Freirachdorf: Discover Nature and Local History

Freirachdorf combines gentle stream valleys and outdoor experiences with a local history brought to life through its church, quarry and historic memorials. This offers different ways to shape your stay: enjoy the outdoors, discover the town’s history, and take time to experience the village setting.

Nature and peaceful activities

Freirachdorf lies in gentle stream valleys, surrounded by meadows and forests. The landscape in the southern Westerwald invites you to enjoy peaceful walks and cycling trips and to explore the surrounding area. You can spend time outdoors according to your own interests, without letting any one type of activity define your stay.

The former quarry ponds are maintained by a local angling club. These idyllic ponds invite you to enjoy nature and linger. Together with the walking and cycling opportunities, they offer a peaceful counterpoint to the historic traces in the village: you can focus your stay more on the landscape and outdoor activities, or on culture and local history.

The church and visible local history

The present-day church was built in 1851/52. It stands on the site of a 16th-century chapel, which had already been built before the Reformation, and was consecrated on 10 August 1852. The smaller of the surviving church bells also dates back a long way: it is said to have been cast in 1474/75 by Tilmann, a bell founder from Hachenburg.

A copy of the document dated 1190 can be seen in the town hall, formerly a school building. Below the church, an inscription on a gravestone set into the wall beside the road to Roßbach has been preserved. It commemorates Schultheiß Johan Humrich and dates from 1669. Both locations offer tangible connections to local history: the document in the former school building and the inscription on a wall near the church.

A historic route is also part of Freirachdorf’s history. It ran from the Rhine via Dierdorf, Marienhausen, Mündersbach and Höchstenbach to Hachenburg. This former route should be distinguished from today’s road connections; it tells the story of a historic path through the places named above.

Quartzite quarrying and cultural traces

Following discoveries in the late 19th century, quartzite quarrying began in Freirachdorf. Extraction continued for almost 100 years; the reclaimed quarry site was returned to the municipality in the early 1980s. Work at the Kreuzberg quarry also uncovered a prehistoric mammoth tusk, which is now kept at the Hachenburg Local History Museum. This local discovery thus has a connection to an object held in a collection in Hachenburg.

Freirachdorf’s cultural history also includes the open-air theater on the festival grounds, “Unter den alten Eichen” (“Under the Old Oaks”). Amateur productions of the plays “Schinderhannes” and “Balzar von Flammersfeld” were staged there. The site is known as Schinderhannes-Platz.

Village life and getting your bearings during your stay

Freigrafenplatz, in the center of the village, has a playground, a large lawn and a bus turning area. It serves as a venue for village festivals such as the fair and May celebration. The fair is traditionally held on the first Sunday after 10 August; if you would like to plan your stay around a festival, check the dates before your trip.

Road access to Freirachdorf is via the A3 and the B8 and B413 federal highways. Selters, Dierdorf and Hachenburg are nearby and help place the village in its regional context.

For the broader travel overview: Selters.