Bechhofen is a municipality in

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 a ...

district, in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) 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 sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

, western

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is part of the ''

Verbandsgemeinde A (; plural ) is a low-level administrative division, administrative unit in the Germany, German States of Germany, federal states of Brandenburg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A is typically composed of a small group of Municipalitie ...

'' ("collective municipality")

Zweibrücken-Land Zweibrücken-Land is a ("collective municipality") in the Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the southwestern edge of the Palatinate forest, around Zweibrücken. The seat of the municipality is in Zweibrüc ...

Geography

The village lies at the foot of the Sickingen Heights and is crossed from northeast to southwest by the Lambsbach.

History

The village of Bechhofen was first mentioned in a document in 1191 and was subsequently named as the seat of a knightly dynasty for several centuries.Michael Frey: ''Versuch einer geographisch-historisch-statistischen Beschreibung des Gerichts-Bezirkes von Zweibrücken im königl. bayer. Rheinkreise, dermalen Pfalz'', Teil 4, Speyer 1837
Digitised text
/ref> After the village was completely devastated during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, it was repopulated at the end of the 17th century.Historische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Bechhofen-Pfalz (Hg.): ''800 Jahre Bechhofen. Beiträge zur Dorfgeschichte'', Zweibrücken 1991 In the year 1755, the district of Homburg including Bechhofen fell to

Palatine Zweibrücken The Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken (; ) was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire with full voting rights to the Reichstag. Its capital was Zweibrücken. The reigning house, a branch of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was also the Royal House of Sweden fr ...

by an area exchange. When Christian IV. died in 1775,

Charles II August, Duke of Zweibrücken Charles II August Christian (; 29 October 1746 – 1 April 1795) was Palatine Zweibrücken, Duke of Zweibrücken from 1775 to 1795. A member of the House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld, Palatine House of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, a branch of the House of ...

became his successor. Soon he began to construct

Karlsberg Castle Karlsberg Castle () is a castle ruin on Buchenberg east of Homburg in Saarland, Germany. The castle was constructed from 1778 to 1788 in Baroque and Classical style by Johann Christian von Mannlich, architect and general building director of th ...

near Bechhofen as his new residence. This meant an boom for Bechhofen, as numerous soldiers, craftsmen and servants employed on Karlsberg settled here during this period. Until the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Bechhofen belonged to the district of Homburg. When the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

came into force in 1920, the Saar Territory, including the Homburg district, was newly defined. It was occupied and governed by the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

under a

League of Nations mandate A League of Nations mandate represented a legal status under international law for specific territories following World War I, involving the transfer of control from one nation to another. These mandates served as legal documents establishing th ...

. However, Bechhofen together with a few other municipalities remained in the German ''Reich'' and was assigned to the

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; ; , ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach (Blies), Schwarzbach River. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; older forms of the name include Middl ...

district. Thus Bechhofen became a border area until the Saar Territory was restored to Germany in 1935. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Saarland was separated from Germany, annexed to the French customs territory and placed under French protectorate. As a result, new customs stations were set up on the local border of Bechhofen, which remained in place until the Saarland was economically decoupled from France in 1959. In the course of the administrative and regional reform in 1972, it was incorporated into the district of

Pirmasens Pirmasens (; (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 ''Landkreis Pirmasens ...

, which was renamed

in 1997.

Population development

The evolution of the population of Bechhofen, the values from 1871 to 1987 are based on population censuses:Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz – Regionaldaten
/ref>

Politics

Municipal Council

The municipal council in Bechhofen consists of 16 council members who were elected in the local elections on 25 May 2014 in a personalised proportional election, and the honorary local mayor as chairman. The distribution of seats in the municipal council:
/ref>

Mayor

Since the local elections in 2009, Paul Sefrin (CDU) has led the municipality as mayor, which he continued with the election victory in the 2014 local elections.

Culture and sights

Buildings

* Catholic church Saint Michael * Protestant church St. Michael, Bechhofen.jpg , Catholic church Bechhofen (Pfalz) Evangelische Kirche.jpg , Protestant church

Regular Events

* Village festival on 2nd weekend in July * Sports festival on the 1st weekend in August * Church fair on the 2nd weekend in October * Christmas market on the 1st Advent weekend

Transport

Bechhofen lies directly on the

Landesstraße ''Landesstraßen'' (singular: ''Landesstraße'' ) are roads in Germany and Austria that are, as a rule, the responsibility of the respective German or Austrian federal state. The term may therefore be translated as "state road". They are road ...

L 463 state road. The nearby A 6 federal highway (E 50) can be reached via the Waldmohr junction at a distance of 4.5 km. The nearest train station with

Intercity-Express Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE () and running under this Train categories in Europe, category) is a high-speed rail in Germany, high-speed rail system in Germany. It also serves destinations in Austria, France, Belgium, Switzerland an ...

stop is in Homburg, 7 km away.

Personalities

* Jakob Pirro (1899-1962), politician (NSDAP) *

Thomas Dooley Thomas Dooley (born May 12, 1961) is a former association football, soccer player and coach. He played as a Defender (association football), defender and defensive midfielder and was a long-time member and former captain of the United States me ...

(* 1961), soccer player.

References

{{Authority control Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate Südwestpfalz