Melsbach

Melsbach (German pronunciation: [ˈmɛlsbax]) is a municipality in the district of Neuwied, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Since 2018, it has been part of the Verbandsgemeinde Rengsdorf-Waldbreitbach. Melsbach is in the midst of thick, lush forests. It is located at the southern border of the Westerwald region and thus often described as a "border village". Nearby municipalities include: Rengsdorf, Niederbieber, Oberbieber and Altwied. The current mayor of Melsbach is Holger Klein. The first reference to the village's name occurs in 1267 as "Melszbach" as part of a county that the earl Gottfried von Eppstein, the Younger, had to sell away. In 1396, the "Kreuzkirche" (church-of-the-cross) chapel was built and first mentioned in 1399 in curatorial documents. The chapel belonged to the St. Thomas monastery (a woman's diocese) of Andernach and it was a famous pilgrimage destination from the beginning. Today, the ruins of the Kreuzkirche reside at the southern entrance to the village and have become a tourist attraction and popular panorama motif.