Breitengüßbach
Encyclopedia
Breitengüßbach is a community in the Upper Franconia
n district of Bamberg
that has a more than 1,100-year history. It was mentioned as Gusibach and as belonging to the royal court at Hallstadt
in an Imperial document issued between 812 and 830.
word guza (“pour”) could refer to Gießbach, but since the neighbouring community of Hohengüßbach does not lie on a brook (Bach means “brook” in German
), the name might also have come from the names Gosbert or Götz. The name in its current form crops up only in 1750, and only in the mid-19th century did it gain legal legitimacy.
, Emperor Heinrich II
donated the royal court along with Güßbach upon the founding of the Bishopric of Bamberg in 1007 to the Bamberg Church as the bishop’s demesne. Already by the first half of the 13th century, Breitengüßbach had its own House of God – St. Leonhard. In 1392, Güßbach was separated from the parish
of Hallstadt and was granted its own parish rights.
The Güßbachers gave themselves a new village constitution in 1594, laying the basis for the community’s administration for centuries to come. The schoolmaster, the smith, the barber-surgeon, the herdsman and a midwife were hired and salaried by the community. The community’s own communal house, a community smithy and even a public bathhouse were all available in the community. In the Thirty Years' War
, on 8 February 1633, half of Güßbach was left in rubble and ashes.
, Breitengüßbach belonged to the High Monastery at Bamberg. Since the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803, the community has belonged to Bavaria
. In the course of administrative reform in Bavaria, today’s community came into being under the Gemeindeedikt (“Community Edict”) of 1818.
hardly changed anything in the community, or the farming community structure. Even World War II
barely touched the community.
After World War II, new life slowly but steadily began to stir. A gym
nasium was built, watermains and sewerage
were laid, and a filtration plant was built. A new eight-grade elementary school
came into being, and a sport centre was opened. Extensive and attractive building areas were laid out, among them a vast commercial area. A local recreational forest was bought and extended. All this fulfilled the requirements for the community to busy itself welcoming many newcomers.
Breitengüßbach was classed as a small centre. By converting the former schoolhouse in the middle of the community into a town hall in 1979, the basis was laid for an administration close to the townsfolk.
The population figure has risen to 4,600 and will in the foreseeable future, owing to great tracts of attractive building land on offer, reach the 5,000 mark. The community’s upward development, which has been manifestly continuous over the last few decades will also continue into the future.
The community council is made up of 16 members, listed here by party or voter community affiliation, and also with the number of seats that each holds:
might heraldically be described thus: Party per pale sinister argent and gules, in argent a farmer with waistcoat and kneebreeches azure, shirt and stockings gules and pointed hat sable, holding in his right hand a staff sable with ribband gules, in gules a fess Or, thereover a pale argent.
The municipal arms go back to a print of a municipal seal from 1796 which shows a farmer holding a staff in his hand. It possibly refers to a village judge, or Schultheiß (roughly, “sheriff”). The flanking field shows the arms once borne by the von Gusbach noble family who lived in Breitengüßbach, but who died out in the 15th century.
4, running from Hamburg to Nuremberg, Bundesstraße 173 (Frankenschnellweg A 73), Staatsstraße 2197 and Bundesstraße 279.
Distances to major towns and cities in the area are as follows: Bamberg
(10 km), Bad Staffelstein
(18 km), Ebern
(17 km), Scheßlitz
(12 km), Coburg
(37 km), Lichtenfels
(25 km) and Haßfurt
(roughly 35 km).
Upper Franconia
Upper Franconia is a Regierungsbezirk of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia , all now part of the German Federal State of Bayern .With more than 200 independent breweries which brew...
n district of Bamberg
Bamberg (district)
Bamberg Land is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It surrounds but does not include the town of Bamberg. The district is bounded by the districts of Lichtenfels, Bayreuth, Forchheim, Erlangen-Höchstadt, Neustadt -Bad Windsheim, Kitzingen, Schweinfurt and Haßberge.- History :The history of the...
that has a more than 1,100-year history. It was mentioned as Gusibach and as belonging to the royal court at Hallstadt
Hallstadt
Hallstadt is a town in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg on the left bank of the Main, 4 km north of Bamberg.-Geography:Hallstadt borders in the south on the city of Bamberg and in the west on the Main. There are two constituent communities named Hallstadt and Dörfleins...
in an Imperial document issued between 812 and 830.
Name’s meaning
As to the name’s origin, there is no agreement. The Old High GermanOld High German
The term Old High German refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. Coherent written texts do not appear until the second half of the 8th century, and some treat the period before 750 as 'prehistoric' and date the start of...
word guza (“pour”) could refer to Gießbach, but since the neighbouring community of Hohengüßbach does not lie on a brook (Bach means “brook” 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....
), the name might also have come from the names Gosbert or Götz. The name in its current form crops up only in 1750, and only in the mid-19th century did it gain legal legitimacy.
9th to 17th centuries
After Breitengüßbach’s first mention as Gusibach in the early 9th century (about 812) and as being owned by the royal court at HallstadtHallstadt
Hallstadt is a town in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg on the left bank of the Main, 4 km north of Bamberg.-Geography:Hallstadt borders in the south on the city of Bamberg and in the west on the Main. There are two constituent communities named Hallstadt and Dörfleins...
