Stadtkyll
Encyclopedia
Stadtkyll 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
. Stadtkyll is a state-recognized climatic spa (Luftkurort).
, 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. Stadtkyll lies on the river Kyll
.
times have been unearthed during excavation work. In the lists of the Archiepiscopal Cathedraticum
, which come from about 1100, is a mention of the village under the name Kyll. In the 13th century, the village quickly grew in importance. About 1250 it was raised to town and thereby also acquired the right to bear a coat of arms
; the one borne then matches the one borne today. In 1292, it had already become a town girded with a wall and with a castle
. In 1308, it had its first documentary mention as Stadtkyll-Opidum in the Liber valoris. Over the course of its history, Stadtkyll has been beset by several catastrophes. In 1632, in the Thirty Years' War
, an army of mercenaries
set most of the village on fire. In 1687, the French
destroyed the village. In 1814 and again in 1854, great fires burnt Stadtkyll down. After these fires, the old town wall served as a quarry of sorts for building material to rebuild the village. The wall completely disappeared as a result, and its alignment can now only be made out in the rows of houses on Burgbergstraße.
The heaviest destruction sustained by Stadtkyll, however, came in the air raid
s in December 1944 and just after New Year’s, late in the Second World War, after the Battle of the Bulge
. Seventy-five percent of the village was destroyed.
The outlying centre of Schönfeld was bound to pay tributes to Prüm Abbey
in the 13th century. Beginning in the 14th century, it was administered from Stadtkyll. Since 1 January 1971, when Schönfeld was amalgamated, it has been an Ortsteil of Stadtkyll.
Stadtkyll’s other outlying centre, Niederkyll, had its first documentary mention in 1345 when the Lords of Blankenheim enfeoffed, among others, King John of Bohemia as Count of Luxembourg
, with Niederkyll. The chapel
was built about 1600, and was supposedly once Stadtkyll’s parish church.
Niederkyll’s history apparently stretches all the way back to Roman
times. A Roman road supposedly passed along this way, and it is also said that the chapel’s tower stands on the foundation of what was once a Roman sacrificial site.
In 1970, the sawing works of the firm Hermes located itself in the industrial park near Niederkyll. The company makes up a prominent part of the community’s appearance with its 70 000 m² area.
On the Stadtkyller Heide, a local heath
, between 1952 and 1992, stood a Decca transmitter
.
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. The 16 seats on council are shared between two voters’ groups.
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: A bend sinister wavy abased azure charged with seven mullets of four Or and conjoined by a bendlet sinister wavy argent, the whole between Or and gules.
The Stadtkyll Castle was most likely built by the Lords of Blankenheim. In 1469, the County of Blankenheim, and thereby also Stadtkyll, found itself in the ownership of the Counts of Manderscheid, whose armorial tincture
s. Stadtkyll was granted town rights in 1310, and thereby also the right to bear arms. They were more or less the same as the ones that the municipality bears today. The bend sinister in the old arms has been made wavy, however, and a silver bendlet has been added to its lower edge, to symbolize that the village’s and the castle’s surroundings are shaped by their location on the river Kyll
.
Saint Hubert’s. It is said once to have been Stadtkyll’s parish church. Furthermore, stories have it that it is built on Roman foundations that formerly bore a sacrificial site that the Romans used to appease their war god, Mars
. Offered as proof of this are finds of Roman coins nearby and, particularly, the find of a stone head – now set in the wall on the chapel’s east gable – formerly falsely claimed to be a likeness of Mars or Jupiter
. Thus far, the origin of this Roman bust is unknown, as is the man whose likeness it is. Scientific interpretation has raised the possibility that it might be part of a grave, given that it is near the old Roman camp of Icorigium (now Jünkerath
). It is even possible that the chapel’s builders interpreted it as a saint’s likeness, and accordingly set it in the chapel’s wall.
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...
. Stadtkyll is a state-recognized climatic spa (Luftkurort).
Location
The municipality lies in the VulkaneifelVulkan Eifel
The Vulkan Eifel is a region in the Eifel Mountains in Germany, that is defined to a large extent by its volcanic geological history. Characteristic of the Vulkan Eifel are its typical explosion crater lakes or maars, and numerous other signs of volcanic activity such as volcanic tuffs, lava...
, a part of the Eifel
Eifel
The Eifel is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the south of the German-speaking Community of Belgium....
known for its volcanic history, geographical and geological features, and even ongoing activity today, including gases that sometimes well up from the earth. Stadtkyll lies on the river 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...
.
