Wasserliesch

Basic data
State :	Rhineland-Palatinate
County :	Trier-Saarburg
Association municipality :	Conc
Height :	135 m above sea level NHN
Area :	7.59 km 2
Residents:	2215 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	292 inhabitants per km 2
Postal code :	54332
Area code :	06501
License plate :	TR, SAB
Community key :	07 2 35 143
LOCODE :	DE WAY
Association administration address:	Am Markt 11 ; 54329 Conc
Website :	wasserliesch.de
Local Mayor :	Thomas Thelen ( CDU )
Location of the local community Wasserliesch in the district of Trier-Saarburg

Wasserliesch is a municipality in the district of Trier-Saarburg in Rhineland-Palatinate ; it belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde Konz . The place is twelve kilometers southwest of the Roman city of Trier on the right bank of the Moselle, not far from the German-Luxembourg border between the mouths of its tributaries Saar and Sauer . Downstream, the Moselle valley widens to a valley basin that extends about twenty kilometers beyond the city of Trier.

"Wasserliesch on the river of history" is the name of the community in its logo, based on its geographical location and its eventful history that goes back a long way. Located at the beginning of the approximately 45 km long, particularly scenic section of the river Moselle, which is called the Upper Moselle in Germany , the community is, so to speak, the “gateway to the Upper Moselle ”. This section of the river, which is not identical to the geographic upper reaches of the Moselle, extends from the mouth of the Saar to the German-French-Luxembourg border triangle with the border towns of Apach (France), Perl (Germany) and Schengen (Luxembourg) and largely forms the Border between the federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland on the one hand and Luxembourg on the other.

Geographical, geological and botanical

Wasserliesch on a picture postcard from 1976, view from the mountainside above the Löwener Mühle

The municipality of Wasserliesch forms a wide slope on the north-eastern flank of the 347 m high Liescher Mountain , which is called Löschemer Berg here . As an extension of the Lorraine Stufenland belonging Saargau who left the Saar along the German-French border from Saarbruecken extends far, the Liescher mountain to the place and at the Mosel falls down steeply. At the height of the mountain, the Löschemer chapel offers the viewer a great panoramic view down into the Moselle and Saar valleys to the village of Igel on the other bank of the Moselle, across the mouth of the Saar and the city of Konz to Trier and beyond. The Moselle and Saar valleys are flanked by the often wooded heights of three low mountain ranges. In the west you can see the Luxembourg Gutland, the southern foothills of the Ardennes , in the north the Eifel and in the east the elevations of the Black Forest high forest belonging to the Hunsrück .

On the opposite bank of the Moselle, some red sandstone cliffs from the Triassic period catch the eye, which are right next to them, clearly separated from them, overlooked by high gray-white limestone cliffs . A geological boundary has formed here, the so-called Igeler fault , also called Igeler Bruch. It continues across the Moselle and also divides the Liescher Berg. In addition to the two formations, there are colorful Keuper rocks and yellowish Liassandstones , quartzite and, last but not least , slate, which is important for viticulture on the Moselle, Saar and Ruwer , in the near and far surroundings .

Perfeist nature reserve in the center of the picture

The high plateau on the Liescher Berg offers a nature reserve with heather-like vegetation in the Perfeist district . A large number of orchid species and other rare plants and small animal species can be found on what is known as the limestone grassland . To the west of the mountain Liescher falls into a three to four-kilometer-long tributary of the Mosel, the Alpbachtal, steeply in which the on Saargau as Mannebach springing Albach the Moselle flows back and flows into them. The hydropower of the Albach was used until the Second World War to operate three mills , which have existed here since at least the 17th century, but probably much longer. Two of them are in the Albachtal, one in the village; the latter was fed by a mill stream taken from the Albach and fed into the village. A mill with an integrated sawmill was operated with electricity until the 1980s. All mill buildings are still there - even if they have been changed; one houses a hotel restaurant. The listed building of the so-called Karthäuser Mühle within the village was converted into a residential building.

To the east, the Liescher Berg also drops steeply from karstified limestone formations, then merges into terraces - one of which forms the historical Granahöhe - with partly rocky edge made of red red sandstone into the formerly swampy basin of the Saar estuary. On and on these terraces, the sweet chestnut , also known as sweet chestnut or chestnut ( Castanea sativa ), which is otherwise more native to more southern regions of Europe, grows and thrives ; it is eaten cooked or roasted during the ripening period in October and is considered a special delicacy here. The valley has now been drained and is used as a commercial and industrial area. The site was largely created as part of the conversion from the Granahöhe military camp , which was built by the former French occupying forces after the Second World War , and which was closed and cleared in the first few years after German reunification . Dredging companies extract red sand below the mountainside and gravel from river deposits on the banks of the Moselle, which is then processed into building material and ready-mixed concrete.

Waters

Albach and Fuchsgraben are right tributaries of the Moselle .

