Gemünden am Main
Encyclopedia
Gemünden am Main is a town in the Main-Spessart district
in the Regierungsbezirk
of Lower Franconia
(Unterfranken) in Bavaria
, Germany
and lies roughly 40 km down the Main from Würzburg
.
Gemünden lies on Birkenhainer Straße, an ancient trade road from Lower Franconia to today’s Frankfurt Rhine Main Region.
, Aschenroth, Harrbach, Hofstetten, Hohenroth, Kleinwernfeld, Langenprozelten
, Neutzenbrunn, Reichenbuch, Schaippach, Schönau, Seifriedsburg, Wernfeld and Massenbuch.
sometime before 1243. As of 1469, Gemünden belonged definitively to the Princely Electorate (Hochstift) of Würzburg, which was annexed by Bavaria in 1802. Gemünden became a Bavarian district seat (Kreisstadt); a railway link followed in 1854, Ludwig's Western Railway
, nowadays the Main–Spessart railway. Gemünden became a railway hub. In 1872 came the opening of the Flieden–Gemünden line, in 1879 the Gemünden–Schweinfurt line
and in 1884 the Gemünden – Hammelburg line.
During the time of the National Socialist régime, the Jewish
community’s synagogue
was destroyed on Kristallnacht
(9 November 1938) by SA men
. During the Second World War, many Soviet
prisoners of war
had to perform forced labour in operations that were important to the war effort.
Owing to the town’s strategically important location, two thirds of it was destroyed by Allied
bombing raids towards the end of the Second World War.
In 1972, the Gemünden am Main district was abolished. With the amalgamation of 14 new Ortsteile between 1971 and 1978, the town’s land area swelled sevenfold.
The local Schönau Monastery was founded in 1189 by Philipp von Thüngen. A Conventual Franciscan
monastery since 1699, the monks’ main job is to take care of the monastery and pilgrimage church.
, Gelderland
, Netherlands
Nals
, South Tyrol
, Italy
Zella-Mehlis
, Thuringia
might be described thus: Azure a castle argent with wall embattled flanked by towers, rising behind the wall a greater tower, itself with two flanking turrets braced underneath against the tower, in the wall a gate Or, the leaves open showing a portcullis raised of the same, the opening sable, all tower and turret roofs and tops of merlons gules, all roofs conical, and on top of each a roundle of the third.
festival Up From The Ground
(so called even in German
); however, the festival was last held in 2007, and owing to a number of factors, including fears for safety and poor service access at the venue, the promoters have no plans to continue the festival in Gemünden.
. The master mason was Friedrich Opferkuh and the sculptor was Ferenc Gyurcsek. It also stands as a token of good collaboration between the Gemünden am Main Historical Society and the Kaisersteinbruch Museum and Cultural Club. Hügel was a sculptor born in Gemünden; he died in Kaisersteinbruch.
A plaque recalls the old synagogue that was heavily damaged on Kristallnacht
(9 November 1938) and torn down in 1945. A further memorial to those Soviet prisoners who lost their lives at the forced labour that they had to do, can be found towards Rieneck
.
Heimatfest is a local festival held every year on the fairgrounds on the opposite side of the Fränkische Saale
from the town’s pedestrian precinct. It is always held during the summer months (usually either in June or July) and is a great opportunity to experience small-town German culture and customs. It is very much a scaled-down version of the world-famous (and oft-copied) Oktoberfest
(held at the end of September every year in Munich
) with a beer tent, rides, and games. It is always one week in length (from Saturday to the following Sunday) concluding in a fireworks display from the Scherenburg castle ruins.
. The North-South railway from Fulda
to Würzburg forms a junction here with the east-west line from Aschaffenburg to Würzburg
. West of town, the newly built Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway crosses the Main on the Gemünden Main Valley Bridge. Furthermore, the Franconian Saale Valley Railway
(Fränkische Saaletalbahn) branches off at Gemünden, running to the spa town
of Bad Kissingen
. Gemünden is an important goods handling hub, and also running here are the DB AG’s Regionalbahn
trains linking Gemünden with Würzburg and Aschaffenburg.
Gemünden lies on Bundesstraße
B26.
Main-Spessart
Main-Spessart is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Bad Kissingen, Schweinfurt and Würzburg, the state of Baden-Württemberg , the districts of Miltenberg and Aschaffenburg, and the state of Hesse .-History:The district was established in 1972 by merging the former...
in the Regierungsbezirk
Regierungsbezirk
In Germany, a Government District, in German: Regierungsbezirk – is a subdivision of certain federal states .They are above the Kreise, Landkreise, and kreisfreie Städte...
of Lower Franconia
Lower Franconia
Lower Franconia is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria , Germany ....
(Unterfranken) in 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...
, 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 lies roughly 40 km down the Main from Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
.
Location
Within the town, the River Sinn empties into the Franconian Saale, which itself then discharges into the Main. The Main changes its direction at Gemünden, from northwest to west, flowing over to the Mainviereck (“Main Square”) near Lohr am Main.Gemünden lies on Birkenhainer Straße, an ancient trade road from Lower Franconia to today’s Frankfurt Rhine Main Region.
