Spay

Basic data
State :	Rhineland-Palatinate
County :	Mayen-Koblenz
Association municipality :	Rhine-Moselle
Height :	68 m above sea level NHN
Area :	2.7 km 2
Residents:	1904 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	705 inhabitants per km 2
Postal code :	56322
Area code :	02628
License plate :	MYK, MY
Community key :	07 1 37 223
LOCODE :	DE SPY
Community structure:	2 districts
Association administration address:	Bahnhofstrasse 44 ; 56330 Kobern-Gondorf
Website :	www.spay.de
Local Mayor :	Peter Heil
Location of the local community Spay in the Mayen-Koblenz district

Spay is a municipality in the Mayen-Koblenz district in Rhineland-Palatinate . It belongs to the Rhein-Mosel community and is located on the double loop of the Rhine north of Boppard .

Spay is a nationally recognized tourist destination .

geography

Spay located 12 km south of Koblenz in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley , that portion of the Rhine , which since 2002 for World Heritage of UNESCO belongs.

The landscape of Spay is characterized by the large bend of the Rhine, the Bopparder Hamm , at the northern end of which the elongated place nestles against the western (left bank of the Rhine). Neighboring towns are Brey (downstream) and Boppard (upstream). At the northern end of the village, Spay is opposite Braubach with the Marksburg .

Districts are the formerly independent communities Oberspay and Niederspay , from which the new community Spay was formed in 1969.

history

Prehistory and early history

The origins of Spay go back to the Neolithic Age . Stone axes and hammers were found from this era, and a number of flint artifacts in the neighboring village . In the following Bronze Age , the settlement increased further, from this era, among other things, a Hallstatt beaker with a pointed foot comes from . In the Iron Age the settlement followed by the Celts , to which the place name goes back according to the traditional view. According to this theory, the name Spay would have developed from the root “spah” (for “peeking”), which indicates the location at a place suitable for peeking on the Rhine loop there. According to a more recent, more likely view, the etymological origin of the place name lies in the Old High German spia (related to the Old Dutch spoy - new Dutch spui = water passage / lock). Before electricity regulation measures were taken in the mid-19th century, e. If, for example, rocks in the river bed that interfered with shipping were removed, the Rhine foamed on the Schottel between Spay and the Osterspai on the right bank of the Rhine , which was interspersed with individual large rocks, and a strong suction formed through narrow and deep gullies through which the water "sluiced" through. The deep water passage on the right bank of the Rhine was also called the Enge Thürchen . It is possible that this etymology applies to all three Spay locations on the Rhine.

The whole wooded area behind the Spayer headland from Koblenz's city forest on the Rhenser and Bopparder forest is full of typical for this time of burial mounds .

Roman times

Spay was on the former Rhine road of the Romans , between the Bodobrica camp ( Boppard ) and the city of Confluentes ( Koblenz ), near a presumed fort in today's Brey .

Last but not least, the Romans were also cultural teachers, while the inhabitants lived in mud huts, they built mighty stone buildings with heating and brick roofing. You will have planted the first vines and thus laid the foundation for viticulture. In 1957 the foundations of a Roman manor ( villa rustica ) from the first third of the 4th century were discovered in Spay . During the construction of the B 9 in 1951 (above the Strüwer-Heiligenhäuschen) in Oberspay, parts of Roman statues from the same period were found, including the head of a colossal statue of Emperor Septimius Severus and a boy's head, which are among the best pieces of the Koblenz Office for and count early history.

Then in the middle of the 5th century the Franks broke across the Rhine line and took possession of the land.

Franconian and Electoral Period

Historical map of the region around Spay by Gerhard Mercator ( west )

In 821 Ober- and Niederspay were first mentioned together with Brey in a deed of gift. The often mentioned first mention of 816 was, as it turned out later, a forgery from the year 902.

Parts of Spays were owned by various landlords, such as the St. Martinsstift zu Worms and the Counts of Isenburg . The place was since that time part of the Boppard Empire and belonged to its pledge to Archbishop Baldwin of Trier in the further course of history for kurtrierischen Oberamt Boppard. At that time, the Knights of Spey also appeared as landlords.

