Milly

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Sculpture "Kuhhirte" - "Kuh-Het" in Millich

Millich is a district of the city of Hückelhoven (from 1950 to 1971 municipality of Hückelhoven- Ratheim ) in the district of Heinsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia . The village used to make a living from cattle breeding and dairy farming and has now grown to around 2,700 residents , also due to the neighboring A 46 motorway exit .

geography

Neighboring towns of Millich are Ratheim , Schaufenberg , Hückelhoven , Doverack, Hilfarth , Porselen and Bleckden. Millich is surrounded by pastures and fields, the A 46 motorway and an overburden dump from the former Sophia-Jacoba coal mine . This waste dump, the Millicher Halde , renamed "Schlafende Schöne" (Sleeping Beauty) by Mayor Bernd Jansen, is now densely overgrown with trees and has been transformed into a place of rest and relaxation for the citizens of the city of Hückelhoven through the creation of walking paths and the construction of a viewing platform .

Waters

The mouth of the Golkrath brook into the Rur
The Golkrather Bach (also called Millicher Bach, Muehle Rinn or Mühlenbach) rises in the Golkrather Bruch, crosses Millich and flows into the Rur just outside the village. The creek used to flow above ground through Millich, sometimes even through the middle of the wide village street (today Gronewaldstraße). In 1935, due to the steadily increasing volume of traffic, the above-ground stream was largely relocated underground.
There used to be six mills on the banks of the only six kilometer long Golkrath stream: the Plätschmühle near Brück, the Stevensmühle near Kleingladbach, the Romersmühle and Dieksmühle between Kleingladbach and Schaufenberg and the Königsmühle above and the Lohmühle below Millich. The first five mills mentioned above ground grain, while the Millicher Lohmühle grinded tan (= tree bark) and bones. Some of these mills have been preserved to this day, even if they no longer fulfill their original purpose: The Romersmühle served as an excursion restaurant for many years and is currently being renovated. The Dieksmühle was also used as a dance and excursion hall for many years. After its renovation, it now has several holiday apartments and a seminar room. The Königsmühle was also converted for residential purposes, while the Millicher Lohmühle was demolished in 1928.
The Rur flows past to the south of the village, an old arm of which has also been preserved here.

history

As early as 1385, a church book from that time named "dat Konigs gut zo Millich". The first reliable documentary mention of Millich comes from the year 1461 (as Melick ). Since there was a second “ Melick ” (near Roermond ) in the Jülich Wassenberg office , it is often not possible to reliably differentiate between the two places in old documents. In the streets of Alt-Millich you can still find houses and courtyards from several centuries. The main street of Millich, today's "Gronewaldstraße", was renamed several times in the course of its existence and was already used by the Romans as an army and trade route. With 19,000 cars a day, it is the busiest street in the Heinsberg district.

The place name Millich

Name research gives two possible interpretations for the place name Millich:

  • If the word comes from the Celtic-Gallic language, the beginning of the word denotes a person's name: Milius. The final syllable "I" comes from "iacum", which means place, field, manor. Accordingly Millich would be called: Hof des Milius.
  • But if Millich were derived from the Germanic Mele (= swamp), the village name means: settlement in the swamp or quarry.

The location of Millich in the immediate vicinity of the Rur and the Golkrath Bach with their formerly extensive wetlands and marshland suggests that the word Millich is of Germanic origin and the second word interpretation is more appropriate.

The noblemen of Millich

According to oral tradition, there used to be a castle-like courtyard on the eastern edge of the village of Millich, on the "Möllenkamp" (today: Mühlenkamp). In the Middle Ages, the Lords of Millich were documented owners of the estate on Mühlenkamp. In 1430 Johann von Mellke (→ Melich → Melick → Millich) married a woman from Matlar at Tüschenbroich Castle . From 1450 Johann's son, Heinrich von Mellke, owned Tüschenbroich Castle. He also acquired the Kobbendahler Hof (today: Kobbenthaler Hof) near Schaufenberg, as well as another farm in Myhl .

Heinrich von Mellke, now Herr von Millich, Tüschenbroich and the aforementioned courts, was married to Adelheid von Balderich. The marriage resulted in four daughters. Two of the four daughters went to the monastery. The third daughter, Metza, married the knight Heinrich Hoen on Haus Pesch near Immerath , who was entrusted with the administration and rule of Tüschenbroich Castle in 1470. The fourth daughter, Bela (Sybille) von Mellke, married Sivart von Eyll zu Lauersforst in 1473 and was compensated with an annual pension that weighed on Tüschenbroich.

