Niedererbach

Niedererbach
Coat of arms
Niedererbach
Location of Niedererbach within Westerwaldkreis district
Coordinates: 50°25′38″N 7°58′31″E / 50.42722°N 7.97528°E / 50.42722; 7.97528Coordinates: 50°25′38″N 7°58′31″E / 50.42722°N 7.97528°E / 50.42722; 7.97528
Country	Germany
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District	Westerwaldkreis
Municipal assoc.	Montabaur
Government
• Mayor	Gerhard Theis
Area
• Total	4.43 km2 (1.71 sq mi)
Elevation	160-200 m (−500 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	991
• Density	220/km2 (580/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	56412
Dialling codes	06485
Vehicle registration	WW
Website	www.niedererbach.de

Niedererbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

The community lies in the Westerwald between Koblenz and Limburg an der Lahn on the edge of the Nassau Nature Park on the boundary with Hesse. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Montabaur, a kind of collective municipality. Its seat is in the like-named town.

Niedererbach’s neighbours are Obererbach, Westerwaldkreis, Dreikirchen, Nentershausen, Görgeshausen and Elz, Hesse.

In 1291, Niedererbach had its first documentary mention as Erlebach. The document is dated 12 May 1291. In the document a pastor named Friedrich and the parish of Erlebach are mentioned which document a legal transaction with the commander and the Teutonic Knights in Koblenz. The original is kept at the Central Archive of the Teutonic Knights in Vienna. Since 2006, the community of Niedererbach has been in possession of a copy of the document.

In 2006 the community celebrated one of the biggest festivals since its beginnings, the one hundredth Kirmes. This most important of village festivals is held each year on the last weekend in August and recalls the consecration of the parish church of St. Katharina in 1906. One part of the tower is considerably older and may come from the time about AD 1200. Before today’s church stood here, there was on the same spot a Baroque church built in 1725, about the size of the side nave today. This old church was torn down in 1904, although the tower was left standing. Only the uppermost third was torn down and renewed. In September 1904, excavation work began for the new parish church. On 14 May 1905, the first stone was laid and on 10 August 1905, the topping-out ceremony was held. The framework was completed in December 1905. In May 1906 began the plastering, the window fitting and the interior decoration. On 19 August 1906, the new church building was ceremonially blessed by Bishop Dominikus Willi