Wertach

This article is about the town in Bavaria. For the river, see Wertach (river).

Wertach
Municipality
Wertach
Coat of arms
Location of Wertach within Oberallgäu district
Wertach Show map of Germany Wertach Show map of Bavaria
Coordinates: 47°36′N 10°24′E
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Schwaben
District	Oberallgäu
Government
• Mayor (2020–26)	Gertrud Knoll[1] (CSU)
Area
• Total	45.63 km^2 (17.62 sq mi)
Elevation	915 m (3,002 ft)
Population  (2023-12-31)[2]
• Total	2,807
• Density	62/km^2 (160/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	87497
Dialling codes	08365
Vehicle registration	OA
Website	www.wertach.de

Wertach is a small town in the Oberallgäu district, southern Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the German Alps, situated on the river Wertach, southeast of Kempten. The town was the childhood home of the writer W. G. Sebald.

History

Wertach was first mentioned in 955 and received in 1423 the town privileges. The market Wertach belonged to the Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg. Since the German mediatization and the secularization of 1803 the place belongs to Bavaria. As part of the administrative reforms in the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Gemeindeedikt of 1818 [de] the current municipality was formed. In 1893 a fire destroyed most of the town, with only a few houses surviving.

Coat of arms

Blazon (description): "In green an obliquely left silver wave beam which is occupied by three black mill wheels."

Population development

Year	1970	1990	2009	2013	2014
Residents^[citation needed]	1558	2059	2390	2532	2467

Politics

Result of the local elections in March 2014^[3]

• Mayor Eberhard Jehle (independent)
• Deputy Mayor: Norbert Gebhart (Free electorate Wertach)
• Third Mayor Alex Wittwer (Christian Social Union in Bavaria, CSU)

The council of Wertach has 14 members.

• Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU): 32.45%, 5 seats
• Independents electorate and tourism: 21.49%, 3 seats
• Electorate of employees: 17.90%, 2 seats
• Independent Women's Group Wertach: 14.39%, 2 seats
• Free electorate Wertach: 13.77%, 2 seats

Buildings

• St. Sebastian Chapel: The St. Sebastian Chapel was designed according to the plans of the famous Wieskirche in 1763 by Dominikus Zimmermann.
• Local History Museum: The museum was founded in 1931. Besides crafting equipment, weapons and animals is an art gallery of the painter Franz Sales Lochbihler.
• In 1874 the brothers Kramer produced worldwide for the first time the Weisslacker – Cheese.

References

1. "Liste der ersten Bürgermeister/Oberbürgermeister in kreisangehörigen Gemeinden". statistik.bayern.de (in German). Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik. 15 July 2021.
2. Genesis Online-Datenbank des Bayerischen Landesamtes für Statistik Tabelle 12411-003r Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes: Gemeinden, Stichtag (Einwohnerzahlen auf Grundlage des Zensus 2011).
3. Ergebnis der Kommunalwahl 2008