Wittlich
Encyclopedia
The town of Wittlich is the seat of the Bernkastel-Wittlich
district
in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
, and thereby the middle centre
for a feeder area of 56 municipalities in the Eifel
and Moselle area with its population of roughly 64,000. With some 18,000 inhabitants, Wittlich is the biggest town between Trier
and Koblenz
and the fourth biggest between Mainz
and the Belgian
border.
on the river Lieser in a side valley of the Moselle on the northern edge of the Wittlich Depression (Wittlicher Senke). This stretch of country is bounded in the west by the Moselle Eifel (Moseleifel) and in the east by the Moselle valley.
In Roman
times there stood right on the river Lieser, where the Autobahn bridge is now, a stately villa rustica
.
In 1065, Wittlich had its first documentary mention. In 1300, Archbishop Diether von Nassau granted Wittlich town rights. It had long been assumed, however, that Wittlich had already been granted town rights in 1291, leading to the 700th-anniversary celebrations in 1991.
In 1912, Germany’s first youth prison was built in Wittlich, which also still borders on the Justizvollzugsanstalt Wittlich (“Wittlich Correctional Facility”).
of Rhineland-Palatinate
. Since then, some investors have been interested in the town of Wittlich.
The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
The town’s arms
might in English heraldic
language be described thus: Gules two keys palewise addorsed, the wards to chief and the bow of the dexter surmounting that of the sinister, argent, ensigning the shield a tower with an open gateway and flanking walls, the whole embattled, of the second.
The German blazon identifies the “left” key as the one that surmounts the other, although the example shown at the town’s own website clearly shows the dexter key surmounting the sinister. This may arise from a common misunderstanding about heraldry
, in which left and right – or sinister and dexter – are told from the armsbearer’s point of view, not the viewer’s.
The example of the arms shown at the town’s own website shows the crenellated (“embattled”) tower on top of the escutcheon; however, the example at Heraldry of the World shows the arms without this. This same webpage also shows a coat of arms for Wittlich which apparently appeared in the old Coffee Hag albums
. It might be described as “Argent two keys per saltire, the wards to chief, the one in bend sinister surmounting the other, azure.” In other words, the field tincture
was silver (“argent”) instead of red (“gules”), and the keys were not only blue instead of silver, but also crossed to form an X (“per saltire”).
Whichever way the keys are arranged, they symbolize Saint Peter, who was the patron saint of the Electorate of Trier, to which Wittlich belonged until 1794. The current tinctures were the ones borne by Trier, whereas the ones in the Coffee Hag image were those borne by the House of Wittelsbach.
The town’s first great seal, from the time just after Wittlich had been raised to town, showed a crenellated tower over an open gate between two turrets, each with a roundle high on its wall. The court seal from the early 14th century, on the other hand, showed a two-key charge
quite similar to the one in today’s arms, thus providing the model for the coat of arms now borne by the town.
The crenellated tower on top of the escutcheon was only “rediscovered” much later.
, North Brabant
, Netherlands
Brunoy
, Essonne
, France
since 1979 Wellingborough
, Northamptonshire
, England
, United Kingdom
since 1993 Zossen
, Teltow-Fläming
, Brandenburg
(“friendly relations”) since German reunification
clubs, Schääl Saidt e.V. and Narrenzunft Rot-Weiß e.V. (“Fools’ Guild”). On the third weekend in August, the Säubrennerkirmes (“Sow Burner Fair”) is held; it is one of Rhineland-Palatinate’s biggest folk festivals and was begun in 1951, based on the mediaeval
Säubrennersage (a legend that tells of a sow that inadvertently allowed a siege force to enter Wittlich, sack it and burn it down after she ate the turnip that the gatekeeper had used instead of the bolt, which he could not find; all swine in the town were accordingly punished with burning – meaning, in effect, a huge pork barbecue). In October, Wittlich also holds Rhineland-Palatinate’s biggest Oktoberfest
.
, the Offener Kanal Wittlich, which several times weekly reports on local news, events and suchlike.
Bernkastel-Wittlich
Bernkastel-Wittlich is a district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Vulkaneifel, Cochem-Zell, Rhein-Hunsrück, Birkenfeld, Trier-Saarburg and Bitburg-Prüm.- History :...
district
Districts of Germany
The districts of Germany are known as , except in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein where they are known simply as ....
in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and thereby the middle centre
Central Place Theory
Central place theory is a geographical theory that seeks to explain the number, size and location of human settlements in an urban system. The theory was created by the German geographer Walter Christaller, who asserted that settlements simply functioned as 'central places' providing services to...
for a feeder area of 56 municipalities in the Eifel
Eifel
The Eifel is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the south of the German-speaking Community of Belgium....
and Moselle area with its population of roughly 64,000. With some 18,000 inhabitants, Wittlich is the biggest town between Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
and Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
and the fourth biggest between Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
and the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
border.
