Mutterschied
Encyclopedia
Mutterschied is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality
belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district
) in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Simmern
, whose seat is in the like-named town
.
between Argenthal
and Simmern on the edge of the Simmerner Mulde (hollow). Mutterschied, with its share of the once royally owned Soonwald, a heavily wooded section of the west-central Hunsrück, held since 1311 at the latest, has been one of the northern Soonwald villages since at least that time. The wooded portion, which is an outlying piece of the municipal area, not contiguous with the main portion, lies near the Simmerkopf, the district’s highest peak.
times, the settlement lay at the corner of two Roman roads; to the southwest ran the main road between Trier
and Bingen
, while to the north ran another road between Simmern and Bacharach
. Finds in the cadastral area known as Herzefeld have yielded remnants of a Roman way station and also coins from the Emperor Hadrian
’s time (117-138). There was once a Roman villa rustica
700 m south of the spot where the church now stands. There have also been scattered finds of Roman potsherds, and two finds, one 700 m west of the village and the other 500 m east, have involved fragments of basalt
quernstones.
After a drop in population on the Hunsrück in the Migration Period
(370-500), a new wave of settlement began towards the end of the 9th century. Mudinscheid, as it was once known according to the oldest written reference to the village, arose along with many other places in these Carolingian times (village names ending in —roth, —scheid or —schied are a reference to land clearing at that time). The names Mudin and Madin are also recorded for the village, and all three stem from the Frankish
national patron, Saint Martin
. To this day, Mutterschied is known in the local speech as Maddin. The placename ending —scheid, or later —schied means “delimited wooded area”. The Waldgrave
s (the Emichones
, or Emicho’s descendants) had the right of “best head” in 950 over a share of the population (this was an early death duty in which the lord received a peasant’s best head of livestock upon the peasant’s death).
at the Nunkirch. About 1275, Mudinscheid belonged to the Wittelsbach Counts Palatine of the Rhine, later passing to the Dukes of Palatinate-Simmern
. Later the village became a Palatine Inngericht (court district). In 1311, 45 Märker (members of a communal management body, in this case for a forest) were put to work, each of them receiving a yearly “fathom” of wood (that is, a stack of logs measuring one fathom
by one fathom at one end) from the symerer waldt (Simmern Forest). In 1346, the village had to pay tithes to Bishop of Trier Baldwin of Luxembourg. In 1368 the Mudinscheid Chapel
was incorporated into Saint Giles’s Foundation in Neustadt. The self-administering Inngericht of Mutterschied formed a Schultheiß
erei with the municipalities of Mörschbach
, Schnorbach
and Wahlbach
.
and transferred them to a priest who was then meant to move house to Muderscheidt. In 1557, the Reformation
was introduced and the village became at first Lutheran
and then later Reformed
. In 1599, there were 23 hearths (for which, read “households”) in Muderscheidt. By 1608, the spelling had become Muderschitt, and the village had become a branch of the parish of Schnorbach. In the Thirty Years' War
(1618-1648), the legendary Oberhausen near Moederscheit (another new spelling) was destroyed. In 1656, there were ten families, one widow and two guardians. In 1686, after the Dukes of Palatinate-Simmern had died out and the village had returned to Electoral Palatinate, the Catholic faith was no longer forbidden and the Catholic congregation belonged to Saint Joseph’s parish in Simmern, which from 1683 to 1803 was led by the Carmelites
from Boppard). In 1688, war once again beset the Hunsrück, bringing about widespread destruction. This time it was the Nine Years' War (known in Germany as the Pfälzischer Erbfolgekrieg, or War of the Palatine Succession), and once again, the legendary Oberhausen was destroyed. In 1698, the heraldically
important Moderschit (as it had come to be spelt) court seal came into being, bearing an image of Saint Dorothea as the main charge
. In 1712, the oldest datable house in Moderschit was built, Rheingans-Renzler. In 1745, the Wald-Henrich-John house was built. In 1751, the Catholic community began planning for a new church. Seventeen men took on this task, and their names are recorded (Johann Becker, Johann Nikolaus Becker, Matthias Diehl, Christoph Diel, Paul Diel, Hartmann, Nikolaus Karl, Tobias Karl, Jakob Kist, Johann Krämer, Adam Nau, Jakob Rödel, Peter Rödel, Peter Rötsch, Christoph Sachsemeier, Matthias Staudt, Peter Vogt). Building work began in 1753. In 1757, the chapel that still stands now was finished and was given its benefice by the Simmern Carmelite prior Otto. It is consecrated to the Fourteen Holy Helpers
: Agathius
, Barbara
, Blaise
, Catherine of Alexandria
, Christopher
, Cyriacus, Denis
, Erasmus
, Eustace
, George
, Giles
, Margaret of Antioch, Pantaleon
and Vitus
; it is further consecrated to the “Penitent”, Mary Magdalene
. In 1758, there were 108 Catholics in Mutterschied. Reformed parishioners objected to the building of the church. On 28 July 1766, Christoph Saxemeyer became the first person from Mutterschied to emigrate to Hungary’s Banat
region. It was, however, another 21 years before the others followed, on 27 October 1787.
