Amöneburg
Encyclopedia
Amöneburg is a town in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse
, Germany
. It lies on a mountain
and is built around the castle
of the same name, Burg Amöneburg.
cone that can be seen from a great distance, below which flows the river Ohm
, a tributary to the Lahn
. From the Vogelsberg
massif in the southeast, Amöneburg is split by the Amöneburg Basin, a hollow suspected of being a meteorite crater. http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/ccc/cc100202.html In the southwest rise the Lahn Mountains.
, in the east on the town of Stadtallendorf
(both in Marburg-Biedenkopf), in the southeast on the town of Homberg
(Vogelsbergkreis
), and in the west on the community of Ebsdorfergrund
(Marburg-Biedenkopf).
depicts Saint Martin of Tours cutting off a piece of his cloak for a poor man. It is thus very similar in concept – although the colours are different – to Neustadt
's coat of arms.
ic times there was a town (or oppidum
) here. In 721, Saint Boniface
built a small monastery
and a church below the castle.
At the beginning of the 12th century, much of Hesse belonged to Thuringia
. The Thuringian lands, however, were so widely scattered that quite often they were interspersed with estates belonging to the Archbishopric of Mainz
and its vassals. The parish of Amöneburg belonged to the archbishopric until 1803.
Amöneburg's rectangular market square was laid out in this shape in the 18th century. Also worth seeing is the Mainzer Hof with its barn
and manor house at the Lindauer Tor (gate).
The adjoining church is a neo-Gothic basilica
. On its north side stands the 14th-century church tower with its Baroque
cupola.
Around the knoll that forms the townsite runs the town wall, still preserved to a great extent. A loop road offers good views of the surrounding countryside.
At the southeastern foot of the crags on which the town is built lies the Brückermühle, and old mill, with an old stone bridge (Ohmbrücke) across the river Ohm, which was an historically important crossing. It is known from the Hessians' and Brunswickers'
fight against the French
in 1762, recalled nowadays by a Baroque obelisk in the yard outside the Brückerwirtshaus (inn).
- Alsfeld
) with connections to B 454 to Schwalmstadt
and B 3 towards Marburg
. Rail connections are not to be had right in Amöneburg. One must instead travel 5 km north to Kirchhain
.
, since 1974 Tragwein
, Austria
Tuoro sul Trasimeno
, Italy
, since 1987
There has also been a common "ring" partnership among these towns since 1997.
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...
. It lies on a mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
and is built around the castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
of the same name, Burg Amöneburg.
Location
Amöneburg lies on a basaltBasalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
cone that can be seen from a great distance, below which flows the river Ohm
Ohm River
The Ohm, the right tributary of the Lahn, is a river in Hesse, Germany, Its total length is 59 km. The Ohm originates in the Vogelsberg Mountains, east of the town Ulrichstein. It flows generally northwest through Ulrichstein, Mücke, Homberg , Amöneburg, and Kirchhain. The Ohm joins the Lahn...
, a tributary to the Lahn
Lahn
The Lahn River is a -long, right tributary of the Rhine River in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia , Hesse , and Rhineland-Palatinate ....
. From the Vogelsberg
Vogelsberg Mountains
The Vogelsberg Mountains are a group duct of ancient volcanic activity and are separated from the Rhön Mountains by the Fulda River and its valley....
massif in the southeast, Amöneburg is split by the Amöneburg Basin, a hollow suspected of being a meteorite crater. http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/ccc/cc100202.html In the southwest rise the Lahn Mountains.
Neighbouring communities
In the north, Amöneburg borders on the town of KirchhainKirchhain
Kirchhain is a town in Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:Kirchhain is located in the heart of the state of Hesse in Marburg-Biedenkopf County...
, in the east on the town of Stadtallendorf
Stadtallendorf
Stadtallendorf is a town in Marburg-Biedenkopf, Hesse, Germany, which lies about east of Marburg.- Location :Under the German system of Naturräume, Stadtallendorf lies in the West Hesse Depression Zone which is divided into basins and ridges...
(both in Marburg-Biedenkopf), in the southeast on the town of Homberg
Homberg (Ohm)
-Location:The officially recognized climatic spa of Homberg lies from 203 to 350 m above sea level in the valley of the Ohm, a tributary to the Lahn, some 19 km southeast of Marburg.-Neighbouring communities:...
(Vogelsbergkreis
Vogelsbergkreis
The Vogelsbergkreis is a Kreis in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Schwalm-Eder, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Fulda, Main-Kinzig, Wetteraukreis, Gießen and Marburg-Biedenkopf.-Geography:...
), and in the west on the community of Ebsdorfergrund
Ebsdorfergrund
Ebsdorfergrund is a community consisting of 11 villages in the southeast of Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany.The community's municipal area extends over the Ebsdorfer Grund in the valley of the Zwester Ohm and the areas around its edges, connecting the Amöneburg Basin with the middle...
(Marburg-Biedenkopf).