Heinrich von Mellke, the father of the four daughters, kept a right of residence at Schloss Tüschenbroich and died in 1487. His daughter Bela now lived with her husband, Sivart von Eyll on the farm in Millich.

Prodigality and discord among the offspring, as well as childlessness then let the sex and property of the Lords of Millich perish over time.

The pastures "Gras" and "Gronewald" (formerly "Groenwaldt" or "Gronnet")

Between Millich and the Rur, which flows about 600 meters west of Millich, two large pastures spread out for common cattle lift: the "Gras" (about 15 hectares) and the "Gronewald" (about 20 hectares) . These originally belonged to the Mahrhof , which lies between Millich and Ratheim. In the middle of the 16th century, however, the then owner of the Mahrhof, Heinrich von Olmissen called Mülstroe, had given the Reformed preacher Johann Campanus shelter for one night in his house. For this he was sentenced to pay a large sum of money by the Catholic Duke Wilhelm von Jülich . Millicher farmers lent the money to the owner of the Mahrhof and he pledged the two pastures to these Millicher farmers and granted them the right to freely graze their cattle there. The Pfandbrief from 1548 was never redeemed again and so the "Graserben" remained as a community of heirs in the joint ownership of these "Benden" until they were divided into their own ownership in 1956/57 in the course of land consolidation. A piece of Millich village history came to an end. To commemorate this time, the "Kuh-Het" fountain was built in the center of the village in 1985.

The common Rurwiesen were of immeasurable use for the villagers of Millich for over 400 years, because:

  • the shepherds drove herds of cows and young cattle to "Gras" and "Gronewald" every day from May to October;
  • the clog-makers felled poplars there to make their clogs;
  • The basket weavers cut the willows on the banks of the brook and the Rur for making their wickerwork;
  • the Rur also supplied gravel and sand for building houses and roads
  • the anglers caught carp, roach, barbel, tench, pike, trout and eel from the then fish-rich Rur. (In a Millicher lease from that time, a maid reserved the right to only receive a fish dish four days a week!)

The former canvas factory

The merchant Eduard Hermanns from Schwanenberg moved to Millich in 1847. For around 300 weavers from Millich and the surrounding area, he regulated the homework customary at the time, the purchase of cotton, the wages of the weavers, as well as the price and sales of the finished products. When the hand loom was later replaced by the mechanical loom, Eduard Hermanns built a factory in Millich in 1855 in which he had cotton yarn spun. The factory workers came from Millich and the surrounding area, while the spinning and machine masters came from the Mönchengladbach area. In this factory many Millicher men and women earned a living for their families. In 1869, after a five-year break from work, Eduard Hermanns sold the factory building to the Rheydt merchants "Gebrüder Camp". In the winter of 1869/70 a fire destroyed the two upper floors of the factory building and all of the machines. After the reconstruction, the spinning mill was used to produce stramines. Stramin was the name given to a net-like fabric that was used for clothing lining and knitting. If the import of cotton or the sale of canvas stalled, this meant unemployment and dire hardship for those affected. After several previous changes of ownership, the factory was finally shut down in 1905. All machines were taken over by the company "Robert Nickhorn" from Rheydt. The high chimney of the former Millicher Straminfabrik survived both world wars and was only demolished at the end of the 70s / beginning of the 80s.

The Millicher Lohmühle

The Millicher Lohmühle around 1900

In earlier times the Millicher Bach was popularly called "Mühlenbach" because there were six mills on its banks (see also 1.1. Waters). In addition to five flour mills, there was also a tinder mill on the western edge of Millich. This tan mill was built in 1818 as a half-timbered building by the tanner Matthias Weitz and used to grind tan for the nearby leather tannery.

In 1830 a bone pounder was set up in the mill building. The water wheel of the mill operated vertical iron-studded beams that pounded bones into flour in iron basins. The bone meal was then sold as a valuable fertilizer. On the night of June 18, 1861, bones were stolen from the Millicher Lohmühle. The identified thief received a one-year prison sentence! Since 1895 the grinding was stopped and the bone pounding was stopped at the beginning of the 20th century because better fertilizers displaced the bone meal. When the mighty old beech trees, in the shadow of which the mill had stood for almost 90 years, were felled in 1904, the mill wheel rotted away and the mill house fell into disrepair.

