Nitz is an ''

Ortsgemeinde A Verbandsgemeinde (; plural Verbandsgemeinden) is a low-level administrative division, administrative unit in the Germany, German States of Germany, federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A Verbandsgemeinde is typically compose ...

'' – a

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

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. Rhineland- ...

'', a kind of collective municipality – in the

Vulkaneifel Vulkaneifel () is a district (''Kreis'') in the northwest of the state Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the least densely populated district in the state and the fourth most sparsely populated district in Germany. The administrative centre of ...

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 counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

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, 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 ...

. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kelberg, whose seat is in the like-named municipality.

Geography

Location

The municipality lies in the

, a part of 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 ...

known for its volcanic history, geographical and geological features, and even ongoing activity today, including gases that sometimes well up from the earth. Nitz lies on the Nitzbach, a tributary to the river

Nette Nette can refer to: Rivers * Nette (Innerste), a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, tributary to the Innerste * Nette (Hase), a river in Lower Saxony, Germany, tributary to the Hase * Nette (Middle Rhine), a river in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, tr ...

. Some to the northwest are found the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...

and the

Hohe Acht The Hohe Acht () is the highest mountain ( ) in the Eifel mountains of Germany. It is located on the boundary between the districts of Landkreis Ahrweiler, Ahrweiler and Landkreis Mayen-Koblenz, Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate. Geography an ...

, at above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

the Eifel's highest mountain.

Neighbouring municipalities

Nitz's neighbours are Drees, Baar,

Lind Lind is a surname of both Swedish and Estonian origin. In Swedish, it is the word for the linden tree. In Estonian, it is the word for bird. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 36.1% of all known bearers of the surname ''Lind'' were residents ...

and

Kirsbach Kirsbach is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kelberg, whose s ...

History

Nitz belonged 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 a ...

to the County of Nürburg. In 1815, the village became

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 em ...

n and was administered by the ''Bürgermeisterei'' (“Mayoralty”) of Kelberg in the Adenau district. Since municipal reform in 1970, Nitz has belonged to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kelberg in the

(formerly called the Daun district).

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

Coat of arms

The German blazon reads: ''Im silbernen Schild eine schrägrechte blaue Wellenleiste. In den Heroldstücken links eine rote Raute und rechts ein roter Adler.'' The municipality's

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 Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

language be described thus: Argent a bend wavy azure, dexter a lozenge gules, sinister an eagle displayed of the same, armed sable. The German blazon does not mention the eagle's

attitude Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), an individual's predisposed state of mind regarding a value * Metaphysics of presence * Propositional attitude, a relational mental state connecting a person to a pro ...

, nor the different

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

seen in its claws and beak. It also reverses left and right, which are traditionally told from the armsbearer's point of view (that is, behind the shield), not the viewer's. The grounds for the composition seen in these arms were the village's history of political division. For centuries, the namesake brook that runs through the village, the Nitzbach, stood as a boundary. Until relatively recently, the brook marked the boundary between two districts, Mayen-Koblenz and Daun, and at the same time that between two ''

Regierungsbezirk A ' () means "governmental district" and is a type of administrative division in Germany. Four of sixteen ' ( states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts. Saxony has ' (directorate districts) with more res ...

e'', Trier and Koblenz. Until this arrangement was swept aside by administrative reform, municipal administration was divided at the brook, as were school boards and church parishes. Earlier still, the Nitzbach was the boundary between the respective lordly domains held by the Counts of Nürburg and the Counts of Virneburg. The bend wavy azure (that is, diagonal blue wavy stripe), of course, represents the Nitzbach. The two other

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqua ...

s are those once borne by these counts. The lozenge was the Virneburg armorial bearing, while the Nürburgs bore the eagle. The arms have been borne since 18 December 1986.

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings: *

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

branch church, Hauptstraße – small

aisleless church An aisleless church (german: Saalkirche) 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 fro ...

, possibly from earlier half of 18th century, partly renovated in 1933 after a fire. * Kapellenstraße 1 –

timber-frame Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

house, partly solid, 19th century.Directory of Cultural Monuments in Vulkaneifel district
/ref> Also worth seeing are two mills, the ''Freundsmühle'' and the ''Bauersmühle''.

Economy and infrastructure

Nitz is even today a mainly

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

-based community.

References

External links

Municipality’s official webpage

Nitz in the collective municipality’s Web pages
{{Authority control Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate Vulkaneifel