Hapelrath

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Hapelrath
Coordinates: 51 ° 5 ′ 48 ″  N , 6 ° 58 ′ 50 ″  E
Height : 60 m above sea level NN
Hapelrath (Langenfeld (Rhineland))
Hapelrath

Location of Hapelrath in Langenfeld (Rhineland)

Hapelrath is a district of Reusrath , a district of Langenfeld (Rhineland) and has 18 inhabitants (as of January 17, 2010).

geography

Place name sign Hapelrath

Hapelrath is located on the southern edge of the Further Moor in a flat valley enclosed by forest . Only to the northeast does the wooded area open up in a narrow strip towards the village of Furth . Reusrath lies to the west and south. The Dückeburg is connected by an underpass under the Troisdorf – Mülheim-Speldorf railway line. Immigrath joins in the northwest, Leichlingen (Rhineland) in the east. Hapelrath is from here Hapelrather Bach called Galkhauser Bach flows through which to build the railroad moved and was straightened. Originally the brook ran further south in a natural brook bed , in the course of which hydraulic engineering measures of the Middle Ages for the irrigation of a previously undated ring wall can still be seen.

Today, Hapelrath is located on the Posthornweg of the Sauerland Mountain Association (SGV) and subsequently the General German Bicycle Club ( ADFC ). This leads hikers over a length of 35 km and cyclists over a length of 45 km around Langenfeld. Both routes are congruent in Hapelrath. Hapelrath is only accessible for residents with a vehicle. In any case, the single-lane network of paths and roads would not allow a large number of vehicles. As in many other outskirts of the city, many riders practice their sport in Hapelrath .

economy

Hapelrath is characterized by agriculture and forestry . There is only one craft business.

history

The beginnings of Hapelrath, like the beginning of the settlement in the whole of Langenfeld, are largely in the dark. However, if all places with the ending -rath were actually founded at the beginning of the ninth century , Hapelrath should have been inhabited for around 1200 years . Hapelrath is first mentioned in a document in 1446 as Habelrode . According to the place name researcher Heinrich Dittmaier, the name possibly goes back to the first settlement (Rath means clearing) of a Hadubald or Habilo . Much more has not been handed down in writing from the earliest history, but Hapelrath can still be called "Langenfeld's gateway to the world of legends", because the story on which the saga of the sunken castle is based is said to have taken place here. A connection to the death of the imperial envoy, who is said to have been killed in Langenfeld in 973, is also suspected. Because of his death, the founding of a monastery (on Gladbach?) Is said to have been abandoned and this was carried out again in Mönchengladbach in 974 .

  • Hapelrath from the south

  • Hapelrath from the north

  • Hapelrath number 5 + 6

  • Hut of the Hegering

  • Gateway to Langenfeld's world of legends

The legend (s) of the sunken castle

Two versions of the reports about a sunken castle have survived in Langenfeld. In Hapelrath there is not just one possible castle stable , but two of them that could be considered as the location of the event. Since both places also have peculiarities that suggest similar, but not identical processes, both versions of the saga with the words of the named reporters below. In advance, it should be noted that the only apparent correspondence between the two reports in connection with the two castle stables led to the assumption that the reports overlapped and that two stories are actually told about two sunken castles ( hill towers , also known as moths ).

The fairy tale version

Boneberger Bridge

Around 1950 Fritz Hinrichs and Alfred Bremme recorded the following version in their local history reading book " Land der Berge, Land der Heimat ":

“The train from Opladen to Düsseldorf runs through a swampy forest area shortly before Immigrath. A bridge, called the Boneberger Bridge, connects Langenfeld with Leichlingen. According to legend, the castle moat stood in this area many years ago. An evil robber baron once lived here. His castle was surrounded by wide, swampy moats and only a single drawbridge led into the interior. This could be pulled up with strong chains. The knight , his squires and servants were bad robbers and highwaymen who stalked the rich merchants with their goods trains in the bushes on the road that leads from Cologne to Düsseldorf . There they attacked and robbed those passing through. In a large cellar of the castle was the knight's treasury , in which gold, silver and precious stones were stored in boxes and barrels. His wealth was so great that his daughters spun the wool on a golden spinning wheel on the long winter evenings , something that is otherwise only reported by princesses. One day he stole a beautiful maiden from a neighboring village . But this managed to escape from the castle again. The robbery then should have been the robber's last crime, because that same night a violent storm broke out . With a thunder and crash, the castle and all its inhabitants sank into the depths. The knight was now on his way home, laden with rich booty . He looked in vain for the gate to his castle . Angry, he rode deeper and deeper into the swamp and sank with all his companions. So the villain received his just punishment. Later, brave men tried to dig for the sunken treasure at this point. When they thought they had reached the treasure cellar, a huge clap of thunder rang out and the dug corridors were buried again. Only in the Midsummer Night should be able to dig up the treasure. But woe if the treasure hunters have not finished their work before midnight! You will be buried by the falling earth. "

- Fritz Hinrichs, Alfred Bremme: " Land of Mountains, Land of Homeland "

The legend version

The remains of a tower hill

Heinz Müller reproduces the legend in the home calendar of the Rhein-Wupper district from 1955 in his article " Place and field names of the city of Langenfeld tell from bygone days " in a different version:

“A sand hill of around 10 × 10 meters, which used to be near the Troisdorf – Mülheim-Speldorf railway line , gave rise to the assumption that a castle might have stood there. A legend has therefore seized the area, it is said that a "proud knight's castle" stood there. The owner, a proud robber baron , was the horror of the whole area. In order to be able to avoid pursuers during his raids, he had the horseshoes hidden from his horse . The knight is said to have stolen a maiden from a noble house on the other side of the Rhine and kept her prisoner in the castle. For this outrage, however, the castle and its inhabitants were punished by heaven. In a dark, thunderstorm night, when the knight and his cronies were drinking in a noisy round table, it sank and with it all the many stolen treasures, including a barrel of gold and a golden spinning wheel. Often one tried to raise the treasure on Matthias Night, but always in vain, because it was not allowed to speak during the treasure hunt. Once several men and a woman were digging when suddenly the big barrel rolled past them. The prospectors cried out in shock and everything was gone. Another time the treasure hunters found themselves close to their goal again when suddenly a violent storm set in, which filled their souls with horror. Shaken by fear, they escaped the weird spot. So the treasures still rest in the depths today. "

- Heinz Müller, " Place and field names of the city of Langenfeld tell of bygone days "

Literature and web links