Beltheim
Encyclopedia
History
In 893, Beltheim had its first documentary mention in Prüm AbbeyPrüm Abbey
Prüm Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey in Prüm/Lorraine, now in the diocese of Trier , founded by a Frankish widow Bertrada, and her son Charibert, count of Laon, on 23 June 720. The first abbot was Angloardus....
’s directory of holdings, the Prümer Urbar as Beltuom. Beltheim was the seat of the Beltheim court comprising the following places: Beltheim, Uhler
Uhler
Uhler is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Mörsdorf, Lieg
Lieg
Lieg is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Eveshausen, Dommershausen
Dommershausen
Dommershausen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kastellaun, whose seat is in the like-named town.-Location:The municipality...
, Lahr, Cochem-Zell
Lahr, Cochem-Zell
Lahr in the Hunsrück is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Buch
Buch, Rhein-Hunsrück
-History:In 1052, Buch had its first documentary mention. In 1332, Louis the Bavarian acknowledged to Archbishop Baldwin of Trier all the holdings of the Archiepiscopal Foundation of Trier, among which were Balduinseck and Buch. Buch belonged to the Beltheim court. Until the late 15th century, it...
, Mörz, Zilshausen
Zilshausen
Zilshausen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
mit Petershäuser Hof, Sabershausen, Macken
Macken
Macken or Mackan is a small hamlet and townland in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, off the A509 main Enniskillen to Derrylin road...
and Burgen
Burgen, Mayen-Koblenz
Burgen is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....
. The court originally belonged to the County Palatine and the Pellenz Courts. In the 14th century, a half share in the court was held by the Electorate of Trier, while one fourth each was held in fief by the Lords of Braunshorn and the Lords of Waldeck. In 1366, the Waldecks’ fourth share in the court passed to the Counts of Sponheim
County of Sponheim
The County of Sponheim was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire which lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century...
. Beginning in 1794, Beltheim 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,...
. 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 area’s development
Today’s municipality of Beltheim arose through a merger of the former, smaller Beltheim with the until then self-administering municipalities of Frankweiler, Heyweiler, Mannebach, Schnellbach and Sevenich on 17 March 1974.Municipal council
The council is made up of 6 council members, who were elected at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.Mayor
Beltheim’s mayor is Jörg Schmitz.Each of the Ortsteile is headed by an official bearing the title Ortsvorsteher. They are Kornelia Kremer (Beltheim), Willi Görgen (Frankweiler), Mike Schneider (Heyweiler), Wolfgang Wagner (Mannebach), Heidi Gerhard (Schnellbach) and Ewald Braun (Sevenich).
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: In gespaltenem, hinten geteiltem Schild vorn in Silber ein durchgehendes rotes Kreuz, hinten und oben ungezählt geschacht von Rot und Silber, unten und hinten drei silberne Hörner (2:1) in Rot.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: Per pale argent a cross gules, and per fess chequy of sixteen of the second and first and gules three bugle-horns of the first.
The red cross on silver on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side (Saint George’s Cross
St George's Cross
St George's Cross is a red cross on a white background used as a symbolic reference to Saint George. The red cross on white was associated with St George from medieval times....
) stands for the Electorate of Trier, while on the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side, the “chequy” pattern in the same tincture
Tincture (heraldry)
In heraldry, tinctures are the colours used to emblazon a coat of arms. These can be divided into several categories including light tinctures called metals, dark tinctures called colours, nonstandard colours called stains, furs, and "proper". A charge tinctured proper is coloured as it would be...
s, stands for the comital family of Sponheim and the 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...
underneath that, the three bugles, also in the same tinctures, comes from the arms formerly borne by the Lords of Braunshorn.
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:
Beltheim (main centre)
- Saint Goar’sGoar of AquitaineSaint Goar of Aquitaine was a priest and hermit of the seventh century. He was offered the position of Bishop of Trier, but died before accepting the position. He is noted for his piety, and is revered as a miracle-worker...
Catholic Church (Kirche St. Goar), Kirchstraße 1 – plinth, wayside cross, quire essentially from the 17th century, 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...
1740, conversion and new building 1955-1957; in the rectory garden a 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,...
plinth, possibly from the 13th century; beside the church a basaltBasaltBasalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
wayside cross, marked 1767 - Hauptstraße 19 – former seat of the “three-lord” court, later rectory; 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, hipped 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...
, about 1700; shell niche with MadonnaMadonna (art)Images of the Madonna and the Madonna and Child or Virgin and Child are pictorial or sculptured representations of Mary, Mother of Jesus, either alone, or more frequently, with the infant Jesus. These images are central icons of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox Christianity where Mary remains...
, marked 1760; fountain; barn, 19th century; whole complex of buildings - Hauptstraße 22 – estate complex along the street; timber-frame house, partly slated; timber-frame barn, earlier half of the 19th century
- Kirchstraße 11 – timber-frame house, partly solid, earlier half of the 18th century
- At Lehnenstraße 11 – timber-frame Quereinhaus (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street), partly solid and slated, 19th century, barn; whole complex of buildings
- Uhler Weg – quarrystone 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,...
; marked 1853 - Grave cross, on Landesstraße (State Road) 215 going towards Frankweiler, near the 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...
