Mesenich
Encyclopedia
Mesenich 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 Cochem, whose seat is in the like-named town
. Mesenich is a winegrowing centre.
.
, remnants of Roman
settlements and graves from Merovingian
times bear witness to the municipality’s early days.
As early as 1050, Mesenich had its first documentary mention in connection with the Polish
queen and count palatine’s daughter Richeza’s donation to the Brauweiler Benedictine
Monastery near Cologne
.
The municipality’s name, originally Mesinich, is, like most other nearby villages’ names, of Celtic
origin. Besides winegrowing and subsistence agriculture
, shipbuilding
was an important means of livelihood. This explains why an anchor
is included as a charge
in the municipality’s coat of arms
.
Between 1050 and 1088, the Abbot of Brauweiler, Wolfhelm, had the parish church built; it is consecrated to Saint Nicholas
. The church had its first documentary mention on 18 November 1088 in a document from Archbishop of Trier Egilbert. In the course of the centuries, the church has been remodelled several times.
About 1200, the Romanesque
churchtower was renovated, in 1730 the church got the main and side altars that it still has today and in 1736, the Baroque
nave was consecrated. After the renovation in 1971, the church took on its current appearance.
The architectural focal point in the municipality today is the Late Baroque-Classicist
Brauweiler Hof, which until the late 18th century served as the tithing manor. It was built in 1771 under master builder Nikolaus Lauxen, and today it is under private ownership.
After French Revolutionary
troops occupied the lands on the Rhine’s left bank in 1794, the monastery holdings were sold off. In 1814 Mesenich was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia
at the Congress of Vienna
. Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly founded state
of Rhineland-Palatinate
.
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairwoman.
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: Azure Saint Nicholas in trian aspect proper vested and mitred Or, in his sinister hand a bishop’s staff of the same, his dexter hand raised in benediction over an anchor argent, surmounting his legs an inescutcheon of the same charged with an eagle displayed gules surmounting a bishop’s staff bendwise sinister of the first.
The bishop who stands as the main charge
in the municipality’s arms is the church’s patron saint, Nicholas
, who was also the Brauweiler Monastery’s patron saint, and to whom Archbishop Egilbert of Trier consecrated Mesenich’s first chapel
on 18 November 1088. The charge that Nicholas is “blessing”, the anchor, stands for the village’s sailing men and shipbuilders of yore. The inescutcheon at the saint’s feet is the Brauweiler Monastery’s arms, thus representing the municipality’s former feudal lords, who also held court jurisdiction.
The arms were designed by H. Gutensohn of Koblenz
and have been borne since 7 March 1952.
’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 Cochem, whose seat is in the like-named town
Cochem
Cochem is the seat of and the biggest place in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With just under 5,000 inhabitants, Cochem falls just behind Kusel, in the like-named district, as Germany's second smallest district seat...
. Mesenich is a winegrowing centre.
Location
The municipality lies on the river Moselle roughly 4 km southeast of CochemCochem
Cochem is the seat of and the biggest place in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With just under 5,000 inhabitants, Cochem falls just behind Kusel, in the like-named district, as Germany's second smallest district seat...
.
History
Finds from the Stone AgeStone 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...
, remnants 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....
settlements and graves from Merovingian
Merovingian dynasty
The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that came to rule the Franks in a region largely corresponding to ancient Gaul from the middle of the 5th century. Their politics involved frequent civil warfare among branches of the family...
times bear witness to the municipality’s early days.
As early as 1050, Mesenich had its first documentary mention in connection with the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
queen and count palatine’s daughter Richeza’s donation to the Brauweiler Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Monastery near Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
.
The municipality’s name, originally Mesinich, is, like most other nearby villages’ names, of Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
origin. Besides winegrowing and subsistence agriculture
Subsistence agriculture
Subsistence agriculture is self-sufficiency farming in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed their families. The typical subsistence farm has a range of crops and animals needed by the family to eat and clothe themselves during the year. Planting decisions are made with an eye...
, shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
was an important means of livelihood. This explains why an anchor
Anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, that is used to connect a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the vessel from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ancora, which itself comes from the Greek ἄγκυρα .Anchors can either be temporary or permanent...
is included as a 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...
in the municipality’s coat of 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...
