Esthal

Esthal is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Esthal is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. == Culture and sightseeing== On the village's outskirts is found Saint Mary's Convent (Kloster St. Maria) of the Niederbronn Sisters, which was built in 1951-1959, and which functions as a provincial mother house. The building was planned by the architect Hebgen (Ludwigshafen), and the church was consecrated on 7 March 1959. Worth mentioning as an unusual piece of decoration is a cross, now found in the church's chancel, that was acquired from a private owner in Switzerland and that holds importance for art history. The greater part of the rest of the décor was newly created in 1986 by Josef Henger. In the village centre stands the Catholic Saint Konrad's Church (Kirche St. Konrad or sometimes Bruder-Konrad-Kirche) built in 1933 and 1934, whose nave joins onto the former Baroque church (Saint Catherine's, or St. Katharina). The church was built to plans by architects Schönwetter and Schaltenbrand (Neustadt), who in turn were influenced by Albert Boßlet. The consecration date is 23 September 1934. The windows and the chancel décor stem in the main from Günter Zeuner. In the Baroque part of the church is found a Classicist high altar by Bernhard Würschmitt from about 1825. In the area around Esthal are several historic washing fountains. Within Esthal's limits stands Erfenstein Castle (Burg Erfenstein), and across the dale, just inside Neustadt an der Weinstraße is Spangenberg Castle (Burg Spangenberg). A further castle ruin is to be found in the outlying centre of Breitenstein. Near the ruins of Erfenstein Castle, in the eponymous Ortsteil, there is a halt on the Little Cuckoo Railway (Kuckucksbähnel). This is a heritage railway running between Neustadt an der Weinstraße and Elmstein.

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