Eschenburg
Encyclopedia
Eschenburg is a community in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis
in Hesse
, Germany
. The community inherited its name from nearby Eschenburg
mountain.
and 23 km east of Siegen
.
(Lahn-Dill-Kreis) and Breidenbach
, in the east on the communities of Steffenberg
and Angelburg
(all three in Marburg-Biedenkopf
), in the south on the community of Siegbach
, in the southwest on the town of Dillenburg
, and in the west on the town of Haiger
(all in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis).
finds that there were settlers in what is today Eschenburg as far back as Celt
ic times. Eschenburg had its first documentary mention in the 13th century. Quite early on in its history, ore
s such as silver
, nickel
, copper
and iron
were being mined in various places, and slate
and diabase
were being quarried. This resulted in metalworking
and hammering mills being established in the area. Only recently have archaeological digs shown the groundwork of a mediaeval forest smithy in Wissenbach.
The founding of the greater community came on 1 October 1971 through a voluntary merger of Eibelshausen, Eiershausen and Wissenbach. On 1 July 1974, the communities of Hirzenhain, Simmersbach and Roth, all from the former district of Biedenkopf, also joined, bringing today's greater community of Eschenburg into being two years before municipal reform. The 589 m-high mountain Eschenburg
, seven kilometres northeast of Dillenburg, is the community's namesake.
Among the six constituent communities, Eibelshausen is the biggest. It serves as a centre point in the middle Dietzhölze Valley, is the administrative seat, and is the centre for secondary education
with Haupt-
and Realschule
, and a gymnasial
branch for ten villages in the communities of Eschenburg and Dietzhölztal
.
Glider flying is maintained by the Hirzenhain Gliding Club, but even non-members can take part for a small fee.
In the countryside around Simmersbach, the Philippsbuche ("Philip's Beech") recalls Landgrave Philip I's
homecoming after a five-year Spanish-Dutch imprisonment on 10 September 1552.
Barbecue
areas and leisure facilities are available in the outlying centres. Nature trails through the woods, hiking trails, and protected areas for birds and scenery beckon hikers.
). His wife was a relative of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
.
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:...
in 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...
, 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 inherited its name from nearby Eschenburg
Eschenburg (mountain)
Eschenburg is a mountain of Hesse, Germany. The peak is located on the territory of Dillenburg, close to its local center Nanzenbach...
mountain.
Geography
About 20 km², or 43.8%, of the municipal area is wooded, 9.85 km² of this being municipal forest, and the rest state forest.Location
The individual communities within Eschenburg lie on the river Dietzhölze and in its side valleys and high dales in the Rothaargebirge's foothills. Eschenburg lies in the northern Lahn-Dill-Kreis, some 10 km northeast of DillenburgDillenburg
Dillenburg is a town in Hesse's Gießen region in Germany. The town was formerly the seat of the old Dillkreis district, which is now part of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis....
and 23 km east of Siegen
Siegen
Siegen is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia.It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg region...
.
Neighbouring communities
Eschenburg borders in the north on the communities of DietzhölztalDietzhölztal
The community of Dietzhölztal is the northernmost municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:The community is located in a valley of the same name, only a few kilometres east of the border with North Rhine-Westphalia....
(Lahn-Dill-Kreis) and Breidenbach
Breidenbach
Breidenbach is a community in the west of Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany.-Neighbouring communities:*Bad Laasphe*Biedenkopf*Dautphetal*Eschenburg*Steffenberg-Community divisions:...
, in the east on the communities of Steffenberg
Steffenberg
-Location:Steffenberg lies at the southern foothills of the Rothaargebirge between the towns of Dillenburg and Marburg .-Neighbouring communities:...
and 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...
(all three in Marburg-Biedenkopf
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 :...
), in the south on 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 southwest on the town of Dillenburg
Dillenburg
Dillenburg is a town in Hesse's Gießen region in Germany. The town was formerly the seat of the old Dillkreis district, which is now part of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis....
, and in the west on the town of Haiger
Haiger
Haiger is a country town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. The nearest city is Siegen, about 25 km north of Haiger.-Location:Haiger lies about 5 km west of Dillenburg, and 20 km southeast of Siegen on the eastern edge of the Westerwald range, near where the three states of...
(all in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis).
Constituent communities
Eschenburg comprises the centres of Eibelshausen – which is also the administrative seat – Eiershausen, Roth, Simmersbach, Wissenbach, Hirzenhain Ort and Hirzenhain Bahnhof.| Centre | Population | Area (km²) | Area (%) | (31 December 2005) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eibelshausen | 4055 | 6.858 | 15.0% | |
| Eiershausen | 992 | 5.487 | 12.0% | |
| Hirzenhain | 2264 | 9.558 | 20.9% | |
| Roth | 592 | 7.833 | 17.1% | |
| Simmersbach | 1412 | 7.22 | 15.8% | |
| Wissenbach | 1981 | 8.754 | 19.2% | |
| Eschenburg | 11,296 | 45.71 | 100% |
History
It is known from archaeologicalArchaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
finds that there were settlers in what is today Eschenburg as far back as Celt
Celt
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. Eschenburg had its first documentary mention in the 13th century. Quite early on in its history, ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
s such as silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
, nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
, copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
and iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
were being mined in various places, and 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...