Constituent communities
Gemünden’s Stadtteile are AdelsbergAdelsberg (Gemünden am Main)
Adelsberg is an outlying centre of Gemünden am Main in the Main-Spessart district, in Bavaria, Germany. It lies roughly 40 km northwest of Würzburg....
, Aschenroth, Harrbach, Hofstetten, Hohenroth, Kleinwernfeld, Langenprozelten
Langenprozelten (Gemünden am Main)
Langenprozelten is an outlying centre of Gemünden am Main in the Main-Spessart district, in Bavaria, Germany. It lies on the river Main, 40 km northwest of Würzburg....
, Neutzenbrunn, Reichenbuch, Schaippach, Schönau, Seifriedsburg, Wernfeld and Massenbuch.
History
The town had its first documentary mention in 1243 in an agreement between Bishop of Würzburg Hermann I of Lobdeburg and Countess Adelheid of Rieneck. It is thought, however, that Gemünden had already been raised to town by the Counts of RieneckCounty of Rieneck
The County of Rieneck was a comital domain within the Holy Roman Empire that lay in what is now northwestern Bavaria...
sometime before 1243. As of 1469, Gemünden belonged definitively to the Princely Electorate (Hochstift) of Würzburg, which was annexed by Bavaria in 1802. Gemünden became a Bavarian district seat (Kreisstadt); a railway link followed in 1854, Ludwig's Western Railway
Ludwig's Western Railway
Ludwig's Western Railway is a German railway line that was originally funded by the Kingdom of Bavaria. It runs from Bamberg via Würzburg to Aschaffenburg and on into the former 'Kurhessian' Hanau.- History :...
, nowadays the Main–Spessart railway. Gemünden became a railway hub. In 1872 came the opening of the Flieden–Gemünden line, in 1879 the Gemünden–Schweinfurt line
Franconian Saale Valley Railway
The Franconian Saale Valley Railway is a 55 kilometre long, single-tracked, railway line in the northern part of the province of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany...
and in 1884 the Gemünden – Hammelburg line.
During the time of the National Socialist régime, the Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
community’s synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
was destroyed on Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
(9 November 1938) by SA men
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
. During the Second World War, many Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
prisoners of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
had to perform forced labour in operations that were important to the war effort.
Owing to the town’s strategically important location, two thirds of it was destroyed by Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
bombing raids towards the end of the Second World War.
In 1972, the Gemünden am Main district was abolished. With the amalgamation of 14 new Ortsteile between 1971 and 1978, the town’s land area swelled sevenfold.
The local Schönau Monastery was founded in 1189 by Philipp von Thüngen. A Conventual Franciscan
Conventual Franciscans
The Order of Friars Minor Conventual , commonly known as the Conventual Franciscans, is a branch of the order of Catholic Friars founded by Francis of Assisi in 1209.-History:...
monastery since 1699, the monks’ main job is to take care of the monastery and pilgrimage church.
Town partnerships
DuivenDuiven
' is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. Duiven's name can be translated into English to mean "pigeons" or "doves". Although the coat of arms and logo of the municipality feature pigeons, the name is etymologically related to "dunes"...
, Gelderland
Gelderland
Gelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Nals
Nals
Nals is a Gemeinde in South Tyrol in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, located about 50 km north of the city of Trento and about 13 km northwest of the city of Bolzano.-Geography:...
, South Tyrol
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
, 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...
Zella-Mehlis
Zella-Mehlis
Zella-Mehlis is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated in the Thuringian Forest, 5 km north of Suhl, and 20 km east of Meiningen. The town of Zella-Mehlis is the site of the original Walther arms weapons factory. It remained there until the...
, Thuringia
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....
Coat of arms
The town’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 be described thus: Azure a castle argent with wall embattled flanked by towers, rising behind the wall a greater tower, itself with two flanking turrets braced underneath against the tower, in the wall a gate Or, the leaves open showing a portcullis raised of the same, the opening sable, all tower and turret roofs and tops of merlons gules, all roofs conical, and on top of each a roundle of the third.
Music
Gemünden was well known as the venue for the heavy metalHeavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
festival Up From The Ground
Up from the Ground
Up from the Ground was an extreme metal festival held annually in August in Gemünden am Main/Steinwiesen, Germany from 2000. The 2007 edition took place on August 24-August 25 and was the last edition of the festival...
(so called even 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....
); however, the festival was last held in 2007, and owing to a number of factors, including fears for safety and poor service access at the venue, the promoters have no plans to continue the festival in Gemünden.
Buildings
Over Gemünden’s town centre rise the ruins of the Scherenburg, a castle also known as Schloss Scherenberg, which once belonged to the Counts of Rieneck. Farther up are found the ruins of the Slorburg, another castle.Monuments
The Elias Hügel Column from 1740 was built after the mostly destroyed original in KaisersteinbruchBruckneudorf
Bruckneudorf is a small town in the district of Neusiedl am See in the federal state of Burgenland in Austria, neighbouring Bruck an der Leitha . Its name means "Bridge New Village" while the Hungarian version means "Royal Bridge", and the "Royal" refers to King Francis I...
