Idar-Oberstein

Idar-Oberstein
Schloss Oberstein, castle on the hills above Oberstein
Coat of arms
Idar-Oberstein
Location of Idar-Oberstein within Birkenfeld district
Coordinates: 49°42′41″N 7°18′47″E / 49.71139°N 7.31306°E / 49.71139; 7.31306Coordinates: 49°42′41″N 7°18′47″E / 49.71139°N 7.31306°E / 49.71139; 7.31306
Country	Germany
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District	Birkenfeld
Government
• Mayor	Frank Frühauf (CDU)
Area
• Total	91.56 km2 (35.35 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	28,350
• Density	310/km2 (800/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	55743
Dialling codes	06781, 06784
Vehicle registration	BIR
Website	www.idar-oberstein.de

Idar-Oberstein is a town in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. As a Große kreisangehörige Stadt (large town belonging to a district), it assumes some of the responsibilities that for smaller municipalities in the district are assumed by the district administration. Today’s town of Idar-Oberstein is the product of two rounds of administrative reform, one in 1933 and the other in 1969, which saw many municipalities amalgamated into one. The various Stadtteile have, however, retained their original identities, which, aside from the somewhat more urban character encountered in Idar and Oberstein, tend to hearken back to each centre’s history as a rural village. Idar-Oberstein is known as a gemstone town, and also as a garrison town. It is also the largest town in the Hunsrück and has a population of 32,001 (December 31, 2015).

The town lies on the southern edge of the Hunsrück on both sides of the river Nahe.

The following are the divisions within the town of Idar-Oberstein as at 31 December 2015:

Total population: 20,066

Total population: 11,935

Yearly precipitation in Idar-Oberstein amounts to 774 mm, falling into the middle third of the precipitation chart for all Germany. At 57% of the German Weather Service’s weather stations, lower figures are recorded. The driest month is April. The most rainfall comes in December. In that month, precipitation is 1.6 times what it is in April. Precipitation hardly varies at all and is evenly spread throughout the year. At only 13% of the weather stations are lower seasonal swings recorded.

The territorial history of Idar-Oberstein’s individual centres is marked by a considerable splintering of lordly domains in the local area. Only in Napoleonic times, beginning in 1794, with its reorganization and merging of various territorial units, was some order brought to the traditional mishmash of local lordships. However, shortly thereafter, the Congress of Vienna brought the future town division once again, as the river Nahe became a border, and the centres on its north bank were thereby grouped into the Principality of Birkenfeld, an exclave of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, most of whose territory was in what is now northwest Germany, with a coastline on the North Sea.