Holungen
Holungen is a village and a former municipality in the district of Eichsfeld in Thuringia, Germany. Since 1 December 2011, it is part of the municipality Sonnenstein, of which it is an Ortschaft.
It lies approximately from the university town of Göttingen. With a population of around 1,000, it is one of the medium-sized villages in the district.
Coat of arms
On the coat of arms, the right half represents the Sonnenstein, a hill very close to the town. On the upper left quarter, the Wheel of Mainz represents the Archbishopric of Mainz, and the lower left quarter shows two crossed hammers indicative of potash mining and symbolising the environment. Over many decades, mining was of enormous economic importance.Origin of the name
The research into the origin of the name traces it back to antiquity. Evidence for the origin comes mostly from documents in the Gerode Monastery. The name “Holungen” is said to derive from the German word “Hold”. However, in speech, this word is indistinguishable from “Holt”, an older German word for wood. In old title deeds the name also appears as “Holdungen”, which suggests the name could also derive from “Haulungen”, meaning “pasture in a clearing on sloping ground”. This interpretation infers that Holungen was designated as a “Waldsiedlung”. Villages whose names end in “-ungen” were all founded in an earlier settlement period. Therefore, is it possible that Holungen's founding could date back as far as the initial colonisation of modern Germany by Germanic peoples. It could have existed as far back as 531, the Second Settlement Period, when the Franks conquered Thuringia. Later on, the northern part of Eichsfeld, including Holungen, belonged to the Saxons. Saxon characteristics and peculiarities were taken up. This also explains why a language border runs through Holungen. Residents speak Low German, while people of the neighbouring town of Bischofferode speak standard German.Location
Holungen is located at the foot of the Ohm Hills at the bottom of the Bode valley, about 35 km from the Harz mountains. It is a so-called Haufendorf. To the south lie the Sonder and the Ohmberg with the “Wilde Kirche”. The Hohenkammer lies to the west, where the Segeltal valley separates it from the Sonder. To the north, the 486-metre-high Sonnenstein rises above the village. In addition, the Graseforst is found there. The course of the Bode runs along the valley floor to the east. There is also a large spoil heap from potash mining, which is nearly as big as the adjacent mountains.Holungen lies 350 m above sea level. It is well protected from the easterly winds and other external influences by mountains. Its soil is formed from crystalline rocks, made of minerals such as quartz, feldspar and mica. The erosion of rocks forms sandy soil from quartz, and clay and loam from potash/feldspar-based rocks.
History
Early history
According to documents found in the monastery at Gerode, Holungen was founded between 531 and 800. In the following centuries, there was much armed conflict near the village and in the surrounding area. In 933, Henry I beat the Magyars at the Unstrut river. Twenty-two years later, his son Otto the Great did the same at the Lechfelde, bringing peace to the area. Between 1118 and 1120 the Gerode Monastery was founded.In 1247, the Thuringian landgrave Heinrich Raspe died, bringing conflict back to the area. From 1236 to 1247, he was Landesherr of part of the march of Tu-der-stede, modern-day Duderstadt. He was also brother-in-law to Elisabeth of Hungary. In 1246 he was elected counter-king to Conrad IV, son of Frederick II. Although his forces defeated Conrad's at the battle of Nidda, he died shortly afterwards, and after his death fighting broke out over the order of succession for the title Landgrave of Thuringia, during which Holungen was devastated. Many inhabitants fled to Duderstadt. Some evidence for this comes from deeds dating to 1266 and 1299. The documents of 1266 also give us the first mention of Holungen, under the name “Haldrungen”. Between 1350 and 1370, the village was rebuilt again and belonged to the county of Lohra. In 1370, Holungen became a part of the county of Honstein and in 1431, it became by exchange the monastery village of the monastery at Gerode. In 1525, Holungen was destroyed during the course of the German Peasants' War.
