Efringen-Kirchen

Efringen-Kirchen
Coat of arms
Efringen-Kirchen
Coordinates: 47°39′20″N 7°33′57″E / 47.65556°N 7.56583°ECoordinates: 47°39′20″N 7°33′57″E / 47.65556°N 7.56583°E
Country	Germany
State	Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region	Freiburg
District	Lörrach
Government
• Mayor	Wolfgang Fürstenberger
Area
• Total	43.74 km^2 (16.89 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)[1]
• Total	8,772
• Density	200/km^2 (520/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	79588
Dialling codes	07628
Vehicle registration	LÖ
Website	www.efringen-kirchen.de

Efringen-Kirchen is a municipality in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Fortifications

During World War I fortifications were built at Istein, these were destroyed at the end of the war. In 1936 plans were drawn up to turn the location into the "Gibraltar of the West" with two kilometres of underground passages linking gun emplacements and bunkers. The site was to host an underground garage for over 100 tanks, 3600 men and as part of the West Wall it would dwarf similar Maginot Line fortifications. Work began in 1937 and Hermann Göring visited in the Spring of 1938. By 1939 several installations were complete but as the war progressed advantageously for the Germans in 1940 the site remained unfinished.^[2]

Communities within Efringen-Kirchen

• Blansingen
• Efringen
• Egringen
• Huttingen
• Istein
• Kirchen
• Kleinkems
• Mappach
• Maugenhard
• Welmlingen
• Wintersweiler^[3]

Notes

1. "Gemeinden in Deutschland nach Fläche, Bevölkerung und Postleitzahl am 30.09.2016". Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). 2016.
2. Kaufmann JE, Kaufmann HW: "Fortress third Reich", page 128. DA Capo Press, 2003.
3. Efringen-Kirchen im Markgräflerland

External links

• (German) Information about and images