Sarmersbach
Encyclopedia
Sarmersbach 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.
Sarmersbach is in the traditional parochial area known as the Struth. The municipality’s namesake river, the Sarmersbach, rises within its bounds, emptying into the river Lieser at Nerdlen
.
times in the 9th and 10th centuries. Even earlier than that, however, Celts and Romans
had settled the broad fields. Archaeological
finds from a small Roman temple in the “Auf den Steinen” area can today be found in the State Museum in Trier
. Right near Sarmersbach ran the former Roman road between Trier and Cologne
. An ancient indulgence cross, the so-called Afelskreuz, today stands at a prominent spot, an historical procession point, and nowadays a destination for many hikers and also worshippers.
Sarmersbach experienced Germany’s long history in microcosm in the Middle Ages
. They were held by both secular lords, such as the Castle Lords of Daun, the Lords of Winneburg and the Lords of Brohl, and ecclesiastical ones such as the Archbishopric of Trier and Springiersbach Abbey, under whom the unfree peasants toiled away at compulsory labour and paid their tithe
s. Sarmersbach’s great importance in days of yore in the middle of the Struth villages can also be seen in the 14th-century Schöffenstuhl. This was the seat of seven elected Schöffen (roughly “lay jurists”), who along with their 49 colleagues in Daun
and the Daun Amtmann or the Archbishop of Trier held the assizes several times each year, meting out justice for the Amt of Daun.
The Thirty Years' War
with its attendant devastating Plague brought death to half the villagers. Almost the whole 17th century with its violent disputes between various lordly houses brought neediness, suffering and misery to the poverty-stricken Struth.
After the French Revolution
, the Eifel
, and thereby Sarmersbach too, were ceded to France
. The French administration made Sarmersbach the administrative seat of the like-named mairie (“mayoralty”), to which belonged not only Sarmersbach but also Beinhausen
, Boxberg
, Kradenbach
, Gefell
, Hörschhausen
, Katzwinkel
, Neichen
, Nerdlen
, Schönbach
and Utzerath
. This arrangement persisted into Prussia
n times in 1815 after the Congress of Vienna
(although the German
-speaking Prussians called it a Bürgermeisterei, also meaning “mayoralty”). The Prussians also grouped Sarmersbach into the Daun district in the Rhineland, and this arrangement lasted until the mid 1920s. Ever since, Sarmersbach has been administered by the Bürgermeisterei – later the Verbandsgemeinde – of Daun.
Sarmersbach was until the late 1960s a rural farming village. Since then, agriculture
has undergone a swift change in structure. While there were still 4,216 agricultural businesses in the Daun district (now the Vulkaneifel district
) in 1971, by 2000 there were fewer than 1,500. In Sarmersbach, there are still a very big computer-driven dairy
farm and a Demeter
operation, recognized as good. Changes in agriculture were parallelled by changes in the face of the village. The once characteristic timber-frame
buildings have almost without exception disappeared. New town developments are also attracting newcomers to Sarmersbach.
The municipality’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: A fess wavy argent between gules a cross of the first and vert a stag’s head caboshed ensigned with a Latin cross between the attires of the first.
The wavy fess (horizontal stripe) represents the village’s namesake brook, the Sarmersbach. The silver cross on the red field above this refers to Sarmersbach’s former inclusion in the Electoral-Trier Amt of Daun. Below the wavy fess is a stag’s head with a Latin cross on top, Saint Hubert’s attribute, thus representing the parish’s patron saint. The arms have been borne since 1984.
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.
Sarmersbach is in the traditional parochial area known as the Struth. The municipality’s namesake river, the Sarmersbach, rises within its bounds, emptying into the river Lieser at Nerdlen
Nerdlen
Nerdlen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
.
History
Sarmersbach had its first documentary mention only in 1316, but its founding may be placed in FrankishFranks
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...
times in the 9th and 10th centuries. Even earlier than that, however, Celts and Romans
Ancient 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....
had settled the broad fields. Archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
finds from a small Roman temple in the “Auf den Steinen” area can today be found in the State Museum in 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....
. Right near Sarmersbach ran the former Roman road between Trier and Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. An ancient indulgence cross, the so-called Afelskreuz, today stands at a prominent spot, an historical procession point, and nowadays a destination for many hikers and also worshippers.