rule, and the patchwork of various states in the region was swept away. Mutterschied was plundered by French Revolutionary
troops, and the court books were burnt. Mutterschied belonged to the Mairie (“Mayoralty”) of Simmern. In 1796, there was rinderpest
in Mutterschied; it all but wiped the village’s livestock out. At this time, Mutterschied had 197 inhabitants in 38 houses with 28 barns. In 1805, Nicolas Littger from Mutterschied became the Adjunkt (mayor’s representative) of Simmern. Between 1805 and 1807, the forest hitherto communally held was split up and shared out to various municipalities. Mutterschied got 102 ha. In 1806 and 1807, hundreds of fruit trees were planted within the municipality’s limits. In 1809, Mutterschied had 261 inhabitants. In 1813, a new graveyard was laid out on the road to Argenthal
, up from the village. In 1814, French rule came to an end and the Hunsrück was occupied by the Bavaria
ns until the end of the Congress of Vienna
in 1816.
n, but for the Birkenfelder Land (Principality of Birkenfeld), which went to the Duchy (later Grand Duchy) of Oldenburg. It was in this time that the Regierungsbezirk
of Koblenz and the district (Landkreis) of Simmern came into being. Mutterschied itself, meanwhile, remained in its Mairie of Simmern, although this was now Germanized to the Bürgermeisterei of Simmern (meaning the same); from this time forth and long afterwards, the mayor was Peter-Josef Rottmann.
In 1820, the following people were earning a living at various trades: Christoph Sehn (wine steward), Adam Martin (linen weaver), Friedrich Öhl (linen weaver), Peter Martin (linen weaver), Peter Zillig (linen weaver), Peter Marbach (shoemaker), Andreas Diel (carpenter), Valentin Martin (tailor), Christoph Beil (tailor), Christoph Reuther (blacksmith), Jacob Baumgarten (porcelain dealer), Christoph Baumgarten (gardener), Adam Vogt (linen weaver). In 1824, Mutterschied citizen Nicolas Schneider junior (Schneirer-Nicels) began a “housebook” into which until 1870 he entered things of importance, such as the growing of Krundbirnen in 1829. This was a local variation of Grundbirnen, literally “ground pears”, that is to say, potato
es.
In 1830, there was a great fire in Mutterschied, and three farms had to be built all over again. The Ludwig, Kunz and Jost properties arose once again by 1833 with a typical Franconia
n farm layout. In the mid 1830s, there was some unusual weather. Nicolas Schneider reported on 25 March 1834: “It is to be noted, and this is a benchmark for posterity, that in this year, even in the month of January, one could gather green fodder in the fields every day and there were flowers in the gardens and thus far, almost no snow has been seen.”
In 1838, a school building was built to serve as an Evangelical
and Catholic elementary school. In 1840, Mutterschied had 474 inhabitants. In the years 1843 to 1854, there was widespread hunger. The famine became so bad that a considerable portion of the population emigrated to Brazil
. A particularly great wave of emigration came in 1845 when 49 people went to Brazil.
