Merchingen (Merzig)

Merchingen City of Merzig
Coordinates: 49 ° 26 ′ 29 ″  N , 6 ° 40 ′ 50 ″  E
Height :	262 m above sea level NHN
Area :	9.43 km²
Residents :	939  (June 30, 2011)
Population density :	100 inhabitants / km²
Incorporation :	1st January 1974
Postal code :	66663
Area code :	06861
Location of Merchingen in Saarland
View of Merchingen

Merchingen is one of 17 districts of the district town of Merzig in the Merzig-Wadern district ( Saarland ). Until the end of 1973 Merchingen was an independent municipality.

geography

The total size of the district is 943 hectares, of which 238 hectares are forest. 634 hectares are used for agriculture. The Geißenfels nature reserve covers 17 ha, the water area of ​​the village a total of 9.7 ha. There are 148 ha of valuable biotope area. The highest point has a height of 417  m above sea level. NHN on. In 2004, against the vote of the communal bodies, 340 hectares were converted into so-called priority areas, which in the medium term should mean the loss of the cultural landscape of the hillside, which is characterized by fruit tree cultivation and sheep breeding.

history

The earliest mention of Merchingen is not certain, since the forgery of 816 over an annual fruit pension in Morichinga is also claimed by Mörchingen ( Morhange ). Merchingen belonged to the Duchy of Lorraine until 1766 and then to France until 1814 . The stoned German-French border from 1778/1779 encompasses almost 2/3 of the municipal boundary.

The wisdoms of 1417, 1494, 1528, 1587 and 1701 have been preserved as a medieval legal basis . The highest jurisdiction in Merchingen was shared by the Lords of Meinsberg , Felsberg , Freistroff , the Lords of Esch Castle and, at times, the Mettlach Monastery .

The horror of the Merching witch trials of 1593 at Lawers Barbell, her sister Wendels Sunna and their son Lorenz touch their contemporaries to this day.

Agriculture is still very important in Merchingen today . In 1720, after the Thirty Years' War , which temporarily drove out all residents, a ban book was created on behalf of the Lorraine authorities. The greatest agricultural reformer was farmer pastor Johann Mathias Deutsch, who founded the agricultural school in Merchingen.

In 1929 the parish church of St. Agatha was rebuilt under the architect Clemens Holzmeister .

As part of the regional and administrative reform in Saarland , the previously independent municipality of Merchingen was assigned to the city of Merzig on January 1, 1974.

Name development

0816	Morichinga
1266	Morchingen
1267	Mörchingen
1277	Morchinge, Morekinge
1363	Murchingin
1387	Morchingen
1593	Merchingen

politics

• Mayor since March 13, 2003: Helmut Hoff ( CDU )

Personalities

• Johann Matthias Deutsch , (born June 6, 1797 Euren; † July 10, 1858 Merchingen), pastor and agricultural reformer

societies

The club life in Merchingen is diverse: In addition to the volunteer fire brigade , clubs are particularly active on a musical and sporting level.

literature

• Josef Bohr: The farmer pastor of Merchingen. How a village pastor reformed agriculture in the Saargau 150 years ago and founded a school. In: Saargeschichten 4, 2008, p. 22f.
• Wolfgang Reget: The inhabitants of Merchingen / Saar 1519–1912. Published by the Association for Local Lore Merchingen, Saarbrücken-Dudweiler 2017.
• Literature on Merchingen (Merzig) in the Saarland Bibliography

Individual evidence

1. ^ Federal Statistical Office (ed.): Historical municipality directory for the Federal Republic of Germany. Name, border and key number changes in municipalities, counties and administrative districts from May 27, 1970 to December 31, 1982 . W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Mainz 1983, ISBN 3-17-003263-1 , p. 804 .