Hollnich

Hollnich near Kastellaun is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kastellaun, whose seat is in the like-named town.GeographyLocationThe municipality lies in the Hunsrück about 2 km east of Kastellaun. The countryside is hilly with many fields, meadows and woods.Constituent communitiesHollnich’s Ortsteile are the main centre – also called Hollnich – Rothenbusch and Gammelshausen.NameThe municipality’s name has varied in spelling over time, with the forms Hohlonich, Holonich, Hohlemich, Hohlnich, Kollnig, Holineych, Hulnich and finally Hollnich all known to history. What is not clear to history, however, is the name’s origin. Interpretations range from the designation of a settlement bei der hohlen Eiche (“by the hollow oak”) with unreliable secretaries then corrupting the spelling, to a Germanic-Celtic placename with a typical —ig ending.