Esthal

Esthal
Coat of arms
Esthal
Location of Esthal within Bad Dürkheim district
Coordinates: 49°23′N 07°59′E / 49.383°N 7.983°E / 49.383; 7.983Coordinates: 49°23′N 07°59′E / 49.383°N 7.983°E / 49.383; 7.983
Country	Germany
State	Rhineland-Palatinate
District	Bad Dürkheim
Municipal assoc.	Lambrecht (Pfalz)
Government
• Mayor	Gerhard Kuhn (CDU)
Area
• Total	15.51 km2 (5.99 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	1,374
• Density	89/km2 (230/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	67472
Dialling codes	06325
Vehicle registration	DÜW
Website	www.esthal.de

Esthal is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.

The municipality lies on a plateau in the Palatinate Forest. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Lambrecht, whose seat is in the like-named town.

Esthal’s Ortsteile, or Annexen, as they are known, are Esthal, Breitenstein, Erfenstein and Sattelmühle.

In 1380, Esthal had its first documentary mention as Estall. It was held until 1794 by the Lords of Erfenstein, whose seat was at the nearby castle.

In 2007, 71% of the inhabitants were Catholic and 17% Evangelical. The rest practised other faiths or none.

The council is made up of 16 council members, who were elected 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:

The German blazon reads: Unter silbernem Schildhaupt in Schwarz ein schwebendes kugelbesetztes goldenes Tatzenkreuz.

The municipality’s arms might in English heraldic language be described thus: Under a chief argent sable a cross pattée couped, the lower arm longer than the others, and in each end a roundle Or.

The arms were approved in 1954 by the Mainz Ministry of the Interior and they date from a 1772 court seal.