Oberstein

Geschichte

Idar-Oberstein is a town in the Birkenfeld district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. As a Große kreisangehörige Stadt (large town belonging to a district), it assumes some of the responsibilities that for smaller municipalities in the district are assumed by the district administration. Today’s town of Idar-Oberstein is the product of two rounds of administrative reform, one in 1933 and the other in 1969, which saw many municipalities amalgamated into one. The various Stadtteile have, however, retained their original identities, which, aside from the somewhat more urban character encountered in Idar and Oberstein, tend to hearken back to each centre’s history as a rural village. Idar-Oberstein is known as a gemstone town, and also as a garrison town. It is also the largest town in the Hunsrück and has a population of 32,001 (December 31, 2015).GeographyLocationThe town lies on the southern edge of the Hunsrück on both sides of the river Nahe.Constituent communitiesThe following are the divisions within the town of Idar-Oberstein as at 31 December 2015:Centres merged in 1933 administrative reform Oberstein (7,834 inhabitants) Idar (7,897 inhabitants) Tiefenstein (2,489 inhabitants) Algenrodt (1,846 inhabitants)Total population: 20,066Centres merged in 1969 administrative reform Göttschied Weierbach Nahbollenbach Mittelbollenbach Kirchenbollenbach Regulshausen Enzweiler Georg-Weierbach Hammerstein Total population: 11,935