Elmlohe
Encyclopedia
Elmlohe is a municipality in the district of Cuxhaven
, in Lower Saxony
, Germany. It is a component municipality of the Samtgemeinde Bederkesa
.
tree and lohe, which corresponds to the Old English lea, in place names written leigh in today's spelling, or to Dutch
loo , and signifies a glade
or wood of glades. Elmlohe uses a canting coat of arms
, showing three elm leaves on a blue ground.
erected a castle at the Quabben-Bach beck, a tributary of the Geeste (river)
. A co-founder of the castle, Werner von Bederkesa, is mentioned in a deed of 1308, issued by the nun monastery in Neuenwalde. On the Free Dam, a seigniorial immunity
, leading to the castle, the esquires of Elmlohe settled handcrafters and peasant
s subject to their patronage. The Esquires von Elme and von der Lieth prompted the construction of a church in 1346, consecrated to Saint Mary of Nazareth. The church was originally affiliated to the church in Debstedt (a part of today's Langen bei Bremerhaven) but soon became a parish of its own, due to conflicts between the Frisians
there and the Saxons
in Elmlohe.
Elmlohe then belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (est. as principality of imperial immediacy in 1180). In 1380 – under the reign of Prince-Archbishop Albert II
– knights of the family von Mandelsloh and other Verdian and Bremian robber baron
s ravaged burghers of Bremen and people in the entire Prince-Archbishopric. In 1381 the city's troops successfully ended the brigandage
and captured the castle of Bederkesa and the pertaining bailiwick, including Elmlohe. In 1386 the city of Bremen made the noble family von der Lieth, holding the estates of Elmlohe, its vassal. Because of a felony
against the city of Bremen, being his liege
, the city sent troops which beleaguered Cord von der Lieth in his castle of Elmlohe and finally destroyed it in 1485. However, the family von der Lieth was allowed to keep the seigniory over the local peasants as vassal of the city.
In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, which was first ruled in personal union
by the Swedish Crown. In November 1654, after the Second Bremian War, Bremen had to cede Bederkesa and Lehe (a part of today's Bremerhaven
) to the Duchy of Bremen. After the Danish occupation (1712–1715) the Duchy of Bremen became a fief to the House of Hanover
. In the 18th c. the seigniory was abolished in favour of freehold land property, thus the family von der Lieth and the peasants turned into independent farmers.
In 1807 the ephemeric Kingdom of Westphalia
annexed the Duchy, before France
annexed it in 1810. In 1813 the Duchy was restored to the Electorate of Hanover
, which – after its upgrade to the Kingdom of Hanover
in 1814 – incorporated the Duchy in a real union
and the Ducal territory, including Elmlohe, became part of the new Stade Region
, established in 1823. On the occasion of the 700th anniversary of Elmlohe's foundation the municipality published a book on its history: "Elmlohe – ein Dorf im Wandel des Zeit 1308–2008".
Cuxhaven (district)
Cuxhaven is a district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Stade, Rotenburg, Osterholz and Wesermarsch, the city of Bremerhaven and the North Sea.- History :...
, in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, Germany. It is a component municipality of the Samtgemeinde Bederkesa
Bederkesa (Samtgemeinde)
Bederkesa is a Samtgemeinde in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany.Its seat is in the village Bad Bederkesa.The Samtgemeinde Bederkesa consists of the following municipalities:* Bad Bederkesa* Drangstedt...
.
Toponomy and Coat of Arms
Elmlohe derives from the homonymous elmElm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...
tree and lohe, which corresponds to the Old English lea, in place names written leigh in today's spelling, or to Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
loo , and signifies a glade
Glade
-Geography:*Glade , open area in woodland, synonym for "clearing"**Glade skiing, skiing amongst treesPlaces in the United States*Glade, California, a former town in Lassen County*Glade, Kansas, a city in Phillips County...
or wood of glades. Elmlohe uses a canting coat of arms
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 –...
, showing three elm leaves on a blue ground.
History
Elmlohe emerged at the beginning of the 14th c., when the Bailiffs of BederkesaBederkesa
Bad Bederkesa is a municipality in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 20 km northeast of Bremerhaven, and 30 km southeast of Cuxhaven...
erected a castle at the Quabben-Bach beck, a tributary of the Geeste (river)
Geeste (river)
The Geeste is a river in northwestern Germany, running through Lower Saxony and Bremen. It is the most downstream tributary of the River Weser and joins it near Bremerhaven...
