Bad Endbach
Encyclopedia
Bad Endbach is the westernmost municipality in Marburg-Biedenkopf
district of the state of Hesse
in Germany
, and borders on the Lahn-Dill
district.
and Westerwald
mountain range
s in a changeable low mountain range landscape between the towns of Marburg
and Herborn
.
Within the community's territory, in the Hartenrod area, rises the brook known as the Salzböde, along which stretches much of the municipal area.
and Culm formation in which slate
, greywacke
and diabase
predominate.
The communities of Angelburg
, Steffenberg
and Dautphetal
lie to the northwest, north and northeast respectively. Next, to the east, comes the town of Gladenbach
. All these municipalities lie, like Bad Endbach itself, in Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Further, there is the community of Bischoffen
in the south and the community of Siegbach
in the west, both of which belong to the Lahn-Dill district.
of Romanesque
origins that was apparently remodelled or renovated in the 13th century in the early Gothic
style. It is said to be an important historic building as it has hardly changed over the ages. Timbers found in the demonstrably remodelled east gable come from the year 1268 (the year that they were felled). The building that stands today is, however, much older, likely by as much as 200 or 250 years. During renovation work, clues were found on the south side in the inner room to an earlier building. This earlier building might have been a wooden church on a stone foundation, and might have been built in the time of the Irish
-Scottish
mission in the area. Irish-Scottish missionaries were active in the vicinity even before Saint Boniface
, as digs at the Büraburg
Monastery prove (as do those at, among others, Wetter
and the Christenberg). The building standing today might have been built under the influence of the Worms
Bauhütte (a forerunner to the later guild
s), as it bears a keen likeness to the rather bigger Magnus-Kirche (church) in Worms. The Bishopric of Worms once had vast holdings throughout the area.
Two small, high windows on the building's south side have round frames inside, but oddly squeezed, peaked frames on the outside, a sure sign of remodelling. The former priest's entrance in the south front wall is definitely Romanesque. The layman's entrance lies on the north side underneath the later enlarged window. In the west wall is found a further window. The chapel once had an oblong choir which was broken up and its opening walled up in the 18th century. Measurements of the building's inner dimensions yield a width of about 6.95 m and a length of about 10.15 m. The walls are about 1.2 m thick. The builders, however, used a "foot", believed to average about 33 cm long to do their measurements. The building stones were boulders, greywacke, on rich beds of mortar. There are no hewn stones. The inner room is a plain chamber. The building has a ridge turret as a bell tower. It never had a steeple
like other churches in the area. These are the main things that set the building apart from others in the area. The inner room is further an example of one of the earliest galleries in the whole area.
The chapel is said to have once been built over a spring. Its location at the lowest place in the village lends weight to this story. It was supposedly a chapel to Saint Mary before the Reformation
, and served as a pilgrimage
site because of the spring, which was said to work wonders, and which was said to have come forth from under the choir. There is a pleasant anecdote about this.
. There are no big companies operating in the community.
therapy and vein treatments as well as clinical aftercare.
Marburg-Biedenkopf
Marburg-Biedenkopf is a Kreis in the west of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Waldeck-Frankenberg, Schwalm-Eder, Vogelsbergkreis, Gießen, Lahn-Dill, Siegen-Wittgenstein.- History :...
district of the state of Hesse
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...
in 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...
, and borders on the Lahn-Dill
Lahn-Dill-Kreis
Lahn-Dill is a Kreis in the west of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Siegen-Wittgenstein, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Gießen, Wetteraukreis, Hochtaunuskreis, Limburg-Weilburg, Westerwaldkreis.-History:...
district.
Location
Bad Endbach lies in the Lahn-Dill Bergland (ie Highland) in the foothills of the RothaargebirgeRothaargebirge
The Rothaargebirge is a low mountain range reaching heights of up to 843.1 m in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, Germany....
and Westerwald
Westerwald
The Westerwald is a low mountain range on the right bank of the River Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhine Massif...
mountain range
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
s in a changeable low mountain range landscape between the towns of 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 :...
and Herborn
Herborn
Herborn is a historic town on the Dill in the Lahn-Dill district of Hesse in Germany. Before World War I, it was granted its own title as Nassauisches Rothenburg. The symbol or mascot of this town is a bear. Scenic attractions include its half-timbered houses; Herborn is located on the German...
.
Within the community's territory, in the Hartenrod area, rises the brook known as the Salzböde, along which stretches much of the municipal area.
Geology
Geologically, the area belongs mainly to the DevonianDevonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
and Culm formation in which slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
, greywacke
Greywacke
Greywacke or Graywacke is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lithic fragments set in a compact, clay-fine matrix. It is a texturally immature sedimentary rock generally found...
and diabase
Diabase
Diabase or dolerite is a mafic, holocrystalline, subvolcanic rock equivalent to volcanic basalt or plutonic gabbro. In North American usage, the term diabase refers to the fresh rock, whilst elsewhere the term dolerite is used for the fresh rock and diabase refers to altered material...
predominate.
