Kopp, Germany
Encyclopedia
Kopp 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 Gerolstein
, 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 Eigelbacher Maar, is an Ortsteil of Kopp.
. The first hints of settlers in the area, however, date from Roman
times (the Roman road between Trier
and Cologne
was right nearby).
The name Kopp is derived from the German
word Kuppe (“knoll”).
In 1576, Kopp passed to the Electorate of Trier. In 1794, after the French
had beaten the Austria
ns, the local nobles found themselves stripped of their fiefs, hunting rights and other feudal privileges by French troops. At first, the French were welcomed as liberators, but public opinion soon shifted to hatred towards people now seen as occupiers. After Napoleon’s
defeats at Leipzig
(1813) and Waterloo
(1815), Kopp found itself in Prussia
n hands.
In the time from the turn of the 20th century to the Second World War, the people led an impoverished life, which was typical for the Eifel
. Only after the war did things get better. Today Kopp is a village characteristic of the Eifel, with agriculture
, light tourism
and weekend daytrippers.
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: Per chevron abased argent an axe gules bendwise sinister and an oakleaf vert bendwise in fess, and vert a waterwheel spoked of four Or.
The division of the field
in Kopp’s arms is canting
for the municipality’s name, which as already explained comes from a word that means “knoll”. The green peak serves as a graphic representation of such a thing. The gold waterwheel recalls a time when there were important gristmills and sawmills in the Fischbach valley. The axe is Saint Matthew’s attribute, thus representing the municipality’s and the chapel’s patron saint, who was beheaded with an axe. The oakleaf refers not only to the two natural monuments in Kopp, the 300-year-old Stelzeneiche (“Stilt Oak”) in the main centre and the oak in the outlying centre of Eigelbach, but also to the richly wooded municipal area.
and tourism
are the municipality’s main income sources. Particular points of interest are the 300-year-old Stelzeneiche (“Stilt Oak”), the village chapel and the Birresborn
ice cave
s, one kilometre away.
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 Gerolstein
Gerolstein (Verbandsgemeinde)
Gerolstein is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Vulkaneifel, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Gerolstein....
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Gerolstein
Gerolstein is a town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde. Gerolstein is headquarters to a large mineral water firm, Gerolsteiner Brunnen...
.
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.
Constituent communities
The outlying village of Eigelbach on the bed of a dry maarMaar
A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater that is caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption, an explosion caused by groundwater coming into contact with hot lava or magma. A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow crater lake. The name comes from the local Moselle...
, the Eigelbacher Maar, is an Ortsteil of Kopp.
History
In 1286, Kopp had its first documentary mention. It was then held by 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....
. The first hints of settlers in the area, however, date from 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 (the Roman road between Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
and Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
was right nearby).
The name Kopp is derived from 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 Kuppe (“knoll”).
In 1576, Kopp passed to the Electorate of Trier. In 1794, after the 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...
had beaten the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
ns, the local nobles found themselves stripped of their fiefs, hunting rights and other feudal privileges by French troops. At first, the French were welcomed as liberators, but public opinion soon shifted to hatred towards people now seen as occupiers. After Napoleon’s
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...
defeats at Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
(1813) and Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
(1815), Kopp found itself in 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...
n hands.
In the time from the turn of the 20th century to the Second World War, the people led an impoverished life, which was typical for 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....
. Only after the war did things get better. Today Kopp is a village characteristic of the Eifel, with agriculture
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...
, light tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
and weekend daytrippers.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 6 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 German blazon reads: In Silber über halber grüner Spitze, darin ein vierspeichiges goldenes Mühlrad, schräg und gegenschräg gestellte rote Axt und grünes Eichenblatt.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 chevron abased argent an axe gules bendwise sinister and an oakleaf vert bendwise in fess, and vert a waterwheel spoked of four Or.
The division of the field
Division of the field
In heraldry, the field of a shield can be divided into more than one area of different tinctures, usually following the lines of one of the ordinaries and carrying its name...
in Kopp’s arms is 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 –...
for the municipality’s name, which as already explained comes from a word that means “knoll”. The green peak serves as a graphic representation of such a thing. The gold waterwheel recalls a time when there were important gristmills and sawmills in the Fischbach valley. The axe is Saint Matthew’s attribute, thus representing the municipality’s and the chapel’s patron saint, who was beheaded with an axe. The oakleaf refers not only to the two natural monuments in Kopp, the 300-year-old Stelzeneiche (“Stilt Oak”) in the main centre and the oak in the outlying centre of Eigelbach, but also to the richly wooded municipal area.
Culture and sightseeing
AgricultureAgriculture
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...
and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
are the municipality’s main income sources. Particular points of interest are the 300-year-old Stelzeneiche (“Stilt Oak”), the village chapel and the Birresborn
Birresborn
Birresborn is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
ice cave
Ice cave
The term ice cave refers to any type of natural cave that contains significant amounts of perennial ice...
s, one kilometre away.
Buildings
- Saint EligiusSaint EligiusSaint Eligius is the patron saint of goldsmiths, other metalworkers, and coin collectors. He is also the patron saint of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers , a corps of the British Army, but he is best known for being the patron saint of horses and those who work with them...
’s Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Eligius), Wallersheimer Straße 2, 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...
, 18th century, porch 1850, red 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,...
churchyard cross from 1782. - Dorfstraße 4 – dwelling half of a Quereinhaus (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street) from 1844.
- Dorfstraße 8 – estate complex, house from 1759?, stately stable-barn.
- Wayside cross, south of the village in the woods.
- Wayside cross, west of the village on the Hundsberg, red sandstone 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...
shaft cross from the 18th century.