Esthal

Esthal

Coat of arms
Esthal

Coordinates: 49°23′N 07°59′E / 49.383°N 7.983°E / 49.383; 7.983Coordinates: 49°23′N 07°59′E / 49.383°N 7.983°E / 49.383; 7.983
Country Germany
State Rhineland-Palatinate
District Bad Dürkheim
Municipal assoc. Lambrecht (Pfalz)
Government
  Mayor Gerhard Kuhn (CDU)
Area
  Total 15.51 km2 (5.99 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)[1]
  Total 1,377
  Density 89/km2 (230/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 67472
Dialling codes 06325
Vehicle registration DÜW
Website www.esthal.de

Esthal is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Geography

Location

The municipality lies on a plateau in the Palatinate Forest. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Lambrecht, whose seat is in the like-named town.

Constituent communities

Esthal’s Ortsteile, or Annexen, as they are known, are Esthal, Breitenstein, Erfenstein and Sattelmühle.

History

Erfenstein Castle

In 1380, Esthal had its first documentary mention as Estall. It was held until 1794 by the Lords of Erfenstein, whose seat was at the nearby castle.

Religion

In 2007, 71% of the inhabitants were Catholic and 17% Evangelical. The rest practised other faiths or none.[2]

Politics

Municipal council

The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected 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]

SPD CDU FWG Total
2009 3 8 5 16 seats
2004 3 9 4 16 seats

Coat of arms

The German blazon reads: Unter silbernem Schildhaupt in Schwarz ein schwebendes kugelbesetztes goldenes Tatzenkreuz.

The municipality’s arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Under a chief argent sable a cross pattée couped, the lower arm longer than the others, and in each end a roundle Or.

The arms were approved in 1954 by the Mainz Ministry of the Interior and they date from a 1772 court seal.[4]

Culture and sightseeing

References

  1. "Gemeinden in Deutschland mit Bevölkerung am 31. Dezember 2013". Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). 2014.
  2. KommWis, Stand: 31.12.2007
  3. Kommunalwahl Rheinland-Pfalz 2009, Gemeinderat
  4. Karl Heinz Debus: Das große Wappenbuch der Pfalz. Neustadt an der Weinstraße 1988, ISBN 3-9801574-2-3

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Esthal.
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