TALK OF THE TOWN: Union Community Baumholder

by Gina Hutchins-Inman, 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

Many members of the Kaiserslautern Military Community have found temporary or even permanent homes in one of the many villages and towns surrounding Kaiserslautern or in the heart of the Palatinate Forest.

Talk of the Town is a series highlighting the union communities within the Kaiserslautern Military Community. The series aims to inform American service members and their families about the communities they’re joining during their time in the KMC. A Union Community is an administrative territorial community composed of a group of individual towns or villages. Each month we feature a different community and provide facts about its history, heritage, and the local experiences it offers.

Stadt Baumholder, Horst Schulz

All photos courtesy of VG Baumholder,

The last stop in our series will lead us to the District of Baumholder, located within the County of Birkenfeld. Baumholder is the furthest outpost with in the Kaiserslautern Military Community and is geographically separated from all the other union communities. The county seat is in the City of Birkenfeld and the District of Baumholder lies in the Westrich region. Once again, we invite you to discover interesting and maybe not-so-well-known facts about your home away from home.

The District of Baumholder con sists of the 13 the individual towns and villages of Berglangenbach, Berschweiler, Eckersweiler, FohrenLinden, Frauenberg, Hahnweiler, Heimbach, Leitzweiler, Mettweiler, Reichenbach, Rohrbach, Rückweiler, Ruschberg and the administrative seat in the City of Baumholder.

The total District community has about 9,700 residents and an addi tional 8,500 Baumholder Military Community members also call it their home, making up a remark able 47 percent of the population.

Mayor Bernd Alsfasser has been in office since 2016 and would like to extend a warm welcome.

Early history

Baumholder was first official ly mentioned as “Bemondulum” in a documentary in 1156 and was then held by the Bishop Albert of Verdun. Up until the French Revolution, Baumholder was under the ownership of the Duke of Zweibrücken.

Although town rights were never explicitly granted, Baumholder acquired a number of privileges over the ages, such as market rights and a fortification. From 1816 on Baumholder, along with the rest of the Principality of Lichtenberg, belonged to an exclave to SaxeCoburg-Saalfeld, which is located in today’s Thuringia/SaxonyAnhalt and then sold to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1834, a year later it was permitted to call itself a city.

In 1880 there was a tremendous fire and a great part of the middle age structures were destroyed, but small parts of the city wall and some buildings are still intact for a visit.

From a Garrison to a Boomtown

In the early 20th century, Baumholder became a garrison town when the Wehrmacht built its barracks and a military train ing area. In order to do so, several thousand inhabitants were force fully resettled.

Between 1941 and 1945, a part of the military train ing area was used as a prisoner-of-war camp for Soviet, Polish and other prisoners. Thus, Baumholder has played a significant role as a strategic military installation for over a century.

After World War II, Baumholder was part of the French occupation al zone and French forces were sta tioned there until 1951 when the U.S. Army took over the barracks buildings. This later developed into one of the largest U.S. garrisons in Germany and Smith Barracks is still home and duty post to U.S. Soldiers and their families today.

Economic upswing and a breath of America

The small town of Baumholder experienced a considerable economic upswing in the 1950s when bars, dance and music halls popped up one after the other. Local residents found job opportunities in their war-torn region and many a farmer or house owner became a landlord or lady over night to house the over 20,000 members stationed at Baumholder at that time.

But, not all was fun and games and “Boomtown” Baumholder quickly became known for its wild nightlife and bar fights far beyond the region. Although it was never stated by name, the town gave inspiration to a trilogy on German television in 2021 entitled “Ein Hauch von Amerika” (A breath of America). The series tells a story of struggle, farmers protesting to keep their fields, misunderstandings between the local population and the “occupants,” but also of mutual respect, friend ship and love between Germans and Americans.

Many GermanAmerican friendships or even marriages have lasted throughout the decades and it is said that numerous former soldiers come back to visit every year.

A Golden Angel and an Oven Museum

Baumholder has a lot to offer when it comes to military his tory. An interesting place to visit is the regional museum “Goldener Engel,” which presents photo graphs, music, press articles and artefacts depicting how the “American way of life” was brought to a small agricultural town.

