Ormont
Encyclopedia
Ormont 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 Obere Kyll
, whose seat is in the municipality of Jünkerath
.
origin (or = “gold”; mont = “mountain”), but this is not so. In the Liber Aureus, the “Golden Book” of the town of Prüm
, is a boundary description for the centres of Olzheim
and Ormont. Here, the village is called Aurimuncio, in Mediaeval Latin. Nonetheless, this does have the same literal meaning as the supposed French derivation (aurum = “gold”; mons/montem = “mountain”). Either way, therefore, the municipality’s name means “Gold Mountain”.
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.
interesting is the Goldberg, a local mountain whose name, like Ormont’s own, means “Gold Mountain”, but in Modern High German
. The former volcano
is the Vulkaneifel’s westernmost outlier. Its name comes from the many biotite
crystals that glitter in the sun. In the local folkspeech, these have been given the name Katzengold (“cat gold”), although this is actually a name given several minerals in German, including fool’s gold
. Now and then, olivine
nodules can also be found. Since the Second World War, the volcano’s lava has been intensively quarried.
times a road led from Losheim
to Ormont, which to this day bears the name Walenstraße. The word Walen comes from the Old High German
walahisc, which meant “Romance
- (but originally Celtic
-) speaking”. It is cognate
with the English
word “Welsh”.
In 893, Ormont had its first documentary mention when Prüm Abbey
’s directory of holdings, the Prümer Urbar, said that all inhabitants of Oremunte were to make hay
for Prüm Abbey.
The boundary description mentioned above (see Name), however, is believed to date from 801, but this cannot be definitively confirmed. What can be said, though, is that Ormont can look back on a history more than 1,200 years old.
In the directory of holdings from 1222, the reader learns that the Count of Vianden was enfeoffed by the Prüm Church with “the estate at Oremunte”. Almost a century later, in 1320, Friedrich II of Blankenheim was enfeoffed by King John of Bohemia, who was also Duke of Luxembourg
, with the village of Oyrmunde. Friedrich’s wife was “Else, Frau von Neuenstein” (see Neuenstein below).
In 1329, the brothers Arnold I and Gerhard V of Blankenheim bought the estate of Neuenstein (as discussed later, the castle
had not yet been built). Ever since, Neuenstein’s history has been bound with Ormont’s. In the early 14th century, Ormont was therefore Luxembourgish domain and was held by the Lords of Blankenheim as a fief.
In 1361, Ormont and Neuenstein passed by way of exchange to Johann I of Schleiden and his brother Konrad of Schleiden, Provost at St. Gereon in Cologne
. About 1365, Konrad built Castle Neuenstein.
In 1450, Ormont and Neuenstein changed lords once again, ending up under the Counts of Manderscheid-Schleiden. They were a mighty and influential dynasty with good relations with the Imperial
court, and they significantly shaped the Eifel
’s history in the Late Middle Ages
.
After this comital line died out in 1593, Count Philipp von der Mark held Ormont and Neuenstein unrightfully for the next 20 years. From 1613 to 1719, the two centres were held by the House of Manderscheid-Gerolstein (Kronenburg). From 1719 on, they were then held by Manderscheid-Blankenheim-Gerolstein (Kronenburg).
The last regent was Augusta, Imperial Countess at Manderscheid. She fled in 1794 before French Revolutionary
troops with her husband, Christian von Sternberg, to his holdings in Bohemia
.
In the autumn of 1794, the French
occupied Ormont and Neuenstein. Ormont was grouped into the Department of Ourthe in the Arrondissement of Malmedy and the Canton of Kronenburg. More locally, it was administered by the Mairie (“Mayoralty”) of Hallschlag.
After the Congress of Vienna
in 1814 and 1815, the village passed to Prussia
as part of the Rhine Province
, becoming a self-administering municipality in the Amtsbezirk of Stadtkyll in the Prüm district.
Late in the Second World War, the village sustained heavy damage during the Battle of the Bulge
. The local soldiers’ graveyard recalls this difficult time of war in early 1945.
In the course of administrative restructuring in Rhineland-Palatinate
in 1970, Ormont passed to the Verbandsgemeinde of Obere Kyll
, and ever since it has belonged to the Daun district, which has since been given the name Vulkaneifel.
