Thelenberg is a hamlet in the municipality of Asbach in the district of Neuwied in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The village has a rural character, but is increasingly developing into a residential area.
Geography The village lies in the Lower Westerwald southwest of the main settlement of Asbach on an eminence above and east of the Pfaffenbach stream. Thelenberg is only accessible on the Kreisstraße 41, which links the place to the Landesstraße 255 (Asbach – Neustadt). Within the parish of Thelenberg is the Thelenberg Mill (Thelenberger Mühle) in the Pfaffenbach valley. It is about one kilometre from the village itself.
History The village name is probably derived from a Frankish settler called Thelo or Thilo.Paul Vogt: Die Ortsnamen im Engersgau, Neuwied: Strüder, 1890, page 19 During the Middle Ages, Thelenberg was part of the Electorate of Cologne and Amt of Altenwied and was also part of the Honnschaft of Schöneberg.Hellmuth Gensicke: Landesgeschichte des Westerwaldes. 3rd edition. Historische Kommission für Nassau, Wiesbaden, 1999, p. 420; According to a 1660 survey by the Elector of Cologne, Maximilian Henry, Thelenberg had four farms. In 1787 there were eight houses and 31 inhabitants.Josef Schäfer: Geschichte des Asbacher Landes, 1980, page 80
Thelenberg Mill was built in the 18th century as an oil mill and was restored some years ago.
After the Rhineland was annexed by Prussia in 1815, Thelenberg joined the municipality of Schöneberg in the newly created county of Neuwied and was initially managed by the Bürgermeisterei of Neustadt (Wied) and, from 1823, by the Bürgermeisterei of Asbach.Ortsgemeinde Asbach (publ.): Asbach/Westerwald. Bilder und Berichte aus den letzten 200 Jahren; 1990, page 240 According to an 1885 census, Thelenberg had a population of 36, who lived in eight houses. Thelenberg Mill was listed separately with 2 residents.Gemeindelexikon für das Königreich Preußen, 1885, page 44
Until 1974 Thelenberg was part of the hitherto independent municipality of Schöneberg. On 16 March 1974, the municipality of Asbach was reformed from Schöneberg and the simultaneously dissolved municipalities of Asbach and Limbach as well as part of the municipality of Elsaff.Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz, Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis 2006 , page 169, (pdf; 2.1 MB) In 1987, Thelenberg had a population of 63.Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz – Amtliches Verzeichnis der Gemeinden und Gemeindeteile
Sights Under monument conservation are the following:Nachrichtliches Verzeichnis der Kulturdenkmäler, Kreis Neuwied, Stand: 3. Januar 2013, Seite 5 (pdf; 1,6 MB) A wooden wayside cross dating to the 18th or 19th century The Thelenberg Mill, a timber-framed house with outbuildings dating to the 18th century
External links Short portrayal and film report at Hierzuland, SWR Fernsehen
References