Alterkülz
Encyclopedia
History
Alterkülz belonged until 1417 to the “Further” County of SponheimCounty of Sponheim
The County of Sponheim was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire which lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century...
, and locally to the Amt of Kastellaun. After this line of the Sponheims died out, the village went with Kastellaun to the “Hinder” part of the County.
Over the centuries, Alterkülz grew together from several villages: Unterdorf (“Lower Village”), Mitteldorf (“Middle Village”), Überbach and Wehr. As late as 1865, the now Ortsteil of Wehr was mentioned as a hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
in its own right.
On the way out of the village to the south, near the Külzbach, the local river, are found remnants of a mediaeval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
smelter and what is left of the mine whence the ore came, the Grube Eid. Also found there is a slope on which once stood a Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
estate, a villa rustica
Villa rustica
Villa rustica was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a villa set in the open countryside, often as the hub of a large agricultural estate . The adjective rusticum was used to distinguish it from an urban or resort villa...
.
From 1901 to 1983, the village was a stop on the old Simmern
Simmern
Simmern is a town of 8,000 inhabitants in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, the district seat of the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis, and the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde...
–Kastellaun
Kastellaun
-Climate:Yearly precipitation in Kastellaun amounts to 755 mm, which falls into the middle third of the precipitation chart for all Germany. At 53% of the German Weather Service’s weather stations, lower figures recorded. The driest month is April. The most rainfall comes in June. In that...
–Boppard
Boppard
Boppard is a town in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, lying in the Rhine Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It belongs to no Verbandsgemeinde. The town is also a state-recognized tourism resort and is a winegrowing centre.-Location:Boppard lies on the upper Middle...
Hunsrückbahn (railway). At the beginning of the 21st century, the former railway right-of-way was converted into an asphalt-paved
Asphalt concrete
Asphalt concrete is a composite material commonly used in construction projects such as road surfaces, airports and parking lots. It consists of asphalt and mineral aggregate mixed together, then laid down in layers and compacted...
cycle and hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
path, the Schinderhannes
Schinderhannes
Johannes Bückler , nicknamed Schinderhannes, was a German outlaw who orchestrated one of the most fascinating crime sprees in German history. He was born at Miehlen, the son of Johann and Anna Maria Bückler. He began an apprenticeship to a tanner, but turned to petty theft. At 16 he was arrested...
-Radweg, named after a famous German outlaw.
In 2005, the municipality reached fifth place in the area in the state contest Unser Dorf hat Zukunft (“Our village has a future”).
Municipal council
The council is made up of 8 council members, who were elected at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Im geteilten Schild oben in Schwarz ein aufspringender goldener Ziegenbock, beseitet von zwei goldenen Ähren, unten von Rot und Silber geschachtet, belegt mit schräggekreuzten schwarzen Schlägel und Hammer.The municipality’s arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
might in English heraldic
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
language be described thus: Per fess sable a billygoat springing between two ears of wheat couped in base Or and chequy of twenty-four gules and argent a hammer and a sledge per saltire of the first.
The red and silver checkerboard pattern in the lower half of the escutcheon refers to the village’s former allegiance to the “Hinder” County of Sponheim
County of Sponheim
The County of Sponheim was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire which lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century...
and the Amt of Kastellaun. As early as 1283, Alterkülz was being mentioned in a few Sponheim documents (cule, kultze). The charge
Charge (heraldry)
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...
here, the hammer and sledge, recall the iron ore mining that was undertaken at the Grube Eid (mine) from 1780 (as it is established in historical records) until the First World War. The ears of wheat stand for agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, once every villager’s occupation. Many lordships were enfeoffed here, the Sponheims, the Koppensteins, the Hunolsteins and the Bourscheids. The springing billygoat represents the outlying centre of Wehr, where the Wehrer Bick live, Bick being a local form of the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Böcke (“bucks”, “male animals”, and thus in this case, “billygoats”). The billygoat also graces the new town hall’s roof.
The arms have been borne since 23 February 1981.
Buildings
The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-PalatinateRhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
- EvangelicalEvangelical Church in GermanyThe Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
church, Hauptstraße 12 – bipolar aisleless churchAisleless churchAn Aisleless church is a single-nave church building that consists of a single hall-like room. While similar to the hall church, the aisleless church lacks aisles or passageways either side of the nave separated from the nave by colonnades or arcades, a row of pillars or columns...
