Diefflen (pronounced: Dieflen, in the local, Moselle-Franconian dialect Dejfeln) is a district of Dillingen/Saar in the district of Saarlouis (

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 ...

) and has about 4700 inhabitants. It is located on the lower

Prims The Prims is a 91 km long river in western Germany, right tributary of the Saar. It rises in the Hunsrück mountains, near the village Malborn. It flows generally south through the towns Nonnweiler, Wadern and Schmelz. It flows into the ...

, a tributary of the

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 ...

. Since its foundation in the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

Diefflen was historically linked to the villages of the former " Hochgericht Nalbacher Tal". This association was broken when Diefflen was incorporated into the city of Dillingen/Saar in 1969.

Geography

Physical-geographic classification

Diefflen is assigned to the foreland of

Hunsrück The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced mountain range, upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle (river), Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued ...

and thus to the

Saar-Nahe Hills The Saar-Nahe Hills or Saar-Nahe Uplands ( or ''Saar-Nahe-Berg- und Hügelland'') is a major natural region (major landscape unit group, level 3) in the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Saarland. The region of hills and mountains cove ...

and the

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

Cuesta A cuesta () is a hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side, and a steep slope on the other. In geology, the term is more specifically applied to a ridge where a harder sedimentary rock overlies a softer layer, the whole being tilted somew ...

, the easternmost limb of the

Paris Basin The Paris Basin () is one of the major geological regions of France. It developed since the Triassic over remnant uplands of the Variscan orogeny (Hercynian orogeny). The sedimentary basin, no longer a single drainage basin, is a large sag in ...

Geological-geomorphological situation

The geological underground of Diefflen is the middle

Buntsandstein The Buntsandstein (German for ''coloured'' or ''colourful sandstone'') or Bunter sandstone is a lithostratigraphy, lithostratigraphic and allostratigraphy, allostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) in the Subsurface (geology), subsurface ...

. The Buntsandstein, is the oldest stone package of the

Triassic The Triassic ( ; sometimes symbolized 🝈) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.5 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.4 Mya. The Triassic is t ...

and the outermost edge of the

Paris basin The Paris Basin () is one of the major geological regions of France. It developed since the Triassic over remnant uplands of the Variscan orogeny (Hercynian orogeny). The sedimentary basin, no longer a single drainage basin, is a large sag in ...

. The petrographic nature of the Buntsandstein in Diefflen is medium to sandy to ensure a free circulation of

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

. The Buntsandstein is therefore an important groundwater carrier, which has high storage capacity for water like a giant sponge. He is reddish colored and

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

-free. This indicates that it originated under continental conditions as a deposit in shallow river valleys or in shallow lakes. The climatic conditions of its formation time about 220 million years ago are comparable to today's dry-subtropical climate. The Buntsandstein weathered to nutrient-poor, light sandy soils, which are not favorably for an agricultural use and remained largely forested in the history. In contrast to the forest stands on the

basic Basic or BASIC may refer to: Science and technology * BASIC, a computer programming language * Basic (chemistry), having the properties of a base * Basic access authentication, in HTTP Entertainment * Basic (film), ''Basic'' (film), a 2003 film ...

soils of

Muschelkalk The Muschelkalk (German for "shell-bearing limestone"; ) is a sequence of sedimentary rock, sedimentary rock strata (a lithostratigraphy, lithostratigraphic unit) in the geology of central and western Europe. It has a Middle Triassic (240 to 230 m ...

(

Saargau The Saargau was a Franks, Frankish Gau (country subdivision), Gau county (''Gaugrafschaft''). Today the name is given to the ridge between the rivers Saar (river), Saar and Moselle in Germany and, in the south, the region between the Saar and the Fr ...

), the soils of the Buntsandstein are rather acidic, so that

hornbeam Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Common names The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...

s and noble

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

trees settle less strongly. Instead,

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

es and

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

s also appear. Characteristic of the lower forest layers is an

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

mixed forest with

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

, with the beech gaining the upper hand in increasing altitude. The closeness of the forest was broken up there by man, where the Buntsandstein stain-like younger,

tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

s, such as the flooded clay were stored. This happened down to the geological present on either side of the lower valley of the

. To a lesser extent the Buntsandstein is openly visible in Diefflen; to a much greater extent it is covered by the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

and

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

deposits of Saar and Prims, which originally flowed here. These deposits belong to a large area of sedimentation, which is triangular in plan. The key points can be described for example by the location of the places

Saarlouis Saarlouis (; , ; formerly Sarre-Libre and Saarlautern) is a town in Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis (district), Saarlouis. In 2020, the town had a population of 34,409. Saarlouis is located on the river Saar (river), Saar. ...

