Виттлих: История, География и Символика города

Wittlich (; Moselle Franconian: Wittlech) is a town in Rhineland Palatinate, in western Germany, the seat of the Bernkastel Wittlich district. Its historic town centre and the beauty of the surrounding countryside make the town a centre for tourism in southwest Germany. Wittlich is the middle centre for a feeder area of 56 municipalities in the Eifel and Moselle area with a population of roughly 64,000. With some 18,000 inhabitants, Wittlich is the biggest town between Trier and Koblenz and the fourth biggest between Mainz and the Belgian border.

The town lies in the South Eifel on the River Lieser in a side valley of the Moselle on the northern edge of the Wittlich Depression. This stretch of country is bounded in the west by the low mountains of the Moselle Eifel and in the east by the Moselle valley.

Wittlich's Stadtteile or Ortsbezirke (districts or suburbs), besides the main centre, also called Wittlich, are Bombogen, Dorf, Lüxem, Neuerburg, and Wengerohr, each of which was a self administering municipality. until 7 June 1969.

The German blazon reads: In rotem Feld parallel nebeneinander zwei aufrecht, mit dem Schlüsselbart nach oben voneinander abgekehrte silberne Schlüssel mit übereinandergelegten Griffen, wobei der linke über dem rechten angeordnet ist. Die Mauerkrone ist Zierelement des Wappens: ein Zinnenturm mit offenem Tor in der Mitte zwischen Mauern und Zinnen. The town's arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Gules two keys palewise addorsed, the wards to chief and the bow of the dexter surmounting that of the sinister, argent, ensigning the shield a tower with an open gateway and flanking walls, the whole embattled, of the second. The German blazon identifies the “left” key as the one that surmounts the other, although the example shown at the town's own website clearly shows the dexter key surmounting the sinister. This may arise from a common misunderstanding about heraldry, in which left and right – or sinister and dexter – are told from the armsbearer's point of view, not the viewer's. The example of the arms shown at the town's own website shows the crenellated (“embattled”) tower on top of the escutcheon; however, the example at Heraldry of the World shows the arms without this. This same webpage also shows a coat of arms for Wittlich which apparently appeared in the old Coffee Hag albums. It might be described as “Argent two keys per saltire, the wards to chief, the one in bend sinister surmounting the other, azure.” In other words, the field tincture was silver (“argent”) instead of red (“gules”), and the keys were not only blue instead of silver, but also crossed to form an X (“per saltire”). Whichever way the keys are arranged, they symbolize Saint Peter, who was the patron saint of the Electorate of Trier, to which Wittlich belonged until 1794. The current tinctures were the ones borne by Trier, whereas the ones in the Coffee Hag image were those borne by the House of Wittelsbach. The town's first great seal, from the time just after Wittlich had been raised to town, showed a crenellated tower over an open gate between two turrets, each with a roundle high on its wall. The court seal from the early 14th century, on the other hand, showed a two key charge quite similar to the one in today's arms, thus providing the model for the coat of arms now borne by the town. The crenellated tower on top of the escutcheon was only “rediscovered” much later.

Wittlich's Shrovetide festivities – Fastnacht – are outfitted each year by the two Carnival clubs, Schääl Saidt e. V. and Narrenzunft Rot Weiß e. V. (“Fools’ Guild”). On the third weekend in August, the Säubrennerkirmes (“Sow Burner Fair”) is held; it is one of Rhineland Palatinate's biggest folk festivals and was begun in 1951, based on the mediaeval Säubrennersage (a legend that tells of a sow that inadvertently allowed a siege force to enter Wittlich, sack it and burn it down after she ate the carrot that the gatekeeper had used instead of the bolt, which he could not find; all swine in the town were accordingly punished with burning – meaning, in effect, a huge pork barbecue). In October, Wittlich also holds Rhineland Palatinate's biggest Oktoberfest.

Wittlich also has a public access channel, the Offener Kanal Wittlich, which several times weekly reports on local news, events and suchlike.

In Wittlich, counting only workers on the social welfare contribution rolls, 14,500 people have jobs. This rises to more than 16,000 if officials and the self employed are counted, making Wittlich's job density about 852 for each thousand inhabitants, and putting Wittlich itself in the very highest group of towns in Rhineland Palatinate. Wittlich's importance as an economic and tourism centre is favoured by its location on two autobahns and by its mainline railway station on the Koblenz Trier railway line.

Dr. August Oetker Nahrungsmittel KG runs one of its biggest food freezing works in the outlying centre of Wengerohr. Goodyear Dunlop Tires Germany GmbH runs a plant in Wittlich which has been specialized in truck tire production. On 12 November 2009, the Schlossgalerie opened in Wittlich in which C&A, Müller and Ernsting's Family, among others, have locations. The Chinese firm Heng Feng, which makes furniture and fishing tackle, has its only European location in Wittlich through its daughter company Westfield Outdoors. The Bungert department store is Rhineland Palatinate's biggest family business. Franklin Fueling Systems GmbH manages a major distribution warehouse supplying fueling and service station equipment to all of Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Through the municipal area runs the Autobahn A 1 between Cologne and Saarbrücken. The Autobahn A 60, coming from Liège, thus far ends at the Wittlich Cross at the A 1. A new four lane highway, the so called B 50 neu, is currently being built. It will run from the Wittlich Autobahn Cross, where currently the A 60 ends, towards the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region and the Autobahn A 61. The first section, between Wittlich Wengerohr and the Wittlich Autobahn Cross, will be completed in 2013, and the whole highway with its centrepiece, a long, high bridge over the Moselle (Hochmoselbrücke) is to be finished by 2016. Also crossing in Wittlich are Bundesstraßen 49 and 50. The railway station, Wittlich Hbf (Wengerohr station) with InterCityExpress connections lies in the outlying centre of Wengerohr on the Koblenz–Trier line. Regional services include the Mosel Saar Express from Koblenz by way of Trier to Saarbrücken, the Moseltal Bahn from Koblenz by way of Wittlich to Trier and the Elbling Express from Wittlich by way of Trier to Perl. Long distance services include ICE service between Luxembourg and Berlin and Intercityverkehr between Luxembourg and Emden. These trains all stop at Wittlich Hbf. The French railway operator SNCF is planning a long distance service between Metz and Hamburg, which may stop at Wittlich. Right near the station, spurs once branched off the mainline to Daun by way of Wittlich Stadt and Bernkastel Kues, which have now been converted into cycle paths (the Maare Mosel Radweg). The transport link has been replaced by a bus route. The Maare Mosel Radweg (cycle path) is a tourist attraction that leads from Daun in the Vulkaneifel to the Moselle and Bernkastel Kues. Bicycles can be transported on the cyclists’ bus from Bernkastel to Daun by way of Wittlich. The nearest airports are Luxembourg – Findel Airport and Frankfurt Hahn Airport, each of which can be reached in about 40 minutes.