''Habkirchen'' is the smallest village (''Ortsteil'') in the municipality of

Mandelbachtal Mandelbachtal is a municipality in the Saarpfalz district, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated near the border with France, approx. 15 km southeast of Saarbrücken. Its capital is Ormesheim. Community organization Mandelbachtal is composed ...

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west 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 ...

Federal Republic of 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 between ...

Geography

Location

Habkirchen is located in the southern

Blies The Blies () is a right tributary of the Saar in southwestern Germany (Saarland) and northeastern France (Moselle). The Blies flows from three springs in the Hunsrück near Selbach, Germany. It is roughly 100 km long, ending in the French c ...

valley, in the

Saarpfalz-Kreis Saarpfalz (''Saar-Palatinate'') is a Kreis (district) in the south-east of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Saarbrücken, Neunkirchen, Kusel, Kaiserslautern, Südwestpfalz, district-free Zweibrücken, and the ...

. where the Mandelbach flows into the

. The district is strongly hilly and agricultural in character.

Climate

The climate is influenced by the Atlantic. The average annual precipitation is , the rainiest time is in the spring months. The average annual temperature is . The long-term mean temperature medium does not drop below , even in January. The prevailing wind direction is west/southwest. The bioclimate is mild to gentle. Habkirchen is primarily a residential and commuter community. Most professionals work as commuters in the

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...

area.

History

Already in the early Middle Ages, in 819 AD, Habkirchen is mentioned as a local center, with a church, royal estate, and residence of a

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

. Mandelbach, at the confluence of the Mandelbach in the Blies, first mentioned in 1239, belonged ecclesiastically to the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Habkirchen. The district was incorporated in 1791 as "Habkirchen". In 1525 Habkirchen was also the scene of disputes during the peasant uprising, in which the "Billen Nikel" was particularly prominent. After the Thirty Years' War in 1651 only two inhabitants remained in Habkirchen, and only three in Mandelbach. In 1688 Habkirchen, Mandelbach, Blies-Ébersing with the Wiesingerhof, Folpersviller, and Frauenberg were included in the parish of Habkirchen. Until the French Revolution Habkirchen belonged to the

Blieskastel Blieskastel () is a city in the Saarpfalz (Saar-Palatinate) district, in Saarland, Germany which is divided into villages. It is situated on the river Blies, approximately southwest of Homburg (Saar), west of Zweibrücken, and east of Saarbrüc ...

administrative district of the

Electorate of Trier The Electorate of Trier (german: Kurfürstentum Trier or ' or Trèves) was an 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- ...

. In the 19th century Habkirchen experienced a great boom. Industrialization changed the living conditions, and the majority of the inhabitants now worked in the porcelain factory of

Saargemünd Sarreguemines (; German: ''Saargemünd'' , Lorraine Franconian: ''Saargemìnn'') is a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France. It is the seat of an arrondissement and a canton. As of ...

and the Halberg foundry in Brebach. The Franco-Prussian War had no drastic effects, but in the

First World War 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 ...

29 local people were killed. As in other towns of the district the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

also brought heavy losses. Twice the population had to evacuate during the clearance of the "red zone", a -wide area surrounding the

Siegfried Line The Siegfried Line, known in German as the ''Westwall'', was a German defensive line built during the 1930s (started 1936) opposite the French Maginot Line. It stretched more than ; from Kleve on the border with the Netherlands, along the west ...

. In September 1939, during the French

Saar Offensive The Saar Offensive was a French invasion of Saarland, Germany, in the first stages of World War II, from 7 to 16 September 1939. The original plans called for 40 divisions, and one armored division, three mechanised divisions, 78 artillery re ...

, the ancient Saint Anne's Chapel ( Annakapelle) was destroyed and not rebuilt until 1947. In the winter of 1944–45, the area was the scene of heavy fighting, changing hands twice between the Americans and the Germans. In the end, no building remained without damage. On January 1, 1974, Habkirchen was incorporated into the newly formed community of Mandelbachtal.

References

Former municipalities in Saarland {{Saarland-geo-stub