Kirchhundem

Infobox German Location
Art = Stadt
Name = Kirchhundem
image_photo = Rathaus Kirchhundem.jpg
imagesize =
image_caption = Town hall in Kirchhundem
Wappen = Wappen Kirchhundem.pngLageplan = Kirchhundem im Kreis Olpe.pnglat_deg = 51 |lat_min = 04
lon_deg = 08 |lon_min = 05
Bundesland = North Rhine-Westphalia
Regierungsbezirk = Arnsberg
Kreis = Olpe
Höhe = 252 - 743
Fläche = 147.9
Einwohner = 13087
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 57399
Vorwahl = 02723, 02764, 02759
Kfz = OE
Gemeindeschlüssel = 05 9 66 016
Gliederung = 37
Straße = Hundemstraße 35
Website = [http://www.kirchhundem.de/ www.kirchhundem.de]
Bürgermeister = Michael Grobbel
Partei = SPD

Kirchhundem is a community in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It belongs to the Olpe district.

Geography

Location

The community of Kirchhundem lies in the Olpe district’s southeast in the south Sauerland and belongs to the so-called "Bilsteiner Bergland" (mountain region). The Kirchhundem rural areas also include, in the east, the West ("Rüsper") Rothaar and part of the "Auer Ederbergland", in the south the "Brachthäuser Hohe Waldberge" (all mountain ranges), in the west the "Rahrbacher Mulde" (basin) and in the north the "Hundemgrund". The crest of the Rothaar forms a watershed between the Rhine and the Sieg. The community’s highest elevation can be found here, the "Hohe Hessel" at 743 m. The Kirchhundem area is drained by the Hundem, which rises near Oberhundem and flows northwest to the Lenne. The Hundem is fed from the south by the Heinsberger Bach – also known as the Albaumer Bach ("Bach" is German for “brook”) – whose mouth is near Würdinghausen, the brook variously known as the Brachthauser-, Wirmer- or Flaperbach and the Olpe, whose mouth is in Kirchhundem. The Silberger Bach empties into the Olpe near Heidschott. The Rüspe area east of the Rothaar crest is drained by streams flowing to the Eder.

Kirchhundem is roughly 20 km east of Olpe and 25 km north of Siegen.

Municipal area’s extent

Kirchhundem, with an area of 147.9 km², is the Olpe district’s biggest municipality by land area. It stretches for 12 km from north to south and 22 km from east to west.

Neighbouring communities

The community of Kirchhundem lies in the east of the district area. It borders in the west and north on the towns of Olpe and Lennestadt and in the far northeast on the town of Schmallenberg in the Hochsauerlandkreis. In the east and south, the towns of Bad Berleburg, Erndtebrück, Hilchenbach and Kreuztal, all lying in Siegen-Wittgenstein district, also abut Kirchhundem.

Municipal limit

The community’s southern limit with the neighbouring district of Siegen-Wittgenstein has more than one function: in the east, it is the watershed between the Rhine and Weser and in the west between the Sieg and Ruhr. It is also a dialectal boundary, with Franconian speech heard to the south and Saxon to the north, and a religious boundary, with areas to the south traditionally Evangelical and those to the north Catholic. Historically it was also the border between the Duchy of Westphalia, a possession of the Electorate of Cologne in the north, and the Principality of Nassau-Siegen and the County of Wittgenstein-Berleburg in the south. This time is still witnessed by many historic border stones and old fortification walls known to people in the victorious lands as the "Kölsches Heck" (roughly “Cologne Hedge”) .

Constituent communities

The community of Kirchhundem consists of the following centres:

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Music clubs

Modern music groups

* And Bob's y'r uncle – rock, Wirme
* Horizont – new spiritual, Welschen Ennest
* Wild bunch – country, Benolpe
* Naturtrüb - rock, Rahrbach/Welschen Ennest
* Social Distrust – punk, Flape
* Dirty Pins – bam bam rock, Flape

Historic organs

* Brachthausen, "Nikolaus-Kapelle", historic ranks of pipes, likely from the 17th century. Although it is unexplained where they came from, they might be from Düren in the Rhineland.

* Kirchhundem, "Pfarrkirche St. Peter und Paul", Baroque organ from 1701 by the Bielefeld organ builder Peter Henrich Varenholt. Considerable changes made in 1814 by Christian Roetzel. Stately Baroque housing by cabinetmaker Johann Viegener from Netphen with carving by sculptor Johann Sasse, Attendorn. As well, the church owns an organ from the firm Feith, Paderborn from 1940 made to imitate those of the Late Romantic period in Germany.