The year 1848 brought revolution
. Mutterschied produced two men who took part in the lawmaking bodies that came out of the revolution: Jacob Prinz served in the Prussian National Assembly
and Peter Wald I in the Frankfurt Parliament
. The municipality helped the poorest with all their strength, for example by selling valuable oak. In 1864, Mutterschied had 480 inhabitants, 308 ha of land and 8 ha of municipal woodland within its limits. In 1868, Mutterschied’s first fire brigade list was drawn up.
Even into the 19th century, there was a Yeniche ironworking community between Mutterschied and Altweidelbach
whose graveyard can still be discerned.
.
was occupied by the French
. In 1923, the French occupational forces deported railway families from the Hunsrück after the great railway strike
. Among these was Mutterschied’s Peter Metzger along with his wife and five children. Only after a year were they allowed to come back. In 1925, Mutterschied had 392 inhabitants. In 1932, another new graveyard was laid out.
and Catholic schoolchildren. Some people from Mutterschied became victims of state arbitrariness. In 1939, Mutterschied had 364 inhabitants. In late April 1942, the churchbell was taken away for war requirements. In the Second World War, 19 men from Mutterschied fell, and three went missing. In 1944 and 1945, there were prisoners of war
in Mutterschied, about 6 Ukrainians
and Poles
. They were repatriated in 1945, although one Pole, Alex B., chose to stay. On 16 March 1945, the village was occupied by the Americans
; members of a German military support unit who were in the village were captured and imprisoned.
of Rhineland-Palatinate
.
In 1949, the church got a new bell frame, and the new bell was dedicated by Dean Hardt. In 1957, Mutterschied had 308 inhabitants. Flurbereinigung
was undertaken in 1958, and in the time that followed, outlying farms (Aussiedlerhöfe) were built on the Rheinbach. In 1963, Mutterschied had 327 inhabitants. In 1964, a fire in Mutterschied burnt two homesteads down. In 1965, a new building area arose on the cadastral area known as the “Hundsacker” (“Dog’s Field”). In 1966, Mutterschied had 383 inhabitants. In 1968, the school in Mutterschied was closed. About 1970, a number of new farms were established. Beginning in 1970, Mutterschied’s demographics
changed with the arrival of the first Turkish
nationals. In 1980, the municipal coat of arms
was approved. In 1984, the church’s exterior and the churchyard were renovated. In 1985, Mutterschied had 434 inhabitants. In 1986, the old school was rededicated as the new community centre.
, and Mutterschied also bought more land. In 2001, another new building area was laid out up from the Murschbach. The village was expanded into this area. In 2004, the gymnastic club marked its centenary. In 2008, the Chapel
of the Fourteen Holy Helpers
and Mary Magdalene
marked its 250th anniversary of consecration
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
might be described thus: A pale paly bendy argent and azure between gules a palm leaf palewise Or and sable a lion rampant of the fourth armed and langued of the third.
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
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 Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (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 Simmern
Simmern (Verbandsgemeinde)
Simmern is a Verbandsgemeinde in the Rhein-Hunsrück district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Its seat is in Simmern.The Verbandsgemeinde Simmern consists of the following Ortsgemeinden :...
, whose seat is in the like-named town
Simmern
Simmern is a town of 8,000 inhabitants in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, the district seat of the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis, and the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde...
.
Location
The municipality lies in the central HunsrückHunsrück
The Hunsrück is a low mountain range in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the river valleys of the Moselle , the Nahe , and the Rhine . The Hunsrück is continued by the Taunus mountains on the eastern side of the Rhine. In the north behind the Moselle it is continued by the Eifel...
between Argenthal
Argenthal
Argenthal is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
and Simmern on the edge of the Simmerner Mulde (hollow). Mutterschied, with its share of the once royally owned Soonwald, a heavily wooded section of the west-central Hunsrück, held since 1311 at the latest, has been one of the northern Soonwald villages since at least that time. The wooded portion, which is an outlying piece of the municipal area, not contiguous with the main portion, lies near the Simmerkopf, the district’s highest peak.
