Monschau Heckenland

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The Eifel Heights and villages around Monschau in the Aachen city region are designated as the Monschau Heckenland cultural landscape , covering an area of ​​94 km², in which a large number of historical hedge constructions from the 17th century have been preserved. These are, on the one hand, individually shaped red beech house hedges and, on the other hand, field hedges in open fields to enclose fields to keep cattle away.

The prime example of a Monschau "Heckendorf" is Höfen , which has received two awards in the competition Our village should be more beautiful ; also Kalterherberg , Mützenich , pipes and Imgenbroich among them. Parts of the communities of Simmerath - for example the districts of Eicherscheid and Kesternich - and Roetgen are also included in the area .

European beech house hedges

Typical beech hedge in courtyards

The treeless Eifel plateaus (around 500 m) east of the High Fens on the border with Belgium are exposed to strong westerly winds - ice cold in winter; in Kalterherberg this finding is also reflected in the place name. Protective red beech hedges in the Monschauer Land have been documented since the end of the 17th century. They grow approx. 0.7 to 1 m thick and 6 to 10 m high and so partially tower over the houses; their length can be over 40 m. The hedge achieves stability through a careful braiding technique and regular trimming.

The hedges keep the withered leaves from the previous year into next spring and are therefore suitable for wind protection throughout the winter; in summer, however, they provide shade and have a cooling effect. Openings in the form of arches form house entrances, some hedges also have "window openings"; there is therefore a pronounced variety of shapes among the approx. 1000 copies.

In the 21st century, the historical hedges also have an aesthetic meaning and there are numerous replicas on contemporary houses. Every year in October, the most creative hedge gardeners in the communities of Monschau , Simmerath and Roetgen are awarded a prize by an evaluation committee from the Aachen city region .

Hedgerows

Typical field delimitation by red beech hedges (Fagus sylvatica) in the northern Eifel. Logs are left standing at regular intervals.

Field hedges instead of fences or barbed wire to protect the fields from damage by neighboring grazing cattle are common throughout the Monschauer Land. They are typically made from beech trees.

Individual shoots are left at regular intervals to grow into stately trees. In addition to their fencing function, they serve as wind protection; By slowing down the wind speed, soil erosion is reduced and the field is protected from drying out. The hedges also provide habitats for rodents and resting places for migratory birds. The wood of the throughgrowth trees is increasingly being used again for firewood production.

tourism

The Eifelverein has published the leaflet "The Monschauer Heckenland" together with the German-Belgian Nature Park and the city of Monschau. The 5 km long "Höfener Heckenweg" with 10 documentation stations was laid out around Höfen. The so-called "Heckenlandroute" runs between the Eifelsteig and Eicherscheid. A premium hiking trail that gives an insight into the hedge landscape in and around Eicherscheid.

literature

  • Ulrike Schwieren-Höger, nature and culture guide for the Eifel National Park and its nine cities and communities. Gaasterland-Verlag, Düsseldorf 2007, ISBN 978-3-935873-22-2
  • Robert Beckmann, The house protection hedges in the Monschauer Land with special consideration of their climatic effects. Dissertation at the Faculty of Construction of the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, Aachen 1979

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Web links

Commons : Monschauer Heckenland  - Collection of images, videos and audio files