Gerderath

Gerderath City of Erkelenz
Coordinates: 51 ° 6 ′ 0 ″  N , 6 ° 13 ′ 0 ″  E
Height :	88 m
Area :	6.95 km²
Residents :	4562  (December 31, 2016)
Population density :	656 inhabitants / km²
Incorporation :	January 1, 1972
Postal code :	41812
Area code :	02432
Gerderath in the west of the Erkelenz city area

Old town center Gerderath

Gerderath is the westernmost town of Erkelenz in the Heinsberg district in North Rhine-Westphalia . The villages Gerderhahn and Fronderath, the hamlets Moorheide and Vossem as well as the Eckartshof and the Gerderather Mühle are historically closely connected to the place ; together they form district 2 of Erkelenz. Fronderath and Vossem are also covered in this article.

Gerderath was an independent municipality in the district of Erkelenz until 1972 and was then incorporated into the city of Erkelenz. With around 4,600 inhabitants, Gerderath is the second largest town in the city after Erkelenz.

geography

Gerderath lies on the western edge of the Erkelenzer Börde . The Wassenberger Riedelland extends to the southwest of the village with the Rurn lowlands behind .

The village is located on Landstrasse 19, which connects Erkelenz with Wassenberg. The Wegberg -Wildenrath commercial and industrial park is located north of the village on the site of the former British military airfield Wildenrath .

Neighboring towns are Vossem in the north, Gerderhahn in the east, Golkrath in the southeast, Kleingladbach in the south, Altmyhl in the southwest and Myhl in the west.

The Floßbach rises on the southern outskirts of Gerderath, flows to Altmyhl and Ratheim (here as Gerderather Bach or Ratheimer Mühlenbach ) and flows into the Rur.

history

Due to the fertile soil, the Gerderath area was settled early on. Archaeological excavations in the new development area “An der Burg” on the southern edge of the village revealed traces of Iron Age settlement from the 8th to 5th centuries BC and a Roman estate from the 2nd to 3rd centuries AD.

In 1172 the place, which still exists today, was first mentioned as "Gerdenrothe", in 1554 as "Gerderaidt" and in 1666 as "Gerderath".

From 1494 to 1798 the village belonged to the Wassenberg office of the Duchy of Jülich , and in 1816 it became the mayor's office in the district of Erkelenz .

A miners' settlement was built in the 20th century, the residents of which were employed at the Sophia-Jacoba colliery in Hückelhoven and Ratheim.

On January 1st, 1972 Gerderath was incorporated into Erkelenz. Small areas came to Wassenberg and Wegberg .

Place name

Gerderath belongs to the group of -rode names. The settlement was created in the high medieval clearing phase . The defining word of the place name is probably due to the personal name Gerd, Gert (von Gerhard ).

Population development

The population increased significantly due to mining.

religion

The Catholic Church is consecrated to Saint Christopher . The right of patronage was given to the Gangolfus foundation in Heinsberg in 1447 . In the former parish church there is a baptismal font from the 12th century. The historic organ from the 17th century has a mid-tone tuning . The neighboring villages of Gerderhahn, Fronderath, Moorheide and Vossem were in the parish of Gerderath. With the reorganization of the parishes in the Diocese of Aachen , the parish was dissolved on December 31, 2009 and incorporated on January 1, 2010 as a subsidiary of the parish of St. Lambertus in Erkelenz , which itself became part of Christkönig Erkelenz on January 1, 2015 with the eastern parishes of Erkelenz merged.

The Protestant community is called Friedenskirche Ratheim-Gerderath.

coat of arms

The former municipal coat of arms shows a silver-rooted oak on a green background. The coat of arms indicates the cleared oak trunk - based on the parish patron St. Christophorus - on the typical medieval clearing settlement of the time. The town's coat of arms was approved by the deed of May 8, 1967.