The new owners were Johann I of Schleiden and his brother Konrad of Schleiden, Provost at St. Gereon in Cologne
. On a conical hill, high above the river Prüm’s left bank, about 1365, Konrad built Castle Neuenstein. Whatever his spiritual leanings were, Konrad was also a fervent warrior. The castle
served him in defending his estate against his Blankenheim cousins, with whom he was at war. Surrounding the castle were broad moats, which were fed by the river Prüm. The castle could be entered behind a wall from the east. In 1370, Provost Konrad died, whereupon the new owner became Konrad V of Schleiden. He openly styled himself “Lord of Ormont and Neuenstein”.
In 1397, the Cologne Council sent a “Johann von Neuenstein” to the Imperial
encampment at Frankfurt
. In 1413, a “Dr. jur. Johann von Neuenstein” also crops up. Also witnessed in written records are Wolf Ludwig von Neuenstein, Hermann Dietrich von Neuenstein and Georg von Neuenstein.
In 1794, French Revolutionary
troops burnt Castle Neuenstein down and sold it off as a quarry. Scant remnants of the foundations are all that can be found today.
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 five plates, two, one and two, between two glaives Or in fess, the whole between a chief indented and in base a mount of the second, the latter charged with a dragon’s head erased surmounted by a Latin cross of the first.
Ormont and the outlying centre of Neuenstein belonged in feudal
times to the County of Manderscheid. The “chief indented” – the stripe across the top of the escutcheon with the sawtooth lower edge – is a reference to the arms borne by those counts, whose arms were actually charge
d with a fess dancetty of four (see the article about the county to see the Manderscheid arms). Konrad of Schleiden, builder of Castle Neuenstein, bore arms charged with golden glaive
s (a mediaeval
pole weapon). The five “plates” (silver roundels, or in this case balls or orbs, as the German blazon has it) are taken from a seal used by a Johann von Neuenstein. The golden mount symbolizes the Goldberg, a mountain in the municipality whose name has the same meaning as the municipality’s Latin
-derived name, and the charge is therefore also canting
. The dragon’s head and the Latin cross are Saint Margaret’s
attributes, thus representing the municipality’s and the church’s patron saint.
The proposal for and the design of the arms came from Herbert Blum. The arms have been borne since 1992.
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 Obere Kyll
Obere Kyll
Obere Kyll is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Vulkaneifel, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the upper course of the river Kyll, approx. 55 km south-west of Bonn. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Jünkerath.The Verbandsgemeinde Obere Kyll consists of the following...
, whose seat is in the municipality of Jünkerath
Jünkerath
Jünkerath 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 Obere Kyll, and is home to its seat.- Location :Jünkerath, along with its outlying...
.
Name
It is often supposed that Ormont’s name is of FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
origin (or = “gold”; mont = “mountain”), but this is not so. In the Liber Aureus, the “Golden Book” of the town of Prüm
Prüm
Prüm is a town in the Westeifel , Germany. Formerly a district capital, today it is the administrative seat of the Verbandsgemeinde Prüm.-Geography:...
, is a boundary description for the centres of Olzheim
Olzheim
Olzheim is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....
and Ormont. Here, the village is called Aurimuncio, in Mediaeval Latin. Nonetheless, this does have the same literal meaning as the supposed French derivation (aurum = “gold”; mons/montem = “mountain”). Either way, therefore, the municipality’s name means “Gold Mountain”.
Location
The municipality lies at the foot of the SchneifelSchneifel
The Schneifel is a range of low mountains in the western part of the Eifel in Germany, near the Belgian border. It runs from Brandscheid near Prüm in a northeasterly direction to Ormont....
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.
Geology
GeologicallyGeology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
interesting is the Goldberg, a local mountain whose name, like Ormont’s own, means “Gold Mountain”, but in Modern High 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....
. The former volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
is the Vulkaneifel’s westernmost outlier. Its name comes from the many biotite
Biotite
Biotite is a common phyllosilicate mineral within the mica group, with the approximate chemical formula . More generally, it refers to the dark mica series, primarily a solid-solution series between the iron-endmember annite, and the magnesium-endmember phlogopite; more aluminous endmembers...
crystals that glitter in the sun. In the local folkspeech, these have been given the name Katzengold (“cat gold”), although this is actually a name given several minerals in German, including fool’s gold
Pyrite
The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, is an iron sulfide with the formula FeS2. This mineral's metallic luster and pale-to-normal, brass-yellow hue have earned it the nickname fool's gold because of its resemblance to gold...
