Hohenleimbach

Hohenleimbach
Municipality
Coat of arms
Location of Hohenleimbach within Ahrweiler district
Hohenleimbach Hohenleimbach
Coordinates: 50°24′41″N 7°3′37″E
Country	Germany
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District	Ahrweiler
Municipal assoc.	Brohltal
Government
• Mayor (2019–24)	Thorsten Kurt Kabuth
Area
• Total	10.17 km2 (3.93 sq mi)
Elevation	512 m (1,680 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)
• Total	356
• Density	35/km2 (91/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	56746
Dialling codes	02655
Vehicle registration	AW

Hohenleimbach is a municipality in the district of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1425 as a fief of a Peter von Thys named Leimbach. This original placename was in use until the begin of the 20th century. Since the 18th century the nickname Wüstleimbach showed up. The prefix "Wüst" means "deserted" in the sense of lost or abandoned. Due to the barren fields and the severe poverty of the inhabitants they decided to emigrate mainly to America leaving their farms behind which were abandoned afterwards. The population of the largely abandoned village decreased below 100 in the 17th and 18th centuries. According to a resolution of the local borough council in 1914, the village was allowed, by an imperial decree of 31 January 1916, to rename itself Hohenleimbach, because of the negative image of the nickname Wüstleimbach ("deserted Leimbach"). The small village Lederbach one mile in the north is part of the municipality. Centuries ago there was another little village named Rembach and situated in the south of Hohenleimbach at the mouth of the Lederbach ("Leatherbrook") running into the Nette rivulet, consisting of only four farms. First mentioned in 1337 it had to be already abandoned in the 17th century due to poverty.

Inhabitants

Number of inhabitants (31 December)

Year Pop. ±% 1815 152 —     1835 188 +23.7% 1871 159 −15.4% 1905 231 +45.3% 1939 260 +12.6% 1950 264 +1.5% 1961 284 +7.6% 1965 321 +13.0% 1970 302 −5.9%	Year Pop. ±% 1975 301 −0.3% 1980 286 −5.0% 1985 253 −11.5% 1987 277 +9.5% 1990 292 +5.4% 1995 335 +14.7% 2000 359 +7.2% 2005 371 +3.3% 2019 360 −3.0%
Source: Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz