User:Dr Gangrene/Gondelange

Waldbredimus lies in a valley traversed by a narrow stream, the Steîbâch, which throughout its course used to power several mills lying close to each other, such as the Schléimill, the Gondelange mill and the Waldbredimus mill.

The valley opens up on a wide plain towards the east, where it meets the Luxembourg-Remich road. Towards the west, the valley closes with a sharp angle and slope, in the background of which can be seen the church tower of Dalheim. At a short distance from the village, steep hill ranges can be found on either side, covered by forests, as revealed by the name "Waldbredimus"; Wald being German for "forest, woods".

Mayors of the commune since 1843:


 * Nicolas Spanier, appointed 29 December 1843
 * J. Goergen, appointed 24 April 1849, 22 December 1854, 15 January 1858
 * échevins, Michel Weydert, Nicolas Ellinger (1855-)
 * échevins, Jean Engel (1856-)
 * échevins, Nicolas Spanier (1859-)
 * Nicolas Ehlinger, appointed 12 March 1861, 5 March 1867, 30 January 1873, 26 December 1878; d. March 1884
 * échevins, Nicolas Spanier, Pierre Mousel (1861-)
 * échevins, Nicolas Spanier (1864-)
 * échevins, Christophe Ries (1875-)
 * Henri Fischer, from 28 January 1885
 * reappointed 27 December 1890
 * échevins, 1900-: Michel Pinnel/Punnel, Christophe Ries
 * échevins, 1906-: Michel Pinnel/Punnel, Christophe Ries
 * échevins, 1913-: Théodore Molling
 * voluntarily left the communal council in December 1914
 * Christophe Ries, 4 January 1915, left the communal council in December 1917
 * Nicolas Fisch, appointed 30 December 1920, échevins Théodore Molling, Pierre Klincker
 * reappointed 1929, échevins Auguste Kayl, Pierre Ruppert
 * Auguste Kayl, 1932-1963
 * reappointed 1933, échevins Nicolas Engel
 * reappointed 1946, échevins Léon Kintzelé, Michel Schmit
 * J. Goergen is mentioned as mayor in 1941
 * Pierre Ruppert is mentioned as mayor in 1942
 * Joseph Rennel, appointed 1975

Population of the commune

 * 1839: 798
 * 1845: 841
 * 1849: 841
 * 1852: 883
 * 1855: 794
 * 1858: 857
 * 1861: 903
 * 1864: 901
 * 1867: 913
 * 1871: 789
 * 1875: 766
 * 1880: 740
 * 1885: 703
 * 1890: 684
 * 1895: 652
 * 1900: 643

Church
The parish of Waldbredimus dates to the time of Charlemagne. In 1214 Gerhard, the Abbot of Munster, received it in a land swap. Already in the early middle ages (around the 11th/12h centuries), a church existed here in the Romanesque style. Of this original church, only the tower remains. The church was originally dedicated to the Holy Trinity. During the Thirty Years' War, Saint Sebastian became its patron saint, who was seen as a defender against the plague.

Around 1460, the present church was constructed in the Gothic style. It is cruciform, and possesses vaulting ribs supported by representational capitals. Of particular note are the altar of the Three Kings, the gravestones of the lords of Wiltheim and Gondelange, and the keystone bearing the coat of arms of the abbey of Munster.

In spite of frequent damage from fires and storms, the church remained intact throughout the centuries. Plans for an enlargement failed several times. It was not until 1884 that serious restoration work took place, with government subsidies. Amongst other things, the sacristy was connected to the mysterious upper room of the "leprous crusader" through a spiral staircase.

A second, more far-reaching restoration took place from 1964-1967, organised by the Commission des sites et monuments nationaux. During the re-working of the flooring, 24 graves from the time of 1675-1784 were found in the chancel and nave area.

