Gedern
Encyclopedia
Gedern is a town
in the Wetteraukreis
district in Hesse
, Germany
, and historically belongs to Oberhessen
. It is located 38 kilometres (23.6 mi) northeast of Hanau
at the foot of the Vogelsberg
, once one of the largest inactive volcanoes in Europe.
(Vogelsbergkreis
) in the north, by Grebenhain
(Vogelsbergkreis) in the northeast, by Birstein
(Main-Kinzig-Kreis
) in the east, by Kefenrod
in the south, by Ortenberg
in the southwest, and Hirzenhain
in the west.
) who retired for health reasons.
on a red and silver striped background. These represent the copious amounts of fish that were caught in and around Gedern throughout its history. The silver stripes stand for the two creeks that run through Gedern "Mühlbach" and "Gänsbach".
with Columbia, Illinois
, and Polanów, Poland
, through the Sister Cities Program. The village of Wenings is also partnered with Nucourt, France
.
Today Gedern is economically unimportant. Retail, manual labor, and trade work that make up the core of the economic activities are done on a very small scale. The vast majority of the inhabitants of Gedern commute to other areas in the Rhein-Main and Gießen
regions.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in the Wetteraukreis
Wetteraukreis
The Wetteraukreis is a Kreis in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Landkreis Gießen, Vogelsbergkreis, Main-Kinzig-Kreis, district-free Stadt Frankfurt, Hochtaunuskreis, Lahn-Dill-Kreis.-History:...
district 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...
, and historically belongs to Oberhessen
Upper Hesse
The province of Upper Hesse was one of three provinces in the Grand Duchy of Hesse and later the People's State of Hesse. Its territory covers the area of land north of the River Main in the historic region of Upper Hesse...
. It is located 38 kilometres (23.6 mi) northeast of Hanau
Hanau
Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main. Its station is a major railway junction.- Geography :...
at the foot of the Vogelsberg
Vogelsberg
Vogelsberg is a municipality in the Sömmerda district of Thuringia, Germany....
, once one of the largest inactive volcanoes in Europe.
Neighboring towns
Gedern is bordered by SchottenSchotten
Schotten is a town in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Larger towns nearby include Alsfeld in the north, Fulda in the east, Friedberg in the south and Gießen in the west.-Location:...
(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:...
) in the north, by Grebenhain
Grebenhain
-Location:The community of Grebenhain lies from 400 to 733 m above sea level in the southeastern Vogelsberg Mountains, about 30 km west of Fulda.-Neighbouring communities:...
(Vogelsbergkreis) in the northeast, by Birstein
Birstein
Birstein is a municipality on the northeastern edge of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis in Hesse, Germany with approximately 6,600 inhabitants. It was the home of the former principality of Isenburg-Birstein.-Geography:...
(Main-Kinzig-Kreis
Main-Kinzig-Kreis
Main-Kinzig is a Kreis in the east of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Wetteraukreis, Vogelsbergkreis, Fulda, Bad Kissingen, Main-Spessart, Aschaffenburg, Offenbach and the district-free cities of Offenbach and Frankfurt.-History:...
) in the east, by Kefenrod
Kefenrod
Kefenrod is a municipality in the Wetteraukreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approx. 46 kilometers northeast of Frankfurt am Main....
in the south, by Ortenberg
Ortenberg
Ortenberg may refer to two places in Germany:*Ortenberg, Hesse*Ortenberg, Baden-Württemberg...
in the southwest, and Hirzenhain
Hirzenhain
Hirzenhain is a municipality in the Wetteraukreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approx. 45 kilometers northeast of Frankfurt am Main....
in the west.
Organization
Gedern is divided into the districts of Gedern, Mittel-Seemen, Nieder-Seemen, Ober-Seemen, Steinberg, and Wenings.History
- The first records of Gedern come from the year 730 AD.
- City rights were given to Gedern on January 10, 1356, by Charles IV, Holy Roman EmperorCharles IV, Holy Roman EmperorCharles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
, 20 years after Wenings, a current district of Gedern, received its city rights from Louis IV, Holy Roman EmperorLouis IV, Holy Roman EmperorLouis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....
. - After the Congress of ViennaCongress of ViennaThe Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
, command of Gedern passed to the Grand Duchy of HesseGrand Duchy of HesseThe Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine , or, between 1806 and 1816, Grand Duchy of Hesse —as it was also known after 1816—was a member state of the German Confederation from 1806, when the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to a Grand Duchy, until 1918, when all the German...
