Oberstadtfeld
Encyclopedia
Oberstadtfeld 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
.
on Bundesstraße
257 in the valley of the river Kleine Kyll in the Vulkaneifel
, 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.
), Neroth
, Niederstadtfeld
, Üdersdorf
and Wallenborn
.
, Oberstadtfeld is well known for its varied fossil
s from an eventful geological past. Remnants of long-gone lifeforms, which have been preserved despite all the changes that have taken place in the rocks, show that the stone underlying the municipality is made up of marine deposits from the Lower Devonian. The fossils come from the Devonian Sea, as geologists call it, which covered not only the Eifel
but also broad areas of Central Europe
too, roughly 400 to 340 million years ago. Several lava
flows and a dried-up maar
kettle to the right of the road on the way to Üdersdorf
bear witness to volcanic activity many millennia ago.
in Oberstadtfeld amounts to 890 mm, falling into the highest fourth of the precipitation chart for all Germany. The driest month is April. The most rainfall comes in December. In that month, precipitation is 1.6 times what it is in April.
. Further documents dealing with tenancy agreements with the Lords of Castle Pyrmont come from 1392, 1447 and 1460.
About 1500, a two-naved church with middle supports was built in Oberstadtfeld. From 1503 comes a tenancy agreement with Pyrmont dealing with the mill; it was still using Pyrmont measurements up until 1780. The first available taxation roll from Oberstadtfeld in the Amt of Obermanderscheid comes from 1654. Forty-four years later, in 1698, as can be seen in a tenancy agreement, there were four Electoral estates at Oberstadtfeld: the Achterhof, the Hühnerhof, the Hundswinklerhof and the Heinenhof.
From 1787 comes the first population figure for Oberstadtfeld, which was then home to 251 inhabitants.
In 1794, the Eifel
passed to France
and was in the new Department of Sarre, and beginning in 1803, Oberstadtfeld was part of the parish of Niederstadtfeld in the Diocese of Trier. Formerly it had belonged to the greater parish of Steinborn in the Eifel deaconry in the Archdiocese of Cologne.
In 1808, the Oberstadtfeld mill was auction
ed for 1,775 French franc
s to Matthias Irmen.
In 1815, the Eifel passed to Prussia
. Oberstadtfeld’s old church was replaced with a new nave between 1837 and 1841 after it had fallen into disrepair. The old tower, however, stayed standing.
In 1840, the register of inhabitants listed 356 villagers by name. In 1888, the Heiligenhäuschen (a small, shrinelike structure consecrated to a saint or saints) in the Mark valley on the road to Niederstadtfeld
was built by Friedrich Hein as thanks for a healthy homecoming from the Franco-Prussian War
.
Great parts of Oberstadtfeld were destroyed in the early 20th century when 17 houses along with stables and barns were lost to a fire. Crown Prince Wilhelm visited Oberstadtfeld after the fire, on the occasion of a journey through the Eifel. Towards the end of the Second World War, in 1944 and 1945, Oberstadtfeld was bombed in air raids three times. Twenty-eight civilians were killed.
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: A bend indented azure between argent a barn with roof sable and Or fire gules.
The unusual bend (diagonal stripe) is taken from the arms formerly borne by the Lords of Pyrmont. In 1392, Werner von Falkenstein, the Archbishop of Trier, made it known that he had leased Oberstadtfeld and Weidenbach
from Lyse von Lussenich, Widow of Pyrmont, although these two villages were to pass on Werner’s death back to Heinrich of Pyrmont.
Once more, in 1447, another Heinrich of Pyrmont stated that he still owned the villages of Stadtfeld, and in 1503, too. A further important indicator of the lordly influence is that Pyrmont measurements were used at the Oberstadtfeld mill until 1780. The barn on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side is meant to refer to the four Electoral estates at Oberstadtfeld, the Achterhof, the Hühnerhof, the Hundswinklerhof and the Heinenhof. The state archive holds leasing protocols dealing with these estates from 1698 and 1792.
The red flame on the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side is Saint Brigid’s
attribute, thus representing the municipality’s and the church’s patron saint.
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
Oberstadtfeld lies 6 km southwest of DaunDaun, 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 :...
on Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
257 in the valley of the river Kleine Kyll in the Vulkaneifel
Vulkan 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.
Neighbouring municipalities
Oberstadtfeld’s neighbours are Pützborn (a constituent community of DaunDaun, 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 :...
), Neroth
Neroth
Neroth is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Niederstadtfeld
Niederstadtfeld
Niederstadtfeld is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Üdersdorf
Üdersdorf
Üdersdorf is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
and Wallenborn
Wallenborn
Wallenborn 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...
.
Geology
Among geologistsGeology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, Oberstadtfeld is well known for its varied fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s from an eventful geological past. Remnants of long-gone lifeforms, which have been preserved despite all the changes that have taken place in the rocks, show that the stone underlying the municipality is made up of marine deposits from the Lower Devonian. The fossils come from the Devonian Sea, as geologists call it, which covered not only 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....
but also broad areas of Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
too, roughly 400 to 340 million years ago. Several lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
flows and a dried-up maar
Maar
A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater that is caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption, an explosion caused by groundwater coming into contact with hot lava or magma. A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow crater lake. The name comes from the local Moselle...
kettle to the right of the road on the way to Üdersdorf
Üdersdorf
Üdersdorf is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
bear witness to volcanic activity many millennia ago.