Neighboring communities

Neighboring communities are Igel , Trier , Konz , Tawern , Oberbillig and Langsur .

panorama

and display information about the image

Wasserliesch and Moselle from the Löschemer chapel

history

The place name

The place name Wasserliesch, more precisely the part of the word "Liesch", is probably of Celtic origin, because the Treveri, an important warlike Celtic tribe, settled here before the turn of the century. The Romans settled after they defeated the Treveri and had integrated into their realm, even Wasserliesch; they called the place "Lutiacum", "Lusica" or something like that. The word "Liesch" is also a botanical name for sedge . In addition, the botanist knows the word “Wasserliesch” as the name for the rush or swan flower (Butomus umbellatus). The aquatic plant depicted in the local coat of arms, the broad-leaved cattail (Typha latifolia), used to be found more frequently in a local wetland and on the banks of the Moselle. Probably for this reason the inhabitants have called this plant the word "Liesch" since time immemorial, meaning not only the plant, but also the place itself. To what extent the plants influenced the origin of the place name is not clear.

In old documents one can find the name variants Lusichic, Luische, Luysch, Lursch, Lyasch and similar. They always stood for two places, namely for Liesch on the water, on the Moselle, and for "Lyasch uff dem Berg" - Liesch on the mountain. To better differentiate the two places and probably also because of the simpler spelling, the name parts have been combined into one word in historical documents since the 14th century, namely either "Wasserliesch" or "Liersberg"; the smaller, now independent village of Liersberg is on the opposite height of the Igeler Berg and belongs to the neighboring community of Igel .

The place name Wasserliesch gave the Liescher Berg , on the northeast flank of which the place is located, its name. Different forms of name, such as Lieschem , Lürschem , Linschem or, most recently, Löschem show that the name of the mountain followed the change in the place name. The name Löschem is still popular today: Locals call the Liescher Berg Löschemer Berg . This is why the pilgrimage chapel on the mountain bears the name Löschemer Chapel .

The Wasserliesch community was known as Wasserliesch-Reinig until the 1930s .

The castle and rule to Reinig

The district of Reinig - older than Wasserliesch because of the ford through the Moselle here - was formerly called Rinnich, Riniche or Reynich; the name may also be of Celtic origin. The Romans made Rinicha out of it .

Coat of arms of the Counts of Crichingen and Pittingen around 1400

In earlier times, Reinig was of particular importance as a place of ford and later with a ferry across the Moselle to the opposite place Igel. It is very likely that a junction of the old Roman road led here , which came from the Saargau and crossed the Saar near Konz and continued on to Trier. On the banks of the Moselle in Reinig there was a castle that is mentioned again and again in old documents. However, it was probably not a castle in the true sense of the word, but a fortified count's palace or palace , as it was also called. It had its own water pipe that carried the water from the so-called Helenenbrunnen, which was located just above the property on the slopes of the Liescher Berg . The old ferryman's house is said to have been part of the castle, which stood as part of the B 419 at the end of Reinigerstrasse not far from the banks of the Moselle until a bypass was built .

The annual report of the Society for Useful Research in Trier from 1857 describes this and the stately castle building as follows:

“As far as the construction of the castle is concerned, the still preserved old building suggests that it may have been part of one. The rooms are high and the windows have small panes of leaded glass. In any case, the actual manorial building stood east of it. The foundations of a larger house have been found. The preserved building has the peculiarity that there are small round openings (similar to loopholes) in the thickest walls. "

It is not known when these structural remains were destroyed or whether they are still underground. In any case, during construction work in the area mentioned in the summer of 1912, the end stone of a large archway with the coat of arms of the Counts of Crychingen and Pittingen was found , as well as some clay pipes from the mentioned water pipe and jug-like vessels. The capping stone was a heavy hewn sandstone , which was not examined in more detail, but allegedly disposed of in the Moselle flowing past. Presumably they believed that delays in their own construction project could be avoided by possible activities of the monument protection authorities . The Crychinger coat of arms shows four fields, two of which are arranged diagonally with anchor crosses , gold in a red field and two further fields, also arranged diagonally, each with two horizontal bars, red in a silver field. The description was the template for the coat of arms reconstructed with advice from the Koblenz State Archives .

The area in which the property stood still bears the hall name Auf der Burg ; in addition, a street that was built after the Second World War was named that way. So much for what is left of the castle at Reinig. Old documents give some further information about the rulership resident in it:

The place Reinig is mentioned in a document together with Wasserliesch in the year 975 in a list of goods of the Trier monastery St. Martin . This monastery had "16 hooves of land" between " Luuische et Riniche " - (water) Liesch and Reinig, it says. A document from 1092 speaks of the distribution of the income of the castle and lordship in Reinig. At that time, the abbot of the St. Maximin monastery in Trier was entitled to a fourth part of the income from the castle, the income from the ferry to Reinig and the mill within the village, but half of the income went to the pastor of the parish of St. Aper Wasserliesch . This regulation remained in principle in the following centuries until the dissolution of the monastery in the course of secularization at the end of the 18th / beginning of the 19th century.

The importance of Reinig as a place of ford and ferry is expressed not least in the frequently changing ownership. Again and again there were new " lords of the castle" who had acquired the fiefdom as feudal lords or co-tithe lords from the respective liege lords . The lords of the Luxembourg rulership of Berburg played an important role . According to a contract concluded in 1311 between the St. Maximin Abbey and the Lords of Berburg, the latter were to receive part of the rights of the abbey. At times the ownership was disputed, for example at the turn of the 13th century to the 14th century between the then Archbishop of Trier Boemund I von Warsberg and the Counts of Luxembourg. It is also known that in the middle of the 14th century Archbishop Boemund II of Trier had a ship duty levied in Reinig .

