Ochtendung is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz

Mayen-Koblenz

Mayen-Koblenz is a district in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Ahrweiler, Neuwied, Westerwaldkreis, district-free Koblenz, Rhein-Lahn, Rhein-Hunsrück, Cochem-Zell, and Vulkaneifel....

 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 ....

, western 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...

.

Geography

Ochtendung lies between the A 48 and A 61

Bundesautobahn 61

is an autobahn in Germany that connects the border to the Netherlands near Venlo in the northwest to the interchange with A 6 near Hockenheim. In 1965, this required a re-design of the Hockenheimring....

 motorways and has designated junctions from both. The village lies on the Nette

Nette (Rhine)

The Nette is a small river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, a left tributary of the Rhine. It rises in the Eifel, south of Nürburg. The Nette flows east through Mayen before reaching the Rhine between Weißenthurm and Andernach....

 and is neighboured by the municipalities of Lonnig

Lonnig

Lonnig is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....

, Bassenheim

Bassenheim

Bassenheim is a municipality in the district Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is part of the Verbandsgemeinde Weißenthurm. It is situated 10 kilometers away from Koblenz...

, Plaidt

Plaidt

Plaidt is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....

, Kruft

Kruft

Kruft is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....

 and Saffig

Saffig

Saffig is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany.-The emblem:The organ pipes and the ear show St. Cäcilia, the patron saint of the Catholic church of Saffig. The lava dome shows the territory of vulcanos, where Saffig is.-History:The first reference...

. Up until a few years ago, the B 258 road started in Koblenz before running through Ochtendung and Mayen

Mayen

Mayen is a town in the Mayen-Koblenz District of the Rhineland-Palatinate Federal State of Germany, in the eastern part of the Volcanic Eifel Region. As well as the main town, there are five further settlements which are part of Mayen, they are: Alzheim, Kürrenberg, Hausen-Betzing, Hausen and Nitztal...

 towards Belgium, passing the Nürburgring

Nürburgring

The Nürburgring is a motorsport complex around the village of Nürburg, Germany. It features a modern Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer old North loop track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. It is located about...

. The stretch between Koblenz and Mayen was regraded due to the proximity to the A 48 and has since been the L 98.

Municipal Division

The districts Alsingerhof, Emmingerhof, Fressenhöfe Waldorferhof and Sackenheimerhöfe (previously a Bassenheim district) make up the municipality of Ochtendung.

Etymology

The name of the village is derived from the word Thing or Ding (Ochtendung).
A 'Thing

Thing (assembly)

A thing was the governing assembly in Germanic and introduced into some Celtic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers, meeting in a place called a thingstead...

' was a governing assembly in Germanic societies.

Archeology

The south east area 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....

 region is a veritable treasure trove for archeologists. In 1997, Axel von Berg found the cranium of a Neanderthal along with three stone artefacts by the 'Wannerköpfe' volcano in 1997. The cranium belonged to an adult man (some 35 – 40 years old) and had been broken into three pieces due to the pressure of the Earth, but these were seamlessly put back together.

Dated at some 160,000 to 170,000 years old, the man belonged to the early Neanderthals. Especially interesting is the closeness of the bones to those of homo erectus

Homo erectus

Homo erectus is an extinct species of hominid that lived from the end of the Pliocene epoch to the later Pleistocene, about . The species originated in Africa and spread as far as India, China and Java. There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of H...

 and because, around the edge there appear to be traces of human handling. It can be guessed that they were adapted and used as tools or bowls. The cranium was quickly covered by sediment and has therefore been well preserved.

Politics

The Gemeinderat (comparable to the town council in English) of Ochtendung consists of 22 council members , voted in after the local elections of 7 July 2009 and headed by the Ortsbürgermeister in a voluntary position, as per the custom in the state of Rhineland Palatinate for village municipalities. This position is similar to the position of a town mayor.

The allocation of seats after the election is as follows:

SPD

Social Democratic Party of Germany

The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...

 11 seats

CDU

Christian Democratic Union (Germany)

The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum...

 7 seats

FWG

Free Voters

Free Voters is a German concept in which an association of persons participates in an election without having the status of a registered political party. Usually it is a locally organized group of voters in the form of a registered association . In most cases, Free Voters are active only at the...

1 2 seats

WG Ich tu's (I do it) 2 seats

Sights and Tourism

Burg Wernerseck

Karmelenberg volcano

Kulturhalle Ochtendung used for holding special events

Remains of the town wall

Cycle and Sculpture Trail

Sculpture trail

A sculpture trail—sculpture walk - also known as "a culture walk" - is a walkway through open-air galleries of outdoor sculptures along a defined route with sequenced viewings encountered from planned preview and principal sight lines.-Settings:...

between Ochtendung and Polch

Polch

Polch is a town in the district Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is part of the Verbandsgemeinde Maifeld. It is situated east of Mayen....

Famous residents

Jakob Vogt (1902–1985) Weightlifter

Jürgen Weigt (* 1957) Brigadier

Brigadier

Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....

 in the German Army

Peter Peters (* 1962) Journalist and football Functionary

Kristin Silbereisen (* 1985) Table Tennis Player

Sources

Human Evolution, 19,1 S. 1 - 8 (2004)

Terra Nostra, Schriften der GeoUnion Alfred-Wegener-Stiftung, 2006/2 (Kongresszeitschrift)

Dr. Axel von Berg's discovery (German Only)

http://www.statistik.rlp.de/fileadmin/dokumente/berichte/A1033_200822_hj_G.pdf

Local Election Results 2009 (German Only)