.
Between 1050 and 1088, the Abbot of Brauweiler, Wolfhelm, had the parish church built; it is consecrated to Saint Nicholas
Saint Nicholas
Saint 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...
. The church had its first documentary mention on 18 November 1088 in a document from Archbishop of Trier Egilbert. In the course of the centuries, the church has been remodelled several times.
About 1200, the Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
churchtower was renovated, in 1730 the church got the main and side altars that it still has today and in 1736, the Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
nave was consecrated. After the renovation in 1971, the church took on its current appearance.
The architectural focal point in the municipality today is the Late Baroque-Classicist
Classicism
Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
Brauweiler Hof, which until the late 18th century served as the tithing manor. It was built in 1771 under master builder Nikolaus Lauxen, and today it is under private ownership.
After French Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
troops occupied the lands on the Rhine’s left bank in 1794, the monastery holdings were sold off. In 1814 Mesenich 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 1946, 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 ....
.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 8 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 chairwoman.
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Im Blau einen nach halbrechts gewandten Bischof in goldenem Gewand mit Mitra und Stab in der Linke, mit der Rechten einen silbernen schwebenden Anker segnend, zu seinen Füßen einen silbernen Schild, darin ein roter Adler, hinter dem ein Bischofstab schräglinks zu sehen ist.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: Azure Saint Nicholas in trian aspect proper vested and mitred Or, in his sinister hand a bishop’s staff of the same, his dexter hand raised in benediction over an anchor argent, surmounting his legs an inescutcheon of the same charged with an eagle displayed gules surmounting a bishop’s staff bendwise sinister of the first.
The bishop who stands as the main 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...
in the municipality’s arms is the church’s patron saint, Nicholas
Saint Nicholas
Saint 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...
, who was also the Brauweiler Monastery’s patron saint, and to whom Archbishop Egilbert of Trier consecrated Mesenich’s first chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
on 18 November 1088. The charge that Nicholas is “blessing”, the anchor, stands for the village’s sailing men and shipbuilders of yore. The inescutcheon at the saint’s feet is the Brauweiler Monastery’s arms, thus representing the municipality’s former feudal lords, who also held court jurisdiction.
The arms were designed by H. Gutensohn of 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 have been borne since 7 March 1952.
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:
- 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) – RomanesqueRomanesque architectureRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
west tower, possibly about 1200, upper part possibly 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....
, possibly about 1480; BaroqueBaroque architectureBaroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
aisleless naveAisleless 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...
, marked 1733, sacristy, marked 168(8?); grave cross, 18th century; graveyard, Coronation of the VirginCoronation of the VirginThe Coronation of the Virgin or Coronation of Mary is a subject in Christian art, especially popular in Italy in the 13th to 15th centuries, but continuing in popularity until the 18th century and beyond. Christ, sometimes accompanied by God the Father and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove,...
group, 18th century; warriors’ memorial with relief as gateway arch, 1920s; whole complex with church and graveyard - Village centre (monumental zone) – from Römerstraße to the Old School on Briederweg, along Abteistraße and Zehnthofstraße including church and graveyard
- cast-ironCast ironCast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
hand pump, late 19th century - Abteistraße 6 – solid building, 17th or 18th century
- Abteistraße 7 – 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, partly solid, plastered, hipped roof, dendrochronologically datedDendrochronologyDendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year...
to 1478/1479 and 1486, expansions in the 18th and early 20th centuries; addition; commercial building with mediaevalMiddle AgesThe 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...
entrance; whole complex - Abteistraße 8 – timber-frame house, partly solid, plastered, half-hipped roof, roof trusses about 1470/1480, conversion possibly in the 18th century
- Abteistraße/Römerstraße – barn, about 1480
- Briederner Weg – cast-iron hand pump, late 19th century
- Briederner Weg 1 – solid building, partly timber-frame, dendrochronologically dated to 1529/1530
- Briederner Weg 2 – cast-iron hand pump, late 19th century
- Briederner Weg 10 – old 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...