In the 15th century, Reinig Castle is said to have been important in connection with the so-called Manderscheid feud , which brought the city of Trier into great distress. In the parish archives of the neighboring town of Könen (today a district of Konz ) an entry mentions the small castle in Reinig in connection with the claim of Count Ulrich von Manderscheid to the Trier bishopric . One part of the Trier cathedral chapter Ulrich von Manderscheid, the other part a second applicant, Jakob I von Sierck , had chosen as successor and proposed to the Pope for his appointment at odds about the successor to Archbishop Otto von Ziegenhain , who died in 1430 . However, the Pope chose neither of the two candidates, but instead appointed the Speyer bishop Raban von Helmstatt as his successor, who was later accepted by the city of Trier and introduced into his office. The two elected candidates had even previously traveled to Rome to change the Pope's mind, but they did not succeed.

While Jakob von Sierck recognized the Pope's decision, Ulrich von Manderscheid did not want to be satisfied with it. He tried to win his supposed right by force of arms and was promptly banned from church together with the gentlemen of the cathedral chapter who supported him . In the course of his activities, he is said to have planned to use the Reinig Castle as a base for his violent crackdown on the city of Trier. In order to forestall this, the city of Trier initially intended to have the Reinig Castle destroyed. But when a wealthy citizen of the neighboring town of Könen named Peter von Coene stood up for the preservation of the “Schlösschen zu Reinig” and the integrity of the lord of the castle at the time, who was friends with Ulrich von Manderscheid, and vouched for his fortune, the city of Trier left theirs Project from. Ulrich von Manderscheid finally settled in the castle in Reinig, whereupon Peter von Coene lost his possessions to the city of Trier. Reinig Castle, however, had apparently survived the fight of Ulrich von Manderscheid against the city of Trier, which lasted for several years and only ended with his death in 1438, unscathed.

Reinig and Wasserliesch have belonged to the county of Luxembourg since the 15th century . In 1548 the Luxembourg Counts enfeoffed the Lorraine Baron George Weyrich de Crichingen and Pittingen (or Wirich zu Criechingen , * 1511, † July 15, 1587) with the castle and rule of Reinig. In 1610 Philippe de Piesport received the fief. He confirms this in his deed with the words: "Item we received the castle at Reynich above Trier and Wasserliesch" . Only three years later, the owner changed again. Feudal lord was now Count Christoffel, Baron of Crychingen and Pittingen, Lord of Reinigh (in German spelling: Christoph zu Criechingen-Pittingen , * 1568, † 1623).

In the period after 1610, the castle and manor in Reinig must have got into economic difficulties. It is possible that the income from the tithe , the ferry service and the granting of the milling rights for the three Wasserliescher mills were no longer sufficient to maintain the property. Presumably for this reason , Franz Ernst, Count of Crychingen, Baron of Pittingen, Domkustos of Trier, Burg und Herrschaft zu Reinig pledged in 1634 during the Thirty Years' War for a loan of 7,000 Reichstalers to the Carthusian monks of the St. Alban monastery in Trier. They later moved to Merzig - now a district of Konz - and built the Karthaus monastery there .

The inventory of the monastery from 1759 provides information about the condition of the castle at Reinig at the time of the pledge by Franz Ernst, Count of Crychingen, Baron of Pittingen. Here it says: “… item the Count's Schlohs Reinig was already in 1631, before the time before the Carthaus took over the pledge, it was completely ruined and dilapidated, now there is a poor farmer's hut there with a garden” . It can therefore be assumed that the Reinig castle hardly existed as a building beyond the year 1600, even if the property still existed under this name afterwards. Presumably, the property was destroyed at some point during one of the many armed conflicts in this country. Perhaps that happened after 1618 during the Thirty Years War.

Subsequently, the lords of the castle changed to Reinig frequently. However, they have always been fiefs of the respective sovereign as supreme liege lord. The last feudal lords of the castle and rule of Reinig were the Counts of Crychingen and Pittingen. As already mentioned, they had pledged their property to the Carthusian monks in 1634, but could no longer redeem their pledge until the French occupation of the Trier region in 1794 under Napoleon ; in addition, the family died out afterwards. The property finally fell to the monastery. In the course of the secularization that followed this event , i.e. the separation of church and state, the castle and rule of Reinig should have formally come to an end.

On July 18, 1946, Wasserliesch and its district of Reinig, together with 80 other municipalities in the districts of Trier and Saarburg, were annexed to the Saar area , which was separated from the rest of the French occupation zone in February 1946 and which was no longer under the Allied Control Council at the time . On June 6, 1947, this territorial outsourcing was withdrawn down to 21 municipalities; thus Wasserliesch came to the newly formed state of Rhineland-Palatinate in 1946 .