, marked 1759; whole complex of buildings with graveyard - Saint JosephSaint JosephSaint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
’s Catholic ChapelChapelA chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
(Kapelle St. Josef), Dorfstraße 79 – slate quarrystone aisleless church, 1920/1921, architect Marx, TrierTrierTrier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
; whole complex of buildings with graveyard - Hauptstraße 11 – Evangelical rectory; building with half-hipped roof, partly slated timber framingTimber framingTimber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
, marked 1786, barn - Hauptstraße 28 – building with hipped mansard roofMansard roofA mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
, partly slated timber framing, marked 1816, barn; whole complex of buildings - Hauptstraße 30 – building with hipped mansard roof, partly slated timber framing, marked 1811, barn; whole complex of buildings
- Hauptstraße 31 – estate complex; timber-frame house, partly solid, hipped mansard roof, about 1900, timber-frame barn
- Hauptstraße 46 – building with hipped mansard roof, partly slated timber framing, early 19th century, barn, partly timber-frame; whole complex of buildings
- Near Hauptstraße 48 – warriors’ memorial 1914-1918; complex with sandstoneSandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
relief slab, 1926 - Hauptstraße 109 – building with hipped mansard roof, partly slated, Swiss chalet styleSwiss chalet styleSwiss chalet style is an architectural style inspired by the chalets of Switzerland. The style originated in Germany in the early 19th century and was popular in parts of Europe and North America, notably in the architecture of Norway, the country house architecture of Sweden, Cincinnati, Ohio,...
, 1922 - Laubacher Straße 10 – L-shaped estate; timber-frame house, plastered, 18th century, commercial wing
Clubs
| Name | Founded | No. of members | Chair(wo)man | Activity | As at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bauernverein (“Farmers’ Club”) |
19th century | 30 | Horst Bender | Information, courses, fire insurance, representing interests in buying and selling land | 1983 |
| Evangelische Frauenhilfe (“Evangelical Women’s Aid”) |
1932 | 60 | Elisabeth Berg, Elli Schneider (Alterkülz) | Bible classes, singing at burials | 1983 |
| Frauengymnastikgruppe (“Women’s Gymnastic Group”) |
1975 | 23 | Ingrid Meurer | Women’s sport | 1983 |
| Feuerwehrverein Alterkülz (“Alterkülz Firefighting Club”) |
1934 | 21 | Axel Werner | Firefighting practice, information evenings on fire prevention Fire prevention Fire Prevention is a function of many fire departments. The goal of fire prevention is to educate the public to take precautions to prevent fires, and be educated about surviving them. It is a proactive method of reducing emergencies and the damage caused by them. Many fire departments have a Fire... |
2007 |
| Gemischter Chor Alterkülz (Meisterchor) (“Alterkülz Mixed Choir – Master Choir”) |
1830 | 36 | Horst Peuter | Concerts, collaboration at village and social events, participation in singing festivals | 2007 |
| Jugendraum Alterkülz (“Alterkülz Youth Centre”) |
1999 | * | * | Social gathering | 2007 |
| Landfrauenvereinigung (“Contry Women’s Association”) |
1960 | ~36 | Regina Messerle | Courses, informational trips, social events | 2007 |
| Musikverein Alterkülz e. V. (“Alterkülz Music Club”) |
1924 | 60 active | Heinz-Walter Nowak | Concerts, collaboration at village events, participation in music festivals, training and developing youth’s musical skills | 2008 |
| Spielvereinigung Oberkülztal (“Oberkülztal Games Club”) |
1928 | 82 active | Jürgen Meurer | football, table tennis Table tennis Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net... |
2008 |
Established businesses
Among others, there are a large steel building firm, a carpentry company specializing in building conservatoriesConservatory (greenhouse)
A conservatory is a room having glass roof and walls, typically attached to a house on only one side, used as a greenhouse or a sunroom...
, a masonry business, an inn
INN
InterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
and several agricultural businesses. On a hill east of the village stands a wind farm
Wind farm
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
with seven wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
s made by Vestas
Vestas
Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines. It is the largest in the world, but due to very rapid growth of its competitors, its market share decreased from 28% in 2007 to 12.5% in 2009...
.
Famous people
- Sebastian Furck (about 1600-1655), 17th-century copper engraver born in Alterkülz
External links
- http://www.swr.de/landesschau-rp/hierzuland/-/id=100766/nid=100766/did=4586402/1lt509h/index.htmlAlterkülz in the SWRSWRSWR may refer to:Technology:* Standing wave ratio, a wave and antenna concept* Steel Wire ropeRadio stations:* Südwestrundfunk, a public broadcasting company for the southwest of Germany...
programme Hierzuland]