The period until the German Empire
The Thirty Years' War arrived and reached Holungen, and in 1626, much devastation was caused by the army of Duke Christian of Brunswick. In 1701, Prussia became a kingdom, but Eichsfeld and Holungen remained subordinate to the Electorate of Mainz. Between 1740–1786 Eichsfeld took up arms in the service of Austria against Frederick the Great and fought against Prussia. Many inhabitants of Holungen were involved in these wars or were enlisted with the “Kurmainzischen Husarencorps”. Thus even today there are still some Holungen surnames in Vienna. In 1802, Eichsfeld was finally annexed to Prussia. This took place on 3 August, the birthday of the King of Prussia Frederick William III.Prussian rule lasted only for four years and ten weeks, up to the years 1806 and 1807, when Prussia was nearly completely destroyed. In addition, half of its constituent states, as well as its status as a great power, were taken from it. In 1806, Prussia lost the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, with the result that, in December that year, Napoleon took possession of the two Eichsfeld districts, including Holungen. Frederick William III fled with his wife and the princes to Memel. The French required masses of supplies, which the Holungers had to furnish. In 1807, Eichsfeld became part of the Kingdom of Westphalia with its capital at Kassel. On 1 January 1808 the Napoleonic Code came into effect. Young men had to serve in the French army. During this period, many troops marched through Eichsfeld and settled in Holungen. After the struggle for liberty, Eichsfeld was returned to Prussia. ‘Ordered’ laws were created, and Worbis received their own city and regional courts. Holungen was assigned to the judicial office at Gerode. At that time Holungen had 650 inhabitants. In 1841, Holungen received its first Kaplan, literally “Chaplain”, a term used in German to mean a Roman Catholic priest in the first few years after his ordination. Since 28 January 1844, full Mass has been held every Sunday and Saint's Day.
In 1848, the year of many attempted revolutions in large parts of Europe, violence in the district of Worbis was widespread, leading to the formation of Bürgerwehren, under the control of the mayor in each village. The vigilantes were equipped with pikes, sabres and rifles. One year later the setting up of the Grundbuchamt in the district court of Worbis was completed. Cholera came to Worbis district in 1850. Most deaths occurred in neighbouring Weißenborn, Holungen was only minimally affected. In September 1855, the king visited many places in the district. During the wars of independence, the Eichsfeld had suffered much, leading to crop failures and widespread illness. Holungen received money from the king for the reconstruction of several burned-down houses. On 2 February 1861, King Frederick William IV died, and his brother William I took his place. In the same year, the shooting club was formed, and the Chaussee was extended over the Graseforst. The Holungers were dissatisfied with this extension, since they had supported a different route, one which would have been more favourable for the area but had been dropped. In February 1865, this led to a big court case, which the Holungers lost. The Chaussee led from Worbis over the Sonnenstein to Gerode and was half-an-hour further away than the old road, which almost completely cut Holungen off from long-distance traffic.
The period of the German Empire
The years 1870 and 1871 saw the Franco-Prussian War, and on 30 January 1871, Germany became an empire under the Prussian King William I. The soldiers returned home with the Iron Cross, the Kriegsgedenkmünze and other service decorations. Many Kriegskameradschaften were formed, and later joined by a Kriegerverein. In Holungen, support for Kaiser Wilhelm was very high. This was due in large part to the fact that a Holunger, was the Kaiser's driver from 1861–1888. At this time, Holungen had approximately 650 inhabitants, two nursery gardens, one Hirtenhaus, one school, one local pub and one fire pond. It covered roughly 98 acres / 40 hectares.On 1 April 1876, rector Friedrich Polak from Nordhausen was appointed out as the school inspector. Holungen received a second teacher and a new school was built. In March 1871 land plots on all the farmland were remeasured. Due to the differing altitudes it was possible that there were differences in the measurements, but in 232 cases the permissible difference was exceeded. In 100 cases it amounted to even twice the limit. The owners gave the land over to the Separationsverfahren and “had it given back afterwards”, as a result of which the total area of farmland was reduced. In 1906, it became apparent that roughly 90 acres / 36 hectares of Holungen, which were actually registered in the land registry, were missing. In 1925, the land was recorded twice, one for the forest treasury and the other for the municipality of Weißenborn. Holungen objected, but without any success.
In June 1890, a Church-building Society was founded in Holungen, and one year later the building of the church began. The stones were supplied from the nearby quarry at Wehnberg. A teacher from Holungen began rehearsals of stageplays with the young people from the village and put on performances in neighbouring villages to support the construction of the church. On 20 June 1893, Holungen was consecrated by suffragan bishop Dr. Augustinus Gockel. One year later, the registry office was moved from Bischofferode to Holungen. In 1895, the road to Bischofferode was built, with Holungen receiving support from the Landesbauinspektion at Mühlhausen. In 1896, Holungen received a new church organ. One year later, the church tower was hit by lightning, and repairs were still under way when the new church bell was installed, the old bell having cracked during ringing. In 1899, the Holunger Gesangsverein, a singing association, was created. 1908 saw opening of Potash Shaft 1 at the Thomas Müntzer potash mine.