Brücktal
Encyclopedia
Brücktal is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district
in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kelberg
, whose seat is in the like-named municipality
.
, a part of the Eifel
known for its volcanic history, geographical and geological features, and even ongoing activity today, including gases that sometimes well up from the earth. Brücktal lies some 20 km northeast of the district seat of Daun
.
) that once spanned the Nitzbach here. In the Middle Ages
, Brücktal belonged, as a legacy of the Counts of Are-Hochstaden, to the Electoral-Cologne Amt of Nürburg, and in Napoleonic times
to the Mairie (“Mayoralty”) of Nürburg.
In the course of administrative restructuring in Rhineland-Palatinate
, the municipality passed in 1970 from the Adenau district to the Daun district, which has since been given the name Vulkaneifel.
The municipality itself also underwent a name change on 1 January 1971, when it shed the old name Brück and became Brücktal.
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: Argent a pall wavy with a third arm palewise azure surmounted in fess abased by an arched bridge embattled of five gules.
The unusual pall
in these arms – the two diagonal arms alone are far more usual and a pall is seldom wavy – symbolizes the three brooks that meet in the municipality. The bridge is a canting
charge
for the municipality’s name, originally Brück (while the word for bridge is the very similar Brücke).
Municipalities of Germany
Municipalities are the lowest level of territorial division in Germany. This may be the fourth level of territorial division in Germany, apart from those states which include Regierungsbezirke , where municipalities then become the fifth level.-Overview:With more than 3,400,000 inhabitants, the...
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
Verbandsgemeinde
A Verbandsgemeinde is an administrative unit in the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt.-Rhineland-Palatinate:...
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district
Districts of Germany
The districts of Germany are known as , except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where they are known simply as ....
in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-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 ....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kelberg
Kelberg (Verbandsgemeinde)
Kelberg is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Vulkaneifel, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Kelberg....
, whose seat is in the like-named municipality
Kelberg
Kelberg is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the like-named Verbandsgemeinde, and is home to its seat...
.
Location
The municipality lies at the forks where the brooks Winsbach, Welcheratherbach and Nitzbach all flow together in the VulkaneifelVulkan Eifel
The Vulkan Eifel is a region in the Eifel Mountains in Germany, that is defined to a large extent by its volcanic geological history. Characteristic of the Vulkan Eifel are its typical explosion crater lakes or maars, and numerous other signs of volcanic activity such as volcanic tuffs, lava...
, a part of the Eifel
Eifel
The Eifel is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the south of the German-speaking Community of Belgium....
known for its volcanic history, geographical and geological features, and even ongoing activity today, including gases that sometimes well up from the earth. Brücktal lies some 20 km northeast of the district seat of Daun
Daun, Germany
Daun is a town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the district seat and also the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Daun.- Location :...
.
History
The village originally bore the name Brück. The placename comes from a bridge (Brücke in GermanGerman 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....
) that once spanned the Nitzbach here. In the Middle Ages
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...
, Brücktal belonged, as a legacy of the Counts of Are-Hochstaden, to the Electoral-Cologne Amt of Nürburg, and in Napoleonic times
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
to the Mairie (“Mayoralty”) of Nürburg.
In the course of administrative restructuring in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-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 ....
, the municipality passed in 1970 from the Adenau district to the Daun district, which has since been given the name Vulkaneifel.
The municipality itself also underwent a name change on 1 January 1971, when it shed the old name Brück and became Brücktal.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 6 council members, who were elected by majority votePlurality voting system
The plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: In Silber eine blaue Wellenpfahldeichsel, bedeckt von einer gezinnten einbogigen Brücke.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: Argent a pall wavy with a third arm palewise azure surmounted in fess abased by an arched bridge embattled of five gules.
The unusual pall
Pall (heraldry)
A pall is a Y-shaped heraldic charge. An example of a pall placed horizontally is the green portion of the Flag of South Africa....
in these arms – the two diagonal arms alone are far more usual and a pall is seldom wavy – symbolizes the three brooks that meet in the municipality. The bridge is a canting
Canting arms
Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name in a visual pun or rebus. The term cant came into the English language from Anglo-Norman cant, meaning song or singing, from Latin cantāre, and English cognates include canticle, chant, accent, incantation and recant.Canting arms –...
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...
for the municipality’s name, originally Brück (while the word for bridge is the very similar Brücke).
Buildings
- Catholic branch church, Kapellenweg, biaxial 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...
, basaltBasaltBasalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
shaft cross, both from 1733 - Hauptstraße – wayside cross, a basalt shaft cross from the mid 18th century
- Wayside cross, west of the village on the road to Welcherath, a basalt beam cross from 1728