of the town of Bernkastel with the winemaking village of Kues across the river. In 1926 there arose great unrest among winemakers along the Moselle, and the financial office in Bernkastel and the customs office in Kues were stormed. On Kristallnacht (9 November 1938), there were great riots against Jewish inhabitants, and the synagogue was destroyed. In 1946, the first democratic elections after the Second World War were held. Hans Weber became mayor. In 1970, Andel and Wehlen were amalgamated with the town. With administrative reform in Rhineland-Palatinate, the Verbandsgemeinde of Bernkastel-Kues was formed through the merger of the Ämter of Bernkastel-Land, Lieser, Mülheim, Zeltingen and the town of Bernkastel-Kues. In 1997, the Burgbergtunnel, a traffic bypass, had its festive opening. Bernkastel-Kues was the host town for the annual Intercamp Camporee for the year 2008. Scouting councils from the USA, Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, France, and many other European countries attended the event on May 9–11. In 2000 began the partnership between Bernkastel-Kues and Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic. In 2005, the town celebrated the centenary of the merger of Bernkastel and Kues, and the municipality became a “climatic health resort” (Heilklimatischer Kurort). Politics Town council The council is made up of 22 council members, who were elected by proportional representation at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. The municipal election held on 7 June 2009 yielded the following results: Mayors The honorary mayor is Wolfgang Port (CDU). He was first elected in 2000 and last re-elected in 2019 with 61.6% of the votes. Port's predecessor, Helmut Gestrich, was mayor beginning in 1994 and was reëlected in 1999, but he resigned the mayoralty on 22 November 2000 after having been linked to the so-called Doerfert Affair (a corruption scandal; its namesake, Hans-Joachim Doerfert, was sentenced to seven years and three months for fraud and breach of trust, although he only served five years). Coat of arms The town's arms might be described thus: Quarterly, first and fourth sable a key palewise argent, the wards to chief and sinister, second Or a bear passant of the first, and third Or a crayfish palewise gules, the head to chief. The arms borne until 1951 were similar, but there were two notable differences: The third quarter bore another bear, like the second quarter, but it was turned to sinister (armsbearer's left, viewer's right);