A thousand years of Wasserliesch

In 1975 Wasserliesch celebrated its millennium. In a list of goods from the St. Martin monastery in Trier , which was found after lengthy research in the archives , the places " Luische et Riniche " - (water) Liesch and Reinig - are listed as belonging to the monastery property. Since then, the year 975 has been considered the year of the first documented mention of Wasserliesch. In fact, Wasserliesch as a settlement is much older than a thousand years. Finds show that the Moselle valley in Wasserliesch and the surrounding area was inhabited as early as the Neolithic . So one found downstream of the Moselle not far from Reinig and up the Moselle in the neighboring town of Oberbillig remnants of band ceramic settlements. During the removal of the upper layer of earth to exploit a layer of gravel below, historical discoveries were made again in 2013/2014 not far from the Reinig district at one of the places where the aforementioned prehistoric relics came to light. In May and June 2014, employees of the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier examined the finds, which included many Roman coins, fragments and shards of clay vessels and Roman roof tiles. In addition, the archaeologists laid a 2.5 m × 3.25 m inside, carefully lined with red sandstone and light limestone, Roman cellar room from the 3rd / 4th centuries. Century free. In the basement they found Roman rubble with remains of bones from animals and other relics. During the subsequent gravel mining, the remains of a Roman-era drinking water well came to light.

In addition, they uncovered two lime kilns lined with red sandstones at a distance of approx. 3.5 m from one another. The circular ovens had a diameter of about 5 m each and, measured from the excavation level, reached about 2.50 m deep into the ground; how high they once were outside of the earth could no longer be determined because of the top layer of earth that had been removed long before. The bottom of the ovens, which were still partially filled with slaked lime, formed the hearth of the original combustion chamber, which could be clearly seen from the ash and wood residues. The exact age of the lime kilns could not be clearly determined in the course of the excavations. It is presumed that they were operated in the late Middle Ages or in the early modern period - a use in the late Roman era, around the 5th century, cannot, however, be ruled out. Several sources show that the former St. Maximin monastery in Trier in Wasserliesch and Reinig was very early - perhaps as early as 6/7. Century - had possessions and managed them with his own manor. It is possible that the lime kilns that were found belonged to this manor house that may have stood here.

Objects from the Bronze Age , namely the molds and bronze hatchets found in the neighboring town of Konz and its district of Könen as well as a bronze sickle also prove that people must have settled here long before the Romans. The same applies to the historical traffic routes. Remnants of the long-distance road built by the Romans from Metz via Thionville , Tawern and Konz to Trier have been preserved in the Wasserliesch district . From this road there could have been the junction already mentioned above that led to the Moselle ferry in the Reinig district or to the ford a few meters upstream .

At the turn of the times, the Treverians lived in the Trier region, to which the residents of Wasserliesch and Reinig also belonged. As one of the numerous Celtic tribes , the Treveri had spread between the Meuse and the Rhine . Around 1200 BC They settled in the Eifel - Moselle region . Its main town was Trier, which later became Augusta Treverorum ("The Augustus city of the Treverians"), the "Roman Trier", which the Roman Emperor Augustus after conquering this area in 10 BC. Founded. The Treveri were a warlike tribe who were reluctant to submit to Roman rule. The legendary Roman general and later Roman emperor Gaius Julius Caesar mentions the Treveri in his work De bello Gallico ( On the Gallic War ). This war lasted for almost 100 years from 58 BC to 51 AD. During this time in the years 30/29 BC it came about. To a great revolt against Roman rule, which the Roman general Nonius Gallius put down. The Treveri delivered another failed uprising to the Romans in AD 21; then they fought again with the Batavian revolt, which also went down in history, in the years 68 to 70 AD. Only then did the Romans finally defeat the Treveri and integrate them into their empire.

A Roman villa

An important Roman country house, the Villa Rustica Wasserliesch , stood on the Wasserliesch market square from the 2nd to the 4th century .

The inhabitants

Play media file

Ees Mu-sell, Brigitte Thelen tells in Moselle Franconian about life on the Moselle

In the past centuries, the local craft in Wasserliesch and Reinig was of great importance. Millers , blacksmiths , joiners , weavers , later also bakers and butchers , carters , shipmen and, last but not least, builders such as bricklayers and plasterers, supplied the predominantly rural population with their products and services. Because of the natural occurrence of sandstone and limestone, lime burners , stone crushers and stonemasons played a special role for a long time, the latter up until the beginning of the Second World War. Today you can still see the former limestone and red sandstone quarries in many places on Liescher Berg . The sandstones, broken in Wasserliesch and valued for their hardness, were even used after 1842 to build on Cologne Cathedral . Transport there by ship via the Moselle and Rhine downstream should not have been a major problem.

Play media file

Max and Moritz in Wasserliescher Platt

In the 20th century, the structure of the population changed significantly in terms of the professions exercised. In addition to agriculture and viticulture, after the construction of the railways on both sides of the Moselle and Saar at the end of the 19th century until long after the end of World War II, more and more residents found work and bread on the railroad. Secure jobs were offered in particular by the repair shops in Trier and Konz and other railway facilities that no longer exist today; For this reason, Wasserliesch has long been known as the “railway village”. It's different today. Nevertheless, Wasserliesch is still a popular place of residence for citizens who work as commuters in a wide variety of professions and have found their jobs in the Trier area, in Konz and in neighboring Luxembourg.