Moreover, it displays rich regional history throughout the centuries and is housed in a former bar, hotel and theater. English group tours are available upon request, please contact: IGSchwertnter@tonline.de or visit https://www. vgv-baumholder.de/de/tourismus/ kultur-aktiv/museen/regionalmu seum/

A further place of interest is in Reichenbach, in particular with winter coming around the bend. The Ofenmuseum (oven museum) displays 40 antique wood fired ovens from three centuries. This is a great place to visit and warm up on a dreary winter day, and upon prior request coffee and cake is also on sale.

You may have the chance to chat with the passionate collectors and initiators Maria and Wolfgang Lengler, who opened the museum in 2013. There is also a special exhibition that focuses on the time of the plague that wiped out about half of the population and the obscure means of try ing to combat the pandemic, such as doctors wearing leather masks, during those times. https://www. vgv-baumholder.de/de/tourismus/ kultur-aktiv/museen/ofenmuse um-reichenbach/

Women power — Loretta and Elisabeth

Countess Loretta von Sponheim, widow of Count Heinrich II von Sponheim, and a very courageous woman, lived at Castle Starkenburg with her son. Around 1326 Archbishop Balduin of Trier claimed rights to an area belonging to the Sponheims and illegally began constructing a castle near the Nahe River.

After all diplomatic avenues had failed, Loretta resorted to a more drastic measure and had the archbishop kidnapped and captivated at Starkenburg. After lengthy negotiations and paying ransom, the archbishop was released and had to surrender the new castle to Loretta, where she lived until she died 15 years later. The castle soon became known as “Frauenburg” (women’s castle) and is a popular excursion site, well worth a visit. A premium 13-km-long hiking path “Traumschleife Gräfin Loretta” leads you along the castle with a fantastic view.

Primeval forest and wild cats

National Park HunsrückHochwald is partially in RheinlandPfalz and in the neighboring State of Saarland. The large, combined forest area is already considered to be a “hot spot” for biological diversity.

The largest number of wild cats in Europe live in the park. Wild cats are very shy and need plenty of space and undis turbed nature. It takes time and patience to keep this scenario alive and allow the park to develop back into its primeval state — more or less an ancient woodland — without any interference or impact by humans.

Therefore, the park is divided into three zones: Zone 1a is left completely natural and in Zone 1b coniferous wood is continually replaced with original beech trees. Zone 2 acts as a buf fer, forestry care is conducted and development projects are possible, this part is also used to supply citizens with firewood.

In addition, there are cultural relics of Celts and Romans. The park offers a multitude of biking and hiking trails, guided tours and special events throughout the year. For more information, visit: https:// www.nlphh.de/

Discover the old town with the night watchman Night watchmen Dieter Heinz and Ernst Schmitz will lead you through the old town of Baumholder on an evening walk ing tour. Learn about the history of the town and visit the Alte Rathaus (old town hall) and Schmiede Bier (blacksmith shop).

The “Dicker Turm” or thick tower is part of the old city wall and was built as a round tower. From 1986 – 1988 it was reconstructed to its full height based on a drawing from 1860. Romantic couples can enjoy an extraordinary wedding ceremony from May through October. The Dicke Turm and the Leichenpforte (corpse gate) through which deceased were carried to the cemetery, are the oldest structures in Baumholder. English tours can be arranged upon request at the city administration/tourist office at email: tourismus@vgv-baum holder.de

Additionally, a GermanAmerican Stammtisch meeting takes place every other Wednesday and offers the opportunity to cultivate mutual traditions, personal contacts and joint activities in Baumholder and the surround ing area. Activities include visits to markets and events, historical city tours, hiking and bowling events, and BBQs. https://www. facebook.com/people/Deutschamerikanische-Freundschaft-inBaumholder

A German-American Friendship Fest takes place every two years with the next one planned in 2023. Don’t miss out on the Christmas Market scheduled for Dec. 2 and 3 in the city center.

Did you know that…

• Baumholder’s sister city has been Delaware, Ohio, since 2011. The partnership was founded upon close ties to the soccer team at Weslayen University located in the City of Delaware and initiated by former Commander of the U.S. Garrison, LTC Paul Pfahler.

• Baumholder is often mispronounced as “bomb holder”? “Baum” (pronounced “bowm,” as in “town”) means tree and “holder” meaning pleasant, lovely or fair, could be best translated as “fair or lovely tree”

• Baumholder was the host of the Rheinland-Pfalz-Tag (State Fair) in 2007. A number of local U.S. Army units participated in displays along with the German Bundeswehr und U.S. Air Force counterparts. The whole town became one giant and colorful fairground with about 100,000 visitors over three days.