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76-649: The Gladenbach Uplands are geographical unit 320 which is part of the natural region 32, the Westerwald , in Germany's system of natural regions . The Gladenbach Highlands is largely coextensive with the Lahn-Dill Uplands Nature Park which extends further west, however, but is somewhat less extensive in the southeast and whose boundaries tend to line up with those of the sponsoring municipalities. In addition, not insignificant areas belong to

152-544: A humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification: Dfb ). In the lowlands of the Unterwesterwald (Lower Westerwald), summers tend to be warm to hot. Erratic convective downpours are not uncommon, yet mostly brief. Winters are mild and see a lot of precipitation, which mostly falls as rain. Snowfall occurs multiple times a year, but usually melts within hours. Thermophilic fruits like figs and peaches are hardy in this area. The mountainous areas of

228-472: A Brittonic language of northern Britain. Celtic regions of mainland Europe are those whose residents claim a Celtic heritage, but where no Celtic language survives; these include western Iberia, i.e. Portugal and north-central Spain ( Galicia , Asturias , Cantabria , Castile and León , Extremadura ). Continental Celts are the Celtic-speaking people of mainland Europe and Insular Celts are

304-705: A Celtic language are the Lepontic inscriptions of Cisalpine Gaul (Northern Italy), the oldest of which pre-date the La Tène period . Other early inscriptions, appearing from the early La Tène period in the area of Massilia , are in Gaulish , which was written in the Greek alphabet until the Roman conquest. Celtiberian inscriptions, using their own Iberian script, appear later, after about 200 BC. Evidence of Insular Celtic

380-949: A basalt-rich region. Wäller is another vernacular name for them. One of the 12 best-rated hiking trails in Germany is the Westerwaldsteig. The Westerwaldsteig crosses the Westerwald from east ( Herborn ) to west ( Rhine ). Celts Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Iranians East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European The Celts ( / k ɛ l t s / KELTS , see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( / ˈ k ɛ l t ɪ k / KEL -tik ) were

456-568: A borrowing from Frankish * Walholant , 'Roman-land' (see Gaul: Name ) , the root of which is Proto-Germanic * walha- , 'foreigner, Roman, Celt', whence the English word Welsh ( Old English wælisċ ). Proto-Germanic * walha comes from the name of the Volcae , a Celtic tribe who lived first in southern Germany and central Europe, then migrated to Gaul. This means that English Gaul , despite its superficial similarity,

532-830: A collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia , identified by their use of Celtic languages and other cultural similarities. Major Celtic groups included the Gauls ; the Celtiberians and Gallaeci of Iberia; the Britons , Picts , and Gaels of Britain and Ireland; the Boii ; and the Galatians . The interrelationships of ethnicity, language and culture in the Celtic world are unclear and debated; for example over

608-760: A common cultural and linguistic heritage more than a genetic one. Celtic cultures seem to have been diverse, with the use of a Celtic language being the main thing they had in common. Today, the term 'Celtic' generally refers to the languages and cultures of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall , the Isle of Man , and Brittany ; also called the Celtic nations . These are the regions where Celtic languages are still spoken to some extent. The four are Irish , Scottish Gaelic , Welsh , and Breton ; plus two recent revivals, Cornish (a Brittonic language ) and Manx (a Goidelic language ). There are also attempts to reconstruct Cumbric ,

684-535: A range of handcrafted utility ware, with hand-painted swirling floral motifs. In the eastern Westerwald (the part lying in Hesse) are found interesting limestone deposits from the most varied of geological times. Erdbach limestone from the Lower Carboniferous gave one small time period the name "Erdbachian". Near Breitscheid are found the remnants of an atoll from the subtropical Devonian sea that

760-754: A result, these items quickly became associated with the Celts, so much so that by the 1870s scholars began to regard finds of the La Tène as 'the archaeological expression of the Celts'". This cultural network was overrun by the Roman Empire, though traces of La Tène style were still seen in Gallo-Roman artifacts . In Britain and Ireland, the La Tène style survived precariously to re-emerge in Insular art . The Urnfield-Hallstatt theory began to be challenged in

836-633: A rethinking of the meaning of "Celtic". John T. Koch and Barry Cunliffe have developed this 'Celtic from the West' theory. It proposes that the proto-Celtic language arose along the Atlantic coast and was the lingua franca of the Atlantic Bronze Age cultural network, later spreading inland and eastward. More recently, Cunliffe proposes that proto-Celtic had arisen in the Atlantic zone even earlier, by 3000 BC, and spread eastwards with

