Hainbach (Speyerbach)

Hainbach
Monument to the commandry at Hainbach near Zeiskam
Location	Rhineland-Palatinate; Germany
Reference no.	DE: 2378964
Physical characteristics
Main source	On the east flank of the Roßberg in the Haardt Mountains (eastern edge of the Palatine Forest) ca. 400 m above sea level (NN) 49°15′30″N 8°02′28″E / 49.25833°N 8.04111°E / 49.25833; 8.04111Coordinates: 49°15′30″N 8°02′28″E / 49.25833°N 8.04111°E / 49.25833; 8.04111
River mouth	on the northeastern edge of Dudenhofen into the Woogbach, a side arm of the Speyerbach ca. 101 m above sea level (NN) 49°19′06″N 8°23′36″E / 49.31833°N 8.39333°E / 49.31833; 8.39333
Length	33.6 km
Basin features
Progression	Speyerbach → Rhine → North Sea
River system	Rhine
Basin size	53.9 km²

The Hainbach, historically also called the Heimbach (see History section), in its lower reaches also called the Wooggraben and Krebsbächel, is a river, overt 33 kilometres long, and a right tributary of the Speyerbach in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

In the Middle Ages there was a fortified abbey by the middle reaches of the river which belonged to a Roman Catholic religious order and acted as the regional administrative centre or commandry.

The Hainbach rises at a height of 400 m on the east flank of the Roßberg mountain (637 m) in the Haardt, the eastern edge of the Palatinate Forest range. It flows around the Teufelsberg (597.6 m), initially heading west and then south. After four kilometres it leaves the mountains between Frankweiler and Gleisweiler, passes through the narrow hill zone of the rift valley and enters the Upper Rhine Plain. Running initially eastwards, later northeastwards, it passes through Böchingen, Walsheim, Knöringen, Essingen and, on the southern edge of the Gäu region, the municipality of Hochstadt, the parishes of Zeiskam and Lustadt and the municipality of Weingarten.

In Schwegenheim it turns northwards; from Harthausen it is called the Wooggraben and changes direction to head east. On the southwestern edge of Dudenhofen it is led under the Speyerbach (carried on an embankment) through a culvert, passing the village as the Krebsbächel in a largely canalised riverbed and discharges on the northeastern edge of Dudenhofen (elevation 101 m) from the right into the Woogbach, also called the Nonnenbach which is a left side arm of the Speyerbach.