Erkensruhr

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Erkensruhr
community Simmerath
Coordinates: 50 ° 33 ′ 58 ″  N , 6 ° 21 ′ 47 ″  E
Height : 333 m above sea level NHN
Residents : 206  (December 31, 2011)
Postal code : 52152
Area code : 02485
Erkensruhr (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Erkensruhr

Location of Erkensruhr in North Rhine-Westphalia

Hirschrott forest chapel - Erkensruhr
Chapel of Erkensruhr

Erkensruhr is a district of the municipality of Simmerath , on the creek of the same name , in the side valley of the Rur in the area of ​​the Rurtalsperre in the northern Eifel .

geography

The scattered settlement below the Dreiborn plateau and stretching over 3 km on both sides of the Erkensruhr stream of the same name is enclosed by the Eifel National Park up to the end of the valley . Aachen is about 45 km northwest, Cologne about 70 km northeast.

Deer scrap

Hirschrott is the closest neighboring settlement, on the municipal border with Schleiden . The road via Einruhr ends here, in the Eifel National Park. The small settlement extends in a row of buildings, some of which are half-timbered, above the right bank of the Erkensruhr. The location at the end of the street serves as a starting point for hikes or bike tours.

history

Although some members of the Eifelverein try to prepare the local history, the beginnings are still in the dark. According to archaeological finds, Einruhr , which was inhabited by the Romans in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, is 4 km away ; For Erkensruhr, however, according to the state of research in 2009, neither a Roman nor a Franconian settlement can be proven.

The eponymous brook is mentioned in a document as "Orkenrure" in the 11th century, but no evidence of settlement in the High and Late Middle Ages. Acquisition lists from 1603 about a place called “Neudorf” with slate pits in Monschauer Land do not refer to Erkensruhr, but to Raeren , according to current knowledge .

Rather, according to the current state of affairs, the history of slate mining on the source streams of the Erkensruhr begins in 1791 with the purchase of land by the mayor and justice of the peace Johann Joseph des Berghes from Monschau . Des Berghes' widow, who had employed French staff, sold the property, including slate pits and the house, to the pit master Nicolas Dardenne in 1825; Ruins of this first house in Leykaul am Wüstebach still stand. It should not be confused with the “Leykaul” farm, which was run by descendants of the Dardenne family and was last owned by their former Ukrainian slave laborer named Paul Sluzala. After his death in January 2008, the national park administration acquired the asbestos-contaminated property that had to be demolished.

The settlement that arose around the slate tunnels on Püngelbach and Wüstebach in the 19th century was alternately called “Neudorf” or “Erkensruhr” in local sources, but from around 1900 it was only called “Erkensruhr”. The slate tunnels - quarrying volumes are not documented - were operated until 1948, most recently by an entrepreneur from Einruhr .

Territorially, the valley of the Erkensruhr belonged to the Duchy of Jülich until the end of the 18th century . After the entire Left Bank of the Rhine was occupied during the First Coalition War in 1794 , the area belonged to France from 1798 to 1814 . Simmerath and the surrounding area belonged to the canton of Montjoie in the Aachen arrondissement in the Rur department . Due to the agreements reached at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 , the area was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia , and from 1822 until the end of World War II it was part of the Rhine Province .

In World War II the town was less affected than the Western Wall nearby districts of the municipality Simmerath; it was nevertheless a combat area from autumn 1944 until the American invasion in winter 1944/45.

The economic regeneration began in the 1950s. In the course of the second expansion stage of the Rur dam (1955-1959), after which the water of the Obersee extends beyond Einruhr, Erkensruhr, which is 4 km from the lake, also benefited from the rise in tourism on the entire Rursee including Einruhr. However, it sets its own accents in particular by emphasizing historical traditions, the stagecoach to Einruhr and its quiet location on the edge of the national park.

