The Romans left their mark all over the Saarland, but at Perl-Nennig on the
Moselle, about 11 miles west of Mettlach and right at the Luxembourg
border, you can see how lavishly they lived. The Roman Villa there, a
3rd-century country estate, has been reconstructed. Its greatest treasure
is a 33-by-52-foot floor mosaic, the largest north of the Alps, depicting
scenes from an amphitheater performance. It was discovered by a local
farmer, digging in his garden, in 1852.
===============================
History of Saarburg and the surrounding area under the feudal legal system:
"Geschichte der Burg und Stadt Saarburg" by D. R. Ritzler, 1912.
"The Foundation of St. Paulin (Stift St. Paulin) held the right to high,
middle and lower court jurisdiction in Greimerath and Upper (Ober) and
Lower(Nieder) Zerf. (Note: I believe that the Stift St. Paulin also held
rights to one or more courts in the "kurtrierisch" part of Oberleuken).
The Trier Cathedral Chapter (Domkapitel) held sovereignty over all of Perl;
held middle court jurisdiction in Ayl and Biebelhausen; and held
basic/lower court jurisdiction in Ayl, Bilzingen, Faha, Kesslingen,
Oberleuken, Saarburg, Oberperl and Sehndorf.
The Abbey of St. Matthias (Abtei St. Matthias) held high court jurisdiction
in Baldringen, Hentern, Lampaden, Schömerich; and held basic court
jurisdiction in Nennig, Wies, Berg, Butzdorf, Kahren, Dilmar, Esingen,
Helfant, Soest, Rommelfangen, Sinz and Tettingen.
The Abbey of St. Irminen (Abtei St. Irminen) held basic court jurisdiction
in Schoden.
The Abbey of St. Martin (Abtei St. Martin) held middle court jurisdiction
in Ockfen.
The Principality (under a count) of Luxemburg (Grafschaft Luxemburg)
exercised all 3 court jurisdictions over Besch, Borg, Dittlingen,
Fellerich, Fisch, Kanzem, Köllig, Körrig, Kreuzweiler, Nennig in part,
Nittel, Onsdorf, Rehlingen, Tawern, Temmels, Wehr, Wellen, Wiltingen, Wies
in part, Wincheringen and Wochern. (As an aside, I believe someone on this
list had previously asked whether one or more of these villages belonged to
Luxembourg at one time.)
The Principality (under a count) of Lorraine/Lotharingia (Grafschaft
Lothringen) exercised all 3 court jurisdictions over Beuren in part,
Büschdorf, Eft, Hellendorf, Kirf in part, Nohn, Oberleuken in part,
Orscholz, Tünsdorf, Weiten, Wehingen and Bethingen.
The "Burggrafschaft" Freudenburg (best I can translate: the
principality
under a count extending around a castle in Freudenburg) held jurisdiction
over Kastel, Freudenburg and Hamm. The rights to the Burggrafschaft
exchanged hands several times, but were eventually purchased by the Abbey
of St. Maximin. (By way of background: The castle in Freudenburg was
built in the 1300s by the counts of Luxemburg, namely by John, Count of
Luxemburg, King of Bohemia (the "Blind King"), who was an interesting
guy.)
The Cloister of Taben (Probstei Taben) held jurisdiction in Taben and
Rodt."
=======================================
Extracts of the archives of the archbishopric of Trier:
The great parish district of Perl included the subsidiaries Oberperl,
Sehndorf, Apach, Eft, Hellendorf, Merschweiler, Schengen, Borg, Pillingen
and Belmacher.
In the villages Apach, Borg, Eft, Merschweiler and Schengen there were -
according to the Visitation report of 1569 - subsidiary churches.
The villages Borg, Eft and Hellendorf constituted a district. The
inhabitants of the villages had to go to mass in Perl only for the highest
celebration days as well as for the patronage celebration of Perl and for
the feast of Corpus Christi. On normal sundays they could go to mass in
their village churches.
