Niedersohren
Encyclopedia
Niedersohren is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district
) in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kirchberg
, whose seat is in the like-named town
.
in the valley of the Sohrbach. The municipal area measures 3.90 km², 0.89 km² of which is wooded.
North of the village runs Bundesstraße
50, while to the south runs the historical Via Ausonia, a Roman road (called the Ausoniusstraße in German
). Four kilometres northwest of Niedersohren lies Frankfurt-Hahn Airport
. Niedersohren lies roughly 4 km southwest of Rhineland-Palatinate’s geographical midpoint. The cities of Mainz
, Koblenz
and Trier
are more or less equidistant from Niedersohren.
settlement are graves found on the Via Ausonia and near the Annahof, where in 1884 fragments of a Roman grave memorial bearing a scene from daily life, and a cube-shaped quarrystone from the frieze of a second grave were unearthed. These are now found in the Museum Bonn.
In 1301, King Albrecht
enfeoffed Eberhard von Sponheim
with the village. The Counts of Sponheim held an estate in Niedersohren
In the 18th century, the Margrave of Baden
was the landholder. Beginning in 1794, Niedersohren 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: Tierced in mantle reversed, argent an urn and a bowl in pale azure, sable an eagle displayed Or, armed and langued gules and Or a bend of the fifth.
Niedersohren in the Pflege (literally “care”, but actually a local geopolitical unit) of Sohren was a royal estate, and thus the eagle is borne as a charge
. In 1301, Niedersohren passed as an Imperial
fief to the Counts of Sponheim
, after whom came their heirs, the Margraves of Baden
and the Counts of Veldenz. After the 1707 partition, the Margraves of Baden were the only landholders. The red bend (slanted stripe) in the gold field on the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side refers to them. The two vessels on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side are from the Hunsrück-Eifel Culture and were recovered from a barrow
in the municipal forest, district 6.
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
Some 2 km from the village centre, between Niedersohren and Dill
, is found a replica of a watchtower from Roman
times, as well as a shelter cabin with “Roman games”. Looking from the Roman tower, there is a good view of the Idarkopf (one of the Hunsrück’s highest mountains) and Frankfurt-Hahn Airport
.
, the “Pina Coladas”. In 2010, the play “Doktor Deiwel − Was kann ich für Sie tun?” was performed.
to Trier
.
. There is also a youth football pitch.
There is a playing collective between the two sport clubs TUS Sohren and TUS Büchenbeuren.
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 Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (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 Kirchberg
Kirchberg (Verbandsgemeinde)
Kirchberg is a Verbandsgemeinde in the Rhein-Hunsrück district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Its seat is in Kirchberg.The Verbandsgemeinde Kirchberg consists of the following Ortsgemeinden :...
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Kirchberg, Rhein-Hunsrück
-History:Archaeological finds make it clear that by 400 BC, the Treveri, a people of mixed Celtic and Germanic stock, from whom the Latin name for the city of Trier, Augusta Treverorum, is also derived, had settled here...
.
Location
The municipality lies in the central 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...
in the valley of the Sohrbach. The municipal area measures 3.90 km², 0.89 km² of which is wooded.
North of the village runs Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
50, while to the south runs the historical Via Ausonia, a Roman road (called the Ausoniusstraße in 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....
). Four kilometres northwest of Niedersohren lies Frankfurt-Hahn Airport
Frankfurt-Hahn Airport
-Cargo airlines:-Other facilities:AirIT Services AG, a subsidiary of Fraport, has its head office in Building 663 at Hahn Airport.-References:*Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 USAF Reference Series, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force,...
. Niedersohren lies roughly 4 km southwest of Rhineland-Palatinate’s geographical midpoint. The cities of Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, 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...
and 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....
are more or less equidistant from Niedersohren.
History
Bearing witness to RomanAncient 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....
settlement are graves found on the Via Ausonia and near the Annahof, where in 1884 fragments of a Roman grave memorial bearing a scene from daily life, and a cube-shaped quarrystone from the frieze of a second grave were unearthed. These are now found in the Museum Bonn.
In 1301, King Albrecht
Albert I of Germany
Albert I of Habsburg was King of the Romans and Duke of Austria, the eldest son of German King Rudolph I of Habsburg and his first wife Gertrude of Hohenburg.-Life:...
enfeoffed Eberhard von 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...
with the village. The Counts of Sponheim held an estate in Niedersohren
In the 18th century, the Margrave of 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....
was the landholder. Beginning in 1794, Niedersohren 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 8 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: Gespalten durch eine eingebogene, gestürzte schwarze Spitze, darin ein rotbewehrter und- gezungter Adler, vorne in silber über einer blauen Schale ein blauer Krug, hinten in gold ein roter Schrägrechtsbalken.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: Tierced in mantle reversed, argent an urn and a bowl in pale azure, sable an eagle displayed Or, armed and langued gules and Or a bend of the fifth.
