Dahn
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| Dahn | |
| Coat of arms | Location |
 |
  |
| Administration | |
| Country |  Germany |
|---|---|
| State | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| District | Südwestpfalz |
| Municipal assoc. | Dahner Felsenland |
| Mayor | Manfred Schreiner (CDU) |
| Basic statistics | |
| Area | 40.75 km² (15.7 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 210 m (689 ft) |
| Population | 4,746 (31/12/2006) |
| - Density | 116 /km² (302 /sq mi) |
| Other information | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) |
| Licence plate | PS |
| Postal code | 66994 |
| Area code | 06391 |
| Website | www.dahn.de |
Dahn is a municipality in the Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Palatinate Forest, approx. 15 km southeast of Pirmasens, and 25 km west of Landau. It is part of the Verbandsgemeinde ("collective municipality") Dahner Felsenland.
Contents |
[edit] Geography
Dahn is located 210 m above sea level in a valley of the Dahner Felsenland, a part of the Wasgau, which is a part of the Palatinate Forest. The small creek Lauter, flowing through Dahn, is here in the area of its headwaters called Wieslauter. 10 km south of Dahn there is the border to Alsace (France).
[edit] History
[edit] Coat of arms
In 1952 the coat of arms was created completely new because of historical findings. Since then the three-part shield is showing on top a white cross with blue background on the left side and a white eagle with red background on the right side and on the bottom a green fir on a green hill with golden background.
The fir (ger.: Tanne [assumed as a symbol for the name of the town]) formerly was the one and only seal of Dahn. The new coat of arms considers following presuppositions: The knights of Than, fees of the bishop of Speyer, have been the lords of Dahn for over fourhundred years and maybe have called themselves after the town. This was the reason for inferring the white eagle with red background from the knight's coat of arms which was showing three white eagles (maybe the symbol for the triple castle Altdahn-Grafdahn-Tannstein). From the beginning of the extinction of the House of Than in 1603 Dahn has been head office of an department of the diosece of Speyer until the french revolutionary wars in 1797/98, that is why the white cross was adopted from it. The fir remained as a memory to the name of the town, the old seal of the Court and the scenic location of the city in the Palatinate Forest.
[edit] Municipal law
Dahn received the municipal law on 27th October 1963 after the Land Rhineland-Palatinate acceeded to the application of Dahn from 24th January 1963.
[edit] Policy
Aldermen:
(Elections on 13th June 2004, Number of mandates decreased from 22 to 20)
Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) 61,1% (+3,2) – 12 Seats (-1)
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) 21,0% (-0,6) – 4 Seats (-1)
Elector Groups (WGR) 14,1% (-1,2) – 3 Seats (=)
Free Democratic Party (FDP) 3,8% (-1,4) – 1 Seat (=)
[edit] Culture and sight seeing
In the neighbourhood of Dahn there are the triple castle Altdahn-Grafendahn-Tannstein and the castle of Neudahn.
A 70 m tall rock juts above the city and is a famous destination of rock climbers in the summer. It's name is Jungfernsprung ("A virgin's jump") and issues from an old legend.
[edit] Economy and infrastructures
[edit] Economy
Dahn has to get along without industry because the district Südwestpfalz is structurally weak. Because of this the population regresses. Only tourism shows an upwards trend owing to the widely intact and spectacular nature.
[edit] Traffic
The Bundesstraße 427 (Hinterweidenthal-Bad Bergzabern) leads through Dahn. The initially provided plug-in connection of the Bundesautobahn 8 (Pirmasens-Karlsruhe) which was planned to pass Dahn and a smaller bypass have never been realised.
Since 1997 the Wieslauterbahn calls at Dahn on Sundays and statutory holidays. It's connecting Hinterweidenthal and Bundenthal. The regular public train service was stopped in 1966.
[edit] Healthcare
The public hospital St.-Josef-Krankenhaus was closed at the end of the year 2005 due to cost concerns. In the Felsenland-Klinik, a hospital of psychotherapies, a special own-developed technique of psychoanalytic hypnosis is practiced. Dahn has also the Pfalzklinikum für Psychiatrie und Neurologie ("Palatinate Hospital For Psychiatrics And Neurology") with an exterior living group.
[edit] Education
The elementary school of Dahn provides for the municipality of Dahn and the municipalities of Schindhard and Erfweiler. The commuter belt of the school centre of Dahn with a Hauptschule, a Realschule and the Otfried-von-Weißenburg-Gymnasium is the Western-Wasgau. This gymnasium is the only one in the Südwestpfalz. In Dahn there is also a special needs school (the Ritter-von-Tann-Förderschule). In the years from 1958 trough 1994 the catholic church leaded the boarding school Studienheim St. Pirmin.
[edit] Personalities
[edit] Sons and daughthers of the city of Dahn
- Stefan Baron (*1948), trust spokesman of the Deutsche Bundesbank
- Alexander Fuhr (*1969), politician, member of the Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate (Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD))
- Theodor Kissel (*1962), historian and author
- Ingbert Naab (1885–1935), Friars Minor Capuchin and resistance fighter against the National Socialism, beatified, the Pater-Ingbert-Naab-street bears his name
- Theodor Schaller (1900-1993), Theologian and church president
[edit] Personalities, operated in Dahn
- Stephan Eisel (*1955), politician (Christian Democratic Union (CDU)), visited the Otfrid-von-Weißenburg-Gymnasium
- Heiner Geißler (*1930), politician (Christian Democratic Union (CDU)), lives in Dahn.
- Fritz Korter (1892-1945), sculptor, creator of the Dahn war memorial
- Friedl Rinder (1905-2001), chess player, winner of the 1959 German Chess Women's Championship, which took place in Dahn
[edit] External links
- Municipality of Dahn(German)
- Verbandsgemeinde Dahner Felsenland(multilingual)
- Pater Ingbert Naab(German)
