Laubach, Cochem-Zell
Encyclopedia
Laubach 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
. Laubach is a state-recognized tourism municipality.
roughly 3 km west of Kaisersesch
. Its elevation is 550 m above sea level
. Laubach lies on Autobahn A 48 between Koblenz
and Trier
.
lôbach. Lob and the Modern High German
Laub (cognate with the English
word “leaf”) here refer to a forest, while ach means a boggy stretch of ground.
from the Late Bronze Age
within the municipality’s limits. The Romans
, too, left their stone traces.
The first undisputed documentary mention of Laubach comes from the year 1455, when “court, people and revenue at Laubach” were sold to the Counts of Virneburg
, a noble family first mentioned in 1024 and enfeoffed by the Archbishop of Trier. Less than a century later, however, in 1548, the Electorate of Trier took over the lordly rights.
For centuries, the village’s main livelihood lay in slate
mining
. This is documented as far back as 1695, although smaller pits were worked before that. The last slate pit was closed in 1959 after it filled with water.
Laubach belonged to the high court district of Masburg, which itself was owned by the Counts of Virneburg, and owed its tithes to Saint Castor’s
Monastery in Karden
, even after the Electorate of Trier took over. Suffering came as armies waged war across the land. King Louis XIV’s
forces overran the area in the Nine Years' War (known in Germany as the Pfälzischer Erbfolgekrieg, or War of the Palatine Succession), as did the hordes in the Thirty Years' War
.
In 1563, Laubach had 15 hearths (households), but in 1680 – 32 years after the Thirty Years’ War had ended – there were only 5 families. By 1874, though, there were 26 houses.
Beginning in 1794, Laubach lay under French
rule. In 1815 it was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia
at the Congress of Vienna
.
Under Napoleonic
hegemony, the lands on the Rhine’s left bank became French in 1798 and the administration was structured on the French model. Laubach belonged to the Department of Rhin-et-Moselle (or Rhein-Mosel in German) and to the canton
and mairie (“mayoralty”) of Kaisersesch. In 1809, there were 17 “souls”. Without a doubt, the Rhineland
, as part of a greater state, enjoyed advantages such as freedom of trade
, equality before the law
– the Code Napoléon
also applied here – and expansion of the road network.
Laubach lay on the Route de deuxième classe Paris
-Trier-Koblenz. During the French Revolution
, French settlers came to Laubach and the surrounding area, whose existence is witnesses by many local surnames, such as Bourgeois (later Germanized to Buschwa), Gorges, Lefev, Regnier and Gilles. French
words, too, entered the local speech, some of which can still be heard today. When Europe
was newly carved up among the powers of the day at the Congress of Vienna
in 1815, the Rhineland became Prussia
n. Prussian times brought the impoverished Eifel
region considerable economic improvements. Healthcare was greatly enhanced, roads, schools and churches were built, there was modest industrialization, and handicrafts flourished, even if the main focus was still on agriculture
. By 1832, Laubach’s population had risen to 270, and by 1872, it had grown to 345.
The Franco-Prussian War
in 1870 and 1871 brought the Eifel region hardship once more. Even worse was the First World War. Troops were constantly marching through the countryside, and the school became an army camp. Of Laubach’s 224 male inhabitants (figure from 1905), 88 were in the war. Only women and children were left to work the fields, the latter being let off school specially for this.
Fifteen of the village’s men fell in the Great War; in 1918, ten others were prisoners of war
and a further two were missing in action
. The war years were marked by crop failures, hunger and cold. The time after the war was no better.
The 1920s brought joblessness, huge prices, neediness and, once more, hunger. National Socialism does not seem to have played much of a rôle in Laubach, aside from the odd Nazi henchman, as was so throughout Germany. One of these stalwarts was the local schoolteacher, one of whose entries in the school and village chronicle in 1933 stands out:
The Second World War claimed 21 men from Laubach. On 1 September 1949, another 11 men were missing in action and 8 were prisoners of war. There once more followed economic hardship. This was eased somewhat by gathering beechnuts in the surrounding woods, as indeed the villagers had already done after the First World War. The beechnuts were delivered to a central place where they were processed for their oil. Four and a half kilogrammes of beechnuts yielded one litre of beechnut oil. The going price for a kilogramme of beechnuts was 2 Marks, and one litre of beechnut oil cost 15 Marks.
Since 1946, Laubach has been part of the then newly founded state
of Rhineland-Palatinate
. The outlying centre of Leienkaul
, formerly part of Laubach, became a separate municipality in June 2004.
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. The 12 seats on council are shared between two voters’ groups. In 2004, the election was by majority vote
.
might be described thus: Per bend argent a slate bendwise pierced at each corner sable surmounted by a pickaxe of the field, and vert a sheaf of six ears of wheat Or, on a chief of the first six lozenges fesswise conjoined of the second, conjoined with six lozenges fesswise conjoined gules below.
’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 :...
. Laubach is a state-recognized tourism municipality.
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 3 km west 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 :...
. Its elevation is 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...
. Laubach lies on Autobahn A 48 between Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
and Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
.
Name
The municipality’s name likely has its roots in the Middle High GermanMiddle High German
Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...
lôbach. Lob and the Modern High 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....
Laub (cognate with the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
word “leaf”) here refer to a forest, while ach means a boggy stretch of ground.
History
Several finds in the Laubach area give clues to settlers in early times. There is, for instance, a barrowTumulus
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 the Late Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
within the municipality’s limits. The Romans
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....
, too, left their stone traces.
The first undisputed documentary mention of Laubach comes from the year 1455, when “court, people and revenue at Laubach” were sold to the Counts of Virneburg
County of Virneburg
The County of Virneburg was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire in the region of the Eifel in present-day Rhineland-Palatinate.- History :The Counts of Virneburg first appear in the 11th century as witnesses in documents. The center of the county and family seat castle was the like-named Castle...