Location
The town lies in the South EifelEifel
The Eifel is a low mountain range in western Germany and eastern Belgium. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the south of the German-speaking Community of Belgium....
on the river Lieser in a side valley of the Moselle on the northern edge of the Wittlich Depression (Wittlicher Senke). This stretch of country is bounded in the west by the Moselle Eifel (Moseleifel) and in the east by the Moselle valley.
Constituent communities
Wittlich’s Stadtteile or Ortsbezirke, besides the main centre, also called Wittlich, are Bombogen, Dorf, Lüxem, Neuerburg and Wengerohr, each of which was until 7 June 1969 a self-administering municipality.History
The oldest known remnants of human settlement activity come from the third millennium BC.In Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
times there stood right on the river Lieser, where the Autobahn bridge is now, a stately villa rustica
Villa rustica
Villa rustica was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a villa set in the open countryside, often as the hub of a large agricultural estate . The adjective rusticum was used to distinguish it from an urban or resort villa...
.
In 1065, Wittlich had its first documentary mention. In 1300, Archbishop Diether von Nassau granted Wittlich town rights. It had long been assumed, however, that Wittlich had already been granted town rights in 1291, leading to the 700th-anniversary celebrations in 1991.
In 1912, Germany’s first youth prison was built in Wittlich, which also still borders on the Justizvollzugsanstalt Wittlich (“Wittlich Correctional Facility”).
Building projects in town
In 2009, the town of Wittlich was included in the programme Aktive Stadtzentren (“Active Town Centres”) of the stateStates of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
. Since then, some investors have been interested in the town of Wittlich.
- On 12 November of the same year, the Schlossgalerie was opened, in which C&AC&AC&A is an international chain of fashion retail clothing stores, with its European head offices in Vilvoorde , Belgium and Düsseldorf, Germany...
, Müller, Ernsting's Family and Depot all have locations. There is still somewhere between 600 and 1 500 m² of available free floor area. - In mid March, work began on the project Altstadt, die neue (roughly “New Old Town”). It comprises three new houses in which later, on the ground floors, there will be 220 m² of storage room and a passage, while upstairs there will be room for medical practices and flats. Furthermore, there will be an underground garage with 20 parking places. Work is set to finish on this project in mid 2011.
- Planned for Schlossstraße in Wittlich is a new theatre-cinema with four big and modern cinema halls and one big theatre hall for 600 theatregoers. There is to be a further 500 m² for dining, 850 m² of commercial space and 1 500 m² for flats. A new four-floor building is foreseen for this project. Its name will be Schlosstheater.
Town council
The council is made up of 32 honorary council members, who were elected at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the fulltime mayor as chairman.The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:
| SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
CDU | FDP Free Democratic Party (Germany) The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government... |
GRÜNE Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir... |
Linke The Left (Germany) The Left , also commonly referred to as the Left Party , is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The Left is the most left-wing party of the five represented in the Bundestag.... |
FWG | Total | |
| 2009 | 8 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 32 seats |
| 2004 | 9 | 14 | 3 | 3 | – | 3 | 32 seats |
| 1999 | 10 | 16 | 2 | 2 | – | 2 | 32 seats |
Coat of arms
The German blazon reads: In rotem Feld parallel nebeneinander zwei aufrecht, mit dem Schlüsselbart nach oben voneinander abgekehrte silberne Schlüssel mit übereinandergelegten Griffen, wobei der linke über dem rechten angeordnet ist. Die Mauerkrone ist Zierelement des Wappens: ein Zinnenturm mit offenem Tor in der Mitte zwischen Mauern und Zinnen.The town’s arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
might in English heraldic
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
language be described thus: Gules two keys palewise addorsed, the wards to chief and the bow of the dexter surmounting that of the sinister, argent, ensigning the shield a tower with an open gateway and flanking walls, the whole embattled, of the second.
The German blazon identifies the “left” key as the one that surmounts the other, although the example shown at the town’s own website clearly shows the dexter key surmounting the sinister. This may arise from a common misunderstanding about heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
, in which left and right – or sinister and dexter – are told from the armsbearer’s point of view, not the viewer’s.