Antiquity
The local area was originally settled by Celts. In RomanAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
times, the settlement lay at the corner of two Roman roads; to the southwest ran the main road between Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
and Bingen
Bingen am Rhein
Bingen am Rhein is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.The settlement’s original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant “hole in the rock”, a description of the shoal behind the Mäuseturm, known as the Binger Loch. Bingen was the starting point for the...
, while to the north ran another road between Simmern and Bacharach
Bacharach
Bacharach is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Rhein-Nahe, whose seat is in Bingen am Rhein, although that town is not within its bounds....
. Finds in the cadastral area known as Herzefeld have yielded remnants of a Roman way station and also coins from the Emperor Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
’s time (117-138). There was once a Roman villa rustica
Villa rustica
Villa rustica was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a villa set in the open countryside, often as the hub of a large agricultural estate . The adjective rusticum was used to distinguish it from an urban or resort villa...
700 m south of the spot where the church now stands. There have also been scattered finds of Roman potsherds, and two finds, one 700 m west of the village and the other 500 m east, have involved fragments of basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
quernstones.
After a drop in population on the Hunsrück in the Migration Period
Migration Period
The Migration Period, also called the Barbarian Invasions , was a period of intensified human migration in Europe that occurred from c. 400 to 800 CE. This period marked the transition from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages...
(370-500), a new wave of settlement began towards the end of the 9th century. Mudinscheid, as it was once known according to the oldest written reference to the village, arose along with many other places in these Carolingian times (village names ending in —roth, —scheid or —schied are a reference to land clearing at that time). The names Mudin and Madin are also recorded for the village, and all three stem from the Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
national patron, Saint Martin
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
. To this day, Mutterschied is known in the local speech as Maddin. The placename ending —scheid, or later —schied means “delimited wooded area”. The Waldgrave
Waldgrave
The noble family of the Waldgraves or Wildgraves descended of a division of the House of the Counts of Nahegau in the year 1113....
s (the Emichones
Emichones
The Emichones family is a precursor to several noble families in the southwestern German region. Its members were -- perhaps as undercounts of the Salian dynasty -- gau counts in the Nahegau. The name is due to the prevailing first name "Emich."- History :The Nahegau was next to the Wormsgau and...
, or Emicho’s descendants) had the right of “best head” in 950 over a share of the population (this was an early death duty in which the lord received a peasant’s best head of livestock upon the peasant’s death).
Middle Ages
In 1074, it is certain that Mudinscheid belonged to the territory of the Provostry of Ravengiersburg, as it was also subject to the blood courtBlood court
Blood Court or high justice in the Holy Roman Empire referred to the right of a Vogt to hold a criminal court inflicting bodily punishment, including the death penalty.Not every Vogt held the blood court...
at the Nunkirch. About 1275, Mudinscheid belonged to the Wittelsbach Counts Palatine of the Rhine, later passing to the Dukes of Palatinate-Simmern
Palatinate-Simmern
Palatinate-Simmern was one of the collateral lines of the Palatinate line of the House of Wittelsbach.The Palatinate line of the House of Wittelsbach was divided into four lines after the death of Rupert III in 1410, including the line of Palatinate-Simmern with its capital in Simmern. This line...
. Later the village became a Palatine Inngericht (court district). In 1311, 45 Märker (members of a communal management body, in this case for a forest) were put to work, each of them receiving a yearly “fathom” of wood (that is, a stack of logs measuring one fathom
Fathom
A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems, used especially for measuring the depth of water.There are 2 yards in an imperial or U.S. fathom...
by one fathom at one end) from the symerer waldt (Simmern Forest). In 1346, the village had to pay tithes to Bishop of Trier Baldwin of Luxembourg. In 1368 the Mudinscheid Chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
was incorporated into Saint Giles’s Foundation in Neustadt. The self-administering Inngericht of Mutterschied formed a Schultheiß
Schultheiß
In medieval Germany, the Schultheiß was the head of a municipality , a Vogt or an executive official of the ruler.As official it was...
erei with the municipalities of Mörschbach
Mörschbach
Mörschbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Schnorbach
Schnorbach
Schnorbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
and Wahlbach
Wahlbach
-History:Archaeological finds from barrows bear witness to early habitation. In 1158, Wahlbach had its first documentary mention. The village was a noble family’s namesake, although it died out soon after 1258. Later, the village belonged to the Palatine “New Court” , which in 1410 was grouped into...
