Hochspeyer

Coat of arms

Hochspeyer

Location of Hochspeyer within Kaiserslautern district

Country

Government

• Mayor

Gerhard Scherer

Area

• Total

22.72 km² (8.77 sq mi)

Elevation

267 m (876 ft)

Population (2015-12-31)

• Total

4,533

• Density

200/km² (520/sq mi)

CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)

67691

06305

Website

Hochspeyer is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Palatinate forest (Pfälzer Wald), approx. 10 km east of Kaiserslautern.

Hochspeyer was the seat of the former Verbandsgemeinde Hochspeyer ("collective municipality").

Hochspeyer's history is closely related to the Cistercian Abbey of Otterberg, to which the Münchhof belonged since 1195.

In 1801 the region Palatinate became part of the French Département Mont-Tonnerre, and in 1815 it became part of the Bavarian Kingdom.

After World War II Palatinate (and with it Hochspeyer) was incorporated in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Hochspeyer has the Münchhofschule (a primary and secondary school) as well as three Kindergartens.

Trade, minor industry and farming shape the small local economy in Hochspeyer. Tourism is about to develop since the Palatinate forest has become part of the biosphere reserve Pfälzer Wald-Vosges du Nord in 1998 and projects like the Mountainbikepark Pfälzerwald, a route network for mountainbiking, have been initiated.

Farmland and forests form Hochspeyer's environment

New development areas lead to a rise of population

Good traffic infrastructure and the Palatine Forest attract tourists

Hochspeyer is near the A6 and A63 motorways. It is also served by the B37 and B49 roads.