Oberbettingen
Encyclopedia
Oberbettingen 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 Hillesheim
, whose seat is in the like-named town
.
in the Vulkaneifel
, 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.
in Trier
. In the Middle Ages
, the village belonged to the House of Bettingen, under whom were the Counts of Blankenheim, Manderscheid and Gerolstein. About 1470, Oberbettingen was made subject to the County of Gerolstein. Some of the earlier Lords of Bettingen were the Abbot of Prüm
in 1077, Wirich von Bettingen in 1157 and Theobald von Bettingen in 1158.
Under French
rule (1794-1814), Oberbettingen was assigned to the mayor of the Mairie (“Mayoralty”) of Lissendorf
in the like-named canton
. Even later, under Prussia
n administration, the village was still administered by Lissendorf.
Oberbettingen was until 1750 an autonomous parish. Ever since, it has belonged to the Parish of Niederbettingen, a constituent community of the town of Hillesheim
. The former parish church, Saint Nicholas’s, now serves only as a chapel of ease
. There was a conversion of the quire in 1827 and of the nave in 1841. The churchtower was built higher in 1937 to accommodate another bell. In 1960 came more expansion work on the nave, and the adjoining rectory was built. Venerated in Oberbettingen is the Irish
saint Brigid of Kildare
, patron saint of livestock
, and for decades, on 1 February – Saint Brigid’s feast day – pilgrims from all the surrounding villages would come in processions to Oberbettingen.
In 1815, after the Congress of Vienna
assigned the area to the Kingdom of Prussia
, the Rhine Province
was founded. This lasted until Germany’s defeat in the Second World War. In 1816, districts
(Kreise) were formed, and uninterruptedly ever since, Oberbettingen has belonged to the district of Daun, although this was given a new name – Vulkaneifel – in 2007.
In 1873, the Ehrang – Kalscheuren (Trier
– Cologne
) railway came into service with the opening of the railway station in Hillesheim
’s outlying centre of Alter Bahnhof (whose name means “Old Railway Station”). This lasted until the opening of the Ahrtalbahn (another railway) in 1912, when the local station became Hillesheim-Oberbettingen – and then later Oberbettingen-Hillesheim.
In 1899, a grant of 1,500 Marks was mentioned for the meadowlands in the Kyll
valley, which existed until the Flurbereinigung
in 1952. In the same year, the Oberbettingen volunteer fire brigade was also founded. In 1903, a new two-class school building was built, replacing the hitherto one-room school
at the house still found today at Am Bach 5. In 1913 a new graveyard, Friedhof Auf Kringelsrech, came into use. Until then, there had only been the graveyard behind the chapel, where the rectory now stands. In 1914, the new waterworks came into being. The water was fed by gravity into a cistern and thence into the supply network.
Founded in 1921 was the Oberbettingen savings and loan institution of Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen
and Georg Friedrich Dasbach. In 1922 came the first electricity supply to Oberbettingen, from Niederbettingen. As soon as the next year, Oberbettingen was connected to the Schleiden district network (later RWE
).
In 1936 came the introduction of the first Flurbereinigung
measures, but they were interrupted by the Second World War in 1939.
On 5 March 1945, United States
forces seized Oberbettingen and crossed the Kyll on a Bailey bridge, whereupon the frontline turned its attention towards Hillesheim across the unoccupied “Kyll Position”.
Along with the whole Regierungsbezirk
of Trier, the district of Daun (now Vulkaneifel) was assigned to the French Zone of Occupation. Since 1946, the municipality has been part of the then newly founded state
of Rhineland-Palatinate
.
In 1946, the sport club FC Oberbettingen 1946 e. V.
was founded.
In 1952, first Flurbereinigung
measures, begun before the war, were finished. The second round was completed in 1987.
In 1970, in the course of administrative restructuring in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Oberbettingen, along with Basberg
, Mirbach and Wiesbaum
, was transferred from the Amt of Lissendorf to the Verbandsgemeinde of Hillesheim
. In 1979, classes ended at the three-room Oberbettingen primary school and scholastic operations were merged with the Hillesheim primary school.
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: Argent semée of crosses a bend dancetty azure.
The arms are those formerly borne by the dynastic House of Bettingen, which took its name from the municipality almost 900 years ago. The municipality has now taken the lords’ arms from them.
–Euskirchen
–Gerolstein
–Trier
), which is served by the following local passenger services:
For all local public transport, three tariff systems apply: the Verkehrsverbund Region Trier (VRT), the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg, and for journeys crossing tariff zones, the NRW-Tarif.
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 Hillesheim
Hillesheim (Verbandsgemeinde)
Hillesheim is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Vulkaneifel, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Hillesheim....
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Hillesheim
Hillesheim is the third largest town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde, to which it also belongs.- Location :...
.