.
Renaissance
In 1536, Duke Johann II united the benefices of Muderscheidt (as it was then spelt) and RiesweilerRiesweiler
-History:Riesweiler might have had a Roman past, for it lies on an old Roman road. In 1135, Riesweiler had its first documentary mention. According to historical researchers, though, Riesweiler must already have existed by 995, when the oldest royal estate, “Denzen” was donated by King Otto III to...
and transferred them to a priest who was then meant to move house to Muderscheidt. In 1557, the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
was introduced and the village became at first Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
and then later Reformed
Reformed churches
The Reformed churches are a group of Protestant denominations characterized by Calvinist doctrines. They are descended from the Swiss Reformation inaugurated by Huldrych Zwingli but developed more coherently by Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger and especially John Calvin...
. In 1599, there were 23 hearths (for which, read “households”) in Muderscheidt. By 1608, the spelling had become Muderschitt, and the village had become a branch of the parish of Schnorbach. In the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
(1618-1648), the legendary Oberhausen near Moederscheit (another new spelling) was destroyed. In 1656, there were ten families, one widow and two guardians. In 1686, after the Dukes of Palatinate-Simmern had died out and the village had returned to Electoral Palatinate, the Catholic faith was no longer forbidden and the Catholic congregation belonged to Saint Joseph’s parish in Simmern, which from 1683 to 1803 was led by the Carmelites
Carmelites
The Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...
from Boppard). In 1688, war once again beset the Hunsrück, bringing about widespread destruction. This time it was the Nine Years' War (known in Germany as the Pfälzischer Erbfolgekrieg, or War of the Palatine Succession), and once again, the legendary Oberhausen was destroyed. In 1698, the heraldically
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"...
important Moderschit (as it had come to be spelt) court seal came into being, bearing an image of Saint Dorothea as the main charge
Charge (heraldry)
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...
. In 1712, the oldest datable house in Moderschit was built, Rheingans-Renzler. In 1745, the Wald-Henrich-John house was built. In 1751, the Catholic community began planning for a new church. Seventeen men took on this task, and their names are recorded (Johann Becker, Johann Nikolaus Becker, Matthias Diehl, Christoph Diel, Paul Diel, Hartmann, Nikolaus Karl, Tobias Karl, Jakob Kist, Johann Krämer, Adam Nau, Jakob Rödel, Peter Rödel, Peter Rötsch, Christoph Sachsemeier, Matthias Staudt, Peter Vogt). Building work began in 1753. In 1757, the chapel that still stands now was finished and was given its benefice by the Simmern Carmelite prior Otto. It is consecrated to the Fourteen Holy Helpers
Fourteen Holy Helpers
The Fourteen Holy Helpers are a group of saints venerated together in Roman Catholicism because their intercession is believed to be particularly effective, especially against various diseases...
: Agathius
Agathius
Saint Agathius , also known as Achatius or Agathonas or Acacius of Byzantium, was a Cappadocian Greek centurion of the imperial army...
, 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....
, Blaise
Saint Blaise
Saint Blaise was a physician, and bishop of Sebastea . According to his Acta Sanctorum, he was martyred by being beaten, attacked with iron carding combs, and beheaded...
, Catherine of Alexandria
Catherine of Alexandria
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, also known as Saint Catherine of the Wheel and The Great Martyr Saint Catherine is, according to tradition, a Christian saint and virgin, who was martyred in the early 4th century at the hands of the pagan emperor Maxentius...
, Christopher
Saint Christopher
.Saint Christopher is a saint venerated by Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, listed as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd century Roman Emperor Decius or alternatively under the Roman Emperor Maximinus II Dacian...
