Dahn
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Dahn is a municipality in the
Südwestpfalz Südwestpfalz is a district (''Kreis'' or more precise ''Landkreis'') in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Saarpfalz, the district-free city Zweibrücken, the districts Kaiserslautern and Ba ...
district, 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 situated in the Palatinate Forest, approximately 15 km southeast of
Pirmasens Pirmasens (; pfl, Bärmesens (also ''Bermesens'' or ''Bärmasens'')) is an independent town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It was famous for the manufacture of shoes. The surrounding rural district was called ''Lan ...
, and 25 km west of
Landau Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990 ...
. It is part of the ''
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. Rhineland- ...
'' ("collective municipality") of
Dahner Felsenland The Dahner Felsenland, also referred to as the Dahn Rockland, is a landscape in the county of Südwestpfalz in the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is located in the middle section of the Wasgau, which in turn forms the southern ...
.


Geography

Dahn is located 210 m above sea level in a valley of the
Dahner Felsenland The Dahner Felsenland, also referred to as the Dahn Rockland, is a landscape in the county of Südwestpfalz in the German federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is located in the middle section of the Wasgau, which in turn forms the southern ...
, a part of the
Wasgau The Wasgau (german: Wasgau, french: Vasgovie) is a Franco-German hill range in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the French departments of Bas-Rhin and Moselle. It is formed from the southern part of the Palatine Forest and the north ...
, which is itself a part of the Palatinate Forest. A small
creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: People * Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans ...
, the
Lauter Lauter may refer to: People * Lauter (surname) Places *Lauter, Saxony, town in the district of Aue-Schwarzenberg, Saxony, Germany * Lauter, Bavaria, village in the district of Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany Rivers * Lauter (Baunach), tributary to th ...
, flows through Dahn, and here, in the area of its headwaters, is called the ''Wieslauter''. The border with
Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
(
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 ...
) is located 10 km south of Dahn.


History


Coat of arms

In 1952 the coat of arms was recreated as a result of historical research. The new shield, parted per chevron, has on its dexter chief: azure (blue), a cross argent (silver); on its sinister chief: gules (red), an eagle argent (silver) and on its base: or (gold), a fir tree vert (green). The fir tree (german: Tanne, ssumed to be linked to the name of the town was originally the only symbol of Dahn. However, the new coat of arms also commemorates the history of Dahn. The knights of Than, feudatories of the bishop of
Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...
, were the lords of Dahn for over four hundred years and may have called themselves after the town; the white eagle with red background is derived from the knight's coat of arms, which showed three white eagles (perhaps the symbol for the three castles of Altdahn, Grafdahn and Tannstein). After the extinction of the House of Than in 1603, Dahn was the head office of a department of the diocese of Speyer until the beginning of the French revolutionary wars in 1797/98. The white cross on blue was adopted from the arms of Speyer (both the diocese and the Prince-Bishopric. The fir tree remains as a reference to the name of the town, which was the old seal of the Court, as well as the scenic location of the city in the Palatinate Forest.


Municipal law

Dahn received its municipal law on 27 October 1963 after the ' (Federal 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 ...
acceded to its application, which had been filed on 24 January 1963.


Politics

Aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...
:
(Elections on 25 May 2014, number of mandates: 20) * FD = Wählergruppe Für (free voters for) Dahn e. V. * WGK = Wählergruppe (free voters) Koch


Culture and sightseeing

In the neighbourhood of Dahn are the ruins of a triple castle complex, comprising Altdahn, Grafendahn and Tanstein castles, as well as the castle of Neudahn, which is also a ruin, albeit less spectacular. South of the town, on the edge of the Hochstein rocks is Dahn Cemetery, a
war cemetery A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to be ...
for
soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...
s of the Palatinate and the
Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
who fell during the
Ardennes Offensive The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...
in the
Second World War 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 opposin ...
. A 70 m tall rock juts above the city and is a famous destination for
rock climbers Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
during the summer. Its name ''Jungfernsprung'' ("Virgin's Leap"), is derived from an old legend. Even nowadays the
forests A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
and
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
rocks surrounding Dahn give fantastic Lebensraum to the fabulous
Elwetritsch The Elwetritsch (a.k.a. Elwedritsch, Ilwedritsch and so on), plural Elwetritsche or Elwetritschen, is a birdlike legendary creature which is reported to be found in southwest Germany, especially in the Palatinate. The Elwetritsch can be seen ...
e. To honour the excellent relation between inhabitants of Dahn and
Elwetritsch The Elwetritsch (a.k.a. Elwedritsch, Ilwedritsch and so on), plural Elwetritsche or Elwetritschen, is a birdlike legendary creature which is reported to be found in southwest Germany, especially in the Palatinate. The Elwetritsch can be seen ...
e there is an Elwetritsche lecture trail, an Elwetritsche hiking trail as well as Elwetritsche fountains and further memorials.