Coat of arms
Amöneburg's coat of 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...
depicts Saint Martin of Tours cutting off a piece of his cloak for a poor man. It is thus very similar in concept – although the colours are different – to Neustadt
Neustadt (Hesse)
Neustadt is a town in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hessen, Germany.-Location:Neustadt lies in the Middle Hessian Bergland at the eastern end of Marburg-Biedenkopf district.-Neighbouring communities:...
's coat of arms.
History
Findings from digs have suggested that the area was already settled in the New Stone Age. It is supposed that in CeltCelt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic times there was a town (or oppidum
Oppidum
Oppidum is a Latin word meaning the main settlement in any administrative area of ancient Rome. The word is derived from the earlier Latin ob-pedum, "enclosed space," possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *pedóm-, "occupied space" or "footprint."Julius Caesar described the larger Celtic Iron Age...
) here. In 721, Saint Boniface
Saint Boniface
Saint Boniface , the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid, Wynfrith, or Wynfryth in the kingdom of Wessex, probably at Crediton , was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He is the patron saint of Germany and the first archbishop of Mainz...
built a small monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
and a church below the castle.
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
. The Thuringian lands, however, were so widely scattered that quite often they were interspersed with estates belonging to the Archbishopric of Mainz
Archbishopric of Mainz
The Archbishopric of Mainz or Electorate of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire between 780–82 and 1802. In the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae, the substitute of the Pope north of the Alps...
and its vassals. The parish of Amöneburg belonged to the archbishopric until 1803.
Amöneburg's rectangular market square was laid out in this shape in the 18th century. Also worth seeing is the Mainzer Hof with its barn
Barn
A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...
and manor house at the Lindauer Tor (gate).
The adjoining church is a neo-Gothic basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
. On its north side stands the 14th-century church tower with its Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
cupola.
Around the knoll that forms the townsite runs the town wall, still preserved to a great extent. A loop road offers good views of the surrounding countryside.
At the southeastern foot of the crags on which the town is built lies the Brückermühle, and old mill, with an old stone bridge (Ohmbrücke) across the river Ohm, which was an historically important crossing. It is known from the Hessians' and Brunswickers'
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
fight against the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1762, recalled nowadays by a Baroque obelisk in the yard outside the Brückerwirtshaus (inn).
Abandonments
Around Amöneburg, the abandoned communities of Brück, Brunsfort, Gerende, Heuchelheim, Lindau, Radenhausen and Wanehusen may be found.Town council
As of municipal elections held on 26 March 2006, town council seats are apportioned thus:| CDU Christian Democratic Union (Germany) The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum... |
14 seats |
| SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
7 seats |
| FWG (citizens' coalition) | 6 seats |
| AWG (citizens' coalition) | 4 seats |
Transport
Somewhat north of Amöneburg runs Federal Highway B 62 (BiedenkopfBiedenkopf
Biedenkopf is a spa town in western Hessen, Germany with a population of 13,271.- Location :The town of Biedenkopf lies in the west of Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Ringed by mountains reaching up to 674 m above sea level – the Sackpfeife in the Rothaargebirge reaches this height – the town...
- Alsfeld
Alsfeld
Alsfeld is a town in the center of Hesse, somewhere in Germany. Large towns nearby are Bad Hersfeld about 33 km to the east, Fulda 36 km to the southeast, Gießen 47 km to the west and Marburg an der Lahn about 36 km to the northwest...
) with connections to B 454 to Schwalmstadt
Schwalmstadt
Schwalmstadt is the largest town in the Schwalm-Eder district, in northern Hesse, Germany. It was established only in 1970 with the amalgamation of the towns of Treysa and Ziegenhain together with some outlying villages to form the town of Schwalmstadt.-Location:Schwalmstadt lies in the Schwalm...
and B 3 towards Marburg
Marburg
Marburg is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany, on the River Lahn. It is the main town of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district and its population, as of March 2010, was 79,911.- Founding and early history :...
. Rail connections are not to be had right in Amöneburg. One must instead travel 5 km north to Kirchhain
Kirchhain
Kirchhain is a town in Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:Kirchhain is located in the heart of the state of Hesse in Marburg-Biedenkopf County...
.
Regular events
- Kirchweihfest (Church dedication festival, yearly, last weekend in August, organized by local clubs)
Museums
Museum Amöneburg: Prehistory and early history of the Amöneburg Basin, agricultural history, mediaeval fortifications and finds from digs, models and dioramas with explanatory notices, and in the attic rooms a nature preservation information centre.Personalities
- Johannes EisermannJohannes EisermannJohannes Eisermann was a highly decorated Oberst in the Wehrmacht during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...
, called Ferrarius Montanus, religious scholar, juristJuristA jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
and first rector of the University of Marburg.
Town partnerships
Château Garnier, FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, since 1974 Tragwein
Tragwein
Tragwein is a municipality in the district of Freistadt in Upper Austria, Austria....
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
Tuoro sul Trasimeno
Tuoro sul Trasimeno
Tuoro sul Trasimeno is a comune in the Province of Perugia in the Italian region Umbria, located about 25 km northwest of Perugia....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, since 1987
There has also been a common "ring" partnership among these towns since 1997.