Ruschberg

Ruschberg (German pronunciation: [ˈʁʊʃbɛʁk]) is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Baumholder, whose seat is in the like-named town.

Ruschberg
Municipality
Coat of arms
Location of Ruschberg within Birkenfeld district
Ruschberg Show map of Germany Ruschberg Show map of Rhineland-Palatinate
Coordinates: 49°37′18″N 7°17′24″E
Country	Germany
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District	Birkenfeld
Municipal assoc.	Baumholder
Government
• Mayor (2019–24)	Alfred Heu[1]
Area
• Total	7.45 km2 (2.88 sq mi)
Elevation	410 m (1,350 ft)
Population  (2023-12-31)[2]
• Total	823
• Density	110/km2 (290/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	55776
Dialling codes	06783
Vehicle registration	BIR

Geography

Location

Ruschberg lies on the Baumholder Bach southwest of the 563 m-high Feldberg. It also lies in the Westrich, an historic region that encompasses areas in both Germany and France.

Neighbouring municipalities

Ruschberg borders in the north on the Baumholder Troop Drilling Ground, in the east on the town of Baumholder, in the southeast on the municipality of Fohren-Linden, in the southwest on the municipality of Berglangenbach, in the west on the municipality of Heimbach and in the northwest on the municipality of Reichenbach.

Constituent communities

Also belonging to Ruschberg are the outlying homesteads of Clarashall (baryte mine), Haus Mohrenmühle, Im Inkelrech, Lauersmühle and Seibertsmühle.^[3]

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 12 council members, who were elected by proportional representation at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.

The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:^[4]

Year	SPD	CDU	Total
2009	8	4	12 seats
2004	8	4	12 seats

Mayor

Ruschberg's mayor is Alfred Heu.^[5]

Coat of arms

The municipality's arms might be described thus: Per fess, argent issuant from the line of partition a demilion azure armed and langued gules, and azure a hammer and pick per saltire of the first surmounted by an ear of wheat between two ears of rye all couped, palewise and Or.

Culture and sightseeing

Clubs

• Catholic women's club
• Eschelbacher Natur- und Angelfreunde (friends of nature and angling)
• Evangelische Frauenhilfe (Evangelical women's aid)
• Fußballclub 1921 (football)
• Mixed choir
• Ruschberg “Germania” music club
• Shooting club
• Sport club
• VdK local chapter (service club)
• Volunteer fire brigade

Economy and infrastructure

Public institutions

• Evangelical church, parish of Baumholder
• Catholic church, parish of Baumholder
• Kindergarten Ruschberg
• Ruschberg primary school
• Ruschberg youth club
• Bürgerhaus Ruschberg (community centre)

Transport

Running a few kilometres south of the municipality is the Autobahn A 62 (Kaiserslautern–Trier). Serving nearby Heimbach is a railway station on the Nahe Valley Railway (Bingen–Saarbrücken). There has been no railway station in Ruschberg itself since the 1981 when the Heimbach (Nahe)–Baumholder Railway ceased passenger operations.