Niedersohren in the Pflege (literally “care”, but actually a local geopolitical unit) of Sohren was a royal estate, and thus the eagle is borne as a 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...
. In 1301, Niedersohren passed as an Imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
fief to the Counts 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...
, after whom came their heirs, the Margraves of 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 the Counts of Veldenz. After the 1707 partition, the Margraves of Baden were the only landholders. The red bend (slanted stripe) in the gold field on the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side refers to them. The two vessels on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side are from the Hunsrück-Eifel Culture and were recovered from a barrow
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
in the municipal forest, district 6.
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:
- Schulstraße 8 – estate complex along the street; 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...
building, late 19th century, timber-frame stable, partly solid; whole complex of buildings - Sohrener Weg 4 – L-shaped estate, timber-frame; whole complex of buildings
- Niedersohrener Hof, east of Niedersohren – building with hipped roof; whole complex of buildings
Other sites
Standing in the village centre is the Altes Backes (“Old Bakehouse”) which now houses the volunteer fire brigade. To its right stands a newer building, the municipal building.Some 2 km from the village centre, between Niedersohren and Dill
Dill, Germany
-History:In Reichenbach Priory’s book of donated holdings is an entry from 1090 naming somebody called Landegerus de Tila. Whether this refers to Dill, however, is far from clear...
, is found a replica of a watchtower 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, as well as a shelter cabin with “Roman games”. Looking from the Roman tower, there is a good view of the Idarkopf (one of the Hunsrück’s highest mountains) and Frankfurt-Hahn Airport
Frankfurt-Hahn Airport
-Cargo airlines:-Other facilities:AirIT Services AG, a subsidiary of Fraport, has its head office in Building 663 at Hahn Airport.-References:*Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 USAF Reference Series, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force,...
.
Theatre
Since 2004, Niedersohren has been home to the only youth theatrical group in the Verbandsgemeinde of KirchbergKirchberg (Verbandsgemeinde)
Kirchberg is a Verbandsgemeinde in the Rhein-Hunsrück district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Its seat is in Kirchberg.The Verbandsgemeinde Kirchberg consists of the following Ortsgemeinden :...
, the “Pina Coladas”. In 2010, the play “Doktor Deiwel − Was kann ich für Sie tun?” was performed.
Via Ausonia
Running by the replica watchtower and the shelter cabin is the Via Ausonia (locally, the Ausoniusstraße). This road, or rather path, was laid out by the Romans and saw heavy use in antiquity. The Via Ausonia leads from BingenBingen am Rhein
Bingen am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.The settlement’s original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant “hole in the rock”, a description of the shoal behind the Mäuseturm, known as the Binger Loch. Bingen was the starting point for the...
to 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....
.
Sport
The Niedersohren sport club has been in existence since 1921. The sporting ground lies right on Kreisstraße (District Road) 2, going towards SohrenSohren
Sohren is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kirchberg, whose seat is in the like-named town...
. There is also a youth football pitch.
There is a playing collective between the two sport clubs TUS Sohren and TUS Büchenbeuren.
Regular events
- Events staged by the volunteer fire brigade and the promotional association
- 1 May: Fire Brigade Day and Open-Door Day
- Events staged by the Niedersohren parents’ initiative
- Kinderfastnacht (“Children’s Fastnacht”, on Shrove TuesdayShrove TuesdayShrove Tuesday is a term used in English-speaking countries, especially in Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, and parts of the United States for the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of fasting and prayer called Lent.The...
) - Nikolausfeier (on the first Saturday in December)
- Theatre Evening (early September)
- Kinderfastnacht (“Children’s Fastnacht”, on Shrove Tuesday
- Events staged by SV Niedersohren
- CarnivalCarnivalCarnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
session on the Saturday evening before RosenmontagRosenmontagRosenmontag is the highlight of the German "Karneval" , and is on the Shrove Monday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. The "Mardi Gras," though celebrated on Tuesday, is a similar event...
(Shrove Monday) - Après-Ski, alternating with Caribbean Night once a year on a Saturday evening in autumn.
- Carnival