St. Wendel (; sometimes spelled in full as Sankt Wendel) is a town in northeastern

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 ...

. It is situated on the river

Blies The Blies (; ) is a right tributary of the Saar in southwestern Germany ( Saarland) and northeastern France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and ...

36 km northeast 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 ...

, the capital of Saarland, and is named after Saint Wendelin of Trier. According to a survey by the German Association for Housing, Town Planning and Land Use Regulation, St. Wendel is known to be one of the wealthiest regions in Germany, behind

Starnberg Starnberg is a Town#Germany, town in Bavaria, Germany, some southwest of Munich. It is at the north end of Lake Starnberg, in the heart of the "Five Lakes Country", and serves as capital of the Starnberg (district), district of Starnberg. Recor ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Geography

St. Wendel is situated on the river

west of the Bosenberg hill at an elevation of 938 feet (286 m). Its highest elevation is the Bosenberg hill at 1591 feet (485 m); the lowest is where the river Blies exits St. Wendel heading for Ottweiler at 853 feet (260 m).

Demographics

(each year at December 31)

History

The center of St. Wendel supposedly was the farm of a feudal lord named Baso from the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

period (late 6th century), so the town was originally named ''Basonevillare'' ('farm of Baso'). Baso's farm was situated on Bosenberg's western side between the river Todtbach and the river Bosenbach. This term would probably have developed into ''Bosenweiler'' were it not for the local admiration of Wendelin. (Compare the names ''Bosenweiler'', ''Bosenberg'' and ''Bosenbach'', in which Baso's name has survived.) In the mid-7th century the Bishop of Verdun, Paulus, bought Basonvillare. He also inherited the settlement of

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 ...

(without the monastery) from the

nobleman Adalgisel Grimo, Deacon of Verdun. As a result, the St. Wendel area belonged to Verdun for centuries. Shortly before that the

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

Wendelin died near Basonvillare. He had been highly venerated by the people, and as a result, an intense pilgrimage developed during the next few centuries, which finally resulted in the renaming of the settlement Basonvillare to ''St. Wendel'' in the 12th century. The Lord of

Blieskastel Blieskastel () is a city in the Saarpfalz-Kreis, 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 e ...

, whose properties stretched from the northern part of

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 ...

all the way through the

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 ...

mountain chain to Bernkastel on the river

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

(today

Bernkastel-Kues Bernkastel-Kues () is a town on the Middle Mosel in the Bernkastel-Wittlich Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is well-known for its winegrowing. The town is a state-recognized health resort (''Erholungsort''), ...

), erected a castle surrounded by a moat in the valley of the

, which was intended to grant protection to the blooming pilgrimage site. The castle consisted of an artificial hill of earth with a wooden tower on top, surrounded by a palisade and a moat. Such an installation was called Mott, which is why this part of St. Wendel is named the Mott today. A third area was a small church "above the grave of Wendelin", which supposedly was positioned where the ('chapel of Magdalena') is today. Not until the late 9th or early 10th century was a church built on the site of today's basilica, where the relics of Wendelin were taken during the 11th century and to which people make a pilgrimage on St. Wendel's day in October. At the same time, the Wendel's Market developed, a central market for the area for cattle, clothing, and everyday utensils. Noble families and the clergy settled around the church. Castle, farm, and church gradually grew together in the 14th century. Until the latter half of the 10th century, St. Wendel was an important outpost of Verdun. In 1326/28 the prince elector and Archbishop Balduin of Luxembourg from

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 ...

bought the castle and the village of St. Wendel. He was trying to suppress the influence of

on the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

area. Through this purchase the village soon developed into a medieval town. Jakomin von Monkler became the first magistrate. As a representative of the prince elector, he had a new castle erected. In addition, he counseled Archbishop Balduin to create a new pilgrimage church. In 1332, he bought the city certificate from emperor Ludwig IV, gaining permanent revenues. His successor Werner von Falkenstein had a wall erected around the city in 1388. At this time about 500 people lived in St. Wendel. While the ('fruit market' – the area around the basilica) was a part of the town for the noble and clerical people in the 14th century, it became the central market place in the 15th century. Middle class and laborers settled on the former farms of noblemen. The

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

s developed, gaining rights in the city administration through their jurors. In 1455 the municipal foundation, , was erected, and a bit later the town hall was built. By the middle of the 15th century the number of residents had climbed to 700. In 1591 a huge part of the town was destroyed by fire. The residents had just started re-building the town when requisitions and contributions (payments to the occupation army) during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

(1618–1648) almost drove the town into financial collapse. During the

Third Anglo-Dutch War The Third Anglo-Dutch War, began on 27 March 1672, and concluded on 19 February 1674. A naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France, it is considered a related conflict of the wider 1672 to 1678 Franco-Dutch W ...

