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Willerwald

Coordinates: 49°01′40″N 7°02′09″E / 49.0278°N 7.0358°E / 49.0278; 7.0358
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Willerwald
The church in Willerwald
The church in Willerwald
Coat of arms of Willerwald
Location of Willerwald
Map
Willerwald is located in France
Willerwald
Willerwald
Willerwald is located in Grand Est
Willerwald
Willerwald
Coordinates: 49°01′40″N 7°02′09″E / 49.0278°N 7.0358°E / 49.0278; 7.0358
CountryFrance
RegionGrand Est
DepartmentMoselle
ArrondissementSarreguemines
CantonSarreguemines
IntercommunalityCA Sarreguemines Confluences
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Henri Haxaire[1]
Area
1
6.31 km2 (2.44 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
1,529
 • Density240/km2 (630/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
57746 /57430
Elevation206–265 m (676–869 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Willerwald (French pronunciation: [vilœʁvald]) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.

Geography

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Willerwald is a town of about 1,500 inhabitants located 12 km south of Sarreguemines. The A4 motorway is 1 km from Willerwald. Located on a hill between Sarralbe and Hambach, the village developed along a north–south axis represented today by the RN 61. A dozen streets are perpendicular to this axis. This weft pattern weaves an original but widely dispersed urban morphology. In parallel to the RN 61 but bypassing the village, the railway line serving the Hambach Europole crosses the town.

Despite its name, the municipality does not have a forest. Three streams cross the town: the Hoppbach, the Waldscheingraben and the Dorrenbach. The town is also crossed by the channel of the Saar and Sarre coal mines.

History

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A first village named Weiler / Alberweiller [3] or Albweiler was known as early as the 13th century. It was destroyed in the sixteenth century. Since 1601, a new village began to rise on the old ban cleared. In 1766 Willerwald passed with the Duchy of Lorraine under the sovereignty of France, and the Prince of Saarbrücken surrendered to France the property which he possessed at Willer.

A first church, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, was built in 1777. A new Gothic church, with a 60-meter belfry, was built between 1910 and 1911, and was solemnly consecrated on May 15, 1911. On June 6, 1940, the church was damaged when French artillery fired on it, believing that it was being used by the Germans as an observation post. In 1941, during the occupation, the remaining structure was demolished using explosives. The current church, also dedicated to Saint Nicholas, was built to replace it in 1955 [4]

During the Second World War, the population of the village was evacuated on September 1, 1939 to the department of Charente (first to Salles-d'Angles, then to Châteaubernard and Saint-Félix). The village was bombed on June 14, 1940 and occupied by German troops a day later. During the Lorraine campaign in late 1944 the village was bombed on December 4, which completely destroyed 47 houses and severely damaged the remaining buildings. It was liberated by the US Army the next day.[5]

Politics and administration

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List of mayors
Name Start of term End of term
Emile Staub ? ?
Emile Tousch ? ?
René Staub ? March 1995
Alfred Manns March 1995 March 2008
Albert Masslo March 2008 March 2020
Henri Haxaire March 2020 Incumbent

Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 431—    
1800 505+2.29%
1806 677+5.01%
1821 634−0.44%
1836 796+1.53%
1841 808+0.30%
1861 659−1.01%
1866 740+2.35%
1871 787+1.24%
1875 789+0.06%
1880 779−0.25%
1885 766−0.34%
1890 751−0.39%
1895 810+1.52%
1900 818+0.20%
1905 837+0.46%
1910 808−0.70%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1921 777−0.36%
1926 771−0.15%
1931 799+0.72%
1936 863+1.55%
1946 805−0.69%
1954 841+0.55%
1962 935+1.33%
1968 934−0.02%
1975 988+0.81%
1982 1,132+1.96%
1990 1,173+0.45%
1999 1,225+0.48%
2007 1,432+1.97%
2012 1,519+1.19%
2017 1,544+0.33%
2021 1,529−0.24%
Source: EHESS[6] and INSEE (1968-2017)[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ Bouteiller - Dictionnaire topographique de l'ancien département de la Moselle, rédigé en 1868
  4. ^ "L'Eglise Saint-Nicolas". Commune de Willerwald (in French). Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  5. ^ "Vivre Willerwald". Communauté d'Agglomération Sarreguemines Confluences (in French). Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  6. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Willerwald, EHESS (in French).
  7. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
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