Kastellaun | ||
---|---|---|
|
||
Coordinates: 50°4′10″N 7°26′35″E / 50.06944°N 7.44306°ECoordinates: 50°4′10″N 7°26′35″E / 50.06944°N 7.44306°E | ||
Country | Germany | |
State | Rhineland-Palatinate | |
District | Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis | |
Municipal assoc. | Kastellaun | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Dr. Marlon Bröhr | |
Area | ||
• Total | 8.47 km2 (3.27 sq mi) | |
Elevation | 430 m (1,410 ft) | |
Population (2015-12-31) | ||
• Total | 5,274 | |
• Density | 620/km2 (1,600/sq mi) | |
Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) | |
Postal codes | 56288 | |
Dialling codes | 06762 | |
Vehicle registration | SIM | |
Website | www.stadt-kastellaun.de |
Kastellaun is a town in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality.
The town lies in the eastern Hunsrück roughly equidistant from the Moselle, the Rhine and the Nahe. The town centre lies between a depression in the north and the plateau of the Hunsrück, over which runs Bundesstraße 327, the so-called Hunsrückhöhenstraße (“Hunsrück Heights Road”, a scenic road across the Hunsrück built originally as a military road on Hermann Göring’s orders).
Yearly precipitation in Kastellaun amounts to 755 mm, which falls into the middle third of the precipitation chart for all Germany. At 53% of the German Weather Service’s weather stations, lower figures recorded. The driest month is April. The most rainfall comes in June. In that month, precipitation is 1.4 times what it is in April. Precipitation varies only slightly and is spread very evenly throughout the year. Only at 1% of the weather stations are lower seasonal swings recorded.
In 1226, Kestilun had its first documentary mention. The like-named castle was built by the Counts of Sponheim and belonged until 1417 to the “Further” County of Sponheim.
In 1301, the castle and the town became home to Simon II of Sponheim and his wife Elisabeth. Count Simon granted Kastellaun town rights in 1305 and also secured market rights on 8 November 1309 from Emperor Henry VII, who was the brother of Baldwin of Luxembourg, Archbishop of Trier. In 1321, the castle and the town found themselves under siege from Baldwin, who in 1325 also built another castle at Buch, Burg Balduinseck, to counter Kastellaun’s challenges to his authority. In 1340, Count Walram of Sponheim left Kastellaun and went to Bad Kreuznach.