Merzig (, , ''Moselle Franconian:'' ''Meerzisch''/''Miërzësch'') is a town in

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is the capital of the district

Merzig-Wadern Merzig-Wadern is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northwest of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are Trier-Saarburg, Sankt Wendel, Saarlouis, the French ''département'' Moselle, and Luxembourg. History The district was created in 1816 w ...

, with about 30,000 inhabitants in 17 municipalities on 108 km². It is situated on the river

Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name * Sarr Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player * Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist * Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), E ...

, approx. 35 km south of

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

, and 35 km northwest of

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

History

Evolution of the name

In addition to the above, the city was known under French rule as ''Mercy''.

Subdivisions

Merzig was created in 1974 as part of the territorial reform in Saarland. The present-day town consists of the previous town of Merzig and 16 surrounding former municipalities. The population of the present town, including all outlying districts (as of June 30, 2011):

Culture and sights

Museums

* Expeditionary Museum Werner Freund * Fine mechanical museum in the Fellenbergmühle * Museum of Local History in Fellenberg Castle * B-Werk Besseringen * Saarland Psychiatric Museum

Buildings

* Church of St. Peter * Historic townhouse („Altes Rathaus“) * Diverse baroque buildings such as Halfenhaus, Staadt-Marx's Bürgerhaus, Hilbringer Schlösschen, Abteihof Besseringen ("Zehnt-Haus"), former residence of Christian Kretzschmar in Trierer Straße (all 18th century) * Various interesting buildings of the 19th and early 20th centuries such as Villa Fuchs, Protestant church, churches in Hilbringen (St. Peter in chains) and Besseringen (Sacred Heart Church), Lothringer Hof, station, main building of the former state hospital, Art Nouveau buildings in Trierer Straße, former jam factory (previous monastery) * Various chapels worth seeing, such as St. Mary's Chapel, St. Cross Chapel, Kreuzberg Chapel, Josef Chapel, Harlinger Chapel, Old Wellinger Chapel, St. Clement Chapel (Menningen) * Seffersbach Bridge, 1901, last preserved suspension belt bridge "System Möller" in Saarland * Catholic parish church of St. Agatha (Merchingen) * Catholic parish church of St. Mary Magdalene (Brotdorf) * Catholic parish church of St. Martin (Bietzen) * Catholic parish church of St. Josef

Parks

* Bürgerpark Besseringen * Garden of the Senses on the Kreuzberg * Orchids on the Nackberg at Hilbringen * Town park

Other attractions

* B-Werk Besseringen (Westwall Bunkeranlage), on the B 51 between Merzig and Besseringen * Public indoor swimming pool „Das Bad“ * Bietzener healing spring on the B 51 in the direction of Beckingen * Public natural swimming pool Heilborn * Sculptor symposium stones at the border * Monastery St. Gangolf, between Besseringen and Mettlach * Museum railway (to Losheim) * Animal enclosure at Blättelbornweiher * Wolf enclosure in the Kammerforst * Kreuzbergkapelle with views over almost the entire city and the Merzig basin * Kletterhafen - Europe's largest free-standing climbing park

Sport

Merzig is the birthplace of

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

Kevin Trapp Kevin Christian Trapp (; born 8 July 1990) is a German professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for club Eintracht Frankfurt, whom he Captain (association football), captains, an ...

and

tennis player Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

Benjamin Becker Benjamin Becker (born 16 June 1981) is a German former professional tennis player. He is most known for defeating former world No. 1 Andre Agassi in the third round at the 2006 US Open, in Agassi's last match as a professional player. Becker ...

Musical theatre

Since 2012 Merzig stages musicals for two months each year, starring famous German musical actors like

Uwe Kröger Uwe Kröger (; born 4 December 1964 in Hamm, West Germany) is a German actor, singer, and he plays Guitar. He is a musical star in the German-speaking countries of the world. Besides starring on stage, Kröger has taken part in galas and concerts, ...

. The venue is a huge marquee, called 'Zeltpalast' (marquee palace). * 2012: ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * Hairspray (1988 film), ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** Hairspray (1988 soundtrack), ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundt ...

'' * 2013: ''

Burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

'' * 2014: ''

The Addams Family The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' between 193 ...

'', German debut * 2015: '' La Cage aux Folles'' * 2016: ''

'' (off season production in February) * 2016: ''

9 to 5 Working time or laboring time is the period of time that a person spends at paid Wage labour, labor. Unpaid work, Unpaid labor such as personal housework or caring for children or pets is not considered part of the working week. Many countri ...

'', German debut

Twin towns – sister cities

Merzig is twinned with: *

Luckau Luckau (Lower Sorbian: ''Łuków'') is a city in the district of Dahme-Spreewald in the States of Germany#States, federal state of Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. Known for its beauty, it has been dubbed "the Pearl of Lower Lusatia". Origin of t ...

, Germany *

Saint-Médard-en-Jalles Saint-Médard-en-Jalles (; ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Located west-northwest of the city of Bordeaux, it is the fifth-largest suburb of the city and a member of the Bordeaux Métropol ...

, France

Notable people

* Franz-Josef Röder (1909–1979), politician (CDU) * Susanne Fontaine (born 1961), musicologist *

(born 1990), footballer *

Sahra Wagenknecht Sahra Wagenknecht (; 16 July 1969) is a German politician. She was a member of the Bundestag from 2009 to 2025, where she represented The Left until 2023. From 2015 to 2019, she served as that party's parliamentary co-chair. With a small team ...

(born 1969), politician (

Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice ( , BSW) is a political party in Germany founded on 8 January 2024. It has been described as a left-wing to far-left party with populist and nationalist tendencies. The BSW is sceptical of g ...

)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Merzig-Wadern Districts of the Rhine Province