Merzig is the capital of the district Merzig-Wadern

Merzig-Wadern

Merzig-Wadern is a Kreis in the northwest of the Saarland, Germany. Neighboring districts are Trier-Saarburg, Sankt Wendel, Saarlouis, and the French département Moselle, and Luxembourg.-History:...

, in Saarland

Saarland

Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It is situated on the river Saar

Saar River

The Saar is a river in northeastern France and western Germany, and a right tributary of the Moselle. It rises in the Vosges mountains on the border of Alsace and Lorraine and flows northwards into the Moselle near Trier. It has two headstreams , that both start near Mont Donon, the highest peak...

, approx. 35 km south of Trier

Trier

Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....

, and 35 km northwest of Saarbrücken

Saarbrücken

Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....

.

Municipalities

Merzig was created in 1974 as part of the territorial reform in Saarland. The present-day city consists of the previous town of Merzig and 16 surrounding municipalities. The population of the present city, including all outlying districts (as of January 1, 2005):

Municipality	Population
Merzig	10,959
Ballern	1,179
Besseringen	3,149
Bietzen	1,015
Brotdorf	3,854
Büdingen	321
Fitten	712
Harlingen Harlingen Harlingen may mean:* Harlingen, Netherlands, a municipality and city in the province of Friesland* Harlingen, Texas, a city in the United States* Harlingen, New Jersey, an unincorporated village in Montgomery Township, New Jersey, United States...	609
Hilbringen	2,661
Mechern	834
Menningen Menningen Menningen is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany....	620
Merchingen	953
Mondorf	835
Schwemlingen	2,254
Silwingen	398
Weiler	361
Wellingen	315
Total	31,029

It is the birthplace of tennis player Benjamin Becker

Benjamin Becker

Benjamin Becker is a German professional tennis player. Becker's primary weapon is a very big serve that he can hit at up to 220km/h, along with powerful groundstrokes....

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