Densborn
Encyclopedia
Densborn 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 Gerolstein
, whose seat is in the like-named town
.
, 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.
in Densborn amounts to 864 mm, falling into the highest third of the precipitation chart for all Germany. At 74% of the German Weather Service’s weather station
s lower figures are recorded. The driest month is April. The most rainfall comes in November. In that month, precipitation is 1.5 times what it is in April. Precipitation hardly varies. At only 11% of the weather stations are lower seasonal swings recorded.
’s directory of holdings, the Prümer Urbar.
As early as the 9th century, however, a castle was mentioned that is believed to have been built by this same abbey. The last holders were the Lords of Anethan, hereditary Marshals of Luxembourg.
In 1289, the local church was raised to parish church.
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: Gules a chief per fess embattled of five of the field and argent and a base of the second charged with a breaking wheel spoked of seven sable, between which a lion passant Or, armed, langued and crowned of the second.
The German blazon makes no mention of the lion’s tongue’s tincture
, but it appears as silver (argent).
The division of the chief
in these arms in the form of crenellations on a castle wall (“embattled”) recalls Densborn castle. The Lords of Anethan, the castle’s last holders, bore arms charge
d with a lion, which has also been incorporated into the municipality’s arms, albeit with the tinctures reversed (Or on gules – gold on red – instead of gules on Or, as the Lords bore them). The breaking wheel in the base refers to the municipality’s former patron saint, Catherine (Mary Magdalene
now holds this place).
-Euskirchen
-Gerolstein-Trier
railway line), on which there is public rail transport between Gerolstein and Trier.
Public transport is integrated into the Verkehrsverbund Region Trier (VRT), whose fares therefore apply.
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 Gerolstein
Gerolstein (Verbandsgemeinde)
Gerolstein is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Vulkaneifel, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Gerolstein....
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Gerolstein
Gerolstein is a town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde. Gerolstein is headquarters to a large mineral water firm, Gerolsteiner Brunnen...
.
Location
The municipality lies 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.
Climate
Yearly precipitationPrecipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
in Densborn amounts to 864 mm, falling into the highest third of the precipitation chart for all Germany. At 74% of the German Weather Service’s weather station
Weather station
A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for observing atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind...
s lower figures are recorded. The driest month is April. The most rainfall comes in November. In that month, precipitation is 1.5 times what it is in April. Precipitation hardly varies. At only 11% of the weather stations are lower seasonal swings recorded.
History
Densborn had its first documentary mention more than 1,100 years ago in Prüm AbbeyPrüm Abbey
Prüm Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey in Prüm/Lorraine, now in the diocese of Trier , founded by a Frankish widow Bertrada, and her son Charibert, count of Laon, on 23 June 720. The first abbot was Angloardus....
’s directory of holdings, the Prümer Urbar.
As early as the 9th century, however, a castle was mentioned that is believed to have been built by this same abbey. The last holders were the Lords of Anethan, hereditary Marshals of Luxembourg.
In 1289, the local church was raised to parish church.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 12 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: Unter rot-silbern durch Zinnenschnitt geteiltem Schildhaupt und über silbernem Schildfuß, darin ein schwarzes Richtrad, in rot ein schreitender, silbern gekrönter und silbern bewehrter Löwe.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: Gules a chief per fess embattled of five of the field and argent and a base of the second charged with a breaking wheel spoked of seven sable, between which a lion passant Or, armed, langued and crowned of the second.
The German blazon makes no mention of the lion’s tongue’s tincture
Tincture (heraldry)
In heraldry, tinctures are the colours used to emblazon a coat of arms. These can be divided into several categories including light tinctures called metals, dark tinctures called colours, nonstandard colours called stains, furs, and "proper". A charge tinctured proper is coloured as it would be...
, but it appears as silver (argent).
The division of the chief
Chief (heraldry)
In heraldic blazon, a chief is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the top edge of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by the chief, ranging from one-fourth to one-third. The former is more likely if the...
in these arms in the form of crenellations on a castle wall (“embattled”) recalls Densborn castle. The Lords of Anethan, the castle’s last holders, bore 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...
d with a lion, which has also been incorporated into the municipality’s arms, albeit with the tinctures reversed (Or on gules – gold on red – instead of gules on Or, as the Lords bore them). The breaking wheel in the base refers to the municipality’s former patron saint, Catherine (Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
now holds this place).
Buildings
- Former moated castle, Burgstraße (monument zone), parts of the outer wall from the Late Middle AgesLate Middle AgesThe Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....
with round tower, foundations of older dwelling buildings, current house, late 16th century, remodelled in 18th century. - Saint Mary MagdaleneMary MagdaleneMary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
’s Catholic Parish Church, Kirchstraße 1, GothicGothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
quire and tower, 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,...
shaft cross from 1633, former grave cross (?), possibly also from the 17th century. - Bahnhofstraße 2/4 – railway station, station building and separate side building of the Eifelbahn (railway), from about 1870.
- Bitburger Straße/corner of Mürlenbacher Straße – wayside cross (shaft cross) from 1639.
- Near Hauptstraße 9 – wayside cross (BaroqueBaroque architectureBaroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
shaft cross) from 1795 (?). - Meisburger Straße 24 – BaroqueBaroque architectureBaroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
plaster structure, about 1800, old quarrystone wall. - Meisburger Straße/corner of Kirchstraße – wayside cross (shaft cross) from 1633.
- Mürlenbacher Straße 1 – Quereinhaus (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street), mid to late 19th century, old cobbles in yard.
- Kreuzigungsbildstock (“CrucifixionCrucifixionCrucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
BildstockBildstockA wayside shrine, is a religious image, usually in some sort of small shelter, placed by a road or pathway, sometimes in a settlement or at a crossroads, but often in the middle of an empty stretch of country road, or at the top of a hill or mountain. They have been a feature of many cultures,...
”), east of the village near the Lindenhof, from 1645. - Wayside cross, north of the village on the bank of the river KyllKyllThe Kyll , noted by the Roman poet Ausonius as Celbis, is a 142km long river in western Germany , left tributary of the Moselle. It rises in the Eifel mountains, near the border with Belgium and flows generally south through the towns Stadtkyll, Gerolstein, Kyllburg and east of Bitburg...
, shaft cross from 1736. - Wayside cross, southeast of the village on a country path, niche cross from 1609 and 1876, altered in 1935.
Transport
The halt at Densborn lies on the Eifelbahn (CologneCologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
-Euskirchen
Euskirchen
Euskirchen is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the district Euskirchen. While Euskirchen resembles a modern shopping town, it also has a history dating back over 700 years, having been granted town-status in 1302....
-Gerolstein-Trier
Trier
Trier, 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....
railway line), on which there is public rail transport between Gerolstein and Trier.
Public transport is integrated into the Verkehrsverbund Region Trier (VRT), whose fares therefore apply.