Ehrenkirchen is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the district of

Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald (french: Arrondissement de Brisgau-Haute-Forêt-Noire) is a (district) in the southwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Fifty towns and municipalities with 133 settlements lie within the district. The district itself belon ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

History

The villages of Ehrenstetten, Kirchhofen, Norsingen, Offnadingen, and Scherzingen were properties of

Saint Blaise Abbey, Black Forest Saint Blaise Abbey (german: Kloster Sankt Blasien) was a Benedictine monastery in the village of St. Blasien in the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History 9th–12th centuries The early history of the abbey is obscure. Its pred ...

until 1806, when they were

mediatized Mediatization or mediatisation may refer to: * German mediatisation German mediatisation (; german: deutsche Mediatisierung) was the major territorial restructuring that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany and the surrounding region by ...

to the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918. It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subs ...

. They were assigned to the district of

Staufen im Breisgau Staufen im Breisgau (High Alemannic: ''Staufe im Brisgau'') is a German town in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district of Baden-Württemberg. It had a population of approximately 8,300 in 2019. General The city of Staufen im Breisgau lies in the ...

until 1936, when they were reassigned to the district of

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population o ...

. As part of the , they were assigned to the new district of

. Over 1973 and 1974, the five villages merged into a single municipality, Ehrenkirchen, whose name was a combination of the largest towns, Ehrenstetten and Kirchhofen.

Geography

The municipality (''

Gemeinde Gemeinde (; plural: Gemeinden) is a German word translating to "community", "town", "parish", or "municipality". Gemeinde may refer to: * An administrative division encompassing a single village, town, or city: ** Gemeinde (Austria) ** Gemeinde (G ...

'') of Ehrenkirchen is located in the

district of

, a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

. It is south of

, the capital of the region to which it is assigned. The municipal area is physically located in the

Markgräflerland Markgräflerland () is a region in the southwest of Germany, in the south of the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg, located between the Breisgau in the north and the Black Forest in the east; adjacent to west with France and in the south ...

, along the

Möhlin Möhlin () is a municipality in the district of Rheinfelden in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History The area around Möhlin was prehistorically settled. A neolithic settlement has been discovered at ''Chleizelgli'', while scattered Br ...

, a tributary of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

. Elevation above sea level in the municipal area ranges from a high of

Normalnull ("standard zero") or (short N. N. or NN ) is an outdated official vertical datum used in Germany. Elevations using this reference system were to be marked (“meters above standard zero”). has been replaced by (NHN). History In 187 ...

(NN) at the top of the Stutzkopf to a low of NN on the Möhlin. The Federally-protected Ölberg Ehrenstetten

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

is located in Ehrenkirchen's municipal area.

Politics

Ehrenkirchen has five boroughs (''Ortsteile''): Ehrenstetten, Kirchhofen, Norsingen, Offnadingen, and Scherzingen.

Coat of arms

The municipal

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

for Ehrenkirchen displays two images inspired by aspects of the municipality and its history, impaled upon the same

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

. The left image is of wine grapes, in

yellow Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the R ...

, above a yellow three-pointed hill upon a

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

. These images refer to the regional history of

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

, particularly on the slopes of the , Kirchberg and Ölberg. The right image displays a

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when obs ...

stag, standing and facing to the left, upon a field of yellow. The stag is taken from the coat of arms of Saint Blaise Abbey, whose

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

was also used for Ehrenkirchen's, but spread around to abide by the

rule of tincture The most basic rule of heraldic design is the rule of tincture: metal should not be put on metal, nor colour on colour (Humphrey Llwyd, 1568). This means that the heraldic metals or and argent (gold and silver, represented by yellow and white) s ...

. The coat of arms was approved for official use by Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district office on 21 March 1977.

Economy

The economy of Ehrenkirchen is based on tourism, viticulture, and an industrial sector that has been growing since the 1990s.

Transportation

Ehrenkirchen is connected to Germany's network of roadways by

Bundesstraße 3 The Bundesstraße 3 (abbr. B3) is one of the longest federal highways in Germany. It begins in Buxtehude and continues through Bergen, Celle, Hanover, Alfeld, Einbeck, Göttingen, Kassel, Marburg, Frankfurt am Main, Darmstadt, Heidelberg, ...

and to its railways by the

Mannheim–Karlsruhe–Basel railway The Mannheim–Karlsruhe–Basel railway is a double-track electrified mainline railway in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It runs from Mannheim via Heidelberg, Bruchsal, Karlsruhe, Rastatt, Baden-Baden, Offenburg and Freiburg to Basel, Sw ...

, which has a stop in Norsingen.

References

External links

* (in German) {{Authority control Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald Baden