Kirchheimbolanden

Kirchheimbolanden
city wall and grey tower
Apothekerturm
St. Peter‘s church
Amtsstraße
Location of Kirchheimbolanden within Donnersbergkreis district
Kirchheimbolanden
Kirchheimbolanden
Coordinates: 49°39′59″N 8°0′42″E / 49.66639°N 8.01167°E / 49.66639; 8.01167
CountryGermany
StateRhineland-Palatinate
DistrictDonnersbergkreis
Municipal assoc.Kirchheimbolanden
Government
  Mayor (201924) Marc Muchow (CDU)
Area
  Total
26.36 km2 (10.18 sq mi)
Elevation
232 m (761 ft)
Population
 (2023-12-31)
  Total
8,067
  Density310/km2 (790/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
67292
Dialling codes06352
Vehicle registrationKIB
Websitewww.kirchheimbolanden.de

Kirchheimbolanden is the capital and the second largest city of the Donnersbergkreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate. Situated in south-western Germany, it is approximately 25 km west of Worms, and 30 km north-east of Kaiserslautern.

The first part of the name, Kirchheim, dates back to 774. It became a town in 1368, and the Sponheim family improved its security with many towers and walls. William, Duke of Nassau, ancestor of the royal families of Belgium, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, and of the grand-ducal family of Luxembourg, was born in Kirchheimbolanden. It was also ruled by the First French Empire between 1792 and 1814, before passing to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1815. It was a rural district centre in the Rheinkreis, which was renamed Pfalz (Palatinate) in 1835.