Economy and infrastructures


Economy

Dahn, unfortunately, has had to survive without much industry due to the Südwestpfalz district's structural weakness. Because of this the population has declined. Only
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
shows an upwards trend because
nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...
in the surrounding area is largely intact and frequently quite spectacular.


Traffic

The B 427 federal road (from
Hinterweidenthal Hinterweidenthal is a municipality in Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in E ...
to
Bad Bergzabern Bad Bergzabern () is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstraße district, on the German Wine Route in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated near the border with France, on the south-eastern edge of the Palatinate forest, approximately ...
) passes through Dahn. The plan for a junction between the road and the A 8
motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
(from
Pirmasens Pirmasens (; pfl, Bärmesens (also ''Bermesens'' or ''Bärmasens'')) is an independent town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It was famous for the manufacture of shoes. The surrounding rural district was called ''Lan ...
to
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
) which was planned to run past Dahn has never been realised. Since 1997 the Wieslauter Railway calls at Dahn on Sundays and statutory holidays. It connects Hinterweidenthal and
Bundenthal Bundenthal is a municipality in Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. Notable people * Ludwig Kneiss Ludwig Kneiss (born Bundenthal, 11 November 1830 in – died Munich, 25 April 1900) was a German bass, bariton ...
. Regular public train services stopped in 1966.


Healthcare

The public hospital, ''St. Josef Krankenhaus'', closed at the end of 2005 as a result of funding issues. The ''Felsenland-Klinik'', a psychotheraputic hospital, uses its own specially developed technique of psychoanalytic hypnosis. Dahn also has an outpatient living group of the ''Pfalzklinikum für Psychiatrie und Neurologie'' ("Palatinate Hospital For Psychiatrics And Neurology"), which is situated in
Klingenmünster Klingenmünster is a municipality in Südliche Weinstraße district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. Near Klingenmünster there is a castle called Landeck Castle. It is the birthplace of Michael Hahn George Michael Decker Hahn (Nove ...
.


Education

The
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
in Dahn serves the municipality of Dahn as well as Schindhard and
Erfweiler Erfweiler is a municipality in Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. It is a state-recognised resort. Geography Location Erfweiler lies in the German part of the Wasgau, as the southern end of the Palatine Fores ...
. The school centre of Dahn is within the commuter belt of a Realschule Plus and the Otfried-von-Weißenburg-Gymnasium of Western-Wasgau. This gymnasium is the only one in the Südwestpfalz administrative district. Dahn also has a special needs school (the ''Ritter-von-Tann-Förderschule''). During the years 1958 through 1994 the Catholic Church operated a
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
, the ''Studienheim St. Pirmin''.


Personalities


Sons and daughters of the city of Dahn

* Stefan Baron (*1948), trust spokesman of the Deutsche Bundesbank * Alexander Fuhr (*1969), politician, member of the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate (Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)), mayor of the city of Dahn * Theodor Kissel (*1962), historian and author * Ingbert Naab (1885–1935), Friars Minor Capuchin and resistance fighter against
National Socialism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...
, beatified, Pater-Ingbert-Naab-street bears his name * Theodor Schaller (1900–1993), Theologian and church president


Personalities, operated in Dahn

* Stephan Eisel (*1955), politician (Christian Democratic Union (CDU)), visited the ''Otfrid-von-Weißenburg-Gymnasium'' *
Heiner Geißler Heiner Geißler (3 March 1930 – 12 September 2017) was a German politician with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party and a federal minister from 1982 to 1985. Career Born Heinrichjosef Georg Geißler in Gleisweiler, he studied law an ...
(1930-2017), politician (Christian Democratic Union (CDU)), had his office in Dahn * Fritz Korter (1892–1945), sculptor, creator of the Dahn war memorial *
Friedl Rinder Friedl Rinder (née Benzinger) (November 20, 1905, in Schrobenhausen – June 3, 2001) was a German woman chess master. Rinder won the 1st Women's German championship at Stuttgart 1939. She took 4th place in the 7th Women's World Chess Championsh ...
(1905–2001), chess player, winner of the 1959 German Chess Women's Championship, which took place in Dahn


References


External links


Municipality of Dahn
(German)
Verbandsgemeinde Dahner Felsenland
(multilingual)
Pater Ingbert Naab
(German) {{Authority control Towns in Rhineland-Palatinate Palatinate Forest South Palatinate Südwestpfalz