__NOTOC__ An ''Angerdorf'' (plural: ''Angerdörfer'') is a type of

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

that is characterised by the houses and farmsteads being laid out around a central grassed area, the ''

anger Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, su ...

'' (from the

Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...

''angar'' =pasture or grassy place), a

village green A village green is a common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for gathering cattle t ...

which was

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person who has a ...

, owned jointly by the village community. The ''anger'' is usually in the shape of a

lens A lens is a transmissive optical device which focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements ...

or an eye, but may also take other forms: a rectangle, triangle, circle or semi-circle (illustrated). The buildings are oriented with their eaves facing the road. Livestock stalls and barns are at the rear of the plot (in Austria called the '' Hintaus'') and may be linked by a farm track that runs around the village forming an outer ring. There is often a village pond on the ''anger'' and sometimes a stream flows through it which may not be easy to recognise today where the

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated ...

level has changed. The waterbody may well be the reason the ''anger'' was chosen. Originally there were no buildings on the ''anger'', but in the course of time other community facilities were often built on it, such as the village church,

village school One-room schools, or schoolhouses, were commonplace throughout rural portions of various countries, including Prussia, Norway, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Spain. In most rural and s ...

or a smithy. ''Angerdörfer'' occur in Central Europe, especially on

ground moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice she ...

plates and in loess-covered terrain. In

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

they are common in East Germany and east Central Germany. They were often established during the period of German Ostkolonisation in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

and in many western Hungarian villages (for example in Burgenland's Loretto, formerly in Hungary, with the largest ''anger'' in Europe) the original layout has survived. In

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

this type of village occurs predominantly in the

Waldviertel The (Forest Quarter; Central Bavarian: ) is the northwestern region of the northeast Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is bounded to the south by the Danube, to the southwest by Upper Austria, to the northwest and the north by the Czech Rep ...

and

Weinviertel The ("wine quarter") or ("area below the ") is located in the northeast of Lower Austria. In the east, the borders Slovakia at the March River. In the south, it borders and , its limits being the Wagram, the Danube and the . Its western nei ...

provinces of

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

, in the

Vienna Basin The Vienna Basin (german: Wiener Becken, cz, Vídeňská pánev, sk, Viedenská kotlina, Hungarian: ''Bécsi-medence'') is a geologically young tectonic burial basin and sedimentary basin in the seam area between the Alps, the Carpathians and t ...

, in

Burgenland Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiščanska'') is the easternmost and least populous state of Austria. It consists of two statutory cities and seven rural districts, with a total of ...

and in east and south Styria.Dorf
im Österreich-Lexikon There are also ''Angerdörfer'' in

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

in the vicinity of the Franco-German language boundary (e. g.

Sommerviller Sommerviller is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department The following is a list of the 591 communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department o ...

) and in North England (e. g.

Maulds Meaburn Maulds Meaburn () is a village in Cumbria, England. It is located in the Lyvennet Valley and Yorkshire Dales National Park and is 13 miles from Penrith. Its origins are connected with the nearby village King's Meaburn. Lankaber is a group of ...

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Schilda Dorfanger.jpg, Dorfanger of

Schilda Schilda is a municipality in the Elbe-Elster district, in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany. It is also the source of inspiration for Bach's Brandenburg concerto. History From 1815 to 1947, Schilda was part of the Prussian Province of Brandenbu ...

(Brandenburg) Schmorda Ortslage.jpg, ''Anger'' of

Schmorda Schmorda is a municipality in the district Saale-Orla-Kreis, in Thuringia, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, ...

(Thuringia) Angerdorf Hönbach-Oberer Dorfteich.jpg, Village pond in the ''anger'' of Hönbach (Thuringia)

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References

External links