Mützenich (Monschau)
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Mützenich
City of Monschau
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| Height : | 584 m above sea level NHN |
| Area : | 9.89 km² |
| Residents : | 2237 (Dec. 31, 2006) |
| Population density : | 226 inhabitants / km² |
| Incorporation : | January 1, 1972 |
| Postal code : | 52156 |
Mützenich is a north-western district of Monschau in the Aachen city region .
location
Mützenich is located on the Belgian border in the catchment area of the High Fens , below the highest point in the Aachen city region, the Steling ( 658 m above sea level ).
Due to the route of the Vennbahn, which has been converted into a bicycle path , Mützenich is, along with other districts of Monschaus, Simmerath and Roetgens, an exclave in Germany that is completely enclosed by Belgium. The Vennbahntrasse, like some forest areas that previously belonged to Mützenich, has been Belgian territory since 1920 under the provisions of the Versailles Treaty . The boundary stones can be found on the right and left of the Vennbahntrasse.
history
The place name Mützenich may indicate a Roman settlement: Mutiniacum. Around 1783 the corpse of a Roman legionnaire in full armor was found under a stick dam in the Fens . The Roman helmet is part of the municipal coat of arms.
After the end of the Second World War, Belgium planned to annex the exclave created by the Vennbahn ( Belgian annexation plans after the Second World War ), but dropped these plans again in April 1949.
In the post-war period, the place was a stronghold of coffee smuggling from Belgium to Germany. At the so-called Aachen Coffee Front , numerous people were killed by the use of firearms, including West German customs officials. The public prosecutor's office was investigating more than 100 residents for smuggling. In the process, she showed that almost all of the male youth smuggled Mützenich's coffee. In 1952, 52 people were indicted and 46 convicted. Because of a lack of players, the local football club had to relegate.
Until the end of 1971 Mützenich belonged as an independent municipality to the also dissolved district of Monschau and this to the also dissolved administrative district of Aachen (see Aachen Law ). On January 1, 1972, the place was incorporated into the city of Monschau.
Mützenich has been awarded the title "Golddorf" several times .
Aviation pioneer
In 1909, the aviation pioneer Erich Offermann (1885–1930) had a hill near Mützenich built for flight experiments. In 1910 he began there with flight tests. Today the hill is overgrown on Belgian territory.
economy
In addition to a large number of private guest houses, there are several hotels and restaurants, retail shops, various craft businesses and some dairy and meat farmers. However, the majority of the population works in the vicinity or Aachen .
Architectural monuments
tourism
Mützenich is a popular destination for hikers, cyclists, joggers and cross-country skiers. Many hiking trails lead into the High Fens , a high moor at an altitude of around 600 to 650 meters, and into the Rur mountain stream nature reserve . Mützenich can be reached from Aachen by car in around 40 minutes. The following bus routes also operate:
| line | course |
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| 85 | Imgenbroich bus station - / Monschau parking garage - Mützenich - Reichenstein - Kalterherberg church - Kalterherberg Oberdorf |
| 385 | Eupen Bushof (B) - Ternell Nature Center (B) - Mützenich - Monschau - Kalterherberg Church - Kalterherberg Bf |
A prominent point about one kilometer north of the village is Kaiser Karls Bettstatt not far from the Steling , from where one of the main paths leads into the High Fens. Legend has it: When Emperor Charlemagne got lost while hunting one day, he is said to have involuntarily set up camp on this quartzite block. With a little imagination, notches can be seen where a body with head and feet could have rested. According to this impression, however, this figure should have been almost ten feet tall.
Karl also has to help naming Mützenich with a twinkle in his eye: When one of his servants, lying on the bed, held out a hat to protect him from the cold, he is said to have replied: “No hat”. In the village song E Dorpsche lid in the Monscher Land (“A little village is in the Monschauer Land”), on the other hand, the name is attributed to the often strong west wind that tore off people's hats: “und daropp ewischlisch, is called Dorp nu Mötzenisch “ (“ And that's why the village is now called Mützenich forever ”).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bettina Blank : The West German Lands and the Emergence of the Federal Republic. Munich 1995, p. 220 ( [1] ).
- ↑ Wolfgang Trees : Smugglers, customs officers and the coffee tanks. The wild post-war years on the German western border. How it was back then. P. 172 f, p. 180 f
- ↑ Smuggling in the post-war period: Coffee tanks in the bean fight. In: Spiegel Online . September 7, 2009, accessed February 27, 2015 .
- ^ 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 .
- ^ "Fliegerberg" as a new destination for hikers
- ↑ World Database on Protected Areas - Rur mountain stream near Monschau (English)
- ↑ 385: Eupen - Mützenich - Monschau - Kalterherberg. In: AVV line timetables. RVE / TEC , June 4, 2015, accessed February 3, 2016 .
Courtyards | Imgenbroich | Kalterherberg | Concentrations | Monschau | Mützenich | Pipes