Merkstein

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Merkstein
City of Herzogenrath
Merkstein coat of arms
Coordinates: 50 ° 52 ′ 58 ″  N , 6 ° 6 ′ 59 ″  E
Height : 154 m
Area : 14.63 km²
Incorporation : January 1, 1972
Postal code : 52134
Area code : 02406

Merkstein is a district of Herzogenrath in the Aachen city region .

Districts

Sculpture on August-Schmidt-Platz in Merkstein

Merkstein is further divided into

  • Hofstadt
  • Worm
  • wilderness
  • Herbach
  • Plitschard
  • (Alt-) Merkstein
  • Raft
  • Thiergarten (partly to Merkstein, partly to Herzogenrath)
  • Streiffeld
  • Nievelstein (dismantled 1944)
  • Finkenrath (dismantled 1960)
  • Ritzerfeld
  • Lean
  • Noppenberg (partly to Merkstein, partly to Herzogenrath)
  • Ophoven
  • Neumerberen
  • Rimburg (1816 to 1972)

From 1961 until its incorporation in 1972, the Merkstein area had the postcode 5123 and covered Merkstein, Herbach, Hofstadt, Noppenberg, Plitschard, Rimburg, Ritzerfeld and Worm.

history

Parish Church of Sankt Willibrord

Merkstein is first mentioned in 1123 in the Annales Rodenses . At that time the wooden church in honor of St. Willibrord (658–739) was more than 400 years old. The wooden church was built in 701 after the Tevis Collection. There has been an uninterrupted succession of pastors since 959 until today. The Archbishop of Cologne had the patronage rights . He could appoint the pastors and decide who would take the parsonage. The church land was probably a gift from the Merovingians . The river Wurm formed the border between the Archdiocese of Cologne to the east and the Diocese of Liège to the west. According to an inscription on the altar, Willibrord donated this church. Whether this is to be taken literally or as a tribute to this missionary cannot be proven.

The surrounding villages of Worm, Nievelstein, Wildnis, Finkenrath, Rimburg, Plitschard, Herbach, Hofstadt, Streiffeld, Magerau, Floß and Merberen belonged to the parish of St. Willibrord (Neu-Merberen, Alt-Merberen belonged to Jülich). All places with the exception of Rimburg were also subject to the jurisdiction of Merkstein in the late Middle Ages. Rimburg was on Jülich territory and had its own jurisdiction through the rulers of Bronckhorst. Under canon law, however, Rimburg belonged to the parish of Merkstein. The Lords of Rimburg had to pay taxes and take care of the maintenance of the church. This peculiarity has repeatedly led to legal disputes. In Ritzerfeld the situation was reversed. The place belonged to the bank of Merkstein. However, the residents went to church in Afden to the parish church of St. Gertrudis. This also gave rise to disputes between the banks of Merkstein and Herzogenrath when it came to the taxes.

Merkstein belonged to the glory of Rode (Hertogenrode, Herzogenrath) with Kerkrade (Kirchrath) and Rode Castle since the early Middle Ages . The area west of the Wurm (Kerkrade, St. Lambertus Church and Rode Castle) was owned ( Allodium ) by the Counts of Saffenberg since 1060 . Their headquarters was the Saffenburg in Maischoss an der Ahr. The Saffenberger came from the tribe of Ezzonen . The Ezzonen were powerful counts or monastery bailiffs in the area between the Rhine and Maas and can be traced back to Charlemagne . Her relatives from the Berg family sat on the archbishop's chair in Cologne for several generations. In addition, since 985, the Ezzone provided the Count Palatine of Lorraine . The Count Palatine (lat. Palatinus = the one in the palace or at court) belonged to the illustrious circle of the seven princes, along with the Archbishops of Cologne, Trier and Mainz, the Duke of Saxony, the Margrave of Brandenburg and the King of Bohemia Elected the Roman-German king and took part in the administration of the empire.

