Britten (Losheim am See)

Britten Community Losheim am See
	Coordinates: 49 ° 31 ′ 21 ″ N , 6 ° 40 ′ 18 ″ E
Height :	368 (336-435) m above sea level NHN
Area :	11.86 km²
Residents :	1539 (Oct 31, 2010)
Population density :	130 inhabitants / km²
Incorporation :	1st January 1974
Postal code :	66679
Area code :	06872
Location of Britten in Saarland

Britten is part of the municipality of Losheim am See in the Merzig-Wadern district ( Saarland ). Britten was an independent municipality until the end of 1973. The district is a state-approved resort and a "nature park village " in the Saar-Hunsrück nature park .

location

Britten is located in the far north of the Saarland in the Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park at the foot of the Black Forest high forest northwest of Losheim am See. The federal road 268 runs past the village, the Eichenlaubstrasse runs through the village .

history

Origins

The place is probably a foundation of the Celts . Remains of a ring wall and a dwelling from the Celtic-Roman period were discovered in the “Steinchen” area towards Saarhölzbach ; According to the village chronicle written by the main teacher Otto Schuster in 1936, the first settlement on Britten Bann is said to have been either in "Wenigbritten" (Girtenmühle area towards Bergen ) or in the "Palz". The village was first mentioned in a document in 1228, when the Mettlach monastery had properties in the village. The place name should be derived from the old German field name "kipreita" or "breida" (field area, won ).

Territorial Affiliation

Politically, Britten belonged to the Electorate of Trier until 1794 , then to revolutionary or Napoleonic France until 1815. By resolution of the Congress of Vienna , the village became part of Prussia and remained there until 1945, so it did not become part of the " Saar area " that was separated from the German Reich in 1919/20 . Occupied by the French in 1945 , Britten came to its territory when an autonomous Saar state was founded for the second time in 1946 and has belonged to the Federal Republic of Germany as part of the Saarland since 1957. In the course of the regional and administrative reform in Saarland , the previously independent town was incorporated into the new Losheim community on January 1, 1974.

Church history

Britten's church history began in 1292, when a vicar Johann Rudolph is said to have worked in Britten. A chapel in Britten is mentioned in 1505. In 1803 the village was raised to a succursale (auxiliary parish) with the branches Hausbach and Bergen. The new Catholic parish church of St. Wendalinus was built from 1824 to 1829 and a tower and choir room were added in 1898 and 1899. Britten's parish history, which lasted more than 200 years, ended on September 1, 2011 with the establishment of the Losheim am See parish community, to which the former parish of Britten now also belongs.

economy

In the past centuries, in addition to agriculture, red sandstone was mined ; at its heyday in 17./18. In the 19th century there were around 20 quarries in the village, one of which still exists today. Today, the numerous sandstone crosses in the Britten district are a reminder of this era. In addition, numerous craft businesses were located such as B. weaving mills , farriers and nail smiths and wheelwright shops . A construction company and a retirement home are currently the largest employers in the area.

School history

From 1739 to 2008 there was a school in town. This existed after 1945 initially as a primary school, since 1970 as a primary school, which was also attended by the children of the neighboring villages of Hausbach and Bergen. In 2008 the primary school was closed as part of the Saarland primary school reform. Since September 2011, following an extensive redesign of the outdoor area, the youth traffic school of the Merzig-Wadern district has its headquarters in the former primary school building.

politics

Britten as a non-independent district of the municipality of Losheim am See has since 1974 a Ortsrat . From 1974 to 2004 the council had nine members, with the 2004 election the number of members was reduced to seven. The chairman of the local council is the mayor as the representative of the mayor .

Britten local councilor

The local elections on May 26, 2019 produced the following results for Britten:

Turnout: 64.0%
CDU: 32.5%, 2 mandates
SPD: 67.5%, 5 mandates

Mayor of the Britten district since 1974

1974–1979: Egon Schwarz (CDU)
1979–1996: Herbert Ewerhardy (SPD)
1997-2019: Günter Ludwig (SPD)
since July 5, 2019: Philipp Ludwig (SPD)

Mayor of the independent municipality of Britten 1946–1974

1946–1949: Matthias Schulligen (SPS)
1949–1956: Matthias Lauer (CVP)
1956–1970: Wendelinus Schommer (CDU)
1970–1973: Adolf Adler (CDU)

coat of arms

In the chronicle “777 years of Britten” from 2005, the Britten coat of arms is described on pages 2f as follows:

