Abtsteinach
Encyclopedia
Abtsteinach is a community in the Bergstraße district in Hesse
, Germany
. The community calls itself “The Gateway to the Überwald
”.
. Unter-Abtsteinach and Mackenheim lie in neighbouring valleys going out from that.
In Abtsteinach rises the Steinach. The community lies among the mountains Hardberg, Waldskopf, Götzenstein and Hohberg.
, in the east on the community of Wald-Michelbach
, in the south on the community of Heiligkreuzsteinach
(Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
in Baden-Württemberg
) and in the west on the communities of Gorxheimertal
and Birkenau
.
, the area was held by the Lorsch Abbey
. Expansion brought about by the second settlement drive led to the villages of Ober-Absteinach and Unter-Abtsteinach arising. In 1012, Abtsteinach had its first documentary mention as possesa steinah. In 1232, the Lorsch Abbey was dissolved by Emperor Friedrich II
, and ownership of its holdings passed to the Archbishopric of Mainz.
In 1267, a Castle Count (Burggraf) at Starkenburg Castle (over Heppenheim), who also governed the Amt of Starkenburg, to which Abtsteinach belonged, is mentioned for the first time. As a result of the disastrous Mainz Episcopal Feud (Mainzer Stiftsfehde), the whole higher Amt of Starkenburg was pledged to Electoral Palatinate in 1461, and things remained so until 1623. From the year 1590 there comes a documentary mention that says that by then, Abtsteinach had long been a tithe
court, giving it jurisdiction over several places, and obliging it to perform compulsory labour and military service. Through the abolition of the Electoral state of Mainz in 1803, Abtsteinach passed to Hesse.
The church in Ober-Abtsteinach (St.Bonifatius) was built in the mid 17th century and a good hundred years later expanded. The high altar was built shortly after 1780.
St. Marien, the church in Unter-Abtsteinach, comes from the 20th century.
In the chapel in the middle of Unter-Abtsteinach stands a figure of Mary, which according to legend comes from the church ruins at Lichtenklingen.
Many houses in the greater community of Abtsteinach also have Muttergotteshäusel (“little Mother of God houses”), small niches in the houses’ outer walls with Mary or Christ figures.
might heraldically be described thus: Gules in base water wavy azure, thereupon a mount craggy argent, thereupon the crook of an abbot’s staff with grape leaves of the last.
The arms are canting
, with the abbot’s staff suggesting the name Abtsteinach (Abt means “abbot” in German
). Moreover, the abbot’s staff refers to the community’s link to the Lorsch Abbey
, in whose ownership Abtsteinach once was (there was no abbey in Abtsteinach). The crag or mountain stands for the area’s highest peak, the Hardberg, a defining landmark for Abtsteinach. The water symbolizes the local brook, the Steinach, which rises in Abtsteinach and flows down to the Neckar. The arms were conferred on the community on 21 December 1929, and since 1 January 1972, they have also been the greater community’s arms.
In Ober-Abtsteinach is found the St.Josef Catholic kindergarten
.
A barbecue pavilion with an educational forest path can be found in Ober-Abtsteinach set among a meadow, a small wood and the community’s graveyard.
n, but is nevertheless easily reached over the linking roads from Weinheim
to Wald-Michelbach
.
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
, 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...
. The community calls itself “The Gateway to the Überwald
Überwald (Bergstraße)
The Überwald is a wooded area in the southeast of Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany, between the “Further” and “Hinder” Odenwald, comprising the communities of Abtsteinach, Grasellenbach and Wald-Michelbach. Wald-Michelbach is the Überwald’s central community. The name was likely first used by...
”.
Location
Ober-Abtsteinach lies among mountains in hilly country at 450 to 500 m above sea levelSea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. Unter-Abtsteinach and Mackenheim lie in neighbouring valleys going out from that.
In Abtsteinach rises the Steinach. The community lies among the mountains Hardberg, Waldskopf, Götzenstein and Hohberg.
Neighbouring communities
As part of the Überwald, Abtsteinach borders in the north on the community of MörlenbachMörlenbach
Mörlenbach is a community in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany.-Location:The community lies in the Odenwald some 25 km north of Heidelberg and about 30 km northeast of Mannheim, as well as lying 8 km southeast of Heppenheim...
, in the east on the community of Wald-Michelbach
Wald-Michelbach
Wald-Michelbach is a community in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany.Through Wald-Michelbach runs the now disused Überwaldbahn .-Hardberg:...
, in the south on the community of Heiligkreuzsteinach
Heiligkreuzsteinach
Heiligkreuzsteinach is a town in the district of Rhein-Neckar in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
(Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
Rhein-Neckar-Kreis is a district in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bergstraße, Odenwaldkreis, Neckar-Odenwald, Heilbronn, Karlsruhe, district-free Speyer, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, and district-free Mannheim and Heidelberg.-History:The district was created in...
in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
) and in the west on the communities of Gorxheimertal
Gorxheimertal
Gorxheimertal is a community in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany. It is in the Odenwald and the Rhine Neckar Area.-Location:The community lies along the length of the Grundelbach valley in the Odenwald...
and Birkenau
Birkenau (Odenwald)
Birkenau in the Odenwald is a community in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany. Its nickname is Das Dorf der Sonnenuhren – “The Sundial Village”.-Location:...
.