* Kohlhagen, "Pfarr- und Wallfahrtskirche St. Mariae Heimsuchung", Baroque organ from 1745, probably by Johann Heinrich Kleine from Eckenhagen. At the turn of the 19th century the organ’s whole aspect was changed and the console, once built onto the back of the housing, was moved to the short side on the north end. The addition of a further windchest was likely done at the same time.

* Oberhundem, "Pfarrkirche St. Lambertus", Renaissance organ, built in 1650 for the parish church in Stockum coming in 1811 to Oberhundem. The organ has undergone many changes, such as the one in 1772 when the windchest was expanded to 49 tones by organ builder Gerhard Nohl, and another in 1811 which saw a further five-tone windchest and an independent four-rank pedalboard. In 1907 a far-reaching overhaul of the organ’s aspect was done by Gerhard Peekel from Hagen as well as the installation of a four-rank addition with pneumatic tracker action.

* Rahrbach, "Pfarrkirche St. Dionysius", Baroque organ by organ builder Ruhm from 1700/1701. In 1835 came a thorough overhaul by Christian Roetzel that removed or rearranged one rank. He also moved the console to the instrument’s south end. After many changes, the most serious of which was undertaken by the Kemper firm of Lübeck in 1953, there came in 1992 a thorough restoration bearing in mind that there were historic and monumental considerations to be observed in the work.

Buildings

Currently, 97 buildings in Kirchhundem are on the community’s monument list ("Denkmalliste"), among them the parish churches in the centres of Albaum, Benolpe, Heinsberg, Kirchhundem, Kohlhagen, Oberhundem, Rahrbach and Welschen Ennest as well as the chapels in Brachthausen, Emlinghausen, Kruberg and Selbecke. The private chapel on the Vasbach estate near Kirchhundem is likewise listed. One of the most outstanding monumental building works is the Adolfsburg, a residential castle built in the 1670s, near Oberhundem. Important buildings in the community of Kirchhundem are the art nouveau town hall built between 1903 and 1905 and the many timber-frame houses in the community’s various centres. The "Heitmickeviadukt" in Kirchhundem, the Kirchhundem-Flape railway station reception building, the aqueduct in the Krenkel Valley near Heinsberg and the portals of the Heinsberger Tunnel are witnesses to the old Altenhundem–Birkelbach Railway, most of which ran through Kirchhundem’s current municipal area. The community’s hallmark is the "Rhein-Weser-Turm", an observation tower built in 1932 to afford views of the Rhine-Weser watershed.

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"Kirche St. Peter und Paul"

As the oldest parish in the eastern part of the lordly domain of Bilstein, having split away from the mother parish of Wormbach, “Hundem’s” own church, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, is known to history as far back as 1261. Of the forerunner building, all that still stands now is two bays and the tower’s foundation, which according to cornerstones were built in 1340 and 1470. The old organ with its carving work comes from the years 1701/02 from the Sasse sculpture studio in Attendorn. Today’s Late Gothic parish church was built between 1915 and 1917 by Prof. Joseph Buchkremer during the First World War crosswise to the old Romanesque church. The old church had three naves each with four bays. The south nave’s west bay had two floors and a groin vault.

Further reading (churches)

* Overmann, Anton, 1940, Teil II, Die kirchlichen Baudenkmäler des Kreises Olpe
* Dehio/Gall,1935, Erster Band, Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler in Niedersachsen und Westfalen
* Ludorf, Bau- und Kunstdenkmäler des Kreises Olpe
* Breer und Höffer, 1999, Kirchen und Kapellen in Attendorn. Lennestadt, Kirchhundem

Parks

The community of Kirchhundem lies in the Ebbegebirge and Rothaargebirge nature parks.

Conservation areas

The following areas in the community of Kirchhundem are set aside as conservation areas (Naturschutzgebiete): Albaumer Klippen, Danzplatz, Dollenbruch, Haberg, Hardt, Kihlenberg, Krähenpfuhl, Krenkeltal, Schwarzbachtal, Sellenbruch, Stelborner Klippen, Vorspanneiche and Teufelsbruch.