, Beckingen and Bilsdorf. Diefflen as part of the Saarland was never

glaciated A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires d ...

during the

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

s. However, Saar and Prims were only able to transport their material for removal, which fell in large quantities under the climatic conditions of the cold ages, so that it was accumulated on wide valley floors. During the intermediate warm periods, Saar and Prims each cut back into their old valley floors. The sedimentation area and the underlying subsoil have been altered during the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

by the forces of

weathering Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals (as well as wood and artificial materials) through contact with water, atmospheric gases, sunlight, and biological organisms. It occurs '' in situ'' (on-site, with little or no move ...

and

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

. This ultimately led to the area being characterized on the one hand by horizontal surfaces and on the other by slopes. The areas are represented as the banks of the river terraces dated from the Pre-

Mindel glaciation The Mindel glaciation (, also ''Mindel-Glazial'', ''Mindel-Komplex'' or, colloquially, ''Mindel-Eiszeit'') is the third youngest glacial stage in the Alps. Its name was coined by Albrecht Penck and Eduard Brückner, who named it after the Swabi ...

to the

Würm glaciation The Würm glaciation or Würm stage ( or ''Würm-Glazial'', colloquially often also ''Würmeiszeit'' or ''Würmzeit''; cf. ice age), usually referred to in the literature as the Würm (often spelled "Wurm"), was the last glacial period in the ...

, and as the leveling of the floodplain of the Prims. The slopes include the flanks of larger and smaller valleys and the walls of young erosion gorges ("Gräthen"). The areas are proportionally the dominant spatial element; their share amounts to about four-fifths. Diefflen is divided into three zones: the floodplain as part of the lower valley of the Prims, the hillside- and gorges-zone and the plateau of the "Dieffler Terrassenplatten".

Neighboring communities

The municipality of Diefflen adjoins the following municipalities: * North = Municipality of Beckingen (Part of town: Beckingen) * Northwest = City of Dillingen/Saar (Part of town: Pachten, Part of town: Pachtener Heide) * Northeast = Municipality of Nalbach (Part of town: Bierbach/Ziegelei) * East = Municipality of Nalbach (Part of town: Nalbach) * Southeast = Municipality of

Saarwellingen Saarwellingen (, ) is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis in Saarland, 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 t ...

(Part of town: Saarwellingen) * Southwest = City of Dillingen/Saar (Part of town: Dillingen-City centre) * South = City of

(Part of town:

Roden (Saar) Roden is a name of Germanic origin, originally meaning "red valley" or an anglicization of the Gaelic name "O'Rodain". It may refer to: Places *Roden, Bavaria, a town in the Main-Spessart district of Bavaria, Germany *Roden, Netherlands, a town ...

) Diefflen is about 10 km from the French border. It is located about 65 km from

Luxembourg City Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

, 55 km from

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

and

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 30 km from

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 ...

and it is directly adjacent to the urban area of

Mayors

Mayors of the municipality of Diefflen until the incorporation to Dillingen:

Demographics

From 1802 until its incorporation into the city of Dillingen/Saar in 1969, the population of Diefflen developed as follows:

Economy

The most important employers in the immediate vicinity of Diefflen are the steel industry and metalworking companies and the craft assigned. Examples include the Dillinger Hütte, the Bartz-Werke, the Dillinger factory of perforated sheets and the NEMAK aluminum foundry. The automotive industry is represented by

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

on the Röderberg. In the luxury food industry the works of in Fraulautern and

have to be mentioned. Many jobs are also offered by various retailers. The unemployment rate of the district of Saarlouis was 5.4% in April 2016. The unemployment rate in the district reduced to 4.8% by November 2017. In May 2018, the unemployment rate in the district was 4.6%.