Climate
Yearly precipitationPrecipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
in Oberstadtfeld amounts to 890 mm, falling into the highest fourth of the precipitation chart for all Germany. The driest month is April. The most rainfall comes in December. In that month, precipitation is 1.6 times what it is in April.
History
In 1242, Oberstadtfeld had its first direct documentary mention in a partition document between the Count of Daun and Himmerod AbbeyHimmerod Abbey
Himmerod Abbey is a Cistercian monastery in the community of Großlittgen in the Verbandsgemeinde of Manderscheid in the district of Bernkastel-Wittlich, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located in the Eifel, in the valley of the Salm.-First foundation:Himmerod Abbey was founded in 1134 by Saint...
. Further documents dealing with tenancy agreements with the Lords of Castle Pyrmont come from 1392, 1447 and 1460.
About 1500, a two-naved church with middle supports was built in Oberstadtfeld. From 1503 comes a tenancy agreement with Pyrmont dealing with the mill; it was still using Pyrmont measurements up until 1780. The first available taxation roll from Oberstadtfeld in the Amt of Obermanderscheid comes from 1654. Forty-four years later, in 1698, as can be seen in a tenancy agreement, there were four Electoral estates at Oberstadtfeld: the Achterhof, the Hühnerhof, the Hundswinklerhof and the Heinenhof.
From 1787 comes the first population figure for Oberstadtfeld, which was then home to 251 inhabitants.
In 1794, 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....
passed to France
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...
and was in the new Department of Sarre, and beginning in 1803, Oberstadtfeld was part of the parish of Niederstadtfeld in the Diocese of Trier. Formerly it had belonged to the greater parish of Steinborn in the Eifel deaconry in the Archdiocese of Cologne.
In 1808, the Oberstadtfeld mill was auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
ed for 1,775 French franc
French franc
The franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...
s to Matthias Irmen.
In 1815, the Eifel passed to Prussia
Prussia
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...
. Oberstadtfeld’s old church was replaced with a new nave between 1837 and 1841 after it had fallen into disrepair. The old tower, however, stayed standing.
In 1840, the register of inhabitants listed 356 villagers by name. In 1888, the Heiligenhäuschen (a small, shrinelike structure consecrated to a saint or saints) in the Mark valley on the road to Niederstadtfeld
Niederstadtfeld
Niederstadtfeld is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
was built by Friedrich Hein as thanks for a healthy homecoming from the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
.
Great parts of Oberstadtfeld were destroyed in the early 20th century when 17 houses along with stables and barns were lost to a fire. Crown Prince Wilhelm visited Oberstadtfeld after the fire, on the occasion of a journey through the Eifel. Towards the end of the Second World War, in 1944 and 1945, Oberstadtfeld was bombed in air raids three times. Twenty-eight civilians were killed.
Municipal council
The council is made up of 12 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.
Mayor
Oberstadtfeld’s mayor is Arnold Möseler, and his deputies are Hans-Jürgen Hennen and Helmut Thönnes.Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Durch blauen, schrägrechten Stufenbalken geteilt. Vorne in Silber eine Scheune mit schwarzem Dach, hinten in Gold eine rote Flamme.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: A bend indented azure between argent a barn with roof sable and Or fire gules.
The unusual bend (diagonal stripe) is taken from the arms formerly borne by the Lords of Pyrmont. In 1392, Werner von Falkenstein, the Archbishop of Trier, made it known that he had leased Oberstadtfeld and Weidenbach
Weidenbach, Vulkaneifel
Weidenbach 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...
from Lyse von Lussenich, Widow of Pyrmont, although these two villages were to pass on Werner’s death back to Heinrich of Pyrmont.
Once more, in 1447, another Heinrich of Pyrmont stated that he still owned the villages of Stadtfeld, and in 1503, too. A further important indicator of the lordly influence is that Pyrmont measurements were used at the Oberstadtfeld mill until 1780. The barn on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side is meant to refer to the four Electoral estates at Oberstadtfeld, the Achterhof, the Hühnerhof, the Hundswinklerhof and the Heinenhof. The state archive holds leasing protocols dealing with these estates from 1698 and 1792.
The red flame on the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side is Saint Brigid’s
Brigid of Kildare
Saint Brigit of Kildare, or Brigit of Ireland , nicknamed Mary of the Gael is one of Ireland's patron saints along with Saints Patrick and Columba...
attribute, thus representing the municipality’s and the church’s patron saint.
Buildings
- Saint Brigid’sBrigid of KildareSaint Brigit of Kildare, or Brigit of Ireland , nicknamed Mary of the Gael is one of Ireland's patron saints along with Saints Patrick and Columba...
Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Brigida), Hauptstraße 36 – 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...
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...
, 1837, Late GothicGothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
west tower, about 1500; sandstoneSandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
churchyard cross from 1726 and 1877; warriors’ memorial, 1914-1918, addition from 1945. - Hauptstraße 30 – one-floor 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...
house with knee wallKnee wallIn architecture, a knee wall is typically a short wall, usually under three feet in height. In his book A Visual Dictionary of Architecture, Francis D. K. Ching defines a Knee Wall as "A short wall supporting rafters at some intermediate position along their length." The term is derived from the...
, partly solid, from 1812 (?), parts possibly older. - Hauptstraße 34 – former school, plastered building, from 1807.
- Hauptstraße 42 – half-house from 1801, quarrystone commercial building from 1897
- On the nearby mountain, Nerother Kopf, a castle ruin named Freudenkoppe; nearby, a millstone quarry.
Natural monuments
- Sour mineral springSpring (hydrosphere)A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
(Drees), roughly 1 km from the village.