Constituent communities
Abtsteinach’s Ortsteile are Mackenheim, Ober-Abtsteinach and Unter-Abtsteinach.History
In pre-Roman times, the Abtsteinach area was settled by Celts. In the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the area was held by the Lorsch Abbey
Lorsch Abbey
The Abbey of Lorsch is a former Imperial Abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about 10 km east of Worms, one of the most renowned monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ruined state, its remains are among the most important pre-Romanesque–Carolingian style buildings in Germany...
. Expansion brought about by the second settlement drive led to the villages of Ober-Absteinach and Unter-Abtsteinach arising. In 1012, Abtsteinach had its first documentary mention as possesa steinah. In 1232, the Lorsch Abbey was dissolved by Emperor Friedrich II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
, and ownership of its holdings passed to the Archbishopric of Mainz.
In 1267, a Castle Count (Burggraf) at Starkenburg Castle (over Heppenheim), who also governed the Amt of Starkenburg, to which Abtsteinach belonged, is mentioned for the first time. As a result of the disastrous Mainz Episcopal Feud (Mainzer Stiftsfehde), the whole higher Amt of Starkenburg was pledged to Electoral Palatinate in 1461, and things remained so until 1623. From the year 1590 there comes a documentary mention that says that by then, Abtsteinach had long been a tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
court, giving it jurisdiction over several places, and obliging it to perform compulsory labour and military service. Through the abolition of the Electoral state of Mainz in 1803, Abtsteinach passed to Hesse.
Religion
In each of Oberabtsteinach and Unterabtsteinach stands a Catholic church. There is moreover a chapel in Unterabtsteinach.The church in Ober-Abtsteinach (St.Bonifatius) was built in the mid 17th century and a good hundred years later expanded. The high altar was built shortly after 1780.
St. Marien, the church in Unter-Abtsteinach, comes from the 20th century.
In the chapel in the middle of Unter-Abtsteinach stands a figure of Mary, which according to legend comes from the church ruins at Lichtenklingen.
Many houses in the greater community of Abtsteinach also have Muttergotteshäusel (“little Mother of God houses”), small niches in the houses’ outer walls with Mary or Christ figures.
Politics
The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:| Parties and voter communities | % 2006 |
Seats 2006 |
% 2001 |
Seats 2001 |
|
| CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany | 43.5 | 7 | 41.1 | 6 |
| SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
19.9 | 3 | 24.5 | 4 |
| FWV | Freie Wählervereinigung Abtsteinach | 36.6 | 5 | 34.4 | 5 |
| Total | 100.0 | 15 | 100.0 | 15 | |
| Voter turnout in % | 59.1 | 54.9 | |||
Coat of arms
The community’s armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
might heraldically be described thus: Gules in base water wavy azure, thereupon a mount craggy argent, thereupon the crook of an abbot’s staff with grape leaves of the last.
The arms are canting
Canting arms
Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name in a visual pun or rebus. The term cant came into the English language from Anglo-Norman cant, meaning song or singing, from Latin cantāre, and English cognates include canticle, chant, accent, incantation and recant.Canting arms –...
, with the abbot’s staff suggesting the name Abtsteinach (Abt means “abbot” in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
). Moreover, the abbot’s staff refers to the community’s link to the Lorsch Abbey
Lorsch Abbey
The Abbey of Lorsch is a former Imperial Abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about 10 km east of Worms, one of the most renowned monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ruined state, its remains are among the most important pre-Romanesque–Carolingian style buildings in Germany...
, in whose ownership Abtsteinach once was (there was no abbey in Abtsteinach). The crag or mountain stands for the area’s highest peak, the Hardberg, a defining landmark for Abtsteinach. The water symbolizes the local brook, the Steinach, which rises in Abtsteinach and flows down to the Neckar. The arms were conferred on the community on 21 December 1929, and since 1 January 1972, they have also been the greater community’s arms.
Education
The primary school is to be found in Unter-Abtsteinach and bears the name Steinachtal-Grundschule.In Ober-Abtsteinach is found the St.Josef Catholic kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
.
Sport and leisure
A well groomed sporting ground can be found in Unter-Abtsteinach, and another in Ober-Abtsteinach.A barbecue pavilion with an educational forest path can be found in Ober-Abtsteinach set among a meadow, a small wood and the community’s graveyard.
Culture and sightseeing
There is an artistic walk with eleven artworks leading from the FCO sporting ground by way of the barbecue pavilion to Götzensteinstraße.Transport
Abtsteinach lies off the greater BundesstraßeBundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
n, but is nevertheless easily reached over the linking roads from Weinheim
Weinheim
Weinheim is a town in the north west of the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany with 43 000 inhabitants, approximately 15 km north of Heidelberg and 10 km northeast of Mannheim. Together with these cities, it makes up the Rhine-Neckar triangle...
to Wald-Michelbach
Wald-Michelbach
Wald-Michelbach is a community in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany.Through Wald-Michelbach runs the now disused Überwaldbahn .-Hardberg:...
.
Established businesses
- REIMOTEC Maschinen- und Anlagenbau GmbH (machine and facility building)
- motech gmbh, technology + systems, switchgearSwitchgearThe term switchgear, used in association with the electric power system, or grid, refers to the combination of electrical disconnects, fuses and/or circuit breakers used to isolate electrical equipment. Switchgear is used both to de-energize equipment to allow work to be done and to clear faults...
manufacturer