In Wasserliesch they speak the Moselle Franconian dialect , a dialect group of Middle Franconian . Apart from the Moselle, Moselle Franconian is spoken in large parts of Rhineland-Palatinate , Luxembourg and northern Saarland . The dialects of the individual villages and towns, which show clear differences in detail, increasingly mix with one another and also with standard German , so that the Moselle-Franconian dialect, especially the different expressions in the individual places, disappears more and more and gives way to a language mixture that can hardly be defined.

The Wasserliescher Jews

As in many other communities in Germany, the fate of Jewish citizens shaped the local history of Wasserliesch. The related events during the Nazi rule also arouse unpleasant memories.

Jews lived in Wasserliesch and Reinig as early as the early 19th century, but probably earlier as well. As a religious community , they belonged to the Jewish community of the neighboring town of Könen, about three kilometers away, which is now a district of Konz . This probably also followed the fact that Wasserliesch, together with the then still independent community of Reinig, as Mairie, belonged to the civil community of Könen. There the Jewish community owned a Jewish school, a Jewish cemetery laid out in 1855 and a synagogue built in 1905 .

But there were only a few who had to travel the long way to these facilities in order to be able to use them. For example, in 1840 there were 4 Jewish residents in Reinig, in 1895 there were 12 in Wasserliesch and Reinig together. This number did not change significantly until the beginning of the Second World War. It was not until the events of the so-called Reichspogromnacht from November 9th to 10th, 1938, that a development began that ultimately left not a single fellow citizen of Jewish faith.

In the coexistence between non-Jewish and Jewish residents there were no problems at all until the beginning of the persecution of the Jews by the National Socialists. They were integrated into the village community and, like everyone, went about their work. The problem-free coexistence was expressed not least in the fact that Jewish fellow citizens were also active in the local associations. One proof of this may be that the Wasserliesch men's choir even made a Jewish member an honorary member after decades of membership and committed young Jewish women as “ladies of honor” at a club festival.

The anti-Jewish propaganda of the National Socialists, which gradually emerged, changed little in this situation. Even during the night of the pogrom, there were no riots in Wasserliesch against the Jewish roommates. It was not until the morning of November 10, 1938, according to the reports of contemporary witnesses, that a group of mostly strangers turned up - with them were "10 to 12 year old schoolchildren" led by a customs officer . The rioters drove the Jewish families from their homes and destroyed or damaged the furniture, windows, doors, clothes and food. However, there were no physical assaults against Jewish people. Some brave citizens, mostly neighbors, are reported to have prevented worse by intervening.

The displaced Jewish citizens fled and initially hid. The rioters even allowed a Jewish fellow citizen to take his cow standing in the stable with him. In the evening, the people affected were taken in by neighbors and other helpful local residents. However, they were able to return to their houses and apartments the next day unmolested. Non-Jewish Wasserliescher and cleaner citizens helped with the makeshift repair of the damage. It was not until some time later that the Jews were officially allowed to repair the damage by imperial decree. In one case, a local craft business did this free of charge.

When the residents of Wasserliesch were forcibly evacuated immediately after the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, all Jewish citizens were brought to the city of Trier and given accommodation there. After their return in the summer of 1940, however, the Jewish citizens were no longer allowed to return to their houses and apartments. In the following years all Jews from Wasserliesch suffered the same fate as hundreds of thousands of their fellow believers. Between 1943 and 1944, 9 people were killed in the Auschwitz , Theresienstadt and Litzmannstadt concentration camps , including 7 women and 2 men. Only one former Jewish citizen is known to have come back to Germany from Israel after the Second World War and to live again in the Trier area. The buildings and land belonging to the Jews of Wasserliesch were auctioned off by the heirs in the post-war years and found new local owners.

politics

Municipal council

4th

5

7th

4th 5 7th

A total of 16 seats

SPD : 4
Flat share : 5
CDU : 7

The local council in Wasserliesch 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 local council:

choice	SPD	CDU	Flat share	total
2019	4th	7th	5	16 seats
2014	2	10	4th	16 seats
2009	4th	10	2	16 seats
2004	4th	9	3	16 seats

Culture and sights

Parish church St. Aper inside

Baptismal font 16th century

Madonna on the crescent moon

Old farmhouse

Ferryman

Bellman

Cleaner Chapel

Schifferkreuz

Cleaner cross

Plague cross

Play media file

History of a procession to the Löschem chapel in the 1950s

Station of the cross

Grenade monument

Worth seeing in place

St. Aper

Catholic parish church St. Aper with neo-baroque bell tower;

Marketplace

Marketplace , as the starting point of the culture and orchid path (information board), with
- Fountain
- Remains of the aqueduct of the former Roman villa
- Ferryman with a stylized boat
- Schellenmann - Schelle in the sense of bell or bell; he proclaimed official announcements and current events as a crier during a tour of the place until 1967
- Diorama of the battle of the Konzer Bridge on August 11, 1675 in a showroom

additional

A valuable wooden figure of the Mother of God on the crescent moon , made of linden wood , comes from Wasserliesch ; it is attributed to the Dutch sculptor Nikolaus Gerhaerd von Leiden and is exhibited in the Episcopal Diocesan Museum in Trier.