(1672–1697) all buildings except for a few were burned down in 1677. The city wall was partly destroyed, and the prince elector's castle was devastated. During the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

(1701–1714) the city was occupied and despoiled again. Commerce did not recover from that for a long time. Only in 1714 could people begin rebuilding. Also during the

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession (; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a civil war in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth over the succession to Augustus II the Strong, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of ...

(1733–1738)), the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

(1740–1748) and the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

(1756–1763) the troops marched through St. Wendel so requisitions had to be paid. Only in the middle of the 18th century could the residents start to relax again. The development in urban building had long been marked by a huge contrast between the high population density of the wall-encircled city centre and the low population density outside the wall. Now the wall was gone and the city started to grow. Commerce, especially the wool and leather industries, grew again. There were huge companies with over 100 weaving machines. Merchants from

and

Strassburg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

met their needs for good cloth while the tanneries took their products to the fair in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. A wealthy upper class developed, as well as many gorgeous residential and commercial buildings. The basilica was provided with a three-layered

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

dome. Besides many urban building activities took place, for example roads, the area around the castle, moving the cemetery away from the basilica to outside the former city wall. During the French revolutionary wars St. Wendel suffered plundering and requisitions from the troops of both sides. Wool weavers and tanners had to pay ''

socage Socage () was one of the feudal duties and land tenure forms in the English feudal system. It eventually evolved into the freehold tenure called "free and common socage", which did not involve feudal duties. Farmers held land in exchange for ...

'', a special kind of tax. The introduction of freedom of trade replaced the old rules of the guilds, putting many masters out of business, as prices were no longer fixed so plunderers could work below price. From 1798, the canton St. Wendel belonged to the French Saardepartement. Eventually wealth was returning to the slowly but surely growing town. In the Kelsweilerstrasse, the upper city gate was broken down and a bridge over the river Blies was erected in today's Bahnhofstrasse. In 1814, Duke Ernst III of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (later Duke Ernest I of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha) received the cantons St. Wendel,

Grumbach Grumbach is an '' Ortsgemeinde'' – a municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Kusel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Lauterecken-Wolfstei ...

and

Baumholder Baumholder () is a town in the Birkenfeld (district), Birkenfeld Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, in the Westrich, an historic region that encompasses areas in both Germany and France. The town of Baumholder is the a ...

(together about 20,000 residents) for his performance during the French Revolutionary Wars. Beginning in 1816 he called this area the " Principality of Lichtenberg", which is still seen today in the borders of the evangelical church community of St. Wendel. The government was economically successful, but it tried to control the jurisdiction, and the trust of the Lichtenbergers in their independent government disappeared. Creating a

Landrat The Landrat () is the chief administrative officer of a German ''Landkreis'' or ''Kreis'' and thus the highest municipal official. In most states they are also the lower state administrative authority (so-called "dual position" of the Landrat). ...

(senate for the district), the general public hoped to gain rights for self-rule, tax politics, etc., but Duke Ernst decided arbitrarily in too many cases. The general public became more and more dissatisfied, resulting in uprisings. During the liberal movements resulting from the

Hambacher Fest The Hambacher Festival was a German national democratic festival celebrated from 27 May to 30 May 1832 at Hambach Castle, near Neustadt an der Weinstraße, in present-day Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The event was disguised as a nonpolitical co ...

in 1832, the uprisings escalated. The revolts were put down with the help of

Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...

troops from

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. ...

. In 1834 the duke sold the land to the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

and St. Wendel became a chief town of the administrative district of

. The Prussian state stationed a

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

in St. Wendel. Economically the St. Wendel area was poor until the middle of the 19th century, which is why so many people emigrated to

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Even today, there are towns in Brazil where the local German dialect of St. Wendel or even the surrounding villages is still spoken. In the middle of the 19th century, the town of St. Wendel and the nearby villages Alsfassen and Breiten slowly grew together. Today's Bahnhofstrasse, which leads to Niederweiler (the area of today's train station), was built, as well as the Brühlstrasse and the Kelsweilerstrasse, which also lead to Breiten and Alsfassen. In 1859, St. Wendel, Breiten and Alsfassen were finally united into the new town of St. Wendel. Other urban building actions: street lights, a hospital, an evangelical church (1841). The economic situation of St. Wendel changed in 1860 with the opening of the railroad between Bingen and

, with St. Wendel profiting as a train station and the building of a train maintenance company. The train maintenance company was first situated opposite the station on the Tholeyerberg; between 1913 and 1915 it was moved to the (today Werkstrasse). Today the area is used by the as an army maintenance logistic center. In 1898 the

Divine Word Missionaries The Society of the Divine Word (), abbreviated SVD and popularly called the Verbites or the Divine Word Missionaries, and sometimes the Steyler Missionaries, is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men. As of 2020, i ...

