Gefell, Rhineland-Palatinate
Encyclopedia
Gefell is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district
in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Daun
, whose seat is in the like-named town
.
, a part of the Eifel
known for its volcanic history, geographical and geological features, and even ongoing activity today, including gases that sometimes well up from the earth.
as a Gefälle or Gevelle).
Gefell had a chapel as early as 1683 that by 1719 was rich in holdings, namely 19 Morgen, 19 Ruten and two Schuh in choice meadowlands, as measured in Trier units (this works out to almost 7 ha). Moreover, it held capital to a total of 439 Gulden while the tithes yielded for each of the chapel and the pastor two Malter of oats. In this same year, the mill (Gefeller Mühle) was still in operation and was paying 3 Albus each year in rent. Five families who were liable to taxation were living in Gefell at the time, who, among other things, also had to pay the Simpel tax, levied on assessed net earnings from cropland, newly cleared land, newly burnt land, meadows, forest use, proceeds from livestock and so on. The heads of these five liable families were Johannes Diewald, Heinrich Emmerichs, Peter Haubrichs, Matthias Krein and Matthias Saxler.
Roughly 90% of Gefellers are Roman Catholic and belong to the Catholic parish of St. Hubertus Beinhausen with its parish church at Hilgerath. Once, a walk of several kilometres was obligatory for those who wanted to attend Mass in greater numbers in Hilgerath.
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: Quarterly, first vert a pair of tongs palewise argent, second argent a cross gules, third argent a cross sable and fourth vert a tower embattled of four of the second.
The tongs in the first quarter are Saint Apollonia
’s attribute, and thus stand for the saint who is worshipped in the local chapel alongside Saint Barbara
, the municipality’s patron saint, whose attribute, the tower, is seen in the fourth quarter. The two crosses symbolize the secular and ecclesiastical authorities that held sway in Gefell in the Middle Ages
, the red one standing for the Electorate of Trier and the black one for the Archbishopric of Cologne.
Municipalities of Germany
Municipalities are the lowest level of territorial division in Germany. This may be the fourth level of territorial division in Germany, apart from those states which include Regierungsbezirke , where municipalities then become the fifth level.-Overview:With more than 3,400,000 inhabitants, the...
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
Verbandsgemeinde
A Verbandsgemeinde is an administrative unit in the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt.-Rhineland-Palatinate:...
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district
Districts of Germany
The districts of Germany are known as , except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where they are known simply as ....
in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Daun
Daun (Verbandsgemeinde)
Daun is a collective municipality in the Vulkaneifel district of Rhineland-Palatinate. The seat of the Daun Verbandsgemeinde is in the municipality of Daun.- Constituent municipalities:# Betteldorf# Bleckhausen# Brockscheid...
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Daun, Germany
Daun is a town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the district seat and also the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Daun.- Location :...
.
Location
The municipality lies in the VulkaneifelVulkan Eifel
The Vulkan Eifel is a region in the Eifel Mountains in Germany, that is defined to a large extent by its volcanic geological history. Characteristic of the Vulkan Eifel are its typical explosion crater lakes or maars, and numerous other signs of volcanic activity such as volcanic tuffs, lava...
, a part of the Eifel
Eifel
The Eifel is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the south of the German-speaking Community of Belgium....
known for its volcanic history, geographical and geological features, and even ongoing activity today, including gases that sometimes well up from the earth.
History
From 1357, Gefell was secularly under the lordship of the Electorate of Trier, but ecclesiastically it was an affiliate of the Parish of Beinhausen (Hilgerath) within the Archbishopric of Cologne. The village gets its name from the former Electoral-Trier road toll (known in GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
as a Gefälle or Gevelle).
Gefell had a chapel as early as 1683 that by 1719 was rich in holdings, namely 19 Morgen, 19 Ruten and two Schuh in choice meadowlands, as measured in Trier units (this works out to almost 7 ha). Moreover, it held capital to a total of 439 Gulden while the tithes yielded for each of the chapel and the pastor two Malter of oats. In this same year, the mill (Gefeller Mühle) was still in operation and was paying 3 Albus each year in rent. Five families who were liable to taxation were living in Gefell at the time, who, among other things, also had to pay the Simpel tax, levied on assessed net earnings from cropland, newly cleared land, newly burnt land, meadows, forest use, proceeds from livestock and so on. The heads of these five liable families were Johannes Diewald, Heinrich Emmerichs, Peter Haubrichs, Matthias Krein and Matthias Saxler.
Roughly 90% of Gefellers are Roman Catholic and belong to the Catholic parish of St. Hubertus Beinhausen with its parish church at Hilgerath. Once, a walk of several kilometres was obligatory for those who wanted to attend Mass in greater numbers in Hilgerath.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 6 council members, who were elected at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.Mayor
Gefell’s mayor is Alfred Gundert, and his two deputies are Wolfgang Kläs and Bruno Wagner.Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Von Grün und Silber geviert; 1) eine silberne Zange; 2) ein rotes Balkenkreuz; 3) ein schwarzes Balkenkreuz; 4) ein silberner Turm.The municipality’s arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
might in English heraldic
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
language be described thus: Quarterly, first vert a pair of tongs palewise argent, second argent a cross gules, third argent a cross sable and fourth vert a tower embattled of four of the second.
The tongs in the first quarter are Saint Apollonia
Saint Apollonia
Saint Apollonia was one of a group of virgin martyrs who suffered in Alexandria during a local uprising against the Christians prior to the persecution of Decius. According to legend, her torture included having all of her teeth violently pulled out or shattered...
’s attribute, and thus stand for the saint who is worshipped in the local chapel alongside Saint Barbara
Saint Barbara
Saint Barbara, , Feast Day December 4, known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an early Christian saint and martyr....
, the municipality’s patron saint, whose attribute, the tower, is seen in the fourth quarter. The two crosses symbolize the secular and ecclesiastical authorities that held sway in Gefell in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the red one standing for the Electorate of Trier and the black one for the Archbishopric of Cologne.
Buildings
- Saint BarbaraSaint BarbaraSaint Barbara, , Feast Day December 4, known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an early Christian saint and martyr....
’s Catholic Church (branch church), Dorfstraße 8, small aisleless churchAisleless churchAn Aisleless church is a single-nave church building that consists of a single hall-like room. While similar to the hall church, the aisleless church lacks aisles or passageways either side of the nave separated from the nave by colonnades or arcades, a row of pillars or columns...
from 1850
External links
- http://www.swr.de/landesschau-rp/hierzuland/-/id=100766/nid=100766/did=2457164/zt08li/index.htmlBrief portrait of Gefell with film at SWR FernsehenSWR FernsehenSWR Fernsehen is a German regional television channel targeting the states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. It is produced by Südwestrundfunk and is one of eight regional "third channels" broadcast by the ARD members....
] - Municipality’s official webpage