Sarmersbach experienced Germany’s long history in microcosm 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...
. They were held by both secular lords, such as the Castle Lords of Daun, the Lords of Winneburg and the Lords of Brohl, and ecclesiastical ones such as the Archbishopric of Trier and Springiersbach Abbey, under whom the unfree peasants toiled away at compulsory labour and paid their tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
s. Sarmersbach’s great importance in days of yore in the middle of the Struth villages can also be seen in the 14th-century Schöffenstuhl. This was the seat of seven elected Schöffen (roughly “lay jurists”), who along with their 49 colleagues in Daun
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 :...
and the Daun Amtmann or the Archbishop of Trier held the assizes several times each year, meting out justice for the Amt of Daun.
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....
with its attendant devastating Plague brought death to half the villagers. Almost the whole 17th century with its violent disputes between various lordly houses brought neediness, suffering and misery to the poverty-stricken Struth.
After the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, 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....
, and thereby Sarmersbach too, were ceded 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...
. The French administration made Sarmersbach the administrative seat of the like-named mairie (“mayoralty”), to which belonged not only Sarmersbach but also Beinhausen
Beinhausen
Beinhausen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Boxberg
Boxberg, Rhineland-Palatinate
Boxberg is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Kradenbach
Kradenbach
Kradenbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Gefell
Gefell, Rhineland-Palatinate
Gefell is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Hörschhausen
Hörschhausen
Hörschhausen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Katzwinkel
Katzwinkel, Vulkaneifel
Katzwinkel is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Neichen
Neichen
Neichen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Nerdlen
Nerdlen
Nerdlen is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, Schönbach
Schönbach, Rhineland-Palatinate
Schönbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
and Utzerath
Utzerath
Utzerath 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...
. This arrangement persisted into 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...
n times in 1815 after 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,...
(although the German
German 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....
-speaking Prussians called it a Bürgermeisterei, also meaning “mayoralty”). The Prussians also grouped Sarmersbach into the Daun district in the Rhineland, and this arrangement lasted until the mid 1920s. Ever since, Sarmersbach has been administered by the Bürgermeisterei – later the Verbandsgemeinde – of Daun.
Sarmersbach was until the late 1960s a rural farming village. Since then, agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
has undergone a swift change in structure. While there were still 4,216 agricultural businesses in the Daun district (now 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 1971, by 2000 there were fewer than 1,500. In Sarmersbach, there are still a very big computer-driven dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
farm and a Demeter
Demeter International
Demeter International is the largest certification organization for biodynamic agriculture, and is one of three predominant organic certifiers. Its name is a reference to Demeter, the Greek goddess of grain and fertility. Demeter Biodynamic Certification is used in over 50 countries to verify that...
operation, recognized as good. Changes in agriculture were parallelled by changes in the face of the village. The once characteristic timber-frame
Timber framing
Timber 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...
buildings have almost without exception disappeared. New town developments are also attracting newcomers to Sarmersbach.
Religion
The citizens of Sarmersbach are roughly 90% Roman Catholic and belong to the Catholic parish of St. Hubertus Beinhausen with its Hilgerath parish church. In earlier times, believers from Sarmersbach needed to walk several kilometres to take part in church services in great numbers.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
Sarmersbach’s mayor is Dieter Treis, and his deputies are Gottfried Lenarz and Josef Weber.Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: Schild durch einen silbernen Wellenbalken geteilt, oben in Rot ein silbernes Balkenkreuz, unten in Grün ein silberner, hersehender Hirschkopf mit Kreuz.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 fess wavy argent between gules a cross of the first and vert a stag’s head caboshed ensigned with a Latin cross between the attires of the first.
The wavy fess (horizontal stripe) represents the village’s namesake brook, the Sarmersbach. The silver cross on the red field above this refers to Sarmersbach’s former inclusion in the Electoral-Trier Amt of Daun. Below the wavy fess is a stag’s head with a Latin cross on top, Saint Hubert’s attribute, thus representing the parish’s patron saint. The arms have been borne since 1984.
Buildings
- Saint NicholasSaint NicholasSaint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
’s Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Nikolaus), Hauptstraße 10 – biaxial 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 1788. - Hauptstraße/corner of Bergstraße – wayside cross, basaltBasaltBasalt 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...
shaft cross from 1762.