Location
The municipality lies on a flat expanse in the valley of the river KyllKyll
The Kyll , noted by the Roman poet Ausonius as Celbis, is a 142km long river in western Germany , left tributary of the Moselle. It rises in the Eifel mountains, near the border with Belgium and flows generally south through the towns Stadtkyll, Gerolstein, Kyllburg and east of Bitburg...
in the Vulkaneifel
Vulkan 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.
History
In 845, Bettingen, or more specifically, Niederbettingen Castle, had its first documentary mention in a document from King Lothar by way of St. Maximin’s AbbeySt. Maximin's Abbey, Trier
St. Maximin's Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Trier in the Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-History:The abbey, traditionally considered one of the oldest monasteries in western Europe, was held to have been founded by Saint Maximin of Trier in the 4th century. Maximin St. Maximin's Abbey was a...
in 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....
. In 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...
, the village belonged to the House of Bettingen, under whom were the Counts of Blankenheim, Manderscheid and Gerolstein. About 1470, Oberbettingen was made subject to the County of Gerolstein. Some of the earlier Lords of Bettingen were the Abbot of Prüm
Prüm 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....
in 1077, Wirich von Bettingen in 1157 and Theobald von Bettingen in 1158.
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 (1794-1814), Oberbettingen was assigned to the mayor of the Mairie (“Mayoralty”) of Lissendorf
Lissendorf
Lissendorf is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
in the like-named canton
Cantons of France
The cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 342 arrondissements and 101 departments.Apart from their role as organizational units in certain aspects of the administration of public services and justice, the chief purpose of the cantons today is to serve as...
. Even later, under 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 administration, the village was still administered by Lissendorf.
Oberbettingen was until 1750 an autonomous parish. Ever since, it has belonged to the Parish of Niederbettingen, a constituent community of the town of Hillesheim
Hillesheim
Hillesheim is the third largest town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde, to which it also belongs.- Location :...
. The former parish church, Saint Nicholas’s, now serves only as a chapel of ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....
. There was a conversion of the quire in 1827 and of the nave in 1841. The churchtower was built higher in 1937 to accommodate another bell. In 1960 came more expansion work on the nave, and the adjoining rectory was built. Venerated in Oberbettingen is the Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
saint Brigid of Kildare
Brigid of Kildare
Saint Brigit of Kildare, or Brigit of Ireland , nicknamed Mary of the Gael is one of Ireland's patron saints along with Saints Patrick and Columba...
, patron saint of livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
, and for decades, on 1 February – Saint Brigid’s feast day – pilgrims from all the surrounding villages would come in processions to Oberbettingen.
In 1815, after 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,...
assigned the area 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...
, the Rhine Province
Rhine Province
The Rhine Province , also known as Rhenish Prussia or synonymous to the Rhineland , was the westernmost province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia, within the German Reich, from 1822-1946. It was created from the provinces of the Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg...
was founded. This lasted until Germany’s defeat in the Second World War. In 1816, districts
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 ....
(Kreise) were formed, and uninterruptedly ever since, Oberbettingen has belonged to the district of Daun, although this was given a new name – Vulkaneifel – in 2007.
In 1873, the Ehrang – Kalscheuren (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....
– 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...
) railway came into service with the opening of the railway station in Hillesheim
Hillesheim
Hillesheim is the third largest town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde, to which it also belongs.- Location :...
’s outlying centre of Alter Bahnhof (whose name means “Old Railway Station”). This lasted until the opening of the Ahrtalbahn (another railway) in 1912, when the local station became Hillesheim-Oberbettingen – and then later Oberbettingen-Hillesheim.
In 1899, a grant of 1,500 Marks was mentioned for the meadowlands in the Kyll
Kyll
The Kyll , noted by the Roman poet Ausonius as Celbis, is a 142km long river in western Germany , left tributary of the Moselle. It rises in the Eifel mountains, near the border with Belgium and flows generally south through the towns Stadtkyll, Gerolstein, Kyllburg and east of Bitburg...
valley, which existed until the Flurbereinigung
Flurbereinigung
Flurbereinigung is the German word used to describe land reforms in various countries, especially Germany and Austria. The term can best be translated as land consolidation. Another European country where those land reforms have been carried out is France...
in 1952. In the same year, the Oberbettingen volunteer fire brigade was also founded. In 1903, a new two-class school building was built, replacing the hitherto one-room school
One-room school
One-room schools were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In most rural and small town schools, all of the students met in a single room...
at the house still found today at Am Bach 5. In 1913 a new graveyard, Friedhof Auf Kringelsrech, came into use. Until then, there had only been the graveyard behind the chapel, where the rectory now stands. In 1914, the new waterworks came into being. The water was fed by gravity into a cistern and thence into the supply network.