Transport

In the year 1913 in the district of Saarlouis seven electrically operated

Tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

-lines were built. One of these tram lines led from Saarlouis to Dillingen and a second from Dillingen via Diefflen to Nalbach. The municipal council had decided in 1907, the construction of the tram, as Diefflen had not been included in the construction of the railway line. The official commissioning took place on 1913.Georg Colesie: Geschichte des Nalbacher Tales, Eine saarländische Heimatgeschichte, 2. Auflage, Nalbach 1990, S. 196–198. Since 1928 there is a bus line from Diefflen to Düppenweiler. In the period from 1953 to 1963 there was a conversion from tram to bus operation. The entire municipality (with Dillingen and Pachten) is now connected by thirteen bus lines.

Autobahn

Diefflen is connected to the national and international highway network via several motorway interchanges: the Dillingen-Mitte (No. 8) and Dillingen-Süd (No. 10) junctions are on the

Bundesautobahn 8 is an autobahn in southern Germany that runs 497 km (309 mi) from the Luxembourg A13 motorway at Schengen via Neunkirchen, Pirmasens, Karlsruhe, Pforzheim, Stuttgart, Ulm, Augsburg and Munich to the Austrian West Autobahn near S ...

, that runs 497 km (309 mi) from the

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

A13 motorway at

Schengen The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

via Neunkirchen,

Pirmasens Pirmasens (; (also ''Bermesens'' or ''Bärmasens'')) is an independent town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It was famous for the manufacture of shoes. The surrounding rural district was called ''Landkreis Pirmasens ...

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

Ulm Ulm () is the sixth-largest city of the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with around 129,000 inhabitants, it is Germany's 60th-largest city. Ulm is located on the eastern edges of the Swabian Jura mountain range, on the up ...

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

and

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

to the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

West Autobahn The West Autobahn (A1) was the first motorway (''Autobahn'') to be built in Austria, originating from plans drawn up for the so-called ''Reichsautobahn'' system. Completed in 1967, today it runs from the outskirts of Vienna via Linz to Salzburg, ...

near

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

. In addition, Diefflen is connected via the Saarlouis interchange (No. 9 ) to the

Bundesautobahn 620 is an autobahn in Germany, connecting Saarlouis with Saarbrücken. Together with the BAB8, it serves as part of the connection between Luxembourg and Germany. As the major part of the BAB 620 is alongside the river Saar, one section in Saa ...

, connecting

with

. From here, there is a connection to

Bundesautobahn 1 is an autobahn in Germany. It runs from Heiligenhafen in Schleswig-Holstein to Saarbrücken, a distance of , but is incomplete between Cologne and Trier. B 207 continues north from Heiligenhafen to Puttgarden, at the end of the island of Fe ...

, that runs from Saarbrücken to

Heiligenhafen Heiligenhafen (; Holsatian: ''Hilligenhaven'') is a town in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the Baltic Sea coast, opposite the island Fehmarn, approx. 60 km northeast of Lübeck, and 55 km ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

Rail

The nearest passenger and freight station is Dillingen (Saar) station, which opened in 1858. It is a railway junction on the Saar route of the German course (

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

) with branch of the Niedtalbahn into the French

Thionville Thionville (; ; ) is a city in the northeastern French Departments of France, department of Moselle (department), Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle (river), Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz. History Thionvi ...

and

as well as the Primstalbahn. The railway line Dillingen-Primsweiler was originally planned to run on the right bank of the

via Diefflen. It should connect the railway line Trier-

Hermeskeil Hermeskeil () is a city in the Trier-Saarburg district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Hunsrück, approx. 25 km southeast of Trier. Its population is about 5,900. Data Hermeskeil is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeind ...

- Wemmetsweiler and Trier-Saarbrücken by a cross-link. However, the railway administration decided on a route on the left side of the Prims. The construction work was begun in 1897 and completed until 1901. The Diefflen nearest train station was Nalbach. At the same time the Dillingen (Saar) station was extended, provided with a railway underpass and promoted from rank class II to rank class I, since Dillingen was now the most important node of the route Saarbrücken-Trier. In June 1980, the passenger traffic was set on the route through the Primstal. Freight continues to cross the line as needed. On the part of the premises of the Dillinger Hütte, which lies on the left side of the Dieffler district, there are six tracks that serve rolling mill 2. The neighboring stations of Dillingen are Saarlouis Hauptbahnhof and Beckingen.

