Dill, Germany
Encyclopedia
History
In Reichenbach Priory’sReichenbach Priory (Baden-Württemberg)
Reichenbach Monastery or Priory was a house of the Benedictine Order, located at Klosterreichenbach, now part of Baiersbronn in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
book of donated holdings is an entry from 1090 naming somebody called Landegerus de Tila. Whether this refers to Dill, however, is far from clear. Rather, it has been assumed that he was from the town of Tiel
Tiel
' is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands.The town is enclosed by the Waal river and the Linge river on the south and the north side, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal on the east side. The city was founded in the 5th century AD....
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Dill’s first confirmed documentary mention comes from 1107, when Adalbert, comes (“Count”) de Dille appeared as one of the witnesses in the founding document of Springiersbach Monastery. This was Adalbert II, Count of Mörsberg and Dill (b. about 1070; d. 30 August 1125) from the comital family of Nellenburg, who lived on Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
’s western shores. Adalbert had holdings from his great-grandmother’s inheritance in the Nahegau, among which was Dill. Adalbert’s daughter Mechtild von Mörsberg wed Menginhard von Sponheim, thus bringing Dill into the 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...
.
Between 1223 and 1237, the Sponheims’ territory was split in two, forming a “Further County” (vordere Grafschaft) and a “Hinder County” (hintere Grafschaft). Nevertheless, Dill was not specifically assigned to either, and was held by both comital lines jointly, as was the Sponheims’ seat, Castle Sponheim
Castle Sponheim
Castle Sponheim is a medieval ruin in Burgsponheim on the edge of the Hunsrück in Rhineland-Palatinate and original residence of the Counts of Sponheim. Significant portions of the castle remain standing.-Site:...
. In the years that followed, Castle Dill served more than once as a widow’s seat or a younger son’s seat. In 1329, during the Schmidtburg Feud, Dill was besieged by Archbishop Baldwin of Trier, and in the end, he took it over. In 1338, however, the Archbishopric gave the village back to the Sponheims, enfeoffing them with it.
Under Count Johann V, the Sponheims’ last male heir, Dill was granted town rights on 8 January 1427 along with leave to hold a weekly market and two yearly markets as well. Furthermore, Dill was the seat of a small Amt. Despite these special rights, Dill could not develop any functions befitting a central town. The nearby town of Kirchberg
Kirchberg, Rhein-Hunsrück
-History:Archaeological finds make it clear that by 400 BC, the Treveri, a people of mixed Celtic and Germanic stock, from whom the Latin name for the city of Trier, Augusta Treverorum, is also derived, had settled here...
had a more favourable location on the trade roads and had already been granted town rights in 1259. Together with the small size of the Amt, which at first stretched no farther than Dill itself although by the 17th century it also included the neighbouring village of Sohrschied
Sohrschied
-History:Early habitation is witnessed by several archaeological finds. A quern-stone from the Iron Age was found near the Sohrbach bridge west of Kreisstraße 3. There is an early Roman barrow southwest of the village in the cadastral area known as “Im Haag”. This yielded grave goods that are now...
, these factors saw to it that Dill never measured up to the stature of a small town, and in the end it lost the title.
In the Nine Years' War (known in Germany as the Pfälzischer Erbfolgekrieg, or War of the Palatine Succession), Castle Dill was destroyed in 1697 by a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
army under General Ezéchiel du Mas, Comte de Mélac
Ezechiel du Mas, Comte de Melac
Ezéchiel du Mas, Comte de Mélac was a career soldier in the French army under King Louis XIV and war minister Louvois....
. As a result of Evangelical
Evangelical Church in Germany
The 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...
Pastor Christoph Besold’s intercession, the village itself was spared destruction.
When the County was finally dissolved and divided up, Dill passed in 1776 to the Margraviate of Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
. The small Amt, too, was dissolved and Dill became part of the Amt of Kirchberg. During the Napoleonic
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
occupation, Dill belonged to the Mairie (“Mayoralty”) of Sohren
Sohren
Sohren is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kirchberg, whose seat is in the like-named town...
. In 1815 it was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
at the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
and thereby became part of the Rhine Province
Rhine Province
The Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...
. It also became part of the Simmern district. Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly founded state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of 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 ....
.
Castle Dill
It is not known with any certainty when Burg Dill was built, but it is assumed that this happened in the 11th century, and that it might have been built on the ruins of an earlier RomanAncient 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....
or Celtic complex.
At the complex’s highest point, in the north, is the Oberburg (“upper castle”). Not much of the four-floor residential tower, whose sides measured 18 × 12 m, is left other than three outside walls; the east wall is missing. On the north wall’s outer side is a garderobe
Garderobe
The term garderobe describes a place where clothes and other items are stored, and also a medieval toilet. In European public places, a garderobe denotes the cloakroom, wardrobe, alcove or an armoire. In Danish, Dutch, German and Spanish garderobe can mean a cloakroom. In Latvian it means checkroom...
. Parts of the barrel-vaulted
Vault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
cellar may still be visited. West of the upper castle, remnants of the girding wall have been unearthed. They exhibit a herringbone pattern in their construction.
On the area of the Niederburg (“lower castle” or “bailey”) to the east stand an Evangelical church, built on the spot where the castle chapel
Chapel
A 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,...
once stood, a wellhouse, which has been expanded into a holiday home, and a modern house.
Of the Vorburg (“forward castle” or perhaps “outer bailey”) to the west and south, only remnants of the foundations and outer wall can still be found. Part of the area is used as a garden.
The castle is in private ownership and normally cannot be visited. However, once or twice a year, there are guided tours. The times are published.
