Birgden (Gangelt)
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Birgden
municipality Gangelt
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| Height : | 73 m |
| Area : | 6.41 km² |
| Residents : | 3381 (March 3, 2020) |
| Population density : | 527 inhabitants / km² |
| Incorporation : | 1st July 1969 |
| Postal code : | 52538 |
| Area code : | 02454 |
 Location of Birgden in Gangelt
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Birgden is a district of the municipality Gangelt in the district of Heinsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia in the far west of Germany.
Neighboring places
| Langbroich | Schierwaldenrath | Waldenrath |
| Kreuzrath |
.svg)
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Straeten |
| Gangelt | Stand | Hatterath |
history
It is believed that at the time of Roman settlement a road led from Schierwaldenrath via Birgden to Waldenrath . There is evidence of a Roman settlement on Hanbusch, on the edge of the forest in Gillrath . In 1923 the remains of a Franconian-Carolingian house from the 8th-9th centuries were found in today's Bahnhofstrasse. It was discovered in the 17th century, the recovered finds of which are kept in the State Museum in Düsseldorf. The first written mention of Birgden, however, did not take place until 1458 within a lease agreement. At the same time, the residents initiated and financed the construction of a church with a bell tower that still exists today. In particular, due to the massive construction of the tower and the size of the village at the time, one can conclude that the village structure was older and intact.
In 2008 there was a 550th anniversary celebration, which however only referred to the first documentary mention. The 550 year celebration is controversial, as one can assume that the history of the village is significantly older.
Birgden textile industry
In addition to the structure-determining agriculture, house weaving flourished until the 19th century. It was supplanted by the beginning industrial revolution . In 1894/1895, the HE Schniewind silk weaving mill from Elberfeld built a factory that produced in Birgden until 1967, with up to 600 people it became the largest employer in the area and manufactured fabrics that were u. a. were exported to Ghana. In 1900 poor income conditions led to an eight-week weavers' strike. In the same year the factory was connected to the railway network. In addition, there were up to five private Siepnaat presses in Birgden at the beginning of the last century .
Second World War
During the Second World War the front stood in Birgden for almost five months after the Allied attack came to a standstill shortly after the invasion of Germany. While the town center had already been taken, the street Starzend was in no man's land to the Schierwaldenrath, which was held by the Germans. The church tower, which served as the Allied lookout point, was damaged by the constant mutual attacks. During this time, the residents and the entire population of Allied-controlled Selfkants were evacuated to the Herzogenbusch concentration camp .
Incorporation
On July 1, 1969, Birgden was incorporated into Gangelt.
Origin of name
The origin of the name is controversial. The simplest explanation would be the derivation of "birch". Since the place was built on sandy soil that is favorable for these trees, this explanation is the most likely, even if there are hardly any birch trees left. Another, more improbable theory derives the name from the Celtic double word birgo-dunum (birgo- mountain, dun- fence or fortification). This would also explain why the dialectal usage of the area always speaks of "op dr Berde", as "auf Birgden" and not of "in Berde", because the place is located on a hill that separates the Rodebachtal and Saeffelbachtal .
There are other places with these names, including a. at Remscheid . Some historical personalities also wore it, such as Johann von den Birghden , who, however, probably had no connection with this village.
Parish Church of St. Urbanus
Presumably, a chapel already existed in the 12th century on the site of today's church. In the middle of the 15th century there were efforts to break away from the mother parish of Gangelt. As a result, a massive tower with a relatively small church hall was completed in 1483 by 18 Birgden residents. These residents also paid their own rector , i.e. a clergyman for non-independent parishes. According to a report by Pastor Benedict Pauen, the date 1457 is said to have stood over a doorstep in the church hall, which was demolished in the 19th century, which perhaps marks the beginning of church construction. The building had to be expanded in 1522. Despite these efforts, Birgden only became an independent parish around 1681. Due to the constant growth of the village, the church hall was demolished in 1867/68 and the current one built in neo-Gothic style. The five-storey bell tower from the 15th century has been preserved in its original state, only the roof structure was rebuilt after it was completely destroyed in the Second World War.