The example of the arms shown at the town’s own website shows the crenellated (“embattled”) tower on top of the escutcheon; however, the example at Heraldry of the World shows the arms without this. This same webpage also shows a coat of arms for Wittlich which apparently appeared in the old Coffee Hag albums
Coffee Hag albums
The Coffee Hag albums were published in the early 20th century by the Kaffee Handelsgesellschaft AG in Bremen, Germany, starting with heraldic stamps and collector's albums....
. It might be described as “Argent two keys per saltire, the wards to chief, the one in bend sinister surmounting the other, azure.” In other words, the field tincture
Tincture (heraldry)
In heraldry, tinctures are the colours used to emblazon a coat of arms. These can be divided into several categories including light tinctures called metals, dark tinctures called colours, nonstandard colours called stains, furs, and "proper". A charge tinctured proper is coloured as it would be...
was silver (“argent”) instead of red (“gules”), and the keys were not only blue instead of silver, but also crossed to form an X (“per saltire”).
Whichever way the keys are arranged, they symbolize Saint Peter, who was the patron saint of the Electorate of Trier, to which Wittlich belonged until 1794. The current tinctures were the ones borne by Trier, whereas the ones in the Coffee Hag image were those borne by the House of Wittelsbach.
The town’s first great seal, from the time just after Wittlich had been raised to town, showed a crenellated tower over an open gate between two turrets, each with a roundle high on its wall. The court seal from the early 14th century, on the other hand, showed a two-key charge
Charge (heraldry)
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...
quite similar to the one in today’s arms, thus providing the model for the coat of arms now borne by the town.
The crenellated tower on top of the escutcheon was only “rediscovered” much later.
Town partnerships
Wittlich fosters partnerships with the following places: BoxtelBoxtel
Boxtel is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands.This is the origin of the van Boxtel family, which has numerous descendants in North Brabant....
, North Brabant
North Brabant
North Brabant , sometimes called Brabant, is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.- History :...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Brunoy
Brunoy
Brunoy is a commune in the south-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Inhabitants of Brunoy are known as Brunoyens....
, Essonne
Essonne
Essonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River.It was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments.- History :...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
since 1979 Wellingborough
Wellingborough
Wellingborough is a market town and borough in Northamptonshire, England, situated some from the county town of Northampton. The town is situated on the north side of the River Nene, most of the older town is sited on the flanks of the hills above the river's current flood plain...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
since 1993 Zossen
Zossen
Zossen is a German town in the district of Teltow-Fläming in Brandenburg, south of Berlin, and next to the B96 highway. Zossen consists of several smaller municipalities, which were grouped together in 2003 to form the city.-Geography:...
, Teltow-Fläming
Teltow-Fläming
Teltow-Fläming is a Kreis in the southwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Dahme-Spreewald, Elbe-Elster, the districts Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt, the district Potsdam-Mittelmark, and the Bundesland Berlin.-Geography:The district is named after the two main regions...
, Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
(“friendly relations”) since German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
Culture and sightseeing
Sightseeing
- Old Town Hall on the marketplace with the Georg-Meistermann-Museum for modern art
- Former synagogueSynagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
, today a cultural and conference centre with a permanent exhibit on “Jewish Life in Wittlich” - Türmchen (“Little Tower”), part of an old town gate
- BaroqueBaroque architectureBaroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
Saint Mark’s Parish Church (Pfarrkirche St. Markus) - Remnants of a Roman villa between Wittlich and AltrichAltrichAltrich is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.- Location :...
, beside the A 1 - Saint Paul’s Mission House (Missionshaus St. Paul) of the Divine Word MissionariesDivine Word MissionariesThe Society of the Divine Word , popularly called the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a missionary religious congregation in the Latin Church, one of the 23 sui iuris churches which make up the Catholic Church. As of 2006 it consisted of 6,102 members composed...
(closed in autumn 2005) - Haus Daus at Karrstraße 19-21, among Wittlich’s oldest townsmen’s houses
Regular events
Wittlich’s Shrovetide festivities – Fastnacht – are outfitted each year by the two CarnivalCarnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
clubs, Schääl Saidt e.V. and Narrenzunft Rot-Weiß e.V. (“Fools’ Guild”). On the third weekend in August, the Säubrennerkirmes (“Sow Burner Fair”) is held; it is one of Rhineland-Palatinate’s biggest folk festivals and was begun in 1951, based on the mediaeval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
Säubrennersage (a legend that tells of a sow that inadvertently allowed a siege force to enter Wittlich, sack it and burn it down after she ate the turnip that the gatekeeper had used instead of the bolt, which he could not find; all swine in the town were accordingly punished with burning – meaning, in effect, a huge pork barbecue). In October, Wittlich also holds Rhineland-Palatinate’s biggest Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest celebrations
The Oktoberfest is a two-week festival held each year in Munich, Germany during late September and early October. It is attended by six million people each year and has inspired numerous similar events using the name Oktoberfest in Germany and around the world, many of which were founded by German...
