The Glan, a name that means "clear, pure, clean, bright, shining, loud" in the Celtic language (Glano), has its source in the centre of Höchen. An indication of Celtic settlement? A clue was found in the "Auf der Heide" district: A clay vessel that was commonly used as a burial object and can be dated to the Early Bronze Age (approx. 1300 to 800 BC).
The village was first mentioned in a document in 1262. Originally a very small community characterised by agriculture, this changed in 1879 when industrial coal mining began in the neighbouring village of Frankenholz.
The population grew rapidly, especially when the "Consolidiertes Nordfeld" mine began operations on the eastern slope of the Höcherberg in 1889. Within a century, the population of just under 100 Höchners had grown to 800 by 1900. In 1935, there were over 1370 inhabitants. Even though mining activities ceased at the end of the 1950s, the effects and memories are unforgotten, as evidenced by the hiking trails and their historical witnesses around Höchen and individual street names (Schacht III, Zur Bergehalde, Zum alten Schwimmbad).
Today, Höchen is a district of Bexbach and has a population of around 1600. A place characterised by its many stories, which can be discovered in the town centre. The Glan meanders picturesquely from its source in Brunnengasse, near the Catholic church, through the Wiesental valley and makes its way into the Palatinate.
The central point in the centre of the village is the Catholic church, which dates back to a single-nave building from 1803, to which the choir room was added in 1865 and the extension with the "lower church" (function room) in 1968.
In the Protestant church, which was initially built as a prayer hall in 1902, to which the bell tower was added in 1910 and the choir room in 1920, the Art Nouveau elements inside are particularly worth seeing.
In 1993, Höchen was awarded the gold medal at state level and the bronze medal at national level in the "Our village should become more beautiful" competition, which is mainly thanks to the close cohesion of the village community.
The village is surrounded by beautiful forests and orchards and offers visitors an extremely well-developed and signposted network of hiking trails. If you take the right turn-off, you can follow in the footsteps of those miners and explore the historic "Consolidiertes Nordfeld" mining trail, which was created by the Saarpfalz district in 1993, or the hiking trail on the spoil tip.
If you do get lost, the 26 metre high Höcherberg tower offers a panoramic view of the Saarland and the Palatinate. It was built in 1913 on the initiative of the then chairman of the Palatinate Forest Association, Georg Hengstenberg, and has been part of Höchen's municipal coat of arms as a landmark since 1953.
A great advantage for all hiking enthusiasts: Next to the tower, a hikers' hostel was built in 1929, the Höcherberghaus, which was significantly extended in the early 1960s and is now under new ownership. Here you can relax, enjoy nature and simply have a good time while the younger hikers romp around in the playground.
And all this in the northernmost village in the Saarpfalz district: Höchen.
