Kerschenbach
Encyclopedia
Kerschenbach 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
.
, 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.
Kerschenbach sits at an elevation of 550 m above sea level
, and has an area of 691 ha. In the north, it borders on the state of North Rhine-Westphalia
.
, putting them in the 12th century.
The name “Kerschenbach” is closely tied to the like-named brook. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the village was called Kirschembach. The determinative Kerschen— goes back to the Old High German
word kar, meaning “dale” or “hollow”. Kerschenbach therefore means “Dalebrook”
Unlike what has been unearthed in other, nearby municipalities, no traces of Roman
occupation have come to light in Kerschenbach. There was some excitement when building works at the new village square brought up some ceramic piping that was thought might be Roman. However, the discovery turned into a disappointment when it became clear that the old pipes were actually the ones that had once been used to feed the old village drinking trough, and were not nearly old enough to be called ancient. Furthermore, they came not from Rome
, but rather from the Kannenbäckerland (“Jug Bakers’ Land”, a small region still known for its ceramics industry) in the Westerwaldkreis
, also in Rhineland-Palatinate.
In 1327, Kerschenbach had its first documentary mention when the knight Friedrich I von Kronenburg was enfeoffed with the dynastic castle along with a few surrounding villages, among which was Kerschenbach. From another document from 1345, one gathers that Counts Arnold I and Gerhard V, as Counts of Blankenheim, transferred, among other villages, Kerschenbach to King John of Bohemia, who was also Count in right of Luxembourg
. For 2,000 Schildgulden, the comital brothers got the area back, but under the terms of the deal, they were obliged to help the Count of Luxembourg in times of war. In accordance with this document, Kerschenbach belonged under the Blankenheim lordship in the estate of Stadtkyll. In the end, almost the whole Eifel area passed to the Counts of Manderscheid. As of 1468, the Counties of Blankenheim and Gerolstein found themselves among this house’s holdings and hence, so did Kerschenbach. In this time, Kerschenbach must have had a high court. In the 1488 agreement between Counts Cuno and Johann von Manderscheid dealing with the division of their inheritance, it comes to light that Count Cuno was awarded one half of all taxes, while his brother Count Johann was awarded not only the other half of this, but also the “high court at Kerschenbach”.
After the Thirty Years' War
, only three families were left in Kerschenbach, headed by Theiß Webers, Gotthard Ebertz and Richard Holtz. The witch hunts
that were being undertaken at this same time did not spare Kerschenbach women. As early as 1581, a woman named Katharina (Threin) Schligers had been put to death as a witch. This burning was one of the earliest in the High Eifel area. In 1633, another woman, Margarethe Heinen, fell victim to this madness.
The Plague brought not only hardship and misery to the area in the 17th century, but also it created a border oddity that persisted for quite a long time. Three families who had been living in a Kronenburg-held area moved to Kerschenbach as a result of the Plague outbreak, and although they now lived in Blankenheim-Gerolstein territory (estate of Stadtkyll), they remained Kronenburg-Luxembourgish subjects. In 1796, under French
rule, these three families’ houses passed along with the Mairie (“Mayoralty”) of Kronenburg to the Department of Ourthe, whereas the village of Kerschenbach belonged to the Mairie of Stadtkyll in the Department of Sarre. Even ecclesiastically, these three houses went their separate way, passing in 1801 along with Kronenburg to the Diocese of Liège and in 1821 to the Archdiocese of Cologne. The Cologne Vicariate called Kerschenbach “part Spanish – part Gerolstein territory”. The two priests, one each from Stadtkyll and Kronenburg, got together on this matter and decided that they would both go about spiritual duties in Kerschenbach, of whichever of them it was asked, or whichever of them happened to be in Kerschenbach at any particular time.
After the time of French rule, this situation did not straighten itself out instantly. Instead, the three houses passed first under terms issued at the Congress of Vienna
(1814-1815) along with Kronenburg to Meckenburg-Strelitz until 1819, when it became, again along with Kronenburg, part of Prussia
’s Rhine Province
, and more locally part of the Schleiden district in the Regierungsbezirk
of Aachen. Kerschenbach, on the other hand, passed to the Bürgermeisterei (“Mayoralty”) of Stadtkyll and thereby in 1816 to the newly formed Prüm district. Owing to the many petitions, the whole village of Kerschenbach was eventually assigned to the Bürgermeisterei (later Amtsbürgermeisterei) of Stadtkyll, thus ending the saga of the three houses.
