
===Location===
Kirchheimbolanden lies in the Palatinate at the transition point of the [[Nordpfälzer Bergland]] to the [[Alzeyer Hügelland]] bordering to the east. The city centre is located about four kilometres (as the crow flies) northeast of [[Donnersberg]] on the slope of Wartberg, also known as [[Schillerhain]]. The Leiselsbach, a left tributary of the Pfrimm, rises in the urban area. The lowest point lies at 229 m above sea level, the highest at 496 m above sea level.

===Elevation===
The highest point of the district is the summit of the 502 meter high Eichelberg in the far west, further east the 430.7 meter high Kuhkopf extends. The development is on the slope of the Wartberg, alternatively called Schillerhain. In the northwest of the district rises the 399.7 meter high Albertskreuz and northwest of the settlement area the 354.1 meter high Steinkopf. The Hungerberg range of hills, up to 302 meters high, is located in the southeast.

===Urban division===
Kirchheimbolanden is divided into the city centre with the district Haide and the districts Ambach, Bolanderhof, Edenbornerhof, Hessenhütte, Neuhof, Rothenkircherhof and Schillerhain Further places of residence are railway station 2262, Brunnenberg, brickworks Ebert, Kohlhütte and Ziegelhütte.

==Politics==
The [[city council]] in Kirchheimbolanden consists of 24 council members, who were elected in a [[Mixed-member proportional representation|personalized proportional representation]] in the local elections on 26 May 2019, and the honorary city mayor as chairman.

The distribution of seats in the city council are:<ref>{{cite web |title=Endgültiges Ergebnis der Gemeinderatswahl 2019 |url=https://www.wahlen.rlp.de/de/kw/wahlen/kg/ergebnisse/3330403900.html}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|- <!-- official order of the parties according to the regional returning officer -->
! style="width:4em"| Election || style="width:4em" | [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]] || style="width:4em" | [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|CDU]] || style="width:4em" | [[Alliance 90/The Greens|GRÜNE]] || style="width:4em" | [[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|FDP]] || style="width:4em" | [[The Left (Germany)|LINKE]] || style="width:4em" | FWG || style="width:4em" | Wir für Kibo || style="width:5em" | Total
|-
| 2019 || 5 ||  8 || 4 || 1 || – || 4 || 2 || 24 Seats
|-
| 2014 || 8 ||  9 || 2 || 1 || – || 3 || 1 || 24 Seats
|-
| 2009 || 7 ||  9 || 3 || 1 || 1 || 3 || – || 24 Seats
|-
| 2004 || 6 || 11 || 2 || 1 || – || 4 || – || 24 Seats
|}
* <small>FWG = Free Voters City of Kirchheimbolanden e.&nbsp;V. (formerly voter group Schauß)</small>

In 2019, the town gained international attention after Lisel Heise, a 100-year old former physical education teacher, ran for the local council and was elected.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cole |first=Deborah |date=July 25, 2019 |title=Drawing inspiration from youth climate movement, 100-year-old German granny enters politics |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/07/25/world/politics-diplomacy-world/drawing-inspiration-youth-climate-movement-100-year-old-german-granny-enters-politics/#.XaZvbC17Gi4 |work=[[Japan Times]] |access-date=October 16, 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Noack |first=Rick |date=October 1, 2019 |title=Germany's oldest politician is a 100-year-old woman who loves Obama and hates Brexit |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/germanys-oldest-politician-is-a-100-year-old-woman-who-loves-obama-and-hates-brexit/2019/09/30/8dfa6cac-db0b-11e9-a1a5-162b8a9c9ca2_story.html |work=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=October 16, 2019 }}</ref>

