Manderscheid, Bernkastel-Wittlich
Encyclopedia
Manderscheid is a town in the Bernkastel-Wittlich
district in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde
, and also both a climatic spa and a Kneipp
spa.
between the rivers Lieser in the east and Kleine Kyll in the west. Northeast of Manderscheid lies the Bleckhausen Juniper
Conservation Area, the biggest of its kind in the whole Eifel.
in Manderscheid amounts to 908 mm, which is high, falling into the highest fourth of the precipitation chart for all Germany. At 78% of the German Weather Service’s weather station
s, lower figures are recorded. The driest month is April. The most rainfall comes in December. In that month, precipitation is twice what it is in April. Precipitation varies moderately. At 52% of the weather stations, lower seasonal swings are recorded.
word mantara (“jaw”), then this may be said to be evidence that the Manderscheid area was already settled very early on. Near Schwarzenborn, several Stone Age
settlements have been found. Further, it is also known that on the road from Steineberg to Demerath (near Mehren), so many graves from Hallstatt times
with many jewelled objects and tools have been unearthed that one might almost speak of a “Mehren culture”. Near Wallscheid, graves from Hallstatt and La Tène times
have been found, too, and likewise near Laufeld. Near Wallscheid, two iron arrowheads that come from this era and a bronze vessel were found.
More numerous have been the finds from Roman times
. Besides the “Villa of Manderscheid”, which was unearthed in 1863 at the foot of the Mosenberg (mountain), Roman finds come to light in almost every town and village in the surrounding area.
In Dierfeld and Wallscheid, remnants of other such villas have been found, as have graves and urns in Laufeld, Manderscheid, Öfflingen, Pantenburg, Wallscheid, Großlittgen, Oberkail and Karl, as well as the odd coin.
Besides the Viergötterstein (a “four-god stone”, a pedestal on which a Jupiter Column
was customarily stood), special attention is earned by two altars from Großlittgen that were found in Pantenburg in 1920. They were dedicated to the god Vovotius and the goddesses Boudina and Alauna and might have belonged to a Gallo-Roman spring
sanctum.
This may make it clear that a great many settlements in the surrounding area arose as early as Roman times.
Rarer are finds from Frankish
times, as they are almost everywhere.
In Pantenburg a lance, a spear and a shield were found, and in Eckfeld a sword and a ventail.
Despite the dearth of finds from this time, it can be assumed that there was considerably more settlement, and that most of today’s population centres arose in that time, as witnessed by places with names ending in —scheid, —feld or —ingen. Thus, Officinus Villa (now Öfflingen) was mentioned in 794 and 895, Manderscheid and Eckiveld (Eckfeld
) in 973, and Louvenvelt (Laufeld
) in 1161.
as Manderschiet, had its first documentary mention in 973. From the mid 12th century it belonged to the Archbishopric of Trier. Elector Balduin granted it town rights in 1332. Manderscheid was the seat of an Electoral-Trier Amt and at the same time also of the Counts of Manderscheid. Beginning in 1794, Manderscheid lay under French
rule. In 1814 it was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia
at the Congress of Vienna
. Since 1947, it has been part of the then newly founded state
of Rhineland-Palatinate
. The building of the former Electoral Kellnerei (a ministerial administrative establishment) today houses the seat of the Manderscheid
Verbandsgemeinde
administration.
The Luziakirche (“Lucia’s Church”), also known as Luciakapelle (“Lucia’s Chapel”) – presumably the town’s first church – stood in the Middle Ages
on Manderscheid’s northern outskirts. In 1386, Lucia von Manderscheid, Heinrich von Manderscheid’s wife, was entombed there. About 1794, the chapel was burnt down by the French
. The former location is now forsaken, that is to say, no remnants of the chapel are on hand anymore. Only a street name recalls its existence. From the Luciakapelle comes the image of the Sorrowful Mother
, which is today found in Saint Hubert’s Parish Church (Pfarrkirche St. Hubertus). The pietà come from the time about 1600; when it underwent restoration in the 1960s, traces of burning were still in evidence.