, Cyriacus, Denis
Denis
Saint Denis is a Christian martyr and saint. In the third century, he was Bishop of Paris. He was martyred in connection with the Decian persecution of Christians, shortly after A.D. 250...
, Erasmus
Erasmus of Formiae
Saint Erasmus of Formiae was a Christian saint and martyr who died ca. 303, also known as Saint Elmo. He is venerated as the patron saint of sailors...
, Eustace
Saint Eustace
Saint Eustace, also known as Eustachius or Eustathius, was a legendary Christian martyr who lived in the 2nd century AD. A martyr of that name is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, which, however, judges that the legend recounted about him is "completely fabulous." For that reason...
, George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
, Giles
Saint Giles
Saint Giles was a Greek Christian hermit saint from Athens, whose legend is centered in Provence and Septimania. The tomb in the abbey Giles was said to have founded, in St-Gilles-du-Gard, became a place of pilgrimage and a stop on the road that led from Arles to Santiago de Compostela, the...
, Margaret of Antioch, Pantaleon
Saint Pantaleon
Saint Pantaleon , counted in the West among the late-medieval Fourteen Holy Helpers and in the East as one of the Holy Unmercenary Healers, was a martyr of Nicomedia in Bithynia during the Diocletian persecution of 303 AD...
and Vitus
Vitus
Saint Vitus was a Christian saint from Sicily. He died as a martyr during the persecution of Christians by co-ruling Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian in 303. Vitus is counted as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers of the Roman Catholic Church....
; it is further consecrated to the “Penitent”, Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
. In 1758, there were 108 Catholics in Mutterschied. Reformed parishioners objected to the building of the church. On 28 July 1766, Christoph Saxemeyer became the first person from Mutterschied to emigrate to Hungary’s Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
region. It was, however, another 21 years before the others followed, on 27 October 1787.
Napoleonic times
Beginning in 1794, the Hunsrück lay under FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
rule, and the patchwork of various states in the region was swept away. Mutterschied was plundered by French Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
troops, and the court books were burnt. Mutterschied belonged to the Mairie (“Mayoralty”) of Simmern. In 1796, there was rinderpest
Rinderpest
Rinderpest was an infectious viral disease of cattle, domestic buffalo, and some other species of even-toed ungulates, including buffaloes, large antelopes and deer, giraffes, wildebeests and warthogs. After a global eradication campaign, the last confirmed case of rinderpest was diagnosed in 2001...
in Mutterschied; it all but wiped the village’s livestock out. At this time, Mutterschied had 197 inhabitants in 38 houses with 28 barns. In 1805, Nicolas Littger from Mutterschied became the Adjunkt (mayor’s representative) of Simmern. Between 1805 and 1807, the forest hitherto communally held was split up and shared out to various municipalities. Mutterschied got 102 ha. In 1806 and 1807, hundreds of fruit trees were planted within the municipality’s limits. In 1809, Mutterschied had 261 inhabitants. In 1813, a new graveyard was laid out on the road to Argenthal
Argenthal
Argenthal is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, up from the village. In 1814, French rule came to an end and the Hunsrück was occupied by the Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
ns until the end of the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
in 1816.
Prussian times
In 1816, the whole Hunsrück became PrussiaPrussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n, but for the Birkenfelder Land (Principality of Birkenfeld), which went to the Duchy (later Grand Duchy) of Oldenburg. It was in this time that the Regierungsbezirk
Regierungsbezirk
In Germany, a Government District, in German: Regierungsbezirk – is a subdivision of certain federal states .They are above the Kreise, Landkreise, and kreisfreie Städte...
of Koblenz and the district (Landkreis) of Simmern came into being. Mutterschied itself, meanwhile, remained in its Mairie of Simmern, although this was now Germanized to the Bürgermeisterei of Simmern (meaning the same); from this time forth and long afterwards, the mayor was Peter-Josef Rottmann.
