Pommern, Rhineland-Palatinate

Pommern

Coat of arms
Pommern

Coordinates: 50°10′16″N 7°16′26″E / 50.17111°N 7.27389°ECoordinates: 50°10′16″N 7°16′26″E / 50.17111°N 7.27389°E
Country Germany
State Rhineland-Palatinate
District Cochem-Zell
Municipal assoc. Cochem
Government
  Mayor Paul-Josef Porten
Area
  Total 5.65 km2 (2.18 sq mi)
Population (2012-12-31)[1]
  Total 436
  Density 77/km2 (200/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 56829
Dialling codes 02672
Vehicle registration COC
Website www.pommern-mosel.de

Pommern is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Cochem.

Geography

Location

The municipality lies on the river Moselle’s left bank roughly 2 km upstream from Treis-Karden.

History

In 936, the municipality had its first documentary mention as Ponieries villa in a document from Otto I. Beginning in 1264, Himmerod Abbey was the biggest landholder in the village. Beginning in 1794, Pommern lay under French rule, and Himmerod Abbey was dissolved in 1802. In 1815 Pommern was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia at the Congress of Vienna. Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 12 council members, who were elected 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:[2]

  SPD CDU Total
2009 5 7 12 seats

In 2004, the election was conducted by majority vote.

Mayor

Pommern’s mayor is Paul-Josef Porten, and his deputies are Robert Schneiders and Ruth Mentenich.[3]

Coat of arms

The German blazon reads: Schräglinks geteilt, vorne in Silber ein schrägrechter roter Sparrenbalken, von roten Schindeln begleitet, hinten in Rot zwei ineinanderhängende goldene Ringe schräglinks übereinander.

The municipality’s arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Per bend sinister argent semée of billets a bend dancetty gules and gules two annulets interlaced bendwise sinister Or.

The bend dancetty (diagonal zigzag) and the billets (little rectangles) are charges drawn from arms once borne by “Hans von Pumere” and bearing the yeardate 1368, as recorded in a tapestry at Burg Eltz, a local castle. The annulets, or rings, are a charge borne by the former Himmerod Abbey, who had the biggest landholdings in Pommern. The first vineyard was transferred to the Abbey as early as 1234 by Arnold von Braunshorn. By the 18th century, the Abbey still held responsibility for the church building, as it drew the whole tithe; in 1786 the Abbey built a new, Early Classicist church. The rectory that stands today, the former Himmeroder Hof, is said to be the “loveliest rectory in the Diocese of Trier”.

The arms have been borne since 1981.[4]

Culture and sightseeing

Martberg: Gallo-Roman temple (reconstruction)

Buildings

The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:

Regular events

Economy and infrastructure

Within the municipality of Pommern lie the vineyards of Pommerner Rosenberg, Pommerner Sonnenuhr, Pommerner Goldberg and Pommerner Zeisel.

Sundry

The name “Pommern” is also the name for Pomerania in German.

References

  1. "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden am 31.12.2012". Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). 2013.
  2. Kommunalwahl Rheinland-Pfalz 2009, Gemeinderat
  3. Pommern’s council
  4. Wappenbuch des Landkreises Cochem-Zell, von Alfons Friderichs, Darmstadt 2001, ISBN 3-00-008064-3
  5. Directory of Cultural Monuments in Cochem-Zell district

External links