Neighbouring communities
Clockwise from the north, the following towns and communities border on the community of Bad Endbach:The communities of Angelburg
Angelburg
Angelburg is a community in western Marburg-Biedenkopf in northwest Middle Hesse in Germany.- Geographical location :The community is found about 12 km south of Biedenkopf in the Gansbach valley north of the Schelder Wald , whose north end consists of the Angelburg Mountain with its...
, Steffenberg
Steffenberg
-Location:Steffenberg lies at the southern foothills of the Rothaargebirge between the towns of Dillenburg and Marburg .-Neighbouring communities:...
and Dautphetal
Dautphetal
Dautphetal is a community in Hesse, Germany, and is among the six larger communities of the 22 in Marburg-Biedenkopf district.-Geography:The community lies in the western part of the district about 37 km east of Siegen and about 15 km west of Marburg in the upper Lahn valley. It is...
lie to the northwest, north and northeast respectively. Next, to the east, comes the town of Gladenbach
Gladenbach
-Location:The town of Gladenbach lies on the eastern edge of the Westerwald in the Hessian Highland . This part of the Lahn-Dill Highland is often also called the Gladenbach Uplands...
. All these municipalities lie, like Bad Endbach itself, in Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Further, there is the community of Bischoffen
Bischoffen
-Location:Bischoffen lies in the Lahn-Dill Highland at the Aar Dam . This dam holds back the river Aar, a tributary to the Dill, forming a 57-ha lake whose purpose is mainly flood control, although of course it also has its recreational uses....
in the south and the community of Siegbach
Siegbach
- Location :The community of Siegbach lies in the Lahn-Dill Highland in the valley of its namesake brook, the Siegbach, which empties into the Aar to the south at Bischoffen.More than half of the municipal area is wooded.- Neighbouring communities :...
in the west, both of which belong to the Lahn-Dill district.
Community divisions
Bad Endbach's municipal area is divided into eight constituent communities.| Community | Description |
|---|---|
| Bottenhorn | With about 1350 inhabitants it is the third biggest constituent community. Bottenhorn was first mentioned in 1302 in a document from the Altenberg Monastery. Historic names: 1304 Botinhorne, 1324 Buttinhorn, 1491 Bettehorn, 1502 Bottenhorn |
| Dernbach | Historic names: 1255 Derinbach, 1363 Therinbach, 1398 Derenbach, 1411 Dernbach. |
| Endbach | Main centre and second biggest constituent community lying at the forks where the Endebach empties into the Salzböde. Historic names: 1261 Endebach, 1577 Ennebach |
| Günterod | Historic names: 1294 Gunterode, 1343/47 Günterrode, 1416 Günterade, 1479 Gonterodde, 1502 Gunteroide, 1564 Günterode |
| Hartenrod | With 2504 inhabitants (1997) the biggest constituent community. Hartenrod was first mentioned in 1364. Historic names: 1364 Harterode, 1380 Harprachterode, 1397 Hartenrade, 15. Jhd. Hirtprachterode, 1466 Hartenrode, 1502 Harteroide, 1630 Hartenroda. |
| Hülshof | With about 20 inhabitants, living in five houses, the smallest constituent community. Der Hülshof was first mentioned in 1284. Historic names: 1284 Hulsbahc, 1304 Halespecher marca, 1304 Hulisbach, 1344 Hultzpach, 1354 Hulzbach, 1397 Holspach, 1630 Hulß Hoff |
| Schlierbach | About 420 inhabitants. Schlierbach was first mentioned in 1318 as Slirbach (Slir-Lehm). A brook Stream A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or... of the same name flows through the little village. Historic names: 1318 Slirbach, 1359 Sclirbach, 1448 Slierbach, 1630 Schlirbach |
| Wommelshausen | About 950 inhabitants. Wommelshausen was first mentioned on 10 August 1336. Historic forms of the name: 1336, a double village called Womoldishusin superior et inferior (ie Upper and Lower Womoldishusin); 1340, Syvret von Womulshusen (a lay judge's name); undated, Wommeldishoffen; 1400, Waneboltshusen; 1500, Womelshusenn; 1536, Wumolzhusen; 1707, Womelshausen. Name comes from Frankish given name Womhold or Wombold, and therefore means "settlement at Wombold's house". The village is clearly older than the first mention, as the chapel (mentioned below) had already undergone remodelling in 1268. The community of Hütte also belongs to Wommelshausen. Once wholly confined to Wommelshausen's rural area, it has now also swallowed up 80% of Endbach's rural area, too. It was first mentioned in 1586 under the name "uf der Hütten", and later in 1703 as "Die Hütte". This community is not the same one as the former Unterwommelshausen. It is newer and can be traced back to an ironworks here in the late Middle Ages. |
History
Amalgamations
On 1 February 1971, the two communities of Endbach and Wommelshausen combined into one community of Endbach, and likewise the two communities of Hartenrod and Schlierbach did the same on 31 December of the same year, taking the former's name. On 1 April 1972, Günterod was amalgamated with Endbach, before in the end, on 1 July 1974, as a result of municipal reform in Hesse, Endbach and Hartenrod were not only amalgamated with each other, but also with Bottenhorn, Dernbach and Hülshof to form the new community of Bad Endbach.Municipal council
As of the last municipal elections, held on 26 March 2006, the seats on municipal council are apportioned thus:- CDUChristian 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...