===City Mayor===
The previous mayors of Kirchheimbolanden:{{Sfnm|Döhn|1968|1p=396|Lehna|1992|2p=45}}
{| class="wikitable"
|- class="backgroundcolor5"
! Term of office || Name || Party
|-
| 1905–1907 || Ulrich Brunck || NLP
|-
| 1907–1920 || Georg Lang || Unknown
|-
| 1920–1922 || Reinhard Chormann || Unknown
|-
| 1922–1924 || Valentin Kircher || Unknown
|-
| 1924–1929 || Wilhelm Butz || Unknown
|-
| 1929–1933 || Ernst Krieger || SPD
|-
| 1933–1934 || Otto Zink || NSDAP
|-
| 1935–1945 || Albrecht Knieriemen || NSDAP
|-
| 1945–1946 || Ferdinand Schardt || SPD
|-
| 1946–1956 || Karl Fittler || SPD
|-
| 1956–1960 || Hermann Frambach || SPD
|-
| 1960–1961 || Hans Schabler || WGR
|-
| 1961–1971 || Friedrich Bettenhausen || SPD
|-
| 1971–1972 || Eugen Zänger || WGR
|-
| 1972–1974 || Edmund Reichert || CDU
|-
| 1974–1999 || Lothar Sießl || SPD
|-
| 1999–2019 || Klaus Hartmüller || CDU
|-
| since 2019 || Marc Muchow || CDU
|}

===Coat of arms===
[[File:DEU Kirchheimbolanden COA.svg|thumb|left|110px|Coat of arms of Kirchheimbolanden]]
[[Blazon]]: "Divided; at the top of silver and black sheathed in three rows, at the bottom in green a black boar striding to the right."

Justification of the coat of arms: The coat of arms was awarded by [[Ludwig I of Bavaria|King Ludwig I of Bavaria]] on 30 January 1844, and was last confirmed on 18 June 1976 by the district government, [[Neustadt an der Weinstraße|Neustadt an der Weinstrasse]]. It comes from a city seal from the 14th century. The chess (actually blue and gold) comes from the coat of arms of Count Heinrich II. Von Sponheim-Bolanden ([[County of Sponheim|Grafschaft Sponheim]]), who in 1368 obtained [[Town privileges|town rights]] from [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Charles IV]] in 1368. The boar is reminiscent of the [[County of Eberstein|Counts of Eberstein]], former masters of [[Stauf Castle (Palatinate)|Stauf Castle]], who temporarily held local authority.

===Twin towns and sister cities===
* {{Flagicon|Italy}} Municipality [[Ritten]], [[South Tyrol]], [[Italy]], since 22 April 1966
* {{Flagicon|France}} [[Louhans]], [[Saône-et-Loire]], [[France]], since 17 October 1976 (A gift from the city is a stone pig (wild boar) from the coat of arms of Kirchheimbolanden which stands in front of the town hall.)
* {{Flagicon|Russia}} Friendship treaty with [[Chernyakhovsk]], [[Russia]], [[Kaliningrad]] region, since 2 March 2002

==Climate==
Kirchheimbolanden has a moderate climate. It is classified as a "[[Köppen climate classification#Group C: Temperate/mesothermal climates|Cfb]]" (Marine West Coast Climate/[[Oceanic climate]]) by the [[Köppen Climate Classification]] system.
{{Weather box <!-- Infobox begins -->
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|location=Kirchheimbolanden
<!-- Average high temperatures -->
|Jan high C=4
|Feb high C=6
|Mar high C=10
|Apr high C=14
|May high C=18
|Jun high C=21
|Jul high C=23
|Aug high C=24
|Sep high C=20
|Oct high C=15
|Nov high C=9
|Dec high C=5
|year high C=
<!-- Average low temperatures -->
|Jan low C=-1
|Feb low C=0
|Mar low C=2
|Apr low C=4
|May low C=8
|Jun low C=11
|Jul low C=13
|Aug low C=13
|Sep low C=10
|Oct low C=6
|Nov low C=3
|Dec low C=0
|year low C=
<!-- Total precipitation, only including rain. -->
|Jan precipitation mm=32
|Feb precipitation mm=32
|Mar precipitation mm=41
|Apr precipitation mm=41
|May precipitation mm=58
|Jun precipitation mm=55
|Jul precipitation mm=56
|Aug precipitation mm=51
|Sep precipitation mm=41
|Oct precipitation mm=42
|Nov precipitation mm=40
|Dec precipitation mm=45
|year precipitation mm=
<!-- Average number of precipitation days -->
|Jan precipitation days=13
|Feb precipitation days=12.6
|Mar precipitation days=13.3
|Apr precipitation days=12.4
|May precipitation days=14.6
|Jun precipitation days=14.8
|Jul precipitation days=15
|Aug precipitation days=13
|Sep precipitation days=10.8
|Oct precipitation days=12
|Nov precipitation days=12.7
|Dec precipitation days=14.9
|year precipitation days=
<!-- Mandatory fields, source -->
|source 1= <ref>{{cite web |title=Klima Kirchheimbolanden |url=https://www.meteoblue.com/de/wetter/historyclimate/climatemodelled/kirchheimbolanden_deutschland_2890478 |publisher=meteoblue}}</ref>
}}<!-- Infobox ends -->