Constituent communities
Stadtkyll’s Ortsteile are Niederkyll, Schönfeld and Stadtkyll.History
Near the village and in the outlying centre of Niederkyll, many finds from 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 have been unearthed during excavation work. In the lists of the Archiepiscopal Cathedraticum
Cathedraticum
Cathedraticum is a specified sum of money to be contributed annually for the support of the bishop, as a mark of honour and in sign of subjection to the cathedral church, hence its name.-History:...
, which come from about 1100, is a mention of the village under the name Kyll. In the 13th century, the village quickly grew in importance. About 1250 it was raised to town and thereby also acquired the right to bear a coat of 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...
; the one borne then matches the one borne today. In 1292, it had already become a town girded with a wall and with a 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...
. In 1308, it had its first documentary mention as Stadtkyll-Opidum in the Liber valoris. Over the course of its history, Stadtkyll has been beset by several catastrophes. In 1632, in the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, an army of mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
set most of the village on fire. In 1687, 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...
destroyed the village. In 1814 and again in 1854, great fires burnt Stadtkyll down. After these fires, the old town wall served as a quarry of sorts for building material to rebuild the village. The wall completely disappeared as a result, and its alignment can now only be made out in the rows of houses on Burgbergstraße.
The heaviest destruction sustained by Stadtkyll, however, came in the air raid
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
s in December 1944 and just after New Year’s, late in the Second World War, after 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...
. Seventy-five percent of the village was destroyed.
The outlying centre of Schönfeld was bound to pay tributes to 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....
in the 13th century. Beginning in the 14th century, it was administered from Stadtkyll. Since 1 January 1971, when Schönfeld was amalgamated, it has been an Ortsteil of Stadtkyll.
Stadtkyll’s other outlying centre, Niederkyll, had its first documentary mention in 1345 when the Lords of Blankenheim enfeoffed, among others, King John of Bohemia as Count 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 Niederkyll. 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 about 1600, and was supposedly once Stadtkyll’s parish church.
Niederkyll’s history apparently stretches all the way back to 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. A Roman road supposedly passed along this way, and it is also said that the chapel’s tower stands on the foundation of what was once a Roman sacrificial site.
In 1970, the sawing works of the firm Hermes located itself in the industrial park near Niederkyll. The company makes up a prominent part of the community’s appearance with its 70 000 m² area.
On the Stadtkyller Heide, a local heath
Heath
-Habitats:* Heath or heathland, low-growing woody vegetation, mostly consisting of heathers and related species* Heaths in the British National Vegetation Classification system...
, between 1952 and 1992, stood a Decca transmitter
Decca Navigator System
The Decca Navigator System was a low frequency hyperbolic navigation system that was first deployed during World War II when the Allied forces needed a system which could be used to achieve accurate landings...
.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 16 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 16 seats on council are shared between two voters’ groups.
Mayor
Stadtkyll’s mayor is Harald Schmitz, and his deputies are Walter Pickartz and Matthias Leuwer. The representative from the outlying centre of Schönfeld, the Ortsvorsteher, is Herbert Thielen.Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Von gold und rot durch gesenkten, schräglinken, blauen Wellenbalken und silberen Wellenleistenstab geteilt, der Wellenbalken mit sieben vierendigen goldenen Sternen belegt.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: A bend sinister wavy abased azure charged with seven mullets of four Or and conjoined by a bendlet sinister wavy argent, the whole between Or and gules.
The Stadtkyll Castle was most likely built by the Lords of Blankenheim. In 1469, the County of Blankenheim, and thereby also Stadtkyll, found itself in the ownership of the Counts of Manderscheid, whose armorial tincture
Tincture (heraldry)
In heraldry, tinctures are the colours used to emblazon a coat of arms. These can be divided into several categories including light tinctures called metals, dark tinctures called colours, nonstandard colours called stains, furs, and "proper". A charge tinctured proper is coloured as it would be...
s. Stadtkyll was granted town rights in 1310, and thereby also the right to bear arms. They were more or less the same as the ones that the municipality bears today. The bend sinister in the old arms has been made wavy, however, and a silver bendlet has been added to its lower edge, to symbolize that the village’s and the castle’s surroundings are shaped by their location on the river 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...
.
Buildings
- Saint JosephSaint JosephSaint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
’s Catholic Parish Church (Pfarrkirche St. Joseph), Hauptstraße – ClassicistClassicismClassicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
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...
, 1853/1854, originally built in 1814 to Karl Friedrich SchinkelKarl Friedrich SchinkelKarl Friedrich Schinkel was a Prussian architect, city planner, and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassical and neogothic buildings.-Biography:Schinkel was born in Neuruppin, Margraviate of...
