parish today also includes John's Parish in Sulz, the Luther, Paul and Melanchton Parishes in Dinglingen and Lahr-West, and St Peter's Parish in Burgheim. Additional Protestant parishes are located in the boroughs of Hugsweier, Kippenheimweiler and Langenwinkel, while Langenwinkel is attached to the parish of Hugsweier and Kippenheimweiler to the parish in neighbouring Kippenheim. Protestants from Kuhbach and Reichenbach belong to the parish of Seelbach and those living in Mietersheim belong to the parish of Lahr. All Protestant parishes belong to the deanery of Lahr within the Evangelical Church in Baden. The Liebenzeller Association is also represented in Lahr. At the beginning of the nineteenth century Catholics began to return to Lahr and in 1843 the first Catholic parish was founded, its church St. Peter and Paul constructed from 1846. St. Marien became the second Catholic parish in 1960 (its church was built in 1954 through 1956). Additional Catholic parishes exist in Dinglingen (Holy Spirit with church St. Martin in Hugsweier), Kuhbach (Mary Ascension and Chapel of Our Dear Lady), Reichenbach and Sulz (St. Peter and Paul). In Sulz a Simultaneum existed between 1773 and 1959 where Catholics and Protestants used the same church building. In addition to the two large denominations the following are also represented in Lahr: several independent Protestant churches among them Baptists, Methodists and Pentecostals, and the New Apostolic Church. District reform In conjunction with several district reforms the following towns were merged with Lahr: 1899: Burgheim 1933: Dinglingen 1972: Hugsweier, Kippenheimweiler, Kuhbach, Langenwinkel, Mietersheim, Reichenbach and Sulz Demographics Figures reflect city limits at the time and are estimates (until 1870), Census data (¹), or official extensions thereof, counting only primary residences. ¹ Census data Approximately 9,000 of Lahr's citizens are descendants of Germans who settled in Russia, and another 4,000 are descendants of other Soviet nationalities and so every fourth citizen of Lahr currently (as of 2006) lists the former Soviet Union as his or her place of birth. Government In connection with the district reform in the 1970s, municipal laws of Baden-Württemberg were amended to introduce borough councils for certain boroughs. Residents of such boroughs elect their borough council at each municipal election and the borough council must be consulted on all matters of significance to the respective borough. The Borough President also presides over the Borough Council. In Lahr the boroughs of Hugsweier, Kippenheimweiler, Kughbach, Langenwinkel, Mietersheim, Reichenbach and Sulz have borough councils.