St. Wendel

St. Wendel is a town in northeastern Saarland. It is situated on the river Blies 36 km northeast of Saarbrücken, the capital of Saarland, and is named after Saint Wendelin of Trier. Regarding 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.GeographySt. Wendel is situated on the river Blies 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)HistoryThe center of St. Wendel supposedly was the farm of a feudal lord from the Merovingian period (late 6th century) named Baso, so the city 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 Tholey (without the monastery) from the Merovingian nobleman Adalgisel Grimo, Deacon of Verdun. As a result, the St. Wendel area belonged to Verdun for centuries.