Founded in 1921 was the Oberbettingen savings and loan institution of Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen
Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen
Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen was a German mayor and cooperative pioneer. Several credit union systems and cooperative banks have been named after Raiffeisen, who pioneered rural credit unions.- Life :...
and Georg Friedrich Dasbach. In 1922 came the first electricity supply to Oberbettingen, from Niederbettingen. As soon as the next year, Oberbettingen was connected to the Schleiden district network (later RWE
RWE
RWE AG , is a German electric power and natural gas public utility company based in Essen. Through its various subsidiaries, the energy company contributes electricity and gas to more than 20 million electricity customers and 10 million gas customers, principally in Europe...
).
In 1936 came the introduction of the first Flurbereinigung
Flurbereinigung
Flurbereinigung is the German word used to describe land reforms in various countries, especially Germany and Austria. The term can best be translated as land consolidation. Another European country where those land reforms have been carried out is France...
measures, but they were interrupted by the Second World War in 1939.
On 5 March 1945, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
forces seized Oberbettingen and crossed the Kyll on a Bailey bridge, whereupon the frontline turned its attention towards Hillesheim across the unoccupied “Kyll Position”.
Along with the whole Regierungsbezirk
Regierungsbezirk
In Germany, a Government District, in German: Regierungsbezirk – is a subdivision of certain federal states .They are above the Kreise, Landkreise, and kreisfreie Städte...
of Trier, the district of Daun (now Vulkaneifel) was assigned to the French Zone of Occupation. Since 1946, the municipality 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 ....
.
In 1946, the sport club FC Oberbettingen 1946 e. V.
Eingetragener Verein
Eingetragener Verein is a legal status for a registered voluntary association in Germany and Austria. While any group may be called a Verein, registration as eingetragener Verein holds many legal benefits because a registered association may legally function as a corporate body rather than just...
was founded.
In 1952, first Flurbereinigung
Flurbereinigung
Flurbereinigung is the German word used to describe land reforms in various countries, especially Germany and Austria. The term can best be translated as land consolidation. Another European country where those land reforms have been carried out is France...
measures, begun before the war, were finished. The second round was completed in 1987.
In 1970, in the course of administrative restructuring 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 ....
, Oberbettingen, along with Basberg
Basberg
Basberg is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Mirbach and Wiesbaum
Wiesbaum
Wiesbaum is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, was transferred from the Amt of Lissendorf to the Verbandsgemeinde of Hillesheim
Hillesheim (Verbandsgemeinde)
Hillesheim is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Vulkaneifel, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Hillesheim....
. In 1979, classes ended at the three-room Oberbettingen primary school and scholastic operations were merged with the Hillesheim primary school.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 12 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... |
WG Meyer | Total | |
| 2009 | 4 | 8 | 12 seats |
| 2004 | 3 | 9 | 12 seats |
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: In Silber, bestreut mit blauen Fadenkreuzchen, ein blauer Zickzack- Schrägbalken.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: Argent semée of crosses a bend dancetty azure.
The arms are those formerly borne by the dynastic House of Bettingen, which took its name from the municipality almost 900 years ago. The municipality has now taken the lords’ arms from them.
Buildings
- Saint NicholasSaint NicholasSaint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
’s Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Nikolaus), Prümer Straße – quire 1827, 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...
1841; 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,...
beam cross from 1736; grave crosses from 18th century. - Marienstraße 6 – former school, partly 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...
, partly slated, early 20th century, old retaining wallRetaining wallRetaining walls are built in order to hold back earth which would otherwise move downwards. Their purpose is to stabilize slopes and provide useful areas at different elevations, e.g...
facing street. - Prümer Straße 52 – estate along the street from 1767 (?), lengthened in 19th century, stable, bakehouse, stable-barn.
- Wayside cross, southeast of the village on the old way to Niederbettingen, sandstone shaft cross from 1756.
- Wayside cross, southwest of the village at the edge of the woods, 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...
sandstone shaft cross from 1672. - Wayside cross, west of the village on the heights, shaft cross from 1736, new finishing cross.
- Wayside cross, south of the village on a farm lane following the old Roman road, sandstone pedestal, cast-ironCast ironCast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
crucifixCrucifixA crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
, about 1900.
Transport
Oberbettingen-Hillesheim railway station lies on the Eifelbahn (CologneCologne
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...
–Euskirchen
Euskirchen
Euskirchen is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the district Euskirchen. While Euskirchen resembles a modern shopping town, it also has a history dating back over 700 years, having been granted town-status in 1302....
–Gerolstein
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...
–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....
), which is served by the following local passenger services:
- the Eifel-Express (Cologne–Euskirchen–Gerolstein with connection to Trier);
- the Eifel-Bahn (Cologne–Euskirchen–Kall, and at peak times on to Gerolstein).
For all local public transport, three tariff systems apply: the Verkehrsverbund Region Trier (VRT), the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg, and for journeys crossing tariff zones, the NRW-Tarif.