# Merzalbe

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The **Merzalbe**, also called the **Merzalb**, is a stream, over 12 km (7.5 mi) long, in the [Western Palatinate](/source/Western_Palatinate) in the German state of [Rhineland-Palatinate](/source/Rhineland-Palatinate). It is an [orographically](/source/Orographic) right tributary of the [Rodalb](/source/Rodalb). In its upper reaches it is also called Mühlgraben.

## Course

The Merzalbe rises in the middle of the [Palatine Forest](/source/Palatine_Forest), west of the [Palatine Watershed](/source/Palatine_Watershed) and between the two hills of the [Weißenberg](/source/Wei%C3%9Fenberg_(Frankenweide)) and the [Eschkopf](/source/Eschkopf) at a height of just under 500 metres. Its source is enclosed by the Christelbrunnen well. As it heads in a southwesterly direction the Merzalbe flows through the valley below the village of [Leimen](/source/Leimen_(Palatinate)) and then through [Merzalben](/source/Merzalben). After 12 km (7.5 mi) it empties from the right into the Rodalb near the Riegelbrunnerhof, a hamlet belonging to [Münchweiler](/source/M%C3%BCnchweiler_an_der_Rodalb). Its waters then flow down the [Schwarzbach](/source/Schwarzbach_(Blies)), [Blies](/source/Blies), [Saar](/source/Saar_(river)) and [Moselle](/source/Moselle) before finally reaching the [Rhine](/source/Rhine).

## Name

The name "Merzalbe" means "stream of the Mericho" (*Bach des Mericho*) and goes back to a [Frankish](/source/Franks) settler who must have made his residence here long before the first record in 1237 of the place of the same name by the stream. In this document Count [Frederick III of Leiningen](/source/Frederick_III_of_Leiningen-Dagsburg) was given *[Castrum Grebinstein](/source/Gr%C3%A4fenstein_Castle)* and granted the villages of *[Merichisalbin](/source/Merzalben)*, *[Rothalbin](/source/Rodalben)* and *[Eiswilre](/source/Thaleischweiler-Fr%C3%B6schen)*.

In ignorance of this recorded origin of the name, a theory later arose that the name "Merzalb" meant "harmful / useless stream", because the first part of the name was thought to be related to the word *ausmerzen* ("eradicate") and thus to mean that either large amounts of water poured through the valley when the snow melted, causing damage, or that - more likely - the stream usually had too little water to be suitable for the operation of a mill.

## Sights

[Gräfenstein Castle](/source/Gr%C3%A4fenstein_Castle) – the castle which measures 80 by 60 metres, above the Merzalb valley is one of the best preserved and most impressive castles built by the [Hohenstaufen](/source/Hohenstaufen) dynasty in the [Palatinate region](/source/Palatinate_region). The keep or [bergfried](/source/Bergfried) is unique because of its heptagonal footprint.

Tourist route – the [German Shoe Road](/source/German_Shoe_Road) runs parallel to the Merzalb valley through Merzalben and Leimen; it is part of the [Franco-German Tourist Route](/source/Franco-German_Tourist_Route).

## See also

- [List of rivers of Rhineland-Palatinate](/source/List_of_rivers_of_Rhineland-Palatinate)

## References

1. 1:25,000 topographic map series

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Merzalbe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merzalbe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merzalbe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.