Infrastructure

• City Kindergarten Gerderath
• Catholic kindergarten St. Hermann Josef Gerderath
• Forest kindergarten
• Community elementary school Gerderath
• Evangelical children and youth center "CIRKEL"
• Gym and swimming pool Gerderath
• Fire fighting group Gerderath of the volunteer fire brigade Erkelenz
• Gerderath branch of the Kreissparkasse Heinsberg
• Forest cemetery
• Old cemetery with graves of honor of 34 fallen soldiers of the Second World War
• Children's playgrounds
• Community center
• since December 2014 nationwide fiber optic network in all households

Culture

Attractions

• The “Lauerkreuz” crossroads from 1854 at the crossroads in the center of the village
• The mission cross from the 15./16. Century at the Catholic Church
• The wayside cross "Genender Kreuz" has a baroque altar structure with twisted columns under an open roof (the cross is said to come from the altar of the former Kreuzherrenkloster Hohenbusch near Erkelenz after it was secularized in 1802. )
• The old cemetery with old tombs and high cross for two priests' graves

See also : List of architectural monuments in Erkelenz

Regular events

• Early fair in May
• Late fair with a bird shot in September
• Carnival session (s) of the cath. Women's community
• Oktobergaudi with the volunteer fire brigade (formerly fire brigade ball)
• New Year's reception of the local community

Fronderath

The village of Fronderath is located immediately north of Gerderath ( 51 ° 5 ′ 54 ″  N , 6 ° 13 ′ 16 ″  E ) and has now merged with the place.

history

In 1317 the settlement was called Vrohenrode and in 1445 Vronrade . The place name is derived from the word vron (= belonging to the Lord) and denoted a clearing of the (land) gentleman.
In 1405 the farm belonged to Count Ruprecht von Virneburg and was given as a fief to Hermann von Randerath. In 1447 it was sold to the Gangolfuss pen in Heinsberg .

Fronderath has always belonged administratively and ecclesiastically to Gerderath.

Attractions

• Road cross from 1855

Vossem

The hamlet of Vossem ( 51 ° 6 ′ 26 ″  N , 6 ° 12 ′ 38 ″  E ) is located northwest of Gerderath and Fronderath on the edge of the urban area of Wegberg . The Eckart Forest was formerly located north between Vossem and Wildenrath. After the Second World War, an RAF airfield was built there; today, the test track for the Siemens railway testing center is located here. The place has 65 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2006).

history

In 1354 the hamlet was first mentioned as Voishem , in 1460 it was called Voyssem . The place name contains the word Middle Low German voss , vos (= fox). There is also a derivation of the word - home .

The hamlet has always belonged administratively and ecclesially to Gerderath.

Attractions

• Wayside cross from 1888

Personalities

• Franz Nekes (born February 13, 1844 in Essen, † May 6, 1914 in Aachen) worked from May 10, 1871 to October 9, 1887 as a Catholic clergyman at St. Christophorus Church in Gerderath. He is considered a reformer of church music.
• August Monforts (born September 18, 1850; † July 7, 1926 in Mönchengladbach), founder of the mechanical engineering company A. Monforts Textile Machinery and A. Monforts Machine Tools in Mönchengladbach.
• Lewis Holtby (born September 18, 1990), football player.

literature

• Municipality of Gerderath (ed.): Gerderath in history and present . Erkelenz 1971.

Web links

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

• Website of the city of Erkelenz
• Monuments in the city of Erkelenz
• Churches and chapels in the city of Erkelenz

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Update of the population on December 31, 2016. (PDF) (No longer available online.) In: Website of the city of Erkelenz. Archived from the original on January 25, 2017 ; Retrieved January 25, 2017 . 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.  
2. ↑ Peter Schönfeld: An Iron Age and Roman settlement in Erkelenz-Gerderath. Results of the archaeological excavations in the new building area “An der Burg” . In: Heimatkalender des Kreis Heinsberg , 2014, pp. 18–28
3. ↑ ^{a b c d} L. Gillessen: The localities of the district of Heinsberg . In: Series of publications by the district of Heinsberg , 7, 1993
4. ^ 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. 307 .
5. ↑ Michael Rademacher: German administrative history from the unification of the empire in 1871 to the reunification in 1990. erkelenz.html. (Online material for the dissertation, Osnabrück 2006). 
6. ↑ erkelenz.de ( Memento of the original from June 17, 2009 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. 
7. ↑ Blaesen, Paul: signs along the way . Writings of the Heimatverein der Erkelenzer Lande e. V., Erkelenz 1998, p. 255
8. ↑ Monforts, August in the German biography