© Tourist-Information Wittlich Stadt & Land

Nikolauskapelle Neuerburg

  • Wittlich

The impressive St. Nicholas Chapel on a hill near Neuerburg houses a sandstone relief of St. Nicholas from 1811 and commemorates the village of Hatzdorf, which died out due to the plague.

The history of the St. Nicholas Chapel: the first missionary activity around Neuerburg was probably carried out by Maximine monks. This is documented in the letter of freedom and protection issued by King Otto I in 940 for the Abbey of St. Maximin, which mentions Bombogen with its accessories (BUMAGA CUM PERTINENTIIS SUIS). Since the beginning of the 13th century, these "accessories" also included Hatzdorf, which is first mentioned in 1143 as Hattesdorph, the village of Hatto. Towards the end of the reign of Elector Balduin in 1348, the archdiocese of Trier and Europe as a whole entered a period of devastation: Bad harvests, famine and the plague claimed an estimated 25 million lives by 1353. Almost half the population of the Middle Moselle region succumbed to the "Black Death". In Hatzdorf, according to popular tradition, all the inhabitants had died one by one or perished from misery. Even those who had fled into the woods in fear were not spared by the plague. Only one man was left. He promised God to bury all the dead if he would let him live. The man survived and fulfilled his vow. However, he no longer wanted to live in the extinct village, built a house in the shelter of the Neuerburg and became the founder of the village of Neuerburg. Over time, more houses were built and thus the oldest part of Neuerburg, the upper village, today Buchenstraße, came into being. In the fields below the St. Nicholas Chapel, pottery shards are still found today, dated to the 14th century by the Landeshauptarchiv in Koblenz. A "Borgh" chapel was first mentioned in 1569. The patron saint was St. Nicholas. This is presumably the chapel of the village of Hatzdorf, which is described in 1610 as follows: "the chapel of St. Nicholas, ¼ hour from Neuerburg, situated on the mountain, is ancient, built about 400 years ago; it has a consecriet altar, which has remained intact until now, a service is held once a year. The building is dilapidated and the interior has been completely devastated by the French." For a long time, the entrance was crowned by a wooden figure of the saint, about 80 cm high, which probably came from the Hatzdorf church. The present wooden figure above the entrance in the gable was copied from the old figure in 1967. Four old wooden statues of St. Sebastian, St. Matthias, St. Catherine and Our Lady with the Child, also from the old St. Nicholas Church, were embedded in the side walls. Today, these valuable figures are in the church in Neuerburg.

On the map

Marktplatz/Neustraße 2

54516 Wittlich

DE


Phone: (0049) 6571 146624

E-mail:

Website: www.wittlicherland.de

General information

Openings
Tuesday, 12.03.2024 00:00 - 00:00
Wednesday, 13.03.2024 00:00 - 00:00
Thursday, 14.03.2024 00:00 - 00:00
Friday, 15.03.2024 00:00 - 00:00
Saturday, 16.03.2024 00:00 - 00:00
Sunday, 17.03.2024 00:00 - 00:00
Monday, 18.03.2024 00:00 - 00:00
Tuesday, 19.03.2024 00:00 - 00:00
Wednesday, 20.03.2024 00:00 - 00:00
Thursday, 21.03.2024 00:00 - 00:00
Open all year round

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