. Now and then, olivine
Olivine
The mineral olivine is a magnesium iron silicate with the formula 2SiO4. It is a common mineral in the Earth's subsurface but weathers quickly on the surface....
nodules can also be found. Since the Second World War, the volcano’s lava has been intensively quarried.
History
In 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....
times a road led from Losheim
Losheim am See
Losheim am See is a municipality in the district Merzig-Wadern, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the southern edge of the Hunsrück, approximately 10 kilometers northeast of Merzig, and 35 kilometers northwest of Saarbrücken. In 1974 a reservoir was created to the north of Losheim which has...
to Ormont, which to this day bears the name Walenstraße. The word Walen comes from the Old High German
Old High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
walahisc, which meant “Romance
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
- (but originally Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
-) speaking”. It is cognate
Cognate
In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
with the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
word “Welsh”.
In 893, Ormont had its first documentary mention when Prüm Abbey
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....
’s directory of holdings, the Prümer Urbar, said that all inhabitants of Oremunte were to make hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
for Prüm Abbey.
The boundary description mentioned above (see Name), however, is believed to date from 801, but this cannot be definitively confirmed. What can be said, though, is that Ormont can look back on a history more than 1,200 years old.
In the directory of holdings from 1222, the reader learns that the Count of Vianden was enfeoffed by the Prüm Church with “the estate at Oremunte”. Almost a century later, in 1320, Friedrich II of Blankenheim was enfeoffed by King John of Bohemia, who was also Duke of Luxembourg
County, Duchy and Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
The County, later Duchy of Luxembourg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire, the ancestral homeland of the noble House of Luxembourg.-History:...
, with the village of Oyrmunde. Friedrich’s wife was “Else, Frau von Neuenstein” (see Neuenstein below).
In 1329, the brothers Arnold I and Gerhard V of Blankenheim bought the estate of Neuenstein (as discussed later, the castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
had not yet been built). Ever since, Neuenstein’s history has been bound with Ormont’s. In the early 14th century, Ormont was therefore Luxembourgish domain and was held by the Lords of Blankenheim as a fief.
In 1361, Ormont and Neuenstein passed by way of exchange to Johann I of Schleiden and his brother Konrad of Schleiden, Provost at St. Gereon in 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...
. About 1365, Konrad built Castle Neuenstein.
In 1450, Ormont and Neuenstein changed lords once again, ending up under the Counts of Manderscheid-Schleiden. They were a mighty and influential dynasty with good relations with the 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...
court, and they significantly shaped 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....
’s history in the Late Middle Ages
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....
.
After this comital line died out in 1593, Count Philipp von der Mark held Ormont and Neuenstein unrightfully for the next 20 years. From 1613 to 1719, the two centres were held by the House of Manderscheid-Gerolstein (Kronenburg). From 1719 on, they were then held by Manderscheid-Blankenheim-Gerolstein (Kronenburg).
The last regent was Augusta, Imperial Countess at Manderscheid. She fled in 1794 before French Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
troops with her husband, Christian von Sternberg, to his holdings in Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
.
In the autumn of 1794, 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...
occupied Ormont and Neuenstein. Ormont was grouped into the Department of Ourthe in the Arrondissement of Malmedy and the Canton of Kronenburg. More locally, it was administered by the Mairie (“Mayoralty”) of Hallschlag.
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,...
in 1814 and 1815, the village passed to 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...
as part of 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...
, becoming a self-administering municipality in the Amtsbezirk of Stadtkyll in the Prüm district.
Late in the Second World War, the village sustained heavy damage during the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
. The local soldiers’ graveyard recalls this difficult time of war in early 1945.
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 ....
in 1970, Ormont passed to the Verbandsgemeinde of Obere Kyll
Obere Kyll
Obere Kyll is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Vulkaneifel, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the upper course of the river Kyll, approx. 55 km south-west of Bonn. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Jünkerath.The Verbandsgemeinde Obere Kyll consists of the following...
, and ever since it has belonged to the Daun district, which has since been given the name Vulkaneifel.
