Enkirch
Encyclopedia
Enkirch is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich
district
in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
.
at the mouth of a branched brook, the Ahringsbach, coming from the Hunsrück
on the Moselle’s right bank, and some 52 km south of Cochem
. From Enkirch to its mouth on the Rhine at the Deutsches Eck
in Koblenz
, the Moselle covers a distance of 102 km. Near Enkirch is a weir on the Moselle.
Enkirch belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Traben-Trarbach
, whose seat is in the like-named town
.
.
Enkirch was already an important centre as early as Celtic times, and then on into Roman
times. On 1 April 733, Enkirch had its first documentary mention in the noblewoman Adela’s will as Anchiriacum. It was mentioned for the second time on 10 February 908 by King Ludwig IV
when he donated the church and manse to Archbishop Radbod of Trier
. The document in question refers to the village as Ancaracha. The municipality’s name evolved through the forms Enkricha, Einkirke and Enkerich before settling on today’s form, Enkirch.
Beginning in the 11th century, Enkirch belonged to the County of Sponheim
. In the 12th century, the Sponheims built the Starkenburg (castle) above Enkirch. Sometime about the year 1240, the County was divided into the “Further” and “Hinder” County of Sponheim, or Sponheim-Kreuznach and Sponheim-Starkenburg.
In 1135, the Ravengiersburg Monastery built a pilgrimage chapel consecrated to Mary
on Enkirch’s outskirts. This chapel was later expanded into a collegiate church and then in 1685 it was incorporated into a newly founded Franciscan
monastery. After Napoleon
dissolved the monastery in the late 18th century, the church was turned over to the Catholic parish for their use.
As early as 1248, by virtue of being the Rear County seat, Enkirch was granted town and market rights along with its own jurisdiction. At that time, Enkirch was fortified and girded with a town wall and seven gates. After the feud between Countess Loretta of Sponheim and the Prince-Archbishop-Elector Baldwin of Trier, and his capture by the Countess in 1328, Loretta’s son Johann III, Count of Sponheim-Starkenburg built a new castle near Trarbach, the Grevenburg
. This brought about a shift of the Rear County seat to Trarbach, and thereby a loss of importance to Enkirch, even though it was considerably bigger than Traben and Trarbach put together, even into the 19th century. Since Enkirch was fortified but now had no castle, the church, which had been mentioned as early as 908, served as a fortress church
.
In 1557, Frederick II of Simmern – later Frederick III, Elector Palatine
– introduced the Reformation
into the Oberamt of Trarbach. Since this time, the church has been Evangelical
.
For its outstanding wineries, Enkirch was already well known very early on, as witnessed by 15 formerly ecclesiastical and comital winegrowing estates.
Because of the many timber-frame
houses built in the 15th to 18th century, Enkirch is also called the Schatzkammer rheinischen Fachwerkbaues (“Treasury of Rhenish Timber Framing”).
, while about 450 are Catholic.
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: Sable an anchor reversed Or, each of its flukes surmounted by an inescutcheon chequy argent and gules.
Curiously, the German blazon does not mention the anchor’s tincture
, although it is shown as Or (gold) on the municipality’s own website.
The anchor is likely a canting
charge
: the German
word for “anchor” is Anker, which resembles Ankerich, among other former names that the municipality has had. The oldest composition of Enkirch’s arms goes back to 1248 and already shows the two inescutcheons with the checked pattern (“chequy”), the Sponheim
armorial bearing. Over time, though, the two inescutcheons were charged differently, and at one point, a third one even appeared. Once Baden
and a Palatine sideline (Palatinate-Simmern, later Palatinate-Zweibrücken
or Palatinate-Birkenfeld
) had come into ownership of the “Hinder” County of Sponheim, the two inescutcheons showed the Palatine Lion and the Baden bend (slanted stripe), while a third inescutcheon at the bottom of the anchor showed the Sponheims’ arms. In the late 19th century, though, the old arms were reinstated.
and one Catholic.
Very colourful old timber-frame
houses can be found in narrow, very impressive laneways that bring back some of the flair of the Middle Ages
.
In the area near the church meadow are also remnants of the mediaeval town fortifications.
As well as its historical timber-frame houses, Enkirch also has many Classicist
buildings built between the mid 19th century and the end of the First World War, among which is the imposing old village school. This is no longer used as a school, but together with the Terstegen-Haus, it houses, among others, the local music club. There is now a modern primary school in the village centre.
