Völklingen (; ,

Moselle Franconian Moselle Franconian (; ) is a West Central German language, part of the Central Franconian languages area, that includes Luxembourgish. Overview Moselle Franconian is spoken in the southern Rhineland and along the course of the Moselle, i ...

: ''Välglinge'') is a town in the district of Saarbrücken, in

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest 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 the smallest in ...

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 situated on the river

Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name * Sarr Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player * Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist * Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), E ...

, approx. 10 km west of

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

, and directly borders

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 ...

. The town is known for its industrial past, the Völklinger Hütte (ironworks) being declared by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

as a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

History

In antiquity it was settled by Celtic tribes, then by the Romans. The Franks settled in the area between the 5th and 9th centuries. Völkingen was initially referred to as "Fulcolingas" by Durandis, Vice Chancellor to

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

in 822. Peasants living in the area were subject to taxation by the Count of Saarbrücken. The peasants of Völkingen revolted against the Count of Saarbrücken in 1566, when he ordered the construction of the Homburger castle.

Geography

Völklingen is situated on the fertile alluvial plane at the confluence of the river Rossel and of the river Köller into the river Saar.

Subdivisions

The town is divided into ten ''

Stadtteil A quarter is a part of an urban area, urban settlement. A quarter can be administratively defined and its borders officially designated, and it may have its own administrative structure (subordinate to that of the city, town or other urban area ...

e'' (quarters): * Völkingen * Fenne * Fürstenhausen * Geislautern * Heidstock * Lauterbach * Ludweiler * Luisenthal * Röchlinghöhe * Wehrden

Climate

Völklingen has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

: ''Cfb''; Trewartha: ''Dobk'').

Twin towns – sister cities

Völklingen is twinned with: * Ars-sur-Moselle, France *

Forbach Forbach ( , , ; ) is a commune in the French department of Moselle, northeastern French region of Grand Est. It is located on the German border approximately 15 minutes from the center of Saarbrücken, Germany, with which it constitutes a ...

, France *

Les Lilas Les Lilas () is a Communes of France, commune in the northern-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. History The commune of Les Lilas (literally "the lilacs") was created on 24 July 1867 by de ...

, France

Notable people

*Johannes Schulz (1884–1942), catholic priest, died of hunger in Dachau concentration camp * Hermann Neuberger (1919–1992), president of DFB *

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (; Kramp; born 9 August 1962), sometimes referred to by her initials of AKK, is a retired German politician who served as Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany), Minister of Defence from 2019 to 2021 and as Leader of th ...

(born 1962), politician (CDU) * Daniel Sträßer (born 1987), actor * Carrie Schreiner (born 1998), racing driver

Gallery

References

External links

*
Historical facts about Völklingen
Towns in Saarland Saarbrücken (district) {{Saarland-geo-stub