As you can still see on the two meter thick walls and the loopholes, the massive tower was also used as a defensive and protective tower, as the population was at the mercy of the constant looting of the troops of soldiers moving through the country. An attack by Lorraine soldiers in the aftermath of the Thirty Years' War in 1650, during which the population successfully sought protection in the tower, is recorded. The tombstone of the only victim, Johann Kreuckel from Waldenrath, is set in a wall opposite the entrance to the church.
A 98.5 cm tall late Gothic figure of Maria Immaculata by Heinrich Douvermann from Kalkar from around 1520 is of supraregional importance from the church furnishings. The importance of this figure was underestimated for a long time. a. kept in the rectory. After its rediscovery in the post-war period, it was first mistaken for a representation of Maria Magdalena, especially because of her long and finely worked head of hair. After its restoration, which also uncovered the bodice, which was then puttied over as too offensive, it is now interpreted as Maria Immaculata. Also worth seeing inside the church are the Pieta, a Maasland work attributed to Master von Beek, created around 1510, and an Urbanus figure, a so-called peasant carving from the 18th century.
The Birgden parish has been part of the Gangelt community since 2000.
Birgden prayer cross
On the outskirts of Kreuzrath there is the "Birgden Prayer Cross", a field chapel between two linden trees, in which an old oak cross is kept, which has become quite slim in the longitudinal beam due to constant trimming by believers. According to a legend, the Mother of God appeared to seven praying Communion children in front of this cross on April 15, 1798. From a contemporary report:
"As she looked at them a little, they noticed that innumerable angels were approaching them in three processions [...] Afterwards they saw the Mother of God with her little son in her arms [...] When she prayed a law in honor of St. Joseph, they saw a large angel without wings standing by the womb of the Mother of God. When they passed a law in honor of St. Peter prayed, they saw between Mary and the angel with the little head alone a tall, blue-clad pose with a bishop's hat. "
Thereupon this cross became a place of pilgrimage, also because a boy who was blinded by smallpox is said to have been healed. The French occupiers tried with all their might to suppress the veneration. But their resistance only intensified the worship, which was certainly also a protest against the occupation and their policies that were critical of religion and oppressive. Meanwhile the veneration has ebbed because the church has never recognized the apparition. However, the prayer cross is still used by believers in emergencies.
When the population was evacuated by the Allies to the internment camp Vught in 1944 , they made a happy return home and vowed to make a pilgrimage to the Prayer Cross on the Sunday after the Exaltation of the Cross for 50 years . This tradition is still upheld today.
Big and Little Pley
A special feature of the village is the Great Pley, a triangular green area of twelve acres in the middle of the village, which, as the center of the village, represents the center of activity and from which the main roads radiate out. The origin of the Great Pley has the profane explanation that decades ago the depression was still a swampy floodplain that could not be built on. Thus the village was built around this place, which the farmers used as a water place for the animals. However, it could also be an indication of an early settlement, as this corresponds to the Franconian architecture, where a common pasture was built around. Nowadays the Great Pley is drained.
To the south of it is the Little Pley, which is a counterpart to the Big Pley, also because it takes its triangular shape, with their points facing each other. The church is situated on a gentle elevation at this junction. Both places represent the oldest part of Birgden. Due to road construction measures at the beginning of the 1970s, the Kleine Pley was reduced to about 1/5 of its previous size. A Tobias and Raphael chapel stands on it.
In the meantime, all the ponds on the Little Pley and the Big Pley have been filled in, not least as a reaction to an accident: On January 23, 1950, the ice broke on the “Gruete Kuhl” at the northern end of the Big Pley, where many children at that time slid. 17 children sank. Most of the children could only be saved with the quick help of a few people. Especially Wilhelm Frings should be mentioned here, who pulled 9 children out of the ice-cold water. For two girls, however, any help came too late. Her gravestones and that of Wilhelm Frings have been preserved and are now in the cemetery by the memorial.
