Blankenrath
Blankenrath | |
---|---|
Location of Blankenrath within Cochem-Zell district | |
Zell (Mosel) | |
Government | |
• Mayor (2019–24) | Jochen Hansen[1] |
Area | |
• Total | 4.59 km2 (1.77 sq mi) |
Elevation | 410 m (1,350 ft) |
Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 1,697 |
• Density | 370/km2 (960/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 56865 |
Dialling codes | 06545 |
Vehicle registration | COC, ZEL |
Website | www.blankenrath.de |
Blankenrath is an
Geography
Location
The municipality lies in the Hunsrück, near Bundesstraße 421. Its lowest elevation is 400 m above sea level and its highest 450 m above sea level.
Climate
Yearly
Name
The name “Blankenrath” means bare, white clearing. It is called, after a former daily reality in the municipality, “The clearing at the white stone” (meant here is the former quarry on the mill path).[3]
History
Blankenrath's history reaches back to the 9th and 10th centuries, to a time when sickness and wars gave rise to a need for people to seek homes away from the crowded river valleys, such as the nearby
Witnessed in history, however, is Gerlach von Braunshorn's enfeoffment with the Blankenrath court in 1347 by Count Johann von Kleve. In 1362, upon Gerlach's death, it passed by marriage into the Winneburg Counts’ ownership. Later, the landlordship was shared by the Electorate of Trier, the Counts of Sponheim and the Counts of Beilstein. This arrangement began when two of Gerlach's grandsons, namely Gerlach and Cuno von Winneburg, acquired their grandfather's old rights. They could not keep them, however, nor meet their obligations owing to a crushing debt load. Thus, they pledged their holdings to the Electorate of Trier in 1375 for 17,000 Gulden. Their descendants did not pay off their pledge debt to the Electorate of Trier – which was 17,400 Gulden with the interest added – until 164 years after the original transaction, by which time there was no hope of their family's ever regaining its former standing in the community. The Electorate's and the Sponheim comital family's influence had grown so great, that it had become impossible for the now supposedly debt-free Winneburg-Beilstein family (as it was now known) to wield any power.
In 1690, the whole village was destroyed in the ravages of war. Only three farms on the village's outskirts were spared this calamity.
Meanwhile, disputes over who had the lordly rights in Blankenrath continued as time wore on. All together, the disagreement lasted more than two and a half centuries, even reaching the
Beginning in 1794, Blankenrath lay under
Politics
Municipal council
The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected by proportional representation at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:[5]
FWG 1 | FWG 2 | Total | |
2009 | 10 | 6 | 16 seats |
2004 | 9 | 7 | 16 seats |
Mayor
Blankenrath's mayor is Jochen Hansen, and his deputies are Thomas Geisen and Jürgen Hastenpflug.[6][7]
Coat of arms
The municipality's arms might be described thus: Per fess enhanced, party per pale argent a cross sable and argent a cross gules, and gules a bugle-horn sinister of the first.
The black cross stands for the Cologne Cathedral Foundation, the red one for the Prince-Bishopric of Trier. The bugle-horn is the charge borne by the Braunshorn noble family in Beilstein.
The arms have been borne since 5 January 1981.[8]
Culture and sightseeing
Buildings
The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
- Catholic Church of the Assumption of Mary (Kirche Maria Himmelfahrt), Walhausener Straße – Romanesque tower, Baroque aisleless church, 1761, Romanesque Revival portico; outside Pietà, Gothic Revival crucifix, 19th century; whole complex with old graveyard.
- Hesweiler Straße 1 – villa, Expressionist plastered building, 1933; whole complex with garden.
- Hesweiler Straße 12 – timber-frame Quereinhaus (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street) from 1876; whole complex with barn.
- Hunsrückstraße 17 – timber-frame Quereinhaus, plastered, hipped mansard roof, 1785, characterizes village’s appearance.
- Hunsrückstraße 22 – timber-frame estate complex along the street, 18th/19th century.
- Schulstraße 3 – former school, Swiss chalet style building with mansard roof from 1914.[9]
Religion
There is a
Clubs
- Sportverein 1927 Blankenrath e.V. (sport club)
- Tennisclub Blankenrath e.V.
- Blankenrather Carneval Verein 1972 e.V. (BCV, Carnival club)
- Heimat- und Verkehrsverein (local history and transport club)
- Trachtengruppe (costume group)
- Musikverein "Kirchspielmusikanten“ (“Parish Musician” music club)
- Männergesangsverein "Liederkranz“ (men's singing club)
- Kinderchor "Rainbow Company“ (children's choir)
- Schützenverein "St. Hubertus“ (shooting club)
Economy and infrastructure
Education
- Catholic kindergarten
- Municipal kindergarten
- Realschule)
Other institutions
- Youth centre
- Bildungswerk (educational institute)
- “Waldpark” seniors’ house
- Volunteer fire brigade
References
- ^ Direktwahlen 2019, Landkreis Cochem-Zell, Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz, accessed 9 August 2021.
- Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz. 2023.
- ^ Blankenrath’s name
- ^ Blankenrath’s history
- ^ Kommunalwahl Rheinland-Pfalz 2009, Gemeinderat
- ^ Blankenrath’s mayor
- ^ Blankenrath’s council
- ^ Description and explanation of Blankenrath’s arms
- ^ Directory of Cultural Monuments in Cochem-Zell district
External links
- Municipality’s official webpage (in German)