Holungen - Origin of The Name

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” (= a gentle benevolent goddess or woman). 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” (settlement in a forest). 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 (all placenames ending in “-ungen”), 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 (isogloss) runs through Holungen. Residents speak Low German, while people of the neighbouring town of Bischofferode speak standard German.