Oberkail

coat of arms	Germany map
	Coordinates: 50 ° 2 ′  N , 6 ° 41 ′  E
Basic data
State :	Rhineland-Palatinate
County :	Eifel district Bitburg-Prüm
Association municipality :	Bitburger Land
Height :	360 m above sea level NHN
Area :	24.26 km 2
Residents:	590 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	24 inhabitants per km 2
Postal code :	54533
Area code :	06567
License plate :	BIT, PRÜ
Community key :	07 2 32 282
Association administration address:	Hubert-Prim-Strasse 7 54634 Bitburg
Website :	www.oberkail.de
Mayoress :	Petra Fischer
Location of the local community Oberkail in the Eifel district Bitburg-Prüm

Oberkail (in Eifel dialect : " Owerkehl ") is a municipality in the Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm in Rhineland-Palatinate . It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde Bitburger Land .

geography

location

The local community of Oberkail is surrounded by meadows and forests at 360 m altitude in the natural landscape of the southern Eifel . Neighboring communities include Seinsfeld , Gindorf and Eisenschmitt . The closest medium- sized centers are the district towns of Bitburg and Wittlich , each about 14 kilometers away as the crow flies . Trier is about 32 kilometers away.

structure

The Frohnerthof, Heidehof, Kailbachhof and Leisenhof residential areas also belong to Oberkail .

climate

Oberkail lies in the transition zone from the temperate maritime climate to the continental climate ; the conditions are determined by the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean , which fends off permanent cold air influences, but takes its toll in the form of frequent precipitation . In summer, with bioclimatically favorable conditions, pleasantly cool temperatures prevail; the air is hardly muggy or stuffy. Spangdahlem Air Base is located five kilometers south of the local community . No information is available on air-chemical pollution. The Eifel region is usually one of Germany's typical clean air areas.

history

Mesolithic and Roman Empire

The first traces of human settlement come from the Middle and Neolithic . Particularly extensive finds of tools and machining residues indicate that Stone Age devices were manufactured in the so-called “Rodecken” thousands of years ago. The protected valley location of Oberkail near the stream and not far from numerous springs was also adopted by the Romans as a settlement.

middle Ages

Possibly during the first Franconian conquest of the Eifel at the end of the first millennium, the place was founded. The parish is already mentioned in the Echternach procession register, which was created before 1200. The documented local history of Oberkail does not begin until the mention of the "Hof zu Keyle" in 1201. A pastor was first mentioned in 1292. Until 1794 Oberkail remained connected to the rule and later county of Manderscheid; initially as a resident farm, later as the headquarters of a line of the Manderscheider family. In 1339 work began on developing the courtyard into a castle.

Modern times

The county of Manderscheid-Kail was established at the end of the 15th century , and Oberkail became an important Eifel town. Even the original rule of Manderscheid came into Oberkailer possession. Oberkail was a market and parish and had a post office. Around 1700 the castle was expanded to become a moated castle. In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries the village was characterized by the shank and bailiwick estates, for which the term “stock estates” was used in later times. There were charcoal burner settlements in the woods. After the last Oberkailer count and his wife died without heirs, the county fell to the Manderscheid- Blankenheim house in 1762 . The first school was only founded in 1766. Until 1815 there was provisional instruction as a winter school. French revolutionary troops finally ended the rule of the counts in 1794, and the counts fled to Prague. From 1809 the castle and palace were largely demolished or converted into apartments.

19th and 20th centuries

Until 1970 Oberkail was the seat of the association of the same name, which emerged from the mayor's office in the 19th century. With the district reform, the place came from the Wittlich district to today's Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm.

21st century

One such fighter aircraft, type F-16 , crashed on Sep 14. 2006 at Oberkail

According to the USA, a fighter aircraft of the 52nd Fighter Wing of the United States Air Force crashed intentionally in a field near Oberkail a few hundred meters from the built-up area on September 14, 2006 , but did no significant damage there. The pilot saved himself with the ejection seat . The plane had carcinogenic hydrazine but no live ammunition on board. Some emergency services and residents had to be examined in detail in a nearby hospital, as there was suspicion that they came into contact with toxic substances.

German rescue workers complained about a lack of cooperation and the flow of information on the part of the US Air Force. With sufficient information, the tactics would have been adapted to the known dangers and the burden on the health of the rescue workers would have been significantly minimized.

Likewise, the bail-out zones (exit zones) established by the US government were not known to either the citizens or the local authorities.

Population development

The development of the population, the values ​​from 1871 to 1987 are based on censuses:

year Residents 1815 442 1835 671 1871 754 1905 779 1939 812 1950 827 1961 745

year Residents 1970 782 1987 695 1997 702 2005 608 2011 612 2017 571

politics

Municipal council

The council in Oberkail consists of twelve council members, who in the local elections on May 26, 2019 in a majority vote were elected, and the volunteer local mayor as chairman.

coat of arms

Blazon : "A red rafter bar in gold, accompanied by two red six-pointed stars at the top, and a red rose with a golden tassel at the bottom."