. A co-founder of the castle, Werner von Bederkesa, is mentioned in a deed of 1308, issued by the nun monastery in Neuenwalde. On the Free Dam, a seigniorial immunity
Sovereign immunity
Sovereign immunity, or crown immunity, is a legal doctrine by which the sovereign or state cannot commit a legal wrong and is immune from civil suit or criminal prosecution....
, leading to the castle, the esquires of Elmlohe settled handcrafters and peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
s subject to their patronage. The Esquires von Elme and von der Lieth prompted the construction of a church in 1346, consecrated to Saint Mary of Nazareth. The church was originally affiliated to the church in Debstedt (a part of today's Langen bei Bremerhaven) but soon became a parish of its own, due to conflicts between the Frisians
Frisians
The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia, that was a part of Denmark until 1864. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...
there and the Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
in Elmlohe.
Elmlohe then belonged to the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (est. as principality of imperial immediacy in 1180). In 1380 – under the reign of Prince-Archbishop Albert II
Albert of Brunswick and Lunenburg-Wolfenbüttel
Duke Albert of Brunswick and Lunenburg, Wolfenbüttel line was as Albert II Prince-Archbishop of Bremen in the years 1361–1395.-Before ascending to the See of Bremen:...
– knights of the family von Mandelsloh and other Verdian and Bremian robber baron
Robber baron
A robber baron or robber knight was an unscrupulous and despotic nobility of the medieval period in Europe, for example, Berlichingen. It has slightly different meanings in different countries. In modern US parlance, the term is also used to describe unscrupulous industrialists...
s ravaged burghers of Bremen and people in the entire Prince-Archbishopric. In 1381 the city's troops successfully ended the brigandage
Brigandage
Brigandage refers to the life and practice of brigands: highway robbery and plunder, and a brigand is a person who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and robbery....
and captured the castle of Bederkesa and the pertaining bailiwick, including Elmlohe. In 1386 the city of Bremen made the noble family von der Lieth, holding the estates of Elmlohe, its vassal. Because of a felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
against the city of Bremen, being his liege
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
, the city sent troops which beleaguered Cord von der Lieth in his castle of Elmlohe and finally destroyed it in 1485. However, the family von der Lieth was allowed to keep the seigniory over the local peasants as vassal of the city.
In 1648 the Prince-Archbishopric was transformed into the Duchy of Bremen, which was first ruled in personal union
Personal union
A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...
by the Swedish Crown. In November 1654, after the Second Bremian War, Bremen had to cede Bederkesa and Lehe (a part of today's Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
) to the Duchy of Bremen. After the Danish occupation (1712–1715) the Duchy of Bremen became a fief to the House of Hanover
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
. In the 18th c. the seigniory was abolished in favour of freehold land property, thus the family von der Lieth and the peasants turned into independent farmers.
In 1807 the ephemeric Kingdom of Westphalia
Kingdom of Westphalia
The Kingdom of Westphalia was a new country of 2.6 million Germans that existed from 1807-1813. It included of territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the First French Empire, ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte...
annexed the Duchy, before France
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
annexed it in 1810. In 1813 the Duchy was restored to the Electorate of Hanover
Electorate of Hanover
The Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg was the ninth Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation...
, which – after its upgrade to the Kingdom of Hanover
Kingdom of Hanover
The Kingdom of Hanover was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and joined with 38 other sovereign states in the German...
in 1814 – incorporated the Duchy in a real union
Real union
Real union is a union of two or more states, which share some state institutions as in contrast to personal unions; however they are not as unified as states in a political union...
and the Ducal territory, including Elmlohe, became part of the new Stade Region
Stade (region)
The Stade Region emerged in 1823 by an administrative reorganisation of the dominions of the Kingdom of Hanover, a sovereign state, whose then territory is almost completely part of today's German federal state of Lower Saxony...
, established in 1823. On the occasion of the 700th anniversary of Elmlohe's foundation the municipality published a book on its history: "Elmlohe – ein Dorf im Wandel des Zeit 1308–2008".