Westfeld (Schmallenberg)

West field City of Schmallenberg Coordinates: 51 ° 9 ′ 43 "  N , 8 ° 24 ′ 54"  E
Height :	487  (480-540)  m
Residents :	734  (Dec. 31, 2019)
Postal code :	57392
Location of Westfeld in Schmallenberg
Aerial view

Westfeld, view in south direction of Ennest and Hömberg, in between the Lennetal

View from the Hoher Bone on Westfeld

Westfeld is a village in the city of Schmallenberg and has been a state-recognized climatic health resort in the North Rhine-Westphalian Hochsauerlandkreis in Germany since 2018 .

geography

location

The village is located at an altitude between 480 and 540  m above sea level. NHN , in the upper Lennetal at the foot of the Hohe Bone .

Neighboring places

Places bordering Westfeld are Ohlenbach , Hoher Bone , Inderlenne , Lengenbeck , Nordenau and Altastenberg .

history

Wederichvelden was first mentioned in 1072 in the deed of foundation of the Grafschaft monastery . In 1338 the village was called Wedesvelde, as can be seen from the feudal register of the Counts of Arnsberg . In 1338, Count Gottfried IV von Arnsberg enfeoffed the nobleman Johann I von Grascap as Vogt of the Grafschaft Abbey, among others, with two farms in Wedesvelde. The name Wersfeld appeared in a sales letter in 1358.

On October 16, 1571, a water mill was allowed to be built in the village with the permission of the Elector of Cologne. This mill was a vital facility until the 20th century. Between 1595 and 1685, 75 people, including several Westfelder, fell victim to the witch trials in Oberkirchen . The first woman from Westfeld to be executed as a witch was brought to Bilstein Castle by the Oberkirchen Patrimonial Court and executed on July 14, 1595 on the orders of Kaspar von Fürstenberg . In 1630, seven western fields were executed on the occasion of the Great Oberkirchen Witch Trial. The trials and executions took place in Oberkirchen from March 16 to June 10, 1630.

In 1645 Westvelt was mapped on the Westphalia Ducatus map. The list of residents of Westfeld recorded a total of 145 people on July 31, 1717. In 1856 a fire destroyed almost the entire lower village. On the afternoon of May 5, 1856, a house burned down. The fire quickly spread to neighboring houses. A total of 20 buildings were destroyed and 120 people left homeless. Some families then moved to Ohlenbach because they had their lands there. At the Franco-German War were 16 men from Westfeld actively involved. The Gnacke sawmill was built in 1890 and production ceased 46 years later. According to the entry in the trade and business address book of the Province of Westphalia, in 1895 there were already 435 residents in Westfeld.

During the First World War , from August 1, 1914, the first people from Westfeld were called up for the Landwehr. In autumn 1915 another 61 Westfeld men had to do military service. On January 12, 1917, the Westfelder delivered around 30 quintals of swede to the cities as a substitute for potatoes. In June 1918 the village had to deliver 1175 pounds of potatoes to Gelsenkirchen again. In December 1918, troops passing through were quartered in the village a few times. The first men in British captivity returned to Westfeld in September and October 1919. A total of 21 soldiers from Westfeld were killed in the First World War.

During the Second World War , a four-engine British bomber was shot down over the Rothaargebirge on the night of April 24th to 25th, 1944 and crashed on the Hirschberg west of Westfeld. Three crew members survived the crash. Two crew members who were found dead were later found during a search by school classes from Westfeld and Oberkirchen. Towards the end of the Second World War, the bombardment of the village began on the night of April 1 to April 2, 1945. While the village area on the little hill was under fire from the US troops, the population fled from the lower village in Keller on the south side of the valley, while the inhabitants of the upper village fled into a tunnel on the Hömberg. Later, most of the residents of the village fled to the safe tunnel of the Lengenbeck slate mine, in which the residents of Lengenbeck were already located. By April 3, two people died when the village was bombarded. On April 3, 1945, the 3rd Battalion of the 47th US Regiment, which came from the direction of Albrechtsplatz, occupied Westfeld almost without a fight. Only one German machine gun post briefly shot at the US soldiers from Hömberg.

On January 1, 1975, Westfeld was incorporated into the town of Schmallenberg with the municipality of Oberkirchen , to which it belonged until then.

politics

coat of arms

Flag with the coat of arms of Westfeld

The coat of arms was created on the occasion of the 925th anniversary.

Blazon In blue with a golden shield base a silver wave bar in W-shape, accompanied by golden pine cones and beech leaves; two red posts in the base of the shield.

