Glossary
Historical and regional terms, briefly explained.
brotherhood
A church-based social community that upholds traditions, processions, and often the marksmen's guild customs.
Bunter sandstone
A reddish sandstone widely used as building stone.
Bütt
A barrel-shaped lectern from which carnival speeches are delivered.
cadastral district
A cadastral district is a legally defined area of the land register grouping together several parcels.
colliery
A colliery is a coal-mining operation, especially for extracting hard coal.
colonia
Roman legal status of a privileged town whose inhabitants held full Roman citizenship.
Community Edict
The Community Edict was an early 19th-century Bavarian law regulating the self-government of municipalities.
Donk
A sandy rise in a wet lowland.
Dreigestirn (carnival trio)
The three main figures of Cologne carnival: Prince, Farmer and Maiden.
eastern colonisation
The medieval expansion and settlement of eastern territories by Frankish or German settlers.
Electoral-Cologne
Belonging to the Electorate of Cologne, the secular territory of the Cologne archbishop.
Electorate of Mainz
The secular territory of the Archbishop of Mainz, who was also a prince-elector.
Fen
A marshy, often wooded wetland.
hall church
A church whose side aisles are (almost) as high as the nave, creating a hall-like interior space.
headframe
The frame above a mine shaft that carries the winding ropes.
Heunen column
Large, unfinished sandstone columns once intended as building material.
Imperial Recess of 1803
The 1803 decree that dissolved ecclesiastical states and reorganised German territories.
knight's seat
A fortified residence of a knight or lesser nobleman.
Köbes
The traditional waiter in a Cologne or Düsseldorf brewery tavern.
Kölsch
Term for both the top-fermented Cologne beer and the local Cologne dialect.
Kranz
A ring-shaped tray used by the Köbes to carry several Kölsch glasses.
Land Peace
An agreement to preserve peace and prohibit feuding.
Limes
The fortified frontier line of the Roman Empire facing Germania.
Listed Building
A legally protected structure of special historical or artistic significance.
loess
A fine, wind-blown sediment that forms very fertile soils.
lowland castle
A castle built on flat terrain, usually protected by water.
Mairie
A mayoralty administered according to the French model.
manorial estate
The economic and administrative seat of a feudal lord in the Middle Ages.
mayoralty
A mayoralty was a municipal administrative unit headed by a mayor.
medium-order centre
A town that supplies its surrounding area with higher-order goods and services.
middle terrace
A middle level of a river valley formed during an earlier cold period.
moraine
A ridge of rock debris pushed together by a glacier.
neo-Gothic
A 19th-century architectural style that revived the forms of medieval Gothic.
NHN (standard elevation zero)
The official reference level in Germany for stating heights above sea level.
on the left bank of the Main
Situated on the left side of the river Main.
oppidum
Latin term for a fortified town-like settlement of antiquity.
parcel
A parcel is an officially surveyed, uniquely numbered plot of land in the land register.
patrocinium (patron saint)
The saint (or feast) to whom a church is dedicated and after whom it is named.
post mill
A windmill whose entire body is turned into the wind on a central post.
prince-elector
An imperial prince entitled to elect the Holy Roman king.
residential tower
A fortified, habitable tower that served both as dwelling and refuge.
retable
An elaborately designed structure standing behind or on an altar.
Roman fort
A fortified Roman military camp, usually built to guard the frontier.
Rose Monday
Rose Monday is the climax of the Rhenish carnival, marked by large processions.
round village
A settlement or old-town laid out in a ring or circular form.
slighted (dismantled/razed)
The deliberate demolition and leveling of fortifications to render them militarily unusable.
Stange
A slim, cylindrical glass in which Kölsch beer is served.
tax register
A medieval list of dues owed to a lord or monastery.
terminus station
A terminus is a station where the tracks end and trains can only depart in the direction they arrived from.
territorial rule
The supreme secular ruling authority over a territory in the Old Empire.
through station
A through station is a station whose tracks run straight through, so trains continue without changing direction.
top-fermented
A brewing method in which the yeast rises to the surface at a warmer temperature.
tower mill
A windmill with a fixed tower-like stone body, where only the cap is turned.
Upper Quarter
The part of the Duchy of Guelders near the Upper Rhine.
Veedel
The Cologne dialect word for a city quarter and the neighbourhood that lives there.
Vogt (reeve/bailiff)
A secular administrator and legal representative acting on behalf of a lord.
Weckmann
A human-shaped figure made of sweet yeast dough.
Weiberfastnacht (Women's Carnival)
The Thursday before Rose Monday, when street carnival begins.