As early as the
Stone Age, there is evidence of human habitation in the Buchenloch, a nearby cave. In the
Bronze Age the
Dietzenley was used by the
Celts as a
refuge castle. In
Roman times a temple and dwellings were known to have existed, and remnants of them have been preserved.
One form of the name Gerolstein first appeared in connection with the building of the
Löwenburg in 1115, which was then named the Burg Gerhardstein.
Town rights were granted to Gerolstein in 1336.[3] In 1691, the town was almost completely destroyed when it was liberated from
French occupation by troops from the
Duchy of Jülich. After reconstruction, a devastating fire burnt down the town in 1708, and again in 1784. In the 1801
Treaty of Lunéville, Gerolstein, along with all of the area on the left bank of the
Rhine river, was given to France, and wasn't returned to German control until 1815. As a landholder,
Count Sternberg-Manderscheid acquired the holdings formerly belonging to the monasteries at Weissenau and Schussenried in
Upper Swabia in the 1803 Reichsdeputationshauptschluss, among other things, to offset his loss of Blankenheim,
Jünkerath, Gerolstein and Dollendorf. It is known that water—from the
spring that once was used by the Celts and the Romans—was bottled and sold beginning in 1724. This still forms the basis for today's
mineral water industry in Gerolstein. Late in the
Second World War, in both 1944 and 1945, Gerolstein's status as a
railway junction-town brought
Allied air raids down on the town, and 80% of it was destroyed. Town rights were granted Gerolstein once again in 1953.
Bewingen
Bewingen is Gerolstein's northernmost outlying centre, or Stadtteil, located three kilometres (about 1.86 miles) from the town center. Here, the
Kyll river flows in a great arc around the mighty
dolomite and
basalt massif that juts out from the west, eastwards. The valley narrows and there is only enough room for the
railway line, a field road, and the river itself. The road finds its way to Gerolstein over the Bewinger Höhe (heights), thus shortening the way to the nearby
middle centre. The local lay of the land was brought about by volcanic activity that created two volcanic peaks—the
Kasselburg massif, with the Burlich and the Hahn ("
Cock") on the Kyll river's west bank, and the Rockeskyller Kopf on the east—whose volcanic minerals and deposits of
lava,
ash, and cinders during the
Quaternary period narrowed the river valley.
The place-name ending —ingen points to early
Frankish settlement. Bewingen was first mentioned in a document in 1218 as a holding of the church and monastery of Niederehe. From that mention it is known that the Brothers Theoderich, Alexander, and Albero, from Castle Kerpen, established an endowment for the
Premonstratensian nuns in the years between 1162 and 1175. The next documentary mention came in 1282, when "Gerhard VI of Blankenheim" acquired the land, as well as Steffeln, Niederbettingen, and Bewingen. In the
Middle Ages, the lords at
Kasselburg (a castle in
Pelm) and those at Castle Gerhardstein (Gerolstein) held lands and tithing rights in the village.[4] In the time of
French rule, beginning in 1794, Bewingen was assigned to the Mairie ("Mayoralty") of
Rockeskyll, and the village remained within the Bürgermeisterei (also "Mayoralty") of Rockeskyll up to
Prussian times. The formerly self-administering municipality of Bewingen was amalgamated with the town of Gerolstein in 1969.
One of the oldest buildings is the small chapel consecrated to
Saint Brice, which underwent repairs in 1744 and 1745.[5] Its
Late Gothic choir suggests that there was an earlier church here, built perhaps around 1500.
Büscheich-Niedereich
Büscheich-Niedereich lies roughly 5 km from the town centre. In 1352, Büscheich had its first documentary mention; Niedereich's first documentary mention did not come until 1398.
In 1501, the hereditary estate of Eich (Niedereich) belonged to the County of Gerolstein. On 13 May 1661, the hereditary estate was divided into Niedereich and Obereich.
When the French occupied the
Eifel in the 18th century, the Counts lost all their holdings. After the French were driven out, the Eifel became
Prussian. In 1815, the Prussian government changed Obereich's name to Büscheich.
Gerolstein's
subdivisions, besides the main town (also called Gerolstein), are Bewingen, Büscheich-Niedereich, Gees, Hinterhausen, Lissingen, Michelbach, Müllenborn, Oos, and Roth.
Town council
The council is made up of 24 members elected by
proportional representation at municipal elections, with the mayor as chairman.
FWG = Freie Wählergemeinschaft Landkreis Vulkaneifel e.V.
BUV = BürgerUnion Vulkaneifel e.V.
Mayor
Gerolstein's mayor is chosen every five years in a direct vote. The current officeholder is Uwe Schneider (SPD).[1]
Amalgamations
On 7 June 1969, the municipalities of Bewingen, Hinterhausen, and Lissingen were amalgamated with Gerolstein. Büscheich, Gees, Michelbach, Müllenborn, Oos, and Roth were amalgamated on 1 December 1972.