, a noble family first mentioned in 1024 and enfeoffed by the Archbishop of Trier. Less than a century later, however, in 1548, the Electorate of Trier took over the lordly rights.
For centuries, the village’s main livelihood lay in 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...
mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
. This is documented as far back as 1695, although smaller pits were worked before that. The last slate pit was closed in 1959 after it filled with water.
Laubach belonged to the high court district of Masburg, which itself was owned by the Counts of Virneburg, and owed its tithes to Saint Castor’s
Castor of Karden
Saint Castor of Karden was a priest and hermit of the 4th century who is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. Castor was a pupil of Maximinus of Trier around 345 AD, and was ordained as a priest by Maximinus. Like his teacher, Castor may have come from the region of Aquitaine...
Monastery in Karden
Treis-Karden
Treis-Karden is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde to which it also belongs...
, even after the Electorate of Trier took over. Suffering came as armies waged war across the land. King Louis XIV’s
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
forces overran the area in the Nine Years' War (known in Germany as the Pfälzischer Erbfolgekrieg, or War of the Palatine Succession), as did the hordes in 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....
.
In 1563, Laubach had 15 hearths (households), but in 1680 – 32 years after the Thirty Years’ War had ended – there were only 5 families. By 1874, though, there were 26 houses.
Beginning in 1794, Laubach 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,...
.
Under Napoleonic
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
hegemony, the lands on the Rhine’s left bank became French in 1798 and the administration was structured on the French model. Laubach belonged to the Department of Rhin-et-Moselle (or Rhein-Mosel in German) and to the canton
Cantons of France
The cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 342 arrondissements and 101 departments.Apart from their role as organizational units in certain aspects of the administration of public services and justice, the chief purpose of the cantons today is to serve as...
and mairie (“mayoralty”) of Kaisersesch. In 1809, there were 17 “souls”. Without a doubt, the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
, as part of a greater state, enjoyed advantages such as freedom of trade
Economic freedom
Economic freedom is a term used in economic and policy debates. As with freedom generally, there are various definitions, but no universally accepted concept of economic freedom...
, equality before the law
Equality before the law
Equality before the law or equality under the law or legal egalitarianism is the principle under which each individual is subject to the same laws....
– the Code Napoléon
Napoleonic code
The Napoleonic Code — or Code Napoléon — is the French civil code, established under Napoléon I in 1804. The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs go to the most qualified...
also applied here – and expansion of the road network.
Laubach lay on the Route de deuxième classe Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
-Trier-Koblenz. During the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, French settlers came to Laubach and the surrounding area, whose existence is witnesses by many local surnames, such as Bourgeois (later Germanized to Buschwa), Gorges, Lefev, Regnier and Gilles. French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
words, too, entered the local speech, some of which can still be heard today. When Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
was newly carved up among the powers of the day 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,...
in 1815, the Rhineland became 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...
n. Prussian times brought the impoverished 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....
region considerable economic improvements. Healthcare was greatly enhanced, roads, schools and churches were built, there was modest industrialization, and handicrafts flourished, even if the main focus was still on 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...
. By 1832, Laubach’s population had risen to 270, and by 1872, it had grown to 345.
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 brought the Eifel region hardship once more. Even worse was the First World War. Troops were constantly marching through the countryside, and the school became an army camp. Of Laubach’s 224 male inhabitants (figure from 1905), 88 were in the war. Only women and children were left to work the fields, the latter being let off school specially for this.
Fifteen of the village’s men fell in the Great War; in 1918, ten others were prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
and a further two were missing in action
Missing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
. The war years were marked by crop failures, hunger and cold. The time after the war was no better.
The 1920s brought joblessness, huge prices, neediness and, once more, hunger. National Socialism does not seem to have played much of a rôle in Laubach, aside from the odd Nazi henchman, as was so throughout Germany. One of these stalwarts was the local schoolteacher, one of whose entries in the school and village chronicle in 1933 stands out:
With the seizure of powerMachtergreifungMachtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
by the Führer Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and the NSDAP, the whole outlook changes. One thing, nonetheless, can be expected to come along with the movement: inwardly, some are its adversaries now just as they were before. They knowingly belong to those whom the Führer “broadly renounces”.
The Second World War claimed 21 men from Laubach. On 1 September 1949, another 11 men were missing in action and 8 were prisoners of war. There once more followed economic hardship. This was eased somewhat by gathering beechnuts in the surrounding woods, as indeed the villagers had already done after the First World War. The beechnuts were delivered to a central place where they were processed for their oil. Four and a half kilogrammes of beechnuts yielded one litre of beechnut oil. The going price for a kilogramme of beechnuts was 2 Marks, and one litre of beechnut oil cost 15 Marks.
Since 1946, Laubach 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 ....
. The outlying centre of Leienkaul
Leienkaul
Leienkaul 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.-Location:The municipality lies in...
, formerly part of Laubach, became a separate municipality in June 2004.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 12 council members, who were elected by proportional representationProportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. The 12 seats on council are shared between two voters’ groups. In 2004, the election was by majority vote
Plurality 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...
.
Mayor
Laubach’s mayor is Manfred Adams, and his deputies are Dr. Stefan Göbel and Frank Regnier.Coat of arms
The municipality’s armsCoat 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 be described thus: Per bend argent a slate bendwise pierced at each corner sable surmounted by a pickaxe of the field, and vert a sheaf of six ears of wheat Or, on a chief of the first six lozenges fesswise conjoined of the second, conjoined with six lozenges fesswise conjoined gules below.
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:
- Hohlweg 2 – former schoolSchoolA school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
; plastered building, part with eaves at front 1842, part with gable at front about 1900