Warrior cenotaphs next to the church to commemorate those who died in the two world wars of the place,

Rectory next to the church, built in 1884, later expanded with a youth home and kindergarten, now a daycare center

Cemetery with a small honorary cemetery next to the cemetery chapel

old school building on Hauptstrasse - it was called the Horst Wessel School during the Hitler era; the identical writing on the front of the building was removed after the Second World War

St. Marien primary school with gym and multi-purpose hall in the eight

Karthäuser-Mühle , listed old mill building in Mühlenstrasse, today a residential building

Fairground with music pavilion next to the church

old farmhouse with rococo - facade in Neudorfstraße 17th century

old farmhouse on Kordelstrasse, classicistic Winkelhof complex

Old waterworks on Römerstrasse

Old water pumping station in the Reinig district

Five water pumping stations with elevated tanks in the Albachtal supply Wasserliesch, parts of the city of Konz and some other communities with drinking water

Reiniger Chapel in the Reinig district from the 18th century with a figure of St. Nicholas above the entrance; an “ oratory for the common prayer of the holy rosary” , that was how the builders described their purpose at the time

Grill hut of the Heimat- und Verkehrsverein on the mountain slope below the Löschemer chapel

Sports field on the outskirts in the direction of Oberbillig

Tennis court , with the starting point of the culture and orchid path (information board)

Boule - and bowling alley in the development area Grana height

Albachtal , scenic, with the buildings of two former mills

Historical field and path crosses

In Wasserliesch there are many historical crossroads and land crosses , some of them have inscriptions that are linked to a history of origin or make another statement:

Schifferkreuz in the Reinig district at the former ferry pier , it is composed of two parts:

above the older part with the crucifixion group , the year 1661 and the text "THIS CREVTZ HAVE ZV DER HANS VND SEINE ... FRAV MARGARETA VN ...",
including the recent part base with the year 1734 and a representation of the patron of sailors and the engraved inscription "S NICOLAVS" , including the presentation of a flowering plant, a rose or lily with three flowers and lateral branches; the flowers probably symbolize the three children of the founder

Wiesenkreuz outside the Reinig district on the bike and footpath to Tawern, it was destroyed after the Second World War and was rebuilt in the 1980s. Inscription: “For Christian Remembrance” and the year: 1886

Shank cross in the tithe, from 1856 with the inscription “To Christian Remembrance”, it is said to have originally stood on a different base with the dates 1672 and 1683

Reiniger Kreuz, two-part altar cross at the beginning of Reinigerstrasse:

the altar table with the carved text: "DIS CREVZ HAS BEEN ZENTER NICKLAVS ... (erected?) WITH THE ASSISTANT OF THE WASSERLISCH VNT REINIGER GEMEIN ZV HONOR THE H-BISHOP ST BUT THE WV HE IS A PATRON OF THE GOTTESHAVS ZV REINIG"
on the altar table a standing cross with the year MDCCC (1800)

Wayside shrine from 1776 in Hauptstrasse at house no. 21; Late baroque wooden shrine from 1776, on top a carefully executed three-quarter plastic crucifixion group, underneath a pronounced angel's head, which was supposed to protect the travelers on the road passing by

Altar cross with the year MDCCCXXIII (1823) in the main street in front of the old school

Misfortune cross on the market square, Rococo work of art from the 3rd quarter of the 18th century. It originally stood on the banks of the Moselle and commemorates the “wet” death of a man, probably an unfortunate ship, it bears the Christ monogram JHS in the center of the trefoil cross relief , the baluster shaft framed by foliage reveals the symbol of a ship's anchor, which is crossed by a paddle and a stake

Plague cross in Mühlenstrasse, probably erected out of gratitude after the plague epidemic of 1792 and 1793 had subsided

Wayside wayside wayside shrine from 1898 in the Neudorfstraße in the front garden of a private house at the end of the village in the direction of Oberbillig , the upper part was originally separated from the lower part with a stone slab. A small stone cross was placed on the picture niche. The relief used is no longer the original, it represents a Pietà with the inscription carved into the stone: “Sorrowful Mother of God!” The writing is badly weathered and only partially legible.

The culture and orchid path

The cultural and Orchideenweg Wasserliesch has been established 2005/2006 with support from the EU and is respectively about 6 km long circular walks which start from the two starting points on the marketplace and on the tennis court and with a height difference of 200 meters over the two Liescher mountain away to lead. Here and at the Perfeist car park on the high plateau of the mountain, information boards provide information about the geological conditions, cultural evidence and natural beauties of the two circular routes; the trails offer the following sights:

Granahöhe with a granade monument to commemorate the battle of the Konzer Bridge , erected in 1892
Warrior memorial from the First World War , erected in May 1915, halfway up the mountain in the forest; Bricked with natural stones, it stands right next to a rock face, the historic "Karthäuser Steinbruch", protected by a low retaining wall with a simple stone cross on it. There is a paw cross on the memorial , as is often found on or on war memorials and memorials. On the front of the memorial stone, the slogan is carved: “ Dedicated to the fallen comrades of Wasserliesch, Reinig and Igel ”.

