The best traffic-free bike rides around Eußerthal

a very worthwhile church to see, unfortunately always locked 🔐

https://ilbesheim.de/ilbesheim-damals.html

A memorial stone erected on the occasion of the 90th birthday of Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria. Next to the memorial stone stands an oak tree planted on that day. From here, a path leads to the Weißenberg hill where the Luitpold Tower stands. Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria was born on March 12, 1821, the fifth child of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. Before assuming power on June 9, 1886, he rose through the ranks of the army to become Inspector General. During his twenty-five-year reign, the Kingdom of Bavaria experienced a golden age. The Palatinate belonged to Bavaria from 1816 to 1949. In honor of the Prince Regent, streets, theaters, parks, schools, observation towers, and even cakes were named after him. For example, Prinzregentenstraße, Prinzenweg (see Rittersteine No. 41), Prinzregententheater, Luitpoldpark, Luitpoldturm and the Prinzregententorte. He died on December 12, 1912.

In front of the large entrance steps of the Protestant church, on the right, stands a large, martial-looking war memorial from 1938 (initially planned only for the fallen of the First World War; later, however, it was also intended for all victims of the Second World War).

A neo-Romanesque church dating from 1843 with an imposing twin-tower facade and a large rose window on the east side. Locally, it is also known as the 'Cathedral of the Queich Valley'. Source: https://wilgartswiesen.de/protestantische-kirche-wilgartswiesen/

Knight Stefan von Mörlheim, co-founder of the Cistercian monastery of Eußerthal, donated his manor, including a chapel, to the monastery in Mörlheim around 1148. After a turbulent history, the dilapidated St. Martin's Church in Mörlheim passed into Catholic ownership in 1705. The monastery church in Eußerthal and the church in Mörlheim still display a mitre and abbot's staff alongside the cross on their steeples – ecclesiastical symbols that Heinrich Wilhelm, Baron von und zu Sickingen, was permitted to wear as a layman. In 1754, Heinrich Wilhelm, Baron von und zu Sickingen, had the Mörlheim church rebuilt. It was consecrated on September 14, 1754. One hundred and fifty years later, at the beginning of the 20th century, the church had once again fallen into disrepair. The swinging of the bells in the bell tower had weakened the church ceiling, and the cramped space was no longer sufficient for the congregation. One hundred years ago, on July 1, 1912, the reconstruction of the church into the present one began, based on plans by the architect Johannes Albert Boßlet. It was extended to the west, and the existing beamed ceiling was replaced by a Baroque-style lath and plaster ceiling suspended from the roof truss, visually resting on newly added wall piers. Finally, a church tower nearly 30 meters high was erected. Two bells call the faithful to prayer, and the city of Landau owns the clock and its large clock faces. The reconstruction of the church, and especially the construction of the new church tower, was made possible by the Bavarian Church Community Ordinance of 1912. According to this ordinance, even landowners outside the parish could be assessed for the construction and maintenance of religious buildings. A good 75 percent of the land in Mörlheim subject to these assessments formerly belonged to outsiders, the so-called "outsiders." The extensive renovation of the church in 2008 has given the Mörlheim church a great splendor. (Egon Ehmer)

The village community center features a festival ground and a fountain (beautifully decorated for special holidays). Opposite is the war memorial for the victims of the two World Wars. Behind the festival ground by the village community center is the "Bruch Nature and Adventure Area" with benches, a playground, etc., which leads to the large hiking parking lot at the cemetery.

The view of the Trifels is omnipresent in Annweiler.