Demerath

Demerath is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Daun, whose seat is in the like-named town.

Geography

Location

The municipality lies in the Vulkaneifel, a part of the Eifel known for its volcanic history, geographical and geological features, and even ongoing activity today, including gases that sometimes well up from the earth.

Right near Demerath are found a few of the Vulkaneifel’s Maare, lakes that form in volcanic craters. These are the Pulvermaar and the Holzmaar in Gillenfeld, and the Schalkenmehrener Maar and the Ulmener Maar.

Cochem on the Moselle and the Nürburgring each lie 25 km away.

History

In 1075, Demerath had its first documentary mention as Diemunderode. In 1319, the village was called Demeroyt, in 1341 Dymelderade and in 1368 Dymenroide. In 1475, the village church was described as the Demarait branch of the Parish of Wollmerath. From 1518, there was a high court in Demerath held by the Counts of Manderscheid. In 1644 came the Battle of the Steineberger Ley, at which many of the area’s inhabitants were slaughtered by Lotharingian troops. In 1728, Demerath, Ambts Dauhn (that is, in the Amt of Daun) got a Polizey oder Dorfordnung (police force). In 1794 the village was occupied by French troops. About 1794, the so-called Freiheitseiche (“Freedom Oak”) was planted. In 1803, Demerath was raised to a parish in its own right. Beginning in 1815, after Prussian rule had begun, Demerath belonged to the Daun district. In 1841, the municipality received a new police force for the Bürgermeisterei (“Mayoralty”) of Gillenfeld. From 1904, there was telephone service in Demerath. In 1920, the volunteer fire brigade was founded, as was the music club in 1960. In 1970, the local school was dissolved, and in 2003, the ailing Freedom Oak was felled and a new one was planted.