Morsbach is 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' ...

Oberbergischer Kreis The Oberbergischer Kreis (, ) is a ''Kreis'' (Districts of Germany, district) in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Ennepe-Ruhr, Märkischer Kreis, Olpe (district), Olpe, Altenkirchen (district), Altenkirchen, ...

, a district in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

near the border 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 ...

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 ...

. In 2015, Morsbach's population was 10,600. The central village, also named Morsbach, has a population of 3,400. With a number of buildings dating back to the 12th century, it is a popular spot for hikers and other nature lovers. The other important villages are Lichtenberg (population 1400) in the north, Holpe (500) in the south and Wendershagen (300) in the north-east of the municipality

Geography

Morsbach is east of

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, in the southern corner of the

near its border with

. In 2015, its population was 10,600.

Subdivisions

The municipality (''Gemeinde'') is divided into 66 subdivisions (''Ortsteile''). In alphabetical order, they are: *Alzen, Amberg, Appenhagen *Berghausen, Birken, Birzel, Bitze, Böcklingen, Breitgen, Burg Volperhausen *Ellingen, Erblingen, Euelsloch, Eugenienthal *Flockenberg, Frankenthal *Hahn, Halle, Hammer, Heide, Hellerseifen, Herbertshagen, Holpe, Hülstert *Katzenbach, Kömpel, Korseifen *Ley, Lichtenberg, Lützelseifen *Neuhöfchen, Niederasbach, Niederdorf, Niederwarnsbach, Niederzielenbach *Oberasbach, Oberholpe, Oberwarnsbach, Oberzielenbach, Ölmühle, Ortseifen *Reinshagen, Rhein, Ritterseifen, Rolshagen, Rom, Rosengarten, Rossenbach *Schlechtingen, Seifen, Siedenberg, Solseifen, Springe, Steimelhagen, Stentenbach, Stockshöhe, Straßerhof, Strick *Überasbach, Überholz *Volperhausen *Wallerhausen, Wendershagen, Wittershagen *Zinshardt

History

* 4000-1800 BC: First settlement in the region, dating back to the Neolithic Age. A stone hatchet and a fragment of a flint blade have been found. *800 AD: Morschbach is part of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. The parish of Morsbach was administered by the court officials of Sayn. *895: Morsbach is first mentioned in ''Duplicate of an Archival Book of the Inhabitants of Bonn, Saint Cassius Parish'', which also mentions the Oberberg communities. *31 March 1131: Pope Innocent II mentions the Morsbach church. *1174: The counts along the

Wupper The Wupper () is a right tributary of the Rhine in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Rising near Marienheide in western Sauerland it runs through the mountainous region of the Bergisches Land in Berg County and enters the Rhine at Le ...

received Windeck Castle from Earl Heinrich Raps of

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

as a gift. *c. 1500: A chapel is built in Holpe as a branch church of Morsbach. *1563: The counts of Sayn-Homburg authorize a Lutheran church. The parish of Morsbach remains Catholic, and the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

parish is in Holpe. *1634: Morsbach becomes a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

dom of Count Hermann von Hatzfeldt. *1661: The fiefdom is reclaimed by Philipp Wilhelm von Berg. *1795: During the

War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI, constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French First Republic, Frenc ...

, French forces cross the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

, seize the Duchy of Berg and camp in Morsbach. *1805: Prince-elector Maximilian Joseph von Pfalz-Zweibrücken forms an alliance with

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and becomes the king of Bavaria. *1806: Berg becomes a grand duchy, with Joachim Murat (Napoleon's brother-in-law) its regent. *1932: Kreis Waldbröl and Gummersbach are combined to form

. Morsbach has about 5,300 inhabitants, and its borders have been nearly unchanged for centuries. *1946: Oberbergischer Kreis becomes part of

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

Coat of arms

Morsbach's coat of arms was granted on August 14, 1937. The upper part is a lion (symbolic of the Counts of Berg), and the lower part is a marshy brook.

Population

Points of interest

* The Romanesque Saint Gertrud

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

, whose tower dates to the second half of the 12th century; other sections date to the first half of the 13th century. * Castle Volperhausen * The heritage-protected Morsbach station building. According to its preservation order, "The preservation of this building is of public interest because of its locally influenced design of the uniform Prussian station building type and also because of its special roof design."

Twin towns

* Großrosseln ( state of Saarland, Germany) * Milly-la-Forêt ( département of Essonne,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

)

References

Bibliography

* Christoph Buchen / Erwin Weber: ''Alt Morsbach. Die Gemeinde Morsbach in alten Bildern'', Meinerzhagen 1981 * ''Morsbach. Chronik einer oberbergischen Gemeinde'', hg. von der Gemeinde Morsbach, Meinerzhagen 1987 * ''1100 Jahre Morsbach. 895 - 1995'', hg. von der Gemeinde Morsbach, Waldbröl 1995

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Oberbergischer Kreis