Matzerath (Erkelenz)

Matzerath City of Erkelenz Coordinates: 51 ° 4 ′ 43 ″  N , 6 ° 17 ′ 1 ″  E
Height :	94 m
Residents :	391  (December 31, 2016)
Postal code :	41812
Area code :	02431
Location of Matzerath in North Rhine-Westphalia

Chapel St. Josef on the Matzerather Domplatz

Matzerath is a rural village in the urban area of Erkelenz ( Heinsberg district ). The place has 391 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2016).

geography

Matzerath is in the Erkelenzer Börde .

For centuries there was a pond in the center of the village, the so-called maar. In 1934 it was filled in.

location

The village is about 2 km west of Erkelenz.

Two roads run right past the village, in the south the road from Erkelenz to Hückelhoven , in the west the road from Hetzerath to Schwanenberg . The A 46 motorway also runs to the south.

The new Oerather Mühlenfeld building area has been under construction since 2004 between Matzerath and Erkelenz .

history

The place was first mentioned in 1212 as a macho dome . In 1453 he is called Matzenroide , 1554 Matzenraid and 1656 Matzenrath .

Matzerath was part of the Kleingladbach court in the Middle Ages and early modern times. First ruler was the Count von Wassenberg. After several changes of ownership, in 1494 the rule of Wassenberg fell to the Duchy of Jülich . Wassenberg was now a separate administrative district, a so-called office .

In 1794, when France occupied the Rhineland, Matzerath became Mairie (mayor's office).

Under the Prussian government, Matzerath became a special community in the mayor's office of Kleingladbach in the district of Erkelenz in 1815/1816 . Until 1817 the administrative seat was in Matzerath. In the further course of the 19th century, the two communities Matzerath and Kleingladbach formed the mayor's office of Kleingladbach.

In 1935 Matzerath lost the status of the community and became part of the new community of Golkrath . At that time Matzerath comprised 238.22  hectares . Golkrath in turn belonged to the new office of Erkelenz-Land.

American soldiers of the 334th Regiment of the 84th Infantry Division of the 9th US Army captured the village on February 26, 1945 during Operation Grenade after crossing the Rur.

On January 1, 1972, Matzerath and Golkrath finally came to the city of Erkelenz.

Place names

The word -rath in the place name indicates that it is a clearing name . Settlements of this era emerged in the Erkelenz area between the 9th and 11th centuries.

The final word could contain the personal name Macco.

religion

The majority of the population is Roman Catholic .

Ecclesiastically, Matzerath belonged to the Schwanenberg parish until 1558 . Since this place became Protestant during the Reformation , Matzerath came to the parish of Erkelenz.

1694 donated vicar Peter Gehlen building a the St. Joseph consecrated chapel .

There were close economic ties to the nearby Hohenbusch Kreuzherrenkloster , which owned 252 acres of arable land in the Matzerath area in 1802 , and it also received a tithe of 480 acres.

Population development

year	1814	1874	1925	1980	1990	2005	2009	2010
Ew.	280	340	295	348	367	365	344	352

Attractions

Matzerather water tower

• Chapel St. Joseph, an octagonal building with a diameter of approx. 7 m with a curved slate roof from 1696. In the chapel there is a baroque altar.
• The listed Matzerath water tower stands south of the village on the road to Houverath . The 32 meter high brick building was built in 1934 and is still in operation today. The reinforced concrete water tank holds 300 m³.

See also : List of architectural monuments in Erkelenz

Infrastructure

• Erkelenz volunteer fire brigade, Matzerath fire fighting group
• Youth home

traffic

bicycle

A cycle path leads from Matzerath to Erkelenz. The medlar tree tour runs through the village.

Personalities

• Peter Gehlen, founder of the chapel
• Franz-Josef Pangels , member of the CDU in the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia (1990-2004)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Update of the population on December 31, 2016 (PDF). (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. ^ 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 .

literature

• Josef Dreßen: Matzerath story of a village on the outskirts of the city , Erkelenz 1980
• Josef Dreßen: Matzerath - A village and its people , Erkelenz 1995

Web links

Commons : Matzerath  - 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
• A WDR film about Matzerath