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...
were being quarried. This resulted in metalworking
Metalworking
Metalworking is the process of working with metals to create individual parts, assemblies, or large scale structures. The term covers a wide range of work from large ships and bridges to precise engine parts and delicate jewelry. It therefore includes a correspondingly wide range of skills,...
and hammering mills being established in the area. Only recently have archaeological digs shown the groundwork of a mediaeval forest smithy in Wissenbach.
The founding of the greater community came on 1 October 1971 through a voluntary merger of Eibelshausen, Eiershausen and Wissenbach. On 1 July 1974, the communities of Hirzenhain, Simmersbach and Roth, all from the former district of Biedenkopf, also joined, bringing today's greater community of Eschenburg into being two years before municipal reform. The 589 m-high mountain Eschenburg
Eschenburg (mountain)
Eschenburg is a mountain of Hesse, Germany. The peak is located on the territory of Dillenburg, close to its local center Nanzenbach...
, seven kilometres northeast of Dillenburg, is the community's namesake.
Among the six constituent communities, Eibelshausen is the biggest. It serves as a centre point in the middle Dietzhölze Valley, is the administrative seat, and is the centre for secondary education
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
with Haupt-
Hauptschule
A Hauptschule is a secondary school in Germany and Austria, starting after 4 years of elementary schooling, which offers Lower Secondary Education according to the International Standard Classification of Education...
and Realschule
Realschule
The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
, and a gymnasial
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
branch for ten villages in the communities of Eschenburg and Dietzhölztal
Dietzhölztal
The community of Dietzhölztal is the northernmost municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:The community is located in a valley of the same name, only a few kilometres east of the border with North Rhine-Westphalia....
.
Museums
The Heimatmuseum (Local Museum) in Eibelshausen as well as the Eschenburg-Dietzhölztal Culture Group offer interesting exhibits and a cultural programme featuring great diversity.Sightseeing
Worth seeing is the more than 750-year-old village of Hirzenhain with its gliderport and downhill skiing run. Hirzenhain is the world's second oldest gliderport.Glider flying is maintained by the Hirzenhain Gliding Club, but even non-members can take part for a small fee.
In the countryside around Simmersbach, the Philippsbuche ("Philip's Beech") recalls Landgrave Philip I's
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse
Philip I of Hesse, , nicknamed der Großmütige was a leading champion of the Protestant Reformation and one of the most important of the early Protestant rulers in Germany....
homecoming after a five-year Spanish-Dutch imprisonment on 10 September 1552.
Exercise, sport and leisure places
In Eschenburg there are many sport clubs in which one can practise almost any discipline, from football and handball to athletics, gymnastics, tennis, and so on.- 3 gymnasia
- 1 ski run with lift
- 1 multi-purpose hall
- 7 sport fields
- 3 shooting ranges with clubhouse
- 5 tennis courts
- sports grounds
- fitness-studio
- football fields
- 2 long-distance cross-country skiing trails
- gliderport (gliding and hang-gliding)
- indoor swimming pool with outdoor basin and beach volleyball court
Barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
areas and leisure facilities are available in the outlying centres. Nature trails through the woods, hiking trails, and protected areas for birds and scenery beckon hikers.
Historic personage
From Wissenbach came the violinist, violist, concert director and radical pietist religion founder Johann Daniel Müller, also known as Elias or Elias Artista (born 10 February 1716 in Wissenbach, died sometime after 1785, presumably in RigaRiga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
). His wife was a relative of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
.
Established businesses
- BBT Thermotechnik GmbH Werk Eibelshausen
- Rittal Großschaltschränke GmbH & Co. KG Werk Wissenbach
Public institutions
- volunteer fire brigades in every centre
- indoor swimming pool
- youth centre in Eibelshausen
- Sunday emergency medical service
- Evangelical or open daycare centres in every centre
- Catholic daycare centre in Eibelshausen
- municipal library
- houses for public events in every centre
Education
- Primary schools in Eibelshausen, Wissenbach, Hirzenhain, Simmersbach and Eiershausen
- Holderbergschule (HauptschuleHauptschuleA Hauptschule is a secondary school in Germany and Austria, starting after 4 years of elementary schooling, which offers Lower Secondary Education according to the International Standard Classification of Education...
, RealschuleRealschuleThe Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
, GymnasiumGymnasium (school)A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
) in Eibelshausen