Üxheim
Encyclopedia
Üxheim 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
. The outlying centre of Niederehe is a state-recognized recreational resort (Erholungsort).
, 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. Üxheim lies in the Hillesheimer Kalkmulde (“limestone
hollow”) in the Vulkanische Westeifel, one of the three subregions into which the Vulkaneifel is divided, right on the boundary with North Rhine-Westphalia
.
form of the word Kirchspiel, one of several German
words for “parish”. The parish of Niederehe is made up of the centres of Kerpen with Loogh
, Heyroth and Niederehe. The historically interesting convent church in Niederehe houses one of the oldest organ
s made by Balthasar König.
The municipality was newly formed on 1 January 1968 from the formerly self-administering municipalities of Leudersdorf, Niederehe and Üxheim-Ahütte. The municipality of Heyroth was amalgamated on 1 February of the same year. All these centres belonged until the end of feudal
times to the Lordship of Kerpen, in the Imperially immediate ownership of the Dukes of Arenberg
.
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: Per bend sinister gules four cinquefoils Or pierced azure, three and one, and argent a gridiron bendwise sinister sable, on a chief of the fourth a fess dancetty of three of the first.
The municipality of Üxheim is made up of the former municipalities of Heyroth, Leudersdorf, Niederehe and Üxheim-Ahütte, all of which belonged in the Middle Ages
to the Lordship of Kerpen, which was held by the Dukes of Arenberg
. They bore cinquefoils (this device is so-called in English heraldry, but the German blazon describes them as Mispelblüten, German
for common medlar blossoms) in the same tincture
s as seen on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side below the chief
in these arms. The cinquefoils here number four to stand for the municipality’s four constituent communities. The Lords of Kerpen bore arms that were “argent a fess dancetty gules” (that is, a silver shield with a horizontal zigzag red stripe), and this is recalled in the chief (the band across the top of the escutcheon). The gridiron on the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side is Saint Lawrence’s attribute.
can be found on the road from Stroheich
to Nohn
, about halfway between Niederehe and Nohn.
and consequent mineral deposition in the moss is forming calc-sinter
, leading the waterfall to grow by six to eight centimetres each year. The waterfall can be reached over hiking trails, the Mineralquellen-Route and the Kalkeifel-Radweg (cycle path).
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 :...
. The outlying centre of Niederehe is a state-recognized recreational resort (Erholungsort).
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. Üxheim lies in the Hillesheimer Kalkmulde (“limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
hollow”) in the Vulkanische Westeifel, one of the three subregions into which the Vulkaneifel is divided, right on the boundary with North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
.
Constituent communities
Üxheim’s Ortsteile are Üxheim, Ahütte, Leudersdorf (with Flesten and Nollenbach), Niederehe and Heyroth. The centres of Üxheim, Ahütte and Leudersdorf with Flesten form the parish of Üxheim. These centres are known collectively in the local speech as Kijeschbel, a dialectalGerman dialects
German dialect is dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant shift, and the dialect continuum that connects the German with the Dutch language.-German dialects in relation to varieties of standard German:...
form of the word Kirchspiel, one of several 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....
words for “parish”. The parish of Niederehe is made up of the centres of Kerpen with Loogh
Kerpen, Rhineland-Palatinate
Kerpen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Heyroth and Niederehe. The historically interesting convent church in Niederehe houses one of the oldest organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
s made by Balthasar König.
Climate
This region’s climate corresponds with the oceanic low-mountain climate.| Üxheim-Ahütte | 7.4 °C |
| Leudersdorf | 7.1 °C |
| Niederehe | 6.9 °C |
| Heyroth | 6.5 °C |
| Üxheim-Ahütte | 810 mm |
| Leudersdorf | 825 mm |
| Niederehe | 770 mm |
| Heyroth | 820 mm |
History
In 844, Üxheim had its first documentary mention.The municipality was newly formed on 1 January 1968 from the formerly self-administering municipalities of Leudersdorf, Niederehe and Üxheim-Ahütte. The municipality of Heyroth was amalgamated on 1 February of the same year. All these centres belonged until the end of 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 Lordship of Kerpen, in the Imperially immediate ownership of the Dukes of Arenberg
Arenberg
Arenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a historic county, principality and finally duchy located in modern Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian aristocratic family.- History :...