Until the Thirty Years War, Spay consisted of three villages: Oberspay (sometimes also called Mittelspay), Niederspay (sometimes known as Kieselspay) and Peterspay (location of the Peterskapelle ). For Peterspay, however, as for the Siebenborn settlement on the mountain, there is no evidence of local self-government from the sources. In the other places numerous houses were burned down, so most of the houses that are still preserved today are from the following period. In 1670 a new parish church (later the old church ) was built in Niederspay using medieval components .

The spelling of the name changed over the centuries: spitting and Speion or Ouerspeion for Oberspay in the 9th century it was said later in the 12th century Speiia (which hence generally Osterspai was meant) ; in the 13th century: Speiie , Kis (s) ilspeie , also Kisilspeye and Speye ; Overspeie and Ovirspeie or Speie superiorem for Oberspay; in the 14th century Kysilspeie , Schuzelspeie ; Kisel Spey and Nid separated in the 16th and 17th centuries . Spey . In the 18th century the spelling nationalized for all three Spays spey one - Niederspey , Mittelspey and Oberspey .

French rule

In 1794 the French revolutionary troops moved in and in 1795 the areas on the left bank of the Rhine became French. Spay was disconnected from his ties with Boppard and slammed Rhens for the first time . At that time, general and equal elections were held in Spay for the first time.

Prussian time and ship tradition

After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the Rhineland became Prussian and Spay was assigned to the mayorry of Boppard. The expansion of the Rhine riverbed began to promote navigation on the Rhine and trade . This particularly affected the particularly difficult to navigate sections of the Rhine before Spay, such as the Schottel and the Braubacher Grund . Nevertheless, the Schottel in particular remained difficult to navigate for a long time and pilots were needed. With the increase in steam shipping , the old towing ships decreased more and more. Now the previous towers switched to the ships. The tradition of Niederpay and Oberspay as a pilot and skipper village dates from this time. Many citizens also made a living from fishing (especially salmon fishing ). The boat masts in Ober- and Niederspay, which are maintained by the local boatmen's association, still bear witness to the past as a shipping place.

In 1896 Spay was connected to the railroad .

20th century

In 1921 Josef Becker founded the Schottel shipyard in an old barn . The Second World War brought great damage from air raids. After the war, Spay, like the neighboring community of Brey, belonged to the district of St. Goar and the Boppard district until the local reform in 1969 . The local community Spay was formed on June 7, 1969 from the previously independent communities Oberspay (1,079 inhabitants) and Niederspay (941). At the same time the St. Goar district was dissolved and Spay became part of the Koblenz-Land district . On November 7, 1970, the community was assigned to the Verbandsgemeinde Rhens and the Mayen-Koblenz district .

In 1993 and 1995 Spay was hit by floods of the century .

21st century

Since June 2005 numerous sights in Spay have been provided with information plaques as part of the reopening of the Brey-Spay- Jakobsberg cultural trail . In addition to Iron Age barrows, a partially accessible Roman aqueduct is integrated, which was located in the 19th century, but was not scientifically processed until after 1963.

With the merger of the Verbandsgemeinden Rhens and Untermosel in July 2014, Spay is now part of the newly created Verbandsgemeinde Rhein-Mosel .

politics

Municipal council

The local council in Spay consists of 16 council members, who were elected in a personalized proportional representation in the local elections on May 26, 2019 , and the honorary local mayor as chairman.

The distribution of seats in the municipal council:

choice	SPD	CDU	FWG	total
2019	4th	6th	6th	16 seats
2014	4th	6th	6th	16 seats
2009	3	7th	6th	16 seats
2004	2	5	9	16 seats

mayor

Local mayor of Spay is Peter Heil. In the direct election on May 26, 2019, he was confirmed in his office with a share of the vote of 86.21%.

coat of arms

Blazon : “Split of silver and red by a lowered, drawn-in blue wave tip, inside a four-part golden ship's propeller, in front a left-facing red-armored and red-tongued black lion, in the back a golden church in frontal view with a black portal and the same window and gable window above, the roof surmounted by a two-story ridge turret with a black window and a pointed roof, decorated with a black cross. "

Justification of the coat of arms: The black lion on a silver field comes from the coat of arms of the Knights of Spay, the medieval landlords, the golden church represents the Gothic St. Peter's Chapel from the 13th century, the blue wave tip symbolizes the Rhine on which Spay lies, and the golden ship's propeller points towards the Schottel rudder propeller , which has been developed and sold locally by Schottel GmbH since 1950 .

partnership

Since 1983 there has been a parish partnership with Spay in France .

