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Bell (Hunsrück) is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – 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 ''
Verbandsgemeinde A (; plural ) is a low-level administrative division, administrative unit in the Germany, German States of Germany, federal states of Brandenburg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A is typically composed of a small group of Municipalitie ...
'', a kind of collective municipality – in the
Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis is a district () in the middle of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The neighbouring districts are (from north clockwise) Mayen-Koblenz, Rhein-Lahn, Mainz-Bingen, Bad Kreuznach, Birkenfeld, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Cochem-Zell. His ...
(
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 Kastellaun, whose seat is in the like-named town.


Geography


Location

The municipality lies in the
Hunsrück The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced mountain range, upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle (river), Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued ...
. The main centre – there are six ''
Ortsteil A village is a human settlement or Residential community, community, larger than a hamlet (place), hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located ...
e'' – with its 479 inhabitants (as at 30 June 2009) lies roughly one kilometre from Kastellaun and the ''Hunsrückhöhenstraße'' (“Hunsrück Heights Road”, a scenic road across the Hunsrück built originally as a military road on
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...
’s orders) on the edge of the hollow where the streams rise that form the Mörsdorfer Bach, which flows down to Castle Balduinseck where it empties into the Flaumbach, itself a tributary to the
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 ...
.


Constituent communities

Bell’s ''
Ortsteil A village is a human settlement or Residential community, community, larger than a hamlet (place), hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located ...
e'' are the main centre, also called Bell, and the outlying centres of Hundheim, Krastel, Leideneck, Wohnroth and Völkenroth along with the Blümlingshof and the Rothenberger Hof.


History

In 1220, Bell had its first documentary mention in the directory of yearly payments to the
Archbishopric of Trier The Diocese of Trier (), in English historically also known as ''Treves'' () from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
word for a hill or a settlement in the heights. Grave finds near Bell, particularly the Wagon Grave of Bell from late Hallstatt times (about 500 BC), show that the area was settled by
Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...
. A
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
estate east of the church discovered in the mid 19th century and certified as a “ground monument”, and a
Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...
manor just to its south in the cadastral area “In den Hupfeldern” (whose name refers to this estate; foundations of this manor were unearthed when the land was opened to development) give one some clue as to the village's importance in the time when the Franks were taking over the land. Bell was also the main centre of a parish to which belonged Leideneck,
Horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...
, Alterkülz and even the later castle and residence town of
Kastellaun Kastellaun () is a town in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis (district) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality. Geography Location The town lies in the eastern Hunsrüc ...
, now the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde''. Neighbouring places with names ending in ''—heim'' and ''—bach'' (Hundheim, Michelbach) date from the time of the Frankish takeover (500–700) during the
Migration Period The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...
(''Völkerwanderung''), and are therefore much younger than Bell. Places with names ending in ''—roth'' were established in the time of widespread woodland clearing in the
Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...
. Bell also lay near the Celtic, later Roman, “high road”. Only much later, in the
High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...
when it was under the lordship of the Counts of Sponheim, did Bell's name once again crop up in history: in 1305, Count Simon II granted Kastellaun, the little place at his castle, town rights, and obtained from
Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII (German: ''Heinrich''; Vulgar Latin: ''Arrigo''; 1273 – 24 August 1313),Kleinhenz, pg. 494 also known as Henry of Luxembourg, was Count of Luxembourg, King of Germany ('' Rex Romanorum'') from 1308 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1312 ...
, who was Archbishop-Elector of Trier Baldwin's brother, market rights as well, in 1308; the next year, though, Emperor Henry also granted Bell market rights.


Modern times

Bell bore its share of hardship and woe in the wars that swept across
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
through the ages. It was particularly bad in the
Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...
(known in Germany as the ''Pfälzischer Erbfolgekrieg'', or War of the Palatine Succession) with King Louis XIV's policy of ''Réunions''. Beginning in 1794, Bell 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 ...
. Late in 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 ...
Bell was spared destruction when the
Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...
marched in on 13 March 1945 thanks to several local inhabitants and their clergyman, who courageously seized the initiative and hoisted a
white flag White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire and for negotiation. It is also used to symboliz ...
on the churchtower. Since 1946, Bell 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 ...
. Within the framework of the administrative reform in Rhineland-Palatinate begun in the mid-1960s, today's municipality was newly formed on 17 March 1974 out of what were until then the six separate municipalities of Bell (378 inhabitants), Hundheim (123), Krastel (173), Leideneck (233), Völkenroth (233) and Wohnroth (145).