The parish's priests were:


 * 11 July 1295: Peter von Fleischgassen
 * 2 May 1309: Johann von Kahlenfelz
 * 10 September 1350: Philipp von Remich
 * 21 January 1449: Wilhelm von Bourscheid

Castle and lordship of Gondelange
The former castle of Gondelange, stood at the site that now shares the same name, 5 minutes outside of the village of Waldbredimus, off the road that leads to Dalheim, in a small valley basin. Its location was behind the large farmhouse which is still now called "the castle" (d'Schlass / das Schloss). No walls now remain of the castle, as these were torn down and their stones used for new buildings in the surrounding area as well as Assel, Rollingen and Reckingenhof.

The castle was auctioned off on 25 July 1822 and destroyed shortly afterwards, or its adjoining buildings completely converted.

From old times, the lordships of Gondelange and Waldbredimus formed a part of the county of Pittingen, which belonged to the Count of Kriechingen. They underwent the same changes of ownership that the county of Pittingen underwent throughout history.

Since it was established in 1673, the lordship of Gondelange consisted of:

Nicolas de Chérisey took his name from the village of Chérisey near Pournoy-la-Grasse. He married Anne Marie de Wiltheim, daughter of Eustace de Wiltheim, lord of Waldbredimus and Gondelange (d. 1667) and Maria Regina de Benninck. De Chérisey also inherited from his father the castle and lordship of Ménil-la-Tour, which is where the young couple seem to have lived initially. Later, in 1673, they took over the lordships of Gondelange and Trintange and took up residence in the castle of Gondelange.
 * The lordship of Trintange, including the villages of Trintang, Roedt and Ersange
 * The lordship of Gondelange, consisting solely of Gondelange: This was created on 12 September 1673 with the division of property between Jean-Baptiste Wiltheim and his in-law, Nicolas de Chérisey (husband of Anna Marie de Wiltheim of Waldbredimus)

Nicolas de Chérisey died on 22 October 1679; his wife Anne Marie de Wiltheim outlived him by 23 years, dying on 1 March 1713. Both were buried in the parish church of Waldbredimus.

They had six children, the oldest of which was Anne Marie de Chérisey (b. 22 October 1667). In 1687 she married Philippe Hermann de Flesgin in the castle chapel of Gondelange; he thus would become the new lord of Gondelange and Trintange. In addition to being lord of Mondorf, Gondelange, and Trintange, Philippe Hermann de Flesgin also laid claim to the lordship of Weiler-la-Tour. De Flesgin died in 1729; his wife outlived him and died in 1744 in Waldbredimus. Both were buried in the Waldbredimus parish church.

His wife Anne Marie de Chérisey still strove to add to her lands, even after the death of her husband. In 1737, she purchased the territory and lordship of Waldbredimus from Anne Louise de Wiltheim, wife of Matthieu-Ignace de Villers-Masbourg. In doing so she reunited in her hands the lordships of Gondelange and Trintange with that of Waldbredimus, which before 1673 had all been in hands of the Wiltheim family.

She and de Flesgin had eight children, the eldest of which was Anne Marie de Flesgin (b. 1688 Mondorf). Around 1708 she married Jean Baptiste de Martiny, lord of Weiler-la-Tour, Roeser, and Merl, and a lawyer in Pont-à-Mousson. He had been a member of the Provincial Council in Luxembourg from 1693. He died in 1735, while Anne Marie de Flesgin died in 1745, leaving behind many children.

Their inheritor was Marie Anne Françoise Joseph de Martiny, b. 1710. In her will dated 1753, she made her brother Philippe Jacques de Martiny, her sole heir.

The last lord of Gondelange, Jean Charles Borromeus Adame Joseph de Martiny, auctioned off the lands of the lordship in three public auctions on 25 and 26 July 1822 and 23 February 1831 and finally divested himself of them in 1835. He had been born 1772. He married around 1805 Marie Joseph Henriette van den Broeck, daughter of the baron of Jamoigne, Faing, Valansart, Romponcelle, Prouvy, Les Bulles, Preisch (in Lorraine), and Hagen.

The play "De Schwiefelbour" by Alain Atten, Luxembourgish author, historian and playwright, was performed outside the Waldbredimus church in 1996. Set in 1795 in Gondelange, it deals with the French Revolution.