Irmenach

Irmenach
Coat of arms
Irmenach
Location of Irmenach within Bernkastel-Wittlich district
Coordinates: 49°55′27″N 7°11′14″E / 49.92417°N 7.18722°E / 49.92417; 7.18722Coordinates: 49°55′27″N 7°11′14″E / 49.92417°N 7.18722°E / 49.92417; 7.18722
Country	Germany
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District	Bernkastel-Wittlich
Municipal assoc.	Traben-Trarbach
Government
• Mayor	Martin Kirst
Area
• Total	16.38 km2 (6.32 sq mi)
Elevation	445 m (1,460 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	675
• Density	41/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	56843
Dialling codes	06541
Vehicle registration	WIL

Irmenach is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

The municipality lies in the Hunsrück east of Bernkastel-Kues at an elevation of 445 m above sea level. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Traben-Trarbach, whose seat is in the like-named town.

Irmenach’s Ortsteile are Irmenach and Beuren, which lie only about a kilometre from each other.

Irmenach’s and Beuren’s beginnings are shrouded in darkness. There are known to have been settlers in the area as early as Roman times. An old local tradition has it that the name Irmenach goes back to Saint Irmina, which is, however, hardly likely. A far greater likelihood is that it came from Herminiachus (“Herminius’s Estate”), in which Herminius was a Celtic nobleman who had Latinized his name. Originally, Irmenach formed, together with Beuren and Thalkleinich, now an outlying centre of Kleinich, the greater municipality of Irmenach, which existed until 1828.

No later than the 14th century, and quite likely earlier, there were a church in Irmenach and a chapel in Beuren, to whose upkeep the inhabitants of Thalkleinich also had to contribute, even if their ecclesiastical needs were being satisfied by the one in Kleinich, which was only a few hundred metres away. A priest is witnessed for Irmenach no later than 1351, as was a pastor in 1413.

The Irmenach church might originally have been Saint Peter’s Church, even though the old local lore held that it was consecrated to Saint “Irmel” (Irmina) or that at the very least there was an altar consecrated to Irmina. Whatever the truth is, it seems that there were pilgrimages to the Irmenach church. Of the older church buildings, the lowest part of the tower may be all that is left; this may date from about 1200, whereas the tower and the nave were built later. Preserved to this day, however, are the old bells ( sample peal ) from 1423, 1514 (poured by Hans von Breisig) and 1555 (poured by Johann von Trier). In 1871 and 1872, a new nave was built in Irmenach, as the one that had stood until then had become too small for the community. This was not accomplished before an acrimonious dispute between the two centres, for the Beuren dwellers were of the opinion that any new church building should happen in their village. When the old church was torn down, the paintings, of which there is no doubt there were many, were all lost; such artworks can still be found at Lötzbeuren and Raversbeuren. The historical Stumm organ from 1776, though, was preserved.