Neunkirchen am Potzberg

Neunkirchen am Potzberg is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kusel-Altenglan, whose seat is in Kusel. Neunkirchen am Potzberg lies southeast of the district seat of Kusel. The Potzberg, the “King of the Westrich” (an historic region that encompasses areas in both Germany and France) is a 562 m-high mountain in the Western Palatinate on whose southeast slope lies the village, roughly a kilometre below the peak (562.5 m above sea level). The main street runs crosswise over the slope and branching off it are a few dead-end streets both uphill and downhill. The village itself spreads out at an elevation from some 335 m above sea level to 350 m above sea level. The Limbach, a tributary to the Reichenbach (itself a tributary to the Glan) rises above the village. From the village, a wonderful view can be seen across the Reichenbach valley to the Heidenburg (castle) near Niederstaufenbach and to further mountains on the other side of the dale. The municipal area measures 501 ha, of which 137 ha is wooded. Neunkirchen also has a wildlife park, a lookout tower, a hotel and a hiking trail network. Neunkirchen am Potzberg borders in the north on the municipality of Föckelberg, in the east on the municipality of Oberstaufenbach, in the south on the municipality of Reichenbach-Steegen, in the west on the municipality of Matzenbach and in the northwest on the municipalities of Theisbergstegen and Rutsweiler am Glan. Also belonging to Neunkirchen am Potzberg are the outlying homesteads of Kreuzhof, east of the village, and Talhof, south of the village. These are both Aussiedlerhöfe, agricultural settlements established after the Second World War to increase food production. Standing on the road to Föckelberg are weekend houses. Neunkirchen's houses, which are spread out in a rather loose manner, stand for the most part on the through road, which leads from Föckelberg to Gimsbach.