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 Bernkastel-Wittlich
Bernkastel-Wittlich
Bernkastel-Wittlich is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Vulkaneifel, Cochem-Zell, Rhein-Hunsrück, Birkenfeld, Trier-Saarburg and Bitburg-Prüm.- 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...
.
Location
The municipality lies below Traben-TrarbachTraben-Trarbach
Traben-Trarbach on the Middle Moselle is a town in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde and a state-recognized climatic spa .- Location :...
at the mouth of a branched brook, the Ahringsbach, coming from the Hunsrück
Hunsrück
The Hunsrück is a low mountain range in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the river valleys of the Moselle , the Nahe , and the Rhine . The Hunsrück is continued by the Taunus mountains on the eastern side of the Rhine. In the north behind the Moselle it is continued by the Eifel...
on the Moselle’s right bank, and some 52 km south of 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...
. From Enkirch to its mouth on the Rhine at the Deutsches Eck
Deutsches Eck
Deutsches Eck is the name of a headland in Koblenz where the Moselle joins the Rhine. In 1897, nine years after the death of the German Emperor William I, the former emperor was honoured with a giant equestrian statue bearing an inscription quoting a German poem: "Nimmer wird das Reich zerstöret,...
in 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...
, the Moselle covers a distance of 102 km. Near Enkirch is a weir on the Moselle.
Enkirch belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Traben-Trarbach
Traben-Trarbach (Verbandsgemeinde)
Traben-Trarbach is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Bernkastel-Wittlich, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Its seat of administration is in Traben-Trarbach....
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Traben-Trarbach
Traben-Trarbach on the Middle Moselle is a town in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde and a state-recognized climatic spa .- Location :...
.
History
It is assumed that there has been continuous habitation at what is now Enkirch for some 2,500 years, but the first traces of this go all the way back to the Stone AgeStone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
.
Enkirch was already an important centre as early as Celtic times, and then on into Roman
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....
times. On 1 April 733, Enkirch had its first documentary mention in the noblewoman Adela’s will as Anchiriacum. It was mentioned for the second time on 10 February 908 by King Ludwig IV
Louis the Child
Louis the Child , sometimes called Louis IV or Louis III, was the last Carolingian ruler of East Francia....
when he donated the church and manse to Archbishop Radbod of Trier
Ratbod, Archbishop of Trier
Radbod was the Archbishop of Trier from 883 until his death. Under the last Carolingians he obtained a great deal of benefits and converted the archdiocese of Trier into one of the most powerful institutions in Germany....
. The document in question refers to the village as Ancaracha. The municipality’s name evolved through the forms Enkricha, Einkirke and Enkerich before settling on today’s form, Enkirch.
Beginning in the 11th century, Enkirch belonged to the County 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...
. In the 12th century, the Sponheims built the Starkenburg (castle) above Enkirch. Sometime about the year 1240, the County was divided into the “Further” and “Hinder” County of Sponheim, or Sponheim-Kreuznach and Sponheim-Starkenburg.
In 1135, the Ravengiersburg Monastery built a pilgrimage chapel consecrated to Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
on Enkirch’s outskirts. This chapel was later expanded into a collegiate church and then in 1685 it was incorporated into a newly founded Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
monastery. After Napoleon
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
dissolved the monastery in the late 18th century, the church was turned over to the Catholic parish for their use.
As early as 1248, by virtue of being the Rear County seat, Enkirch was granted town and market rights along with its own jurisdiction. At that time, Enkirch was fortified and girded with a town wall and seven gates. After the feud between Countess Loretta of Sponheim and the Prince-Archbishop-Elector Baldwin of Trier, and his capture by the Countess in 1328, Loretta’s son Johann III, Count of Sponheim-Starkenburg built a new castle near Trarbach, the Grevenburg
Grevenburg
Grevenburg was a castle in Traben-Trarbach in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. The castle was formerly the residence of the Rear County of Sponheim and today is a ruin following its destruction by the French in 1734.- History :...
