Efringen-Kirchen

Infobox Ort in Deutschland
Name = Efringen-Kirchen
Type = Stadt
Wappen = Wappen Efringen-Kirchen.pnglat_deg = 47 |lat_min = 39 |lat_sec = 20
lon_deg = 7 |lon_min = 33 |lon_sec = 57
Lageplan =
Bundesland = Baden-Württemberg
Regierungsbezirk = Freiburg
Landkreis = Lörrach
Höhe = 258
Fläche = 43.74
Einwohner = 8218
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 79588
Vorwahl = 07628
Kfz = LÖ
Gemeindeschlüssel = 08 3 36 014
Gliederung = 9
Straße = Hauptstraße 26
Website = [http://www.efringen-kirchen.de/ www.efringen-kirchen.de]
Bürgermeister = Wolfgang Fürstenberger

Efringen-Kirchen is a town in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.

Fortifications

During World War I fortifications were built at Istein, these were destroyed at the end of the war. In 1936 plans were drawn up to turn the location into the "Gibraltar of the West" with two kilometres of underground passages linking gun emplacements and bunkers. The site was to host an underground garage for over 100 tanks, 3600 men and as part of the West Wall it would dwarf similar Maginot Line fortifications. Work began in 1937 and Hermann Goring visited in the Spring of 1938. By 1939 several installations were complete but as the war progressed advantageously for the Germans in 1940 the site remained unfinished. [Kaufmann JE, Kaufmann HW: "Fortress third Reich", page 128. DA Capo Press, 2003.]

External links

* [http://www.deheim.de/efringen-kirchen/ Information about and images]

Notes