Memorial of the First Church of Schmelz

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The owner of Züsch is mentioned for the first time in 1225 - "Knight Symon von Sussaü" -; he lived in a castle there. Around 1300 it came into the possession of those from Hunolstein, from 1437 to 1776 Züsch belonged to the rear county of Sponheim as "Palatinate-Baden". Züsch was completely destroyed in 1504. The Reformation was introduced before 1569: 20 families lived in Züsch in 1574. Around 1606 the village consisted of two parts - the upper and the lower - with 6 and 7 houses respectively After the 30-year war, the castle and village of Züsch fell victim to complete destruction again in 1635. It was not until the beginning of the 18th century that the population began to increase Territory under Margrave Karl Friedrich The French occupied the area in 1792. It became French territory in 1797 before being assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1815. The in The Lutheran church erected in 1724 was replaced in 1836/37 by the new building of today's Protestant church. Built in 1783/84 in the baroque style, the cath. The church was expanded in 1848/51 and 1910/11 and is now one of the oldest churches in the area. In 1972 the 750th anniversary of the town was celebrated. Source: text information board

new huts

The emergence of the town of Neuhütten is clearly related to the construction of the ironworks in the valley in 1694. Workers from Belgium soon settled in the area of today's town. While the people directly belonging to the ironworks lived in the Schmelz district, the charcoal burners and woodcutters founded the Zinsershütten district around 1736. This district was named after the two Zinser families. The middle part of the community was founded in 1759/61. As early as 1756, there was a dispute between the owners of Züsch and the Birkenfeld office over the area of Schneidershütten, which was located near Muhl. The settlement was cleared and the families had to leave their homes. They were assigned new places to live on "a patch". Due to the French occupation around 1800, all three independent parts were united into one municipality called Neuhütten. In 1970 Muhl was spun off from the municipality of Börfink and assigned to the municipality of Neuhütten. Source: Text information board

First church of the smelters
From the area around Verwiers, the home of the Belgian smelter Remacle Joseph de Hauzeur (born July 8th, 1663 Verwiers - February 18th, 1745 adventure hut), he hired specialists for metallurgy. This is how French-speaking families came to Züsch. The Protestant bailiff allowed Hauzeur to build a small wooden chapel next to his work in the valley on the left side of the Altbach for his Catholic workers on January 2nd, 1698, which was inaugurated on July 4th, 1698. After a few years of ambitious activity, the plant came to a standstill in 1734. In addition to the lack of wood, the reason for the decline was also the Kurtrier sequestrature (custody / administration) from 1734 to 1750.
The remains of the hammer as well as a broken stone base with a cross and a commemorative plaque with the inscription “The dead ancestors 1696 - 1784” remind of the long gone iron industry and the church in the valley of the Altbach between Züsch and Nonnweiler and invite you to linger.