. The master mason was Friedrich Opferkuh and the sculptor was Ferenc Gyurcsek. It also stands as a token of good collaboration between the Gemünden am Main Historical Society and the Kaisersteinbruch Museum and Cultural Club. Hügel was a sculptor born in Gemünden; he died in Kaisersteinbruch.
A plaque recalls the old synagogue that was heavily damaged on Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
(9 November 1938) and torn down in 1945. A further memorial to those Soviet prisoners who lost their lives at the forced labour that they had to do, can be found towards Rieneck
Rieneck
Rieneck is a town in the Main-Spessart district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany.- Location :...
.
Clubs
- WWC White Water Company Gemünden am Main e.V.: canoe sport club with focus on whitewater canoeing and recreational sport.
- Festspielverein der Stadt Gemünden e.V. (festival club)
- FV Gemünden/Seifriedsburg: football club
Regular events
There are the Scherenburgfestspiele (festival) in July and August in the inner courtyard at the Scherenburg ruins.Heimatfest is a local festival held every year on the fairgrounds on the opposite side of the Fränkische Saale
Fränkische Saale
The Franconian Saale or is a 125 km long river in Bavaria, Germany. It is a right-bank tributary of the Main, in Lower Franconia. It should not be confused with the larger Saxon Saale , which is a tributary of the Elbe River....
from the town’s pedestrian precinct. It is always held during the summer months (usually either in June or July) and is a great opportunity to experience small-town German culture and customs. It is very much a scaled-down version of the world-famous (and oft-copied) Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest, or Wiesn, is a 16–18 day beer festival held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, running from late September to the first weekend in October. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and is the world's largest fair, with more than 5 million people attending every year. The...
(held at the end of September every year in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
) with a beer tent, rides, and games. It is always one week in length (from Saturday to the following Sunday) concluding in a fireworks display from the Scherenburg castle ruins.
Transport
Gemünden is an important railway junctionJunction (rail)
A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge.This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes , 'points' and signalling.one or two tracks each meet at a junction, a fairly simple layout of tracks suffices to...
. The North-South railway from Fulda
Fulda
Fulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district .- Early Middle Ages :...
to Würzburg forms a junction here with the east-west line from Aschaffenburg to Würzburg
Main-Spessart Railway
The Main-Spessart Railway is a 110 kilometre long railway line in the Bavarian province of Lower Franconia and the neighbouring state of Hesse in south central Germany. It runs from Würzburg via Gemünden and Aschaffenburg to Hanau...
. West of town, the newly built Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway crosses the Main on the Gemünden Main Valley Bridge. Furthermore, the Franconian Saale Valley Railway
Franconian Saale Valley Railway
The Franconian Saale Valley Railway is a 55 kilometre long, single-tracked, railway line in the northern part of the province of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany...
(Fränkische Saaletalbahn) branches off at Gemünden, running to the spa town
Spa town
A spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...
of Bad Kissingen
Bad Kissingen
Bad Kissingen is a spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and is the seat of the district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale river, it is a world-famous health resort.- Town structure :...
. Gemünden is an important goods handling hub, and also running here are the DB AG’s Regionalbahn
RegionalBahn
The Regionalbahn is a type of local passenger train in Germany.-Service:Regionalbahn trains usually call at all stations on a given line, with the exception of RB trains within S-Bahn networks, these may only call at selected stations...
trains linking Gemünden with Würzburg and Aschaffenburg.
Gemünden lies on Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
B26.
Sons and daughters of the town
- Elias Hügel (b. 17 June 1681; d. 22 August 1755), Imperial BaroqueBaroque architectureBaroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
court master stonemason and churchbuilder - Johann Gallus Hügel (b. 2 December 1664; d. 14 September 1719), master stonemason
- Anneliese Lussert, writer
- Olga Knoblach-Wolff (b. 9 June 1923; d. 11 July 2008), painter
- Hans Michelbach (b. 1949), 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...
politician - Euchar Albrecht Schmid (b. 29 August 1884; d. 15 July 1951 in Bad Liebenstein), German jurist, writer and publisher, cofounder and managing director of the Karl-May-Verlag (publishing house).
Further reading
- Anneliese Lussert and Olga Knoblach-Wolff: Dir sing ich Gemünden mein Lied by Hofmann, G H 1982.
- Olga Knoblach-Wolff: Gemündener Türen und Tore. Impressionen und Erinnerungen in Bild und Wort. Accompanying historical commentary by Erhard Schenk.
- Helmuth Furch: Elias Hügel, Hofsteinmetzmeister, 1681-1755, Kaisersteinbruch 1992.
- Helmuth Furch: Die Familie Hügel aus Gemünden am Main, in notes from the Kaisersteinbruch Museum and Cultural Club, no. 42, June 1996.
- Helmuth Furch: Elias Hügel, Baukünstler. Der Großauftrag KarlskircheKarlskircheThe St. Charles's Church is a church situated on the south side of Karlsplatz, Vienna. It is located on the edge of the 1st district, 200 metres outside the Ringstraße...
hat sein Leben bestimmt. May 2005.