Ulmen is a town in the

Cochem-Zell Cochem-Zell (German: ''Landkreis Cochem-Zell'') is a district (''Kreis'') in the north-west of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Mayen-Koblenz, Rhein-Hunsrück, Bernkastel-Wittlich, and Vulkaneifel. History In 1816 the di ...

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 ...

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. It is the seat of the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – a kind of collective municipality – to which it also belongs.

Geography

Location

The town lies in the

Eifel The Eifel (; , ) is a low mountain range in western Germany, eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Com ...

some 11 km northwest of

Cochem Cochem () is the seat of and the biggest town in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With just over 5,000 inhabitants, Cochem falls just behind Kusel, in the Kusel district, as Germany's second smallest district seat. Since ...

Constituent communities

To Ulmen belong the outlying centres – '' Stadtteile'' – of Meiserich, Vorpochten and Furth.

Geology

The Ulmener Maar, only about 11,000 years old, is not only a

maar A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption (an explosion which occurs when groundwater comes into contact with hot lava or magma). A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow ...

but also

Continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...

's newest

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

north of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. It is 37 m deep. Volcanic activity can be observed at depths of more than 4 m in the form of rising gas bubbles. The ''Ulmener Maar'' has no natural water inflow or outflow. The two tunnels that hold the water at a constant level today were dug in the 19th century. Another maar in town is the 118,000-year-old ''Jungferweiher'', which is considerably bigger than the ''Ulmener Maar''. Formerly used as a fishpond for the lords of the

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

, it dried up over the centuries until in the 1930s, it had become a

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

. In 1942, however, the maar was flooded once again to regulate the water level in the nearby maar.

History

In 1074, Ulmen had its first documentary mention, though

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

graves south of the castle bear witness to earlier habitation within town limits. There have also been suspected

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 ...

finds, but these have not yet been verified. Sir Heinrich von Ulmen, a knight, went on the Fourth Crusade to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, whence he brought valuable treasures back, among others the famous ''Limburger Staurothek'' ("Limburg Reliquary of the True Cross"), which can still be seen in the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

Limburg an der Lahn Limburg an der Lahn (, ; officially abbreviated ''Limburg a. d. Lahn'') is the district seat of Limburg-Weilburg in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Limburg lies in western Hesse between the Taunus and the Westerwald on the river Lahn. The t ...

. His successors were in the 15th century subject to the Trier Archiepiscopal Foundation's public peace (''Landfrieden''). The "Sun King"

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

conquered Ulmen twice and burnt it down. Both times, the castle and the town were built up again. Beginning in 1794, Ulmen 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 ...

. Since 1946, it 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 ...

. Many old buildings bear witness even today to Ulmen's historical past. In the 19th century, when buildings confiscated by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

were transferred to Prussian ownership, a Cochem townsman bought the castle and used it as a quarry. When Ulmen all but burnt down in a fire in 1831, the houses were rebuilt using stones from the castle. Since then, it has been a ruin. In the forest that abuts the town is an old spring near which some

and

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 ...

figures were found. This spring is called ''Dietzjes Bärechje'', a reference to children; for centuries, women prayed here for a good birth and healthy children. In 1376, Ulmen was granted town rights by Emperor Karl IV. These rights were, however, lost as the Prussians took over the

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

in 1815. By decision of the Rhineland-Palatinate Cabinet on 1 September 2009, Ulmen was once again allowed to bear the designation ''Stadt'' ("town") with effect from 2 October 2009.

Politics

Town council

The council is made up of 20 council members, who were elected by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:

Mayor

Ulmen's mayor is Thomas Kerpen (CDU).

Coat of arms

The town'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 be described thus: Per pale Or issuant from base a poleaxe sable and gules issuant from base a gatehouse with flanking towers embattled, the dexter taller than the sinister argent, on a chief of the fourth eight lozenges conjoined in fess throughout of the third.

Town partnerships

Ulmen fosters partnerships with the following places: * Lormes,

Nièvre Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 204,452 in 2019.elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...

" in their respective languages (''Ulme'', pl. ''Ulmen'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

; ''orme'' in French). The partnership documents were signed in Lormes on 23 June 1996.

Culture and sightseeing

Museums

* School museum with a reconstructed classroom from the ''

Volksschule The German term ''Volksschule'' () generally refers to compulsory education, denoting an educational institution every person (i.e. the people, ''Volk'') is required to attend. In Germany and Switzerland it is equivalent to a combined primar ...

''.

Buildings

The following are listed buildings or sites in

's Directory of Cultural Monuments:

Ulmen (main centre)

* Ulmen Castle (''Burg Ulmen'', monumental zone) – castle complex consisting of ''Niederburg'' ("Lower Castle"), from before 1292, and ''Oberburg'' ("Upper Castle"), 1679 partly destroyed; dungeonlike gateway, of the ''Niederburg'' only sparse wall remnants left; in the ''Oberburg'' the girding wall of the Electoral-Trier '' Amtshaus'', an essentially late mediaeval building, completed in 1682–1683, parts of the girding wall, fountain reconstructed; includes castle hill as well as the buildings from the 18th and 19th century at Bachstraße 2 and Burgfrieden 4, 5, 8 and 12 *

Saint Matthias Matthias (; Koine Greek: , , from Hebrew ; ; died ) was, according to the Acts of the Apostles, chosen by God through the apostles to replace Judas Iscariot following the latter's betrayal of Jesus and his subsequent death. His calling as ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Parish Church (''Pfarrkirche St. Matthias''), Am Maar – two-naved

hall church A hall church is a Church (building), church with a nave and aisles of approximately equal height. In England, Flanders and the Netherlands, it is covered by parallel roofs, typically, one for each vessel, whereas in Germany there is often one s ...