On 7 June 1969, the municipality of Niedermanderscheid, until this time self-administering, was amalgamated with Manderscheid. Since 16 January 1998, Manderscheid has been a town.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
might be described thus: Or a fess dancetty gules, the shield ensigned with a crown of the field.
s). Manderscheid lies on the river Lieser, which can be followed along the Eifelverein hiking club’s Lieserpfad (hiking trail – Pfad means “path” in German
) to Daun
or Wittlich
. Moreover, the 330 km-long “premium” hiking trail, the Eifelsteig, leads through Manderscheid on its way from Aachen
to Trier
.
dialects. Besides some words that are not found in standard High German, there are the following peculiarities:
Bernkastel-Wittlich
Bernkastel-Wittlich is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Vulkaneifel, Cochem-Zell, Rhein-Hunsrück, Birkenfeld, Trier-Saarburg and Bitburg-Prüm.- History :...
district 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 is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde
Manderscheid (Verbandsgemeinde)
Manderscheid is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Bernkastel-Wittlich, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Its seat of administration is in Manderscheid....
, and also both a climatic spa and a Kneipp
Sebastian Kneipp
Sebastian Kneipp was a Bavarian priest and one of the founders of the Naturopathic medicine movement...
spa.
Location
The town lies in the South 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....
between the rivers Lieser in the east and Kleine Kyll in the west. Northeast of Manderscheid lies the Bleckhausen Juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
Conservation Area, the biggest of its kind in the whole Eifel.
Climate
Yearly precipitationPrecipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
in Manderscheid amounts to 908 mm, which is high, falling into the highest fourth of the precipitation chart for all Germany. At 78% of the German Weather Service’s weather station
Weather station
A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for observing atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed, wind...
s, lower figures are recorded. The driest month is April. The most rainfall comes in December. In that month, precipitation is twice what it is in April. Precipitation varies moderately. At 52% of the weather stations, lower seasonal swings are recorded.
Prehistory and antiquity
If, as can be presumed, the first part of the placename Manderscheid comes from the CelticCeltic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
word mantara (“jaw”), then this may be said to be evidence that the Manderscheid area was already settled very early on. Near Schwarzenborn, several Stone Age
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
settlements have been found. Further, it is also known that on the road from Steineberg to Demerath (near Mehren), so many graves from Hallstatt times
Hallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Central European culture from the 8th to 6th centuries BC , developing out of the Urnfield culture of the 12th century BC and followed in much of Central Europe by the La Tène culture.By the 6th century BC, the Hallstatt culture extended for some...
with many jewelled objects and tools have been unearthed that one might almost speak of a “Mehren culture”. Near Wallscheid, graves from Hallstatt and 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....
have been found, too, and likewise near Laufeld. Near Wallscheid, two iron arrowheads that come from this era and a bronze vessel were found.
More numerous have been the finds from Roman times
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....
. Besides the “Villa of Manderscheid”, which was unearthed in 1863 at the foot of the Mosenberg (mountain), Roman finds come to light in almost every town and village in the surrounding area.
In Dierfeld and Wallscheid, remnants of other such villas have been found, as have graves and urns in Laufeld, Manderscheid, Öfflingen, Pantenburg, Wallscheid, Großlittgen, Oberkail and Karl, as well as the odd coin.
Besides the Viergötterstein (a “four-god stone”, a pedestal on which a Jupiter Column
Jupiter Column
A Jupiter Column is an archaeological monument belonging to a type widespread in Roman Germania. Such pillars express the religious beliefs of their time. They were erected in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, mostly near Roman settlements or villas in the Germanic provinces...
was customarily stood), special attention is earned by two altars from Großlittgen that were found in Pantenburg in 1920. They were dedicated to the god Vovotius and the goddesses Boudina and Alauna and might have belonged to a Gallo-Roman spring
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
sanctum.
This may make it clear that a great many settlements in the surrounding area arose as early as Roman times.
Rarer are finds from Frankish
Franks
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, as they are almost everywhere.
In Pantenburg a lance, a spear and a shield were found, and in Eckfeld a sword and a ventail.
Despite the dearth of finds from this time, it can be assumed that there was considerably more settlement, and that most of today’s population centres arose in that time, as witnessed by places with names ending in —scheid, —feld or —ingen. Thus, Officinus Villa (now Öfflingen) was mentioned in 794 and 895, Manderscheid and Eckiveld (Eckfeld
Eckfeld
Eckfeld is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
) in 973, and Louvenvelt (Laufeld
Laufeld
Laufeld is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
) in 1161.
Town’s history
Manderscheid, known in the Middle AgesMiddle 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...
as Manderschiet, had its first documentary mention in 973. From the mid 12th century it belonged to the Archbishopric of Trier. Elector Balduin granted it town rights in 1332. Manderscheid was the seat of an Electoral-Trier Amt and at the same time also of the Counts of Manderscheid. Beginning in 1794, Manderscheid 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 1814 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 1947, 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 ....
