Ebernhahn
Encyclopedia
Ebernhahn is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
– in the Westerwaldkreis
in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
.
, its name hardly cropped up at all. After the devastating effects of the Thirty Years' War
(1618–48), it counted, together with nearby Siershahn
, only 42 inhabitants.
Ebernhahn’s name comes from the Old High German
word hag (“enclosure”), making the name’s meaning, roughly, “belonging to the boar’s enclosure”; Eber is German
for “boar
”.
Ebernhahn was at first under the governance of the Electorate of Trier, later passing to the Duchy of Nassau and later still, in 1866, to Prussia
. Since 1971 it has belonged to what was then the newly founded Verbandsgemeinde of Wirges
, a kind of collective municipality, and since 1974 it has been part of the Westerwaldkreis
whose district seat is in Montabaur
.
In the mid 19th century, industry
began to make inroads into the community, above all clay
quarry
ing businesses. With industrialization, the community underwent, as did all communities in the Kannenbäckerland, a swift upswing in growth. While Ebernhahn counted only 241 inhabitants in 1818, by century’s end, this had grown to some 500.
Since the quarrying businesses drew so many people from beyond Ebernhahn into the community, there was a necessary reaction to this in the community itself in the form of a developing transport trade. This gave rise to local passenger- and goods-moving businesses whose descendants can still be found today, long after clay quarrying ended.
On 11 March 1945, the community was bombed by the United States Army Air Forces
; 52 people were killed and 32 buildings were thoroughly destroyed.
. Until April 1984, the parish had its own clergyman. Since then, it has shared one with the neighbouring parish of Dernbach. Given the increasing dearth of clergymen, Ebernhahn, and indeed Dernbach too, had to be grouped into the parish cluster (Pfarreienverband) of Wirges in 1996 while otherwise retaining its status as a parish.
was built in Ebernhahn. This was forsaken in 1911 for the new church, Maria Empfängnis. The church was expanded in 1958 and finished in 1968 with the belfry
that it has today, which replaced the earlier onion-domed
tower. In 1978, the interior was renovated. In 1997 extensive work was done on the church’s exterior. Moreover, the rectory and sacristy were remodelled. In 2006 came a radical renovation and remodelling of the church’s interior. A decisive architectural feature resulting from this is the shifting of the altar
from the sanctuary forwards to the centre of a half-circle consisting of four segments, made out of old pews. On 4 November 2006, the new altar, whose capstone was made from the old altar, was consecrated by Abbot emeritus Dr. Thomas Denter.
community of Marolles-les-Braults
in the department of Sarthe
. The official partnership meetings take place each year on Whitsun
weekend, in Ebernhahn in even-numbered years and in Marolles-les-Braults in odd-numbered years. On 22 April 2007, the square outside the multi-purpose hall in Ebernhahn, after a thorough remodelling, was given the name Place Marolles as an expression of the partnership.
for its roughly 30 established firms and its many clubs, among them the nationally and internationally distinguished men’s singing club Thalia, founded in 1880, the music club, founded in 1913, the Maria Empfängnis church choir, established in 1949 and the Wanderfreunde Ebernhahn (“Ebernhahn Hiking Friends”), which came into being in 1980.
The MGV "Thalia" gives its own concert every year on the Saturday before Palm Sunday
at which other renowned choirs and ensembles are guests. Moreover, the MGV "Thalia" takes part in at least one important choir contest each year. The music club vies every autumn with three other orchestras in a collective concert held at a different place each time. Each year, on the last weekend before the summer holidays, the music club gives an open-air serenade at the old village linden
in the middle of the community. The church choir
takes on the creation of the church year’s high points, particularly at Easter
, Corpus Christi
and Christmas
. Every summer there is an evening song event, likewise at the old village linden. All three musical clubs also hold combined church concerts in a perennial, loose cycle. The Wanderfreunde are represented weekly, nationally, and sometimes internationally, at many hiking
events. Each year in August, the Wanderfreunde hold their own Internationale Volkswanderung. Furthermore, the Wanderfreunde invite everyone to an Advent
Hike in December, linked every other year with the Krippenwanderung (“Manger Hike”), when under festive lighting, there are many Christmas mangers to be seen.
Verbandsgemeinde
A Verbandsgemeinde is an administrative unit in the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt.-Rhineland-Palatinate:...
– in the Westerwaldkreis
Westerwaldkreis
The Westerwaldkreis is a district in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
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...
.
History
First unequivocally mentioned in 1324 as Evernhan, Ebernhahn is counted among the newer Westerwald villages, and through the Middle AgesMiddle 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...
, its name hardly cropped up at all. After the devastating effects of 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....
(1618–48), it counted, together with nearby Siershahn
Siershahn
Siershahn is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-History:Clay finds from La Tène times have been unearthed here...
, only 42 inhabitants.
Ebernhahn’s name comes 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...
word hag (“enclosure”), making the name’s meaning, roughly, “belonging to the boar’s enclosure”; Eber is 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....
for “boar
Boar
Wild boar, also wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises...
”.
Ebernhahn was at first under the governance of the Electorate of Trier, later passing to the Duchy of Nassau and later still, in 1866, to 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...
. Since 1971 it has belonged to what was then the newly founded Verbandsgemeinde of Wirges
Wirges (Verbandsgemeinde)
Wirges is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Westerwaldkreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Wirges....