Other centres’ first documentary mentions

Wohnroth had its first documentary mention in the directory of yearly payments to the
Archbishopric of Trier The Diocese of Trier (), in English historically also known as ''Treves'' () from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.County of Sponheim The County of Sponheim (, former spelling: Spanheim, Spanheym) was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire that lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century. The name comes from the municipality of Sponheim, where the cou ...
.


Church history

With the introduction of the
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
into the County in 1557, Kastellaun and Alterkülz, along with the municipalities that were dependent on them, became parochially autonomous. Leideneck split away in 1854 and thereafter shared a clergyman with Kappel, but since 1976, it has once more been parochially united with Bell. The last municipalities that left the parish of Bell were Spesenroth in 1926, which joined Kastellaun, and Hasselbach in 1947, which nowadays belongs to the parish of Alterkülz.


Bell Church

The church's age is not known for certain. The tower's Romanesque building style would mean that it comes from some time between the 11th and 13th centuries. The nave, however, is considerably newer. It was newly built from the ground up in 1728. The old rectory was built to replace an older one in 1716; it stood until 1959.


Bell’s bells

Worthy of note are the church's three bells. The oldest one, the ''kleine Maria'' (“Little Mary”) dates from 1313, and along with Sohren’s and Büchenbeuren’s bells is one of the oldest in the Hunsrück. Its diameter is 79 cm, its height is 77 cm and it weighs 250 kg. The ''große Maria'' (“Great Mary”) was poured in 1459 by bellfounder Thilmann from
Hachenburg Hachenburg is a town in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Geography The town lies in the Westerwald between Koblenz and Siegen, roughly 10 km west of Bad Marienberg on the river Nister. Hachenburg is the administrative s ...
. Its diameter is 126 cm, its height is 110 cm and it weighs 900 kg. In 1694, some of Louis XIV's soldiers stole this bell. A brave man from Bell named Braun ran after the soldiers and then had earnest words with their general, who relented and let Mr. Braun have the bell back. It turned out that Braun was not even
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
; he was one of the village's few
Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
. As thanks for Mr. Braun's good deed, the Protestant Presbytery at that time decided that whenever a member of Mr. Braun's family or one of his descendants was buried, the bells at Bell's Protestant church – including the one that he had recovered – would peal to accompany them to their final resting place. Catholics otherwise had to make do with the bell at the town hall. This tradition was observed for the last time in 2005 when Mr. Albert Braun, the hero's last living descendant, died on 31 July of that year in Kastellaun. The third bell in the churchtower was seized and melted down in the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Its replacement, which was hung in 1928, suffered the same fate only 14 years later in 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 bell that hangs there now dates from 1957. Its diameter is 90 cm, its height is 88 cm and it weighs 441 kg. The whole village turned out to see the bell lifted from the street on a tight cable, up through one of the sound holes and into the belfry.


Eucharist chalice

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 ...
chalice A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...
from 1483 bears the name “Steph’ de Bernkastel”, who was the priest at that time.


Politics


Municipal council

The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.


Mayor

Bell's mayor is Manfred Kochems, elected in May 2019. Each of the municipality's six ''
Ortsteil A village is a human settlement or Residential community, community, larger than a hamlet (place), hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located ...
e'' also has a head official with the title ''Ortsvorsteher'', each of whom is also on municipal council.


Coat of arms

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: Azure in base a wall masoned sable of three courses upon which a shorter course of three bricks upon which a poplar tree eradicated, all argent, the whole below a chief countercompony gules and argent.


Culture and sightseeing


''Beller Markt''

On the second-last Wednesday in July each year, Bell holds its traditional ''Beller Markt'' (
market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...
) on the market grounds on the ''Hunsrückhöhenstraße'' (''
Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...
'' 327). The market, with its centuries-long tradition as a farmer's market and a livestock trading centre, is today a popular event for tourists and a meeting point for people from the whole region. It draws many thousands of visitors each year. On average, 400 sellers, showmen and restaurateurs offer guests a mixture of market dealing and fair attractions. Also, many local businesses take part.