== Sons and daughters of the city ==

=== Year up to 1900 ===
[[File:Herzogin Henriette von Württemberg.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg]]
[[File:GeorgvonNeumayer1905.jpg|right|thumb|150px|Georg von Neumayer 1905]]
* [[Johann II of Nassau-Saarbrücken]] (1423–1472), nobleman
* [[Amelia of Nassau-Weilburg]] (1776–1841), Princess of Anhalt-Bernburg
* [[Princess Henriette of Nassau-Weilburg]] (1780–1857), noblewoman
* [[Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau]] (1792–1839), Duke of Nassau from 1816 to 1839
* [[Georg von Neumayer]] (1826–1909), geophysicist and polar explorer, founder and leader of the '' German naval reserve ''.
* [[Eugen Wolf]] (1850–1912), journalist and researcher

=== 20th century ===

* [[Happinessa|Vanessa Neumann]] (*1990), racing driver and model
* [[David Hoffmann (Bodybuilder)|David Hoffmann]] (*1980), bodybuilder
* [[Sascha Kotysch]] (*1988), soccer player
* [[Max Roser]], economist and media critic 
* [[Clara and Marie Becker]], classical piano duo<ref>{{Cite web |last=SWR2 |title=Die Zwillinge Clara und Marie Becker leben und musizieren zusammen |url=https://www.swr.de/swr2/musik-klassik/zwei-fluegel-kueche-bad-zwillinge-clara-und-marie-becker-leben-und-arbeiten-zusammen-100.html |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=swr.online |language=de}}</ref> 
{{clear}}

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:2009.08.14.103405 Schloss Kirchheimbolanden.jpg|Castle
File:2009.08.14.121156 Wehrgang Grauer Turm Kirchheimbolanden.jpg|Grey tower
File:Kirchheimbolanden Liebfrauenkirche 2.jpg|''Liebfrauenkirche''
File:Kirchheimbolanden, die Kirche Sankt Peter.jpg|St. Peter‘s catholic church 
</gallery>

== See also ==
*''[[Verbandsgemeinde]]'' [[Kirchheimbolanden (Verbandsgemeinde)|Kirchheimbolanden]]
*[[Rhineland-Palatinate]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Works cited ==
* {{Cite book |last = Döhn |first = Hans |year = 1968 |title = Kirchheimbolanden. Die Geschichte der Stadt |location = Kirchheimbolanden |publisher = City of Kirchheimbolanden }}
* {{Cite book |last = Lehna |first = Britta |year = 1992 |title = Kirchheimbolanden. Die Geschichte der Stadt. Band II |location = Kirchheimbolanden |publisher = City of Kirchheimbolanden }}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.kirchheimbolanden.de/765_1031_SC29.html www.kirchheimbolanden.de] &mdash; Official site
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040607211031/http://www.mkengel.de/kibo/kibo.htm www.mkengel.de] &mdash; Unofficial site with pictures

{{Cities and towns in Donnersbergkreis (district)}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Donnersbergkreis]]
[[Category:Palatinate (region)]]