Neroth - History

History

In 1388, Neroth had its first documentary mention. Neroth arose out of several small centres, namely Niederroth, Hundswinkel and Oberroth. The placename ending —roth refers to clearing woods for farming, and goes back to the 12th century or thereabouts. As an Imperial-knightly village, the Elector of Trier was the fiefholder. With Electoral Trier’s conquest in 1794, the French took over the administration.

As early as 1744, church books mentioned, besides the resident people, wandering families – the Jenische people. They were pedlars and took up residence in winter in Neroth. They distinguished themselves from the long established peasant families with their endogamous marriages and their own language, Jenisch.

Little is known about the French who settled in Neroth. Even today, several French surnames are found in Neroth, such as Leclaire, Jaquemod and Brackonier.

In 1780, Neroth had 215 Morgen (roughly 70 ha) of cropland and about as much again in meadowland, grazing land and woodlands. Raised here were grain, oats and potatoes. The climate and high elevation, however, did not favour farming, and despite hard work, crops often turned out badly. Most of the population lived on potatoes, bread and some vegetables. In the early 19th century, Neroth’s economic situation became critical, though the villagers tried to overcome their neediness by working harder and cutting back on their consumption.

In the end, Theodor Kläs, who was born in Neroth in 1802, showed his fellow villagers a way out of neediness. He had travelled, and on his many journeys he had learnt to work in wire and wooden wares. He taught people to braid wire, and they began making, for the most part, mousetraps and rat traps, which pedlars from Neroth sold everywhere. This was the beginning of a wireworking industry that persisted into the years following the Second World War.

Another thing that Neroth is known for is the Nerother Wandervogel youth movement. It was founded on the night of New Year's Eve 1919 and New Year's Day 1920 in the old millstone quarry by the brothers Robert and Karl Oelbermann. It was known for bravely resisting the Nazi régime during the Second World War.