The areas east of the Wurm (Afden, Ritzerfeld and Noppenberg) probably came from the estate of the first Count Palatine of Rhine Heinrich II. Von Laach . They came into the possession (Allodium) of the Count of Limburg in 1095 : cuius proprium erat allodium [...] Rucelenfelt [...] et Affeden (Annales Rodenses). Heinrich II. (* 1050, † 1095) came from the house of Gleiberg-Luxemburg and was related to the Counts of Limburg. He named himself after his castle on Laacher See (ad lacum = at the lake). In 1093 he and his wife Adelheid von Weimar-Orlamünde (1055–1100) donated the Laach monastery.

Between 1090 and 1100 there was a bitter feud between Count Adalbert von Saffenberg († 1110) and Heinrich I (approx. 1059–1119) of Limburg. The Limburger raised claims to a third of the Roder Allod. He invaded the Land of Rode "searing and burning". He set the St. Lambertus Church on fire. Only Rode Castle (castrum rodense) successfully resisted. In the Merkstein area, the Prummisvelt (Prummerenfeld), which by no means belonged to the Duke, was once given to the Prüm Abbey by Count Bruno von Hengebach († before 1056) and his wife (hence the name of the area).

Duke Heinrich was summoned to the Diet of Liège for this and other raids in 1101 by Emperor Heinrich IV . He had to redress his wrong. The old dispute with the Saffenbergers was settled in 1136 and sealed by the marriage between the heiress Mathilde († 1145) and the prince and later Duke Heinrich II of Limburg († August 19, 1167 in Rome).

Mathilde had inherited the rule of Rode, the Vogtei Klosterrath and a large Cologne fief and an allodial property in Haspengau from her father Adalbert I von Saffenberg and Nörvenich († 1109) , while Heinrich brought the villages of Afden, Ritzerfeld and Noppenberg into the marriage. The Cologne fief must have been Merkstein. Because the Archbishop of Cologne owned the patronage rights and received a tithe for each newly cleared fallow land from the Merkstein feudal people. Only the church land was tithe free. It was east of the St. Willibrord Church in the area of ​​today's Kirchfeldstrasse.

Heinrich succeeded his father as Duke of Limburg in 1139. Merkstein has belonged to the Duchy of Limburg since then . Between the houses of Limburg and Leuven-Brabant there was a constant scramble for the title and office of Duke of Lower Lorraine . The Land of Rode included Herzogenrath, Merkstein, Kerkrade, Übach over Worms , Simpelveld, Bochholtz, Vaals, Gulpen, Margaten and the Jülich enclaves Welz and Roerort. The places Übach and Alsdorf were added after the territorial reform under Empress Maria-Theresa .

In 1794 the French formed the mayor's office "Mairie Merkstein" in the canton of Herzogenrath in the Maastricht arrondissement of the Meuse-Inférieure (= Nieder Maas ) department.

In 1815 the Congress of Vienna made Merkstein subordinate to the Grand Duchy of Lower Rhine. In 1846 Merkstein and Herzogenrath were placed under a joint administration, and due to the hard coal, rural Merkstein quickly became an industrial community in the Aachen hard coal area . The houses No. 69 to 123 of Merksteiner "Bierstraße" belonged to the "Zeche Nordstern", which was sunk in 1876. In 1950 the Eschweiler Bergwerksverein (EBV) acquires company premises and apartments. The most important colliery, however, was the Adolf mine , which stopped mining coal in 1972. For decades it was the economic heart of Merkstein and employed most of the male working population.

On January 1, 1972, Merkstein and Kohlscheid were incorporated into the city of Herzogenrath. The district of Rimburg with around 300 inhabitants was assigned to Übach-Palenberg in the new district of Heinsberg .

coat of arms

Merkstein coat of arms

Blazon : “In blue over a corrugated golden (yellow) shield base, growing a silver (white) border stone covered with a blue shield, inside a golden (yellow) horse head; in the upper right corner a six-pointed golden (yellow) star. "

