Moselkern 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. Geography The municipality lies at the mouth of the Elzbach, where this river empties into the river Moselle. Neighbouring municipalities Moselkern's neighbours are Müden in the west, the Münstermaifeld Stadtteil of Lasserg and Wierschem in the north and Burgen and Hatzenport in the northeast. History A villa Kerne was listed about 1100 in the directory of holdings at Saint Castor's Foundation in Karden. In 1097, Kerne was named as the only village in the district that in the Middle Ages was subject to the rural chapter of Ochtendung. In 1280, Sir Hermann von Löf, a knight, forwent one third of the tithes gathered from winemaking and cereal yields in Moselkern in favour of the Münstermaifeld Foundation. In 1337, Johann von Eltz, Burgrave at Baldeneltz, held a fief in Moselkern from the Electorate of Trier. In 1424, Johann von Eltz was enfeoffed by the Electorate of Trier with his father Richard's fief, which comprised, among other things, vineyards in Moselkern. In 1442, he was enfeoffed with benefits from winemaking, an estate and taxes out of his wife Agnes von Kobern's holdings by the Electorate of Trier. By 1794, the estate was still held by the Counts of Eltz, albeit jointly with the Counts of Leyen. A priest in Kerne was mentioned in Rudolf von Polch's will. In the Taxa generalia, which came into being about 1330, Moselkern was listed as “capella sive plebania” (“chapel or presbytery”) with a priest who celebrated Early Mass. In the 16th century it is likely that the church was granted full parochial rights to the veneration of Saint Valerius. It is from this time, too, that the figure of the holy bishop Valerius on the side altar to the right comes. Today's church building was built to plans by Electoral-Trier master builder Wirth in 1789. Trier's lordship ended only a few years later with the occupation of the lands on the Rhine’s left bank by French Revolutionary troops in 1794. In 1814 Moselkern 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. Politics Municipal council The council is made up of 12 council members, who were elected by