Airports in the vicinity

Within a radius of 100 km around Diefflen there are several airports: *

Saarbrücken Airport Saarbrücken Airport , or ''Flughafen Saarbrücken'' or ''Ensheim Airport'' in German language, German, is a minor international airport in Saarbrücken, the capital of the Germany, German state of Saarland. It features flights to major cities th ...

Luxembourg Airport Luxembourg Airport serves as the principal airport of Luxembourg and the sole international airport within the country. Formerly known as Luxembourg Findel Airport (French: Aéroport de Luxembourg-Findel) due to its location in the Findel are ...

Hahn Airport Hahn Airporthahn-airport.de
retrieved 30 April 2025 () , also colloquially known and formerly officially br ...

in Hunsrück * Saarlouis-Düren as a traffic landing place for private machines * Glider area and airfield for powered flight in Diefflen The Luftsportclub Dillingen/Saar e.V. was founded in 1965. In 1971, the construction of today's airfield and aircraft hangar in Diefflen began. For the planning of the area a former sand and gravel mining area with 360.000 m³ filling material was filled. The resulting airfield has a length of 800 m and a width of 120 m. The runway has been extended for gliders in the direction of East in 2003. From 1988, the hangar was extended to include a training building.

Education

Kindergarten

There are two facilities available in Diefflen for the care of infants: * "Kinderinsel Diefflen" (Kindergarten, day care and crèche) * Catholic Kindergarten St. Joseph (Kindergarten and day care)

Primary school

In the years 1962/1963 the municipality of Diefflen built according to the plans of the architect Konrad Schmitz (Dillingen) a large new school building with two classroom wings, an administration building with student toilets, a covered break hall, a gymnasium with outdoor sports facilities and a courtyard with an

Arboretum An arboretum (: arboreta) is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees and shrubs of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, many modern arbor ...

in Richard-Wagner-Straße. The school was given the name "Primsschule". Until 1983, the building was supplemented by a second, larger sports hall with auditorium. In 1970 the Dieffler Hauptschule was disbanded and classes 5-9 were separated into the Odilienschule in Dillingen. The vacated rooms were immediately reused for a new purpose: Due to the strong increase in the number of students of Dillingen- Gymnasium (in 1973 to over 2100 students, thus one of the numerically strongest high schools in Germany) were the entire tract II of the new school building in the Richard-Wagner-Straße and the entire old building of the former elementary school in the Dillinger Straße on Babelsberg used as a

Secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

-Building. Only with the construction of a branch building of the Gymnasium in Karcherstraße in Dillinger (and the acquisition of a wing of the former Protestant elementary school also in Karcherstraße), which was completed in 1982/1983, relocated the secondary school back to Dillingen. The school building on Babelsberg was demolished in the 1980s and The school building on Babelsberg was demolished in the 1980s and replaced by an extensive residential- and hotel-complex.

Jewish cemetery

DiefflenJüdischerFriedhofL1010384.JPG, DiefflenJüdischerFriedhofL1010385.JPG, DiefflenJüdischerFriedhofL1010388.JPG, DiefflenJüdischerFriedhofL1010390.JPG, DiefflenJüdischerFriedhofL1010389.JPG, DiefflenJüdischerFriedhofL1010391.JPG, DiefflenJüdischerFriedhofL1010393.JPG, DiefflenJüdischerFriedhofL1010394.JPG, DiefflenJüdischerFriedhofL1010395.JPG, DiefflenJüdischerFriedhofL1010386.JPG, Nazi forced labor cemetery on the grounds of the Jewish cemetery The Jewish cemetery, the largest Jewish cemetery in Saarland, lies on the edge of the Dillinger Hüttenwald, at the entrance to Diefflen. The cemetery is connected to the entrance of Diefflen, but is located entirely on the district of Dillingen, as the sidewalk edge of the street "Am Babelsberg" of Dieffler already belongs to the area of Dillingen whose residential development begins only about 2 km further west. There are about 470 tombstones in the cemetery. In 1746, the Duchy-Lorraine official Charles Francois Dieudonné de Tailfumyr, Seigneur de Cussigny et Président à Mortier, had bought the domain of Dillingen. He was a baptized Jew and showed his Jewel-friendly policy by the 1755 granted permission to create a Jewish cemetery on the edge of the Dillinger Wald on the bann border of Diefflen. The initiative was based on the Jews Hayem, Zerf of Worms and Elias Reutlinger, citizens of Saarlouis, who had to pay an annual interest of 25 Lorraine Francs. In the same year 1755 the first deceased ones were buried. In 1852 the cemetery was enlarged. In the Nazi era, it was destroyed in 1938. A restoration took place in 1946. In 1964, a burial ground for more than 50 Polish and Russian forced laborers of the Nazi era was created in the back of the Jewish cemetery. The memorial stone bears the inscription "Homeless and abandoned, they found their last resting place in foreign soil."