The municipality of Merkstein was awarded a coat of arms in 1936 by the President of the Rhineland in Koblenz. It shows a boundary stone from Prussian times made from a talking symbol that still exists today . The horse's head stands for traditional horse breeding in Merkstein. The meaning of the star is unclear; it may indicate the former Nordstern mine . The undulating base of the shield represents the hilly landscape on the edge of the Eifel . Heraldically questionable is that the rule "Never metal (gold) to metal (silver)!" is violated. A green shield base could help.

traffic

Stop at Herzogenrath Alt Merkstein
August-Schmidt-Platz in Merkstein
Winding machine house Grube Adolf in Merkstein
Old generator pit Adolf

Long-distance roads: From the "Alsdorf / Herzogenrath" motorway junction of the A 44 , the L240 leads 7.5 km to Merkstein.

Public transport: Merkstein's bus hub is “August-Schmidt-Platz”, which is served by the AVV lines HZ3, HZ1, 21, 47, 57, 89, 147 and 430. It connects Merkstein with Aachen , Alsdorf , Herzogenrath and Übach-Palenberg .

Railway: In December 2004 the “Herzogenrath-Alt-Merkstein” and “Herzogenrath August-Schmidt-Platz” stops of the Euregiobahn were opened. The nearest DB train stations are “Herzogenrath” and “Übach-Palenberg” on the Aachen - Aachen West - Kohlscheid - Geilenkirchen - Erkelenz - Rheydt Hbf - Mönchengladbach Hbf.

see also: Stolberg – Herzogenrath railway line

Sports

Grube-Adolf-Park

The " Grube Adolf -Park Merkstein" covers approx. 60 ha and consists of the former colliery site, of which only the hoisting machine house is left (visitor center of the park), the approx. 100 m towering overburden dump and an approx. 1 km long forest belt .

The spoil dump is a so-called "secondary biotope", i. H. made by human hands. It offers exceptional living conditions in this climatic zone. Above the almost black waste material, the soil and the layers of air above heat up so much that extremely dry and hot living conditions arise, as are more likely to be found in the Mediterranean region. This is why plant and animal species have settled that are extremely rare.

About 5.5 km of hiking trails are laid out. Parts of the network of trails are also open to cycling. A well-developed path leads via the "summit ascent" to two viewing plateaus. From the "Grenzlandblick" and the "Gipfelblick" (230 m and 245 m above sea level) there are spectacular views beyond the Maas valley in the west, into the High Fens and the Eifel in the south, to the Rhine valley ( Siebengebirge ) in the east and into the Selfkant in the North.

Parishes

Catholic:

These five churches belong to the parish of St. Willibrord.

Evangelical:

  • Martin Luther Church in Merkstein

New Apostolic:

  • New Apostolic Church in Magerauer Strasse, since 1998 the former parish of Herzogenrath-Mitte has been incorporated into the Merkstein parish

Evangelical Free Church :

