Wolfach
Wolfach is a town in the Black Forest and part of the Ortenaukreis in Baden-Württemberg (Germany). It is a well-known spa town in Germany.
Wolfach | |
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 Coat of arms | |
Location of Wolfach within Ortenaukreis district  | |
  Wolfach  Wolfach | |
| Coordinates: 48°18′N 8°13′E | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Baden-Württemberg |
| Admin. region | Freiburg |
| District | Ortenaukreis |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Thomas Geppert |
| Area | |
| • Total | 67.99 km2 (26.25 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 262 m (860 ft) |
| Population (2019-12-31)[1] | |
| • Total | 5,785 |
| • Density | 85/km2 (220/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 77709 |
| Dialling codes | 07834 |
| Vehicle registration | OG, KEL, LR, WOL |
| Website | wolfach.de |
Geography
Geographical Position
Wolfach lies where the two rivers Wolf and Kinzig meet in the Kinzig valley. The mixture of valleys and mountains is a characteristic of the town, which stretches between 250 and 880 m above sea level.
Villages within the borough of Wolfach include Kirnbach and Kinzigtal.
History
The exact foundation year of Wolfach is not known. The history of the town Wolfach can be traced back to the year 1084, although some finding even point back to the Roman times.
On April 21, 1945, before fleeing the city, the Gestapo took the French resistants and political prisoners held in the prison of Wolfach to a forest outside of the town, forced them to dig their own graves, and shot them on the spot, just three hours before the arrival of the French 2nd Armored Division commanded by General Leclerc.[2]
Tourism
Wolfach hotels and bed & breakfast places have an occupancy rate of 128,000 nights each year (year 2000).
Government
City Council
In the past years the city council consisted of:
| Party | 1994 | 1999 | 2004 | 2009 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDU | 8 seats | 10 seats | 8 seats | 6 seats | 5 seats |
| SPD | 5 seats | 3 seats | 3 seats | 4 seats | 5 seats |
| FW | 6 seats | 8 seats | 7 seats | 7 seats | 6 seats |
| Grüne | — | — | — | 1 seat | 2 seats |
Mayors
- 1811–1820: Johann Georg Neef
- 1820–1829: Xavery Duppele
- 1829–1834: Dr. Duttlinger
- 1834–1839: Johann Baptist Baur
- 1839–1861: Joseph Bührer
- 1861–1874: Johann Georg Armbruster
- 1874–1880: Hermann Vogt
- 1880–1900: Friedrich Armbruster, (son of J. G. Armbruster)
- 1900–1909: Bruno Burger
- 1909–1918: Karl Friedrich Armbruster, (son of F. Armbruster)
- 1918–1925: Gustav Bulacher
- 1925–1936: August Hämmerle, (from 1933 NSDAP)
- 1937–1941: Adolf Oehler (NSDAP), Oehler was since 1929 NSDAP-member, joined in 1940 the Waffen-SS and died in 1941 as a soldier
- 1941–1945: Alfred Albanus
- 1945: Max Vivell, (gave the town to the commander of the marching in French troops)
- 1945–1946: Johannes Faißt (temporarily)
- 1946–1951: Hans Allgeier (1891–1951)
- 1951–1978: Arthur Martin (1911–1999)
- 1978–1991: Hans-Peter Züfle
- 1992–2014: Gottfried Moser
- since 2015: Thomas Geppert
Coat of Arms
The coat of arms of the town of Wolfach displays a golden wolf's rod on blue ground and is based on the “Wolfs-Angel” of the “Herren von Wolfach”.
International relations
Wolfach is twinned with:
Cavalaire-sur-Mer, France
Richfield, USA
Kreuzlingen, Switzerland
Culture and Sights
Swabian-Alemannic Carnival
Wolfach is said to be one of the towns rich in tradition of the Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht.
Buildings
- Fürstenberg castle
- Fortress ruin Alt-Wolfach
- Town Hall
- Catholic church St. Laurentius
Parks
- Kurgarten
- Flößerpark
- Kinziganlagen
Regular Events
- Swabian-Alemannic Carnival (‘Fastnacht’)
- City Fountain Festival (‘Stadtbrunnenfest’)
- Biker-Weekend
- Long Table (‘Lange Tafel’)
- Flößerfest
- Open-Air Rockfest Moosenmättle
- Butchers Festival of the Fire Department (‘Schlachtfest der Freiwilligen Feuerwehr’)
- Wolfach Autumn (‘Wolfacher Herbst’)
Notable people
Sons and daughters of the town
- Hans Klumbach (1904–1992), archaeologist and scholar of classical and provincial Roman studies
- Sylvia Wetzel (born 1949), Buddhist feminist
- Marco Horácio (born 1974), popular comedian on Portuguese television
- Thomas Dold (born 1984), athlete
- Markus Steuerwald (born 1989), volleyball player
People who are connected to the town
- Gustav Trunk (1871–1936), politician, member of the German Centre Party; lived in Wolfach from 1897 to 1900 as beadle
- Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer (1896–1969), racial hygienist in the Third Reich; lived in Wolfach between 1898 and 1909, where he visited school
References
Notes
- "Bevölkerung nach Nationalität und Geschlecht am 31. Dezember 2019". Statistisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg (in German). September 2020.
- CRDP d'Alsace. "La Deuxième Guerre mondiale en Alsace" (PDF) (in French). Retrieved 2009-11-07.
Book References
- Disch Franz: Chronik der Stadt Wolfach. Wolfach, Karlsruhe 1920.
- Harter Hans: Adel und Burgen im oberen Kinziggebiet. Studien zur Besiedelung und hochmittelalterlichen Herrschaftsbildung im mittleren Schwarzwald. München 1992.
- Krausbeck Josef, Knauss Frieder: Masken unserer Stadt. Stuttgart 1974.
- Stadt Wolfach (Hrsg.): Schwarzwaldstadt mit Tradition. Wolfach, Kirnbach, Kinzigtal. Freiburg 1988.
External links
Administration and Authorities
Places of Interest, Sights
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wolfach. |
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