Weiler, Cochem-Zell
Encyclopedia
Weiler 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 Ulmen
, whose seat is in the like-named town
. Weiler is also a recognized tourism municipality (Fremdenverkehrsgemeinde).
” – not to be confused with the Verbandsgemeinde of Vordereifel
, which is in the Mayen-Koblenz
district), at an elevation of 390 m above sea level
.
expansion in the 7th and 8th centuries. According to documents from 1017 to 1047, Saint Mary’s Church (Marienkirche) in Trier
had holdings in Weiler. The place was also mentioned in endowment documents from 1051 and 1056 from Polish
queen Richeza, Count Palatine Ezzo’s daughter, to the Brauweiler Monastery near Cologne
in connection with her holding in Klotten
.
About 1100, Saint Castor’s
Foundation in Karden
owned land around Weiler. In 1103, the Ravengiersburg Monastery acquired from Saint Stephen’s Foundation (Stift St. Stephan) in Mainz
, among other things, holdings in Weiler.
In 1247, the Lonnig Monastery traded holdings in the surrounding countryside with Himmerod Abbey
. It is believed that the Electorate of Trier was enfeoffed with Weiler along with Cochem
in 1294. The high court jurisdiction was disputed between the town court of Cochem and the high court in Lutzerath
for centuries.
Saint Martin’s
status as church patron points to an early establishment of a church.
In the Thirty Years' War
, the whole village was burnt down. Left standing was the east tower of a Romanesque
church, onto which a simple nave was built in 1765.
With the occupation of the Rhine’s left bank by French Revolutionary
troops in 1794, the Electorate of Trier, for centuries the local overlord, fell. In 1815 Weiler 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 chairman.
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: Vert issuant from base dexter and sinister two bishop’s staffs per saltire, the one in bend sinister traditional and the one in bend modern with a ring-shaped crook containing three annulets, each joined to the crook by a curved spoke, all Or, and issuant from base an arch of stones as of a barrow affronty, within which an urn, all argent.
The traditional bishop’s staff refers to Martin of Tours
, the parish patron. In 307, both the clergy and the people chose him as Bishop of Tours
. He died on 8 November 371. His status as church patron points to the establishment of a church before the year 1000.
The modern bishop’s staff refers to Dr. Bernhard Stein, born on 5 September 1904 in Weiler, who became the Diocesan Bishop of Trier. He died on 20 February 1993 at the age of 89 as Bishop Emeritus of Trier.
The urn refers to the barrows
from prehistory and early history found in Weiler.
’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 Ulmen
Ulmen (Verbandsgemeinde)
Ulmen is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Cochem-Zell, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Ulmen....
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Ulmen
Ulmen is a town in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde – a kind of collective municipality – to which it also belongs.-Constituent communities:...
. Weiler is also a recognized tourism municipality (Fremdenverkehrsgemeinde).
Location
Weiler lies in the Vordereifel (“Further 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....
” – not to be confused with the Verbandsgemeinde of Vordereifel
Vordereifel
Vordereifel is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the eastern edge of the Eifel, west of Mayen. The seat of the municipality is in Mayen, itself not part of the municipality.The Verbandsgemeinde Vordereifel consists of the...
, which is in the 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....
district), at an elevation of 390 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...
.
History
As shown by its name, Weiler was founded in the time of the MerovingianMerovingian 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...
expansion in the 7th and 8th centuries. According to documents from 1017 to 1047, Saint Mary’s Church (Marienkirche) in 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....
had holdings in Weiler. The place was also mentioned in endowment documents from 1051 and 1056 from 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 Richeza, Count Palatine Ezzo’s daughter, to the Brauweiler 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...
in connection with her holding in Klotten
Klotten
Klotten is a winemaking centre and an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
.
About 1100, 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...
Foundation 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...
owned land around Weiler. In 1103, the Ravengiersburg Monastery acquired from Saint Stephen’s Foundation (Stift St. Stephan) in Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, among other things, holdings in Weiler.
In 1247, the Lonnig Monastery traded holdings in the surrounding countryside with Himmerod Abbey
Himmerod Abbey
Himmerod Abbey is a Cistercian monastery in the community of Großlittgen in the Verbandsgemeinde of Manderscheid in the district of Bernkastel-Wittlich, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located in the Eifel, in the valley of the Salm.-First foundation:Himmerod Abbey was founded in 1134 by Saint...
. It is believed that the Electorate of Trier was enfeoffed with Weiler along with Cochem
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...
in 1294. The high court jurisdiction was disputed between the town court of Cochem and the high court in Lutzerath
Lutzerath
Lutzerath 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 Ulmen, whose seat is in the like-named town...
for centuries.
Saint Martin’s
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
status as church patron points to an early establishment of a church.
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....
, the whole village was burnt down. Left standing was the east tower of a 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,...
church, onto which a simple nave was built in 1765.
With the occupation of the Rhine’s left bank by 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 in 1794, the Electorate of Trier, for centuries the local overlord, fell. In 1815 Weiler 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 chairman.
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: In Grün zwei gekreuzte goldene Bischofsstäbe, recht traditionell, links modern mit als Ring ausgeführter, darin drei mit der Krümme verbundene kleine Ringe, unten eine silberne Urne, umrahmt von silbernen Steinen eines Hügelgrabes in VorderansichtThe 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: Vert issuant from base dexter and sinister two bishop’s staffs per saltire, the one in bend sinister traditional and the one in bend modern with a ring-shaped crook containing three annulets, each joined to the crook by a curved spoke, all Or, and issuant from base an arch of stones as of a barrow affronty, within which an urn, all argent.
The traditional bishop’s staff refers to Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
, the parish patron. In 307, both the clergy and the people chose him as Bishop of Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
. He died on 8 November 371. His status as church patron points to the establishment of a church before the year 1000.
The modern bishop’s staff refers to Dr. Bernhard Stein, born on 5 September 1904 in Weiler, who became the Diocesan Bishop of Trier. He died on 20 February 1993 at the age of 89 as Bishop Emeritus of Trier.
The urn refers to the barrows
Tumulus
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 prehistory and early history found in Weiler.
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 Martin’sMartin of ToursMartin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Martin), Kirchstraße 15 – 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,...
east tower, 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...
, 1765; graveyard: 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,...
cross, marked 1843; 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...
graveyard gate; warriors’ memorial, stele with relief; whole complex with church and graveyard - North of the village on Landesstraße (State Road) 16 – wayside 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,...
, 19th century