Personalities

  • Kurt Berkner , resistance fighter against National Socialism
  • Heinrich Joseph Brachthäuser , 1873–1921, teacher and rector in Merkstein. Brachthäuserstraße was named after him in 1957 by resolution of the Merkstein city council .
  • Josef Quadflieg (1864–1930). Farmer, 1st alderman and 25 years in the self-sacrificing service of the citizens of Merkstein. Volunteer community leader and registrar for Merkstein and Rimburg (1900–1924). Through his efforts, Merkstein received its own local government in 1919. The personal union with Herzogenrath was canceled.
  • Christian Derichs , provisional mayor of Merkstein in 1946, municipal director of Merkstein in 1948
  • Hans Landrock 1949–1971 last mayor in Merkstein
  • Ludwig Kahlen , 1949 municipal director of Merkstein, 1972 provisional city director of the newly constituted city of Herzogenrath, historian and author of many books on the history of Merkstein and Herzogenrath
  • Heinrich Stommel, Mayor of Merkstein from 1946–1948
  • Karl Meulenbergh 1847–1931, member of the municipal council in Rimburg and Merkstein, founder of the Rhenish draft horse breeding, landowner in Hoftstadt, Ophoven and Neumerberen, Prussian economic council, sole honorary citizen of the Merkstein municipality (1925)
  • Siegfried Jacobi , 1876–1942, a Jew who converted to the Protestant faith, came from Insterburg , was a senior staff doctor in World War I, and had been a miners' doctor at Geilenkirchener Str. 446 since 1920. The Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVD), founded in 1933, took care of the Harmonization for the revocation of the license to practice medicine from Jewish doctors. For "frontline fighters" of the First World War there were initially exceptions. Jacobi's reputation and popularity, however, did not prevent the practice from closing. Dr. Jacobi moved to Aachen in 1935. The National Socialist mayor then declared Merkstein "free of Jews". On September 10, 1941, he had to move into the Aachen ghetto camp "Grüner Weg". Dr. Jacobi was transported to Theresienstadt on July 25, 1942, where he died on November 4, 1942.
  • Peter Josef Fuhrmanns , 1818–1898, farmer, mayor of Merkstein (1843–1893), of Rimburg (from 1844), Herzogenrath (from 1846), Alsdorf and Bardenberg (from 1851). Fuhrmanns temporarily managed five communities with 8500 inhabitants. He handed Alsdorf over to his son Alfons in 1887, who, after his father's retirement, became mayor of Herzogenrath and Merkstein from 1895 to 1900. The personal union existed until 1919.
  • Leo Daelen was born in Merkstein in 1869 half an hour before his twin brother Albert Josef. Lawyer and Rittmeister dR, asset manager of the Daelen and Zentiss estates. 1919–1923 honorary mayor of Merkstein with official seat at the Daelen house in Thiergarten. He died in 1943.

literature

  • 01 Welfens, Hermann-Josef [3] , photo documentation earlier-today district Alt-Merkstein, Verlag WirmachenDruck.de
  • 02. Welfens, Hermann-Josef [4] , districts of Alt-Merkstein, Worm, Wilderness, Nivelstein, Finkenrath, Rimburg, Hofstadt and Herbach, Verlag WirmachenDruck.de
  • 03. Welfens, Hermann-Josef [5] , districts Plitschard, Floeß, Streiffeld, Magerau, Ritzerfeld and Thiergarten, Verlag WirmachenDruck.de
  • 04. Welfens, Hermann-Josef [6] , past times - beautiful times, publisher WirmachenDruck.de
  • 05. Welfens, Hermann-Josef [7] , the buck riders in the land of Herzogenrath / surgeon and robber captain, new edition, Kahlen / Welfens, Verlag WirmachenDruck.de
  • 06. Oswald Ortmanns, Finkenrath and Nivelstein - lost but unforgotten
  • 07. Oswald Ortmanns, history of Merkstein in the names of the streets and villages, Erdtmann printing works
  • 08. Ludwig Kahlen, Heimatklänge, printing and publishing house Alwin Handels
  • 09. Ludwig Kahlen, the communal diary, printing and publishing company Alwin Handels
  • 10. Ludwig Kahlen, 1919–1972 Closing balance, printing and publishing company Alwin Handels
  • 11. Ludwig Kahlen, Die Bockreiter 1st part - in the land of Herzogenrath, printing works Dünner
  • 12. Ludwig Kahlen, Die Bockreiter 2nd part - surgeon and robber captain, printing and publishing company Alwin Handels
  • 13. Ludwig Kahlen, stories from the Rodaland, printing and publishing house Alwin Handels
  • 14. Alwin Handels, 1894–1969, 75 years instrumental association in the life of the Merkstein community, printing and publishing company Alwin Handels

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b disappeared-villages-finkenrath-und-nivelstein
  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. 305 .
  3. ↑ Merkstein's coat of arms on Heraldry of the World. Retrieved May 29, 2014 .
  4. ↑ http://www.guidorademacher.de/Bergbaulokomotiven%20im%20Aachener%20Revier/Grube%20Adolf/Grube%20Adolf.htm accessed on October 6, 2019
  5. ↑ [1]  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.kirche-im-bistum-aachen.de