Neuenstein
About 1300, an “Else, Frau von Neuenstein” crops up in the archives. If this Else was an hereditary daughter of a Lord of Neuenstein, then the House of Neuenstein would be traceable back to the 13th century. However, Else seems to have had no strong link to Neuenstein. When her husband, Friedrich II of Blankenheim, died, she sold the Neuenstein estate in 1329 to Arnold I and Gerhard V of Blankenheim. Arnold’s grandson, Gerhard VI of Blankenheim exchanged Neuenstein and Ormont in 1361 for other landholdings.The new owners were Johann I of Schleiden and his brother Konrad of Schleiden, Provost at St. Gereon in 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...
. On a conical hill, high above the river Prüm’s left bank, about 1365, Konrad built Castle Neuenstein. Whatever his spiritual leanings were, Konrad was also a fervent warrior. The castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
served him in defending his estate against his Blankenheim cousins, with whom he was at war. Surrounding the castle were broad moats, which were fed by the river Prüm. The castle could be entered behind a wall from the east. In 1370, Provost Konrad died, whereupon the new owner became Konrad V of Schleiden. He openly styled himself “Lord of Ormont and Neuenstein”.
In 1397, the Cologne Council sent a “Johann von Neuenstein” to the 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...
encampment at Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
. In 1413, a “Dr. jur. Johann von Neuenstein” also crops up. Also witnessed in written records are Wolf Ludwig von Neuenstein, Hermann Dietrich von Neuenstein and Georg von Neuenstein.
In 1794, French Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
troops burnt Castle Neuenstein down and sold it off as a quarry. Scant remnants of the foundations are all that can be found today.
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.
Mayor
Ormont’s mayor is Cornelius Dahm, and his deputies are Hermann Weber and Klaus Harings.Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Unter goldenem Zackenschildhaupt und über goldenem Bogenschildfuß (Berg), darin ein roter Drachenkopf, der mit einem roten Kreuzstab bedeckt ist, in Rot fünf (2:1:2) silberne Kugeln, begleitet rechts und links von je einer goldenen Gleve.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 five plates, two, one and two, between two glaives Or in fess, the whole between a chief indented and in base a mount of the second, the latter charged with a dragon’s head erased surmounted by a Latin cross of the first.
Ormont and the outlying centre of Neuenstein belonged in feudal
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
times to the County of Manderscheid. The “chief indented” – the stripe across the top of the escutcheon with the sawtooth lower edge – is a reference to the arms borne by those counts, whose arms were actually 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...
d with a fess dancetty of four (see the article about the county to see the Manderscheid arms). Konrad of Schleiden, builder of Castle Neuenstein, bore arms charged with golden glaive
Glaive
A glaive is a European polearm weapon, consisting of a single-edged blade on the end of a pole. It is similar to the Japanese naginata and the Chinese Guan Dao....
s (a 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...
pole weapon). The five “plates” (silver roundels, or in this case balls or orbs, as the German blazon has it) are taken from a seal used by a Johann von Neuenstein. The golden mount symbolizes the Goldberg, a mountain in the municipality whose name has the same meaning as the municipality’s Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
-derived name, and the charge is therefore also 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 –...
. The dragon’s head and the Latin cross are Saint Margaret’s
Margaret the Virgin
Margaret the Virgin, also known as Margaret of Antioch , virgin and martyr, is celebrated as a saint by the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches on July 20; and on July 17 in the Orthodox Church. Her historical existence has been questioned; she was declared apocryphal by Pope Gelasius I in 494,...
attributes, thus representing the municipality’s and the church’s patron saint.
The proposal for and the design of the arms came from Herbert Blum. The arms have been borne since 1992.
Buildings
- Saint Margaret’sMargaret the VirginMargaret the Virgin, also known as Margaret of Antioch , virgin and martyr, is celebrated as a saint by the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches on July 20; and on July 17 in the Orthodox Church. Her historical existence has been questioned; she was declared apocryphal by Pope Gelasius I in 494,...
Catholic Parish Church (Pfarrkirche St. Margaretha), Kirchweg 1 – Gothic RevivalGothic Revival architectureThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
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...
, 1850. - At Schneifelstraße 12 – residential half of a Quereinhaus (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street) (?) from 1791.
- Near Weinstraße 12 – wayside cross, 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....
of unknown date. - Wayside crosses, southwest of the village at a fork in the road – cast-iron crucifix of unknown date.