In 1820, the following people were earning a living at various trades: Christoph Sehn (wine steward), Adam Martin (linen weaver), Friedrich Öhl (linen weaver), Peter Martin (linen weaver), Peter Zillig (linen weaver), Peter Marbach (shoemaker), Andreas Diel (carpenter), Valentin Martin (tailor), Christoph Beil (tailor), Christoph Reuther (blacksmith), Jacob Baumgarten (porcelain dealer), Christoph Baumgarten (gardener), Adam Vogt (linen weaver). In 1824, Mutterschied citizen Nicolas Schneider junior (Schneirer-Nicels) began a “housebook” into which until 1870 he entered things of importance, such as the growing of Krundbirnen in 1829. This was a local variation of Grundbirnen, literally “ground pears”, that is to say, potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es.
In 1830, there was a great fire in Mutterschied, and three farms had to be built all over again. The Ludwig, Kunz and Jost properties arose once again by 1833 with a typical Franconia
Franconia
Franconia is a region of Germany comprising the northern parts of the modern state of Bavaria, a small part of southern Thuringia, and a region in northeastern Baden-Württemberg called Tauberfranken...
n farm layout. In the mid 1830s, there was some unusual weather. Nicolas Schneider reported on 25 March 1834: “It is to be noted, and this is a benchmark for posterity, that in this year, even in the month of January, one could gather green fodder in the fields every day and there were flowers in the gardens and thus far, almost no snow has been seen.”
In 1838, a school building was built to serve as an Evangelical
Evangelical Church in Germany
The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
and Catholic elementary school. In 1840, Mutterschied had 474 inhabitants. In the years 1843 to 1854, there was widespread hunger. The famine became so bad that a considerable portion of the population emigrated to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. A particularly great wave of emigration came in 1845 when 49 people went to Brazil.
The year 1848 brought revolution
Revolutions of 1848 in the German states
The Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, also called the March Revolution – part of the Revolutions of 1848 that broke out in many countries of Europe – were a series of loosely coordinated protests and rebellions in the states of the German Confederation, including the Austrian Empire...
. Mutterschied produced two men who took part in the lawmaking bodies that came out of the revolution: Jacob Prinz served in the Prussian National Assembly
Prussian National Assembly
The Prussian National Assembly came into being after the 1848 revolutions and was tasked with drawing up a constitution for the Kingdom of Prussia. It first met in the Berlin Singakademie....
and Peter Wald I in the Frankfurt Parliament
Frankfurt Parliament
The Frankfurt Assembly was the first freely elected parliament for all of Germany. Session was held from May 18, 1848 to May 31, 1849 in the Paulskirche at Frankfurt am Main...
. The municipality helped the poorest with all their strength, for example by selling valuable oak. In 1864, Mutterschied had 480 inhabitants, 308 ha of land and 8 ha of municipal woodland within its limits. In 1868, Mutterschied’s first fire brigade list was drawn up.
Even into the 19th century, there was a Yeniche ironworking community between Mutterschied and Altweidelbach
Altweidelbach
Altweidelbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
whose graveyard can still be discerned.
Imperial times
The Empire brought along with it greater autonomy for municipalities; Mutterschied had its own mayor, bearing the title Vorsteher (“forestander”) rather than Bürgermeister. In 1876, 48 Mutterschied men were listed as firefighters. On 12 and 13 June 1904, the Mutterschied veterans’ club held its anniversary festival. On 12 July that same year, 28 men founded a gymnastic club, TuS 04 Mutterschied. In 1905, Mutterschied had 367 inhabitants. In the First World War, 19 men from Mutterschied fell, and one went missingMissing in action
Missing in action is a casualty Category assigned under the Status of Missing to armed services personnel who are reported missing during active service. They may have been killed, wounded, become a prisoner of war, or deserted. If deceased, neither their remains nor grave can be positively...
.
Weimar times
In the time between the world wars, the RhinelandRhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
was occupied by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In 1923, the French occupational forces deported railway families from the Hunsrück after the great railway strike
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
. Among these was Mutterschied’s Peter Metzger along with his wife and five children. Only after a year were they allowed to come back. In 1925, Mutterschied had 392 inhabitants. In 1932, another new graveyard was laid out.