.
Offener Kanal Wittlich
Wittlich also has a public access channelPublic-access television
Public-access television is a form of non-commercial mass media where ordinary people can create content television programming which is cablecast through cable TV specialty channels...
, the Offener Kanal Wittlich, which several times weekly reports on local news, events and suchlike.
Economy
In Wittlich, counting only workers on the social welfare contribution rolls, 14,500 people have jobs. This rises to more than 16,000 if officials and the self-employed are counted, making Wittlich’s “job density” about 852 for each thousand inhabitants, and putting Wittlich itself in the very highest group of towns in Rhineland-Palatinate. Wittlich’s importance as an economic centre is favoured by its location on two Autobahnen and by its main railway station on the Koblenz-Trier railway line.Established businesses
- Dr. August Oetker Nahrungsmittel KG runs one of its biggest food freezing works in the outlying centre of Wengerohr.
- Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany GmbHDunlop TyresDunlop Tyres is a British company owned 75% by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and 25% by Sumitomo Rubber Industries, which bought the right to sell Dunlop-branded road tyres....
runs a plant in Wittlich which has been specialized in truck tire production. - On 12 November 2009, the Schlossgalerie opened in Wittlich in which C&AC&AC&A is an international chain of fashion retail clothing stores, with its European head offices in Vilvoorde , Belgium and Düsseldorf, Germany...
, Müller and Ernsting's Family, among others, have locations. - The ChinesePeople's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
firm Heng Feng, which makes furniture and fishing tackle, has its only European location in Wittlich through its daughter company Westfield Outdoors. - The Bungert department storeDepartment storeA department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
is Rhineland-Palatinate’s biggest family business.
Transport
- Through the municipal area runs the Autobahn A 1 between CologneCologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
and SaarbrückenSaarbrückenSaarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
. - The Autobahn A 60, coming from LiègeLiègeLiège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
, thus far ends at the Wittlich Cross at the A 1. - A new four-lane highway, the so-called B 50 neu, is currently being built. It will run from the Wittlich Autobahn Cross, where currently the A 60 ends, towards the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region and the Autobahn A 61Bundesautobahn 61is an autobahn in Germany that connects the border to the Netherlands near Venlo in the northwest to the interchange with A 6 near Hockenheim. In 1965, this required a re-design of the Hockenheimring....
. The first section, between Wittlich-Wengerohr and the Wittlich Autobahn Cross, will be completed in 2013, and the whole highway with its centrepiece, a long, high bridge over the Moselle (Hochmoselbrücke) is to be finished by 2016. - Also crossing in Wittlich are BundesstraßeBundesstraßeBundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
n 49 and 50. - The railway station, Wittlich Hbf (Wengerohr station) with InterCityExpressInterCityExpressThe Intercity-Express or ICE is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany and neighbouring countries. It is the highest service category offered by DB Fernverkehr and is the flagship of Deutsche Bahn...
connections lies in the outlying centre of Wengerohr on the Koblenz–Trier line. Regional services include the Mosel-Saar-Express from KoblenzKoblenzKoblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
by way of TrierTrierTrier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
to SaarbrückenSaarbrückenSaarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
, the Moseltal-Bahn from Koblenz by way of Wittlich to Trier and the Elbling Express from Wittlich by way of Trier to PerlPerlPerl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...
. Long-distance services include ICE service between LuxembourgLuxembourg (city)The city of Luxembourg , also known as Luxembourg City , is a commune with city status, and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is located at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse Rivers in southern Luxembourg...
and BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Intercityverkehr between Luxembourg and EmdenEmdenEmden is a city and seaport in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia; in 2006, the city had a total population of 51,692.-History:...
