The municipality lies on a bow in the riverMoselle in the middle of the Cochemer Krampen, a 24-kilometre-long stretch of the Moselle made up of many winding bows. Ellenz-Poltersdorf lies on a point bar, which towards the southeast flattens out as it reaches the Moselle.
Nearby municipalities
The district seat of Cochem, which is also the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde administration, lies some 7 km downstream. Mayen is about 30 km away, and Koblenz is 50 km away. Directly across the Moselle is the small community of Beilstein, which is linked to Ellenz-Poltersdorf by ferry.
Extent of the municipal area
While Ellenz-Poltersdorf's municipal area stretches along both sides of the Moselle, mainly in the form of wooded land, the two constituent communities of Ellenz and Poltersdorf both lie on the river's left bank, where most of the vineyards are also found, and therefore most of the winegrowing estates within the municipal area. The best known of these is Ellenzer Goldbäumchen
Land use
Expressed as percentages of the total area, land use in the municipality breaks down thus :
About 1100, Ellenz had its first documentary mention in a directory of holdings from the Karden Monastery. Poltersdorf's first documentary mention comes from 1178. Until the early 14th century, there was an ImperialVogtei of Ellenz-Poltersdorf. The overlordship held by the Electorate of Trier was swept away in 1794 with the French Revolutionary occupation. In 1815 Ellenz-Poltersdorf was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia at the Congress of Vienna, belonging until 1945 to the Rhine Province. 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 majority vote at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
Mayor
Ellenz-Poltersdorf's mayor is Hans Dietmar Schausten.
Culture and sightseeing
Buildings
The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments:
Hauptstraße 37 – big L-shaped building, essentially possibly from the 16th century, front building, from 1911, essentially older
Hauptstraße 41 – town hall; timber-frame house, partly solid, from 1541
Hauptstraße 42 – quarrystone building, about 1845; Late Gothic inscription tablet with Archbishop Johann II of Baden’s coat of arms, stonemason Peter von Wederath
Hauptstraße 45 – timber-frame house, partly solid, balloon frame, possibly from as far back as the 15th century, three-floor timber-frame addition, partly solid, 18th century
Schulstraße 1/3 – former Burghaus Warsberg; two-floor, originally three-floor quarrystone building, two round towers, possibly from later than 1473
St.-Sebastianus-Straße – Saint Martin's Old Church ; Late Romanesque west tower, twin-naved, from 1494 and 1499, quire and sacristy from 1762; 15 grave crosses, 18th and 19th century; three sandstone reliefs, by Hans Ruprecht Hoffmann's circle or successors; whole complex of buildings with graveyard: Crucifixion group, from 1670; sculpted tomb, from 1892; graveyard cross, 19th century
St.-Sebastianus-Straße 11 – solid building, essentially from the 16th century
Poltersdorf
Saint Andrew’s Catholic Church, Kirchstraße – Late Gothic west tower with passageway through, 1509, aisleless church, 1950-1952
Goldbäumchenstraße 14 – former school; plastered building, mid 19th century
Kirchstraße 8 – Gymnicher Hof, Knights of Maltacommandry; timber-frame building, partly solid, balloon frame, essentially from the 16th century; timber-frame barn; beam pump; whole complex
Within the limits of the constituent community of Ellenz, not far from the Fankel Weir, is found the RWE Power AG main control centre, from which all hydroelectric stations at weirs on the German sections of the Moselle and the Saar are controlled.