Since administrative reform in 1970, Kerschenbach has belonged to the Verbandsgemeinde of Obere Kyll
in the Daun district, although this was renamed the Vulkaneifel district in 2007.
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: Gules a pallet wavy argent between a sword palewise, the point to chief and an ear of wheat, both Or, in a chief of the third a fess dancetty of three of the first.
The fess dancetty (horizontal zigzag) in the chief
refers to Kerschenbach’s mediaeval
allegiance to the Lordship of Manderscheid-Blankenheim. The Counts of Manderscheid bore the red fess dancetty on a gold field in their arms. The silver wavy pallet (vertical wavy stripe) stands for the municipality’s namesake brook. The chapel’s and the municipality’s patron saint is Saint Lucy
, who died as a martyr by the dagger or sword. The gold sword, however, also refers to the mediaeval high court. Even today, the rural cadastral area named “Am Gericht” (“At the Court”) still recalls the former tribunal. The ear of wheat stands for what was for centuries the village’s main livelihood: agriculture
, and also for Kerschenbach’s rural 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 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 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.
Kerschenbach sits at an elevation of 550 m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
, and has an area of 691 ha. In the north, it borders on the state of 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
When Kerschenbach came into being is lost in the mists of time. The placename ending —bach points to beginnings in the time of the clearings 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....
, putting them in the 12th century.
The name “Kerschenbach” is closely tied to the like-named brook. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the village was called Kirschembach. The determinative Kerschen— goes back to the Old High German
Old High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
word kar, meaning “dale” or “hollow”. Kerschenbach therefore means “Dalebrook”
Unlike what has been unearthed in other, nearby municipalities, no traces of 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....
occupation have come to light in Kerschenbach. There was some excitement when building works at the new village square brought up some ceramic piping that was thought might be Roman. However, the discovery turned into a disappointment when it became clear that the old pipes were actually the ones that had once been used to feed the old village drinking trough, and were not nearly old enough to be called ancient. Furthermore, they came not from Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, but rather from the Kannenbäckerland (“Jug Bakers’ Land”, a small region still known for its ceramics industry) in the Westerwaldkreis
Westerwaldkreis
The Westerwaldkreis is a district in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, also in Rhineland-Palatinate.
In 1327, Kerschenbach had its first documentary mention when the knight Friedrich I von Kronenburg was enfeoffed with the dynastic castle along with a few surrounding villages, among which was Kerschenbach. From another document from 1345, one gathers that Counts Arnold I and Gerhard V, as Counts of Blankenheim, transferred, among other villages, Kerschenbach to King John of Bohemia, who was also Count in right of Luxembourg
County, Duchy and Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
The County, later Duchy of Luxembourg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, the ancestral homeland of the noble House of Luxembourg.-History:...
. For 2,000 Schildgulden, the comital brothers got the area back, but under the terms of the deal, they were obliged to help the Count of Luxembourg in times of war. In accordance with this document, Kerschenbach belonged under the Blankenheim lordship in the estate of Stadtkyll. In the end, almost the whole Eifel area passed to the Counts of Manderscheid. As of 1468, the Counties of Blankenheim and Gerolstein found themselves among this house’s holdings and hence, so did Kerschenbach. In this time, Kerschenbach must have had a high court. In the 1488 agreement between Counts Cuno and Johann von Manderscheid dealing with the division of their inheritance, it comes to light that Count Cuno was awarded one half of all taxes, while his brother Count Johann was awarded not only the other half of this, but also the “high court at Kerschenbach”.
After the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, only three families were left in Kerschenbach, headed by Theiß Webers, Gotthard Ebertz and Richard Holtz. The witch hunts
Witch-hunt
A witch-hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic, mass hysteria and lynching, but in historical instances also legally sanctioned and involving official witchcraft trials...
that were being undertaken at this same time did not spare Kerschenbach women. As early as 1581, a woman named Katharina (Threin) Schligers had been put to death as a witch. This burning was one of the earliest in the High Eifel area. In 1633, another woman, Margarethe Heinen, fell victim to this madness.
