Attractions & Eras

Discover Kirchheimbolanden

“A small, well-built town of about ‘300 houses’” – that’s what Anton Friedrich Büsching, director of a Berlin high school, called “Kirchheim-Poland.” That was in 1790. The “Old Empire” still existed with its more than 300 individual territories, including the Principality of Nassau-Weilburg, whose residence the city had become in the 1730s. The ensuing building boom saw the construction of numerous representative new buildings: the palace, palace church, ballroom, orangery, to name just a few. In addition, the previously medieval “Old Town” was “modernized” in Baroque style and expanded with “suburbs.” Nevertheless, part of the defensive walls built in the late 14th century remained.

But then in 1792, it was all over. French revolutionary troops occupied the Palatinate and destroyed what reminded them of the princely era – including in Kirchheimbolanden. However, the Baroque townscape continued to exist.

In 1816, the political map changed again. The Palatinate now became Bavarian, and Kirchheimbolanden became a district town. This required new administrative buildings, triggering another building boom. Thus, the 19th century is also very present in the townscape.