Eulgem
Encyclopedia
Eulgem is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell
district
in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kaisersesch
, whose seat is in the like-named town
.
roughly 2 km northeast of Kaisersesch
.
times. Over time, the —heim ending has been corrupted to —em.
Werner Schumacher offers several possible derivations for the distinguishing prefix, but none is certain. It could be from the Latin
for elm
, or perhaps from Olk or Ulca, meaning “land that can be worked by plough” or “land that is worked”. Schumacher also cites a Dr. Beestermöller who believes that the root may be a Celtic
reference to wetlands.
In 1100, Eulgem had its first documentary mention under the name Hylichenheim. Beginning in 1794, Eulgem lay under French
rule. In 1815 it was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia
at the Congress of Vienna
. Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly founded state
of Rhineland-Palatinate
.
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairwoman.
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: Per fess argent a spearhead sable and a staff ensigned with a fleur-de-lis azure per saltire, the whole surmounted by a rose abased gules, and vert an urn with two handles within, issuant from base, the stones of a barrow, all of the first.
The spearhead is an actual artefact found in a barrow
from La Tène times
in 1906. The lily staff is Saint Anne
’s attribute, thus representing the figure who has been the parish’s patron saint for centuries. In 1278, the nearby Rosenthal Cistercian Convent, whose armorial bearing was the rose, thus explaining the charge
surmounting the other two, was drawing income from the farms in the municipality. The barrow and the urn stand for the local prehistory and early history – there are 28 La Tène barrows in the cadastral area known as “Beulhöchst”, and a further Roman
one in the municipal forest.
The arms have been borne since 4 February 1994.
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
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 Cochem-Zell
Cochem-Zell
Cochem-Zell is a district in the north-west of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Mayen-Koblenz, Rhein-Hunsrück, Bernkastel-Wittlich, and Vulkaneifel.- History :...
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 Kaisersesch
Kaisersesch (Verbandsgemeinde)
Kaisersesch is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Cochem-Zell, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Kaisersesch....
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Kaisersesch
Kaisersesch is a town in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde, to which it also belongs.- Location :...
.
Location
The municipality lies in the EifelEifel
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....
roughly 2 km northeast of Kaisersesch
Kaisersesch
Kaisersesch is a town in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde, to which it also belongs.- Location :...
.
Name
The village’s name has taken various forms over the ages. About 1100, it was Hylichenheim, in 1278 Holichenheim, in 1427 Ulchenheym, in 1592 Ulchem, in 1656/1657 Eulchem and in 1789 Eultgem. Clearly, the placename is one of many that end in —heim, or at least it originally was. This placename ending is very typical of places founded in FrankishFranks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
times. Over time, the —heim ending has been corrupted to —em.
Werner Schumacher offers several possible derivations for the distinguishing prefix, but none is certain. It could be from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for elm
Elm
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...
, or perhaps from Olk or Ulca, meaning “land that can be worked by plough” or “land that is worked”. Schumacher also cites a Dr. Beestermöller who believes that the root may be a Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
reference to wetlands.
History
Somewhat outside the village as it stands today, near the brook, there was supposedly a find that might have been of some importance, some stone remains that might have pointed to very early settlers in the area. As far as is known, however, these were never investigated. They might have been from an early settlement, farm or oil mill established before the Franks took over the land, but nothing is certain.In 1100, Eulgem had its first documentary mention under the name Hylichenheim. Beginning in 1794, Eulgem lay under 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...
rule. 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,...
. 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 ....
.
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 chairwoman.
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Das Wappen geteilt von Silber und Grün. Oben schräggekreuzt eine schwarze Speerspitze und ein blauer Lilienstab, in der Mitte gedeckt mit einer roten Rose. Unten eine silberne Urne, umrahmt von silbernen Steinen eines Hügelgrabes in der Vorderansicht.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 argent a spearhead sable and a staff ensigned with a fleur-de-lis azure per saltire, the whole surmounted by a rose abased gules, and vert an urn with two handles within, issuant from base, the stones of a barrow, all of the first.
The spearhead is an actual artefact found in a barrow
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
from La Tène times
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
in 1906. The lily staff is Saint Anne
Saint Anne
Saint Hanna of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ according to Christian and Islamic tradition. English Anne is derived from Greek rendering of her Hebrew name Hannah...
’s attribute, thus representing the figure who has been the parish’s patron saint for centuries. In 1278, the nearby Rosenthal Cistercian Convent, whose armorial bearing was the rose, thus explaining 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...
surmounting the other two, was drawing income from the farms in the municipality. The barrow and the urn stand for the local prehistory and early history – there are 28 La Tène barrows in the cadastral area known as “Beulhöchst”, and a further 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....
one in the municipal forest.
The arms have been borne since 4 February 1994.
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:
- Saint AnneSaint AnneSaint Hanna of David's house and line, was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ according to Christian and Islamic tradition. English Anne is derived from Greek rendering of her Hebrew name Hannah...
’s Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Anna), Hauptstraße 15 – brick 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...
, 1900/1901, architect Lambert von Fisenne, GelsenkirchenGelsenkirchenGelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000.... - Fountain; 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...
, from 1858 - Düngenheimerstraße/corner of Hambucher Straße – 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,...
, PietàPietàThe Pietà is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, most often found in sculpture. As such, it is a particular form of the Lamentation of Christ, a scene from the Passion of Christ found in cycles of the Life of Christ...
; missionary cross, from 1760 - Sängerweg/corner of Hauptstraße – wayside cross, fragment, 1624
- On Kreisstraße (District Road) 21, going towards HambuchHambuchHambuch is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
– Heiligenhäuschen (a small, shrinelike structure consecrated to a saint or saints), partly 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...
; cross, from 1830 - North of Eulgem – wayside cross, from 1727
- North of Eulgem – wayside cross, 18th century