Gelenberg
Encyclopedia
Gelenberg 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.
mountain at Gelenberg, an amygdaloidal layer was found in the greywacke
.
. There are at least 17 of them, mostly untouched.
As early as 1683, Gelenberg had an oratory
, as shown on a 1683 map of the Electoral-Trier Amt of Daun. It was consecrated to Saint Roch, patron saint of Plague victims. It was replaced in 1717 by a new chapel, this one consecrated to Saint Wendelin
. By 1834, though, the chapel was in such a state of disrepair that services could no longer be held there. In 1848, a new one was built.
According to the 1817 local directory, the municipality had 88 inhabitants. In 1840, Gelenberg had 21 houses and 93 inhabitants. After the Franco-Prussian War
in 1870 and 1871, the population had fallen to 80, reaching its lowest ever level – which it later reached once again – of 73 in 1905. This had risen back up to 83 by the time the Second World War broke out, only to fall down to 73 again by 1950. By 1964, this had risen to 87 and at the end of 1967, the population had reached 95, its all-time peak thus far.
. Gelenberg belongs to the Catholic parish of Bodenbach. People from Gelenberg also like to visit the Heyerbergkapelle (chapel) with its Way of the Cross in the forest.
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: Vert a herdsman’s shovel bendwise sinister Or, in base a mount of the second charged with an urn azure.
The “mount” in the base of the escutcheon refers to the barrows
found in Gelenberg and is also a canting
charge
for the placename ending —berg (German
for “mountain”). The urn also refers to the prehistoric finds made here. The herdsman’s shovel is a reference to the locally venerated saint, Wendelin of Trier
, and the field tincture
vert (green) stands for the village’s centuries-old agricultural character.
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 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.
Geology
Near a basaltBasalt
Basalt 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...
mountain at Gelenberg, an amygdaloidal layer was found in the greywacke
Greywacke
Greywacke or Graywacke is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lithic fragments set in a compact, clay-fine matrix. It is a texturally immature sedimentary rock generally found...
.
History
Gelenberg was settled very early on as witnessed by a group of prehistoric barrowsTumulus
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...
. There are at least 17 of them, mostly untouched.
As early as 1683, Gelenberg had an oratory
Oratory (worship)
An oratory is a Christian room for prayer, from the Latin orare, to pray.-Catholic church:In the Roman Catholic Church, an oratory is a structure other than a parish church, set aside by ecclesiastical authority for prayer and the celebration of Mass...
, as shown on a 1683 map of the Electoral-Trier Amt of Daun. It was consecrated to Saint Roch, patron saint of Plague victims. It was replaced in 1717 by a new chapel, this one consecrated to Saint Wendelin
Wendelin of Trier
Saint Wendelin or Wendelin of Trier was a hermit and abbot.-Life:There is very little definite information about this saint. His earliest biographies , did not appear until after 1417. The story as told there is that Wendelin was the son of a Scottish king...
. By 1834, though, the chapel was in such a state of disrepair that services could no longer be held there. In 1848, a new one was built.
According to the 1817 local directory, the municipality had 88 inhabitants. In 1840, Gelenberg had 21 houses and 93 inhabitants. After the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
in 1870 and 1871, the population had fallen to 80, reaching its lowest ever level – which it later reached once again – of 73 in 1905. This had risen back up to 83 by the time the Second World War broke out, only to fall down to 73 again by 1950. By 1964, this had risen to 87 and at the end of 1967, the population had reached 95, its all-time peak thus far.
Religion
Roughly 90% of Gelenbergers are Roman Catholic. The village chapel is consecrated to Saint WendelinWendelin of Trier
Saint Wendelin or Wendelin of Trier was a hermit and abbot.-Life:There is very little definite information about this saint. His earliest biographies , did not appear until after 1417. The story as told there is that Wendelin was the son of a Scottish king...
. Gelenberg belongs to the Catholic parish of Bodenbach. People from Gelenberg also like to visit the Heyerbergkapelle (chapel) with its Way of the Cross in the forest.
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 Grün über einem goldenen Berg, darin eine blaue Urne, eine links gewendete goldene Hirtenschaufel.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: Vert a herdsman’s shovel bendwise sinister Or, in base a mount of the second charged with an urn azure.
The “mount” in the base of the escutcheon refers to the barrows
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...
found in Gelenberg and is also 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 placename ending —berg (German
German 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....
for “mountain”). The urn also refers to the prehistoric finds made here. The herdsman’s shovel is a reference to the locally venerated saint, Wendelin of Trier
Wendelin of Trier
Saint Wendelin or Wendelin of Trier was a hermit and abbot.-Life:There is very little definite information about this saint. His earliest biographies , did not appear until after 1417. The story as told there is that Wendelin was the son of a Scottish king...
, and the field 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...
vert (green) stands for the village’s centuries-old agricultural character.
Buildings
- Catholic branch church, Kirchstraße 1, 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...
, 1848.