Aach () is a municipality in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

. It is part of

Trier-Land Trier-Land is a ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the border with Luxembourg, north and west of Trier. The seat of the municipality is in Trier, its ...

, a ''

Verbandsgemeinde A Verbandsgemeinde (; plural Verbandsgemeinden) is a low-level administrative unit in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A Verbandsgemeinde is typically composed of a small group of villages or towns. Rhinelan ...

''.

History

The settlement of Aach dates to the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

. Later there also was a settlement of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

. The current municipality was first mentioned in the year 953 under its

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

name ''Aquacuum''. Despite being situated so close to the city of

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

, it was not part of the Archbishopric of Trier. Belonging to the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery St. Irminen, it was '' reichsfrei''. This prompted many

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

s to settle in Aach after they were expelled from Trier in the 16th century. During the time of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

Aach was—according to the

Treaty of Lunéville The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary doma ...

1802—a part of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. After Napoleon's ultimate defeat in 1815 Aach became a part of the new

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

province. Prussia itself became a part of the German Empire in 1871. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Aach became a part of the new (West) German state of

. Aach is known for its "Viez", the typical hard cider of the region.

Law and government

Aach has a council with sixteen seats. The elections in 2004 brought the CDU twelve seats, the other four went to the free voters' association FWG Aach e. V. In the same elections Mayor Josef Krein (CDU) was voted into office with nearly 74% of the votes. The last elections in 2009 brought the Christian Democrats all sixteen seats. Ralf Kierspel (CDU) was voted with 92,72% as mayor.

Geography

Aach lies about 6 km north of the center of

. It is situated in the southern Eifel mountains. Hohensonne is a village located just to the west and is included in the municipality. Aach can be reached via ''

Autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track' ...

'' A 64 (connecting Trier and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

) at exit no. 3 about 3.7 km south of Aach. The next railway station is the central station of Trier.

Jewish History

Jews first settled in Aach in 1589. Their population peaked at 86 in 1850. Most Jews were cattle traders, and were fairly successful. The town's synagogue was inaugurated in 1860. In 1938, the majority of Aach's Jews emigrated. Many of those who remained were murdered in the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

. There is no longer an organized Jewish community in Aach. However, the synagogue and Jewish cemetery (dating back to 1600) still exist.

References

{{Authority control Trier-Saarburg Holocaust locations in Germany