The Great Pley is used for numerous cultural and sporting activities. The annual volleyball tournament of the TUS Birgden takes place there.
The word "Pley" is the Lower Franconian word for place. It is a common term in the Aachen area, there is also a pley in Oberstolberg , and a district of Würselen bears this name.
Infrastructure
Birgden has a primary school with its own swimming pool and a kindergarten. Another elementary school is about to open. A second kindergarten is currently under construction.
The closest comprehensive school is in Gangelt. The next high school is in Geilenkirchen.
Due to its location directly on the B56n with a seamless connection to the A46 towards Düsseldorf or A2 towards the Netherlands, Birgden is ideally connected to the express road network.
The connection of the village to the fiber optic network is impressive, with internet speeds of up to 1 Gbit / s being achieved in private households.
The village also has very good local amenities. You can find among others:
- A modern REWE store and a penny
- Several bakeries
- General practitioners / dentists and a pharmacy
- hairdressers
- Gym and Physiotherapist
- Various restaurants and snack bars
- Post and bookstore
- Stationary store
- specialist textile market
- Car workshops (also for mobile homes)
- Sparkasse and Volksbank
- Numerous sports and leisure clubs
- Beverage market and a kiosk
- Various others such as insurance agencies, financial advice, mattress shops, painting companies, steel construction companies, window and roller shutter construction, bus travel companies, etc.
A large building area in the south-east of Birgden is currently being planned. Over 200 new houses are expected to be built here.
A senior center for assisted living is housed in a former mill. The historical Birgden train station is the middle station of the historical museum railway Selfkantbahn . The station restaurant was demolished in 2004. There is also a small fire brigade museum, in which the development of the fire brigade in Birgden is shown and which also contains exhibits of village life.
The Saeffelbach rises near Birgden.
Web links
- Gangelt municipality website
- Website of the place Birgden
- Monuments in the Gangelt community
- Churches and chapels in the Gangelt parish
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Wilhelm Piepers, Archäologie im Kreis Heinsberg I, 1989, p. 231f
- ↑ a b Editor Der Selfkantkreis, our home: Der Selfkantkreis Geilenkirchen-Heinsberg, 2nd edition 1963, Peter Jansen, "Birgden", p. 243
- ↑ Paul Vallen: Birgdens industrial era. From rural house weaving to silk weaving HE Schniewind. In: Home calendar of the Heinsberg district 2009. P. 120ff.
- ↑ a b Festschrift for the dean's shooting festival in 1957 in Birgden
- ↑ Martin Bünermann: The communities of the first reorganization program in North Rhine-Westphalia . Deutscher Gemeindeverlag, Cologne 1970, p. 101 .
- ↑ Leo Gillessen, The localities of the Heinsberg district, 1993, p. 92
- ↑ Leo Schreinemacher, home calendar of the district of Heinsberg 1980, "Lorraine troops in our home in 1650", p. 28
- ^ Paul Vallen, Fiction and Reality
- ↑ Peter Jansen, Our Home, supplement to Aachen VZ, No. 1 January 1949
- ↑ Westblick of October 27, 2000, p. 19, "Wilhelm Frings' heroic deed remains unforgotten"
- ^ AMSEL school. Accessed February 8, 2020 (German).
- ↑ Aachener Zeitung: Room for 115 children: First groundbreaking for the new daycare center in Birgden. Retrieved February 8, 2020 .
- ↑ Home | Episcopal Gymnasium St. Ursula Geilenkirchen. Retrieved February 8, 2020 .
- ↑ Home. Accessed February 8, 2020 (German).
- ↑ Building and Environment Committee 04.02.2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020 .
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