Beuren, Cochem-Zell
Encyclopedia
Beuren 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
.
” – not to be confused with the Verbandsgemeinde of Vordereifel
, which is in the Mayen-Koblenz
district), only 5 km upstream from Bremm
on the Moselle. The municipality has an elevation of roughly 400 m above sea level
and an area of roughly 1 000 ha. There are about 500 inhabitants.
words such as bauen (“raise”, “cultivate”), bebauen (“farm” in the verb
al meaning) and Bauern (“peasants”, “farmers”).
work.
Evidence of a Roman presence has also come to light at the municipality’s “castle”. This complex is known as such (Burg in German) on the assumption that something resembling a castle
must once have stood there. All that can be seen nowadays is a ring-shaped earthen wall thirty metres across and one metre high. Nevertheless, it was here that potsherds of Roman origin were found during drainage works. Whether this ring was the wall around a Roman watchtower – a burgus to use the word that the Romans borrowed
from Germanic
speech – or the bank of a Roman pond in a garden complex with a castle on the hillock next to it is unknown. However, a Roman origin seems to be beyond doubt.
Also lending weight to the proposition that there was a Roman presence in what is now Beuren is a find made a few hundred metres from the “castle”, the remnants of a Roman road. It lay one metre below the modern surface, which given the rate of wind deposition
in the Eifel
dates the find to about 2,000 years ago.
Local recorded history, however, can shed no light on the puzzle represented by these finds. Beuren itself was a late founding, arising about 1300, and in 1744 consisted of three estates, one belonging to the Stuben Monastery, one being an Electoral-Trier holding and one being held by the Pyrmonts. The boundaries between these three estates all met right near the “castle”, at the “Hargarten”. This might mean that settlement began on the foundations of the Roman complex.
Many cadastral names in Beuren are of mediaeval
or even later origin. There is, however, one traditional cadastral area whose name suggests an earlier origin. It is called the “Mur”. Murus in Latin
means “wall” or “fortification”, which along with the archaeological
finds points to Roman beginnings.
Beginning in 1794, Beuren lay under French
rule. In 1815 it was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia
at the Congress of Vienna
.
For Beuren, the year 1834 was fateful. A great fire all but destroyed the whole village, killing one man. Also claimed by the flames were a great deal of livestock and grain stocks. The local poet from Beuren described the village’s plight in one of her poems.
Between 1845 and 1860, many people from Beuren emigrated. Neediness, poverty and hunger were to blame for these people’s quest for a new livelihood in the United States
or Brazil
. At the turn of the 20th century, a veritable flight from the countryside set in. Many inhabitants, mainly from the younger generations, moved to Germany’s industrial centres and took on work there, and a great number of them also chose to settle there.
After the Second World War, Beuren experienced a huge economic upswing. Many inhabitants worked at industrial jobs and the agricultural
structure that had once characterized Beuren declined.
Since 1946, Beuren 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.
might be described thus: Tierced in mantle dexter argent issuant from base a cross tau sable, hanging on each arm a bell gules, sinister Or three ears of wheat slipped vert, the two outer ones with blades, in base vert an urn with two handles of the first.
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
possibilities to, for instance, a local waterfall
. Other choices include hikes to the Schorker-Höhl (cave
), the Vier-Seen-Blick (“Four-Lake-View”), the Echo-Bank, the Hohe Lay (“High Rock”) and the Kuckuckslay (“Cuckoo
’s Rock”).
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:...
.
Location
Beuren, which is found on the heights above the Moselle, 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), only 5 km upstream from Bremm
Bremm
Bremm is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
on the Moselle. The municipality has an elevation of roughly 400 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...
and an area of roughly 1 000 ha. There are about 500 inhabitants.
Name
There are 15 places in Germany named Beuren, all of which likely draw their names from GermanGerman 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....
words such as bauen (“raise”, “cultivate”), bebauen (“farm” in the verb
Verb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
al meaning) and Bauern (“peasants”, “farmers”).
History
About the year 1920 during building excavation work, a whole underground maze of passageways some 1.8 m high with peaked ceilings, well preserved inside a cliff, was unearthed. The walls showed no trace of any work done with the customary striking tools, but rather they had been painstakingly hewn out of the stone with thrusting tools. Here and there, narrow shafts leading up to the surface had been bored, through which spoil might have been lifted in leather sacks. The apparent use of thrusting tools has given rise to the supposition that this maze of tunnels might have been the Romans’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....
work.
