Bölhorst (Minden)

Belhorst is first mentioned in 1394. On December 31, 2008, 988 inhabitants lived in the urban district of Belhorst. Belhorst is the second smallest in population, and the smallest region of Minden in terms of area.

The ancient word “Belhorst” in translation into modern means “Forest Hill”. But this is the simplest interpretation. Tradition suggests that this hilly territory was the property of the Knights of Belle and Horst. And in fact, during construction work, remains of thick medieval stone walls were found here.

On January 1, 1973, Belhorst was incorporated into the district-forming city of Minden ^[2] .

Part of the city

Belhorst is the smallest part of Minden. This is a historical justification. Unlike the neighboring villages in the past, there was no farmer in Belhorst who owned his own land. Thus, the importance of the village was low. In Minden and its surroundings, the region of Belhorst is still often referred to as the “Black Box” (Der Schwarze Hucken). This name has its own history. Here was the coal mine, and the waste rock was poured out with the help of boxes on its back on the field of Belhorst, forming a small waste heap . The blade was demolished in 1952-53, when rock was needed to build a dam, a bridge protecting the floodplain and entrances to it through the Weser (now Portabruke bridge). Today, only the street name “Huckenstraße” and the restaurant “To Hucken” (Zum Hucken) are reminiscent of the “Black Box”.

The coat of arms of Belhorst County consists of three parts, each of which is related to its history.

Millstone Mill

Zhernov symbolizes the Belhorst mill that actually existed. It still exists, but converted into a residential building on Klinkerstrasse street (Klinkerstraße). For centuries, farmers of all the neighborhoods brought grain to this old windmill , which for the first three hundred years belonged to the Altendorf family (later Luhmann and then Stolze) until it was decommissioned. Due to its position, the mill was visible from afar and therefore was considered a landmark of Belhorst.

Bricks

In Böllhorst bricks were baked until 1955. He was considered heavy. Until now, there is a house on Lehmhausstraße, completely built of these bricks.

Mining lamp

Many residents of Byelkhorstvo were miners. The old name "between the mountain and the cliff" indicates the characteristic landscape of the area. The underlying geological layers of the Cretaceous period, containing coal interlayers and pottery clays, were the natural reason for the formation of their mining and brick production. Coal mining has been known since 1638, which grew into the Coal Balchort coal mine . It was closed due to the depletion of coal reserves only in the mid-twentieth century. The second (new) coal mine began operating in 1876 at the Meissen mine, and in 1900 produced about 17,000 tons of coal on the mountain and doubled this annual result until 1913. During World War I, coal mining continued to grow. The third coal mine, where the inhabitants of Belhorst worked, was opened in 1880 in Barkhausen, but it was unprofitable and was closed seven years later. Nevertheless, these three mines for many years gave jobs to local residents. Another stable source for existence was safer iron ore mines, and other mines in the vicinity. All these mining operations functioned more or less stably until the Second World War.

It is believed that the first embers were found during the Thirty Years War (1618–1648), when Swedish soldiers set up defenses in the southern part of the hill.

During the time of Frederick the Great, five mining families came to Belhorst from the Harz : Amanns, Homanns, Kollmeiers, Blankenhahns and Geldmachers. Some of them live in the district today. Being miners, they emigrated from Saxony and the Harz in the 18th century. They built small mud houses, which still stand on Lehmhausstraße. Behind each house was a small garden. Here, the most necessary food for the family was raised, because the meager miner's wages were often not enough to feed a large family. These houses are the oldest in the area. They are few of the evidence of past coal mining.

In the 19th century, about 150 people worked at the Laura mine with the Belhorst and Aurora trunks and mined about 50 thousand tons of coal a year ^[3] . The headquarters of the Minden-Ravensberg Association of Miners was also located here.

Bölhorst is literally riddled with vertical penetrations and horizontal galleries. When digging wells and drilling wells, local residents often encounter miners' voids, and cracks may appear in the walls of houses. All these are traces of the former mining activity.

The old village bell was melted in 1942 to make weapons. The inscription of the old bell read:

“Good luck to all members of the Association of Miners of the Belhorst! Come back, miner! SGIRNMBF Friedrich Rinkert of Osnabrück poured me out in 1775. ”

By the holiday of Harvest in 1950, Belhorst received a bell with the inscription: “With my sound I honor your sons, who gave you blood and life. With donations from the municipality of Belhorst in 1950. "

On the bottom edge of the bell is the inscription (as a reminder): “Good luck to all the miners of Belhorst! Come back, miner! ” The bell is installed in the center of Bellhorst at the fire station.

• Böllhorst (him)
• Böllhorst (him)