. This brought about a shift of the Rear County seat to Trarbach, and thereby a loss of importance to Enkirch, even though it was considerably bigger than Traben and Trarbach put together, even into the 19th century. Since Enkirch was fortified but now had no castle, the church, which had been mentioned as early as 908, served as a fortress church
Fortified church
Churches have often shown potential to be used for defensive purposes.Europe has a substantial legacy of fortified churches which were used for defensive purposes in time of war...
.
In 1557, Frederick II of Simmern – later Frederick III, Elector Palatine
Frederick III, Elector Palatine
Frederick III of Simmern, the Pious, Elector Palatine of the Rhine was a ruler from the house of Wittelsbach, branch Palatinate-Simmern-Sponheim. He was a son of John II of Simmern and inherited the Palatinate from the childless Elector Otto-Henry, Elector Palatine in 1559...
– introduced the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
into the Oberamt of Trarbach. Since this time, the church has been Evangelical
Evangelical Church in Germany
The 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...
.
For its outstanding wineries, Enkirch was already well known very early on, as witnessed by 15 formerly ecclesiastical and comital winegrowing estates.
Because of the many timber-frame
Timber framing
Timber 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...
houses built in the 15th to 18th century, Enkirch is also called the Schatzkammer rheinischen Fachwerkbaues (“Treasury of Rhenish Timber Framing”).
Religion
Some 1,100 of the inhabitants are EvangelicalEvangelical Church in Germany
The 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...
, while about 450 are Catholic.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected by proportional representationProportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
| SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
CDU | FWG | FDP Free Democratic Party (Germany) The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government... |
Total | |
| 2009 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 16 seats |
| 2004 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 16 seats |
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: In Schwarz ein gestürzter Anker mit rot weißem Schach auf den Flunken.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: Sable an anchor reversed Or, each of its flukes surmounted by an inescutcheon chequy argent and gules.
Curiously, the German blazon does not mention the anchor’s 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...
, although it is shown as Or (gold) on the municipality’s own website.
The anchor is likely 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...
: 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 “anchor” is Anker, which resembles Ankerich, among other former names that the municipality has had. The oldest composition of Enkirch’s arms goes back to 1248 and already shows the two inescutcheons with the checked pattern (“chequy”), the 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...
armorial bearing. Over time, though, the two inescutcheons were charged differently, and at one point, a third one even appeared. Once Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
and a Palatine sideline (Palatinate-Simmern, later Palatinate-Zweibrücken
House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken
The House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was the Royal House of Sweden from 1654 to 1720.By this point it had splintered into several different houses...
or Palatinate-Birkenfeld
House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld
Palatinate-Birkenfeld , later Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, was the name of a collateral line of the Palatine Wittelsbachs. The Counts Palatine from this line initially ruled over only a relatively unimportant territory, namely the Palatine share of the Rear County of Sponheim; however, their...
) had come into ownership of the “Hinder” County of Sponheim, the two inescutcheons showed the Palatine Lion and the Baden bend (slanted stripe), while a third inescutcheon at the bottom of the anchor showed the Sponheims’ arms. In the late 19th century, though, the old arms were reinstated.
Buildings
Worth putting foremost from the point of view of sightseeing are the two churches, one EvangelicalEvangelical Church in Germany
The 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...
and one Catholic.
Very colourful old timber-frame
Timber framing
Timber 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...
houses can be found in narrow, very impressive laneways that bring back some of the flair of the Middle Ages
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...
.
In the area near the church meadow are also remnants of the mediaeval town fortifications.
As well as its historical timber-frame houses, Enkirch also has many Classicist
Classicism
Classicism, 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...
buildings built between the mid 19th century and the end of the First World War, among which is the imposing old village school. This is no longer used as a school, but together with the Terstegen-Haus, it houses, among others, the local music club. There is now a modern primary school in the village centre.
Further reading
- Hans Immich-Spier: Anchiriacum - Enkirch 733 - 1983, herausgegeben von der Gemeinde Enkirch, Enkirch 1983
- Hans Immich-Spier: Enkircher Annalen: Blitzlichter aus der Geschichte Enkirchs, Heimat- und Verkehrsverein Enkirch, Enkirch 1988, ISBN 3-925533-07-9
External links
- Municipality’s official webpage
- http://www.swr.de/landesschau-rp/hierzuland/-/id=100766/nid=100766/did=2934398/cpdlzw/index.htmlBrief portrait with film about Enkirch 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....
] - Enkirch at www.moseltouren.de