, 1905, with the use of parts of the former Late Gothic church; transept on the site of the quire, 1966/1967; graveyard: Bonsig tomb, 19th century; warriors' memorial, 1920s; whole complex of church and graveyard * Antoniusstraße 2 – former Electoral-Trier tithe house; 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 ...

, marked 1727 * Cochemer Straße/corner of Burgfrieden –

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

wayside cross, first third of the 18th century * At In der Lay 1 –

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

wayside cross, marked 1817 * In der Lay 2 – timber-frame house, commercial building, about 1840 * At In der Lay 3 – coat of arms, 18th century * At In der Lay 3 – timber-frame house, balloon frame, early 16th century, remodelled in the 19th century * In der Lay 4 – timber-frame house, partly solid, first third of the 19th century * Winkelstraße 22 – former

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

; plastered building on quarrystone pedestal, partly timber-frame,

Swiss chalet style Swiss chalet style (, ) is an architectural style of Historicism (art), Late Historicism, originally inspired by rural chalets in Switzerland and the Alps, Alpine (mountainous) regions of Central Europe. The style refers to traditional building d ...

, marked 1910–1911 * At Winkelstraße 36 – '' Bildstock'', 19th century * ''Antoniuskapelle'' – open

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

, marked 1659; cross, marked 1659, Electoral-Trier ''Amtsmann'' Georg von Metzenhausen's coat of arms * Waterworks – two basalt quarrystone buildings, marked 1940; whole complex

Furth

* Further Mühle (mill) – L-shaped complex, 19th century, plastered building, barn, millraces, girding wall, bridge

Meiserich

Saint Anne According to apocrypha, as well as Christianity, Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's Gosp ...

's Catholic Branch Chapel (''Filialkapelle St. Anna'') –

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 ...

, essentially Late Gothic (1521), extension around tower marked 1793 * Ulmener Straße 3 – L-shaped complex, 19th century * Before Ulmener Straße 4 – hand pump, with vase, marked 1909 Castle Ulmen, nowadays only a ruin, was built sometime about the year 1000, apparently on the remnants of a Roman building, although this has never been established through

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

findings. Its current state is marked by somewhat less than successful restoration measures which have hidden much of the building's original substance. Saint Matthias's Parish Church was built in

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style.

Music

* The ''Spielmannszug Blau-Weiss 1952 Ulmen e.V.'' (band) under Rainer Pias's direction. * The ''Musikverein Ulmen e.V.'' (music club), under Klaus Mohr's direction for almost 30 years now, was founded on 24 January 1969 and today has 50 active members and a further 66 inactive ones.

Sport

The ''Sportverein Fortuna Ulmen e.V.'' (sport club) was founded on 21 September 1921 and offers active sport in the departments of

aerobics Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exercise with stretching and strength training routines with the goal of improving all elements of fitness (Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, Muscle, muscular strength, and ...

, men's and women's

artistic gymnastics Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different types of apparatus. The sport is governed by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, "seniors'" football,

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

skipping Skipping may refer to: * Skipping (gait), a rhythmic form of locomotion combining stepping and hopping * A game or form of exercise using a skipping rope * Exon skipping, in molecular biology * Stone skipping, throwing a stone so that it bounces ...

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Regular events

* The Castle Festival (''Burgfest'') is held yearly in July at the Ulmen castle ruins. * Every three years on 3 October, the ''Appelfest'' is held at the Alter Postplatz by the Eifel Club.

Sightseeing gallery

File:UlmenerMaar.JPG, ''Ulmener Maar'', seen from the castle. File:Ulmen Marktplatz.jpg, Ulmen village centre with marketplace and ''Bürgersaal'', seen from the castle. File:BurgruineUlmenFront.jpg, Front of the Ulmen castle ruins. File:BurgruineUlmenInnen.jpg, Inside view of the Ulmen castle ruins.

Economy and infrastructure

Education

* Kindergarten Ulmen * Grundschule Ulmen (

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

) * Realschule plus Vulkaneifel Ulmen/Lutzerath

Bundeswehr presence

The ''Schule für Diensthundewesen der Bundeswehr'' – a training school for dogs used in the German military – was moved in April 2005 from Koblenz-Bubenheim to the former munitions depot in the Hochpochtener Wald (forest) near Ulmen. Both the dogs themselves and their trainers are trained here. In the framework of the festivities for the school's 50th anniversary on 8 August 2008, the until now nameless installation in the Hochpochtener Wald was given the name ''Gräfin von Maltzan-Kaserne'' (''Kaserne'' means "barracks"), after the veterinarian Maria von Maltzan, who was a member of the German Resistance in the time of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

; she helped those who were subject to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's repression and persecution, even hiding her future husband, a

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

, inside a couch.Johann Schäffer: ''Maria Gräfin von Maltzan (1909–1997): Eine Tierärztin im Widerstand''
Laudatio anlässlich der Benennung der Kaserne für die Schule für Diensthundewesen der Bundeswehr in Gräfin-von-Maltzan-Kaserne The then '' Ortsgemeinde'' of Ulmen took over sponsorship of this

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

facility, which was unique in Germany, on 30 January 2009.

References

External links

Town's official webpage

''Verbandsgemeinde''of Ulmen

Ulmen, Vulkaneifel, sightseeing in the area
{{Authority control Eifel Cochem-Zell