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 gespaltenem Schilde vorn von Silber und Rot in 5 Reihen geschacht, belegt mit aufrechtem goldenem Schlüssel mit viereckigem Griff und einwärts gekehrtem Bart mit Kreuzeinschnitt, hinten in Blau schwebend ein gezinnter, goldener Burgturm mit rotem Spitzdach und goldenem Knauf, offenem Tor und zwei übereinanderliegenden offenen Fensterluken.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 pale chequy of ten argent and gules a key palewise, the bow to base and the wards to sinister, Or, and azure a castle tower embattled of the third with conical roof of the second with a pommel of the third, an open gate and two windows in pale.
The silver and red “chequy” pattern 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 the golden key on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side refers to the granting of town and freedom rights in 1427 by Johann V of the “Hinder” County of Sponheim. The golden castle tower on the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side refers to Castle Dill, while the 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...
s on this side represent the “Further” County of Sponheim.
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:
- Castle and village (monumental zone) – The monumental zone comprises the centrepiece, the castle ruin, the 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 with rectory (protected by regulation dated 16 January 1981) and the surrounding houses along Dorfstraße (nos. 7-35). - Castle ruin, Zur Burg – upper castle with 2½-floor residential tower, mid 14th century, lower castle with former castle 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,...
, outer bailey with castle path - Evangelical church, Zur Burg 5 – 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...
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...
, about 1700, traceryTraceryIn architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
from earlier building, 16th century (see also below) - Backesweg (no number) – timber-frameTimber 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...
house, 19th century - Backesweg 3 – timber-frame house, partly solid, 19th century
- Dorfstraße 7 – Quereinhaus (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street), timber-frame, partly slated, half-hipped roof, 19th century; whole complex of buildings with timber-frame barns
- Dorfstraße 9 – timber-frame house, 18th century, marked 1842
- Dorfstraße 10 – timber-frame house with knee wall, late 19th century, timber-frame barns, marked 1892; whole complex of buildings
- Dorfstraße 11 – timber-frame house with knee wall, marked 1848
- Dorfstraße 19 – timber-frame house, partly solid, half-hipped roof, 18th century
- Dorfstraße 22 – timber-frame house with knee wall, late 19th century
- Dorfstraße 25 – building with half-hipped roof, timber framing plastered, about 1800
- At Dorfstraße 29 – door, marked 1877
- Dorfstraße 35 – timber-frame house with knee wall, latter half of the 19th century; whole complex of buildings with timber-frame barns
- Zur Burg (no number) – bakehouse, one-floor plastered building, 18th or 19th century
- Zur Burg 2 – house
- Zur Burg 3 – Evangelical rectory; Gothic RevivalGothic Revival architectureThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
quarrystone building - Zur Burg 8 – timber-frame house, 18th century
The small Evangelical church was built in 1701 on the same site as the old castle chapel, even using some of the older building’s material. Inside are paintings by church painter Johann Georg Engisch from 1714. From 1715 to 1878, the church had an organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
from the Stumm organ-building family’s workshop, built by Moezenius. It was later replaced with an Oberlinger organ.
On the Via Ausonia, 1 km north of the village, stands a reconstructed 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....
watchtower. Nearby is a barbecue pavilion where Roman children’s games can be played.
Transport
Dill is linked over four Kreisstraßen (District Roads) to the neighbouring municipalities of Niedersohren (and on to SohrenSohren
Sohren is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kirchberg, whose seat is in the like-named town...
), Dillendorf
Dillendorf
-Constituent communities:Dillendorf’s Ortsteile are the outlying village of Liederbach and the main village, also called Dillendorf.-History:There are more than 80 barrows along the Via Ausonia, and there have been quite a few archaeological finds from Late La Tène times along with gold coins left...
(and on to Kirchberg
Kirchberg, Rhein-Hunsrück
-History:Archaeological finds make it clear that by 400 BC, the Treveri, a people of mixed Celtic and Germanic stock, from whom the Latin name for the city of Trier, Augusta Treverorum, is also derived, had settled here...
), Sohrschied and Laufersweiler
Laufersweiler
Laufersweiler is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
.
In the outermost northeast, Dill’s municipal area borders on the abandoned Hunsrückquerbahn (“Cross-Hunsrück Railway”). Irregularly, but several times a day, buses on Rhein-Mosel Verkehrsgesellschaft route 664 run to Simmern, Kirchberg, Sohren and Büchenbeuren
Büchenbeuren
Büchenbeuren is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kirchberg, whose seat is in the like-named town...
. Also, there is some busing to school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
s and kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
s in neighbouring municipalities.
Seven kilometres northwest of Dill lies Frankfurt-Hahn Airport
Frankfurt-Hahn Airport
-Cargo airlines:-Other facilities:AirIT Services AG, a subsidiary of Fraport, has its head office in Building 663 at Hahn Airport.-References:*Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 USAF Reference Series, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force,...
.
Further reading
- C. Castendyck: Ausgrabungen auf Burg Dill; in: Hunsrücker Heimatblätter 9 (1969), S. 258 ff.
- Dieter Diether: Die Gotteshäuser im evangelischen Kirchenkreis Simmern-Trarbach; Kirchberg: Evangelischer Kirchenkreis Simmern-Trarbach, 1998; S. 70 f.
- Jacob Röhrig: Burg und Dorf Dill. Beitrag zur Geschichte des Hunsrücks; Simmern 1897
- Willi Wagner: Burgen und Schlösser im Hunsrück; Rheinische Kunststätten, Heft 2/3; Neuß, 1966; S. 16 ff.
- Klaus-Eberhardt Wild: Burg, Dorf und Amt Dill; in: Der Hunsrück; 1979