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A local history of Oberstein, tracing the town from its earliest settlement and medieval lordships through the political, ecclesiastical, social and economic changes of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The volume describes the castles and noble families of Oberstein, the development of the parish and Felsenkirche, municipal administration, schools, public institutions, welfare, water supply and other civic services, and records numerous officials, pastors, families and local events. Considerable attention is given to the effects of war, changes in territorial rule and the gradual modernization and industrialization of the town. Later sections document trades and industries, population growth, public works and the changing occupational structure of Oberstein, providing detailed names, dates and institutional records. The second edition incorporates additional historical material on nearby Winterhauch and other corrections and additions to the earlier text, making the work an important contemporary source for the civic and social history of the town that later formed part of Idar-Oberstein.