built a huge mission in St. Wendel. Also, as a reaction to the changes in economic and social structures, a major town expansion began, causing the inhabited area to double in size between 1910 and 1937. During the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

, a huge military base was built near the western town border beside

Highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

B269 to Winterbach. The town was captured by the US 7th Army in March 1945, the US 10th Armored Division briefly establishing its command post there on 19 March. After the

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 ...

another big expansion of the town came during the

Wirtschaftswunder The ''Wirtschaftswunder'' (, "economic miracle"), also known as the Miracle on the Rhine, was the rapid reconstruction and development of the Economy, economies of West Germany and Austria after World War II. The expression was first used to re ...

. Saarland remained a French protectorate independent from Germany until its re-integration into the Bundesrepublik Deutschland in 1957, which began an economic downturn as the largest employer of St. Wendel, the Marschall Tobacco Company, had to close down in 1960. Despite all the wars, there were still some historic buildings left in the town centre of St. Wendel until 1960, but under mayors Franz Gräff (1956–1974) and Jakob Feller (1974–1982), a lack of historic interest and economically oriented sanitation destroyed a lot of them. Parts of the medieval town are still to be recognized near the Wendelsdom (the basilica). St. Wendel nowadays has about 26,000 residents due to a district reform in 1974 in which several surrounding villages were united with the town area. A French garrison stayed in St. Wendel from 1951 to July 1999. Their buildings are used by different companies today, and some have been removed. In their place, a golf course, a skating park and a new public swimming have been built.

Religion

While the upper

Valley (which contains St. Wendel) is mostly

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 ...

, the rest of the Blies Valley has about as many Catholics as

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

s. The Ostertal ('Oster Valley') is mostly Protestant. In the town centre there are two Catholic churches (St. Wendelin and St. Anna) plus the Evangelical congregation.

Town divisions / surrounding villages

*1859: Alsfassen and Breiten *1974: Niederlinxweiler, Oberlinxweiler, Remmesweiler, Winterbach, Bliesen and Urweiler in the valley Bliestal plus Leitersweiler, Osterbrücken, Hoof, Marth, Niederkirchen, Saal, Bubach, Werschweiler and Dörrenbach in the Ostertal valley.

Politics

Town council

The communal elections on May 25, 2014 produced these results: * CDU: 62.8% (26 seats) * SPD: 26.1% (10 seats) *

Die Grünen The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties *The Greens – The Green Alternative, Austria *Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' * Greens of Andorra * The Greens (Benin) *The Greens (Bulgaria) * Greens of Bosnia and He ...

: 4.1% (1 seat) Traditionally the CDU has been the strongest power in town, governing in each period with an absolute majority.

Mayors

* Carl Wilhelm Rechlin, 1835–1869 * Carl August Theodor Müller, 1869–1893 * Karl Alfred Friedrich, 1894–1918 * Heinrich Mettlich, 1919–1920 * Dr. Emil Flory, 1921–1935 * Kurt August Eichner, 1. December 1935 - 19. March 1945 (

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

) * Jakob Fuchs, Christian party of the people of the Saarland (CVP), 1946–1956 * Franz Gräff, CDU, 1956–1974 * Jakob Feller, CDU, 1974–1982 * Klaus Bouillon, CDU, 1983 - 2014 * Peter Klär, CDU, since 2015

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the town of Sankt Wendel combines elements of the Scottish flag and the Scottish coat of arms. Four lilies, taken from the Scottish royal coat of arms, on a blue background, are reminiscent of Saint Wendelin. Legendary tradition describes him as a Scottish king's son. In 1465, the parish of St. Wendel sent two parishioners to Scotland to research the legend of Saint Wendelin's royal Scottish origins. After allegedly positive confirmation, the Scottish lion coat of arms was used in the seal of the parish of St. Wendel.

Twin towns – sister cities

Sankt Wendel is twinned with: *

Rezé Rezé (; , Gallo language, Gallo: ''Rezae'') is a Communes of France, commune (municipality) and former bishopric in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It is a southern suburb ...

, France (1973) * São Vendelino, Brazil (2003) *

Balbriggan Balbriggan (; , ) is a suburban coastal town in Fingal, in the northern part of County Dublin, Ireland. It is approximately 34 km north of the city of Dublin, for which it is a commuter town. The 2022 census population was 24,322 for Bal ...

, Ireland (2007)

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

The next highways are about 20 minutes away by car in each direction: * Autobahn (Highway) 1:

Fehmarn Fehmarn (; ; from Old Wagrian Slavic languages, Slavic "''Fe More''", meaning "''In the Sea''") is an island in the Baltic Sea, off the eastern coast of Germany's northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is Germany's third-largest island, afte ...

