Dodenburg is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

belonging to a ''

Verbandsgemeinde A Verbandsgemeinde (; plural Verbandsgemeinden) is a low-level administrative unit in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A Verbandsgemeinde is typically composed of a small group of villages or towns. Rhine ...

'', a kind of collective municipality – in the

Bernkastel-Wittlich Bernkastel-Wittlich ( German: ''Landkreis Bernkastel-Wittlich'') is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Vulkaneifel, Cochem-Zell, Rhein-Hunsrück, Birkenfeld, Trier-Saa ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Geography

The municipality lies in the

Eifel The Eifel (; lb, Äifel, ) is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Community of ...

some 16 km west of Wittlich in the middle of broad mixed forests. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Wittlich-Land, whose seat is in Wittlich, although that town is itself not in the ''Verbandsgemeinde''.

History

In 1231, the Archbishop of Trier Theoderich documented and confirmed an accord from Himmerod Abbey with the knight Werner von der Pforte zu Bruch dealing with plots of land in Rodenerde (a long vanished village) "not far from Dodenburg and monastery" ( Heckenmünster). Werner von der Pforte was Theoderich von Bruch’s liegeman. The Dodenburg itself – a castle (''Burg'' is

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

for "castle") – had its first documentary mention in Trier documents from 1279 under the name ''Dudenburg''. This moated castle gave the place its name. It was converted between 1791 and 1794 in the Baroque style by the

Counts of Kesselstatt Emperor Josef II elevated the ''Reichsfreiherren'' (Imperial Barons) of Keselstatt to the status of ''Reichsgrafen'' (Imperial Counts) in 1776. The title of Count of Kesselstatt (German: ''Graf von Kesselstatt'') is accompanied by the style of His ...

. The two-winged building with the round corner towers, which still recall the former moated castle, is likewise today under private ownership. The park complex with its avenues still exists in its original form. Beginning in 1794, Dodenburg lay under

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

rule. In 1814 it was assigned to the Kingdom of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

at the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

. Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly founded

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 6 council members, who were elected by

majority vote A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

might in English heraldic language be described thus: Per bend sinister, argent a dragon rampant sans forelegs wings displayed gules, and barry of ten argent and azure. The numbers referring to the sinister (armsbearer’s left, viewer’s right) side ("9" and "ten") do not match because English heraldry counts the number of bars, whereas German heraldry counts the number of divisions.Scroll down for entry on heraldic term "barry".
/ref> The red dragon on a silver field is the arms once borne by the House of Kesselstatt. Dodenburg’s history was shaped considerably by the Imperial Counts (''Reichsgrafen'') of Kesselstatt. The Dodenburg castle, a former moated castle, was through a shared inheritance bequeathed in 1790 to Kasimir Friedrich von Kesselstatt. In the mid 18th century, he had been enfeoffed with it. The

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

tinctures (blue and silver) symbolize the village’s former allegiance to the Duchy of Luxembourg. The arms have been borne since 1981.

References

External links

Municipality’s official webpage

at SWR Fernsehen {{authority control Bernkastel-Wittlich