Wirges (German pronunciation: [ˈvɪʁɡəs] ) is a town in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

Wirges
Coat of arms of Wirges
Location of Wirges within Westerwaldkreis district
Wirges is located in Germany
Wirges
Wirges
Wirges is located in Rhineland-Palatinate
Wirges
Wirges
Coordinates: 50°28′27″N 7°47′43″E / 50.47417°N 7.79528°E / 50.47417; 7.79528
CountryGermany
StateRhineland-Palatinate
DistrictWesterwaldkreis
Municipal assoc.Wirges
Government
 • Mayor (2019–24) Andreas Weidenfeller[1] (CDU)
Area
 • Total10.13 km2 (3.91 sq mi)
Elevation
267 m (876 ft)
Population
 (2022-12-31)[2]
 • Total5,641
 • Density560/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
56422
Dialling codes02602
Vehicle registrationWW
Websitewww.wirges.eu

Geography

edit

Wirges lies in a high hollow in the further Westerwald between Köppel and Malberg, roughly 5 km northwest of Montabaur and 20 km northeast of Koblenz. It was granted town rights in 1975. Wirges is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde of Wirges, a kind of collective municipality. The people of Wirges call themselves Wirgeser.

Politics

edit

Town council

edit

The council is made up of 22 council members, as well as the honorary and presiding mayor (Stadtbürgermeister), who were elected in a municipal election on 7 June 2009.

Allocation of seats in the municipal council:[3]

CDU SPD FDP FW Total
2009 12 8 2 22 seats
2004 12 9 1 22 seats

Coat of arms

edit

The escutcheon has the shape of a late Gothic round shield with horizontal upper edge and sides meeting it at right angles. The town’s arms are those once borne in days of yore by the Widergis noble family, whose seat was in Wirges.

Town partnerships

edit

Wirges has partnership arrangements with these places:

Economy and infrastructure

edit

East of the town runs Bundesstraße 255 linking Montabaur and Rennerod. The nearest Autobahn interchange is Montabaur on the A 3 (CologneFrankfurt), some 3 km away. The nearest InterCityExpress stop is at Montabaur station on the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line. The town lies on the Lower Westerwald Railway (Unterwesterwaldbahn) from Limburg to Siershahn.

Sport and culture

edit

SpVgg EGC Wirges’ first team plays in the football Oberliga Südwest; the A-youth have reached the Regionalliga Süd. The men’s second team play in the Rheinlandliga.

The main church is the Westerwälder Dom St. Bonifatius

Furthermore, Wirges has several choirs, a band and a music club.

Notable people

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Direktwahlen 2019, Westerwaldkreis, Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz, accessed 9 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Bevölkerungsstand 2022, Kreise, Gemeinden, Verbandsgemeinden" (PDF) (in German). Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz. 2023.
  3. ^ "Local Elections Rhineland-Palatinate 2009" (in German). Retrieved 17 June 2013.