. These trains all stop at Wittlich Hbf. The FrenchFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
railway operator SNCFSNCFThe SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
is planning a long-distance service between MetzMetzMetz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
and HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, which may stop at Wittlich. - Right near the station, spurs once branched off the mainline to DaunDaunDaun may refer to:* Daun, Germany, a town* Kreis Daun, the former name of the district Vulkaneifel in Germany* Karl Daun, German theologian* Count Leopold Joseph von Daun , Austrian field marshal...
by way of Wittlich-Stadt and Bernkastel-KuesBernkastel-KuesBernkastel-Kues is a well-known winegrowing centre on the Middle Moselle in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
, which have now been converted into cycle paths (the Maare-Mosel-Radweg). The transport link has been replaced by a bus route. - The Maare-Mosel-Radweg (cycle path) is a tourist attraction that leads from DaunDaunDaun may refer to:* Daun, Germany, a town* Kreis Daun, the former name of the district Vulkaneifel in Germany* Karl Daun, German theologian* Count Leopold Joseph von Daun , Austrian field marshal...
in the VulkaneifelVulkan EifelThe Vulkan Eifel is a region in the Eifel Mountains in Germany, that is defined to a large extent by its volcanic geological history. Characteristic of the Vulkan Eifel are its typical explosion crater lakes or maars, and numerous other signs of volcanic activity such as volcanic tuffs, lava...
to the Moselle and Bernkastel-KuesBernkastel-KuesBernkastel-Kues is a well-known winegrowing centre on the Middle Moselle in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
. Bicycles can be transported on the cyclists’ bus from Bernkastel to Daun by way of Wittlich. - The nearest airportAirportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
s are Luxembourg – Findel Airport and Frankfurt-Hahn AirportFrankfurt-Hahn Airport-Cargo airlines:-Other facilities:AirIT Services AG, a subsidiary of Fraport, has its head office in Building 663 at Hahn Airport.-References:*Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 USAF Reference Series, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force,...
, each of which can be reached in about 40 minutes.
Honorary citizens
- Louis Constans Berger (1829–1891), industrialist and politician, honorary citizen since 1884
- Hans-Günther Heinz (1933– ), entrepreneur and politician, honorary citizen since 2004
- Matthias Joseph Mehs (1893–1976), politician and local author, honorary citizen since 1966
- Willi Schrot (1915– ) master locksmith, municipal politician, 1948–1979 Member of the district council, 1967–1979 Member of the Rhineland-Palatinate Landtag, honorary citizen since 2004
Sons and daughters of the town
- Mathias Agritius (b. 1545), poet, humanist
- Max René Hesse (1877–1952), physician, writer, novelist
- Georg Fischer (1881–1962), publisher and local author, owner of the Georg-Fischer-Verlag (publishing house) (1906–1956)
- Matthias Joseph Mehs (1893–1976), politician and local author
- Hans Kalbfell (b. 1930), professional boxer
- Hans Friderichs (b. 1931) Federal Minister for Economics (1972–1977)
- Tony Munzlinger (b. 1934), painter and cartoonist
- Hermann Schäfer (b. 1942), historian, former leader of the Culture and Media department in the German ChancelleryGerman ChancelleryThe German Chancellery is a federal agency serving the executive office of the Chancellor, the head of the German federal government. The chief of the Chancellery holds the rank of either a Secretary of State or a Federal Minister ...
- Reinhold Bohlen (b. 1946) professor, rector of the Trier Theological Faculty, cathedral capitulary, director of the Emil-Frank-Institut in Wittlich
- Brigitte Bastgen (b. 1955), newsreader at ZDFZDFZweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
- Christian Klippel (b. 1955), writer
- Georg Holkenbrink (b. 1961), cathedral capitulary at the High Cathedral Church at Trier, episcopal vicar generalVicar generalA vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...
, moderator curiae and economist of the Diocese of Trier - Jürgen Roth-Lebenstedt (b. 1962), two-time German amateur football champion with Eintracht Trier and shooter of ARD Sportschau’s “Goal of the Month” in February 1996
- Thomas Mussweiler (b. 1969), social psychologistSocial psychologySocial psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
, Leibniz Prize winner 2006 - Hanin Elias (b. 1972), techno artist, founding member of Atari Teenage RiotAtari Teenage Riot'Atari Teenage Riot' is a German digital hardcore group formed in Berlin in 1992. The name was taken from a Portuguese Joe song 'Teenage Riot' from the 'Teen-age Riot' album, with the word 'Atari' added as an Atari ST computer was used to create compositions...
- Julian Klein (b. 1973), composer and conductor
Further reading
- Ernst Wackenroder: Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kreises Wittlich Düsseldorf 1934
- Freckmann, Klaus: Stadt Wittlich. Neuss 1977