Gladenbach
Encyclopedia
Location
The town of Gladenbach lies on the eastern edge of the WesterwaldWesterwald
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...
in the Hessian Highland (Bergland). This part of the Lahn-Dill Highland is often also called the Gladenbach Uplands
Gladenbach Uplands
The Gladenbach Uplands , named after their central town of Gladenbach, is a range of hills up to 609 m high in the Rhine Massif in Germany, on the junction of the Rothaargebirge , Westerwald , Hintertaunus and West Hesse Highlands in the east.It lies in Central Hesse within the districts of...
. This has arisen from the great degree of correspondence between today's municipal area and the area covered by the historical Amt
Amt (subnational entity)
Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only found in Germany, but formerly also common in northern European countries. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to a U.S...
of Blankenstein, the eastsoutheastern part of the so-called Hessian Hinterland and the later, albeit now former, Biedenkopf district.
Within the bounds of the community's southern centres of Weidenhausen, Erdhausen, Gladenbach and Mornshausen runs the river Salzböde, which rises in Bad Endbach
Bad Endbach
Bad Endbach is the westernmost municipality in Marburg-Biedenkopf district of the state of Hesse in Germany, and borders on the Lahn-Dill district.-Location:...
and flows through the municipal area, then running farther eastwards through the communities of Lohra
Lohra
Lohra is a community in Marburg-Biedenkopf district in the administrative region of Gießen in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:Lohra's municipal area, measuring 49 km², stretches across the middle Salzböde valley and the Versgrund...
, Fronhausen
Fronhausen
Fronhausen is a community in the south of Marburg-Biedenkopf district in the administrative region of Gießen in Hessen, Germany.The municipal area stretches along the district's southern boundary in the Lahn valley and its environs between Marburg and Gießen, and borders in the north on the...
and Lollar
Lollar
Lollar is a town in the district of Gießen, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated on the river Lahn, 7 km north of Gießen. The biggest production site of is located in Lollar....
, where it empties into the Lahn
Lahn
The Lahn River is a -long, right tributary of the Rhine River in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia , Hesse , and Rhineland-Palatinate ....
at Odenhausen. Farther north in Gladenbach, mostly west-east through the centres of Runzhausen, Bellnhausen, Sinkershausen, Frohnhausen and Friebertshausen runs another river, the Allna, which flows onwards to Weimar
Weimar (Lahn)
Weimar is a community in the south of Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Gießen administrative region, Hesse, Germany. The community's administrative seat is the centre of Niederweimar.- Geography:...
, likewise emptying into the Lahn. The two waterways are separated from each other by high ridges which even make for a local drainage divide where smaller streams are concerned. Nonetheless, the town of Gladenbach as a whole is commonly said to lie in the Salzböde valley.
An important east-west traffic thoroughfare in Gladenbach is the Federal Highway (Bundesstraße) 255 crossing the municipal area from 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 :...
through the constituent communities of Weimar and Lohra, leaving the municipal area at Weidenhausen in the area of the Zollbuche ("Customs Beech" – it once marked the border between Hesse-Darmstadt
Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was a member state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse between the four sons of Philip I, the last Landgrave of Hesse....
and Hesse-Nassau) southwestwards towards 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 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. The highway runs thence alongside the Aartalsee (a reservoir) on to 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...
, ending at Montabaur
Montabaur
Montabaur is a town and the district seat of the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. At the same time, it is also the administrative centre of the Verbandsgemeinde of Montabaur – a kind of collective municipality – to which 24 other communities belong...
. Bundesstraße 453 ends within the town of Gladenbach after running through the community of 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...
to the north and Gladenbach's constituent community of Runzhausen.
The Aar-Salzböde-Bahn, a single-track railway line that ran through the municipal area along the Salzböde valley, has been in desuetude since 1995, and owing to a level crossing
Level crossing
A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
being torn up at Weidenhausen, meagre maintenance and the resulting overgrowth by bushes and trees, the line has also largely fallen apart.
Neighbouring communities
In the north, Gladenbach borders on the community of DautphetalDautphetal
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...
, in the northeast on the town 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 :...
, in the east on the community of Weimar
Weimar (Lahn)
Weimar is a community in the south of Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Gießen administrative region, Hesse, Germany. The community's administrative seat is the centre of Niederweimar.- Geography:...
, in the southeast on the community of Lohra
Lohra
Lohra is a community in Marburg-Biedenkopf district in the administrative region of Gießen in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:Lohra's municipal area, measuring 49 km², stretches across the middle Salzböde valley and the Versgrund...
(all in Marburg-Biedenkopf), in the southwest on 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....
(Lahn-Dill-Kreis
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:...
), and in the west on the community of Bad Endbach
Bad Endbach
Bad Endbach is the westernmost municipality in Marburg-Biedenkopf district of the state of Hesse in Germany, and borders on the Lahn-Dill district.-Location:...
(Marburg-Biedenkopf).
Town divisions
Gladenbach's municipal area is divided into 15 constituent communities (Stadtteile).