–

* Autobahn (Highway) 8:

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 ...

–

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 ...

* Autobahn (Highway) 62: Nonnweiler –

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 ...

All regional express trains and regional trains stop at St. Wendel station. Therefore, an hourly connection to the '' Rhine Main Area'' and three hourly connections to the capital of the

are available. Since 1915, there has been a single track connection through the suburbs Bliesen and Oberthal to

. In 1984, passenger traffic was shut down on this track. The entire track from St. Wendel to Tholey has been rebuilt into an asphalt-covered cycle track named .

Business and industry

* Industry: metal, medical (

Fresenius Medical Care Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA is an American-German healthcare company which provides kidney dialysis services through a network of 4,171 outpatient dialysis centers, serving 345,425 patients. The company primarily treats end-stage renal ...

), electronics (since 1987 headquarters of Hughes & Kettner) * Trade: company headquarters of supermarket chain ''Globus'', whose founder Franz Bruch came from St. Wendel

Courts

St. Wendel has a district court, which belongs to the regional court of Saarbrücken

Sports

St. Wendel has been an organizer of the 2005 and 2011

UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships The UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships are the world championships for cyclo-cross organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Starting in 2022, seven events are organized each year – UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships – Men's elite ...

. St. Wendel with his circuit is host of the

Supermoto Supermoto is a form of motorcycle racing held on race tracks that alternate between three kinds of track surfaces: the hard packed dirt of flat track, the irregular jumps and obstacles of motocross, and the paved tarmac of road racing. Superm ...

World, Europe & German Championships.

Clubs and organizations

* 1861 St. Wendel e. V. gymnastics club * St. Wendel e. V diving club * football club * ''FC 1910 St. Wendel e. V'' football club * motorbike club

Culture

Museums

*St. Wendel in the Mia Münster House town museum – exhibits the works of an artist from St. Wendel named Mia Münster, plus various local artists * of the

* in the old town hall * in Dörrenbach – in the smallest village of St. Wendel, Dörrenbach, there is a museum documenting the everyday culture of the village and the way of life of former farming village residents.

Cultural projects

*''Street of Sculptures''. In 1971 St. Wendel sculptor Leo Kornbrust initiated the ''International Sculpture Symposium St. Wendel'', now well known throughout Europe, which brought forth numerous huge stone sculptures by different international artists. In 1979 the sculptures were arranged along 25 kilometers of the Saarland hiking trail from St. Wendel to Lake Bostal. * ('Wendel's week'). Since the beginning of the 11th century many believers have made pilgrimages to the grave of Wendelin in the at the beginning of October. * (Easter and Christmas markets). *''WND JAZZ''. Once a year an international jazz festival takes place whose specialty is a meeting of the local and the international jazz scenes. * ('International competition of street magicians').

Sightseeing

Buildings

* *Wendel's chapel (1755) *Mia-Münster-House * ("fruit market") *Mission building of

Notable people

* Wendelin of Trier (c. 600), abbot of Tholey and hermit in St. Wendel * Pierre Antoine François Huber (1775–1832), French general * Philipp Jakob Riotte (1776–1856), composer and

kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

* Helene Demuth (1820–1890), housekeeper and testamentary executor of

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

Nicola Marschall Nicola Marschall (March 16, 1829 – February 24, 1917) was a German-American artist who supported the Confederate States of America, Confederate cause during the American Civil War. He designed the original Confederate flag, the Flags of t ...

(1829–1917), German-American artist, designed the original

Confederate flag The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and ...

* Mia Münster (1894–1970), artist * Paul Tholey (1937–1998), psychologist * Siegmund Nimsgern (born 1940), opera singer * Matthias Maurer (born 1970), ESA astronaut * Sebastian Reinert (born 1987), footballer * Selina Wagner (born 1990), footballer *Jennifer Haben (born 1995), singer, former member of Saphir and member of Beyond The Black

Honorary citizens

*Herwarth von Bittenfeld (1796–1884), commanding general of the 8th army corps *Clemens Freiherr von Schorlemer-Lieser (1856–1922), royal state minister and minister for agriculture, domains and forest *Max Müller (1862–1937), mayor of Wadern *Pater Alois Selzer (1893–1968), professor of pedagogy and sociology at the theological college of the order in Mölding near Vienna *Hans-Klaus Schmitt (1900–1982), chief of police

Gallery

StWendelIrgendWo.jpg, Town of St. Wendel Freibad_Sankt_Wendel.jpg, Open air swimming pool StWendelBasilikaOben.jpg, Wendalinusbasilica Sculpture_of_Street_resp._Road_of_Sculptures.jpg, Street of Sculptures AltesRathausWND.JPG, Old town hall

References

External links

* {{Authority control Sankt Wendel (district)