# Willerwald

Willerwald (French pronunciation:) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.

## Geography

Willerwald is a town of about 1,500 inhabitants located 12 km south of Sarreguemines. The A4 motorway is 1 km from Willerwald. Located on a hill between Sarralbe and Hambach, the village developed along a north–south axis represented today by the RN 61. A dozen streets are perpendicular to this axis. This weft pattern weaves an original but widely dispersed urban morphology. In parallel to the RN 61 but bypassing the village, the railway line serving the Hambach Europole crosses the town.
Despite its name, the municipality does not have a forest. Three streams cross the town: the Hoppbach, the Waldscheingraben and the Dorrenbach. The town is also crossed by the channel of the Saar and Sarre coal mines.

## History

A first village named Weiler / Alberweiller or Albweiler was known as early as the 13th century. It was destroyed in the sixteenth century. Since 1601, a new village began to rise on the old ban cleared. In 1766 Willerwald passed with the Duchy of Lorraine under the sovereignty of France, and the Prince of Saarbrücken surrendered to France the property which he possessed at Willer.
A first church, dedicated to Saint Nicholas, was built in 1777. A new Gothic church, with a 60-meter belfry, was built between 1910 and 1911, and was solemnly consecrated on May 15, 1911. On June 6, 1940, the church was damaged when French artillery fired on it, believing that it was being used by the Germans as an observation post. In 1941, during the occupation, the remaining structure was demolished using explosives. The current church, also dedicated to Saint Nicholas, was built to replace it in 1955
During the Second World War, the population of the village was evacuated on September 1, 1939 to the department of Charente (first to Salles-d'Angles, then to Châteaubernard and Saint-Félix). The village was bombed on June 14, 1940 and occupied by German troops a day later. During the Lorraine campaign in late 1944 the village was bombed on December 4, which completely destroyed 47 houses and severely damaged the remaining buildings. It was liberated by the US Army the next day.

## Politics and administration

List of mayors :
| Name | Start of term | End of term |
| Emile Staub | ? | ? |
| Emile Tousch | ? | ? |
| René Staub | ? | March 1995 |
| Alfred Manns | March 1995 | March 2008 |
| Albert Masslo | March 2008 | March 2020 |
| Henri Haxaire | March 2020 | Incumbent |

## Population

| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1793 | 431 | — |
| 1800 | 505 | +2.29% |
| 1806 | 677 | +5.01% |
| 1821 | 634 | −0.44% |
| 1836 | 796 | +1.53% |
| 1841 | 808 | +0.30% |
| 1861 | 659 | −1.01% |
| 1866 | 740 | +2.35% |
| 1871 | 787 | +1.24% |
| 1875 | 789 | +0.06% |
| 1880 | 779 | −0.25% |
| 1885 | 766 | −0.34% |
| 1890 | 751 | −0.39% |
| 1895 | 810 | +1.52% |
| 1900 | 818 | +0.20% |
| 1905 | 837 | +0.46% |
| 1910 | 808 | −0.70% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1921 | 777 | −0.36% |
| 1926 | 771 | −0.15% |
| 1931 | 799 | +0.72% |
| 1936 | 863 | +1.55% |
| 1946 | 805 | −0.69% |
| 1954 | 841 | +0.55% |
| 1962 | 935 | +1.33% |
| 1968 | 934 | −0.02% |
| 1975 | 988 | +0.81% |
| 1982 | 1,132 | +1.96% |
| 1990 | 1,173 | +0.45% |
| 1999 | 1,225 | +0.48% |
| 2007 | 1,432 | +1.97% |
| 2012 | 1,519 | +1.19% |
| 2017 | 1,544 | +0.33% |
| 2021 | 1,529 | −0.24% |
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017) :