; quarrystone building, 1886/1887 - Briederner Weg 11 – quarrystone house with sandstoneSandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
window frames, marked 1898 - im Winkel 4 – timber-frame house, partly solid, 18th century
- Kehrstraße 6 – timber-frame house, roofed with EternitEternitEternit is the registered trademark for fibre cement. This has caused fibre cement to be known under the "Eternit" brand. Though, this is not to be confused, "Eternit" is only a trademark for fibre cement....
, mansard roofMansard roofA mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
, 18th century - Kirchstraße 5 – solid building with timber-frame oriel, dendrochronologically dated to 1460 ± 5 years
- Kirchstraße 6 – former Brauweiler Hof, Brauweiler Monastery’s tithing manor; representative building with half-hipped roof, Abbot Amandus Herriger’s (1756-1778) coat of arms, about 1770, architect possibly Nikolaus Lauxen; Baroque figure of Saint Nicholas; winepress house, dendrochronologically dated to 1651
- Kirchstraße 7 – solid building, essentially late mediaevalLate Middle AgesThe Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....
, 15th century, timber-frame oriel, marked 1762 - Kirchstraße 8 – winepress house, partly timber-frame, about 1605/1606
- Kirchstraße 9 – solid building, dendrochronologically dated to 1542/1543, cellar portal marked 1605, timber-frame oriel from the 18th century
- Kirchstraße 10 – three-floor house, timber-frame upper floor marked 1737, essentially possibly older
- Kirchstraße 12 – three-floor timber-frame house, partly solid, dendrochronologically dated to 1478 ± 5 years, marked 1772
- Kochstraße 4 – solid building, dendrochronologically dated to 1485
- Raiffeisenstraße – timber-frame barn, partly solid, 18th or 19th century; relief, early 18th century
- Raiffeisenstraße 1 – cast-iron pump, late 19th century
- Römerstraße 1 – solid building, dendrochronologically dated to 1494/1544
- Römerstraße 7 – timber-frame house, partly solid, mansard roof, 18th century
- Römerstraße 9 – mansard roof building, 18th century
- Weinbergstraße – winepress house, quarrystone mansard roof building, 18th century
- Weinbergstraße 3 – timber-frame house, partly solid, balloon frame, possibly from the 16th century, cellar portal marked 1605
- Weinbergstraße 11 – quarrystone building, partly timber-frame, Moselle-style, 1910
- Weinbergstraße 13 – timber-frame house, partly solid, plastered, marked 1584, addition 1869, conversion 1934
- Weinbergstraße 14 – two-part timber-frame house, partly solid or plastered, 16th century, newer part from the 18th or 19th century; whole complex together with no. 16
- Weinbergstraße 16 – timber-frame house, partly solid, plastered, dendrochronologically dated to 1525; well; whole complex together with no. 14
- Weinbergstraße 18 – timber-frame house, partly solid, balloon frame, late 16th century
- Weinbergstraße 20 – cast-iron cross, late 19th century
- Zehnthofstraße – garden with wrought-ironWrought ironthumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...
pavilion, marked 1895 - Zehnthofstraße 2 – quarrystone building with half-hipped roof, mid 19th century
- Zehnthofstraße 4 – quarrystone building with timber-frame oriel, marked 1569
- Zehnthofstraße 5 – quarrystone building, early 19th century
- Before Zehnthofstraße 5 – cast-iron hand pump, late 19th century
- Zehnthofstraße 8 – quarrystone house, plastered, dendrochronologically dated to 1562, conversion in the 19th century; whole complex with garden
- Zehnthofstraße 13 – timber-frame house, partly solid, plastered, hipped mansard roof, dendrochronologically dated to 1737
- Zehnthofstraße 17 – see Kirchstraße 6
- Zehnthofstraße 18 – lintel, marked 1771
- Zehnthofstraße 21 – plastered building, marked 1926
- Weinbergskapelle (“Vineyard ChapelChapelA chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
”) – Baroque quarrystone building - On the other side of the Moselle, on BundesstraßeBundesstraßeBundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
49 – ruins of a factory, plastered building with middle risalto - north of Mesenich – forest chapel, so-called Erdpfalzhäuschen