Voreifel

The Voreifel is the name of a settlement area in the south of North Rhine -Westphalia. The term has formed in the local parlance.

To Voreifel are usually reckoned the cities and towns Meckenheim, Rhine river, Swisttal, the villages east of Euskirchen, the southern towns of Alfter and Weilerswist, the western of Wachtberg and northern villages of the county.

Geography

Geographically, the Voreifel forms the south-eastern foothills of the Zuelpicher flange and is largely congruent with the so-called Rheinbacher Lössplatte in the North Eifel on the plateau between Ahr and Rhine. The landscape is generally determined by the wide valley of Swist and the Erft. To the east it is surrounded by forest and Kotte Ville, south of Eifelfuß with the Rheinbacher forest and the Ahrgebirge. Southeast of it passes into the Drachenfelser Ländchen. To the northwest is the transition to the vast plains of the flange landscape fluently, but can be roughly delimit through the course of Erft.

The areas of Voreifel are significantly higher than the easternmost Rhine Valley with about 50 m because of the rise of the promontory with altitudes between 130 m and 200 m already. However, the Voreifel only rises behind the cities of the Rhine river and Euskirchen in the south to the mountains of the Eifel region with altitudes of well over 250 m.

Climate and Weather

The climate of the Voreifel differs from the environment by the slightly lower compared rainfall. This is due to the Leelage the Eifel, especially with winds from the west and south directions. In northern weather conditions, it may get through the traffic jam situation on the heights of the Eifel also the opposite phenomenon, raining persistently strong. In particular, the Swist is then feared for strong flood.

The mean annual temperatures range from about 9 ° C to 10 ° C. The average temperatures are higher than in the Eifel low mountain air, but fall far below those in the meso-climate of the Rhine Valley. The transition from Eifel to Voreifel or of Voreifel to Rhine Valley Often a significant jump in temperature and a change in the weather can be observed.

History

The area of the Lower Eifel is dominated by agriculture since time immemorial. Already in Roman times there were many farms, various settlements and military camps along the Eifel aqueduct to Cologne. In the Middle Ages many castles were built in the area of ​​Voreifel and later rebuilt or expanded. Many of them have been preserved and can still be seen today, for example, along the water castles route. In the 18th century the archbishops of Cologne and the Elector Clemens August and Maximilian had also into the area of the Lower Eifel. Many buildings in the Baroque style and various modifications of castles to castles fall in this period, such as Schloss Miel. From the 19th century to the early 20th century, the Voreifel was then influenced by the industrialization in the area, this is especially the Euskirchener cloth industry and the opening up of the Rhenish lignite mining area to the Ville mentioned.

After the Second World War, the short distance to the former seat of government in Bonn was formative; the Voreifel developed into a popular residential area for employees of the various authorities. From the 1960s, the influence of Sümpfungsmaßnahmen for about 50 km to the north located Frechen and Hambach opencast lignite mines became clear that large parts of the Voreifel lie on the so-called Erft plaice. In this the uppermost groundwater storeys were emptied; subsequently fell numerous water bodies and wetlands dry. In addition, it comes along geological fault zones to increased movements affecting buildings and infrastructure.

Nature and landscape were found from about the 1970s to become more valuable; Numerous protected areas emerged. The recovery function of the region was stressed and used more and more. The Voreifel is next to Ville and Kottenforst essential part of Rheinland Nature Park. In 2004, the Integrated Rural Development Perspective ( ILEK ) was founded Voreifel of some of the municipalities. It has to coordinate the goal of the future development of the region.

Economy and Transport

The areas of the Voreifel is used for agriculture -intensive because of the fertile soil and favorable climate. Crops are wheat, sugar beet and barley. Even specialty crops such as strawberries, fruit plantations in the area south of Meckenheim and the experimental farm of the University of Bonn in small Altendorf evidence of the favorable conditions for agriculture. Under the upper loess layer can be found in various soil gravel and gravel deposits that are promoted in several mines in the mining industry.

Larger industrial areas are located near Euskirchen ( IPAS and EURO- Park ) and Meckenheim ( Industrial Park Kottenforst ), otherwise there is a strong dependence and alignment to the business centers of the Rhine Valley, with the cities of Cologne and Bonn.

The Voreifel is accessed primarily by the Highway 61 and rail traffic through the Voreifelbahn the road. Waterways are not available.