.
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 municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
| Reinarz | Spohr | Rätz | FWG | Total | |
| 2009 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 16 seats |
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Unter silbernem Schildhaupt mit rotem Zickzackbalken, von Rot über Silber schräglinks geteilt, oben 4 (3:1) goldene Mispelblüten mit blauem Butzen, unten ein schwarzer Rost.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: Per bend sinister gules four cinquefoils Or pierced azure, three and one, and argent a gridiron bendwise sinister sable, on a chief of the fourth a fess dancetty of three of the first.
The municipality of Üxheim is made up of the former municipalities of Heyroth, Leudersdorf, Niederehe and Üxheim-Ahütte, all of which belonged 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...
to the Lordship of Kerpen, which was held by the Dukes of Arenberg
Arenberg
Arenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a historic county, principality and finally duchy located in modern Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian aristocratic family.- History :...
. They bore cinquefoils (this device is so-called in English heraldry, but the German blazon describes them as Mispelblüten, 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....
for common medlar blossoms) in the same 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 as seen on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side below the chief
Chief (heraldry)
In heraldic blazon, a chief is a charge on a coat of arms that takes the form of a band running horizontally across the top edge of the shield. Writers disagree in how much of the shield's surface is to be covered by the chief, ranging from one-fourth to one-third. The former is more likely if the...
in these arms. The cinquefoils here number four to stand for the municipality’s four constituent communities. The Lords of Kerpen bore arms that were “argent a fess dancetty gules” (that is, a silver shield with a horizontal zigzag red stripe), and this is recalled in the chief (the band across the top of the escutcheon). The gridiron on the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side is Saint Lawrence’s attribute.
Üxheim
- Former parish church’s quire at Brunnenstraße 14 – Late GothicGothic architectureGothic 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....
, 16th century. - Catholic Parish Church of the Assumption of MaryAssumption of MaryAccording to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
(Pfarrkirche Mariä Himmelfahrt), Kirchstraße 4 – 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...
, 1835-1837. - Brunnenstraße 2 – estate complex; house from 1858, stable-barn.
- Brunnenstraße 14 – former school, Classicist plastered building, possibly from about 1840, built as a sideroom off the former parish church’s Late Gothic quire.
- Brunnenstraße/corner of Heerstraße – wayside cross, 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 1743. - Dreimühlen fortified house, southeast of the village on the Ahbach – wall remnants from the ArenbergArenbergArenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a historic county, principality and finally duchy located in modern Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian aristocratic family.- History :...
forest house, torn down about 1825.
Ahütte
- 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 Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Joseph), Ahbachstraße 18 – biaxial 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...
aisleless church, 1705. - Mühlenweg 4 (monumental zone) – former Arenberg mill, three-building complex together with millrace; plastered building from 1820, oven porch, quarrystone side building, 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...
. - Castle Neublankenheim, north of the village in the Ahbach valley (monumental zone) – ruins, quarrystone building, early 14th century, four-floor defensive tower.
Flesten
- Saint Roch’s Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Rochus), St.-Rochus-Weg – biaxial aisleless church, possibly from latter half of 19th century.
Heyroth
- Saint Anthony’s Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Antonius), Vulkanweg 9 – triaxial aisleless church, from 1745.
- Antoniusstraße 3 – 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...
house, partly solid, from 1659; quarrystone commercial buildings; whole complex.
Leudersdorf
- Saint Catherine’sCatherine of AlexandriaSaint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius...
Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Katharina), Kapellenstraße 4 – triaxial aisleless church, from 1734; Baroque Heiligenhäuschen (a small, shrinelike structure consecrated to a saint or saints). - Kölner Straße 3 – timber-frame house, partly solid, from 1869, timber framing from 17th/18th century.
- Lindenstraße 15/17 – stately plastered building from 1787.
- Near Lindenstraße 16 – Baroque BildstockBildstockA wayside shrine, is a religious image, usually in some sort of small shelter, placed by a road or pathway, sometimes in a settlement or at a crossroads, but often in the middle of an empty stretch of country road, or at the top of a hill or mountain. They have been a feature of many cultures,...
, 18th century. - Rosenweg 1 – plastered building, 1849.
- Wayside chapelChapelA chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, southeast of the village on the road to Üxheim – Gothic RevivalGothic Revival architectureThe Gothic Revival is an architectural movement that began in the 1740s in England...
from 1861; 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,...
cross of memorial to the dead from 1743; Baroque Bildstock, 18th century.
Niederehe
- Saint Leodegar’sLeodegarSaint Leodegar or Leger, Bishop of Autun , was the great opponent of Ebroin— the mayor of the Palace of Neustria— and the leader of the faction of Austrasian great nobles in the struggles for hegemony over the waning Merovingian dynasty...
Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Leodegar), Kerpener Straße – former convent church, Late RomanesqueRomanesque architectureRomanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
aisleless church, last fourth of 12th century; sandstone Baroque shaft cross from 1759; remnants of old grave crosses in the old quarrystone churchyard wall. - Auel 1 – former school, hipped roof, from 1912-1913.
- Gartenstraße 2 – plastered building, oven porch, apparently from 1868.
- Im Klosterhof 1-5 (monumental zone) – former PremonstratensianPremonstratensianThe Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
convent, endowed in 1175, Romanesque convent church, Baroque convent buildings, former west wing (Im Klosterhof 1 and 2): building with mansard roofMansard roofA mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
from 1776; former north wing: divided into houses (Im Klosterhof 3, 4 and 5), ringed by a quarrystone wall. - Loogher Straße/corner of Im Auel – sandstone Baroque CrucifixionCrucifixionCrucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
Bildstock from 1721. - Stroheicher Straße 1 – former Quereinhaus (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street) from 1875, expanded into a corner estate in 1903.
- Wayside cross, west of the village on the road to KerpenKerpen, Rhineland-PalatinateKerpen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
– slateSlateSlate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
pedestal cross from 1841. - Wayside cross, east of the village on the road to Heyroth, across the road from the entrance to the Eichenhof – 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 from about 1700. - Wayside cross, north of the village on the road to Üxheim – sandstone Baroque shaft cross from 1786.
Limekiln
A restored limekilnLimekiln
A lime kiln is used to produce quicklime through the calcination of limestone . The chemical equation for this reaction is...
can be found on the road from Stroheich
Oberehe-Stroheich
Oberehe-Stroheich is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
to Nohn
Nohn
Nohn is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, about halfway between Niederehe and Nohn.
Dreimühlen waterfall
In the Ahbach valley, 1 km from Ahütte and 2.8 km from Niederehe, is the Dreimühlen (“Three Mills”) waterfall. EvaporationEvaporation
Evaporation is a type of vaporization of a liquid that occurs only on the surface of a liquid. The other type of vaporization is boiling, which, instead, occurs on the entire mass of the liquid....
and consequent mineral deposition in the moss is forming calc-sinter
Calcareous sinter
Calcareous sinter is a freshwater calcium carbonate deposit, also known as calc-sinter. Deposits are characterised by low porosity and well-developed lamination. Calcareous sinter should not be confused with siliceous sinter, which the term sinter more frequently refers to...
, leading the waterfall to grow by six to eight centimetres each year. The waterfall can be reached over hiking trails, the Mineralquellen-Route and the Kalkeifel-Radweg (cycle path).
Further reading
- Kloster Niederehe in der Gemeinde Üxheim (Eifel), Broschüre, ISBN 3-88094-708-2