Tholey () is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...

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 situated approximately west of

Sankt Wendel Sankt Wendel is a town in northeastern Saarland. It is situated on the river Blies 36 km northeast of Saarbrücken, the capital of Saarland, and is named after Saint Wendelin of Trier. According to a survey by the German Association for Ho ...

, and north of

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...

History

Local history

The first traces of settlement in the area of today's Tholey go back to the Celts. Multiple archaeological finds show an extended occupation by the Romans. In medieval times, much of today's Saarland was tributary to the Abbey of Tholey. To protect the abbey a castle was constructed on the nearby Schaumberg. Tholey was under control of

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

and of the Archbishop Prince-elector of Trier. Tholey is located on the edge of the Schaumberg, the highest mountain in Saarland and the Hunsrück range. The name has been derived from the Celtic ''*dol(wo)'' meaning "outstanding", a derivation found also in the name of the neighboring Dollberg hill and in

Lorelei The Lorelei ( ; ), spelled Loreley in German, is a , steep slate rock on the right bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge (or Middle Rhine) at Sankt Goarshausen in Germany, part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. Th ...

(originally Dorley), related to the German ''toll'' or ''doll''. " Ley" is a Celtic and Germanic word meaning "cliffs." Tholey is thus "the village on the outstanding cliffs". Given the nearby

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

settlement '' Wareswald'' alternate derivations of the names Tholey and Theley have been proposed from the Latin word for bricks, ''tegula'' or from ''Castrum teulegium'' – Linden Fort. As part of the Saarland's territorial and administrative reforms in 1974 the nine previously independent communities Bergweiler, Hasborn-Dautweiler, Lindscheid, Neipel, Scheuem, Sotzweiler, Theley, Tholey, and Überroth-Niederhofen were consolidated under the name Tholey.Neugliederungsgesetz – NGG vom 19. Dezember 1973, § 37, veröffentlicht i
Amtsblatt des Saarlandes 1973, Nr. 48, S. 857
(PDF Seite 29; 499 kB)

Church history

According to legend, around 610 Saint

Wendelin of Trier Saint Wendelin of Trier ( la, Vendelinus; 554 - 617 AD) was a hermit and abbot. Although not listed in the Roman Martyrology, his cultus is wide-spread in German-speaking areas. He is a patron of country folk and herdsmen. He is honored on O ...

became the founder and first abbot of 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 ...

abbey of Tholey. In 1794 the monastery was plundered and burned by the French and the congregation was dissolved. In 1949 an offshoot of Benedictine monastery of

Beuronese Congregation The Beuronese Congregation, or Beuron Congregation, is a union of mostly German or German-speaking religious houses of both monks and nuns within the Benedictine Confederation. The congregation stands under the protection of Saint Martin of Tou ...

returned and began restoration.

Jewish history

A Jewish community existed in Tholey from the Eighteenth Century to about 1940. The first Jewish family was identified in 1729. By 1843 88 Jewish people lived in Tholey (9% of the total population of 952 people), by 1895 there were 91. A synagogue was dedicated on December 4, 1863, by District Rabbi Kahn from Trier. A Jewish religious school existed since 1876. In 1925 the Jewish community numbered 50 people; in 1935, 41. Because of the increasing disenfranchisement in the Nazi period and due to the economic boycott many moved to other cities or emigrated. After the deportation at least 20 Jewish inhabitants, either born in Tholey or long-time residents, were murdered. The synagogue was sold in 1937 and later demolished, and a house constructed on its foundation in the Triererstraße.

References

{{Authority control Sankt Wendel (district) Holocaust locations in Germany Duchy of Lorraine