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912-535: A revival. The first recorded use of the name 'Celts' – as Κελτοί ( Keltoi ) in Ancient Greek – was by Greek geographer Hecataeus of Miletus in 517 BC, when writing about a people living near Massilia (modern Marseille ), southern Gaul . In the fifth century BC, Herodotus referred to Keltoi living around the source of the Danube and in the far west of Europe. The etymology of Keltoi

988-668: A single culture or ethnic group. A new theory suggested that Celtic languages arose earlier, along the Atlantic coast (including Britain, Ireland, Armorica and Iberia ), long before evidence of 'Celtic' culture is found in archaeology. Myles Dillon and Nora Kershaw Chadwick argued that "Celtic settlement of the British Isles" might date to the Bell Beaker culture of the Copper and Bronze Age (from c. 2750 BC). Martín Almagro Gorbea (2001) also proposed that Celtic arose in

1064-640: A strip of land on the Rhine's right bank and the so-called Rhine-Westerwald; the Westerwald itself lay outside the Roman-occupied area, for the Romans preferred to maintain a little-settled, most likely pathless wilderness as their border. The Westerwald's permanent settlement and thereby its territorial history began with the Chatti (Hessians) pushing their way into the area after the Romans were driven out in

1140-540: A tribal surname, which epigraphic findings have confirmed. A Latin name for the Gauls, Galli ( pl. ), may come from a Celtic ethnic name, perhaps borrowed into Latin during the Celtic expansion into Italy from the early fifth century BC. Its root may be Proto-Celtic *galno , meaning "power, strength" (whence Old Irish gal "boldness, ferocity", Welsh gallu "to be able, power"). The Greek name Γαλάται ( Galatai , Latinized Galatae ) most likely has

1216-608: Is German for "forest" or "woods") around the three churches in Bad Marienberg , Rennerod and Emmerichenhain, west of the royal court at Herborn . Only since the mid 19th century has the name come into common usage for the whole range. The High Westerwald has since the Middle Ages formed the heart of the Herrschaft zum (also vom or auf dem ) Westerwald ("Lordship over the Westerwald"). This comprised

1292-815: Is a low mountain range on the right bank of the river Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate , Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia . It is a part of the Rhenish Massif ( Rheinisches Schiefergebirge or Rhenish Slate Mountains). Its highest elevation, at 657 m above sea level, is the Fuchskaute in the High Westerwald. Tourist attractions include the Dornburg  [ de ] (394 metres), site of some Celtic ruins from La Tène times (5th to 1st century BC), found in

1368-694: Is also the inspiration for the South Korean military song, "Our Nation Forever". In recent years it has become somewhat controversial in Germany due to its origins during the National Socialist era, with the German military ceasing performances of it in 2017. The standard German term for a Westerwald dweller is Westerwälder ( IPA: [ˈvɛstɐvɛldɐ] ; plural: same), but they are also popularly known as Basaltköpp (“Basalt Heads”), as they are said to be thickheaded, and they live in

1444-548: Is centred on Höhr-Grenzhausen . Exports, particularly to Italy, are also important (more than one million metric tons each year). In the mid 16th century, potters from Raeren in Belgium migrated into the Westerwald, bringing with them some of their moulds . This type of pottery was taken to the New World and was found in the early Chesapeake settlements. Today one finds not only highly crafted moulded vases and mugs but also

1520-760: Is found south of the Rothaargebirge , southwest of the Lahn-Dill-Bergland (another low mountain range), north of the Taunus and east of the Middle Rhine and stretches more or less southwards from Siegen and Burbach , southwestwards from Haiger , northwestwards from Weilburg , northwards from Limburg an der Lahn , northeastwards from Koblenz , eastwards from Linz am Rhein , southeastwards from Wissen and southwards from Betzdorf . In its centre lie Bad Marienberg and Hachenburg . Clockwise,

1596-510: Is not actually derived from Latin Gallia (which should have produced * Jaille in French), though it does refer to the same ancient region. Celtic refers to a language family and, more generally, means 'of the Celts' or 'in the style of the Celts'. Several archaeological cultures are considered Celtic, based on unique sets of artefacts. The link between language and artefact is aided by