Coat of arms
The town's
coat of arms consists of a lion rampant sable (black and standing on the left hind foot) armed and langued gules (red tongue, teeth, and claws viable) surmounted at the shoulder by a label of five points of the last.
The town's arms are those formerly borne by the
Counts of Gerolstein-Blankenheim, the former landholders, and are from as early as 1567 when they appeared in a seal used by the town's Schöffen (roughly "lay jurists"). The town has borne these arms since about 1890, but no official approval to do so is known to have been issued.[7]
Town partnerships
Gerolstein has fostered partnerships with the following places:
For all local public transport three tariff systems apply: the Verkehrsverbund Region Trier (VRT), the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg, and for journeys crossing tariff zones, the NRW-Tarif.
The German army (Bundeswehr) Eifel barracks (Eifelkaserne) house the 281st headquarters support battalion (Führungsunterstützungsbataillon 281).
Culture and sightseeing
Gerolstein with Munterley, Auberg and Rothe Hecke
In addition to the attractions listed below, other things to see in and around Gerolstein include the dried-up
maar called Papenkaule; the Buchenloch, a 36-metre-long
karst cave that served as a dwelling for Stone Age people; the Mühlsteinhöhlen ("millstone caves") or Eishöhlen ("ice caves") near Roth; a natural history museum; and a district local history museum. In walking distance is the Gerolsteiner Dolomiten, a
Devonian limestone reef formed by extinct
Rugosa,
Tabulata, and
Stromatoporoids, comprising the Hustley, the Munterley, and the Auber, which dominate the surrounding landscape, looming 100 meters above the valley.
Gerolstein castle (Löwenburg) ruins, Bergstraße, monumental zone, castle founded in the earlier half of the 14th century by Gerhard VI of Blankenburg and destroyed in 1691, the defensive wall in the outer bailey preserved, remnants of living quarters preserved in the main stronghold.
Evangelical Church of the Redeemer, Sarresdorfer Straße 17, cruciform central-plan building after Italo-Byzantine models, 1911–1913, complex with treed lot and fence dating from the time of building, rectory, Sarresdorfer Straße 15 a, former parish house (?), Sarresdorfer Straße 19 a,
Classicist hipped-roof building.
Saint Anne’s
Catholic Parish Church (Pfarrkirche St. Anna),
aisleless church from 1811, expanded in 1884 and 1948, complex with rectory, possibly from about 1800.
Town fortifications, Am Stadtturm 1, Hauptstraße 41, 75, Mühlenstraße 19 (monumental zone), section of 14th-century town wall between a jutting half-round tower (integrated into Hauptstraße 75) and a great tower (Am Stadtturm 1), a further section of town wall with gate remnants (Mühlenstraße 19) and a pillar-shaped town wall remnant (Hauptstraße 41).
Sarresdorfer Straße/Am Auberg –
Jewish graveyard (monumental zone), on the area of the general cemetery, opened in 1892, about 15 gravestones, oldest from 1896.
Sarresdorfer Straße – former Roman villa of Sarabodis, remnants of the Roman estate at Sarresdorf, donated in 762 by
Pepin to
Prüm Abbey, since 1913 "Museum Sarabodis".
Sarresdorfer Straße 19 a – Evangelical parish house (?)
Sarresdorfer Straße 26 – former parish house, now district local history museum,
Renaissance building from about 1550,
Baroque red-sandstone
shaft cross from the latter half of the 18th century.
Unter den Dolomiten – forester's office with half-hipped gables, Reform architecture, side building
timber-frame, partly solid, from about 1920.
At the Büschkapelle – warriors’ memorial 1848, 1864, 1866, 1870–1871, pedestal, obelisk and cross.
Büschkapelle, southeast of town in the woods,
Gothic Revival chapel, quarry stone, 1904.
So-called Fruhnertskreuz, north of town on the edge of the town forest, sandstone shaft cross from 1796 (1726?).
Bewingen
Saint Brice'sCatholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Brictius), Bewinger Straße,
Late Gothic quire, Gothic Revival nave, 17th century.
Bewinger Straße 40 – estate along street from 1914, old cobbles in yard.
Büscheich
Saint
John the Baptist’s Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Johannes Baptista), Büscheicher Straße,
aisleless church, apparently from 1670, west portal 19th century, possibly expanded after 1945.
Niedereicher Straße 6 – former school, one-floor plaster building, apparently from 1906.
Zur Dietzenley 2 – house from 1787.
Zur Dietzenley 3 – Quereinhaus (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicular to the street) from 1876.
Niedereich 18 – house with a large chimney, from 1804.
So-called Davitzkreuz, northwest of the village in the woods, Baroque shaft cross from 1764.