In 1129 the knight Udelin donated to the abbey of Mettlach, in which he
entered as a monk, his goods in Eft.
The noble lady Frierun from Hellendorf gave to the abbey her goods in
Hellendorf for the endowment of an annual remembrance.
In Apach the Carthusian monks, which were founded in 1431, had goods and
rights which go back to older propriety of the Benedikt abbey St. Sixtus in
Rettel and which were testified in 1084. The inhabitants of Borg asked in
1718 the prior of the carthusians to let them construction wood for their
church which has been finished in 1728. The patron name John the Baptist
could indicate a great age of the subsidary church named in 1569.
The great parish Perl is counted as one of the oldest estates of the
archbishopric of Trier on the upper Mosel.
In the new organisation of the parishes in French time (1802-1803), the
great parish of Perl was dissolved. With Perl remained the subsidiaries
and Sehndorf. Eft and Hellendorf went to the parish of Tünsdorf but where
elevated to the rank of parish in 1827 with siege in Eft. Borg was also
elevated to the rank of parish and received the subsidiaries Pillingen and
Wochern. Wochern went in 1817 to the parish of Tettingen.
Merschweiler, Belmacher and Apach went to the newly defined Metz district
parish of Kirsch bei Sierck which belonged before to the Land chapter Perl.
Remark : This division is still valid today
Saint patrons :
Perl Gervasius and Protasius
Schengen Salvator mundi u. Luzia
Apach Donatus
Eft Philippus and Jakobus
Borg John the Baptist
Sierck 1569 - John the Bap.; 1679 - Laurentius, Johan the Bap. and
Martinus; since 1952 Maria
Orscholz 1782 Thomas 1952 Nikolaus
Save a few excetions the parish villages belong to the group of
pre-frankish settlements, that is to say to the settlements created since
the 5th century in the course of the taking of the country by the Franks.
...Extracts from the book of the Bishopric Trier archives;
"Siedlung und Pfarrorganisation im alten Erzbistum" (Settlement and
parish
organization in the old Archbishopric Trier).
...The church, St. Laurentius and the Abby of St. Sixtus in Rettel:
...The beginning of the monastery is clad in obscurity. According to the
saying, the founder of Rettel was Effetia, who is supposed to have been
either a sister of Carl the Great, the historic search knows nothing; or
who could also have been a sister of Hildegard, the second spouse of Carl
the Great. The monastery, a woman's monastery at its origins, is supposed
to have been consecrated in honor of Pope Sixtus by Pope Leo III, who was
in Germany in 799 and 804.
There is no doubt about the Carolingian foundation/establishment of the
monastery with the archeological searches/excavations which have found
three important/distinguished persons in persons in Traperzsarcophages
(1605/1616, 1655) in the Stephanuskapelle (Stephan Chapel).
...The gentlemen/sires of the near Burg Sierck, probably as loan from the
Dukes of Lorraine, had residence over Rettel in 1193. The abbey seems to
have been destroyed at the beginning of the 15th century. On intervention
of Margaretha, the wife of Duke Karl II of Lorraine, the abbey was given in
1431 to the Carthusian monks.
...The monastery building was transferred 1467to the Dechanten/dekant of
the country
chapter of Perl which should form a Klerikergemeinschaft/cleric's society
with 5 ecclesiastics/clergymen.
...The Visitation/Inspection Report from 1743 offers following details for
the parish of Rettel:
...The Carthusian Order was, in reason of its exclusive right on the
territory, responsible for the choir and nave of the church. The Prior of
the Carthusians, a vicar who lived in the Carthisian building, had the
patronage right and command, to take care of the souls.
...During the re-organization of the church in French times (1802), Rettel
stayed as a parish (succursale) of the canton Parish of Sierck.
Chronicle of Borg written by a teacher (It is the only book written about
the history of Borg).
BORG - Where did the name come from? In an old registry book of the
minister of Dahlem (1853-1872) it is stated that the town got its name from
a man called "Borger". This man was the first one to settle down in
Borg.
