Gevenich

Gevenich is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Ulmen, whose seat is in the like-named town.GeographyLocationThe municipality lies in the Eifel at the eastern edge of the Verbandsgemeinde of Ulmen about 5 km west of Cochem and the Moselle. It has an elevation of 400 m above sea level and an area of roughly 710 ha.HistoryIn 1051, Gevenich had its first documentary mention in a document from Emperor Heinrich III. Beginning in 1476, the Electorate of Trier was Gevenich’s sole landholder. With the French Revolutionary occupation in 1794, Gevenich passed as part of the Arrondissement of Koblenz, along with Weiler, to the Canton of Lutzerath. In 1815 Gevenich was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia at the Congress of Vienna. Lean years in the mid 19th century and the attendant emigration by the poorer sectors of the population, either voluntary or forced by the municipality, reduced the population figure by a third. Since 1946, Gevenich has been part of the then newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate.