Bremm

Bremm is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Cochem, whose seat is in the like-named town. The municipality lies at a bow in the river Moselle between Trier and Koblenz, among the sloped vineyards of the Calmont, which with an elevation of 380 m above sea level and a slope of roughly 65° is Europe’s steepest vineyard location. This stretches along the Moselle from Ediger-Eller to Bremm, and is part of the Mosel wine region. In 1051, Bremm had its first documentary mention as Brembe. Nevertheless, Bremm would seem to be considerably older. Many finds at the south slope lying south of Bremm have led to the conclusion that the place was settled as early as Roman times. Possibly in the early centuries of the Christian era either a small settlement or a great homestead lay there. While cultivating the land in the 1950s, winegrowers reported problems that arose during ploughing due to foundation walls in the ground. Fragments of typically Roman building materials at this time lent further weight to the supposition of Bremm’s Roman origin. In the Middle Ages, Bremm’s most important landholder was until 1802 the Stuben Augustinian Convent. The first church was mentioned in 1097. The one that stands now was built in the late 15th century; in 1895 it was remodelled and enlarged. Like all the municipality’s foregoing churches, it is consecrated to Saint Lawrence. The lovely Baroque altar from 1630 was sold to Schloss Gondorf at the time of the remodelling, but in 1968 it was bought back for DM 30,000. Beginning in 1794, Bremm lay under French rule. In 1815 it was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia at the Congress of Vienna. Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate. In 2002, Bremm was awarded the title “Loveliest Village in Rhineland-Palatinate” in the contest Unser Dorf hat Zukunft (“Our Village Has a Future”).