Gees
Saint Nicholas’s
Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Nikolaus), quarry stone
aisleless church, 1904, former quire tower, to the south a sandstone Baroque shaft cross from 1819.
At Am Bungert 1 – one-floor bakehouse from 1807.
Geeser Straße 29 – corner estate from 1860.
Geeser Straße 31 – Late Baroque plaster building, about 1800.
Geeser Straße 40 – triaxial plaster building from 1809 (?).
Geeser Straße 48 – house of a former estate complex, date unknown.
Geeser Straße 63 – Quereinhaus, late 18th century, yard partly cobbled.
So-called Jardin-Kreuz, northwest of the village on a field path, Baroque shaft cross from 1768.
Village centre, Hinterhausener Straße (monumental zone), old village centre with branch chapel and estate complexes on the ring-shaped street, 19th century, distinctive village appearance, distinctive street layout.
Hinterhausener Straße 14 – estate complex, house from 1864, commercial building.
Lissingen
Lissingen castle
Burg Lissingen (castle), Burgstraße/Klosterstraße (monumental zone), stately group of buildings on the
Kyll consisting of upper and lower castle, the
mediaeval building steadily expanded in the 14th to 17th centuries, commercial building on site of old ring wall, between upper and lower castle a four-floor tower from the 14th century, outer gate at the southwest corner of the upper castle from 1624, in the lower castle a dwelling building, essentially
Gothic, park with garden house from 1793, complex includes Klosterstraße 1: estate along street, latter half of the 19th century; Klosterstraße 3: possibly a former bursary, Baroque hipped
mansard roof.
Saint Margaret's
Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Margaretha), five-axis
aisleless church, 1932.
Saint Anthony’s
Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Antonius), An der Kirche 10,
Gothic Revivalaisleless church, 1892, sandstone shaft cross from the 1680s (last digit unclear).
An der Kirche 4 – Quereinhaus from 1774, oven porch.
An der Kirche 12 – former parish estate built of
basalt, possibly latter half of the 19th century, commercial building, yard.
Across the street from Rother Straße 40 – wayside cross, shaft cross, possibly earlier half of the 19th century.[8]
Castle of Lissingen
Lissingen Castle
On the outskirts of the outlying community of Lissingen stands the formerly moated
Lissingen Castle, near the
Kyll. The oldest parts of the building date to 1280, although the castle had already been mentioned in documents by 1212. Unlike most castles in the
Eifel, it was not destroyed. In 1559, it was divided into an upper and lower castle. The lower castle is used as an event and cultural venue.
Erlöserkirche
Gerolstein, Sarresdorfer Straße 17: Evangelical Church of the Redeemer (Erlöserkirche) with Munterley
The
EvangelicalErlöserkirche ("Church of the Redeemer") was built between 1907 and 1913 by
Franz Schwechten (the same architect who designed, among other things,
Berlin’s
Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church), and was consecrated on 15 October 1913. The interior is decorated with broad gold mosaics, round arches, and a commanding cupola.
Villa Sarabodis
Villa Sarabodis is the name given the ruins of a Roman country house –
villa rustica – which were unearthed in the course of preparatory work for building the Church of the Redeemer in 1907 and have been dated to the first century AD. The Kirchenbauverein Berlin ("Berlin Church-Building Association"), which built the Church of the Redeemer, excavated and preserved the finds. The foundation and a
hypocaust can now be viewed in a protective building.
Juddekirchhof
The Juddekirchhof, as it is known locally, is a Celtic-Roman worship site. It lies above Gerolstein on the Hustley, a part of the Gerolsteiner Dolomiten.
The Roman Marcus Victorius Pellentius had this temple complex built in AD 124. The remains of the walls measure roughly 63 by 46 metres, within which the foundations of many buildings, among which are two temples, are preserved. One temple was dedicated to
Hercules while the other was dedicated to the Celtic goddess Caiva. In 1927 and 1928, remains of the temple complex were excavated.
Famous people
Maria Reese (1889–1958), writer, journalist and politician
^"Stadtrechte Gerolstein, Gemeinde Gerolstein" [Gerolstein town rights, Gerolstein municipality]. Datenbank der Kulturgueter in der Region Trier (in German). 7 October 2003. Archived from
the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
^Dettmann, Rolf, Weber, Matthias: Das Kylltal in der Eifel, Köln 1986, S. 76
Peter Daners: Die evangelische Erlöserkirche in Gerolstein (Rheinische Kunststätten, Heft 445). Köln 2000, 24 S.,
ISBN3-88094-854-2
Hedwig Judeich: Der Ammerländer Friedrich Schwarting (1883–1918) Kirchenmaler im Kaiserreich. Tagebuchaufzeichnungen mit Dokumenten und Bildzeugnissen. Hrsg. v. Hedwig Judeich. Oldenburg (Verlag Isensee) 1989, 144 S.
ISBN3-920557-84-0
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gerolstein.