Oudler
| Oudler | |||
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| State : |
 Belgium
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| Region : | Wallonia | ||
| Province : | Liege | ||
| District : | Verviers | ||
| Coordinates : | 50 ° 12 ' N , 6 ° 6' E | ||
| Residents: | 434 pop. | ||
| Height: | 410 m | ||
| Post Code: | 4790/4791 | ||
| Website: | www.oudler.be | ||
Oudler is a village in the Belgian Eifel with 434 inhabitants, which belongs to the municipality of Burg-Reuland in the German-speaking community .
Oudler is the most populous part of the municipality and an important traffic junction.
history
The first mention of Oudler goes back to the 5th century - and thus goes hand in hand with the Christianization of the area. The origin of the village name can be understood as the amalgamation of the ending -ler or -lar, which means something like dwelling / fireplace, and the prefix for "arable land". Accordingly, the first inhabitants settled in Oudler after the so-called reclamation of the forest area.
The manor houses from Burg-Reuland and Thommen had a greater reputation, but Oudler is considered a central town and traffic junction. In 814 AD Oudler was first mentioned in a document as a locality belonging to the mother church in Thommen.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, Oudler was struck by the " Black Death ". The population was badly decimated. This is particularly clear from the fact that Oudler only had seven fireplaces in 1495. The importance of the village is also outlined by the wisdom of the Thommen court, which was signed in Oudler in 1555. It was the legislation of the manor house of the von Pallandt family at that time.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, hardship and misery prevail, epidemics spread and foreign occupations from Spain, the Netherlands, Austria and later France harass the population. In addition, there are the dreaded local princes who play their power and also oppress the people. The village church, which literally towers over the village, can be described as the fulcrum.
Mystical, legendary and inexplicable
The temple monastery has been mentioned several times by well-known historians. This is probably some kind of monastery or even a Roman estate. The outer walls were examined by historians Bormann and Hintzen at the end of the 19th century. At that time, a part of an outer door with various hinges was described in detail. The foundations have disappeared into the ground, so that only excavations could bring more details to light.
The Deivelspetz is the legendary well shaft of this temple monastery. Due to its location, this well must have been quite deep to get hold of groundwater. The residents sank the heavy monastery bell here for fear of looting. Even today - so the vernacular reports - you can hear the bell ringing in a suit in storms and danger. The depth also explains the origin of the name: only the devil can live that deep!
During the French Revolution , clergy everywhere had a very difficult time. Masses were only allowed to be held in private, while the pastor had to swear the oath on the republic. A so-called secret passage was then dug between the chapel, which was officially opened in 1705 by the then Bishop Clemens, and the postmaster's station in the Marquet house. The priest was able to celebrate mass in the chapel and disappear through the tunnel, unrecognized, when the French occupiers marched. This tunnel was destroyed by road works in the 1960s. The entrances can still be seen in both houses today.
After these bad and, above all, uncertain times of the Middle Ages, a better time for Oudler and his people began with the Industrial Revolution and the beginning of the modern era . Above all, the economic upturn is noticeable and the residents are gradually enjoying a slight prosperity.
Even the Second World War did not leave Oudler without a trace. Numerous civil casualties and the destruction of buildings, especially the bridge on the Born, were lamented.
The village population at that time mainly hired themselves out in small private domestic farms; In addition, there were no less than two village-owned dairies, sawmills and a grain mill and an oil and cutting mill.
In Oudler there was also a dairy dispute during the two world wars; the village was undecided about the milk delivery, so that the “white gold of the farmers” had to be processed in two dairies.
In this context, the construction of the Ulflingen - Sankt Vith - Gerolstein railway line should be mentioned in particular . The train station in Oudler was one of the main transshipment points for building materials, animal feed and the like in the Eifel.
At the turn of the century, Oudler was also the most important post office in the area due to its ideal central location. Many threads came together in Oudler, so that the post office in the Marquet house also enjoyed a corresponding reputation.
Parish church
In 1705, the then bishop Johann Hugo von Orsbeck von Trier gave the village of Oudler permission to build a village chapel. In 1904, the Thommen parish in Oudler built a so-called parsonage. The vicar von Thommen, who was also responsible for church services in the chapel in Oudler, initially lived here.
During these years, Pastor Schoenemaekers, an extremely dynamic priest, came to Oudler, who immediately tried to gain ecclesiastical autonomy and wanted to see his congregation elevated to a parish.
In 1923, the then vicar and later village pastor Schoenemaekers, after the independent parish had been accepted by the diocese, specified his ambitious church building project. With his zest for action and his dynamic demeanor, this exemplary church man mastered even the most difficult administrative hurdles. The construction of the church was largely financed by donations from Pastor Schoenmaekers' home in the Netherlands. In 1924 the parish church in Oudler was finally handed over to its intended use and consecrated.
Traffic problem
For decades, Oudler has had an enormous traffic problem because of the national road 62 running through the town . For this reason, a bypass road is planned, which should provide faster access from Sankt Vith to the economic region in the north of Luxembourg.
Rural development
The village square in Oudler was redesigned in 2009 as part of the rural development projects. 80% of the costs of 542,000 euros were borne by the Walloon Region, with the municipality paying the remaining 20%. Further projects in the future are traffic calming in the village center, possibly parallel to the construction of the planned bypass road N62, the construction of a village hall or a sports and culture hall as well as the definition of new street names and numbers.
Tourism and local recreation
With the dismantling of the railway line, the nationally known long-distance cycle and hiking trail Vennbahn (cycle path) was built, which is integrated in the RAVeL network and now connects Aachen with Ulflingen and also leads through Oudler.
literature
- Hennen, Gerd and Klaus Knauf (1995): From the temple monastery to the Déivëlspetz. The history of the village of Oudler. Eupen: Grenz-Echo Verlag
Web links
- BI N62 website - that's enough! Protest movement for the N62 bypass
- Website of the village (created by Dorfsaal VoG.)
Individual evidence
- ^ Population statistics
- ^ Hennen, Gerd and Klaus Knauf (1995): Vom Tempelkloster zum Déivëlspetz. The history of the village of Oudler. Eupen: Grenz-Echo Verlag
- ↑ ostbelgiendirekt.be: Bypass N62: Minister Di Antonio decides on route 10
- ↑ grenzecho.net: Oudler will have a pretty village square until Christmas , accessed on February 23, 2014