A semicircular stone is set in the back, which comes from another older memorial from the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 and which stood here. Its upper part shows a carved paw cross. The writing “PB21.” For “ Pionierbataillon 21 ” with the year 1915 can be seen underneath . Next to it is a heavily weathered heart with the Christ monogram " JHS " engraved. The timing of the formation is unusual because the war had only just begun and many more soldiers had died by 1918. The reason for this could have been the widespread euphoria for victory at the time. The location in a rather difficult-to-reach place in the forest is also unusual; it may not have been possible to agree on a location within one of the three municipalities or this location was chosen because there was already a memorial stone here.

At the end of 1914, at the beginning of the First World War, Pioneer Unit 21 from Mainz- Kastel built a makeshift bridge across the Moselle between the Reinig district and the opposite town of Igel. She is said to have donated the memorial as a thank you for the friendly reception by the people of Wasserliesch, Reinig and Igel.

Old rock inscription , probably carved into the high rock face by stone breakers in 1703, before the extraction of red sandstone was stopped. Perhaps the inscription is related to the closure of the quarry. The text refers to what the quarrymen in the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as many workers today, may have been concerned with, namely the price of their daily drink during or after work. In the spelling customary at the time, they state: "AD 1702 VNT 3 WE HAVE THE WINE FOVR 1 ALBVS" In plain language: "In 1702 and 3 we have the wine for an Albus ...". The "Albus", in German white pfennig , was a coin that the Archbishop of Trier Kuno von Falkenstein put into circulation after 1368. At that time it was a valid means of payment west of the Rhine and on the Middle and Lower Rhine. Possibly the stated purchase price "1 Albus" related to a " quart " of wine, which corresponded to an amount of 1.145 liters. Even if wine was already grown in Wasserliesch at that time, the inscription probably refers to the cider, because the workers in the quarry would probably not have been able to afford "real" wine.

Station path ( Kreuzweg ), the path was laid out around 200 years ago - at the beginning of the 19th century - from the village to the Löschemer chapel at the height of the Liescher mountain . It overcomes around 200 meters in altitude over a length of around 1.5 km. A total of 14 stations of the cross are located at more or less regular intervals of up to 100 m each on the wayside. The wayside shrines represent the way of the cross of Jesus Christ , which he had to walk before his crucifixion , carrying his own cross. Some bear the year, the 2nd station the Roman year MDCCCXX (1820), the 9th station the year 1812. In the meantime, several wayside shrines show clear signs of weathering. Part of it was restored or renewed at the end of the 1980s, the first station therefore bears the year 1988. The preparation of the station path, including the setting up of the wayside shrines, is said to have taken 12 years to complete. The uniformly designed works of art are sculptures , partly made of yellow, partly red, local sandstone. Cast iron reliefs are embedded in the upper part , which depict the respective situation. The wayside shrines testify to the craftsmanship and artistic skills of the Wasserliescher stone breakers and stone cutters . Maintenance and care of the individual stations was carried out by local citizens after the installation and traditionally carried it on from generation to generation in the family; this is still the case today at some stations.

Löschem Chapel , visible from afar on the Liescher Berg, 340 m above sea level.

"Perfeist" nature reserve (information board), has existed since 1986; So-called lean lime lawn creates the conditions for many rare plant species. Depending on the season bloom here as pulsatilla vulgaris , the Cowslip , purple orchid , orchis anthropophora , himantoglossum hircinum , military orchid , Cornelian cherry , thyme , autumn crocus , Blue Gentian . The Orchideenweg leads as a circular route through the nature reserve.

Old camp, at the far end of the orchid path, largely overgrown by trees and bushes. It was probably built by the Romans in the 3rd century and then fell into disrepair. The extensive facility, 94 m long and 47 m wide, was excellently secured with stone walls and ditches on all four sides, as well as by its location on the steeply sloping mountain edge on three sides. Archaeological excavations in 1853, 1896 and 1973/74 brought only a few findings. According to legend, the complex is said to have been a residence of the temple masters ; the vernacular calls the area "monastery garden", which indicates such a use; However, there is no evidence of this.

Picture gallery
Parish Church of St. Aper
Löschemer Chapel
Market square with fountain
Roman sewer
Rococo facade 1787
Fairground with music pavilion
Old waterworks
Orchid area
Art in the roundabout in the industrial area

Economy and Infrastructure

About water, wine and viez

The Albachtal contains a large water reservoir, which was opened up with pumping stations after test drilling in the 1970s. High-quality drinking water is pumped into an elevated tank on the mountain slope, from there to Wasserliesch, parts of the city of Konz and the places upstream of the Moselle up to and including Nittel and the Luxembourg town of Mertert . Until the end of the Second World War, Wasserliesch was only supplied with drinking water from the springs on the slope of the Liescher Mountain , including Angelborn on the western flank. An approximately three kilometer long water pipe led from Angelborn to the collecting basin, which can still be seen today on the outskirts above Römerstrasse. In dry periods, however, the amount of water was no longer sufficient even then, so that immediately after the Second World War a pumping station had to be built to convey groundwater at the entrance to the village from the direction of Konz; it is also still there, but no longer in operation.

