Rheinböllen in the Hunsrück

Rheinböllen, on the old Roman road "Via Ausonia", is the historic center of the iron industry in Hunsrück, where the "Rheinböllerhütte", an iron foundry, was in operation for almost 400 years. During its long prosperity, Rheinböllerhütte served as processing plant for 30 iron ore mines near and far and kept the business on a sound footing. These iron ore mines, for the most part, were operated under quite difficult conditions, since Hunsrück is rich in poor ore; while numerous, the ore deposits are largely limited to narrow cavities, and scattered over a wide range. The smelting processes kept up in the furnace of Rheinböllerhütte, Nester begrenzt, aber über weite Gebiete des Hunsrücks verstreut. Der für den Hochofenprozess der Rheinböllerhütte in erheblichem Umfange benötigte Kalk wurde aus den nahegelegenen Kalksteinbrüchen in Stromberg bezogen, die auch die dortigen Eisenhütten, die "alte Stromberger Hütte" und die "Stromberger Neuhütte", belieferten. Als jedoch mit Beginn des 19. Jahrhunderts die großen Eisen-verarbeitenden Industrien im Ruhrgebiet und im Saarland die Produktion aufnahmen, waren die "alten" Eisenhütten im Hunsrück aufgrund der viel geringeren Qualität ihrer Eisenerze nahezu chancenlos und mussten deshalb die Produktion nach und nach einstellen. Das in der Abbildung gezeigte Waisenhaus aus dem Jahre 1864 wurde von der Industriellenfamilie Puricelli —Besitzer der damaligen Rheinböller Eisenhütte— gestiftet und später durch Krankenhaus und Altersheim ergänzt. Heute wird der Komplex als Pflegeheim genutzt, wobei seine wuchtige Bauform für die einstmals große Zeit Rheinböllens steht.

In the 100 hectare "Big Game nature preserve of Hunsrück", a little outside Rheinböllen, various kinds of deer, wild boars, bison, lynx, wolves and bears, as well as many small animals, have found a safe haven. North of this nature preserve lies the "Struth Nature Preserve", a deciduous forest with many wetlands. The name "Struth" is derived from the old High German word "struot" (bush or undergrowth) and describes stony and swampy areas that don't allow a high forest to develop. These type of inaccessible areas were formed during the last ice age 18,000 years ago over the impermeable layers of the Hunsrück slate in shallow depressions that incline slightly southwards. Although this former marshland was largely drained and reforested during the last century, the marshy forest of moor birches, alders, moor grass, and stands of wood sedge and rush still have the characteristics of a "struth".

In the southern Hunsrück region, there is not only the Struth near Rheinböllen, but also the Woppenrother Struth, Schweppenbacher Struth and the Struthhof as well. Those who wish to visit these remote but splendid forest and marsh areas should plan on taking several days for it. Another side trip worth taking in the area of Rheinböllen is to the hill tombs near Erbach, Dichtelbach and Mörschbach, which date from Celtic times.