The Lohmühle changed hands several times in the course of its existence. Until 1928, the Kreuder and Merckens families alternately owned the mill (and the leather tannery). The leather manufacturer Merckens used the Lohmühle as a storage room from 1919 to 1925. In 1928 Gerhard Brendgens bought the old Lohmühlenhaus for demolition and built a barn in his place of residence in Hagbruch near Ratheim using the perfectly preserved oak beams. On October 1, 1931, the Sophia-Jacoba colliery finally acquired the entire property.

The Millicher Posthaus

The Millicher Posthaus around 1900

Already in 1752 there was a tavern in the post house in Millich. In 1902 the inn and post office came into the possession of the von Berg (h) family, who managed them until they were finally closed.

On the journey between Wassenberg and Baal, the Erkelenz Postillon once stopped four times in front of the Millicher Posthaus. When the Jülich-Dalheim railway line opened in 1911, the postillon and mail car had had their day. The delivery service for Millich has since been carried out from Hückelhoven.

The former Millicher post house with the restaurant "Zur Post" was demolished in 1984 due to the expansion of Gronewaldstrasse.

The planned Millicher Church

In 1856 a "Kreuzverein" was founded in Millich. This association was converted into the "Catholic Citizens Association" in 1906 after Karl Hastenrath had donated a piece of land in the village to build a house of God. The association had set itself the goal of building a chapel or church in Millich in the foreseeable future. But this goal became a long way off when in 1926 an "emergency church" was inaugurated in Schaufenberg and 30 years later, in September 1956, the St. Boniface Church. To this day, Millich has no church of his own.

The last living wolf

Old Millich village chronicles report that in earlier times numerous wolves lived in the surrounding large, game-rich forests. Many wolves were to be found in the Kappbusch near Hilfarth in particular. Extensive clearing of the closed forests reduced the number of game and thus also of wolves. In the first half of the 19th century, Jakob Grambusch, a strong man with a dark beard, lived in Millich. The Millicher knew the strong, daring grambush not only as an avid hunter and fisherman, they also valued him as an experienced naturopath. Jakob Grambusch caught the last wolf in the Erkelenzer Land with a trap in the Kappbusch in the autumn of 1854 and drove him through the streets of Millich and the neighboring villages in a wheelbarrow. As a reward he received many a silver groschen.

Population development

  • 1825: 0310 inhabitants
  • 1852: 0325 inhabitants
  • 1963: 1,086 inhabitants
  • 1996: 1,402 inhabitants
  • 2000: 2,351 inhabitants
  • 2009: 2,585 inhabitants
  • 2014: 2,682 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2014)

Culture and sights

Buildings

  • Old school (today village community center)
Millich had his own school from an early age. The first teacher, Caspar Heinrich Schopen, taught the children from Millich and Schaufenberg in his private apartment for 13 years (from 1825 to 1838). On July 5, 1842, the foundation stone for a public school building was laid, which is still today at the exit of the village towards Schaufenberg and is used as a village community center.
Between 1922 and 1926, the Sophia-Jacoba union in Schaufenberg built hundreds of miner's homes on 7.5 hectares of broken land. The rapidly increasing population caused the building of a separate school in Schaufenberg, which, after its inauguration on July 14, 1927, is attended by the Catholic and Protestant children of Schaufenberg and (since 1939 until today) also by the Millich children.
Millicher school operations were stopped in 1939, after more than 110 years, since Schaufenberg was now the school village. Many former Millich teachers only have a short term in office. However, teacher Johann Peter Schmitz taught in Millich from 1868 to 1889. His successors include: Hermann Alders (from 1902 to 1906), Gerhard Hilgers (from 1906 to 1909), Franz Mertens (retired in 1913), Christian Nobis (from 1913 to 1927). After that, Chr. Nobis taught in Schaufenberg until 1939. After the First World War (1914–1918) the teachers Maria Breuer and Angela Dahm, as well as the teachers Edgar Perseke and Valentin Honnet, still held office in Millich .
  • Bohm House (formerly Posthof with its own cavalry)
  • House number 5 (formerly Manhattan and "lavatory")

Attractions

"Sleeping Beauty"

On March 14, 2008, the Millicher dump was made accessible to the population. The so-called "Sleeping Beauty" was awakened, a destination and a new local recreation area in the middle of the city of Hückelhoven opened up. If you have climbed the "Himmelstreppe" (lit up at night) you have a 360-degree panorama.