, a kind of collective municipality, and since 1974 it has been part of the Westerwaldkreis
Westerwaldkreis
The Westerwaldkreis is a district in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
whose district seat is in Montabaur
Montabaur
Montabaur is a town and the district seat of the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. At the same time, it is also the administrative centre of the Verbandsgemeinde of Montabaur – a kind of collective municipality – to which 24 other communities belong...
.
In the mid 19th century, industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
began to make inroads into the community, above all clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
ing businesses. With industrialization, the community underwent, as did all communities in the Kannenbäckerland, a swift upswing in growth. While Ebernhahn counted only 241 inhabitants in 1818, by century’s end, this had grown to some 500.
Since the quarrying businesses drew so many people from beyond Ebernhahn into the community, there was a necessary reaction to this in the community itself in the form of a developing transport trade. This gave rise to local passenger- and goods-moving businesses whose descendants can still be found today, long after clay quarrying ended.
On 11 March 1945, the community was bombed by the United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
; 52 people were killed and 32 buildings were thoroughly destroyed.
Parish’s history
In 1902, Ebernhahn was made an autonomous chapel-parish. In 1921, Ebernhahn became a parish vicariate, and in 1964 it was raised to parishParish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
. Until April 1984, the parish had its own clergyman. Since then, it has shared one with the neighbouring parish of Dernbach. Given the increasing dearth of clergymen, Ebernhahn, and indeed Dernbach too, had to be grouped into the parish cluster (Pfarreienverband) of Wirges in 1996 while otherwise retaining its status as a parish.
Church’s history
In 1871, the first chapelChapel
A 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,...
was built in Ebernhahn. This was forsaken in 1911 for the new church, Maria Empfängnis. The church was expanded in 1958 and finished in 1968 with the belfry
Bell tower
A bell tower is a tower which contains one or more bells, or which is designed to hold bells, even if it has none. In the European tradition, such a tower most commonly serves as part of a church and contains church bells. When attached to a city hall or other civic building, especially in...
that it has today, which replaced the earlier onion-domed
Onion dome
An onion dome is a dome whose shape resembles the onion, after which they are named. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the drum upon which they are set, and their height usually exceeds their width...
tower. In 1978, the interior was renovated. In 1997 extensive work was done on the church’s exterior. Moreover, the rectory and sacristy were remodelled. In 2006 came a radical renovation and remodelling of the church’s interior. A decisive architectural feature resulting from this is the shifting of the altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
from the sanctuary forwards to the centre of a half-circle consisting of four segments, made out of old pews. On 4 November 2006, the new altar, whose capstone was made from the old altar, was consecrated by Abbot emeritus Dr. Thomas Denter.
Patron’s festival and church consecration
The parish patron’s festival is on 8 December, the “high festival of the Mother of God conceived without original sin”. The church consecration festival is celebrated each year on the first Sunday in May.Community council
The council is made up of 17 council members, including the extraofficial mayor (Bürgermeister), who were elected in a municipal election on 7 June 2009.| CDU | FWG Ebernhahn | WG - Schmidt | Total | |
| 2004 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 16 Seats |
Village hymn
Since June 2006, Ebernhahn has had its own anthem, called Dou bess dott Dorf (Ebernhahn dialect for Du bist das Dorf – “You are the village”).Partnerships
Since 1973, there has existed a partnership between Ebernhahn and the FrenchFrance
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...
community of Marolles-les-Braults
Marolles-les-Braults
Marolles-les-Braults is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays-de-la-Loire in north-western France.-References:*...
in the department of Sarthe
Sarthe
Sarthe is a French department, named after the Sarthe River.- History :The department was created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790, pursuant to the law of December 22, 1789, starting from a part of the province of Maine which was divided into two departments, Sarthe to the east and...
. The official partnership meetings take place each year on Whitsun
Whitsun
Whitsun is the name used in the UK for the Christian festival of Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples...
weekend, in Ebernhahn in even-numbered years and in Marolles-les-Braults in odd-numbered years. On 22 April 2007, the square outside the multi-purpose hall in Ebernhahn, after a thorough remodelling, was given the name Place Marolles as an expression of the partnership.
Village life
Ebernhahn is well known far beyond the WesterwaldWesterwald
The Westerwald is a low mountain range on the right bank of the River Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhine Massif...
for its roughly 30 established firms and its many clubs, among them the nationally and internationally distinguished men’s singing club Thalia, founded in 1880, the music club, founded in 1913, the Maria Empfängnis church choir, established in 1949 and the Wanderfreunde Ebernhahn (“Ebernhahn Hiking Friends”), which came into being in 1980.
The MGV "Thalia" gives its own concert every year on the Saturday before Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four Canonical Gospels. ....
at which other renowned choirs and ensembles are guests. Moreover, the MGV "Thalia" takes part in at least one important choir contest each year. The music club vies every autumn with three other orchestras in a collective concert held at a different place each time. Each year, on the last weekend before the summer holidays, the music club gives an open-air serenade at the old village linden
Tilia
Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America...
in the middle of the community. The church choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
takes on the creation of the church year’s high points, particularly at Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
, Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
and Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
. Every summer there is an evening song event, likewise at the old village linden. All three musical clubs also hold combined church concerts in a perennial, loose cycle. The Wanderfreunde are represented weekly, nationally, and sometimes internationally, at many hiking
Hiking
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...
events. Each year in August, the Wanderfreunde hold their own Internationale Volkswanderung. Furthermore, the Wanderfreunde invite everyone to an Advent
Advent
Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...
Hike in December, linked every other year with the Krippenwanderung (“Manger Hike”), when under festive lighting, there are many Christmas mangers to be seen.