Attractions

Profane structures

Spay is one of the places richest in half-timbered houses in the entire Middle Rhine Valley and has an extensive half-timbered front (e.g. Salmgasse 9/11 ) on the banks of the Rhine. Many of the associated houses date from the 17th and 18th centuries.

The former tenth courtyard of the St. Martin monastery in Worms from the early 19th century (building core from the late Middle Ages) is a massive mansion on the banks of the Rhine. In the Zehnthof, the local farmers had to pay tithing , a levy mostly consisting of natural produce.

Sacred buildings

Peterskapelle

The parish church of St Lambertus

The Peterskapelle is a Gothic sacred building from the High Middle Ages and was first mentioned in a document in 1237. It is known for its well-preserved frescoes from the early 14th century depicting scenes from the New Testament . The chapel is the only known early Gothic church building in the former Rhine province that was completely painted according to a uniform system.

The parish church of St. Lambertus from 1899 is one of the most interesting historical church buildings in the Rhineland in terms of art and culture . The brick building in neo-Romanesque style was built according to plans by the Cologne architects Carl Rüdell and Richard Odenthal and is probably the most original creation of the team of architects. The church consists of a hexagonal central building with a walkway, an attached two- bay nave , a semicircular apse and a west tower. The interior of the central building was adapted to the hexagonal floor plan in the 1990s and now has a hexagonal popular altar on a raised, also hexagonal, altar island. Inside the church, among other things, remains of frescoes from the time of construction, high quality stained glass as well as an altar triptych and sculptures from the late Middle Ages are preserved.

Another attraction is the old church from 1670, in which classical concerts are regularly performed and which is known as a cultural center far beyond the country's borders. It is owned by the Franz Krautkremer Foundation and no longer serves as a church.

The Michaeliskapelle (also: war memorial chapel) in the Oberspay district was built in 1955 according to the plans of the architect Friedrich Ritter from Spay. Owned by the local community, it was originally designed as a morgue for the then still independent district of Oberspay, but was ultimately not used as such.

Economy and Infrastructure

economy

Spay is the headquarters of the Schottel Group , which specializes in the construction of Schottel rudder propellers and other propulsion systems (such as controllable pitch propellers for seagoing and inland waterways ); it was founded in 1921 by Josef Becker, the inventor of the propeller. The name Schottel goes back to a locally common name for the section of the Rhine there. Today the Schottel shipyard is a medium-sized company that operates worldwide with an extensive sales network and other plants in Wismar , USA and Suzhou (China).

Another important economic factor of Spay is viticulture . There are currently three larger wineries, including a VDP winery, which specialize in the production of high quality wines and sell their products worldwide. The main cultivation areas are in Bopparder Hamm.

traffic

Spay is on the B 9 . The place has a train stop ( course book route No. 471 of the DB ), various stops of the bus line 650 of the rheinhunsrückbus GmbH in the VRM and several landing stages of the local passenger shipping line.

Regular events

On the Rhine in Flames , large fireworks and a ship convoy take place on the second Saturday in August along Spay, Braubach with the Marksburg , Brey , Rhens , Koblenz-Stolzenfels with Stolzenfels Castle , Lahnstein with Lahneck Castle and the mouth of the Lahn up to the fireworks display from Ehrenbreitstein Fortress in Koblenz .

Tal Total is a car-free Sunday on federal roads 9 and 42 between Koblenz and Bingen or Rüdesheim on the last Sunday in June. During this event, Spay offers a wide range of cultural and gastronomic activities under the motto “Don't pass Spay”.

