Gevenich 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 Ulmen, whose seat is in the like-named town. Geography The municipality lies in the Eifel at the eastern edge of the Verbandsgemeinde of Ulmen about 5 km west of Cochem and the Moselle. It has an elevation of 400 m above sea level and an area of roughly 710 ha. History In 1051, Gevenich had its first documentary mention in a document from Emperor Heinrich III. Beginning in 1476, the Electorate of Trier was Gevenich's sole landholder. With the French Revolutionary occupation in 1794, Gevenich passed as part of the Arrondissement of Koblenz, along with Weiler, to the Canton of Lutzerath. In 1815 Gevenich was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia at the Congress of Vienna. Lean years in the mid 19th century and the attendant emigration by the poorer sectors of the population, either voluntary or forced by the municipality, reduced the population figure by a third. Since 1946, Gevenich has been part of the then newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Politics Municipal council The council is made up of 12 council members, who were elected by majority vote at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. Mayor Gevenich's mayor is Walter Brauns. Coat of arms The German blazon reads: In Schwarz ein schrägrechter Abtstab, begleitet oben von drei goldenen Ähren, unten von einem goldenen Hirschkopf mit Kreuz. The municipality's arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Sable issuant from base an abbot's staff bendwise argent, in chief sinister three ears of wheat Or, in base dexter a stag's head caboshed with attires, the sinister surmounting the abbot's staff, and ensigned with a cross Latin of the last. The abbot's staff refers to Brauweiler Abbey near Cologne, which beginning in 1051 had holdings in Gevenich granted it by Polish Queen Richeza, Emperor Otto II's granddaughter, who is believed to have lived for a few years in neighbouring Klotten. The three ears of wheat refer to both the earlier settlement that was founded in a clearing here in Roman times and today's agricultural pursuits. The stag's head with the cross is Saint Hubert’s attribute, thus representing the church's patron saint; he has held this honour since 1716 and an altar in