. The building of the former Electoral Kellnerei (a ministerial administrative establishment) today houses the seat of the Manderscheid
Manderscheid (Verbandsgemeinde)
Manderscheid is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Bernkastel-Wittlich, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Its seat of administration is in Manderscheid....
Verbandsgemeinde
Verbandsgemeinde
A Verbandsgemeinde is an administrative unit in the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt.-Rhineland-Palatinate:...
administration.
The Luziakirche (“Lucia’s Church”), also known as Luciakapelle (“Lucia’s Chapel”) – presumably the town’s first church – stood in the Middle Ages
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...
on Manderscheid’s northern outskirts. In 1386, Lucia von Manderscheid, Heinrich von Manderscheid’s wife, was entombed there. About 1794, the chapel was burnt down by the 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...
. The former location is now forsaken, that is to say, no remnants of the chapel are on hand anymore. Only a street name recalls its existence. From the Luciakapelle comes the image of the Sorrowful Mother
Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows , the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows , and Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names by which the Blessed Virgin Mary is referred to in relation to sorrows in her life...
, which is today found in Saint Hubert’s Parish Church (Pfarrkirche St. Hubertus). The pietà come from the time about 1600; when it underwent restoration in the 1960s, traces of burning were still in evidence.
On 7 June 1969, the municipality of Niedermanderscheid, until this time self-administering, was amalgamated with Manderscheid. Since 16 January 1998, Manderscheid has been a town.
Town council
The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
| SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
CDU | Forum | Total | |
| 2009 | – | 7 | 9 | 16 seats |
| 2004 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 16 seats |
Coat of arms
The town’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: Or a fess dancetty gules, the shield ensigned with a crown of the field.
Verbandsgemeinde of Manderscheid
The Verbandsgemeinde of Manderscheid is made up of almost the same individual municipalities as the old County of Manderscheid.Culture and sightseeing
Well known are Manderscheid’s two castles, the Oberburg and the Niederburg. Also interesting to tourists are the gem grinding shop, the local history museum and the Maarmuseum (about the Eifel’s maarMaar
A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater that is caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption, an explosion caused by groundwater coming into contact with hot lava or magma. A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow crater lake. The name comes from the local Moselle...
s). Manderscheid lies on the river Lieser, which can be followed along the Eifelverein hiking club’s Lieserpfad (hiking trail – Pfad means “path” in 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....
) to Daun
Daun
Daun may refer to:* Daun, Germany, a town* Kreis Daun, the former name of the district Vulkaneifel in Germany* Karl Daun, German theologian* Count Leopold Joseph von Daun , Austrian field marshal...
or Wittlich
Wittlich
The town of Wittlich is the seat of the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and thereby the middle centre for a feeder area of 56 municipalities in the Eifel and Moselle area with its population of roughly 64,000...
. Moreover, the 330 km-long “premium” hiking trail, the Eifelsteig, leads through Manderscheid on its way from Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
to 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....
.
Manderscheider Platt
The traditional local speech is among the Moselle FranconianMoselle Franconian
Moselle Franconian is a group of West Central German dialects, part of the Central Franconian language area.It is spoken in the southern Rhineland and along the course of the Moselle River, from the Siegerland in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia throughout western Rhineland-Palatinate and...
dialects. Besides some words that are not found in standard High German, there are the following peculiarities:
- The ch after the vowels e and i such as in Milch (ç) does not exist. It is replaced with sch (ʃ).
- Some voiced consonants are replaced with their unvoiced counterparts: Blut becomes Ploot, Glaube becomes Klowen.
- The a (a) is spoken open and broad as in Wääsch and Frääsch (ɛː).
- ei is pronounced like ai.
- The consonant cluster rt (ʁt) is pronounced cht (xt): thus Ort becomes Ocht.
Economy and infrastructure
Until the mid 19th century, the Manderscheider Maß was the name given a standard dry measure in gristmills along the Lieser, Salm and Kleine Kyll (one was equal to 221.15 L). The so-called Malter-Maß was not the same everywhere, but rather varied regionally. The Manderscheider Maß was decreed in a Mühlenordnung (“mill order”) on 20 October 1736 by Prince-Archbishop-Elector Franz-Georg, and was valid for the whole of the Electorate of Trier.Famous people
- Michael Siefener (1961– ), writer and translator, lives in Manderscheid
- Wolfgang LeonhardWolfgang LeonhardWolfgang Leonhard is a German political author, historian, and expert on Communism. He is the only living member of the Ulbricht Group.-Early years:...
(1921– ), writer, publicist, historian and one of the leading authorities on the former Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and CommunismCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, has lived in Manderscheid since the 1960s