Ötzingen

Ötzingen

Coat of arms
Ötzingen

Coordinates: 50°30′8″N 7°49′58″E / 50.50222°N 7.83278°ECoordinates: 50°30′8″N 7°49′58″E / 50.50222°N 7.83278°E
Country Germany
State Rhineland-Palatinate
District Westerwaldkreis
Municipal assoc. Wirges
Government
  Mayor Alexander Hübinger
Area
  Total 5.98 km2 (2.31 sq mi)
Population (2012-12-31)[1]
  Total 1,369
  Density 230/km2 (590/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 56244
Dialling codes 02602 / 02666 (S´holz)
Vehicle registration WW

Ötzingen is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Geography

Location

The community lies at the foot of the Malberg, a wooded volcanic cone found within the neighbouring community of Moschheim. Other neighbouring communities are Leuterod, Niederahr, Oberahr, Ettinghausen, Kuhnhöfen, Niedersayn and Helferskirchen. Along the edge of the community winds the Aubach, which rises in the outlying centre of Sainerholz some 3 km from the community’s main centre. Ötzingen belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Wirges, a kind of collective municipality. Its seat is in the like-named town.

As is so throughout the so-called Kannenbäckerland (“Jug Bakers’ Land”, a small region known for its traditional Toilet chicken industry), clay quarrying plays an important rôle. Somewhat outside the community is found a production centre for world-famous clay mosaics.

Constituent communities

Ötzingen has one outlying centre called Sainerholz.

History

The community’s name comes from the Old High German Uitzingen, most likely meaning some such thing as “Uitzo’s (or Utz’s) Offspring”. The ending –ingen leads to the supposition that at the time the land was taken, it had already been cleared, or there were no woods found there, in turn leading to the conclusion that the community’s founding time was somewhere between the late 6th century and the 11th century.

The name has appeared in various spellings over the centuries:

Politics

Community council

The council is made up of 17 council members, including the extraofficial mayor (Bürgermeister), who were elected in a municipal election on 13 June 2004.

BfÖ - Bürger für Ötzingen SPD Total
2004 12 4 16 seats

References

  1. "Bevölkerung der Gemeinden am 31.12.2012". Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). 2013.

External links