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1672-534: Is primarily a linguistic label. In his 'Celtic from the Centre' theory, he argues that the proto-Celtic language did not originate in central Europe nor the Atlantic, but in-between these two regions. He suggests that it "emerged as a distinct Indo-European dialect around the second millennium BC , probably somewhere in Gaul [centered in modern France] ... whence it spread in various directions and at various speeds in

1748-466: Is the Fuchskaute in the High Westerwald, meaning "fox hollow". Many peaks and crests exceed the 600-metre level. Sorted by elevation above sea level, these are some of the Westerwald's highest elevations: The following are the Westerwald's rivers and streams: Weiher is a German word meaning "pond". Through prehistoric finds it can be determined that the Celts settled in the Westerwald and were using

1824-502: Is unclear. Possible roots include Indo-European * kʲel 'to hide' (seen also in Old Irish ceilid , and Modern Welsh celu ), * kʲel 'to heat' or * kel 'to impel'. It may come from the Celtic language . Linguist Kim McCone supports this view and notes that Celt- is found in the names of several ancient Gauls such as Celtillus, father of Vercingetorix . He suggests it meant the people or descendants of "the hidden one", noting

1900-541: The Siegerländer Erzrevier (roughly "Siegerland Ore Grounds"). Despite its relatively slight elevation, the Westerwald has for a low mountain range a typical agreeable climate. Economically and culturally, it belongs among Germany's best known mountain ranges. The name "Westerwald" was first mentioned in 1048 in a document from the Electorate of Trier and described at that time the woodlands ( Wald

1976-662: The Histories of Herodotus, which placed the Celts at the source of the Danube . However, Stephen Oppenheimer shows that Herodotus seemed to believe the Danube rose near the Pyrenees , which would place the Ancient Celts in a region which is more in agreement with later classical writers and historians (i.e. in Gaul and Iberia). The theory was also partly based on the abundance of inscriptions bearing Celtic personal names in

2052-530: The 3rd millennium BC , suggesting that the spread of the Bell Beaker culture explained the wide dispersion of the Celts throughout western Europe, as well as the variability of the Celtic peoples. Using a multidisciplinary approach, Alberto J. Lorrio and Gonzalo Ruiz Zapatero reviewed and built on Almagro Gorbea's work to present a model for the origin of Celtic archaeological groups in Iberia and proposing

2128-542: The Autobahnen A ;3 ( Cologne – Frankfurt ), A 45 ( Dortmund – Aschaffenburg ) and A 48 . The most notable railway is the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line with minor stops at Montabaur and Limburg an der Lahn. The High Westerwald is served by Siegerland Airport for private use and special touristic charters, south of Burbach . Geologically , the Westerwald is part of

2204-704: The Gaels ( Irish , Scots and Manx ) and the Celtic Britons ( Welsh , Cornish , and Bretons ) of the medieval and modern periods. A modern Celtic identity was constructed as part of the Romanticist Celtic Revival in Britain, Ireland, and other European territories such as Galicia . Today, Irish , Scottish Gaelic , Welsh , and Breton are still spoken in parts of their former territories, while Cornish and Manx are undergoing

2280-541: The Iberian Peninsula , Ireland and Britain. The languages developed into Celtiberian , Goidelic and Brittonic branches, among others. The mainstream view during most of the twentieth century is that the Celts and the proto-Celtic language arose out of the Urnfield culture of central Europe around 1000 BC, spreading westward and southward over the following few hundred years. The Urnfield culture

2356-537: The Lepontic inscriptions from the 6th century BC. Continental Celtic languages are attested almost exclusively through inscriptions and place-names. Insular Celtic languages are attested from the 4th century AD in Ogham inscriptions , though they were being spoken much earlier. Celtic literary tradition begins with Old Irish texts around the 8th century AD. Elements of Celtic mythology are recorded in early Irish and early Welsh literature. Most written evidence of

Gladenbach Uplands - Misplaced Pages Continue

2432-592: The Oberwesterwald (Upper Westerwald) and Hoher Westerwald (High Westerwald) feature a much colder climate and are more prone to extreme weather, such as extreme wind gusts during extratropical cyclones . Summer days are pleasantly warm and rarely become hot due to a cool breeze, while winters are cold and rich in snow. The area is home to a number of ski areas . District seats in the Westerwald are: Altenkirchen (Altenkirchen district), Montabaur (Westerwaldkreis) and Neuwied (Neuwied district). Furthermore,