The Third Reich
The Nazis forced the introduction of interdenominational schooling for EvangelicalEvangelical Church in Germany
The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
and Catholic schoolchildren. Some people from Mutterschied became victims of state arbitrariness. In 1939, Mutterschied had 364 inhabitants. In late April 1942, the churchbell was taken away for war requirements. In the Second World War, 19 men from Mutterschied fell, and three went missing. In 1944 and 1945, there were prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
in Mutterschied, about 6 Ukrainians
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
and Poles
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. They were repatriated in 1945, although one Pole, Alex B., chose to stay. On 16 March 1945, the village was occupied by the Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; members of a German military support unit who were in the village were captured and imprisoned.
West Germany
Since 1946, Mutterschied has been part of the then newly founded stateStates of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of 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 ....
.
In 1949, the church got a new bell frame, and the new bell was dedicated by Dean Hardt. In 1957, Mutterschied had 308 inhabitants. Flurbereinigung
Flurbereinigung
Flurbereinigung is the German word used to describe land reforms in various countries, especially Germany and Austria. The term can best be translated as land consolidation. Another European country where those land reforms have been carried out is France...
was undertaken in 1958, and in the time that followed, outlying farms (Aussiedlerhöfe) were built on the Rheinbach. In 1963, Mutterschied had 327 inhabitants. In 1964, a fire in Mutterschied burnt two homesteads down. In 1965, a new building area arose on the cadastral area known as the “Hundsacker” (“Dog’s Field”). In 1966, Mutterschied had 383 inhabitants. In 1968, the school in Mutterschied was closed. About 1970, a number of new farms were established. Beginning in 1970, Mutterschied’s demographics
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
changed with the arrival of the first Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
nationals. In 1980, the municipal coat of 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...
was approved. In 1984, the church’s exterior and the churchyard were renovated. In 1985, Mutterschied had 434 inhabitants. In 1986, the old school was rededicated as the new community centre.
Since Reunification
On 23 June 1991, a new altar was consecrated in Mutterschied by Vicar General Gerhard Jakob (d. 1999), who later became Auxiliary Bishop of Trier. In 2000, the Rheinbach farms passed to SimmernSimmern
Simmern is a town of 8,000 inhabitants in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, the district seat of the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis, and the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde...
, and Mutterschied also bought more land. In 2001, another new building area was laid out up from the Murschbach. The village was expanded into this area. In 2004, the gymnastic club marked its centenary. In 2008, the Chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
of the Fourteen Holy Helpers
Fourteen Holy Helpers
The Fourteen Holy Helpers are a group of saints venerated together in Roman Catholicism because their intercession is believed to be particularly effective, especially against various diseases...
and Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
marked its 250th anniversary of consecration
Municipal council
The council is made up of 8 council members, who were elected by majority votePlurality voting system
The plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
Coat of arms
The municipality’s armsCoat 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 be described thus: A pale paly bendy argent and azure between gules a palm leaf palewise Or and sable a lion rampant of the fourth armed and langued of the third.
Culture and sightseeing
Buildings
The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-PalatinateRhineland-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 ....
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
- The Fourteen Holy HelpersFourteen Holy HelpersThe Fourteen Holy Helpers are a group of saints venerated together in Roman Catholicism because their intercession is believed to be particularly effective, especially against various diseases...
’ Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche 14 Nothelfer), Simmerner Straße 4 – 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...
, 1751-1754 - Otto-Schneider-Straße 2 – former schoolSchoolA school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
; Late ClassicistClassicismClassicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for classical antiquity, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. The art of classicism typically seeks to be formal and restrained: of the Discobolus Sir Kenneth Clark observed, "if we object to his restraint...
plastered building, 1838 - Riesweiler Weg 4 – timber-frameTimber framingTimber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
Quereinhaus (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street), sided, half-hipped roof, early 19th century
External links
- http://www.swr.de/hierzuland-rp/archiv/2005/12/06/index.htmlMutterschied in the 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....
programme Hierzuland] - Municipality’s official webpage