. - Many zoning reforms have taken place in Gedern since then. In 1852 Gedern was placed into the Kreis NiddaNiddaNidda could refer to:*Niddah, a concept in Judaism*Niddah , a tractate in the Mishna and Talmud*Nidda, Hesse, a town in Germany*Nidda , a river in Germany...
district. Then, when this district was removed in 1874, Gedern was placed into the SchottenSchottenSchotten is a town in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Larger towns nearby include Alsfeld in the north, Fulda in the east, Friedberg in the south and Gießen in the west.-Location:...
district. There was yet another reform in 1936, and Gedern was placed into Landkreis Büdingen. After the last reorganization in 1972, Gedern, along with five other towns, was incorporated into WetteraukreisWetteraukreisThe Wetteraukreis is a Kreis in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Landkreis Gießen, Vogelsbergkreis, Main-Kinzig-Kreis, district-free Stadt Frankfurt, Hochtaunuskreis, Lahn-Dill-Kreis.-History:...
.
Town council
The town council consists of the mayor, Stefan Betz (independent), and the aldermen Klaus Hein, Walter Lutz and Barbara Gundlach (CDU), Klaus Bechthold and Andreas Steder (SPD), Reinhold Landmann and Irmtraud Köhler (FWG) and Willi Herbst (Bürgerliste Gedern).Mayor
The last election for mayor was held in 2005 in which Stefan Betz was elected to replace Wolfgang Zenkert (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...
) who retired for health reasons.
Coat of arms
The city coat of arms shows two troutTrout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
on a red and silver striped background. These represent the copious amounts of fish that were caught in and around Gedern throughout its history. The silver stripes stand for the two creeks that run through Gedern "Mühlbach" and "Gänsbach".
Partnerships
Gedern is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with Columbia, Illinois
Columbia, Illinois
Columbia is a city in Monroe and St. Clair County in the U.S. state of Illinois, about south of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 7,922 at the 2000 census.-History:...
, and Polanów, Poland
Polanów
Polanów is a town in Poland, in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in Koszalin County. It has 3,001 inhabitants .- Points of interest :* Gołogóra transmitter, a facility for FM-/TV-broadcasting with 2 guyed masts, which are 271 respectively 115 metres tall-External links:* *...
, through the Sister Cities Program. The village of Wenings is also partnered with Nucourt, France
Nucourt
Nucourt is one of the communes of the Val-d'Oise department in the Île-de-France region of northern France and the location of limestone caves which were used as a World War II V-1 flying bomb storage depot.-References:** -External links:* *...
.
Local companies
Measured by its size, Gedern was an important industrial hub during the 1980s in the industrially weak area around the Vogelsberg. There were several textile, wood, rubber, and metal refining factories. Today only a large metal-refining company is still active.Today Gedern is economically unimportant. Retail, manual labor, and trade work that make up the core of the economic activities are done on a very small scale. The vast majority of the inhabitants of Gedern commute to other areas in the Rhein-Main and Gießen
Gießen
Gießen, also spelt Giessen is a town in the German federal state of Hesse, capital of both the district of Gießen and the administrative region of Gießen...
regions.
Educational facilities
- Gedern has a comprehensive school (Gesamtschule) with the levels 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...
, and Gymnasium up to tenth grade. - Several elementary schools are also found in Gedern and the surrounding area.
Recreation
- The Gederner See (Lake Gedern) attracts many campers and swimmers every summer.
- Gedern also has a heated indoor pool in the recreation center (Sportzentrum) on Schmitterberg—the hill that separates the village from the lake area.
- Around the lake, there is also a glider runway. On weekends with nice weather one can see the gliders in the sky all around Gedern.
- The Volcano Bike Path runs from StockheimStockheimStockheim is a municipality in the district of Kronach in Bavaria in Germany....
to LauterbachLauterbach-Places:Austria* Lauterbach, Austria, a village in Brixen im Thale in the Kitzbühel MountainsGermany* Lauterbach, Baden-Württemberg in the district of Rottweil* Lauterbach, Hesse in Vogelsberg district* Lauterbach, Thuringia in the district of Wartburgkreis...
along the old train tracks. - Ober-Seemen is also home to the county youth summer camp Groß-Gerau.
External links
- Municipal website (German)