2508-650: The Perf and Allna . The following rivers and streams are sorted in clockwise order i.e. down the Lahn and up the Dill, beginning with the upper reaches of the Lahn in the north and cover a catchment area of over 20 km²: (the natural regions are linked in the column of their most important river!) → to full list The outer boundary of the Gladenbach Uplands is formed by the Lahn and Dill accompanied in

2584-408: The community of the same name , and Limburg an der Lahn , a town with a medieval centre. The geologically old, heavily eroded range of the Westerwald is in its northern parts overlaid by a volcanic upland made of Neogene basalt layers. It covers an area of some 50 km × 70 km (31 mi × 43 mi), and therefore roughly 3,000 km (1,200 sq mi), making

2660-464: The first millennium BC ". Sims-Williams says this avoids the problematic idea "that Celtic was spoken over a vast area for a very long time yet somehow avoided major dialectal splits", and "it keeps Celtic fairly close to Italy, which suits the view that Italic and Celtic were in some way linked ". The Proto-Celtic language is usually dated to the Late Bronze Age. The earliest records of

2736-505: The "Neues Westerwaldlied" ("New Westerwald Song") by songwriter Ulrik Remy, "Ich bin aus 'm Westerwald" ("I am from the Westerwald") and "Das schönste Mädchen vom Westerwald" ("The Loveliest Girl from the Westerwald") by Karl-Eberhard Hain and Jürgen Hardeck, made well known by De Höhner , Die Schröders and other groups. The "Westerwaldlied" is also sung by the Chilean Armed Forces and is known as "Himno de la Sección". It

2812-474: The 3rd century. Placename endings such as –ar, –mar and –aha ("Haigraha" = Haiger ) stemming from the Migration Period ( "Völkerwanderung" ) can still be found now. These lie around the forest's outer edges in basins and dales whose soils and climate were favourable to early settlers, and include, for instance, Hadamar , Lahr and Wetzlar . From the 4th to the 6th century, the settlements from

2888-473: The Bell Beaker culture over the following millennium. His theory is partly based on glottochronology , the spread of ancient Celtic-looking placenames, and thesis that the Tartessian language was Celtic. However, the proposal that Tartessian was Celtic is widely rejected by linguists, many of whom regard it as unclassified. Celticist Patrick Sims-Williams (2020) notes that in current scholarship, 'Celt'

2964-479: The Britons resembled the Gauls in customs and religion. For at least 1,000 years the name Celt was not used at all, and nobody called themselves Celts or Celtic, until from about 1700, after the word 'Celtic' was rediscovered in classical texts, it was applied for the first time to the distinctive culture, history, traditions, language of the modern Celtic nations – Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany, and

3040-566: The Celtic-speaking people of the British and Irish islands, and their descendants. The Celts of Brittany derive their language from migrating Insular Celts from Britain and so are grouped accordingly. The Celtic languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages . By the time Celts are first mentioned in written records around 400 BC, they were already split into several language groups, and spread over much of western mainland Europe,

3116-599: The Celts with the Iron Age Hallstatt culture which followed it ( c.  1200 –500 BC), named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt , Austria, and with the following La Tène culture ( c.  450 BC onward), named after the La Tène site in Switzerland. It proposes that Celtic culture spread westward and southward from these areas by diffusion or migration . A newer theory, " Celtic from

Gladenbach Uplands - Misplaced Pages Continue

3192-476: The Dill, also belong to the Westerwald, whereas the mountains reaching up to 680 m (2,230 ft) near the Haiger Saddle ( Haiger Sattel ) and east of Siegen are counted as part of the Rothaargebirge . The Westerwald is divided by elevation into these three regions: The climate of the region vastly qualifies as oceanic (Köppen climate classification: Cfb ), while higher altitudes experience

3268-574: The Eastern Hallstatt region ( Noricum ). However, Patrick Sims-Williams notes that these date to the later Roman era, and says they suggest "relatively late settlement by a Celtic-speaking elite". In the late 20th century, the Urnfield-Hallstatt theory began to fall out of favour with some scholars, which was influenced by new archaeological finds. 'Celtic' began to refer primarily to 'speakers of Celtic languages' rather than to

3344-412: The Electorate of Trier were all prominent landlords. Political relations were simplified until the 16th century. Among the four greater powers' spheres of influence (Mainz, Cologne, Trier, Hesse), the House of Nassau managed to expand and strengthen its hold on its territory on the Dill between Siegen and Nassau . After the Napoleonic upheavals, Nassau had to share broad swathes of the Westerwald with