Middle Rhine Marathon from Oberwesel to Koblenz in June (2005 to 2015 for the last time)

Personalities (honorary citizens)

Personalities who have worked on site

Josef Becker (1897–1973), industrialist and founder of the Schottel shipyard . Is posthumously honored with the Elmer A. Sperry Award for the invention of the rudder propeller as an essential contribution to the improvement of global transportation.
Franz Krautkremer (1927–2017), industrialist and longstanding managing director of the Schottel shipyard . Was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class for his services for the internationalization and specialization of the rudder propeller . He was also the founder of the Franz Krautkremer Foundation, which was particularly responsible for the rescue and maintenance of the "Old Church" in Spay and has been inviting well-known artists and musicians to concerts there since 1976.

folklore

dialect

The common dialect is "Spahjer Platt" , which belongs to the Moselle-Franconian dialect group . Since Spay belongs to the Koblenz cultural area, it also has its peculiar word coining. There are also common dialect peculiarities, such as the weakening of the final consonants (broom / broom, floor / floor, etc.) or even their omission (spille / play, laugh / laugh). Also in the middle of the word there are often assimilations (connoisseurs / children, Rähn / rain), which can increase into the incomprehensible (schodem / harms him). What is striking is the broad rhythm and a dull sound with long "a" and "o", as well as the hardening of the vowel from "e" to "ä". Then the stretches follow. First, “ei” or “ie” becomes “eyi” (bleyiwe / to stay), and verbs are given a “j” (lähje / to lay).

In addition, many foreign words have become naturalized, especially from French (Adschö / Adieu, Kurasch / Courage, Schapo / Chapeau). In addition, there are special character words such as "dah Dabbes" or "drippsdrölles" for a simple-minded person, "brölles" for screamers, a cranky elderly is a "tösch" .

Ortsnecknames

The local name Nidderspahjer Salmeknöbbel reminds of the former salmon fishing, when the fish were "clubbed".

Coat of arms of the carnival company Spayer Boxelöfter

In Oberspay the nickname Boxelöfter is common, which was adopted as a name by one of the local carnival clubs (Carnival Society Spayer Boxelöfter 1933). The term Boxelöfter locally for "Pants Fan", goes to the Treidelschifffahrt back than you, so as not to get wet, rolled up his pants. However, the logo of the carnival club of the same name shows the far more curious, funny, but historically incorrect image of a man baring his buttocks. A 12-meter-long picture of the Boxelöfter in front of the historical backdrop of the Upper Village adorns one wall of the Spayer village hall.

Others

In the fall of 1961, Hollywood director Henry Levin shot a few scenes in Spay for the feature film Die Wunderwelt by the Brothers Grimm . The half-timbered front of Oberspay represented the fictional town of Rheinburg , and some residents of the town took on extras . The film, in which Karlheinz Böhm played the fairy tale collector Jakob Grimm , was released in 1962 and was awarded an Oscar for the best costumes the following year.

literature

Franz Werner Witte: The parish of Niederspay , Marienberg 1957.
Rudolf Dötsch, u. a .: I well who miss out on something ... A dictionary of words, stories and stories by Spay. Moerfelden 1990.
Alexander Ritter: The Niederdörfer of the Electorate of Trier Boppard in the late 17th century. An inventory of settlement topographical and serial sources. In: Yearbook for West German State History 34. 2008, pp. 431–474.
Picture by Oberspey from JF Dielmann, A. Fay, J. Becker (draftsman): F. C. Vogel's panorama of the Rhine, pictures of the right and left banks of the Rhine , F. C. Vogel lithographic institute, Frankfurt 1833.
Image 2 from Oberspey , ditto
Image by Niederspey , ditto

Web links

Commons : Spay - collection of images

Individual evidence

↑ State Statistical Office of Rhineland-Palatinate - population status 2019, districts, communities, association communities ( help on this ).

↑ State Statistical Office Rhineland-Palatinate - regional data

↑ Official municipality directory 2006 ( Memento from December 22, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) (= State Statistical Office Rhineland-Palatinate [Hrsg.]: Statistical volumes . Volume 393 ). Bad Ems March 2006, p. 163 and 196 (PDF; 2.6 MB). Info: An up-to-date directory ( 2016 ) is available, but in the section "Territorial changes - Territorial administrative reform" it does not give any population figures.
^ The Regional Returning Officer Rhineland-Palatinate: Local elections 2019, city and municipal council elections
^ The Regional Returning Officer Rhineland-Palatinate: direct elections 2019. see Rhein-Mosel, Verbandsgemeinde, 14th line of results. Retrieved November 10, 2019 .

[Metadaten_Einwohnerzahl_DE-RP-1] State Statistical Office of Rhineland-Palatinate - population status 2019, districts, communities, association communities ( help on this ).

[regionaldaten-2] State Statistical Office Rhineland-Palatinate - regional data