Lirstal

Lirstal
Coat of arms
Lirstal
Location of Lirstal within Vulkaneifel district
Coordinates: 50°15′25″N 7°02′18″E / 50.257°N 7.03835°E / 50.257; 7.03835Coordinates: 50°15′25″N 7°02′18″E / 50.257°N 7.03835°E / 50.257; 7.03835
Country	Germany
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District	Vulkaneifel
Municipal assoc.	Kelberg
Government
• Mayor	Dirk Grombein
Area
• Total	5.26 km2 (2.03 sq mi)
Elevation	400 m (1,300 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	211
• Density	40/km2 (100/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	56767
Dialling codes	02657
Vehicle registration	DAU
Website	www.lirstal-eifel.de

Lirstal is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Kelberg, whose seat is in the like-named municipality.

The municipality lies in the Vulkaneifel, a part of the Eifel known for its volcanic history, geographical and geological features, and even ongoing activity today, including gases that sometimes well up from the earth.

In 1336, Lirstal had its first documentary mention. At that time, the village was called Leppelzal. The name has been written many different ways over the centuries since then, as shown in this table:

The name underwent its last change in spelling, from “Lierstall” to “Lirstal”, on 23 November 1966, mainly to thwart vandals who kept altering the signposts and other public notices that bore the old spelling – in a most uncomplimentary way.

Lirstal belonged from the beginning until 1794 to the County of Virneburg.

The council is made up of 6 council members, who were elected by proportional representation at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. The six seats are shared among three voters’ groups. The last election in 2004 had been done by majority vote.

Lirstal’s mayor is Dirk Grombein, and his deputies are Dorothea Pomerlan and Manfred Kutscheid.

The German blazon reads: Von Gold über Rot geteilt, oben 7 (4:3) zu zwei Balken aneinandergereihte rote Rauten, unten ein schrägrechtes gewendetes, silbernes Schwert mit goldenem Griff.

The municipality’s arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Per fess Or seven lozenges gules, four and three, and gules a sword bendwise argent hilted of the first.