Most of these conservation areas are made up of juniper heathlands. The Sellenbruch conservation area, on the other hand, also harbours widespread royal fern growth. Some of the areas mentioned above were given conservation area status under initiatives by Wilhelm Münker (1874-1970) from Hilchenbach. At the "Albaumer Klippen" (cliffs), which are composed of silicate, is found crevice vegetation that has been deemed worthy of protection, surrounded by mixed forests on the slopes full of ravines and oaktrees. The "Stelborner Klippen" are only moderately shaded silicate cliffs made up of cinder and crystal tuffs with crevice vegetation and partly beech and oak forests growing on scree.

Sport

For various sporting activities, a great number of sport clubs have been founded.

Artificial turf fields have been built in Albaum, Brachthausen, Heinsberg, Kirchhundem, Oberhundem and Rahrbach. Gymnasia exist at the Gemeinschaftshauptschule Kirchhundem (triple gymnasium) and at primary schools in Heinsberg, Kirchhundem, Oberhundem and Welschen Ennest. Also, the TuS Silberg-Varste e. V. (gymnastic and sport club) has a gymnasium in Silberg. There is an athletics facility at the Gemeinschaftshauptschule Kirchhundem. The TC Rot-Weiß Kirchhundem (tennis club) owns tennis courts.

Regular events

Among the community’s regular events are the shooting festivals held in all the bigger centres each year.

In Kirchhundem-Silberg, each year on 1 May, the "Großer Preis von Silbergstone" (“Grand Prix of Silbergstone”). This event is the origin of what is now the Europe-wide pastime of Bobbycar racing.

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

With its "Kirchhundem" and "Welschen Ennest" stations, Kirchhundem lies on the Ruhr-Sieg railway line from Hagen to Siegen. Furthermore, buslines of the "Verkehrsbetriebe Westfalen-Süd" (VWS, “Westphalia-South Transport Services”) and "Busverkehr Ruhr-Sieg" (BRS, “Ruhr-Sieg Bus Transport”) run to Lennestadt, Olpe and Hilchenbach.

"Bundesstraße" 517 runs through the community.

Media

The "Westfalenpost" and the "Westfälische Rundschau" appear in Kirchhundem as daily newspapers. As well, the advertising sheets "Sauerlandkurier" and "Sauerländer Wochenanzeiger" come out on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Kirchhundem belongs to the "Westdeutscher Rundfunk" Siegen studio area. News from the South Sauerland is broadcast on WDR 2 and in local broadcasts on WDR Fernsehen.

Public institutions

Albaum is the seat of the "Landesanstalt für Ökologie, Bodenordnung und Forsten NRW" (“North Rhine-Westphalia State Institute for Ecology, Land Division and Forests”), fishery and waterway ecology department.

Businesses

* balcom electronic GmbH, electrical articles
* Bals Elektrotechnik GmbH & Co. KG, electrical articles
* Egon Behle GmbH & Co. KG, building company
* Gebr. Grünewald GmbH und Co. KG, papermaking
* Mennekes Elektrotechnik GmbH und Co. KG, electrical articles
* Straßen- und Tiefbau GmbH
* DURA Automotive in Selbecke, vehicle supplier

Education

Kindergartens and daycare

* Kindergarten "Kleine Strolche", Brachthausen
* Kindergarten "Wilma's Kuckucksnest" Heinsberg
* Kath. Kindergarten Hofolpe
* Kath. Kindergarten, Kirchhundem
* Kath. Kindergarten, Oberhundem
* Kath. Kindergarten, Welschen Ennest
* Montessori-Kinderhaus, Schwerpunkteinrichtung für Integration, Welschen Ennest
* Kindergarten "Rappelkiste", Würdinghausen

Primary schools

* St. Nikolaus, Brachthausen
* St. Katharina, Heinsberg
* St. Christophorus, Kirchhundem (open, all-day school)
* St. Lambertus, Oberhundem
* St. Johannes, Welschen Ennest
* Gemeinschaftsgrundschule, Würdinghausen

Hauptschulen

* Gemeinschaftshauptschule, Kirchhundem

Realschulen and Gymnasien

The community of Kirchhundem has no Realschulen or Gymnasien at its disposal. Instead, students must go to the ones in neighbouring Lennestadt and Olpe.

Post-secondary

Kirchhundem lies in the feeder area of the University of Siegen.