In 1832 there was a house which was called "Bogerhaus", (house of
Borger).
A new school was also built in 1832. In the course of time, the name has
not always remained the same. One very old form was "Bourich(e)". In a
document from 1718, it was written as "Borrig".
Ever since the time of the Romans, there has been a kind of roman
settlement (over the years it has been digged out - more on this in another
report)
In the 14th century Borg belonged to the Duchy of Luxembourg and thus it
belonged to Remich. Through marriages and heritage between the reigning
houses, there were many changes of it's proprietors. Thus Borg became:
Burgundy in 1443, Spanish in 1555, and Austrian in 1714. Before 1430, the
Lords of Sierck (France today) were the Lords of Borg. About 1550 the
Lords of Raville received the foundation means and the high jurisdiction of
Borg. In the 17th century the Lords of Criechingen followed. After these,
all high jurisdiction went to the "Karthuser", the monks in the Abbey
of
St. Alban near of Trier. The Lords of Criechingen left their estates to the
inhabitants of Borg who had to give fruit and life annuities to the
Lordship each year. The life annuity was abolished in 1847.
After all this changing history, in 1815 the congress of Wien decided the
Prussian municipality to be part of the district of Saarburg in the
administrative area of Trier. Not until 1946 did the municipality of Borg
become part of the Saarland.
============
In 1452, Borg belonged to the estates of Wilhelm von Manderscheid. During
a family feud, the whole village was burnt out. From 1701 to 1714, during
Spanish War of Succession, Borg, as well as the whole countryside arround
Trier, suffered much under the French occupying troops. Trier itself also
suffered much during the various wars and clashes of the following years in
that century. Borg belonged to the Electorate of Trier until August the
9th, 1794; more precisely to the county of Luxembourg. The invasion of
Trier by the French brought the end of the Electorate. The last Elector
was Clemens Wenseslaus. He had to leave his archbishopric for ever. At
the peace of Campo Forino on October the 17th.1797, the whole Electorate
went to the French Republic and later, at the peace of Luneville, on
February the 9th 1801, it was ceded to France with the left bank of the
Rhine river. After the War of Liberation against Napoleon in the year
1814, the Rhineland was again giv!
en to Prussia.
The French-German war of 1870-1871
At the beginning of July 1870, the political situation intensified to a
point that fear and worry filled the hearts of the people. On
July the 15th. there was talk about the declaration of war that was to
come and an order for general mobilization arrived. The Prussian troops
advanced in great columns from Saarburg in the direction of Lorraine.
Diedenhofen and Metz were besieged. Old people still tell about the big
supply columns and cattle herds (meat for the soldiers) which were driven
through Borg. When the war ended in 1871, people planted "peace oaks"
everywhere. In Borg 3 oaks were planted.
1914-1918 - The First World War.
July 2nd, 1917 - The bells of the church were confiscated as war
material. On November 8th, 1918 - The flow of the German Army returned
through Borg. A commandant and lieutenants were quartered in the
Presbytery. During the night many soldiers secretly deserted.
November 10th, 1918 - The Americans arrived. They took up quarters in
the village and stayed for several weeks.
1939-1945 - Second World War
The following are only the most important entries from the Chronicle.
Borg had been emptied on September 1st, 1939. This meant that the people
were evacuated, because of the war danger on the French-German border, on
the right bank of the Rhine. On June 22, 1940 - The inhabitants of Borg
were allowed to return home. They found their church was destroyed. A
German Lieutenant had blown up the church tower for "strategic
reasons".
On November 17th, 1944, Borg is, for the first time, bombarded by the
Americans. On November 19th, 1944 Borg is occupied by the Americans. From
December 16th to 27th, 1944, the Germans mounted a counter-offensive in the
Ardennes.
The inhabitants of Borg again were evacuated, this time by the Americans
to Hemmersdorf in Saarland. When the people came back to their village in
the spring of 1945, they found their cattle had perished in their stalls or
in the fields.
