Mesenich 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. Mesenich is a winegrowing centre. Geography The municipality lies on the river Moselle roughly 4 km southeast of Cochem. History Finds from the Stone Age, remnants of Roman settlements and graves from Merovingian times bear witness to the municipality's early days. As early as 1050, Mesenich had its first documentary mention in connection with the Polish queen and count palatine's daughter Richeza's donation to the Brauweiler Benedictine Monastery near Cologne. The municipality's name, originally Mesinich, is, like most other nearby villages’ names, of Celtic origin. Besides winegrowing and subsistence agriculture, shipbuilding was an important means of livelihood. This explains why an anchor is included as a charge in the municipality's coat of arms. Between 1050 and 1088, the Abbot of Brauweiler, Wolfhelm, had the parish church built; it is consecrated to Saint Nicholas. The church had its first documentary mention on 18 November 1088 in a document from Archbishop of Trier Egilbert. In the course of the centuries, the church has been remodelled several times. About 1200, the Romanesque churchtower was renovated, in 1730 the church got the main and side altars that it still has today and in 1736, the Baroque nave was consecrated. After the renovation in 1971, the church took on its current appearance. The architectural focal point in the municipality today is the Late Baroque-Classicist Brauweiler Hof, which until the late 18th century served as the tithing manor. It was built in 1771 under master builder Nikolaus Lauxen, and today it is under private ownership. After French Revolutionary troops occupied the lands on the Rhine’s left bank in 1794, the monastery holdings were sold off. In 1814 Mesenich 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 8 council members, who were elected by majority vote at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairwoman. Mayor Mesenich’s mayor is Peter Serwazi. Coat of arms The German blazon reads: Im Blau einen nach halbrechts gewandten Bischof in goldenem Gewand mit Mitra und Stab in der Linke, mit