3420-447: The Gauls claimed descent from an underworld god (according to Commentarii de Bello Gallico ), and linking it with the Germanic Hel . Others view it as a name coined by Greeks; among them linguist Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel , who suggests it meant "the tall ones". In the first century BC, Roman leader Julius Caesar reported that the Gauls called themselves 'Celts', Latin : Celtae , in their own tongue . Thus whether it

3496-532: The Gladenbach Uplands is the Aartalsee (57 ha, 270 m above NN) in the Niederweidbach Basin, followed by the Perf Reservoir (18 ha, 301 m) in the Breidenbach Bottom (Breidenbach Bottom). The hills of the Gladenbach Uplands, arranged by ridge or natural region, include the following: (Location of the natural regions with the Gladenbach Uplands and location of the hills within the natural region) Westerwald The Westerwald ( German pronunciation: [ˈvɛstɐvalt] ; literally 'Western forest')

3572-405: The Greeks to apply this name for the type of Keltoi that they usually encountered". Because Classical writers did not call the inhabitants of Britain and Ireland Κελτοί ( Keltoi ) or Celtae , some scholars prefer not to use the term for the Iron Age inhabitants of those islands. However, they spoke Celtic languages, shared other cultural traits, and Roman historian Tacitus says

3648-425: The Isle of Man. 'Celt' is a modern English word, first attested in 1707 in the writing of Edward Lhuyd , whose work, along with that of other late 17th-century scholars, brought academic attention to the languages and history of the early Celtic inhabitants of Great Britain. The English words Gaul , Gauls ( pl. ) and Gaulish (first recorded in the 16–17th centuries) come from French Gaule and Gaulois ,

3724-524: The Lahn-Dill-Kreis, the Mayen-Koblenz district, the Rhein-Lahn-Kreis and the Limburg-Weilburg district each have shares of the Westerwald. If Sieg is taken as the Westerwald's northernmost limit, then the Rhein-Sieg district likewise belongs here, at least in parts (for example the Siebengebirge and the communities of Eitorf and Windeck ). The Westerwald and its outer edges are crossed by stretches of Bundesstraßen 8 , 42, 49 , 54 , 62 , 255, 256, 277, 413 and 414, over which there are connections to

3800-447: The Rhenish Massif, and likewise represents a heavily eroded remnant of a great Variscan mountain system which in the Mesozoic characterized a great deal of Europe. The Devonian bedrock is covered by volcanic masses from the Tertiary , particularly basalt and tuffs . Economically important, besides slate, limestone and clay quarrying , were, and still are, iron and its processing industry between Rheintal (Unkel, Linz) and

3876-434: The Trier and Cologne mission, this area underwent Christianization. Trier advanced up the Lahn, Cologne to the Rhine and Sieg. Trier-Lorrainian and Lower Rhine influences were nevertheless brought into the Westerwald. Among the witnesses to the art of building at that time is the monastery church at Limburg- Dietkirchen , in its oldest parts. After many changes in ownership between the Ottonian and Salian noble families, it

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3952-421: The Upper Westerwald, bypassing the High Westerwald, seeing it as nothing more than a trackless wooded wilderness, after which they eventually came up against the Rhine in the 2nd century. Even in the time when the Celts found themselves having to avoid the Germanic invaders by moving to the west, the Romans were also pushing in from the Rhine's left bank to the southwest. However, the Romans only managed to seize

4028-493: The West ", suggests proto-Celtic arose earlier, was a lingua franca in the Atlantic Bronze Age coastal zone, and spread eastward. Another newer theory, "Celtic from the Centre", suggests proto-Celtic arose between these two zones, in Bronze Age Gaul, then spread in various directions. After the Celtic settlement of Southeast Europe in the 3rd century BC, Celtic culture reached as far east as central Anatolia , Turkey . The earliest undisputed examples of Celtic language are

4104-426: The Westerwald is bordered by the following river valleys: the Rhine between Koblenz and Linz , the Sieg as far as Betzdorf, the Heller , the Dill and from its mouth near Wetzlar , the Lahn up to Lahnstein . Geomorphologically , the Westerwald belongs to the Rhenish Massif, which forms the greater part of that range's eastern half on the Rhine's right bank. Likewise, the Gladenbach Uplands , lying east of