Justification of the coat of arms: The rafter or zigzag bar is taken from the coat of arms of the Counts of Manderscheid-Kail. A similar old court seal for Oberkail, which is on a document from 1584 and contains the same symbols, was found in the Koblenz State Archives . The municipal council adopted this as a coat of arms. Oberkail also has its own flag in yellow and red, which was approved by the government in 1977.

Culture and sights

St. Michael Church

Some parts of the corner towers and the southern and northern enclosing walls of a castle have been preserved. The oldest parts were built as a square castle in the 14th century. In 1625 the complex was expanded and the "New Castle" to the west was built around 1700; in the 19th century the castle complex was partly demolished or redesigned. Other sights include the Frohnert Chapel, built in 1648 by Count Philipp Dietrich von Manderscheid-Kail, and the parish church of St. Michael. The crucifixion group in the center of the village was donated by the Manderscheidian councilor Pickart in the 18th century.

See also : List of cultural monuments in Oberkail  and List of natural monuments in Oberkail

Economy and Infrastructure

The main occupation of the population has always been agriculture and forestry. With the beginning of the industrial revolution a change occurred. In the 19th century the lime distillery spread, at the beginning of the 20th century there were several sawmills and wood processing companies in the village. A majority of the population now lives from other economic sectors. There are still seven main farms and three part-time businesses. Like numerous other small local communities, Oberkail is also struggling to escape from the city . The Eifeldorf is part of the Trier Region Transport Association (VRT) .

Only five kilometers south of Oberkail is Spangdahlem Air Base , which employs more than 600 German civilian employees. The importance of the air base will increase significantly in the coming years due to the closure of the Rhein-Main Air Base in Frankfurt am Main .

Personalities

• Johann Baptist Lenz (1922–2007), sculptor, honorary citizen of Oberkail

literature

• Rolf Jacobs: Neolithic stone artifacts in the vicinity of the Mesolithic living and working areas of Oberkail . In: Bulletin de la Société Préhistorique Luxembourgeoise . tape 14 . Luxembourg 1993, p. 117-138 .
• Siegbert Anton Ganser: Manderscheid and Oberkail. A historical monograph . Trier 1876.
• Matthias Josef Mehs: The Oberkailer "Name Book of the Holy and Most Holy Brotherhood of Jesus Vndt Mariae" . Wittlich 1934.
• Erich Gerten, Ewald Heinz: Keille, Keil, Oberkail. History - culture - landscape . Ed .: Ortgemeinde Oberkail. Oberkail 1982.
• Erich Gerten, Jörg Kreutz: Frohnert. History of a pilgrimage chapel near Oberkail / Eifel . Neuerburg 1996.
• Erich Gerten, Jörg Kreutz, Claus Rech: Oberkail. History of a village in the southern Eifel . Ed .: Ortgemeinde Oberkail. Neuerburg 2001.
• Franz-Josef Heyen, Johann Baptist Lenz: sculptor of the Eifel . Bitburg 1997.
• Karl Nachtwey: The chronicle of our dear Mrs. von Frohnert . Wittlich 1925.
• Claus Rech: The beginning of the hospitality industry in Oberkail . In: Home calendar of the Bitburg-Prüm district . 62nd volume, 2013, p. 44-49 .
• Stefan Roos: Eisenschmitt family book 1716–1899, with the villages of Eichelhütte, Korneshütte, Neuhof, Oberkail (1716–1796) and Überscheid . Welschbillig 1999.

Web links

Commons : Oberkail  - Collection of Images

• Official website of the Oberkail parish
• Ortgemeinde Oberkail on the website of the Verbandsgemeinde Bitburger Land
• To search for cultural goods of the local community Oberkail in the database of cultural goods in the Trier region .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ State Statistical Office of Rhineland-Palatinate - population status 2019, districts, communities, association communities ( help on this ).
2. ↑ State Statistical Office Rhineland-Palatinate (ed.): Official directory of the municipalities and parts of the municipality. Status: January 2019 ^{[ Version 2020 is available. ]} . S. 109 (PDF; 3 MB).
3. ↑ State Statistical Office Rhineland-Palatinate: Regional data.
4. ^ The Regional Returning Officer Rhineland-Palatinate: Local elections 2019, city and municipal council elections
5. ↑ coat of arms. Verbandsgemeinde Bitburger Land, accessed on May 21, 2019 . 
6. ^ Johann Baptist Lenz - sculptor. Retrieved August 23, 2017 .