By § 8 of the law of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia on the reorganization of the communities and districts of the reorganization area Aachen (the so-called Aachen law ) of December 14, 1971, Erkensruhr and deer scrap were assigned to the new community Simmerath with effect from January 1, 1972. Until then, Erkensruhr belonged to the municipality of Rurberg in the district of Monschau and Hirschrott to the municipality of Dreiborn in the district of Schleiden. The district boundary was the course of the Erkensruhr creek until 1971.

Culture and sights

Buildings

Backhaus Erkensruhr
  • The chapel on the main street was built in the typical 19th century architecture ( Grauwacke building with a slate roof).
  • Another wooden forest chapel, built in the historicizing style by a citizen of Erkensruhr, is a popular photo motif.
  • In the half-timbered bakery (mid-19th century), stone oven bread is baked using traditional methods on demo days (1st Saturday of the month in summer) .
  • In summer, on Sundays, a traditional horse-drawn carriage runs several times a day for tourists between the Alte Poststation (at the Backhaus) and the center of Einruhr.
  • Between Erkensruhr and Hirschrott (small village 2 km further south, with apartments and cafés, also belonging to the municipality of Simmerath) there is a farm (former grain mill) from around 1800 (restored and converted into a residential building). South of the Hirschrott hiking car park, the Wüstebach and Püngelbach source streams join to form Erkensruhr; here the road ends as a dead end and the territory of the national park begins.

Natural landscape

Erkensruhrtal

The valley of the Erkensruhr including the village lies outside the national park. Surrounded on all sides by this, it nevertheless sees itself in the 21st century as a "natural landscape" (sign) and deliberately relies on local recreation visitors from Cologne , Aachen , Bonn as well as long-term holidaymakers from the rest of Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium who are away from seek peace in the lively holiday centers of the Rursee water sports enthusiasts. In addition to a wellness hotel, there is a wide range of guest houses, apartments and restaurants that advertise themselves with refined regional gastronomy. Erkensruhr is the ranger meeting point for guided hikes in the national park; however, these hiking trails can also be walked individually.

The circular hiking trail starting at Hirschrott along the source streams of the Erkensruhr - Wüstebach and Püngelbach - around the Hollerscheid forest area (15 km or 9 km for short) leads past the slate mines that were abandoned in 1948. A high dump can still be seen, and several tunnel entrances have been closed with horizontal bars for several decades and designed as winter quarters for bats . The alder and mixed beech forests along the streams provide a habitat for intact flora and fauna. The national park administration plans to leave them to nature and no longer remove the dead wood. In 2009, this concept had already reached such an extent that fallen, moss-covered giant trees gave the landscape above the desert stream a primeval forest-like character. There is still a no longer maintained hiking trail, recommended in the literature below, through this area past high slate rocks. The national park administration asks, however, not to visit it again.

In addition, it is planned to reduce the spruce trees that are still dominant today on the higher slopes in favor of the deciduous forest to be recultivated. Brown trout , bullhead and loach are the most desert-and Püngelbach. Woodpeckers , mistletoe and wood warbler seek out the old beeches. On the damp valley meadows with typical reed -Vegetation up in the spring Golden yellow daffodils , in July arnica on the drier slopes Bärwurz .

Bike and hiking trails along the Erkensruhr lead to Einruhr; there is a connection to the road network and the shipping of the dam system of Obersee and Rursee.

literature

  • Maria A. Pfeifer, Gabriele Harzheim, Hans Georg Brunemann: Themed tours in the Eifel National Park. 7 tours for hikers and cyclists . Published by the NRW Foundation and the Eifelverein. JP Bachem Verlag, Cologne 2004, ISBN 3-7616-1741-0 , (2nd updated edition: ibid, same year).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Population figures of the community Simmerath (main residence Erkensruhr with deer scrap) at www.simmerath.de
  2. ^ 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. 309 .
  3. Community encyclopedia of the Rhine Province, directory of the community Rurberg (Monschau district)
  4. Community encyclopedia of the Rhine province, directory of the community Dreiborn (Schleiden district)