Höxter
Höxter () is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the left bank of the river Weser, 52 km north of Kassel in the centre of the Weser Uplands. The main town's population is around 15,000, and with outlying centres, about 30,0 ...
district of
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
,
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 ...
.
Geography
Borgentreich lies roughly 20 km south of
Brakel
Brakel () is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek and the Flemish Ardennes. The name is derived from a Carolingian villa ''Braglo'' first mentioned in 866 and located in the center of Opbrakel. Since 1970, t ...
and 10 km northeast of
Warburg
Warburg (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Warberich'' or ''Warborg'') is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany on the river Diemel near the three-state point shared by Hessen, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. It ...
.
The constituent community of Borgholz lies on the foothill of a high ridge northeast of Borgentreich (main town).
Borgentreich was mentioned for the first time in 1280 under the name ''Borguntriche'' when
Otto von Rietberg
Otto is a masculine German given name and a Otto (surname), surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity".
The name ...
, the
Bishop of Paderborn
The Archdiocese of Paderborn is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany; its seat is Paderborn.Siegfried von Westerburg, the
Archbishop of Cologne
The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palati ...
, to fortify the town.
Borgholz
Borgholz was first mentioned in 1291 in two documents, both confirming that there was a ''Borcholte'' at this time. It has to thank for its founding – as does the main town – a dispute over
sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
in the area between the Archbishops of Cologne and the Bishops of Paderborn in the 13th century. The Archbishops of Cologne were trying to hem the Bishops' domain in with a ring of towns and
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
s.
The order to fortify the village high over the Jordan Valley was issued by Bishop Otto of Paderborn in 1290. He transferred to Bertold Schuwen a position as castle overseer (''Burgmannsitz''), the first one in the episcopa castle of Borgholz A document of founding, or one granting town rights, has never been found. In a document from 1295, however, Borgholz is already called a town. After it was founded, roughly 500 people, according to a careful estimate, lived in the town. From an 1831 cadastral plan of the town, it is clear that the whole town, along with the castle, was ringed by a wall enclosing an area of 6.22 ha. Drawn from this is the conclusion that Borgholz had never spread beyond its original town walls. Within the walls, however, was still a fair deal of free land which could have been used for expansion.
Natzungen
Natzungen's first documentary mention goes back to the year 1036, when Bishop Bruno of Würzburg donated the Sunrike ( between Borgentreich and
Eissen
Eissen is a Westphalian village with 718 inhabitants in North Rhine-Westphalia and part of the town of Willebadessen, district Höxter in the administrative region of Detmold.
Name
Eissen has passed through a long evolution. Starting in the earl ...
) estate to the Würzburg Church and two ''Hufe'' of land to his
Ministerialis
The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a class of people raised up from serfdom and placed in positions of power and responsibility in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire.
The word and its German translations, ''Minis ...
Richbold and his wife Richeze; this land was in ''Natesingen''.
Until the 15th century, Natzungen was two communities, called Obernatzungen and Niedernatzungen ("Upper" and "Lower" respectively). Niedernatzungen, which was near Borgholz railway station, is gone, and it is believed that it either fell victim to the
Soest Feud
The Soest Feud (german: Soester Fehde), or Feud of Soest, was a feud that took place from 1444 to 1449 in which the town of Soest claimed its freedom from Archbishop Dietrich of Cologne (1414–1463), who tried to restore his rule. The town of S ...
or was destroyed by the
Hussite
The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation.
The Hussit ...
s, leaving only Obernatzungen, now called Natzungen.
Main sights
Since 1980, the former town hall in Borgentreich has housed Germany's first
organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
museum.
Natzungen has a church with an unusually high and massive tower built in the 12th and 13th centuries. It was likely used as a flight tower (for refuge), and has Romanesque window openings in the belfry, as well as a remarkable
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
. This was originally in the ''Abdinghofkirche'' in Paderborn, but was moved here.
Politics
Town council
Town council's 26 seats are apportioned as follows, in accordance with municipal elections held on May 25, 2014:
* CDU 15 seats
*
SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been the ...
Alliance '90/The Greens
Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...
2 seats
*Independent 1 seat
Coat of arms
Borgentreich's civic
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
has as one charge a rather unusual cross with a spike on the bottom. The old arms, which simply showed in gules a
cross pattée
A cross pattée, cross patty or cross paty, also known as a cross formy or cross formée (french: croix pattée, german: Tatzenkreuz), is a type of Christian cross with arms that are narrow at the centre, and often flared in a curve or straight ...
Or, had this same spiked cross, although all four of the cross's arms were the same length. This kind of cross can also be seen in Verden's coat of arms, and may derive from the arms borne by the princely bishopric of Paderborn. The old composition is known from a town seal from 1341.
The newer arms, still used now, were granted on July 19, 1976, and incorporate a charge from Borgholz's coat of arms, namely the
fleur-de-lis
The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol.
The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...
, to reflect the former town's amalgamation into Borgentreich.
The "embattled" (heraldically speaking) area in the bottom of the shield is the local variant of the widespread practice of representing in the civic coat of arms the number of constituent communities in an amalgamated municipality such as Borgentreich. There are 12 battlements shown here, one for each constituent communit
Personalities
Honorary citizens:
* Adolf Gabriel (1926-2005), mayor from 1981-1994, honorary citizen since 19 December 1994
Sons and daughters of the town:
*
Jordanus Nemorarius
Jordanus de Nemore (fl. 13th century), also known as Jordanus Nemorarius and Giordano of Nemi, was a thirteenth-century European mathematician and scientist. The literal translation of Jordanus de Nemore (Giordano of Nemi) would indicate that he w ...
(also called Jordanus de Nemore, 1225-1260), mathematician of the Middle Ages ( '' Borgentreich as a place of birth is controversial '')