Kirchheimbolanden (), the capital of Donnersbergkreis, is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, south-western Germany. It is situated approximately 25 km west of Worms, and 30 km north-east of Kaiserslautern. The first part of the name, Kirchheim, dates back to 774. It became a town in 1368, and the Sponheim family improved its security with many towers and walls. William, Duke of Nassau, ancestor of the royal families of Belgium, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, and of the grand-ducal family of Luxembourg, was born in Kirchheimbolanden. It was also ruled by the First French Empire between 1792 and 1814, before passing to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1815. It was a rural district centre in the Rheinkreis, which was renamed Pfalz (Palatinate) in 1835. Geography Location Kirchheimbolanden lies in the Palatinate at the transition point of the Nordpfälzer Bergland to the Alzeyer Hügelland bordering to the east. The city centre is located about four kilometres (as the crow flies) northeast of Donnersberg on the slope of Wartberg, also known as Schillerhain. The Leiselsbach, a left tributary of the Pfrimm, rises in the urban area. The lowest point lies at 229 m above sea level, the highest at 496 m above sea level. Elevation The highest point of the district is the summit of the 502 meter high Eichelberg in the far west, further east the 430.7 meter high Kuhkopf extends. The development is on the slope of the Wartberg, alternatively called Schillerhain. In the northwest of the district rises the 399.7 meter high Albertskreuz and northwest of the settlement area the 354.1 meter high Steinkopf. The Hungerberg range of hills, up to 302 meters high, is located in the southeast. Urban division Kirchheimbolanden is divided into the city centre with the district Haide and the districts Ambach, Bolanderhof, Edenbornerhof, Hessenhütte, Neuhof, Rothenkircherhof and Schillerhain Further places of residence are railway station 2262, Brunnenberg, brickworks Ebert, Kohlhütte and Ziegelhütte. History Middle ages The place Kirchheim was first mentioned in 774, later it belonged to the Lords of Bolanden. It is mentioned in the Wormser wall-building ordinance from around 900 as one of the places that shared responsibility for maintaining the city wall of Worms. At the end of the 13th century, Kirchheim was inherited by the Sponheim branch line Bolanden-Dannenfels. Count Heinrich II. Von Sponheim-Bolanden raised the village to a town in 1368 and made it his residence. Via his granddaughter Anna von Hohenlohe