Altenvalbert

Altenvalbert City of Lennestadt Coordinates: 51 ° 10 ′ 1 ″  N , 8 ° 5 ′ 1 ″  E
Height :	334 m above sea level NHN
Residents :	101  (Jun 30, 2020)
Postal code :	57368
Area code :	02721
Location of Altenvalbert in Lennestadt
View from the upper Heidfeld to Altenvalbert (September 2016)

Altenvalbert is a district of Lennestadt in the Olpe district and is located near the federal road 55 (not far from Oberelspe ).

history

Excerpt from the original cadastre 1831 Altenvalbert

Aerial view of Oberelspe and Altenvalbert (background)

View of Altenvalbert from Romberg (April 2019)

Village square in Altenvalbert (July 2020)

An early mention of the village of Altenvalbert can be found in a notarized letter from 1439 in which Arnt Rump zu Obervalbert bequeathed a guilder of money or grain as a pension from the tithing to Altenvalbert to the church in Elspe . The origin of the place is much more likely to be; it is suspected around the turn of the century. During this period, a number of settlements were founded as part of large-scale clearings. This clearing work of the Carolingian-Ottonian period was largely directed and controlled by the Elspe royal court.

The so-called Römerweg leads through the village , which leads from Bonn via Olpe , Elspe and further via Obermarpe towards Meschede on the Briloner Heights. From Grevenbrück to Elspe, Heidenstraße continues on the same route until shortly before Altenvalbert, and then branches off at the "Lausebuche" in the direction of Oberelspe, Wormbach to Kassel.

The different spellings of Altenvalbert in the 15th to 17th centuries contain the forms "val (en)" and "var (en)". According to a more recent investigation of the place names in the Olpe district, these word components may be descriptions of the color impression (such as “pale”, “yellowish”) of the place marked with “-bert”. A coherent interpretation of the basic word “-bert” or the possibly older version “ -bracht ” does not seem possible. An interpretation found for Hessian places as “bald mountain” cannot be easily transferred to the Westphalian situation. The “Alten-” in front of the place name can be interpreted to the effect that Altenvalbert is probably the oldest settlement in comparison to Obervalbert and Haus Valbert .

The population of Altenvalbert can be estimated for the first time around 1536. A treasury register created this year (used to collect taxes) for the Duchy of Westphalia names six treasury or taxpayers in Altenvalbert. If one equates the number of those liable for the treasury with the number of houses available at the time and calculates about six residents per house, then around 1536 about 36 people must have lived in Altenvalbert.

In 1758 the village chapel St. Maria Magdalena and four other houses were completely destroyed by a fire. The first Prussian census of buildings and residents from 1817 gives Altenvalbert eight houses and 86 residents. The agricultural environment of Altenvalbert was poor and difficult for a long time. An improvement occurred after the Hagen - Altenhundem - Siegen railway was put into operation in 1861 and industry flourished, especially the development of the Meggen pebble pits.

By 1970 the population had changed little compared to 1817. According to official statistics from 1970, the number of residents of Altenvalbert was 89, of whom 15 were employed in agriculture, 18 in manufacturing, four in trade and transport and three in other areas.

At the end of June 2020 the population was 101. The fact that several independent entrepreneurs and freelancers in the fields of architecture, internet services, bereavement support and music / entertainment have settled in Altenvalbert speaks for the diversity of village life.

Incorporation

Until June 30, 1969 Altenvalbert belonged to the municipality of Elspe, then on July 1, 1969 it was incorporated into the new town of Lennestadt.

Chapel of St. Mary Magdalene

St. Maria Magdalena in the center of the village

St. Maria Magdalena with outdoor area

St. Maria Magdalena (simple chancel)

Rest area newly furnished by the chapel association with a crucifix in the dahl

There is no more detailed information about the origin of the Altenvalbert Chapel . The Altenvalbert chapel was completely burned down on June 25, 1758 with the houses Arentz, Griesen, Gramen and Greven and was rebuilt in 1760 from collections. The abbot of the Franciscan monastery in Attendorn received permission from the bishop in Cologne to bless a bell for the chapel, and the Elsper pastor was also allowed to consecrate the newly built chapel in May 1760. A half-timbered house near the chapel that still exists today bears a bar inscription with the year 1758 and thus bears witness to the disaster of that time. A stock book (inventory) of the parish of Elspe for the year 1749 shows St. Maria Magdalena as the patron saint of the chapel.

The band did not have any assets or income of its own. The Altenvalberters had to look after their chapel themselves. This sometimes happened in such a way that certain people were given land (as fiefs) for use with the stipulation that payments in money or other services (for example ringing the bell) for the chapel were made.

The chapel presents itself as a simple plastered building with a three-sided choir closure, a slated roof and a small roof turret with a pointed, eight-sided helmet. The bronze bell from 1759/60 (still present in the chapel tower today) was cast by Johann Peter Bach and has a diameter of 37 cm and a tendril decoration at the top. The chapel is still the center of the town because the original area has hardly expanded.

In 1975 the people of Altenvalbert (then 85 inhabitants) saved the chapel from deterioration through extensive structural renovation measures. The renovation work, which was carried out in-house, stretched over a year and ranged from the demolition of the outer wall to the new altar made of split slate. A memorial for the missing and fallen victims of the war was set up in the interior.

In 1991, the “Kapellenverein St. Maria Magdalena e. V. “founded. In the period that followed, the association acquired the chapel property from the city of Lennestadt and carried out various conservation measures and improvements in the interior and exterior of the chapel. The cross in the Dahl, which was destroyed by Hurricane Kyrill in 2007, was re-erected and expanded into a resting area.

Panoramic view of Altenvalbert

Altenvalbert: Panorama from the Eggeweg

literature

• Brill, Joseph (1948): History of the Parish Elspe, Olpe.
• Oberelspe, Altenvalbert, Burbecke, Elsperhusen in texts and pictures, ed. for the 50th anniversary of the St. Quirinus rifle club and the SGV department Oberelspe (1985), Olpe.
• Wiechers, Hans, The Chapel of St. Maria Magdalena in Altenvalbert - On the earlier history of the chapel -, in: Südsauerland - Heimatstimmen from the Olpe district, issue 4/2009, volume 237, p. 347 ff.

swell

1. ↑ Sasse, Robert: Pickert'sche Collection (PDF, 633 kB), 2005, p 40 ( Memento of 3 October 2011 at the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ cf. Michael Flöer: The place names in the Olpe district. Westphalian Place Name Book (WOB), Publishing House for Regional History, Bielefeld 2014, pp. 238, 239 u. 266.
3. ^ Information from the city of Lennestadt
4. ^ Local law of the city of Lennestadt: List of localities
5. ↑ Brill, page 34

Web links

Commons : Altenvalbert  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Video portrait town center