11 seats - SPDSocial Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
11 seats - FWG (citizens' coalition) 7 seats
- UBL ("Independent Citizens' List") 2 seats
Coat of arms
The municipal arms might be described thus: In vert six bendlets sinister wavy argent; above a sun Or; below a watering can Or.Culture and sightseeing
In Wommelshausen stands a noteworthy old chapelChapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
of Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
origins that was apparently remodelled or renovated in the 13th century in the early Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style. It is said to be an important historic building as it has hardly changed over the ages. Timbers found in the demonstrably remodelled east gable come from the year 1268 (the year that they were felled). The building that stands today is, however, much older, likely by as much as 200 or 250 years. During renovation work, clues were found on the south side in the inner room to an earlier building. This earlier building might have been a wooden church on a stone foundation, and might have been built in the time of the Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
-Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
mission in the area. Irish-Scottish missionaries were active in the vicinity even before 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...
, as digs at the Büraburg
Büraburg
Büraburg is a prominent hill with historic significance, overlooking the Eder river near the town of Fritzlar in northern Hesse .In 723 AD the Anglo-Saxon missionary Winfrid – later called St...
Monastery prove (as do those at, among others, Wetter
Wetter, Hesse
Wetter is a small town in Hesse, Germany. The rather unusual designation Wetter stems from a time when the town belonged to the Prussian province of the same name, and nowadays is only used by the railway – even today, the railway station in town bears this name.-Geography:Wetter lies in the...
and the Christenberg). The building standing today might have been built under the influence of the Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
Bauhütte (a forerunner to the later guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
s), as it bears a keen likeness to the rather bigger Magnus-Kirche (church) in Worms. The Bishopric of Worms once had vast holdings throughout the area.
Two small, high windows on the building's south side have round frames inside, but oddly squeezed, peaked frames on the outside, a sure sign of remodelling. The former priest's entrance in the south front wall is definitely Romanesque. The layman's entrance lies on the north side underneath the later enlarged window. In the west wall is found a further window. The chapel once had an oblong choir which was broken up and its opening walled up in the 18th century. Measurements of the building's inner dimensions yield a width of about 6.95 m and a length of about 10.15 m. The walls are about 1.2 m thick. The builders, however, used a "foot", believed to average about 33 cm long to do their measurements. The building stones were boulders, greywacke, on rich beds of mortar. There are no hewn stones. The inner room is a plain chamber. The building has a ridge turret as a bell tower. It never had a steeple
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
like other churches in the area. These are the main things that set the building apart from others in the area. The inner room is further an example of one of the earliest galleries in the whole area.
The chapel is said to have once been built over a spring. Its location at the lowest place in the village lends weight to this story. It was supposedly a chapel to Saint Mary before the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, and served as a pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
site because of the spring, which was said to work wonders, and which was said to have come forth from under the choir. There is a pleasant anecdote about this.
Christian communities
| Denomination | Centre |
|---|---|
| Evangelical Church | Bad Endbach / Bottenhorn / Günterod / Hartenrod / Wommelshausen |
| Free Evangelical Community | Bad Endbach / Günterod / Hartenrod-Schlierbach / Wommelshausen |
| Catholic Church | Hartenrod |
| Ev. Gemeinschaft e.V. and Christian Endeavour Youth Association | Hartenrod |
| Christian Assembly Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is... ("Open Brethren") |
Bad Endbach / Günterod |
| Christian Assembly Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren is a conservative, Evangelical Christian movement, whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland, in the late 1820s. Although the group is notable for not taking any official "church name" to itself, and not having an official clergy or liturgy, the title "The Brethren," is... ("Closed Brethren") |
Dernbach / Günterod |
| Plymouth Brethren IV ("Exclusive Brethren Raven-Taylor-Hales Brethren The Raven–Taylor–Hales Brethren are a protestant sect, and a branch of the Exclusive Brethren. These Brethren hold an uncompromising 'separatist' doctrine and their practice has steadily evolved differently from other Brethren groups and also from mainstream Christianity.Most Australian and New... ") |
Bad Endbach |
Regular events
Easter hiking week, Whitsun hiking week, Health days, Music days, Autumn hiking week, Sinnlos youth evangelization http://www.sinnlos.org.Economy and infrastructure
Bad Endbach earns its livelihood overridingly from its spa business and tourismTourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
. There are no big companies operating in the community.
Spas
Bad Endbach offers an extensive network of hiking trails, a choice of specialized offerings for migraineMigraine
Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by moderate to severe headaches, and nausea...
therapy and vein treatments as well as clinical aftercare.