’s plans; burnt out in 1853. - Saint Hubert’s Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Hubert) in Niederkyll, Niederkyll 1 – aisleless church, about 1600. See below.
- Bahnhofstraße 1 – former railway station with goods shed; plastered building with outdoor stairway, 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...
; goods shed with open timber framing, ramps. - Kyllstraße/corner of Kockelsberg – wayside cross, 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,...
shaft cross, 18th century. - Zum Ehrenmal – warriors’ memorial 1914-1918, gatehouse, 1934, designed by Professor Fahrenkamp, Düsseldorf.
- Saint MargaretSaint MargaretSaint Margaret may refer to:-People:* Saint Margaret the Virgin of Antioch * Saint Margaret of Scotland * Saint Margaret of England * Saint Margaret of Hungary * Saint Margaret of Cortona...
’s Graveyard Chapel (Friedhofskapelle St. Margarethen), in the graveyard north of the village – multiphase plastered building with west tower; graveyard cross (?) from 1841.
Schönfeld
- Catholic branch church, Dorfstraße 30 – aisleless church from shortly before 1870.
- Dorfstraße/corner of Auf der Kau – wayside cross, 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...
beam cross, possibly 17th century. - Hauptstraße 53 – stable-barn built crosswise onto a Quereinhaus at In der Nosheck 4.
- In der Nosheck 4 – Quereinhaus (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street), mid 18th century, expanded later by stable-barn built crosswise onto it at Hauptstraße 53 into a corner estate.
- Killergasse 8 – homestead, 19th century.
- Neuer Weg – wayside cross, niche cross from 1691.
Saint Hubert’s Catholic Church
Saint Hubert’s Catholic Church, or Chapel (Kapelle St. Hubertus), in Niederkyll was built about 1600. Outside, on the gable, a Roman bust of a man is set in the wall. Many legends and stories swirl around the Late GothicGothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
Saint Hubert’s. It is said once to have been Stadtkyll’s parish church. Furthermore, stories have it that it is built on Roman foundations that formerly bore a sacrificial site that the Romans used to appease their war god, Mars
Mars (mythology)
Mars was the Roman god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was second in importance only to Jupiter, and he was the most prominent of the military gods worshipped by the Roman legions...
. Offered as proof of this are finds of Roman coins nearby and, particularly, the find of a stone head – now set in the wall on the chapel’s east gable – formerly falsely claimed to be a likeness of Mars or Jupiter
Jupiter (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....
. Thus far, the origin of this Roman bust is unknown, as is the man whose likeness it is. Scientific interpretation has raised the possibility that it might be part of a grave, given that it is near the old Roman camp of Icorigium (now 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...
). It is even possible that the chapel’s builders interpreted it as a saint’s likeness, and accordingly set it in the chapel’s wall.
Economy and infrastructure
Stadtkyll is a state-recognized climatic spa (Luftkurort) and records in its many lodging facilities roughly 70,000 holiday guests with some 300,000 overnight stays each year. In the village centre are restaurants and small shops. One of the main attractions is a heated open-air community swimming pool with a giant chute and a rope swing. There is also an outstanding spot for anglers. The local municipality operates a forest camp for youth. A large holiday village and a camping site are partially publicly accessible.Further reading
- 1100 - 1250 - 1675 - Stadtkyll - 2000. Das Heft zum vierfachen Jubiläum. Prüm 2000.
- Geschichtsverein Prümer Land. Rund um die Kirche im Dorf. Kirchen und Kapellen der Westeifel, Prüm 2003, S. 459ff.
- Ralf Gier: Auswanderung von der Oberen Kyll, in: Der Prümer Landbote, Zeitschrift des Geschichtsvereins "Prümer Land", Nr. 90, 2006, S. 45 - 54.
- Ortsgeschichte Stadtkyll. Stadtkyll im II. Weltkrieg. Stadtkyll 1986.
- Ortsgeschichte Stadtkyll. Stadtkyll in alten Bildern - mit Kerschenbach und Schönfeld -. Stadtkyll 1987.
- Ortsgeschichte Stadtkyll. Die Vereine. Kerschenbach, Schönfeld und Stadtkyll. Stadtkyll 1992.
- Peter Oster: Geschichte der Pfarreien der Dekanate Prüm-Waxweiler, Trier 1927, S. 899ff.
- Ernst Wackenroder: Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kreises Prüm, Düsseldorf 1927, S. 189 - 196.