Monzel

Catholic parish church of St. Nicholas 1784 with cemetery, view from the south

The districts of Monzel and Osann are first mentioned in the same document, the “Vita Magnerici”, in 1008.

A chapel in Monzel is mentioned in the first visitation carried out by the diocese of Trier in all towns in the catchment area in 1569. When the old chapel was demolished in 1787, an engraved three-digit date was found. The existence of the chapel is documented in 1244 at the latest. The present church (49° 54′ 28˝N / 6° 57′ 25˝O) was built in 1787 in the style of a late Baroque country church. Until 1833, Monzel was a branch of the parish of Osann with its own vicar and therefore only a chapel instead of a church. On December 6, 1833, Monzel was elevated to an independent, episcopal parish. The patron saint has always been St. Nicholas. The separation from the parish of Osann and the associated fierce disputes were described in a chronicle. A true Moselle incident was recorded in another chronicle:

The “St. Nicholas War”
For years, a magnificent wooden St. Nicholas watched over the people who crossed the Moselle by ferry from Minheim to Kesten in the little holy house at the entrance to the village. He could also raise his crosier as a warning to St. Peter if he allowed the floodwater to rise too high into the houses. When the Wehrmacht withdrew in March 1945, the Kestener Nikolaus was destroyed by German shells and a replacement had to be procured. At this time, a dusty statue of St. Nicholas had already been lying in the shed of the vicarage in Monzel for years. Without a contract and with the “goodwill” of the then very elderly priest in Monzel, the statue from Monzel came to Kesten. The parish priest in Kesten at the time had the find refurbished and so the statue was finally in good condition again in Kesten. One morning, however, the little house in Kesten, where the “new” St. Nicholas was now standing again, was empty. Santa Claus was gone!

He was put in a sack in the dark of night and brought to Monzel. The new priest in Monzel wanted to have a St. Nicholas in the church again. The news that St. Nicholas had been stolen from Kesten spread quickly. The people of Kesten rushed to the saint’s house to make sure it was empty. The statue of St. Nicholas was now secured with chains in the sacristy of the Monzel church on church property. The police had no access here – nobody could get into the sacristy. One morning, when the people of Monzel went to church, they were shocked to discover that the only remaining small statue of St. Nicholas outside the church above the portal had disappeared. However, it had not been stolen, but was standing intact on the small roof of a wayside shrine between Kesten and Monzel. It bore a sign with the inscription “Kläne Krobbat, wo ös dei Vadda?” (“Little rascal, where is your father?”). The little statue was immediately returned to Monzel. However, the people of Kesten were still trying to find where the big St. Nicholas was hiding. They therefore called out during the silence of a mass in Monzel: “You who stole St. Nicholas, you who carried St. Nicholas up the path, you who put St. Nicholas in chains in the sacristy”. The negotiations for St. Nicholas were unsuccessful. The regional press reported eagerly. On Shrove Tuesday 1950, the people of Osanne made fun of the dispute between Monzeler and Kestener with a float and drove it through both villages. In the early 1950s, the episcopal court in Trier decided the case in favor of the parish of Monzel, which was awarded the statue of St. Nicholas. However, it had to reimburse the people of Kesten for the costs of restoration. The people of Kesten then used this money to buy a new St. Nicholas for their little house. The people of Monzel, however, made fun of his appearance as he had no beard. The press continued to report on the “Santa Claus war” until the early 1960s. The precious Monzel St. Nicholas was returned to the restorer in 2012 and restored to its current condition.

Chapel in the SW corner of the cemetery: war memorial & statue of Magdalena with the crucified Jesus

Meeting with mindfulness and respect – taking responsibility

Guys, why are you fighting all the time? What kind of fight are you having? Could it be that you simply don’t have your feelings and passions under control and that’s why you’re letting yourselves go? You always want everything and yet you get nothing. You’re jealous of others and if your thoughts could kill, there would probably already be a few dead bodies in your house. Arguing is apparently normal, you fight each other, it’s no use, you need to start…

Text / Right of use: Martin Dreyer / Berlin, Volxbibel: James 4, 1ff