Altrich

Altrich is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bernkastel-Wittlich district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Altrich
Coat of arms
Location of Altrich within Bernkastel-Wittlich district
Altrich
Altrich
Coordinates: 49°57′29″N 06°54′41″E
CountryGermany
StateRhineland-Palatinate
DistrictBernkastel-Wittlich
Municipal assoc.Wittlich-Land
Government
 • MayorSylvia Stoffel Leuchter
Area
 • Total16.25 km2 (6.27 sq mi)
Elevation
180 m (590 ft)
Population
 (2018-12-31)[1]
 • Total1,669
 • Density100/km2 (270/sq mi)
Time zoneCET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes
54518
Dialling codes06571
Vehicle registrationWIL
Websitewww.altrich.de

Geography

Location

Altrich lies some 4 km south of the district seat, Wittlich. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Wittlich-Land, whose seat is in Wittlich, although that town is itself not in the Verbandsgemeinde.

History

The parish church is consecrated to Saint Andrew. In 952, Altrich had its first documentary mention – even earlier than the neighbouring town of Wittlich. The first mention in writing came as early as 636 in which it was named as Alta Regia.[2]

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected by proportional representation at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman.

The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results:[3]

 SPDCDUFWGTotal
200925916 seats
200455616 seats

Coat of arms

The German blazon reads: Schild Rot und Weiß gespalten, vorne ein weißes Andreaskreuz, hinten 2 (2:1) rote Kugeln.

The municipality's arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Per pale gules a saltire couped argent, and argent three roundels of the first.

The saltire (X-shaped cross) on the dexter (armsbearer's right, viewer's left) side stands for Saint Andrew, the local church's patron saint who was depicted in the old court seal from 1764. The three roundels on the sinister (armsbearer's left, viewer's right) side refer to a knightly family that named itself after Altrich and whose existence in the 14th century is witnessed. The tinctures gules and argent (red and silver) are a reference to the village's former allegiance to the Electorate of Trier

Altrich was granted the right to bear its own arms in 1971.

Culture and sightseeing
  • Remains of a Roman wall near the Neuenhof (outside Altrich towards Klausen)
  • The “Cusanus Columns” from the former parish church, now in the parish garden at Andreasstraße 31
  • The “Fat Oak” (dicke Eiche) – a roughly 300-year-old natural monument in the village's southwest (on the Schneidkaul road extension)

Economy and infrastructure

The municipality has a kindergarten, a single-stream primary school and a multipurpose area with a gymnasium.

Pictures
  • Saint Andrew's Parish Church
  • Saint Andrew's Parish Church
  • Saint Andrew's Parish Church
  • Cusanus Columns
  • Alte Eiche (“Fat Oak”)
  • Alte Eiche (“Fat Oak”)
  • Lands around Altrich
  • Lands around Altrich

References
  1. "Bevölkerungsstand 2018 - Gemeindeebene". Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz (in German). 2019.
  2. Stellungnahme des Landeshauptarchivs Koblenz Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Kommunalwahl Rheinland-Pfalz 2009, Gemeinderat
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