Lahr, Cochem-Zell
Encyclopedia
Lahr in the Hunsrück
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 Treis-Karden
, whose seat is in the like-named municipality
.
between the Lützbach valley to the east and the Dünnbach valley to the west.
, 2 km away, Lieg
, 3 km away and Mörsdorf
, 4 km away.
enfeoffed Kuno von Pyrmont with holdings and an estate in Lahr in 1438. The estate was under Pyrmont ownership in 1468. Friedrich von Pyrmont sold it in 1472 to Hanns von Lare. In 1790, the Counts of Hildesheim were listed as the landholders. Lahr belonged to the “three-lord” high court of Beltheim, which was shared by the Electorate of Trier, Pfalz-Zweibrücken (heirs of the Counts of Sponheim) and the lordship of Metternich-Winneburg-Beilstein (heirs of the Lords of Braunshorn). In 1773, Lahr belonged to the Amt of Baldeneck. In a 1780 partition agreement, Lahr passed together with Beltheim
and other places to the Electorate of Trier and thereafter belonged to the Electoral-Trier Amt of Baldeneck and the Court of Beltheim.
In 1784, a chapel
in Saint Oranna’s honour was built on the spot formerly occupied by an older chapel. The congregation belonged to the parish of Lütz
in the rural chapter of Kaimt-Zell and in the archdeaconry of Karden
.
Beginning in 1794, Lahr lay under French
rule. In 1815 it was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia
at the Congress of Vienna
. Since 1946, it 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.
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: Gules in dexter base a plough argent and in chief sinister a cross-staff bendwise surmounted by a sinister ear Or, on a chief of the second a cross of the first.
The cross in the chief
stands for the village’s centuries-long association with the Electorate of Trier and later the Diocese of Trier
. The plough
refers to the time in the Early Middle Ages
when the village arose as an agricultural
community, and for agriculture itself, which is still undertaken in Lahr. The other charge
s, the cross-staff and the ear, are Saint Oranna’s attributes, thus representing the church’s patron saint. According to local lore, she has been revered in Lahr since the chapel
was built in 1784. She is held to be the helper of those with earaches.
The arms were designed by A. Friderichs of Zell
and have been borne since 30 November 1983.
in the Hunsrück with Treis-Karden
on the river Moselle. There are also well signposted hiking trails in the Lahr area.
club, the Petershausen Church Choir
, a ninepins club, the group Alter gemeinsam gestalten, a women’s community and the youth centre.
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
The chapel was built in the middle of the village in 1784 in Saint Oranna’s honour on the spot formerly occupied by an older chapel. Particularly worth seeing are the mediaeval
wooden altar
and the many wooden and sandstone
figures.
Also of note is the Bleichbrunnen (roughly “Bleaching Fountain”). In earlier days, housewives did their washing here and then spread the various pieces of laundry out on a nearby meadow to bleach.
. Secondary school
s are to be found in Kastellaun
, Münstermaifeld
and Cochem
.
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...
is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
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 Treis-Karden
Treis-Karden (Verbandsgemeinde)
Treis-Karden is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district of Cochem-Zell, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Treis-Karden....
, whose seat is in the like-named municipality
Treis-Karden
Treis-Karden is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde to which it also belongs...
.
Location
The municipality lies on a high plateau in the northern HunsrückHunsrück
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...
between the Lützbach valley to the east and the Dünnbach valley to the west.
Neighbouring municipalities
Lahr’s neighbours are ZilshausenZilshausen
Zilshausen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, 2 km away, Lieg
Lieg
Lieg is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, 3 km away and Mörsdorf
Mörsdorf
Mörsdorf is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, 4 km away.
History
The Counts of SponheimCounty 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...
enfeoffed Kuno von Pyrmont with holdings and an estate in Lahr in 1438. The estate was under Pyrmont ownership in 1468. Friedrich von Pyrmont sold it in 1472 to Hanns von Lare. In 1790, the Counts of Hildesheim were listed as the landholders. Lahr belonged to the “three-lord” high court of Beltheim, which was shared by the Electorate of Trier, Pfalz-Zweibrücken (heirs of the Counts of Sponheim) and the lordship of Metternich-Winneburg-Beilstein (heirs of the Lords of Braunshorn). In 1773, Lahr belonged to the Amt of Baldeneck. In a 1780 partition agreement, Lahr passed together with Beltheim
Beltheim
-History:In 893, Beltheim had its first documentary mention in Prüm Abbey’s directory of holdings, the Prümer Urbar as Beltuom. Beltheim was the seat of the Beltheim court comprising the following places: Beltheim, Uhler, Mörsdorf, Lieg, Eveshausen, Dommershausen, Lahr, Cochem-Zell, Buch, Mörz,...
and other places to the Electorate of Trier and thereafter belonged to the Electoral-Trier Amt of Baldeneck and the Court of Beltheim.
