Dreis-Brück
Encyclopedia
Dreis-Brück is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district
in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Daun
, whose seat is in the like-named town
.
, a part of the Eifel
known for its volcanic history, geographical and geological features, and even ongoing activity today, including gases that sometimes well up from the earth.
The village centre in Dreis sits at an elevation of 477 m above sea level
, while Brück’s elevation, also at the village centre, is 520 m above sea level. The municipality stretches over 1 818 ha all together, 820 ha of which is wooded. Several peaks surround the dale in which the municipality’s two centres lie, which is also crossed by six streams.
word triusan (“bubble”, “gush”). The name underwent many changes over the centuries. In the 16th century, besides Dreis, also Dreys and Dreyss were to be found. In the 17th century, alongside Dreyß, the forms Dreiß and Driest also cropped up, the last of which even appeared once as Dryesd in the 18th century. Spellings such as Dress, Dreyss or Dreys also are to be found.
Brück had its first documentary mention only in the 14th century.
The two then separate municipalities once belonged to the Counts of Manderscheid, who held the County of Kerpen, and eventually ended up with the Duchy of Arenberg after an hereditary division of holdings.
On 23 August 1945, shortly after the Second World War had ended, the war claimed three more victims locally. Three youths, Helmut Keul, Ernst Josef Probst and Werner Ullrich, went to the Dreis munitions depot to undertake the disarming of the weapons there, left over from the war. Their efforts resulted in a tremendous explosion that killed all three of them. A memorial cross now stands near the site.
In a written announcement from 28 August 1968, the Daun
Amt and town administration stated “the proposal for a fourth law about administrative restructuring in Rhineland-Palatinate
presented at the Landtag and already consulted in First Reading provides for the local area the amalgamation of, among others, the localities of … Dockweiler, Dreis and possibly also Brück”. The Dockweiler
municipal administration was quite strongly interested in a merger of the municipalities of Dockweiler and Dreis, and possibly also Brück and Betteldorf
, and its official plan reflected as much. The plan eventually failed after consensus could not be forged.
On 20 April 1969 the Mainz Ministry of the Interior published a decree about the formation of Verbandsgemeinde
n in the Regierungsbezirk
e of Koblenz and Trier. The Daun district administrator’s office took the decree further within the district of Daun (since 1 January 2007 the district of Vulkaneifel) with the plan, among others, to assign the municipality of Brück to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kelberg
. This move was rejected by both the citizenry and the municipal council.
On 19 May 1970, the Dreis municipal council decided between the two alternatives:
The citizens of Brück decided, with 99.33% in favour, to amalgamate themselves with Dreis, as long as the name Brück was retained.
On 20 December 1973 came the dissolution of the municipality of Brück, whereupon it was amalgamated with the municipality of Dreis with effect from 16 March 1974. In February 1974 the municipalities’ two councils had concluded a settlement and had decided on a merger.
On 15 August 1977, the Trier Regierungsbezirk
administration granted the municipality of Dreis the new name Dreis-Brück. The name change came into force on 1 September 1977.
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
might be described thus: Argent a fountain issuant from whose top two streams, one each to dexter and sinister and each splitting into three, all azure, issuant from base a bridge arched of three sable, in a chief gules three roses Or seeded of the fourth.
The arms were designed by Friedbert Wißkirchen (Daun Verbandsgemeinde administration).
The chief
refers to the two centres’ history. They were held by the Counts of Manderscheid, who held the County of Kerpen, and eventually ended up with the Duchy of Arenberg after an hereditary division of holdings. The Dukes of Arenberg bore three roses in their seal. The tincture
s Or and gules (gold and red) are those once borne by the Counts of Manderscheid. The arched bridge in base is a canting
charge
and stands for the name Brück, which closely resembles the German
word for “bridge”: Brücke. The fountain also refers to part of the name – Drees – from the Old High German
(although it hardly resembles the modern German word for “fountain”: Brunnen). Moreover, the fountain also refers to the municipality’s status as the site of a state-recognized health spring
, the “Vulkania Quelle” in Dreis.
The Trier Regierungsbezirk
administration granted the municipality approval to bear arms in 1986.
writer Jacques Berndorf. Even his alter ego, Siggi Baumeister, the fictional protagonist
of his Eifel
crime stories, lives in Dreis-Brück. Hence, many of these stories are set in the surrounding area.
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 Vulkaneifel 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 Daun
Daun (Verbandsgemeinde)
Daun is a collective municipality in the Vulkaneifel district of Rhineland-Palatinate. The seat of the Daun Verbandsgemeinde is in the municipality of Daun.- Constituent municipalities:# Betteldorf# Bleckhausen# Brockscheid...
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Daun, Germany
Daun is a town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the district seat and also the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Daun.- Location :...
