![Thalfang-Bäsch02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Thalfang-B%C3%A4sch02.jpg)
The climatic spa (''Luftkurort'') of Thalfang is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – 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 ...
belonging to 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 ...
'', a kind of collective municipality – in the
Bernkastel-Wittlich district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
in
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 ...
,
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 ...
. It is the seat of the
''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Thalfang am Erbeskopf.
Geography
Location
The municipality lies in the western
Hunsrück on the ''Hunsrückhöhenstraße'' (“Hunsrück Heights Road”, a scenic road across the Hunsrück built originally as a military road on
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
’s orders), some 7 km northwest of the
Erbeskopf. Thalfang lies roughly 25 km southeast of
Wittlich
The town of Wittlich (; Moselle Franconian: ''Wittlech'') is the seat of the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Its historic town centre and the beauty of the surrounding countryside make the town a centre for tourism i ...
and 25 km east 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 ...
. Through the municipality flows the Thalfanger Bach.
Constituent communities
Thalfang’s only outlying ''
Ortsteil
A village is a clustered human settlement or Residential community, community, larger than a hamlet (place), hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population t ...
'' is Bäsch.
History
In 632, Thalfang had its first documentary mention. Beginning in the 12th century, Thalfang belonged to the ''Mark Dhronecken''.
On a
map of the Archbishopric of Trier from 1645, the village is shown as ''Thalfinck''.
Only under
French rule was the ''Mark Dhronecken'' dissolved, and the Mayoralties (''Mairies'') of
Talling
Talling is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
The municipality lies some 20 km ...
and Thalfang came into being. To the Mayoralty of Thalfang also belonged the villages of Bäsch,
Burtscheid
Burtscheid ( la, Porcetum) is a district of the city of Aachen, part of the Aachen-Mitte Stadtbezirk. It is a health resort.
History
It was inhabited since ancient times by Celts and Romans, who were attracted by the presence of hot springs.
...
,
Deuselbach, Dhronecken,
Etgert
Etgert is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geo ...
,
Hilscheid
Hilscheid is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
The municipality lies in the Hunsrü ...
,
Immert
Immert is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
The municipality lies in the Hunsrück ...
,
Malborn
Malborn is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
Location
The municipality lies in the ...
,
Rorodt
Rorodt is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
The municipality lies in the Hunsrück ...
and a place called Röderbach, which was forsaken about 1900. However, only 19 years later, once the
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 em ...
ns held sway in the region, the Mayoralties of Talling and Thalfang were united into an entity called the ''
Amt
Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...
'' of Thalfang. Since 1947, Thalfang has belonged to the
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
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 ...
. On 7 June 1969, the ''Ortsgemeinde'' of Bäsch was amalgamated with Thalfang. In the years from 1969 to 1972, the ''Ortsgemeinden'' of
Gräfendhron,
Horath
Horath is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
Location
The municipality lies in the ...
,
Merschbach
Merschbach is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
The municipality lies in the Dhron ...
,
Büdlich
Büdlich is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
Location
The municipality, one of t ...
,
Breit
Breit is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Ge ...
and
Heidenburg
Heidenburg is an ''Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Geography
Location
The municipality lies in ...
were grouped together with Thalfang to form the
''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Thalfang am Erbeskopf.
Among other historical events it might be noted that
Erich Honecker
Erich Ernst Paul Honecker (; 25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts ...
, later the
East German
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
leader, worked as a roofer in the 1920s during construction of what was then to be the new town hall.
Politics
Municipal council
The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected by
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
Kommunalwahl Rheinland-Pfalz 2009, Gemeinderat
/ref>
Coat of arms
The municipality’s arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
might be described thus: Argent a cross abased and to dexter gules, surmounting the centre of which two salmon addorsed of the field between four crosses Or, in sinister chief, an arched church gateway with gates closed sable.
The red cross on the silver field refers to the former allegiance to the Electorate of Trier. The two salmon among the four golden crosses are drawn from the arms formerly borne by the Counts of Salm (''Salm'' means “salmon” 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
**Ge ...
). They refer to Count Ernst, the only one of the Waldgraves and Rhinegraves from this family who is buried at the graveyard in Thalfang; the salmon motif is also carved into his gravestone. The ''Rost'' (“grille”), the way into the churchyard, stands as a symbol for the oldest building in Thalfang.
Economy and infrastructure
Established businesses
Thalfang is headquarters to the ''Hochwald Nahrungsmittel-Werke'' (“foodworks”), the biggest commercial enterprise in the Trier region and one of Germany’s biggest dairy businesses.
Transport
Thalfang lies on the ''Hunsrückhöhenstraße'' between Hermeskeil
Hermeskeil () is a city in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Hunsrück, approx. 25 km southeast of Trier. Its population is about 5,900.
Data
Hermeskeil is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemein ...
and Morbach
Morbach is a municipality that belongs to no ''Verbandsgemeinde'' – a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also a state-recognized climatic resort (''Luftkurort'').
G ...
.
Tourism
The idyllic location and the proximity to tourist destinations such as the Moselle, 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 ...
and the Erbeskopf, as well as the relatively short distance to 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 ...
and France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, make Thalfang a popular holiday destination.
Famous people
Sons and daughters of the town
Thalfang’s foremost son is the rabbi and philosopher Samuel Hirsch
Samuel Hirsch, (June 8, 1815 – May 14, 1889) was a major Reform Judaism philosopher and rabbi who mainly worked and resided in present-day Germany in his earlier years. He promoted the radical German Reform Judaism movement and published several ...
(1815-1889). The German engineer and chemist Wilhelm Kathol died in Thalfang in 1944.
References
External links
Municipality’s official webpage
{{Authority control
Bernkastel-Wittlich