# Birkheim
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{{Infobox German location
| type = Ortsgemeinde
| image_coa = DEU Birkheim COA.svg
| coordinates = {{coord|50|7|0.70|N|7|37|18.24|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| image_plan = Birkheim in SIM.svg
| state = Rheinland-Pfalz
| district = Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis
| Verbandsgemeinde = Hunsrück-Mittelrhein
| elevation = 463
| area = 2.3
| postal_code = 56291
| area_code = 06746
| licence = SIM
| Gemeindeschlüssel = 07 1 40 016
| website =
| mayor = Rainer Retz[[https://www.wahlen.rlp.de/de/kw/wahlen/kd/gebiete/1400000000000.html Direktwahlen 2019, Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis], Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz, accessed 4 August 2021.]
| leader_term = 2019–24
| party =
}}
thumb|Parish hall
thumb|Church
'''Birkheim''' ({{IPA|de|ˈbɪʁkhaɪm}}) is an {{lang|de|[Ortsgemeinde](/source/Ortsgemeinde_(Germany))}} – a [municipality](/source/Municipalities_of_Germany) belonging to a {{lang|de|[Verbandsgemeinde](/source/Verbandsgemeinde)}}, a kind of collective municipality – in the [Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis](/source/Rhein-Hunsr%C3%BCck-Kreis) ([district](/source/Districts_of_Germany)) in [Rhineland-Palatinate](/source/Rhineland-Palatinate), [Germany](/source/Germany). It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' [Hunsrück-Mittelrhein](/source/Hunsr%C3%BCck-Mittelrhein), whose seat is in [Emmelshausen](/source/Emmelshausen).
==Geography==
===Location===
The municipality lies in the eastern [Hunsrück](/source/Hunsr%C3%BCck) between the [Middle Rhine](/source/Middle_Rhine) and [Autobahn](/source/Autobahn) [A 61](/source/Bundesautobahn_61). Birkheim’s 132 inhabitants live in an area of 220 ha at an elevation of 450 m above [sea level](/source/sea_level).[[http://www.emmelshausen.de/vg_emmelshausen/Gemeinden/Birkheim/ Birkheim’s population, area and elevation]]
== History ==
In 1310, Birkheim had its first documentary mention as ''Bircheym'' and lay under [Electoral-Trier](/source/Electorate_of_Trier) hegemony. Beginning in 1794, Birkheim lay under [French](/source/France) rule. In 1815 it was assigned to the Kingdom of [Prussia](/source/Prussia) at the [Congress of Vienna](/source/Congress_of_Vienna). Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly founded [state](/source/States_of_Germany) of [Rhineland-Palatinate](/source/Rhineland-Palatinate).{{citation needed|date=July 2025}}
==Politics==
===Municipal council===
The council is made up of 6 council members, who were elected by [majority vote](/source/Plurality_voting_system) at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.[[http://www.wahlen.rlp.de/kw/wahlen/2009/gemeinderatswahlen/ergebnisse/1400201600.html Kommunalwahl Rheinland-Pfalz 2009, Gemeinderat]]
===Mayor===
Birkheim’s mayor is Rainer Retz.[
=== Coat of arms ===
The German blazon reads: ''In Silber, halblinks und schrägrechts durch blaue Wellenbalken geteilt, vorn ein rotes Balkenkreuz, hinten oben ein grünes Birkenblatt, unten ein schwarzes Wasserrad''.{{citation needed|date=July 2025}}
The municipality’s [arms](/source/Coat_of_arms) might in English [heraldic](/source/Heraldry) language be described thus: Argent a bend sinister wavy and couped at the nombril point a bend azure to sinister base, in dexter chief a cross gules throughout, in sinister a birchleaf palewise slipped vert and in base a waterwheel spoked of six sable.{{citation needed|date=July 2025}}
The cross refers to the village’s former allegiance to the [Electorate of Trier](/source/Electorate_of_Trier) in the [Holy Roman Empire](/source/Holy_Roman_Empire). The waterwheel refers to the Friedrich Neubauer gristmill, known as ''Fritze Mühle'', which was destroyed in the 1920s. The birchleaf is a [canting](/source/Canting_arms) [charge](/source/charge_(heraldry)) for the municipality’s name, Birkheim (''Birke'' is [German](/source/German_language) for [birch](/source/birch)). The wavy bend sinister and half bend represent local streams, the longer being the Niederbach, which once formed the boundary between the Electorate of Trier and the ''[Vogt](/source/Vogt)ei'' of Pfalzfeld, and the shorter the Quänkelbach, which runs through the village and empties into the Niederbach.][[http://www.emmelshausen.de/vg_emmelshausen/Gemeinden/Birkheim/ Description and explanation of Birkheim’s arms]]
==Culture and sightseeing==
===Buildings===
The following are listed buildings or sites in [Rhineland-Palatinate](/source/Rhineland-Palatinate)’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
* [Saint John of Nepomuk’s](/source/John_of_Nepomuk) [Catholic](/source/Catholic_Church) [Chapel](/source/Chapel) (branch chapel; ''Filialkapelle St. Johann Nepomuk''), Hauptstraße 17 – [aisleless church](/source/aisleless_church), marked 1897, west tower 1960
* Hauptstraße 5 – ''Quereinhaus'' (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street); [timber-frame](/source/Timber_framing) building, partly solid and slated, early 19th century[[https://denkmallisten.gdke-rlp.de/Rhein-Hunsrueck-Kreis.pdf Directory of Cultural Monuments in Rhein-Hunsrück district]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://www.swr.de/landesschau-rp/hierzuland/-/id=100766/nid=100766/did=3450816/5lukfj/index.html Brief portrait of Birkheim with film] at [SWR Fernsehen](/source/SWR_Fernsehen) {{in lang|de}}
{{Cities and towns in Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district)}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate
Category:Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Birkheim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkheim) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birkheim?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.