.
Location
The municipality lies in the VulkaneifelVulkan Eifel
The Vulkan Eifel is a region in the Eifel Mountains in Germany, that is defined to a large extent by its volcanic geological history. Characteristic of the Vulkan Eifel are its typical explosion crater lakes or maars, and numerous other signs of volcanic activity such as volcanic tuffs, lava...
, a part 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....
known for its volcanic history, geographical and geological features, and even ongoing activity today, including gases that sometimes well up from the earth.
The village centre in Dreis sits at an elevation of 477 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...
, while Brück’s elevation, also at the village centre, is 520 m above sea level. The municipality stretches over 1 818 ha all together, 820 ha of which is wooded. Several peaks surround the dale in which the municipality’s two centres lie, which is also crossed by six streams.
Constituent communities
Dreis-Brück’s Ortsteile are, as its hyphenated name implies, Dreis and Brück.History
The time in which Dreis was founded is shrouded in darkness. Its beginnings would seem to stretch back to Carolingian times. In 1143, Dreis had its first documentary mention. The placename “Dreis” is obviously derived from the Old High GermanOld High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
word triusan (“bubble”, “gush”). The name underwent many changes over the centuries. In the 16th century, besides Dreis, also Dreys and Dreyss were to be found. In the 17th century, alongside Dreyß, the forms Dreiß and Driest also cropped up, the last of which even appeared once as Dryesd in the 18th century. Spellings such as Dress, Dreyss or Dreys also are to be found.
Brück had its first documentary mention only in the 14th century.
The two then separate municipalities once belonged to the Counts of Manderscheid, who held the County of Kerpen, and eventually ended up with the Duchy of Arenberg after an hereditary division of holdings.
On 23 August 1945, shortly after the Second World War had ended, the war claimed three more victims locally. Three youths, Helmut Keul, Ernst Josef Probst and Werner Ullrich, went to the Dreis munitions depot to undertake the disarming of the weapons there, left over from the war. Their efforts resulted in a tremendous explosion that killed all three of them. A memorial cross now stands near the site.
In a written announcement from 28 August 1968, the Daun
Daun
Daun may refer to:* Daun, Germany, a town* Kreis Daun, the former name of the district Vulkaneifel in Germany* Karl Daun, German theologian* Count Leopold Joseph von Daun , Austrian field marshal...
Amt and town administration stated “the proposal for a fourth law about administrative restructuring 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 ....
presented at the Landtag and already consulted in First Reading provides for the local area the amalgamation of, among others, the localities of … Dockweiler, Dreis and possibly also Brück”. The Dockweiler
Dockweiler
Dockweiler is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
municipal administration was quite strongly interested in a merger of the municipalities of Dockweiler and Dreis, and possibly also Brück and Betteldorf
Betteldorf
Betteldorf is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, and its official plan reflected as much. The plan eventually failed after consensus could not be forged.
On 20 April 1969 the Mainz Ministry of the Interior published a decree about the formation of Verbandsgemeinde
Verbandsgemeinde
A Verbandsgemeinde is an administrative unit in the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt.-Rhineland-Palatinate:...
n in the Regierungsbezirk
Regierungsbezirk
In Germany, a Government District, in German: Regierungsbezirk – is a subdivision of certain federal states .They are above the Kreise, Landkreise, and kreisfreie Städte...
e of Koblenz and Trier. The Daun district administrator’s office took the decree further within the district of Daun (since 1 January 2007 the district of Vulkaneifel) with the plan, among others, to assign the municipality of Brück to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kelberg
Kelberg (Verbandsgemeinde)
Kelberg is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Vulkaneifel, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Kelberg....
. This move was rejected by both the citizenry and the municipal council.
On 19 May 1970, the Dreis municipal council decided between the two alternatives:
- to dissolve both municipalities and form a new municipality out of what had been until then the municipalities of Dreis and Brück
- to amalgamate the municipality of Brück into the municipality of Dreis.
The citizens of Brück decided, with 99.33% in favour, to amalgamate themselves with Dreis, as long as the name Brück was retained.
On 20 December 1973 came the dissolution of the municipality of Brück, whereupon it was amalgamated with the municipality of Dreis with effect from 16 March 1974. In February 1974 the municipalities’ two councils had concluded a settlement and had decided on a merger.
On 15 August 1977, the Trier Regierungsbezirk
Regierungsbezirk
In Germany, a Government District, in German: Regierungsbezirk – is a subdivision of certain federal states .They are above the Kreise, Landkreise, and kreisfreie Städte...
administration granted the municipality of Dreis the new name Dreis-Brück. The name change came into force on 1 September 1977.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 12 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 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: Argent a fountain issuant from whose top two streams, one each to dexter and sinister and each splitting into three, all azure, issuant from base a bridge arched of three sable, in a chief gules three roses Or seeded of the fourth.
