Hasel is a municipality in the district of

Lörrach Lörrach () is a town in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss borders. It is the capital of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. It is the home of a number of large employers, including the ...

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 ...

. The placename was first mentioned in a document dated 7 June 820 in which the monastery of

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website ...

lent its property in "Hasalaho" as a fief. In all probability the placename refers to a place of jurisdiction and execution of the

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...

that was enclosed by hazel pales. The German word "Hasel" which is the placename means the same as the English "Hazel". It has been said that this is the location of The Dwarves' Cavern which was supposedly once home to many dwarves. This legend gives the cavern its name. The preceding statement may refer to the Erdmannshöhle where the legend is, however, not about dwarfs (which is "Zwerge" in

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 **Ger ...

), but rather "Erdmännlein" which can be translated as "manikin of the earth" and which seem to have a different origin.Badish Newspaper of 26 January 2013
Mystery Surrounding Little Men of the Earth Unveiled
/ref> It is, however, possible that the "dwarvers" have their origin in the "Erdmännlein".

Places of interest

* Erdmannshöhle

References

Towns in Baden-Württemberg Lörrach (district) Baden {{Lörrach-geo-stub