Description The W refers to the first village on the Lenne. The Lenne flows through the Westfeld deciduous and coniferous forests. Represented by the tenon and the leaf. The lower quarter of the coat of arms is part of the old Grafschafter coat of arms and thus indicates the roots of the Grafschaft monastery.

religion

St. Blaise Church

The first chapel in Westfeld can be found around 1620. The then pastor Sutorius from Oberkirchen testified to a chapel for the village, which was consecrated to St. John the Baptist. The chronicle of the parish Westfeld reports of a chapel from the year 1726. This was demolished in 1878 due to disrepair in order to build a larger church. In 1909 this church was enlarged by adding a sacristy. The bell tower was built in 1930. The church was expanded in 1956 into a spacious village church.

education

There is a primary school and a kindergarten in Westfeld. School lessons have been offered in Westfeld since 1800, initially in Clemens Backhaus. Before that, the students had to go to school in Oberkirchen. In 1846 the first school building was built. Two years later, 120 children were already attending the one-class school. In the early 1950s the school became too small. Therefore, in the summer of 1952, work began on building a new school near the cemetery, which was inaugurated on October 27, 1954. An extension followed in 1966 and was ready for occupancy a year later. With the reorganization of the school system in 1970, two types of schools were created. Westfeld received a primary and secondary school. In 1975 the secondary school was relocated to Schmallenberg.

Attractions

Westfeld notice board

The townscape is characterized by half-timbered houses and is embedded in the Rothaargebirge , one of the most wooded regions in Germany. As early as 1975 Westfeld received the award "Bundesgolddorf" in the national competition " Our village should be more beautiful ". There are also 185 monuments in the Schmallenberg city area, some of them in Westfeld. The list of architectural monuments in Schmallenberg includes the architectural monuments with a brief description.

Sports

The North Rhine-Westphalia Nordic Center, the newly built artificial turf pitch and the Hochsauerland cross-country skiing center are located in Westfeld.

literature

• Festival Committee 925 Years of Westfeld (ed.): Westfeld in the course of time 1072–1997 , Grobbel Verlag, Bad Fredeburg, 1997.

Web links

Commons : Westfeld  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Westfeld website
• Westfeld (Schmallenberg) in the Westphalia Cultural Atlas

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Population figures Schmallenberg 2019 , accessed on July 3, 2020
2. ↑ Sauerlandkurier.de Westfeld is a "state-approved climatic health resort" from May 30, 2018, accessed on June 3, 2018
3. ^ Bernward Silberg: Historical records - documents, chronicles, registers and lists from Westfeld in the course of time 1072–1997, p. 17, Grobbel Verlag.
4. ^ Carl Hoffman: Commercial and medium-sized enterprises from Westfeld in the course of time 1072-1997, p. 17, Grobbel Verlag
5. ↑ Bernward Silberg: Judicial system and jurisdiction including the time of the witch hunt from Westfeld in the course of time 1072-1997, p. 157 ff., Grobbel Verlag
6. ^ Archive Barons von Fürstenberg , Arnsberg-Herdringen V / 32/34
7. ^ Alfred Bruns: Court and Parish Oberkirchen , p. 717, Stadt Schmallenberg (ed.), 1981
8. ^ Alfred Bruns: Court and Parish Oberkirchen , p. 461, Stadt Schmallenberg (ed.), 1981.
9. ↑ Bernward Silberg: Political and Economic Development - The First World War from Westfeld in the course of time 1072–1997, p. 47 ff. Grobbel Verlag
10. ↑ Albert Huyskens : The district of Meschede under the fire roller of the Second World War - compiled from the experience reports of many employees from all over the district and presented on behalf of the district administration. W. Bertelsmann Verlag, Bielefeld 1949. pp. 41-42
11. ^ Gerhard Voss: Memories of a school boy on the Second World War including the post-war period from Westfeld in the course of time 1072–1997, p. 77 ff. Grobbel Verlag
12. ^ Federal Statistical Office (ed.): Historical municipality directory for the Federal Republic of Germany. Name, border and key number changes in municipalities, counties and administrative districts from May 27, 1970 to December 31, 1982 . W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Mainz 1983, ISBN 3-17-003263-1 , p. 335 f .
13. ^ Heinrich Schmidt: Foundation of the parish vicarie and church life from Westfeld in the course of time 1072-1997, p. 217, Grobbel Verlag
14. ^ Carl Hoffman: Development of the school system from Westfeld in the course of time 1072-1997 , p. 213, Grobbel Verlag
15. ↑ site Nordic Center NRW
16. ↑ Website cross-country skiing center Hochsauerland