In 1784, a chapel
Chapel
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,...
in Saint Oranna’s honour was built on the spot formerly occupied by an older chapel. The congregation belonged to the parish of Lütz
Lütz
Lütz 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 Treis-Karden, whose seat is in the like-named municipality...
in the rural chapter of Kaimt-Zell and in the archdeaconry of Karden
Treis-Karden
Treis-Karden is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde to which it also belongs...
.
Beginning in 1794, Lahr 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,...
. Since 1946, it 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 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.
Mayor
Lahr’s mayor is Hans-Peter Färber, and his deputies are Anke Juber and Alfred Friedrich.Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Unter silbernem Schildhaupt, darin ein durchgehendes rotes Kreuz, in Rot unten rechts ein silberner Pflug, oben links ein goldener Kreuzstab schrägrechts, belegt mit goldenem Ohr.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: Gules in dexter base a plough argent and in chief sinister a cross-staff bendwise surmounted by a sinister ear Or, on a chief of the second a cross of the first.
The cross in 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...
stands for the village’s centuries-long association with the Electorate of Trier and later the Diocese of Trier
Roman Catholic Diocese of Trier
The Roman Catholic diocese of Trier is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic church in Germany. As former archbishopric and Electorate of Trier it was one of the most important as both an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire, and as a diocese of the church...
. The plough
Plough
The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
refers to the time in the Early Middle Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
when the village arose as an 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...
community, and for agriculture itself, which is still undertaken in Lahr. The other 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...
s, the cross-staff and the ear, are Saint Oranna’s attributes, thus representing the church’s patron saint. According to local lore, she has been revered in Lahr since the chapel
Chapel
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 1784. She is held to be the helper of those with earaches.
The arms were designed by A. Friderichs of Zell
Zell (Mosel)
Zell is a town in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Zell has roughly 4,300 inhabitants and is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde.-Location:...
and have been borne since 30 November 1983.
Leisure
The Hunsrück-Mosel-Radweg (“Hunsrück-Moselle Cycle Path”) runs through the village’s outskirts, through the Luhnhofwald (forest). It is 30 km long and links the town of KastellaunKastellaun
-Climate:Yearly precipitation in Kastellaun amounts to 755 mm, which falls into the middle third of the precipitation chart for all Germany. At 53% of the German Weather Service’s weather stations, lower figures recorded. The driest month is April. The most rainfall comes in June. In that...
in the Hunsrück with Treis-Karden
Treis-Karden
Treis-Karden is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde to which it also belongs...
on the river Moselle. There are also well signposted hiking trails in the Lahr area.
Clubs and groups
Lahr has a volunteer fire brigade, a village community club, a chessChess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
club, the Petershausen 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...
, a ninepins club, the group Alter gemeinsam gestalten, a women’s community and the youth centre.
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 Oranna’s Catholic 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,...
(Orannenkapelle) – 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 1784; basaltBasaltBasalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
wayside cross, from 1714
The chapel was built in the middle of the village in 1784 in Saint Oranna’s honour on the spot formerly occupied by an older chapel. Particularly worth seeing are the 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...
wooden 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...
and the many wooden and sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone 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,...
figures.
Also of note is the Bleichbrunnen (roughly “Bleaching Fountain”). In earlier days, housewives did their washing here and then spread the various pieces of laundry out on a nearby meadow to bleach.
Museums
- Ausstellungsraum (“Exhibition Room”): On display here are old tools and instruments.
Education
The village’s schoolchildren attend the primary school in LiegLieg
Lieg is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
. Secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s are to be found in Kastellaun
Kastellaun
-Climate:Yearly precipitation in Kastellaun amounts to 755 mm, which falls into the middle third of the precipitation chart for all Germany. At 53% of the German Weather Service’s weather stations, lower figures recorded. The driest month is April. The most rainfall comes in June. In that...
, Münstermaifeld
Münstermaifeld
Münstermaifeld is a town in the district Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is part of the Verbandsgemeinde Maifeld. It is situated south-east of Mayen, a few km from the Moselle River and the castle Eltz. The first residents of the region were Celts...
and 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...
.