The arms were designed by Friedbert Wißkirchen (Daun Verbandsgemeinde administration).
The chief
Chief (heraldry)
In heraldic blazon, a chief is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the top edge of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by the chief, ranging from one-fourth to one-third. The former is more likely if the...
refers to the two centres’ history. They were held by the Counts of Manderscheid, who held the County of Kerpen, and eventually ended up with the Duchy of Arenberg after an hereditary division of holdings. The Dukes of Arenberg bore three roses in their seal. The 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 Or and gules (gold and red) are those once borne by the Counts of Manderscheid. The arched bridge in base is a canting
Canting arms
Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name in a visual pun or rebus. The term cant came into the English language from Anglo-Norman cant, meaning song or singing, from Latin cantāre, and English cognates include canticle, chant, accent, incantation and recant.Canting arms –...
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...
and stands for the name Brück, which closely resembles the German
German 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....
word for “bridge”: Brücke. The fountain also refers to part of the name – Drees – from the Old High German
Old High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
(although it hardly resembles the modern German word for “fountain”: Brunnen). Moreover, the fountain also refers to the municipality’s status as the site of a state-recognized health spring
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
, the “Vulkania Quelle” in Dreis.
The Trier Regierungsbezirk
Regierungsbezirk
In Germany, a Government District, in German: Regierungsbezirk – is a subdivision of certain federal states .They are above the Kreise, Landkreise, and kreisfreie Städte...
administration granted the municipality approval to bear arms in 1986.
Old house names
Many older houses in Dreis-Brück have names that have nothing to do with the owners who live in them today. The names come partly from former owners’ names or occupations, but some also draw their names from former uses to which each building was put. Further names also come from various events.Brück
- Saint Apollinaris’s Catholic Church (branch church), triaxial 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...
, 1878-1882, expanded possibly after 1945, 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,...
shaft cross from 1798. - Heyrother Straße 9 – former school with 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...
, Reform architecture, about 1920-1930. - Im Höfchen 4 a – small 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...
Quereinhaus (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street), partly solid, apparently from 1850. - Wayside chapel, southwest of the village on the road to Dreis, plaster building, 18th/19th century.
Dreis
- Saint Quirinius’s Catholic Church (branch church), Hillesheimer Straße 9, biaxial 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...
from 1823. - Am Ahbach 4 – house from 1864.
- Breite Straße 10 – former forester’s house (?), small corner estate, Reform architecture, about 1920-1930.
- Brunnenstraße 5 – triaxial house, possibly mid 18th century.
- Dockweilerstraße 4 – house 17th or earlier half of 18th century, partly remodelled in 1894, courtyard gate from 1777.
- Near Dockweilerstraße 11 – 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...
sandstone Heiligenhäuschen (a small, shrinelike structure consecrated to a saint or saints), latter half of 18th century. - Hillesheimer Straße 2 – Baroque house from 1791, courtyard gate from 1772.
- Hillesheimer Straße 4 – building with half-hipped gables, possibly from about 1880.
- Hillesheimer Straße 5 – house or corner estate.
- Hillesheimer Straße 8/10 – former school, built in several phases, apparently from 1837, expanded on both sides, possibly in the early 20th century.
- Hillesheimer Straße 17 – Quereinhaus, 19th century.
- Hillesheimer Straße 34 – house from 1860, barn from 18th century.
- Kelberger Straße 4 – building with half-hipped gables, about 1800.
- Ringstraße 1 – so-called Dreiser Burg (castle), three-floored gable house, round stairwell, 1597.
- Ringstraße 2 – timber-frame house, partly solid, from 1741
Famous people
Dreis-Brück is home to the well known crime fictionCrime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
writer Jacques Berndorf. Even his alter ego, Siggi Baumeister, the fictional protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of his 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....
crime stories, lives in Dreis-Brück. Hence, many of these stories are set in the surrounding area.
Further reading
- Dieter Schewe: Burg Dreis in der Mitte der Eifel - 700 Jahre Wacht an Weiher und Ahbach. Sinzig 2004, ISBN 3-9809438-1-X (Geschichtliche Hintergründe und ein umfangreiches Literaturverzeichnis)
External links
- Municipality’s official webpage
- Website of the Dreis-Brück local cultural club
- http://www.swr.de/landesschau-rp/hierzuland/-/id=100766/nid=100766/did=2541318/6fldql/index.htmlBrief portrait of Dreis-Brück with film at SWR FernsehenSWR FernsehenSWR Fernsehen is a German regional television channel targeting the states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. It is produced by Südwestrundfunk and is one of eight regional "third channels" broadcast by the ARD members....
]