Kaifenheim
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Kaifenheim is an – 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 , a kind of collective municipality – in the
Cochem-Zell Cochem-Zell (German: ''Landkreis Cochem-Zell'') is a district (''Kreis'') in the north-west of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Mayen-Koblenz, Rhein-Hunsrück, Bernkastel-Wittlich, and Vulkaneifel. History In 1816 the di ...
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, municip ...
in
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) 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 sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kaisersesch, whose seat is in the like-named town.


Geography

Kaifenheim lies in the ''Vordereifel'' (“Further
Eifel The Eifel (; , ) is a low mountain range in western Germany, eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Com ...
”), more or less halfway between
Mayen Mayen () is a town in the Mayen-Koblenz, Mayen-Koblenz District of the Rhineland-Palatinate Federal State of Germany, in the eastern part of the Volcanic Eifel Region. As well as the main town, additional settlements include Alzheim, Kürrenberg, ...
and
Cochem Cochem () is the seat of and the biggest town in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With just over 5,000 inhabitants, Cochem falls just behind Kusel, in the Kusel district, as Germany's second smallest district seat. Since ...
in the northern part of the district. The
Autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...
A 48 runs nearby, affording a quick link to Kaisersesch, Mayen and
Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...
. The municipality's population is 853. The countryside here is characterized by fields and meadows mostly used for
agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
. There are streams, both big and small, the biggest of which is the Elzbach. This is spanned near Kaifenheim by an Autobahn bridge that is more than 100 m high.