, from the RheinböllenRheinböllenRheinböllen is a town in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde, and also belongs to it.-Location:...
ironworks, late 19th century
Frankweiler
- Saint MauriceSaint MauriceSaint Maurice was the leader of the legendary Roman Theban Legion in the 3rd century, and one of the favorite and most widely venerated saints of that group. He was the patron saint of several professions, locales, and kingdoms...
’s Catholic Parish Church (Pfarrkirche St. Mauritius), Rhein-Mosel-Straße 36 – 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 church, 1724, marked 1756 (possibly a conversion), 1875 sacristy addition, 1906/1907 lengthened and remodelled; whole complex of buildings with graveyard - (bei) Im Oberdorf 2 – chapel; plastered aisleless church, 19th century
- Im Vogelsang 1 – timber-frame house, partly solid, slated, earlier half of the 19th century; whole complex of buildings with barn
- Rhein-Mosel-Straße 15 – building with hipped mansard roof, partly timber-frame slated, first third of the 19th century
- Rhein-Mosel-Straße/corner of Zum Wiesentall – cast-iron fountain, from the Rheinböllen ironworks, latter half of the 19th century
Heyweiler
- EvangelicalEvangelical Church in GermanyThe Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
church, Hauptstraße 17 – Baroque Revival plastered building, early 20th century; basalt warriors’ memorial; whole complex of buildings with graveyard - Hauptstraße 9 – L-shaped estate; timber-frame house, partly slated, commercial wing, earlier half of the 19th century; whole complex of buildings
- Hauptstraße 27 – L-shaped estate; timber-frame house, partly slated, barn, earlier half of the 19th century; whole complex of buildings
- At Hauptstraße 39 – ClassicistClassicismClassicism, 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...
door, marked 1820
Mannebach
- 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 (Kirche St. Martin), St.-Martin-Straße 26 – Baroque aisleless church, 1767-1770, quire tower essentially Romanesque; three grave crosses, 1807, 1814 and 1815; tomb slab; graveyard and church whole complex of buildings - St. Martin-Straße 19 – former rectory, later a 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...
; Late Baroque building with hipped mansard roof, marked 1780, garden; whole complex of buildings
Schnellbach
- Kapellenweg – quarrystone Heiligenhäuschen (a small, shrinelike structure consecrated to a saint or saints); early 19th century
Sevenich
- 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 Church (Kirche St. Nikolaus), Lindenstraße 29 – aisleless church, 1723-1725, vestibule marked 1923, sacristy 1949; three grave crosses, 1783, 18th and 19th century; whole complex of buildings with graveyard - Lindenstraße – graveyard; basalt graveyard cross, marked 1844
- Lindenstraße 28 – L-shaped estate; timber-frame house, partly slated, earlier half of the 19th century, timber-frame barn; whole complex of buildings
- Lindenstraße 34 – estate complex along the street; timber-frame house, partly slated, half-hipped roof, 18th century, timber-frame barn; whole complex of buildings
- Grave crosses on Kreisstraße (District Road) 34, south of the village – two cast-iron crosses from the Rheinböllen ironworks, latter half of the 19th century
- PassionPassion (Christianity)The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
Chapel (Passionskapelle) on Kreisstraße 34, south of the village – small building with hipped roof, marked 1725; wayside cross
Famous people
Josef Lippert (b. 17 January 1888; d. 8 February 1963) was a pedlar known throughout the Vorderhunsrück (“Fore-Hunsrück”), but he was from Beltheim. He always wore several jackets, buttoning or unbuttoning them according to season. He would refer to the weather with such remarks as “Hout es et wirra ane Jacke källa woar !” (“It’s got another jacket colder today!”). He was known to everyone as der Beldemer Lippert (Beldemer being a local form of Beltheimer).The best known story about him stems from a “business trip” that he made to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in the time of the Third Reich
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. It is said that, while hawking his stock of herring
Atlantic herring
Atlantic herring is a fish in the family Clupeidae. It is one of the most abundant fish species on earth. Herring can be found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, congregating in large schools. They can grow up to in length and weigh more than...
, he called out on the street “Hering, so fett wie de Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
!” (“Herring, as fat as Göring!”), for which he was carted off to prison for eight days. After he was released, he went straight back to his herring hawking, calling out “Hering, so fett wie die vorig Woch !” (“Herring, as fat as last week!”).
This story is likely apocryphal, as the same or similar stories are told about fish sellers in Ahlen
Ahlen
Ahlen is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is part of the District of Warendorf and is economically the most important town in that district. Ahlen is part of the larger Münster region, and of the historic Münsterland area....
and 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...
, among others.
Further reading (Josef Lippert)
- Ewald Dietrich: Der Hausierer vom Hunsrück. Aus dem Leben des Josef Lippert. Simmern 1988 ISBN 3-922929-72-9
- Ortsgemeinde Beltheim (Hg.): Beltheim im Wandel der Zeit 893–1993. Aus der Geschichte eines Hunsrückdorfes; Beltheim 1993
- "Hering, so dick wie de Göring", Zeitungsartikel (HunsrückerZeitung?) vom Mittwoch, 20. Februar 1963
Further reading
- Ortsgemeinde Beltheim (Hg.): Beltheim im Wandel der Zeit 893–1993. Aus der Geschichte eines Hunsrückdorfes; Beltheim 1993