Sports facilities

DiefflenSportplatzL1100258 (4).jpg, Diefflen, Sports ground DiefflenBlickvonderZippL1010908.JPG, Diefflen, Primary School, Day-nursery, Sports halls DiefflenAuenzoneL1020946 (2).JPG, One of several fishing lakes GemeindehausDiefflenBrunnenL1010173.JPG, Gemeindehaus Diefflen * several fishing ponds * Bowling alleys in the town hall Diefflen * Shooting range in the sports hall Diefflen * Sports hall Diefflen * Stadium Babelsberg * Tennis court Diefflen * Primary school Primsschule * Glider area and airfield for powered flight In the surroundings of Diefflen there are several swimming pools: * Indoor swimming pool Dillingen (Distance: 3.8 km) * Outdoor swimming pool Dillingen (Distance: 3,8 km) * Outdoor swimming pool Saarwellingen (Distance: 6,3 km) * Indoor swimming pool Saarlouis (Distance: 7,6 km) * Outdoor swimming pool Saarlouis-Steinrausch (Distance: 7,8 km) * Indoor swimming pool Beckingen (Distance: 7.9 km) * Outdoor swimming pool Wallerfangen (Distance: 8,1 km) * Outdoor swimming pool Schmelz (Distance: 11.7 km) * Indoor swimming pool Lebach (Distance: 14.4 km)

Associations

More than 100 clubs are currently active in the city of Dillingen. At traditional clubs in Diefflen are the men's choir Diefflen (founded in 1874), the musical association "Piano-Forte" (founded in 1908), the church choir St. Cäcilia Diefflen (founded in 1900), the gymnastics club Diefflen (founded in 1891), the football club FV 07 Diefflen (founded in 1907) as well as the local association of the

German Red Cross The German Red Cross (GRC) ( ; DRK) is the national Red Cross Society in Germany. During the Nazi era, the German Red Cross was under the control of the Nazi Party and played a role in supporting the regime's policies, including the exclusion ...

(founded in 1925) to call.

Religion

Diefflen has a

catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

and St. Wendelin. The first

neo-gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

church of the architect Wilhelm Hector (1855–1918) was built in the years 1899-1900. After severe damage in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the building was extensively extended in the years 1948-1950 according to the plans of the architects Alois Havener (Saarlouis) and Rudolf Güthler (Saarbrücken) and redesigned in the romanizing or late-antiquing abstraction-historicism. Pfarrkirche St. Josef, Diefflen, Außenansicht L1010120.JPG, St. Joseph and St. Wendelin, around 1900 StJosefStWendelinL1120376 (3).jpg, St. Joseph and St. Wendelin, Interior before the Second World War StJosefStWendelinAnsichtZippL1050071 (2).jpg, St. Joseph and St. Wendelin, after the reconstruction of the post-war period St. Josef und St. Wendelin,L1010172.JPG, St. Joseph and St. Wendelin, Interior today Diefflen belongs to the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Trier The Diocese of Trier (), in English historically also known as ''Treves'' () from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Ecclesiastical province of Cologne) and to the Protestant Church in the Rhineland. The assignment to the Catholic province of Trier is still based on the Roman province division of Emperor

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

. In 1891, when the old Romanesque church of Pachten was demolished to build a neo-Gothic one, the late antique so-called "Ursusstein" with a

Christogram A Christogram () is a monogram or combination of letters that forms an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ, traditionally used as a Christian symbolism, religious symbol within the Christian Church. One of the oldest Christograms is the C ...