, Emperor Heinrich II
Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
donated the royal court along with Güßbach upon the founding of the Bishopric of Bamberg in 1007 to the Bamberg Church as the bishop’s demesne. Already by the first half of the 13th century, Breitengüßbach had its own House of God – St. Leonhard. In 1392, Güßbach was separated from the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Hallstadt and was granted its own parish rights.
The Güßbachers gave themselves a new village constitution in 1594, laying the basis for the community’s administration for centuries to come. The schoolmaster, the smith, the barber-surgeon, the herdsman and a midwife were hired and salaried by the community. The community’s own communal house, a community smithy and even a public bathhouse were all available in the community. In the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, on 8 February 1633, half of Güßbach was left in rubble and ashes.
18th and 19th centuries
In 1750 came the first use of the name Breitengüßbach. Before SecularizationSecularization
Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...
, Breitengüßbach belonged to the High Monastery at Bamberg. Since the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803, the community has belonged to Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. In the course of administrative reform in Bavaria, today’s community came into being under the Gemeindeedikt (“Community Edict”) of 1818.
20th century to present
World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
hardly changed anything in the community, or the farming community structure. Even World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
barely touched the community.
After World War II, new life slowly but steadily began to stir. A gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasium was built, watermains and sewerage
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
were laid, and a filtration plant was built. A new eight-grade elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
came into being, and a sport centre was opened. Extensive and attractive building areas were laid out, among them a vast commercial area. A local recreational forest was bought and extended. All this fulfilled the requirements for the community to busy itself welcoming many newcomers.
Community structure
In the course of administrative reform, Hohengüßbach was amalgamated with Breitengüßbach in 1972, as were Unteroberndorf and Zückshut in 1978.Breitengüßbach was classed as a small centre. By converting the former schoolhouse in the middle of the community into a town hall in 1979, the basis was laid for an administration close to the townsfolk.
The population figure has risen to 4,600 and will in the foreseeable future, owing to great tracts of attractive building land on offer, reach the 5,000 mark. The community’s upward development, which has been manifestly continuous over the last few decades will also continue into the future.
Constituent communities
Breitengüßbach’s main and namesake centre is by far the biggest of its Ortsteile with a population of 3,393. The community furthermore has these outlying centres, each given here with its own population figure:- Hohengüßbach: 196
- Leimershof: 19
- Unteroberndorf: 719
- Zückshut: 372
- as of 1 January 2005
Politics
The first mayor is Reiner Hoffmann from the Unabhängiger Bürgerblock (UBB).The community council is made up of 16 members, listed here by party or voter community affiliation, and also with the number of seats that each holds:
- CSUChristian Social Union of BavariaThe Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany...
: 5 - SPDSocial Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
: 4 - Unabhängiger Bürgerblock (UBB): 3
- Freie Wählergemeinschaft Zückshut (FWZ): 2
- Freie Wählergemeinschaft Unteroberndorf (FWU): 1
- Wählergemeinschaft Hohengüßbach (WGH): 1
Coat of arms
Breitengüßbach’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: Party per pale sinister argent and gules, in argent a farmer with waistcoat and kneebreeches azure, shirt and stockings gules and pointed hat sable, holding in his right hand a staff sable with ribband gules, in gules a fess Or, thereover a pale argent.
The municipal arms go back to a print of a municipal seal from 1796 which shows a farmer holding a staff in his hand. It possibly refers to a village judge, or Schultheiß (roughly, “sheriff”). The flanking field shows the arms once borne by the von Gusbach noble family who lived in Breitengüßbach, but who died out in the 15th century.
Road
Breitengüßbach lies on BundesstraßeBundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
4, running from Hamburg to Nuremberg, Bundesstraße 173 (Frankenschnellweg A 73), Staatsstraße 2197 and Bundesstraße 279.
Distances to major towns and cities in the area are as follows: Bamberg
Bamberg
Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
(10 km), Bad Staffelstein
Bad Staffelstein
Bad Staffelstein is a small town in the Bavarian Administrative Region of Upper Franconia in Germany. It is known for the beautiful landscape that surrounds it, which has been given the name "Gottesgarten am Obermain"...
(18 km), Ebern
Ebern
Ebern is a town in the Haßberge district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 22 km southwest of Coburg and 23 km northwest of Bamberg.The population of Ebern is about 8,000 people. Its mayor is Robert Herrmann....
(17 km), Scheßlitz
Scheßlitz
Scheßlitz is a town in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg and lies on the rise to the Franconian Switzerland on the A 70 between Bamberg and Bayreuth, lying 14 km northeast of the former.-Geography:...
(12 km), Coburg
Coburg
Coburg is a town located on the Itz River in Bavaria, Germany. Its 2005 population was 42,015. Long one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined with Bavaria by popular vote in 1920...
(37 km), Lichtenfels
Lichtenfels, Bavaria
Lichtenfels is a town in Bavaria, Germany, capital of the district of Lichtenfels. It is situated on the upper course of the river Main , approx. 15 km southeast of Coburg, and 30 km northeast of Bamberg, in an area called Gottesgarten am Obermain .Lichtenfels became as of middle of the 19...
(25 km) and Haßfurt
Haßfurt
Haßfurt is a town in Bavaria, Germany, capital of the Haßberge district. It is situated on the river Main, 20 km east of Schweinfurt and 30 km northwest of Bamberg. In 1852, Ludwig's Western Railway reached the town and between 1892 and 1995 it also had a branch line to Hofheim...
(roughly 35 km).