Meisenheim on the Glan

Meisenheim, which lies on the lower Glan, is often called the "Rothenburg of the Pfalz" or the "Rothenburg on the Glan" due to its medieval character and its late gothic castle church containing princely tombs. There are narrow lanes, and picturesque corners here as well as beautifully maintained rows of buildings dating from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. There is a Catholic church in the 'Bauern-Baroque' style as well as the oldest half-timbered house in the Nahe area, the 'Yellow House' (the former commandery of the Order of St. John, built in 1490). A church, first recorded in 1297, is supposed to have stood in Meisenheim even before the year 1000. The castle church of today was built toward the end of the 15th century. This was approximately the same time as the construction of the commandery of the Order of St. John.

The very impressive market halls were constructed by the city of Meisenheim between the years 1550 and 1560. These long two-storied buildings with their double window lines dominate the south side of the market-square. The upper story is a rich design of half-timbering supported by columns of worked Tuscan sandstone. The city hall, built in 1517, with its beautifully worked bay window, stands at the western row of buildings on the Untergasse, surrounded by old bourgeois houses and flanked by two lanes. Three high pointed arches having carved doors, mark the opening of the ground floor to the former market halls. At one time, Meisenheim had three city gates. Two of these were torn down in 1822. The remaining one, a city landmark, is the lower gate with the oldest parts of the gate tower dating from the 14th century. It used to protect the eastern entrance to the town over the Glan bridge.

The area of Meisenheim with its typical 'Pfalz' hilly landscape is attractive because of its remoteness. Right in the area, near Schweinschied, one can visit the largest Roman stone monument in Germany.