☧ was found. This proves that already in the 3rd or 4th century AD, people of Christian faith lived in the immediate vicinity of Diefflen. Whether Christianity perished completely during the turmoil of

Migration Period The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...

in the surrounding area remains unclear. The episcopal centers

and

survived the Germanic conquests. From here, in the early Franconian period, the

Christianization Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...

of the pagan population was tackled. Of particular importance for the Christianization of the Nalbach-Valley with Diefflen is certainly the foundation of the Franconian nobles and deacon of the

Verdun Cathedral Verdun Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Verdun, Lorraine, France. The cathedral is the seat of the Bishops of Verdun. It was declared a ''monument historique'' on 30 October 1906 and the cloister on 13 July 1907. H ...

Adalgisel Grimo Adalgisel Grimo (died after 634) was a deacon and member of the Austrasian nobility. He is chiefly significant because of his will, dated 30 December 634. This is the oldest known early medieval deed for the territory between the Meuse and the Rhi ...

. He determined on December 30, 634 in his will that his possessions in the place

Tholey Tholey () is a municipality in the Sankt Wendel (district), district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately west of Sankt Wendel, and north of Saarbrücken. History Local history The first traces of settlement in t ...

together with the built there by him "loca sanctorum" to the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Verdun The Diocese of Verdun (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Besançon. The Diocese of Verdun co ...

, which at the time was headed by Bishop Paul, should fall. This foundation became the focal point of a busy missionary activity in the area. Since its medieval founding Diefflen formed with the neighboring village of Nalbach until 1858 not only a political, but also until 1919 a church unity. The parish church St. Peter and Paul in Nalbach is the mother church of the surrounding six villages of the Nalbach-Valley: Diefflen, Piesbach, Bettstadt, Bilsdorf and Körprich. Nalbach, which was mentioned as a parish for the first time in the 11th century, belonged in the Middle Ages to the

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

ry St. Mauritius Tholey and the

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

and land chapter

Merzig Merzig (, , Moselle Franconian language, ''Moselle Franconian:'' ''Meerzisch''/''Miërzësch'') is a town in Saarland, Germany. It is the capital of the district Merzig-Wadern, with about 30,000 inhabitants in 17 municipalities on 108 km². I ...

in the then Archdiocese of Trier. The archdeaconry Tholey existed until the abolition of the abbey by the troops of the French Revolution in 1793. By a gift of the Archbishop of Trier Eberhard from 1048, a letter of protection of Henry III from 1098 and a letter of protection of

Pope Adrian IV Pope Adrian (or Hadrian) IV (; born Nicholas Breakspear (or Brekespear); 1 September 1159) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 4 December 1154 until his death in 1159. Born in England, Adrian IV was the first Pope ...

of 1154 and by acquiring the rights of the knights of Nalbach in 1331 the Simeonstift of Trier had in the Nalbach-Valley the basic jurisdiction, the tax collection law and the right to fill the vicarages. The ancestral parish of the Nalbach-Valley, St. Peter and Paul, whose patronal feast presumably refers to the local fishermen at the

(

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

as a fishing patron), is mentioned in the list of parishes from the middle of the 12th century committed to the pilgrimage to the abbey of

Mettlach Mettlach (; Moselle Franconian: Mettlich) is a municipality in the district Merzig-Wadern, in Saarland, Germany, situated on the river Saar, approximately northwest of Merzig, and south of Trier. The headquarters of Villeroy & Boch are in Mett ...

. The

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

could not be spread by the catholic rule of the

Electorate of Trier The Electorate of Trier ( or '; ) was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the end of the 9th to the early 19th century. It was the temporal possession of the prince-archbishop of Trier (') wh ...

and the

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire which existed from the 10th century until 1766 when it was annexed by the kingdom of France. It gave its name to the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France ...

. In the neighbor-village Diefflen,

, which was under the sovereignty of the Lords of Kriechingen, the Reformation was enforced. However, with the reunification policy of King

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

and the construction of the fortress of

, here too, as well as in Schwalbach, Reisweiler, Eiweiler and

Überherrn Überherrn () is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated along the river Bist on the border with France, approx. southwest of Saarlouis, and west of Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ...

, the only superficially Protestantised church ended. Until

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

in the 19th century, there were hardly any people of Protestant denomination in the immediate vicinity of Diefflen.Hans-Walter Herrmann: Geschichtliche Landeskunde des Saarlandes, Band 1, Saarbrücken 1960, S. 297. Only with the construction of a Protestant church in Dillingen in the years 1902-1903 exists in today's urban area of Dillingen a Protestant church.

References

{{reflist Dillingen (district)