4180-418: The Westerwald one of Germany's biggest mountain ranges by area. In areas of subsidence , it has in its flatter western part (Lower Westerwald) the characteristics of rolling hills. Typical for the economy of the Upper Westerwald, some 40% of which is actually wooded, are traditional slate mining, clay quarrying , diabase and basalt mining, pottery and the iron ore industry, and among other things mining in

4256-481: The Westerwald's north and southwest edges even gave two Lower Devonian layers, with their colourful slates, their names. The upper mountain layers are formed of volcanic strata made of basalt containing tuffs. In a few areas, slate and clay have long been quarried, the latter notably in the so-called Kannenbäckerland , but also in a few other places where the clay is worked into the salt- glazed grey Westerwald Pottery with cobalt blue decoration. The pottery industry

4332-567: The burials "dated to roughly the time when Celts are mentioned near the Danube by Herodotus , Ramsauer concluded that the graves were Celtic". Similar sites and artifacts were found over a wide area, which were named the 'Hallstatt culture'. In 1857, the archaeological site of La Tène was discovered in Switzerland. The huge collection of artifacts had a distinctive style. Artifacts of this 'La Tène style' were found elsewhere in Europe, "particularly in places where people called Celts were known to have lived and early Celtic languages are attested. As

4408-452: The early Celts comes from Greco-Roman writers, who often grouped the Celts as barbarian tribes. They followed an ancient Celtic religion overseen by druids . The Celts were often in conflict with the Romans , such as in the Roman–Gallic wars , the Celtiberian Wars , the conquest of Gaul and conquest of Britain . By the 1st century AD, most Celtic territories had become part of the Roman Empire . By c. 500, due to Romanisation and

4484-440: The historical Hessian Hinterland , which is why the two named articles refer to one another, as far as regional associations, culture and history are concerned. Geology and mining will be largely covered in the article on the Lahn-Dill Region On the rivers Lahn and Dill the following towns - clockwise from the north - border the Gladenbach Uplands: The northwest transitions to the Rothaar Mountains are comparatively fluid. Here

4560-428: The iron ore deposits in the so-called Hallstatt times ( Iron Age , roughly 750 to 500 BC). In all likelihood they came into the area from the Hunsrück . From La Tène times come the Celtic ringwall-girded defensive and sheltering castles which may be found on, among other peaks, the Malberg. Already by La Tène times, Germanic peoples were thrusting in from the east and from the Sieg valley. They came about 380 BC into

4636-408: The latter 20th century, when it was accepted that the oldest known Celtic-language inscriptions were those of Lepontic from the 6th century BC and Celtiberian from the 2nd century BC. These were found in northern Italy and Iberia, neither of which were part of the 'Hallstatt' nor 'La Tène' cultures at the time. The Urnfield-Hallstatt theory was partly based on ancient Greco-Roman writings, such as

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4712-427: The lower Wied, pumice gravel in the Neuwied Basin, various mineral springs and, once, brown coal mining. The whole Westerwald region lay under a tropically warm arm of the sea in the Palaeozoic (600 to 270 million years ago). This sea deposited layers of sediments many kilometres thick into the Variscan geosyncline , which were heavily folded in the orogeny that followed. The towns of Siegen and Koblenz on

4788-445: The migration of Germanic tribes, Celtic culture had mostly become restricted to Ireland, western and northern Britain, and Brittany . Between the 5th and 8th centuries, the Celtic-speaking communities in these Atlantic regions emerged as a reasonably cohesive cultural entity. They had a common linguistic, religious and artistic heritage that distinguished them from surrounding cultures. Insular Celtic culture diversified into that of

4864-501: The newly minted power Prussia . A sovereign Duchy of Nassau existed until it was annexed by Prussia in 1866. Nowadays, the Westerwald is shared among three German federal states: Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. The Westerwald is also internationally known in songs, above all in folksongs , and particularly the "Westerwaldlied" ("Westerwald Song"), as well as "Westerwald-Marsch" ("Westerwald March"), "Westerwald, du bist so schön" ("Westerwald, you are so lovely"),

4940-426: The north (upper reaches of the Lahn ) by the B 62 , in the east by the B 3 Marburg - Gießen (mostly autobahn-like, clearly external in the Marburg area), in the east, south of the B 49 Gießen- Wetzlar (mostly autobahn-like) and in the southwest (lower reaches of the Dill ) by the A 45 . The Bundesstraße 253 Dillenburg - Biedenkopf (see above) roughly closes the remaining gap. The most important reservoir in

