Efringen-Kirchen is a municipality in the district of

Lörrach Lörrach () is a town in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss borders. It is the capital of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. It is the home of a number of large employers, including t ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Fortifications

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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 Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

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.

Communities within Efringen-Kirchen

* Blansingen * Efringen * * Huttingen * Istein * {Kirchen * Kleinkems * Mappach * Maugenhard * Welmlingen * WintersweilerEfringen-Kirchen im Markgräflerland
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Religion

Churches

* Peterskirche, Blansingen

References

External links

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Information about and images
Towns in Baden-Württemberg Lörrach (district) Baden {{Lörrach-geo-stub