Viticulture has a long tradition in Wasserliesch, as the Romans already cultivated wine in the Moselle valley. On the south-eastern mountainside of the Albach Valley and in some places in the valley you can still find vineyards and vineyards. In the meantime, as elsewhere on the Moselle, Saar and Ruwer , many areas have been left fallow. Other slopes that have not been used for viticulture for a long time, some of which are hardly recognizable as such, can be found on the eastern terrace slopes of the Liescher and on the southern slopes of the Igeler Berg on the other side of the Moselle. The Elbling vine, which is typical of the Upper Moselle and which the Romans probably brought to the Moselle, was and is primarily planted. Today, the wineries also grow white wines and increasingly red wines in flat valley locations with newer grape varieties .

Although wine has been grown in Wasserliesch for a long time, Viez was more important in the 19th and 20th centuries , at least as a house drink. Made from the juice of particularly small, acidic apple varieties, sometimes with the addition of pear juice, it was stored year-round in wooden barrels in the cellar so that it could be poured into a stone jug in portions, or "poured", as they said. The drinking vessel was a 0.4 l porcelain jug, the so-called porz . Lovers still claim today that Viez tastes particularly good when drunk from this special drinking vessel. Viez was also the traditional soft drink used during field work. Here you drank it directly from the stone jug, in which it was kept fresh and cool for a relatively long time even when the outside temperature was warm. Extensive orchards provided the "raw material" for making cattle. Today the Viez in the region is more likely to be produced in large cellars and sold in bottles, but it is also served in restaurants.

Over the Moselle and on the Moselle

A ford through the Moselle as a connection between the district of Reinig and the neighboring town of Igel made it possible to cross the river by vehicles and on foot or on horseback in Roman times and probably long before - at least when the water level was low. Later there were two ferry connections in Wasserliesch. One of them established a connection to the other bank as a passenger ferry with a boat at about the level of the church and thus enabled the cultivation of the vineyards to the left of the Moselle. It was operated by a fishing company . After the Second World War, this ferry connection was discontinued because it had become unprofitable. The other connected the district of Reinig directly with the opposite town of Igel. Again, the translator was a passenger ferry using a Nachens operated partially, especially at low tide, because of the strong currents still quite troublesome to the other side punted be had. In addition, there was a pont or ponte that could be used to cross vehicles. This ferry connection was important for the residents of Reinig not least because of the possibility of using the train station in Igel to travel to and from Trier, because it was closer to them than the stop in Wasserliesch. It is also thanks to the Reiniger Fähre that there have been and still are many family relationships between the places on both sides of the Moselle. The expansion of the Moselle, completed in 1964, with its many barrages and the resulting difficult conditions for ferry operations, meant that the Reiniger ferry finally ceased operations.

After its expansion, the Moselle had become a major shipping route , although it has always been - at least since Roman times. One of the many proofs of this is the Neumagen wine ship , which came from the Romans . From the Moselle town of Neumagen on the Middle Moselle , where it was found, it was made into the Rheinisches Landesmuseum in Trier. A copy of it in original size can be seen in Neumagen. The Neumagen wine ship proves that the Romans cultivated wine on the Moselle and transported it by ship on the Moselle. Of course, other goods were also transported on the Moselle with so-called tow ships . Upstream they were pulled from the towpath or towpath with up to ten horses, but also with human strength. Of course, the towpaths always had to be kept free for this purpose. Today they are still available on both sides of the river and mostly developed as cycle paths, including in and around Wasserliesch. The transport of goods with tow ships is likely to have been finally stopped at the latest with the construction of the railways at the end of the 19th century.

traffic

Street: Wasserliesch is connected to the B 419 .
Railway: Wasserliesch stop on the Trier – Perl railway line .
On the Igel-Konz railway line, the Hindenburg Bridge near Wasserliesch crossed the Moselle from 1912 until it was destroyed in 1945 .

education

St. Marien Primary School
kindergarten
VHS Wasserliesch-Oberbillig

literature

Dr. Heinz Cüppers, M. Feltes, Adalbert Fuchs, P. Giwer, Ernst Haasenritter, Franz Holbach, W. Klassen, Günter Kowalski, Hans Lutz, Wilhelm Lutz, Hilde Mayenfels, Wilhelm Maxmini, Paul Niesen, Johann Roos, Hans Scherr, Hans Thein , Chronicle Wasserliesch (community Wasserliesch 1975, printing works Wagner OHG, Trier).

G. Kentenich, History of the City of Trier (Verlag der Akademischen Buchhandlung Interbook, Trier, edition 1915).

Cultural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate , Volume 12.1 Krs. Trier-Saarburg (Wernersche Verlags-Gesellschaft, Worms).

Willi Körtels : History of the Jews of Könen (= series Ortschroniken des Trier Land , No. 44), ed. from Förderverein Synagoge Könen eV, Konz: Förderverein Synagoge Könen, 2005
New edition, ed. by Reiner Nolden on behalf of the Working Group for Regional History and Folklore of the Trier Area , 2011; as a PDF document on the mahnmal-trier.de page