Birgelen

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Birgelen
City of Wassenberg
Birgelen coat of arms
Coordinates: 51 ° 6 ′ 56 ″  N , 6 ° 8 ′ 57 ″  E
Height : 44 m
Area : 14.01 km²
Residents : 3858  (Feb 28, 2018)
Population density : 275 inhabitants / km²
Incorporation : January 1, 1972
Postal code : 41849
Area code : 02432

Birgelen is a district of the city of Wassenberg in the North Rhine-Westphalian district of Heinsberg .

geography

To the north of the village are the Effelder Forest, the Ophovener Forest and the Birgeler Forest. To the west of Birgelen is the Elsum moated castle . The Birgeler Bach flows through Birgelen.

history

On January 1, 1972, the previously independent municipality of Birgelen was incorporated into the municipality of Wassenberg.

politics

coat of arms

Former municipal coat of arms

Blazon : "In black an erect silver anchor."

The coat of arms of the former municipality of Birgelen is the heart shield of a historical family coat of arms. The von Leykam family, who lived at Elsum Castle, were of greater importance for the place (Baron von Leykam was honorary mayor of Birgelen for many years). The coat of arms was awarded to the municipality with a certificate from the Minister of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia on June 11, 1956.

Attractions

Elsum Castle, south-west view

Elsum Castle is a two-part complex built mainly of brick masonry, still mostly surrounded by moats . It stands around one kilometer west of the town center and goes back to a medieval moth that was a Brabant fiefdom and open house from the Battle of Worringen in 1288 until the 15th century . In the second half of the 19th century, the owners, the barons of Negri, had the moated castle rebuilt and expanded according to plans by the architect Heinrich Wiethase , giving it its current appearance. The property has a neo-Gothic castle chapel , which stands in the north corner of the main castle island.

The former church on the site of today's cemetery was founded around 705 by Saint Willibrord (658–739) and consecrated by Saint Lambert of Liège (= Lambertus; around 635–705), who is said to have made baptisms in Birgelen. After successfully to 1825/1827 Construction of a dedicated also to St. Lambertus church in classical forms in the village center, the old church, a two-bay, flat-roofed pier basilica of the early 13th century, was broken at the 1860th In 1935, the 19th century Lambertus Church was extended to a design by the architect B. Rotterdam from Bensberg. The burial chapel of the Barons von Leykam was built on the site of the old church in 1870.

Birgel Bach

In the Birgeler Wald there is also the Marian pilgrimage chapel " Birgelener Pützchen " with the anteroom built in 1863 over a fountain (Pütz) and the octagonal main room from 1933. Along the way to the Pützchen there is a way of the cross that was donated in 1910. The origin of the place of worship is also believed to go back to the work of Saint Willibrord. There is said to have been a pagan sacrificial site at this place earlier.

Infrastructure

The Birgelen stop on the Jülich-Dalheim railway line, after the closure

The next motorway junction is Hückelhoven-West on the A 46 . Birgelen was connected to the railway network via the Jülich – Dalheim railway line until 1983 . The former Birgelen stop has now largely been demolished and overgrown. But you can still find the scaffolding of the station building. The route under the road bridge at the stop was filled in and the road widened. Today there is a playground at this point.

Birgelen has a kindergarten and elementary school.

Trivia

On the topographic map 1: 50,000, sheet L4902 Heinsberg, 6th edition 1983, the place names Birgelen (actually near Wassenberg) and Birgden (actually near Gangelt) were swapped.

literature

  • Paul Clemen (Hrsgb.), Karl Franck-Oberaspach, Edmund Renard (editor): The art monuments of the Rhine province. 8th volume, III: The art monuments of the Heinsberg district . L. Schwann, Düsseldorf 1906, p. 15 ff.

Web links

Commons : Birgelen  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Federal Statistical Office (ed.): Historical municipality directory for the Federal Republic of Germany. Name, border and key number changes in municipalities, counties and administrative districts from May 27, 1970 to December 31, 1982 . W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Mainz 1983, ISBN 3-17-003263-1 , p. 310 .
  2. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / rathaus-wassenberg.de
  3. ^ Rheinische Geschichtsblätter Volume Six, page 208, Franz Mayer