Gerach, Rhineland-Palatinate

Gerach 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 Herrstein-Rhaunen, whose seat is in Herrstein.

Gerach
Coat of arms of Gerach
Location of Gerach within Birkenfeld district
Gerach is located in Germany
Gerach
Gerach
Gerach is located in Rhineland-Palatinate
Gerach
Gerach
Coordinates: 49°45′15″N 7°20′27″E / 49.75417°N 7.34083°E / 49.75417; 7.34083
CountryGermany
StateRhineland-Palatinate
DistrictBirkenfeld
Municipal assoc.Herrstein-Rhaunen
Government
 • Mayor (2019–24) Thomas Juchem[1]
Area
 • Total2.29 km2 (0.88 sq mi)
Elevation
391 m (1,283 ft)
Population
 (2022-12-31)[2]
 • Total225
 • Density98/km2 (250/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
55743
Dialling codes06785
Vehicle registrationBIR

Geography

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Location

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South of Gerach are not only Idar-Oberstein’s extensive municipal area but also the Ortsgemeinden of Hintertiefenbach and Vollmersbach. The Deutsche Edelsteinstraße (“German Gem Road”), which runs by to the north, also links Gerach to the Ortsgemeinden of Veitsrodt, Niederwörresbach and Fischbach as well as to the administrative seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Herrstein.

Constituent communities

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Also belonging to Gerach is the outlying homestead of Geracher Mühle.[3]

Politics

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Municipal council

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The council is made up of 6 council members, who were elected by majority vote at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.[4]

Mayor

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Gerach's mayor is Thomas Juchem, and his deputies are Günter Schmähler and Wolfgang Schüler.[5]

Coat of arms

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The municipality's arms might be described thus: Per bend sinister argent a hammer and pick per saltire sable and chequy gules and argent, issuant from base a bishop's staff of the second.

Culture and sightseeing

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The Geracher Wasserschleiferei, a water-driven gem-cutting mill, dates from 1874.

Economy and infrastructure

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Transport

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To the southeast runs Bundesstraße 41. In Fischbach is a railway station on the Nahe Valley Railway (BingenSaarbrücken).

References

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  1. ^ Direktwahlen 2019, Landkreis Birkenfeld, Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz, accessed 10 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Bevölkerungsstand 2022, Kreise, Gemeinden, Verbandsgemeinden" (PDF) (in German). Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz. 2023.
  3. ^ Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz – Amtliches Verzeichnis der Gemeinden und Gemeindeteile Archived 2015-11-25 at the Wayback Machine, Seite 20 (PDF)
  4. ^ Kommunalwahl Rheinland-Pfalz 2009, Gemeinderat
  5. ^ "Gerach's mayor". Archived from the original on 2016-09-17. Retrieved 2011-08-15.