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Amalgamations
- 1972 Runzhausen
- 1974 through municipal reform:
- from the former Biedenkopf district:
- Bellnhausen
- Diedenshausen
- Erdhausen
- Friebertshausen
- Frohnhausen
- Kehlnbach
- Mornshausen
- Rachelshausen
- Römershausen
- Rüchenbach
- Sinkershausen
- Weidenhausen
- from the former Marburg a.d.Lahn district:
- Weitershausen
- from the former Biedenkopf district:
The postal robbery in the Subach
There happened within Gladenbach's current municipal area, between Mornshausen and Erdhausen in 1822, the so-called Postraub in der Subach, in which a gang of poor farmerFarmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
s and poachers
Poaching
Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
"knocked off" a money-bearing mail coach running between Gladenbach and Gießen in a narrow pass above a small brook called the Subach, making of with the then unheard-of sum of more than 10,000 Gulden
Gulden
Gulden is the historical German term for gold coin Gulden is the historical German term for gold coin Gulden is the historical German term for gold coin (from Middle High German guldin [pfenni(n)c] "golden penny", equivalent to the Dutch term guilder...
. These details and others come from a contemporary police report, which also laid the groundwork for the German made-for-TV film Der plötzliche Reichtum der armen Leute von Kombach ("The sudden wealth of the poor people from Kombach") by Volker Schlöndorff
Volker Schlöndorff
Volker Schlöndorff is a Berlin-based German filmmaker who has worked in Germany, France and the United States...
.
Town council
As of municipal elections held on 26 March 2006, town council seats are apportioned thus:| CDU Christian 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... |
19 seats |
| SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
13 seats |
| FW (citizens' coalition) | 2 seats |
| APPD Anarchist Pogo Party of Germany The Anarchistic Pogo Party of Germany is the self-declared party of the Pöbel and "social parasites". It was created in 1981 by two punks in Hannover and took part in the 1998 election to the Bundestag with the promise to pay the voters with free beer... |
2 seats |
Coat of arms
The town's coat of 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: Party per fess, above in azure the Hessian lion rampant striped in argent and gules armed Or crowned Or langued gules, below in vert a saltire Or.
The lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
is an emblem of the town's early affiliation with Hesse, and the saltire
Saltire
A saltire, or Saint Andrew's Cross, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross or letter ex . Saint Andrew is said to have been martyred on such a cross....
(X-shaped cross) stands for the influence wielded before this time by the Lords of Merenberg.
Town partnerships
MonteuxMonteux
Monteux is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-Geography:Monteux is near Carpentras, in middle of Comtat Venaissin, and around 20 km from Avignon, in the countryside between Mont Ventoux, the Rhône and the Durance.Its...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(1987) Tabarz
Tabarz
Tabarz is a municipality in the district of Gotha, in Thuringia, Germany. It is a winter sports resort and the terminus of the Thüringerwaldbahn rural tramway....
, 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....
(1991) Niemcza
Niemcza
Niemcza is a town in Dzierżoniów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district called Gmina Niemcza....
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
(1998) Londerzeel
Londerzeel
Londerzeel is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Londerzeel proper, Malderen , Steenhuffel and Sint-Jozef. On 1 January 2006, Londerzeel had a total population of 17,435. The total area is 36.29 km² which gives a population...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
(2010)
Demonstrations
In 2004, there were four marches, declared legal but guarded by great police presence, by neo-Nazis from outside the town, which set of even bigger counterdemonstrations. In the end, the citizens' league, a group created at the instigation of headmaster Siegfried Seyler uniting churches, JusosYoung Socialists in the SPD
Young Socialists in the SPD is the youth organization of the Social Democratic Party of Germany .The Jusos see themselves as a socialist and feminist association within the SPD. Generally more left-wing in their approach to current events than their mother party, Jusos tend to criticize leading...
, DGB
German Confederation of Trade Unions
The Confederation of German Trade Unions is an umbrella organisation for eight German trade unions, in total representing more than 7 million people . It was founded in Munich, 12 October 1949.The DGB coordinates joint demands and activities within the German trade union movement...
ers and ordinary citizens, made an appeal. The centres for this rightwing extremism were Gladenbach, Kirtorf (Vogelsberg) and 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 :...
. The biggest rightwing extremist group with about 30 rightwing extremists and a large body of sympathizers was the Aktionsbündnis Mittelhessen (Middle Hesse Action League; ABM), a fusion of regional "free comradeships". Late in 2004, the ABM dissolved itself unilaterally to get around a ban imposed by the Hessian Interior Ministry. The activists resumed their activities in other neo-Nazi groups. The ABM was the most active and biggest neo-Nazi group in Hesse.
Regular events
- Gladenbacher Kirschenmarkt (Cherry Market) (first weekend in July)
- Gladenbacher Brunnenmarkt (Wellmarket) (third Sunday in October)
Sons and daughters of the town
- Georg Ludwig HartigGeorg Ludwig HartigGeorg Ludwig Hartig , German agriculturist and writer on forestry, was born at Gladenbach, in Hesse.- Life :...
(1764–1837), forestryForestryForestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
scientist - D.Ludwig Hüffell (1784–1856), Prelate of the Baden State Church
Other people connected with the town
- Volker SchlöndorffVolker SchlöndorffVolker Schlöndorff is a Berlin-based German filmmaker who has worked in Germany, France and the United States...
, see History - Mortal Illusion, an amateur Prog-Power Metal Band, see Crap