History

In 1005, Kaifenheim had its first documentary mention. The document reads: “1005 Aug 13 King Henry II donated to the Adalbert Foundation in
Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...
, among other things, KIVENHEIM in the ''Gau'' of Meinvelt of the County of Bechelius.” More than three centuries later, in 1334, Kaifenheim became a parish seat. As can be seen in the first documentary mention, the village's name has not always had its current form. Over the centuries, history has recorded the following forms: CAUPONIACUM, Kievenheim (in the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
), Kavenheim, Kevenheim, Kewenheim, Keyfenheim, Keiffenheim. The last variant – with two Fs – is also a surname found in the Mayen area. A 1745 Visitation report from the Rural Chapter of Ochtendung, Archdeaconry of Carden, states: ''Keyfenheim, Item nullum cathedratium; 3 ½ schilling Koltsche secundum antigum registrum Item communitas in ultima sinode novem summeren avence, et campanator unum pullum et summerum avence et manipulum luminis, et inde habet expensas . Item casta una in Aclesia 3 hall. Item officium 1 1/1 hall'', or “Keyfenheim, no cathedraticum, the municipality must give 9 ''Simmer'' of
oats The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural). Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop, as their seed ...
for the horses; 1 ''Simmer'' of oats, 1 chicken and one bundle of candles are to be given by the sexton; craftsmen pay 1½ ''Heller''.” According to documents kept at the Archdeaconry, Kaifenheim received visitations in 1563, 1569, 1620, 1728, 1778 and 1832. On 26 October 1755, strong
earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...
s were reported to have shaken the
Eifel The Eifel (; , ) is a low mountain range in western Germany, eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Com ...
-
Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...
region. There was heavy damage in some places: trees were uprooted and walls fell down. Further earthquakes were reported until 1759. In 1780, the
rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...
was built. About 1790, Kaifenheim was stricken with another disaster when the local livestock came down with
anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...
. Among the human population, meanwhile, there was
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
. All livestock was driven out of the village to a meadow, nowadays known as Altenstall, while the people, who had stopped burying their dead because it led to the spread of the illness, turned to Saint Wendelin for help in their time of need. They promised him that, if he could help them, they would build a
chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
in his honour. Wendelin apparently helped, but the people reneged on their promise and built no chapel, whereupon Kaifenheim was stricken with an even worse livestock disease, which all but killed off all the village's cattle. The people once more turned to Saint Wendelin, and repeated their promise of a chapel. Wendelin helped once more, and in 1798, a chapel consecrated to him was built. The toll taken by the later epidemic was considered rather light at the time – only six children died. Beginning in 1794, Kaifenheim lay under French rule. In 1815 it was assigned to the Kingdom of
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
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, Napol ...
. It was also in 1815, on the night of 17 February, that Father Jakob Weber was beset by a band of marauding robbers at the rectory who smothered him with a pillow. His housekeeper and maid were “earwitnesses” to this grisly event. Out of fear of the robbers, they did not call for help until morning. By that time, the robbers had long fled and were far away with the clergyman's money. What was left of Father Weber's estate, to a total of 216 ''Thaler'', was bequeathed to the local schoolchildren. By 1825, the church had fallen into such disrepair that celebration of the
Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...
had to be transferred to the nearby ''Schwanenkirche'' (“Swan Church”), and in 1839, the police closed the old church for safety's sake, for fear that it would collapse. In November 1828 several families, (one being of the Irmiter clan), and mainly the family with the surname Werner, emigrated to
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
and to the USA on board the " Marques De Viana" along with others and were part of the first
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
migration to Brazil along those who were on board the " Luiza". On 14 April 1841 ( Easter Tuesday), the foundation stone was laid for the building of the parish church that still stands today. Tragically, during construction, on 30 May 1841, at about 11 o’clock in the morning, four building workers on the project were killed in an accident when a
scaffold Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other human-made structures. Scaffolds are widely u ...
collapsed, sending five men to the ground 50 ''Fuß'' (local feet – about 17 m) below. There was only one survivor. In April 1843, 13 families from Kaifenheim and Brachtendorf emigrated to the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Three more families followed them on 11 June 1844. On 3 August 1844, Father Nalbach celebrated Mass for the first time in the new church, whose building costs had amounted to somewhere between 12,000 and 13,000 ''Thaler''. Despite the church's own relative youth, one of the bells hanging there is quite old, dating from 1450. It was then the old school's turn to be shut down by the police, but a new schoolhouse was built by 1846 for 3,000 ''Thaler''. In 1863 and 1864, a bridge was built over the Elz to improve the road link with Mayen. This cost 1,700 ''Thaler''. On 6 June 1865 (
Whit Monday Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday, also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit, is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a moveable feast in the Christian liturgical calendar. It is moveable because it is determined by the date of Easter. In ...
) at 10 o’clock in the evening, almost a fourth of the village burnt down in a devastating fire that saw 17 houses and 18 barns destroyed. Most of the younger villagers were away at a dancing event in Brachtendorf when the fire struck, leaving those in the village with rather little immediate help. Brachtendorf itself later lost 18 houses in a fire on 1 August 1872. Modern communications came to Kaifenheim on 1 September 1901 when a telephone post opened in the village. A new financial institution, the
Raiffeisenbank Raiffeisenbank or Raiffeisen Bank refers to cooperative banks in Europe that are rooted in the early credit unions of Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen. The name is found in: * Raiffeisen Banking Group, Austrian group of cooperative banks ** Raiffeisen ...
, was founded on 25 May 1902. In 1907, at Mayor Surges's behest, a standing
fire brigade A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and ...
was established. In 1912, Josef Fuhrmann, who had emigrated to
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
with his family in 1868, came back to visit friends and kin in Kaifenheim and Gamlen. He had the great fortune to have the plans for his return trip to the United States ruined. Owing to the great demand, he could not get a ticket for the ship on which he had wanted to sail – the ''Titanic''. This was also lucky for Kaifenheim, for years after Josef Fuhrmann's return to Iowa, he helped greatly with the installation of a new High Altar at the local church. The cost for this was 40,000 Marks, fully half of which came from Mr. Fuhrmann, allowing the altar's cost to be covered in cash. The other half of the cost was covered by others’ donations. In the spring of 1923, electric lighting came to Kaifenheim. Other infrastructure improvements included upgrades to all village streets in 1926 and the beginning of a postal bus service to Kaifenheim in 1930. Even during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the trend continued, with a watermain being installed in 1940. The war also brought disaster for one RAF
bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...
at Kaifenheim, but spared everyone on the ground. It crashed on 26 September 1944, killing all seven aboard. According to eyewitnesses, the burning aircraft circled over Kaifenheim, losing an engine, which fell down into a garden on Bachstraße after bouncing off a roof. Had it broken through the roof, it might well have killed the woman who was sleeping in the house at the time. A gunner came down, too, complete with his machine gun and
turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...
, falling onto Hauptstraße (the village's main street). The bomber then crashed in a meadow near the outlying centre of Besch, bursting into flames easily owing to the load of
white phosphorus White phosphorus, yellow phosphorus, or simply tetraphosphorus (P4) is an allotrope of phosphorus. It is a translucent waxy solid that quickly yellows in light (due to its photochemical conversion into red phosphorus), and impure white phospho ...
incendiary bombs that it had been carrying. Nobody on the ground was injured, and even buildings were spared any significant damage. The recently gathered harvest was left unscathed. As a memorial, and to give thanks for deliverance from what might have been a much worse disaster, a ''Heiligenhäuschen'' (a small, shrinelike structure consecrated to a saint or saints) with a Madonna was built. Since 1946, Kaifenheim has been part of the then newly founded
state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...
of
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) 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 sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
. In that same year, a volunteer fire brigade was established. In 1952, the local drum corps, ''Wanderlust'', for the first time produced
Passion play The Passion Play or Easter pageant is a dramatic Play (theatre), presentation depicting the Passion of Jesus: his Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus, trial, suffering and death. The viewing of and participation in Passion Plays is a traditional part of L ...
s. The proceeds went to help with the fund for the restoration of the ''Schwanenkirche'' (“Swan Church”) in
Roes Roes may refer to: People * Alexander of Roes (died after 1288) * Geoff Roes (born 1976), American ultra-marathon runner * Georges Roes (1889–1945), French sport shooter * Michael Roes (born 1960), German writer and filmmaker * Peter Roes ( ...
, which had been destroyed in 1944 in an air raid. On 11 July 1952, a fire claimed two barns. In November of the same year, the first passenger car made its appearance in Kaifenheim. By 1954, there were seven in the village. A new school was dedicated on 17 October 1964. That year also saw work begin on the Autobahn bridge over the Elz valley. Its height above the valley floor would reach 108 m and its length 384 m. It was finished in September 1966. This was followed in 1968 by the opening of
Autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...
A 48, which crosses the bridge. In 1984, the parish of Kaifenheim marked its 650th anniversary. In 2001, the village was expanded with three new streets: Bergstraße, Neustraße and Ringstraße. From 10 to 12 June 2005, Kaifenheim celebrated one thousand years of existence. One of the highlights was an appearance by
Bläck Fööss The Bläck Fööss ( ) are a music group from Cologne, Germany, started in 1970. From 1973 to 2003 Werner Dies was producer of the music group. Name of the band The band's name in Kölsch, a local dialect of Ripuarian, in which the group pr ...
.