Evidence of a Roman presence has also come to light at the municipality’s “castle”. This complex is known as such (Burg in German) on the assumption that something resembling a castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
must once have stood there. All that can be seen nowadays is a ring-shaped earthen wall thirty metres across and one metre high. Nevertheless, it was here that potsherds of Roman origin were found during drainage works. Whether this ring was the wall around a Roman watchtower – a burgus to use the word that the Romans borrowed
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
from Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
speech – or the bank of a Roman pond in a garden complex with a castle on the hillock next to it is unknown. However, a Roman origin seems to be beyond doubt.
Also lending weight to the proposition that there was a Roman presence in what is now Beuren is a find made a few hundred metres from the “castle”, the remnants of a Roman road. It lay one metre below the modern surface, which given the rate of wind deposition
Deposition (geology)
Deposition is the geological process by which material is added to a landform or land mass. Fluids such as wind and water, as well as sediment flowing via gravity, transport previously eroded sediment, which, at the loss of enough kinetic energy in the fluid, is deposited, building up layers of...
in 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....
dates the find to about 2,000 years ago.
Local recorded history, however, can shed no light on the puzzle represented by these finds. Beuren itself was a late founding, arising about 1300, and in 1744 consisted of three estates, one belonging to the Stuben Monastery, one being an Electoral-Trier holding and one being held by the Pyrmonts. The boundaries between these three estates all met right near the “castle”, at the “Hargarten”. This might mean that settlement began on the foundations of the Roman complex.
Many cadastral names in Beuren are of mediaeval
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...
or even later origin. There is, however, one traditional cadastral area whose name suggests an earlier origin. It is called the “Mur”. Murus in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
means “wall” or “fortification”, which along with the archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
finds points to Roman beginnings.
Beginning in 1794, Beuren 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,...
.
For Beuren, the year 1834 was fateful. A great fire all but destroyed the whole village, killing one man. Also claimed by the flames were a great deal of livestock and grain stocks. The local poet from Beuren described the village’s plight in one of her poems.
Between 1845 and 1860, many people from Beuren emigrated. Neediness, poverty and hunger were to blame for these people’s quest for a new livelihood in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
or Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. At the turn of the 20th century, a veritable flight from the countryside set in. Many inhabitants, mainly from the younger generations, moved to Germany’s industrial centres and took on work there, and a great number of them also chose to settle there.
After the Second World War, Beuren experienced a huge economic upswing. Many inhabitants worked at industrial jobs and the agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
structure that had once characterized Beuren declined.
Since 1946, Beuren 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.
Mayor
Beuren’s mayor is Karl-Peter Uebereck, and his deputies are Karl-Heinz Heinz and Gerhard Schneiders.Coat of arms
The municipality’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: Tierced in mantle dexter argent issuant from base a cross tau sable, hanging on each arm a bell gules, sinister Or three ears of wheat slipped vert, the two outer ones with blades, in base vert an urn with two handles of the first.
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 Anthony’sAnthony of PaduaAnthony of Padua or Anthony of Lisbon, O.F.M., was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. Though he died in Padua, Italy, he was born to a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal, which is where he was raised...
Catholic Parish Church (Pfarrkirche St. Antonius), Unterdorfstraße 1 – 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....
quire, 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 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...
possibly from 1716, fourth axis and tower from 1848. - Hofstraße (no number) – former 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...
1832-1845, architect F. Nebel, KoblenzKoblenzKoblenz 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...
. - Oberdorfstraße 1 – former communal bakehouse, Quereinhaus (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street), partly 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...
, 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...
, main body 18th century, expansion 1926. - Oberdorfstraße 9 – estate complex, early 19th century, timber-frame house, partly solid, timber-frame barn.
- Oberdorfstraße 14 – estate complex from 1835, timber-frame house, partly solid.
- Schulstraße, graveyard – graveyard cross from 1845, before it a tomb.
- 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,...
, on Landesstraße (State Road) 103 towards Bad Bertrich near the Beurener Mühle (mill) – with a ChristJesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
figure from the very late Gothic period.
Sport and leisure
Beuren has various hikingHiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
possibilities to, for instance, a local waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
. Other choices include hikes to the Schorker-Höhl (cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
), the Vier-Seen-Blick (“Four-Lake-View”), the Echo-Bank, the Hohe Lay (“High Rock”) and the Kuckuckslay (“Cuckoo
Cuckoo
The cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos . Some zoologists and taxonomists have also included the unique Hoatzin in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute...
’s Rock”).