Mützenich is a village and former municipality in the district of Aachen,

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. It is part of the municipality of

Monschau Monschau (; french: Montjoie, ; wa, Mondjoye) is a small resort town in the Eifel region of western Germany, located in the Aachen district of North Rhine-Westphalia. Geography The town is located in the hills of the North Eifel, within the ...

since 1972. Notably, Mützenich is a German

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

surrounded by

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

territory due to the

track bed The track bed or trackbed is the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links. According to Network Rail, the trackbed is the layers of ballast a ...

of the former

Vennbahn The (, "Fen Railway") is a former railway line that was built partly across what was then German territory by the Prussian state railways. It is now entirely in Belgium, because the trackbed of the line, as well as the stations and other install ...

railway line being part of Belgium following the implementation of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1 ...

, among other small areas.

Geography

Mützenich is located on the German-

border, in the region of the

High Fens The High Fens (german: Hohes Venn; french: Hautes Fagnes; nl, Hoge Venen), which were declared a nature reserve in 1957, are an upland area, a plateau region in Liège Province, in the east of Belgium and adjoining parts of Germany, between the ...

and below

Steling The Steling is a mountain, on the High Fens plateau.Map service
of the Bundesamt für Naturschutz, BfN Th ...

mountain, at .

History

One possible derivation of the place name ''Mützenich'' is 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 ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

settlement ''Mutiniacum''. In 1783, peat cutters discovered a Roman helmet and remains of a log road. The road may have been part of the military road ''Via Mansuerisca''. A depiction of the Roman helmet forms part of the coat of arms of the former municipality. After World War II, Belgium planned to annex the German exclave created by the Vennbahn track, but decided to no longer pursue these plans in April 1949. Mützenich was a major hub for smuggling coffee from Belgium to Germany after the war. The prosecution investigated more than 100 inhabitants for smuggling. In the judicial proceedings, it turned out that nearly all the male youth of Mützenich was involved in smuggling coffee. In 1952, of 53 people indicted for smuggling, 47 were convicted (four were acquitted and the proceedings against two women were dismissed due to insignificance). The local soccer club was relegated to a lower division following this for a lack of players. Several people in the area were killed by gunfire from customs officers. According to official statistics, the death toll at the border in the Aachen region was 31 between 1946 and 1952. There were also two customs officers shot dead, one missing, and more than a hundred people seriously injured among the smugglers as well as the customs officers. Until 1971, Mützenich was a municipality in the district of Monschau which in turn was part of the larger governmental district (''

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 ...

'') of Aachen. The district as well as the ''Regierungsbezirk'' were dissolved in 1972 and Mützenich became part of the municipality of Monschau. Aviation pioneer

Erich Offermann The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ai ...

(1885–1930) raised a hill near Mützenich for flight experiments which started in 1910. The overgrown hill is now located on Belgian territory. In a 1959 publication, Belgian historian Jean de Walque mistook this hill for the commander's hill of a Roman military camp.

Business

There are several guesthouses, hotels and restaurants in Mützenich, retail stores and other trades, as well as milk and meat farmers. Most of the population works outside of the village though, in the surrounding area or in Aachen.

Historic monuments

Some of Monschau's listed historic monuments are located in Mützenich, such as the Catholic church of St. Bartholomew (''St. Bartholomäus'' in German). The church, which was originally built in Gothic revival style in 1847/1848, was enlarged with a modern annex in 1954/1955. The stained glass windows were created in 1961 by

Trude Dinnendahl-Benning Trude is a Germanic Old Norse feminine given name meaning "strength". The name is now most commonly found in Germany and German-speaking countries and in Norway. It is sometimes used as a diminutive of the given names Gertrude and Gertrud. No ...

Tourism

Mützenich is a destination for hiking, jogging, cycling, and cross-country skiing. Many hiking trails lead into the High Fens. From Aachen, it is an about 40 minutes drive by car to Mützenich. There are also bus lines to Mützenich. A landmark about one kilometre north of the village is ''Kaiser Karls Bettstatt'' ("Emperor Charlemagne's resting place"), a slab of

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...

near

Steling The Steling is a mountain, on the High Fens plateau.Map service
of the Bundesamt für Naturschutz, BfN Th ...

mountain and by one of the major tracks into the High Fens. According to legend, Charlemagne got lost one day while hunting and rested on this slab for one night. There is also a humorous legend regarding the origin of the name of ''Mützenich'' connected to this: As he rested on the slab in cold weather, Charlemagne was offered a cap (in German, ''Mütze'') by a servant, which the emperor then refused by saying in local dialect ''Mütze nich!'' ("Cap - not!").

References

External links

*
General information
(in German)
Heimatverein Mützenich
(local heritage society, in German) {{Authority control Monschau Villages in North Rhine-Westphalia Former municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia Enclaves and exclaves