Music school

Musikschule Lennestadt-Kirchhundem

Educational institutions

*Institut für Lernen & Entwicklung. development of talents, attention training, creative learning. Dr. Judith Pasquale, Schlerreweg 1, Brachthausen.
*Josef-Gockeln-Haus der KAB, Josef-Gockeln-Str. 23, Rahrbach
*Jugendbildungsstätte Benolpe, Zur Nothelle 23, Benolpe
*Studienhaus Rüspe, Rüspe

Youth clubs

* Kleine offene Tür in Kirchhundem
* Jugendtreff der kath. Kirchengemeinde St. Peter und Paul, Kirchhundem
* Jugendtreff "Blue Ocean", Brachthausen (Catholic parish St. Mariae Heimsuchung Kohlhagen)
* Jugendtreff der kath. Kirchengemeinde Heinsberg
* Jugendtreff der evangelichen Kirchengemeinde Lennestadt-Kirchhundem, Würdinghausen
* Katholische Landjugendbewegung (KLJB), Welschen Ennest

Homes for the aged

* Alten- und Pflegeheim Haus Sauerland, Ortsteil Kirchhundem
* Seniorenheim Bremm'sche Stiftung, Ortsteil Silberg

Famous people

Honorary citizens

* Paul Josef Kardinal Cordes (born 5 September 1934 in Kirchhundem, main centre) is a Cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church, President of the papal council Cor Unum and is said to be one of the founding fathers of World Youth Day. On 24 November 2007 Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Cardinal Deacon with the titular diaconia of "San Lorenzo in Piscibus" in the College of Cardinals. Since 13 December 2007, Paul Josef Cardinal Cordes has been an honorary citizen of the community of Kirchhundem.
* Josef Schmelzer (born 30 July 1876 in Oberhundem; died 8 October 1962 in Oberhundem), known in his hometown simply as "Tiennes Papa", was member of the Prussian Landtag (1920–1933), from September 1930 to July 1932 member of the German Reichstag for the Centre Party (Germany) and Member of the Landtag (1946–1950). He worked on the so-called "Lex Schmelzer" as part of the reforms to the dissolution of the Fideikommiss (an old fee tail law in Germany) and was a tireless promoter for development in the mountainous regions. He was also the initiator behind the building of the Rhein-Weser-Turm.
* Dr. Dr. h. c. Wilhelm Arnoldi (born 30 December 1884 in Siegen; died 18 April 1965 in Altenhundem) was a Centre Party politician and ministerial director from Altenhundem. As Prussian representative on the state board for agricultural emergency programmes, he safeguarded many local families during the Great Depression in the late 1920s, a livelihood in which he had an experimental station for birdlife conservation built near Altenhundem and also an experimental farm in what was then the community of Rahrbach. Furthermore, he was also the driving force behind the building of the viewing tower on the Hohe Bracht.

Sons and daughters of the community

*Jacob von Albaum, abbot of the Grafschaft Monastery
*Heinrich Bals (born 18 October 1868 in Oberalbaum; died after 1958), writer
*Dorothea Becker (born about 1536 in Kirchhundem; died May 1609 in Bilstein) survived a witch trial despite heavy torture.
*Paul Josef Cordes (born 5 September 1934 in Kirchhundem main centre), Cardinal
*Joachim Grünewald (born 21 November 1933 in Kirchhundem), politician (CDU)
*Ulla Hahn (born 30 April 1946 in Brachthausen), writer
*Johannes Hatzfeld (born 14 April 1882 in Benolpe; died 5 July 1953 in Paderborn), musician
*Chrysologus Heimes (born 2 April 1765 in Oberhundem; died 2 May 1835 in Reiste), organ expert
*Kerstin Jürgens (born 19 December 1977), skeleton competitor
*Wilhelm Liese (born 27 April 1876 in Würdinghausen; died 19 March 1956 in Paderborn), Catholic priest, writer, editor and archivist.
*Benedikt Lindemann, abbot
*Ina-Maria Mihályhegyi-Witthaut (born 20 March 1946 in Kirchhundem; died 5 October 1987 in Siegen), artist
*Mediatrix Nies, Superior General of the Sisterhood of Olpe Franciscans
*Helmut Josef Patt (born 23 July 1926 in Flape; died 11 June 2003 in Lippstadt), clergyman
*Hartmut Schauerte (born 13 September 1944 in Kirchhundem), politician
*Johann Friedrich Joseph Sommer (born 26 January 1793 in Kirchhundem; died 13 November 1856 in Arnsberg), lawyer
*Heinrich Steinhoff (born about 1550 in Würdinghausen; died 20 October 1611), abbot of the Grafschaft Monastery
*Willi Weiskirch (born 1923 in Welschen Ennest; died 1996 in Lennestadt), Wehrbeauftragter (≈ armed forces commissioner) of the German Bundestag
*Petra Weschollek, biathlete