Mahrhof

This manor is located in the immediate vicinity of the former Millicher Maar . The Millicher Maar, the former pond of the village, was drained a long time ago and in part even built on. It is not known what causes the different spelling of "Mahrhof" and Millicher "Maar".

Monuments

  • Curse cross from 1798 on Schaufenberger Strasse
  • Crossroads from 1891 on Gronewaldstrasse
  • Crossroads on Kobbenthaler Straße / corner Hubertusstraße
  • War memorial on Mahrweg in memory of those who fell in both world wars
In 1922 the "Kriegerdank" association had a war memorial erected by the sculptor Wilms from Erkelenz on behalf of the residents of Millich in honor of the 12 fallen soldiers of the First World War . 35 Millicher soldiers did not return to their village from the Second World War . The names of these 35 soldiers were also immortalized on the war memorial as a reminder and warning.
  • the goose man 2 meter high basalt block reminding of the tradition of goose herding in the Middle Ages.
  • River guard sculpture on a Rur island - reminds of the difficult times of the Rur floods.
  • Fountain “Kuhhirte” - “Kuh-Het” from 1985: The sculpture by the artist Bonifatius Stirnberg (Aachen) is intended to commemorate the joint cattle drive that took place until 1955.

societies

  • Football club SV Roland Millich 1930 e. V.
  • Schützenbruderschaft St. Johannes Millich e. V. from 1843
  • Carnival Association Bommelemaat, a group in the Ratheim Carnival which established the tradition of Alemannic Carnival in the Rhineland.

Many Millicher associations, public as well as church ones, have joined together to form a local community .

regional customs

  • The annual spring fair held annually to Johannis held in June, with every Monday held " Klompenball ". The most beautiful clogs are awarded. Then in September the "bird shot" follows.
  • An Oktoberfest takes place in autumn.
  • On June 21, the solstice festival takes place at the old fireplace. The highlight are the Millicher fire jumpers, which usher in the summer.
  • On the 2nd Advent the traditional log cabin Christmas booth magic with the clown bear Bel.
  • On December 31st the traditional New Year's Eve ball of the local brass band takes place in Haus Franziskus.

Infrastructure and economy

traffic

A railway line, the Jülich - Dalheim railway, ran between 1911 and 1980 from Baal via Hückelhoven, Ratheim and Wassenberg to Dalheim . After the cessation of passenger traffic, it only served the goods traffic of the Sophia-Jacoba colliery between Ratheim and Baal, the tracks to Wassenberg were dismantled. Until the cessation of passenger traffic on September 27, 1980, the Sophia-Jacoba stop was in the immediate vicinity, between the places Schaufenberg and Millich .

In its 2013 target concept, the Aachener Verkehrsverbund plans to reactivate the route (Wassenberg -) Ratheim - Baal for passenger traffic.

Public facilities

  • Waldorf Kindergarten Millich
  • City kindergarten
  • Millich volunteer fire department
  • "ChillHouse" youth club

literature

  • Home calendar of the Erkelenzer Lande for the year 1956
The Millicher Lohmühle (by Christian Nobis)
  • Home calendar of the Erkelenzer Lande for the year 1965
From the past of the village of Millich (by Christian Nobis)
  • Home calendar of the Heinsberg district in 1989
Contributions to the Chronicle of Millich (by Walther Maas)
  • We couldn't make big leaps - Volume 2, page 62:
Newspaper report from Hückelhoven (Source: City Archives, No. 263)
  • Chronicle of the Protestant parish of Hückelhoven
Hückelhoven 1999

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gillessen, L. (1993): The places of the circle Heinsberg . Series of publications of the district of Heinsberg 7
  2. ↑ Archive database: Edgar Perseke. In: bbf.dipf.de/de . Library for Educational History Research (BBF) of the German Institute for International Educational Research, accessed on March 4, 2013 .

Web links

Coordinates: 51 ° 3 '  N , 6 ° 12'  E