Local community Alken

On a hill covered with deciduous forest in the Alkenbach Valley, we find the remnants of the foundation walls of a so-called Celtic castle.

Castle Thurant was partly built on ancient foundations dating back to the Roman era.

Numerous finds also confirm the presence of the Romans at that time. The original name "Villa Alcana" (a Roman settlement) eventually evolved into our present-day Alken.

However, we also find architectural clues from later times in the village. Once a possession of the Palatinate (belonging to the Count Palatine in Heidelberg) in the midst of the Trier region, disputes and claims of ownership by the Archbishops and Electors of Trier and Cologne were inevitable.
After the final conquest of Castle Thurant by these two Archbishops (Arnold II of Trier and Conrad of Hochstaden from Cologne), the village and the castle were jointly ruled by Electoral Trier and Electoral Cologne from 1248. The peace treaty of September 17, 1248 is still preserved today as one of the oldest documents in the German language.

After the completion of the ring fortifications, connected to Castle Thurant, Alken was designated a town in a collective privilege by Archbishop and Elector Baldwin of Trier. On August 23, 1332, King Louis the Bavarian granted Alken the same rights and freedoms as the city of Frankfurt a.M. - Emperor Charles IV confirmed these rights and freedoms in 1346.
A walk through Alken is always worthwhile. The visit to "Castle Thurant" and the "Old St. Michael's Church" is particularly recommended.