Famous people connected with the community

* Johann Adolf von Fürstenberg (born 16 March 1631 in Cologne; died 15 April 1704 in Herdringen), Capitular in Münster, Hildesheim and Paderborn, "Drost" of the "Ämter" of Bilstein, Fredeburg and Waldenburg, builder of the Adolfsburg near Oberhundem.
* Heinrich Luhmann (born 22 December 1890 in Hultrop, died 6 May 1978 in Hamm), writer. In his novels "Wo die Wälder Wache halten" (“Where the Forests Keep Watch”, 1920) and "Walddoktor Willibald" (“Forest Doctor Willibald”, 1921) Lumann describes life in fictional villages in the Rüspe Forest, which lies in today’s community of Kirchhundem.

Further reading

Community

* A. Ludorff: "Die Bau- und Kunstdenkmäler des Kreises Olpe." Kommissions-Verlag von Ferdinand Schöningh, Verlagsbuchhandlung in Paderborn, Münster i. W. 1903

* Wilhelm Liese: "Geschichte der Pfarrei Kirchhundem und ihrer Tochterpfarreien Altenhundem, Heinsberg, Kohlhagen." printed as manuscript, Paderborn 1920

* Otto Lucas: "Das Olper Land – Arbeiten der Geographischen Kommission im Provinzialinstitut für westfälische Landes- und Volkskunde." Universitätsbuchhandlung Franz Coppenrath, Münster 1941

* Albert K. Hömberg: "Heimatchronik des Kreises Olpe." Archiv für Deutsche Heimatpflege, Köln 1958, 2. expanded edition 1967

* Martin Vormberg: "Kirchhundem in alten Ansichten." Europäische Bibliothek, Zaltbommel/NL 1983, ISBN 90-288-2320-4.

* Martin Vormberg: "Beiträge zur Geschichte des Bergbaus im Kreis Olpe – Teil 1: Der Bergbau in der Gemeinde Kirchhundem." In: Der Oberkreisdirektor des Kreises Olpe (Hrsg.): "Schriftenreihe des Kreises Olpe Nr. 11." Olpe 1985, ISSN 0177-8153

* Ernst Henrichs (ed.): "Die Protokollbücher des ehemaligen Amtes Kirchhundem, der zugehörigen Gemeinden und der früheren Gemeinde Rahrbach, Band 1: Die Protokollbücher von 1843–1869", publisher: Verkehrs- und Verschönerungsverein Kirchhundem 1881, Kirchhundem 1988

* Ernst Henrichs (ed.): "Die Protokollbücher des ehemaligen Amtes Kirchhundem, der zugehörigen Gemeinden und der früheren Gemeinde Rahrbach, Band 2: Die Protokollbücher von 1870–1899", publisher: Verkehrs- und Verschönerungsverein Kirchhundem 1881, Kirchhundem, 1989

* Ernst Henrichs (ed.): "Die Protokollbücher des ehemaligen Amtes Kirchhundem, der zugehörigen Gemeinden und der früheren Gemeinde Rahrbach, Band 3: Die Protokollbücher von 1900–1924", publisher: Verkehrs- und Verschönerungsverein Kirchhundem 1881, Kirchhundem 1990

* Claus-Dieter Clausen: "Erläuterungen zu Blatt 4914 Kirchhundem – Geologische Karte von Nordrhein-Westfalen 1:25.000." Geologisches Landesamt Nordrhein-Westfalen, Krefeld 1991

* Günther Becker, Martin Vormberg: "Kirchhundem – Geschichte des Amtes und der Gemeinde." Gemeindedirektor der Gemeinde Kirchhundem, Kirchhundem 1994, ISBN 3-923483-15-5

* Martin Vormberg: "100 Jahre Rathaus Kirchhundem. Festschrift zum Tag des offenen Denkmals am 11. September 2005." Kirchhundem 2005

Individual centres

* Claus Heinemann: "Ein kleines Dorf und die große Geschichte – Herrntrop im Sauerland." Hilbeck 1981

* Various authors: "Unser Dorf Kruberg – 1340–1990 – Beiträge zum 650-jährigen Jubiläum." published by the Dorfgemeinschaft Kruberg e. V., Kirchhundem-Kruberg 1990

* Jochen Krause: "Geschichten aus dem Sauerland – Ein Dorf erzählt – Würdinghausen im Hundemtal." Heike Schriever, Plettenberg, 1998, ISBN 3-9806543-0-3

References

External links

* [http://www.kirchhundem.de Community’s official website] de icon