The Plague brought not only hardship and misery to the area in the 17th century, but also it created a border oddity that persisted for quite a long time. Three families who had been living in a Kronenburg-held area moved to Kerschenbach as a result of the Plague outbreak, and although they now lived in Blankenheim-Gerolstein territory (estate of Stadtkyll), they remained Kronenburg-Luxembourgish subjects. In 1796, 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, these three families’ houses passed along with the Mairie (“Mayoralty”) of Kronenburg to the Department of Ourthe, whereas the village of Kerschenbach belonged to the Mairie of Stadtkyll in the Department of Sarre. Even ecclesiastically, these three houses went their separate way, passing in 1801 along with Kronenburg to the Diocese of Liège and in 1821 to the Archdiocese of Cologne. The Cologne Vicariate called Kerschenbach “part Spanish – part Gerolstein territory”. The two priests, one each from Stadtkyll and Kronenburg, got together on this matter and decided that they would both go about spiritual duties in Kerschenbach, of whichever of them it was asked, or whichever of them happened to be in Kerschenbach at any particular time.
After the time of French rule, this situation did not straighten itself out instantly. Instead, the three houses passed first under terms issued 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,...
(1814-1815) along with Kronenburg to Meckenburg-Strelitz until 1819, when it became, again along with Kronenburg, part 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...
’s 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...
, and more locally part of the Schleiden district in the Regierungsbezirk
Regierungsbezirk
In Germany, a Government District, in German: Regierungsbezirk – is a subdivision of certain federal states .They are above the Kreise, Landkreise, and kreisfreie Städte...
of Aachen. Kerschenbach, on the other hand, passed to the Bürgermeisterei (“Mayoralty”) of Stadtkyll and thereby in 1816 to the newly formed Prüm district. Owing to the many petitions, the whole village of Kerschenbach was eventually assigned to the Bürgermeisterei (later Amtsbürgermeisterei) of Stadtkyll, thus ending the saga of the three houses.
Since administrative reform in 1970, Kerschenbach has belonged 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...
in the Daun district, although this was renamed the Vulkaneifel district in 2007.
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.
Mayor
Kerschenbach’s mayor is Walter Schneider, and his deputies are Stephan Guthausen and Helmut Zapp.Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Unter goldenem Schildhaupt, darin ein roter Zickzackbalken, in Rot durch silberne Wellenleiste gespalten, vorne ein aufgerichtetes goldenes Schwert, hinten eine goldene Ähre.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: Gules a pallet wavy argent between a sword palewise, the point to chief and an ear of wheat, both Or, in a chief of the third a fess dancetty of three of the first.
The fess dancetty (horizontal zigzag) in the chief
Chief (heraldry)
In heraldic blazon, a chief is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the top edge of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by the chief, ranging from one-fourth to one-third. The former is more likely if the...
refers to Kerschenbach’s mediaeval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
allegiance to the Lordship of Manderscheid-Blankenheim. The Counts of Manderscheid bore the red fess dancetty on a gold field in their arms. The silver wavy pallet (vertical wavy stripe) stands for the municipality’s namesake brook. The chapel’s and the municipality’s patron saint is Saint Lucy
Saint Lucy
Saint Lucy , also known as Saint Lucia, was a wealthy young Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint by Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox Christians. Her feast day in the West is 13 December; with a name derived from lux, lucis "light", she is the patron saint of those who are...
, who died as a martyr by the dagger or sword. The gold sword, however, also refers to the mediaeval high court. Even today, the rural cadastral area named “Am Gericht” (“At the Court”) still recalls the former tribunal. The ear of wheat stands for what was for centuries the village’s main livelihood: agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, and also for Kerschenbach’s rural character.
Buildings
- Saint LucySaint LucySaint Lucy , also known as Saint Lucia, was a wealthy young Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint by Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox Christians. Her feast day in the West is 13 December; with a name derived from lux, lucis "light", she is the patron saint of those who are...
’s Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Lucia), Ormonter Straße 10, Late GothicGothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
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...
, remodelled several times, among other times 1681, churchyard, grave crosses in churchyard wall, whole complex. - Ormonter Straße 4 – house, part of an estate complex from 1777.
- Stadtkyller Straße 1 – 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, part of an estate complex, partly solid, roof with half-hipped gables, possibly from late 18th century. - Stadtkyller Straße 6 – plastered bungalow.