Valwig is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Cochem, whose seat is in the like-named town. Valwig is also a winegrowing centre. Geography Location The municipality lies on the river Moselle’s right bank (at kilometre 55). The district seat of Cochem is some 3 km away. Geology The Moselle valley is part of the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge (Rhenish Slate Mountains) and is marked by steep and craggy mountain slopes. Neighbouring municipalities Valwig’s municipal area borders along the Moselle downstream on Cochem, and upstream on Bruttig-Fankel, and it is separated by the Moselle itself from Ernst. Over the Valwigerberg (mountain), Treis-Karden can be reached. Constituent communities Valwig’s Ortsteile are: Valwig/Mosel (72 m above sea level) Valwigerberg (300 m above sea level) History In the earliest documents, Valwig is mentioned under the names Falavoia (AD 866), Falaveia (893) und Valefayer (1130). It is, however, assumed that both Celts and Romans lived in Valwig. This is seen in the Celtic-Roman name Balbiacum, meaning “Balbius’s Settlement”. Valwig is therefore one of the oldest settlements along the Moselle. With the occupation of the Rhine’s left bank by French Revolutionary troops in 1794, the Electorate of Trier, for centuries the local overlord, fell. In 1814 it was assigned to the Kingdom of Prussia at the Congress of Vienna. Since 1946, it has been part of the then newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Politics Municipal council The council is made up of 8 council members, who were elected by majority vote at the municipal election held on 7 June 2009, and the honorary mayor as chairman. Coat of arms The municipality’s arms might be described thus: Argent a cross gules surmounting two vines each slipped and fructed and leafed of three vert. Culture and sightseeing Buildings The following are listed buildings or sites in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Directory of Cultural Monuments: Valwig (main centre) Saint Martin’s Catholic Church (branch church; Filialkirche St. Martin), Kreuzstraße – three-naved quarrystone hall church, Rundbogenstil, 1823-1826, architect Johann Claudius von Lassaulx, Koblenz; graveyard: missionary cross, 1867; warriors’ memorial, stele with relief; grave crosses; 18th century; Meschel grave cross, died 1870; whole complex with graveyard Bachstraße 2 – timber-frame house, partly solid, early 17th century, gateway arch marked 1607 Bachstraße 4 – former school; three-floor timber-frame (?) house, plastered, essentially possibly from the 16th