5016-462: The presence of inscriptions. The modern idea of a Celtic cultural identity or "Celticity" focuses on similarities among languages, works of art, and classical texts, and sometimes also among material artefacts, social organisation , homeland and mythology . Earlier theories held that these similarities suggest a common "racial" ( race is now a contested concept) origin for the various Celtic peoples, but more recent theories hold that they reflect

5092-483: The same origin, referring to the Gauls who invaded southeast Europe and settled in Galatia . The suffix -atai might be a Greek inflection. Linguist Kim McCone suggests it comes from Proto-Celtic *galatis ("ferocious, furious"), and was not originally an ethnic name but a name for young warrior bands . He says "If the Gauls' initial impact on the Mediterranean world was primarily a military one typically involving fierce young *galatīs , it would have been natural for

5168-460: The three court districts of Marienberg , Emmerichenhain and Neukirch . The Lordship later fell under the governance of the Lordship or County of Beilstein. The Westerwald lies mostly southwest of the three-state common point shared by Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia in the districts of Altenkirchen , Lahn-Dill , Limburg-Weilburg , Neuwied , Rhein-Lahn , Rhein-Sieg , Westerwaldkreis and partly in Siegen-Wittgenstein . It

5244-564: The time of the taking of the land arose in formerly pathless areas, taking endings such as –ingen and –heim , like Bellingen and Bladernheim ; these lie on the broad, raised plains in the Upper Westerwald. The Franks built their old settlements on the edge of the Westerwald in the central areas of their districts, to build up slowly and permanently strongholds in the interior. There arose places with names ending in –rode, –scheid, –hahn, –berg, –tal and –seifen . Once clearing settlements had been established and logging for iron ore smelting

5320-404: The watershed between the Lahn tributaries of the Banfe and Perf define the boundary. The natural regions mentioned above are generally divided between the catchment areas of the der Lahn and Dill tributaries and the landscapes separated by these rivers. The most important watercourses, in addition to the boundary rivers of the Lahn, Dill and Dietzhölze – are the Aar , the Salzböde ,

5396-532: The ways in which the Iron Age people of Britain and Ireland should be called Celts. In current scholarship, 'Celt' primarily refers to 'speakers of Celtic languages' rather than to a single ethnic group. The history of pre-Celtic Europe and Celtic origins is debated. The traditional "Celtic from the East" theory, says the proto-Celtic language arose in the late Bronze Age Urnfield culture of central Europe, named after grave sites in southern Germany, which flourished from around 1200 BC. This theory links

5472-596: Was given to them by others or not, it was used by the Celts themselves. Greek geographer Strabo , writing about Gaul towards the end of the first century BC, refers to the "race which is now called both Gallic and Galatic ", though he also uses Celtica as another name for Gaul. He reports Celtic peoples in Iberia too, calling them Celtiberi and Celtici . Pliny the Elder noted the use of Celtici in Lusitania as

5548-463: Was here 380,000,000 years ago. Parts of this limestone formation are worked in open-pit mining ; near Enspel , a " fossil conservation area" has been instituted, in which institutes from several colleges conduct research and excursions. A few karst caves are of interest to spelaeology and bring about the temporary disappearance and reappearance of the Erdbach. The Westerwald's highest mountain

5624-575: Was in the end the Counts of Sayn, Diez and Wied who managed to take hold of extensive landholdings. Particular importance was achieved by the Counts of Laurenburg, who later called themselves the Counts of Nassau . In the east, the Landgraves of Hesse put it about that they could beat the Archbishopric of Mainz on the battlefield. Moreover, the Counts of Wied, the Counts of Sayn-Wittgenstein and

5700-608: Was preeminent in central Europe during the late Bronze Age , circa 1200 BC to 700 BC. The spread of iron-working led to the Hallstatt culture (c. 800 to 500 BC) developing out of the Urnfield culture in a wide region north of the Alps. The Hallstatt culture developed into the La Tène culture from about 450 BC, which came to be identified with Celtic art . In 1846, Johann Georg Ramsauer unearthed an ancient grave field with distinctive grave goods at Hallstatt , Austria. Because

5776-403: Was under way, the widespread destruction of the forest began. Between the 6th and 9th centuries came settlement expansion from the old settlements towards the edges, a process still witnessed in placename endings such as –hausen, –hofen, –kirch, –burg or –tal . The last settlement period in the Westerwald began in the 10th century and ended about 1300. Through Carolingian policy and therefore

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