Politics


Municipal council

The council is made up of 12 council members, who were elected by
majority vote A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the "#Related terms, Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a Set (mathematics), set consisting of more than half of the se ...
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.


Mayor

Kaifenheim's mayor is Reinhard Schmitt, and his deputies are Bettina Kaiser and Renate Johann.


Culture and sightseeing


Regular events

* ''Waschhäuschenfest'': The “Little Washing House Festival” is held on the second weekend in August at the village fountain on Kapellenstraße. It is organized and staged by local clubs. * ''Kirmes'': The traditional
kermis Kermesse, or kermis, or kirmess, is an outdoor fair or festival usually organized for charitable purposes. The term was derived from 'kerk' (church) and 'mis' (mass) in the original Dutch language term, and was borrowed in English, French, Spa ...
is held on the second weekend in September at the municipal hall. It is organized and staged by local clubs. * Theatre: The Kaifenheim Theatre Club puts on a comedy on several weekends in November. This is performed in local dialect.


Buildings

The following are listed buildings or sites in
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) 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 sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
’s Directory of Cultural Monuments: *
Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...
’s
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Parish Church (''Pfarrkirche St. Nikolaus''), Kirchweg 5 – three-naved
hall church A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...
, 1841–1842, building inspector Ferdinand Nebel * Hauptstraße 17 – rectory, building with hipped roof, 1778; in the garden grave crosses, 18th century, cross, 20th century; whole complex with Saint Wendelin's
Chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...
and former graveyard * Saint Wendelin's Catholic Chapel –
aisleless church An 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 on either side of the nave and separated from the nave by col ...
, from 1798; grave cross, from 1551; whole complex with former graveyard and rectory * On ''Landesstraße'' (State Road) 109 – wayside cross, from 1614 * Kaifenheimer Mühle (mill) – chapel; aisleless church, from 1895 * North of Kaifenheim –
basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
wayside cross with
Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...
group, from 1672 * Northeast of Kaifenheim – wayside cross, from 1646Directory of Cultural Monuments in Cochem-Zell district
/ref>


References


External links


Municipality’s official webpage
{{Authority control Cochem-Zell