Hallschlag
Encyclopedia
Hallschlag 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 Obere Kyll
, whose seat is in the municipality of Jünkerath
.
on the boundary between the Vulkaneifel
– 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 – and the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge
(Rhenish Slate
Mountains), on the edge of the Schnee-Eifel
. Hallschlag lies in a hollow and is nestled in the charming countryside of the Middle Eifel. It belongs to the recreational region of Oberes Kyll
tal (“Upper Kyll Valley”). Three kilometres away to the west runs the Belgian
border. The municipal area borders in the west, north and east on North Rhine-Westphalia
.
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: Argent a bend wavy azure, in a chief gules three bezants.
and munitions
plant. Between 1915 and 1920, roughly two thousand people were employed here, until eventually, in May 1920, the factory exploded. As Franz Albert Heinen, local editor of the Kölner Stadtanzeiger, showed in his book (see Further reading, below), the former factory lands stand even today as an immense environmental danger, because undiscovered explosive devices and gas grenades, along with assorted other poisons, are still lurking in the ground.
In the early 1990s, the Ministry of the Interior in Mainz, which is responsible for munitions removal, decided on the concept of only superficially clearing munitions from the factory’s highly contaminated former production area of about 13 hectares. Afterwards, the lands were covered in landfill and secured behind a chainlink fence
to ensure the long-term prevention of contact between the affected ground and human beings. The contaminated leachate
is gathered in the drainage system and then handled at a water decontamination facility.
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 Obere Kyll
Obere Kyll
Obere Kyll is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Vulkaneifel, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the upper course of the river Kyll, approx. 55 km south-west of Bonn. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Jünkerath.The Verbandsgemeinde Obere Kyll consists of the following...
, whose seat is in the municipality of Jünkerath
Jünkerath
Jünkerath 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 Obere Kyll, and is home to its seat.- Location :Jünkerath, along with its outlying...
.
Location
The municipality lies between 490 metres (1,607.6 ft) and 640 metres (2,099.7 ft) above sea levelSea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
on the boundary between the Vulkaneifel
Vulkan 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 – and the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge
Rheinisches Schiefergebirge
The Rhenish Massif is a geologic massif in western Germany, eastern Belgium, Luxembourg and northeastern France.The Rhenish Massif consists of the Belgian and French Ardennes, the German Eifel and east of the river Rhine the Sauerland and Siegerland. The Mosel and Hunsrück hills form its...
(Rhenish Slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
Mountains), on the edge of the Schnee-Eifel
Schnee Eifel
The Schnee Eifel is a heavily wooded landscape in Germany's Central Uplands that forms part of the western Eifel in the area of the German-Belgian border...
. Hallschlag lies in a hollow and is nestled in the charming countryside of the Middle Eifel. It belongs to the recreational region of Oberes Kyll
Kyll
The 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...
tal (“Upper Kyll Valley”). Three kilometres away to the west runs the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
border. The municipal area borders in the west, north and east on North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
.
History
In 1322, Hallschlag had its first documentary mention. Hallschlag belonged then to the Lordship of Kronenburg. In the 15th century, the village found its way into Manderscheid-Schleiden hands. Towards the end of the 17th century, Hallschlag belonged, along with Kronenburg, to the Blankenheim line of the County of Manderscheid-Blankenheim. The village was raised to parish in the early 19th century. In the Second World War, 80% of Hallschlag was destroyed.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 rotem Schildhaupt mit drei goldenen Kugeln, in Silber ein blauer, schrägrechter Wellenbalken.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: Argent a bend wavy azure, in a chief gules three bezants.
Culture and sightseeing
- Pilgrimage cross of the Brotherhood of Saint Matthew on the road to OrmontOrmontOrmont is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, about 100 m behind the former railway bridge. - Line of tank trapsDragon's teethDragon's teeth may refer to:* Dragon's teeth , the teeth of a dragon in Greek mythology which, once planted, grow into fully armed warriors...
on the western limits of the municipalities of Hallschlag, OrmontOrmontOrmont is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
and ScheidScheid, GermanyScheid is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, remnants of the former Siegfried LineSiegfried LineThe original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
(Westwall in GermanGerman languageGerman 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....
). - Saint NicholasSaint NicholasSaint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
’s Catholic Parish Church (Pfarrkirche St. Nikolaus), Trierer Straße 1, Gothic RevivalGothic Revival architectureThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
building from 1867, architect V. Statz.
Former Espagit munitions factory
Within Hallschlag’s municipal limits, near Kehr, screened off from the outside, are the lands of the Espagit poison gasChemical warfare
Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...
and munitions
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
plant. Between 1915 and 1920, roughly two thousand people were employed here, until eventually, in May 1920, the factory exploded. As Franz Albert Heinen, local editor of the Kölner Stadtanzeiger, showed in his book (see Further reading, below), the former factory lands stand even today as an immense environmental danger, because undiscovered explosive devices and gas grenades, along with assorted other poisons, are still lurking in the ground.
In the early 1990s, the Ministry of the Interior in Mainz, which is responsible for munitions removal, decided on the concept of only superficially clearing munitions from the factory’s highly contaminated former production area of about 13 hectares. Afterwards, the lands were covered in landfill and secured behind a chainlink fence
Chain-link fencing
A chain-link fence is a type of woven fence usually made from galvanized or LLDPE-coated steel wire...
to ensure the long-term prevention of contact between the affected ground and human beings. The contaminated leachate
Leachate
Leachate is any liquid that, in passing through matter, extracts solutes, suspended solids or any other component of the material through which it has passed....
is gathered in the drainage system and then handled at a water decontamination facility.
Further reading
- F. A. Heinen: Die Todesfabrik. Espagit - die geheime Granatenschmiede. Eine Dokumentation. Helios, Aachen 2000, 132 S., ISBN 3-933608-14-7