Leisure and tourism

* Right next to the market grounds and the SG Bell sporting ground lies the small ''Freizeitpark Bell'' (“leisure park”), established in the 1970s. The principle of the small complex is that it was built “around nature”. Highlights here are the fairytale forest with moving figures, a
petting zoo A petting zoo (also called a children's zoo, children's farm, or petting farm) features a combination of domesticated animals and some wild species that are docile enough to touch and feed. In addition to independent petting zoos, many general ...
and simpler attractions. The park itself has its roots in the time when many German leisure parks were being established, and began, like others, with the fairytale forest. Although it is off the beaten tourist path, the park has economic importance for the local area. * There is an indoor stage at the Bell-Vue inn where political and cultural events are held. * Only a few hundred metres from Bell, at the former
railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
, runs the ''
Schinderhannes Johannes Bückler ( 177821 November 1803; ) was a German outlaw who orchestrated one of the most famous crime sprees in German history. He has been nicknamed Schinderhannes and Schinnerhannes () in German and John the Scorcher, John the Flayer ...
-Radweg'' (cycle path) on the old ''Hunsrückbahn'' (
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
) right-of-way.


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:


Bell (main centre)

*
Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
church, Hauptstraße 5 –
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
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 ...
, marked 1728, Romanesque west tower; whole complex of buildings with church and graveyard * Hauptstraße 24 – building with
mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...
,
timber framing Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...
slated, about 1800 * Hauptstraße 25 – estate complex along the street; building with hipped mansard roof, timber framing sided, about 1800, barn, stable * Hauptstraße 27 – timber-frame house, partly solid and slated, mid 19th century * Hauptstraße 29 – timber-frame house, partly solid and slated, half-hipped roof, 18th century; whole complex of buildings together with no. 31 * Hauptstraße 31 – timber-frame house, slated, 18th or 19th century; whole complex of buildings together with no. 29 * Hauptstraße/corner of ''Landesstraße'' (State Road) 204 – boundary stone, marked 1866 * Rothenberger Hof 5 – ''Rothenberger Hof''; estate complex along the street; timber-frame house, slated, 19th century


Hundheim

* Dorfstraße 18 – timber-frame house, half-hipped roof, 18th century


Krastel

* Dorfstraße 6 – ''Quereinhaus'' (a combination residential and commercial house divided for these two purposes down the middle, perpendicularly to the street), timber framing plastered, partly slated, 19th century * Dorfstraße 39 – estate complex; timber-frame house, partly solid, sided, 18th or 19th century; timber-frame barn, marked 1792; second barn, marked 1849


Leideneck

* Evangelical church, Hauptstraße 6 – aisleless church, 1850–1852 * At Oberstraße 1 –
Classicist Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...
door, early 19th century


Völkenroth

* Im Weiherchen 1 – timber-frame house, slated, 19th century * Ringstraße 7 – ''Quereinhaus'', timber framing slated, 19th century * Ringstraße 19 – estate complex, 19th century; timber-frame house, slated, barn * Ringstraße 21 – estate complex, 19th century; timber-frame house, slated, timber-frame barn * Ringstraße 23 – L-shaped estate complex, 19th century; timber-frame house, partly slated, commercial wing


Wohnroth

* Dorfstraße 28 – timber-frame house, partly solid, half-hipped roof, earlier half of the 18th centuryDirectory of Cultural Monuments in Rhein-Hunsrück district
''denkmallisten.gdke-rlp.de,'' Retrieved 2023-12-27


Economy and infrastructure

Until the 1950s there was mining within Bell's municipal limits near the railway station at the Ilse
manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...
ore mine. Among other businesses, the village has a car and truck workshop, an electrical installer's shop, a
goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Modern goldsmiths mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, they have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), plat ...
’s shop and, on the road to the old railway station, an underground and road construction business. Besides the Bell-Vue, there is one other inn run on a
pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...
basis.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Rhein-Hunsruck Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis