Nerzweiler - Religion

Religion

The old Hirsauer Kirche was originally the spiritual hub for all villages in the Eßweiler Tal. When it was that a church was first built in Hirsau (not to be confused with Hirsau in Baden-Württemberg) cannot be determined today. It can be assumed nonetheless that there had been an earlier church standing at the same spot centuries before the one that still stands now was built (about 1100); it may have been wooden. Churchgoers came from throughout the dale to attend services, all weddings were held there, and so were all funerals and burials. It was also the thingstead, and on certain days, market was held there, too. Hirsau lost this central role when in 1451 the church in Hinzweiler was built, although originally this only functioned as a chapel of ease to Hirsau’s parish church. This actually brought about competition between the two churches in the time that followed for the function of parish church. As early as 1526, the Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken introduced the Reformation into the church of the Oberamt of Meisenheim, replacing Catholic belief with Martin Luther’s teachings so that bit by bit, church services in the Eßweiler Tal, too, began to be conducted in accordance with the Reformation. The Offenbach Monastery, to which the Hinzweiler church was subject, at first opposed Reformist efforts. In 1555, though, the Rhinegraves of Grumbach, too, introduced the Reformation, and in 1588, the Offenbach Monastery was dissolved. In 1562, Eßweiler got its own graveyard. After the Counts Palatine of Zweibrücken had become absolute fiefholders over the Eßweiler Tal in 1795, worshippers then had to convert to Calvinism in line with developments in the County Palatine. Beginning in 1601, Hinzweiler became the temporary parish seat, but already by 1610, it once again had to yield this function to Hirsau, only to get it back after the Thirty Years' War. This structure remains in place to this day. In earlier days, Nerzweiler’s inhabitants were mainly Reformed, according to John Calvin’s teachings. As minorities, there were Lutherans, who in 1818 merged with the Calvinists. Catholic Christians were not found in Nerzweiler until the early 19th century, and even thereafter, only sporadically. In 1743, out of 14 households, only two belonged to the Lutheran faith, while none belonged to either the Catholic or the Jewish faith. In 1825, only Protestants lived in the village, that is, former Calvinists and Lutherans after the 1818 Protestant Union. In 1961, among the 180 inhabitants was one Catholic.