In the upper right quarter a red heraldic lily. It stands for the royal Scottish origins of St. Wendalinus, to whom the church is consecrated, and also points out the long church history of Britten.
Opposite a gold-handled silver flat iron in green, covered on the handle with two diagonally crossed broad iron. Britten is lying on a red sandstone saddle. In the past, Britten sandstone was quarried and processed in 20 factories. The stonemasonry tools indicate this branch of the economy, which was important for Britten in earlier times.
In the lower right quarter two golden holly leaves (ilex aquifolium) with four golden berries in green . In the area of the Britten Church and in the forests around Britten there is a unique population of holly trees with trunk diameters of 30 to 35 cm.
In contrast, a continuous red cross in silver. The red cross indicates that Britten belongs to the Electorate of Trier .
The green color in the upper and lower fields generally symbolizes the scenic location of Britten. The forest is still the main feature of the municipal area.

Attractions

the group of holly around the parish church of St. Wendalinus, the largest and most closed ilex deposit in the area on the left bank of the Rhine
the 16 sandstone crossroads in the Britten district, most of which can be hiked on the premium hiking trail "Steinhauerweg"
the Britten nature discovery trail, built in 1997 and renovated several times

Architectural monuments

On the rock, cath. Parish church St. Wendalinus, nave built 1824–1829, tower, choir and sacristy built 1898/99, reconstruction in 1948/49 under the direction of architect Hans Fässy after being destroyed in the war
Outside the locality, crossroads, 18th and 19th centuries
Brittener Strasse 11, “Old Girls School”, 1914

village life

The place is divided into an old town center ("Unterdorf"), which in its current form was largely created in the 19th and first half of the 20th century, and a newer residential area ("Oberdorf"), which has been growing steadily since the post-war period . In Britten there are numerous active clubs, most of which have come together in the club community Britten, including about

Sports club Britten-Hausbach e. V. (created in 2018 from the sports club "Eintracht" 1935 Britten eV and the sports club Schwarz-Weiß Hausbach e.V., which had formed the SG Britten-Hausbach syndicate since 2004)
Culture and Carnival Association "Hirtz" Britten e. V.
Musikverein "Lyra" Britten e. V.
Youth Club Britten e. V.
Hochwaldschützen 1984 Britten e. V.
DRK local association Britten
Turnverein Britten e. V.

A number of events in Britten, such as the village festival on April 30th and May 1st on the Waldfestplatz, are known regionally. The fair (anniversary of the consecration) in honor of St. Wendalinus (name day: October 20th) takes place on the market square on the third Sunday in October .

Public facilities

Municipal institutions

Sports and culture hall (built in 1975) with fire station and group room of the local DRK association
Forest festival area with barbecue hut (redesigned in 2008–12 by the clubs themselves)
Former primary school (built 1961/62), from the school year 2011/12 the location of the youth traffic school of the Merzig-Wadern district; In addition, some rooms are used by Britten clubs and organizations
Sports field and sports home of SV Eintracht 1935 Britten
Youth center of the youth club Britten
Rifle house of the Hochwaldschützen 1984 Britten

Church institutions

Parish Church of St. Wendalinus Britten
Parish home
St. Wendalinus Britten day care center

Awards

1991 - State recognized resort
1996 - 1st place in the district competition "Our village should live" in the Merzig-Wadern district
1997 - 3rd place in the state competition "Our village should live" in Saarland
1997 - Admission to the "Nature Park Village Program" of the Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park, combined with the name "Nature Park Village Britten"
2008 - 2nd place in the district competition "Our village has a future" in the Merzig-Wadern district
2015 - 2nd place in the district competition "Our village has a future" in the Merzig-Wadern district

literature

777 years of Britten - a chronicle. Commemorative publication of the Britten association for the 777th anniversary celebration, 2005
Maria Besse: Britter dictionary - Moselle-Franconian dialect at the "gateway to the high forest". Published by the association for local history in the community of Losheim am See e. V., Losheim am See 2004, ISBN 3-00-014131-6 .
Literature on Britten in the Saarland Bibliography

Individual evidence

^ 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. 804 .

Web links

Commons : Britten - More images

[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. 804 .