Großseifen
Encyclopedia
Großseifen is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde
– in the Westerwaldkreis
in Rhineland-Palatinate
, Germany
.
between Limburg
and Siegen
. The river Nister, which is in the Sieg
drainage basin
, flows east to west through the community. Großseifen belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Bad Marienberg
, a kind of collective municipality. Its seat is in the like-named town
.
and convent
of the Marienstatt Cistercian Monastery
the existing revenue in Velde (=Fehl/Fehl-Ritzhausen
) and Graynsiven. The community of Großseifen celebrated 700 years of existence on 19 and 20 August 2006. The community’s name has undergone many changes over the centuries, at various times being written Gransifen, Grassyffen, Grassifen, Graensüffen, Graseiffen and then eventually Großseifen, as the community is now known.
The name’s ending of –siven, –sifen or –seifen describes a kind of wetland found in the area. The first syllable Grayn– or Gran– might perhaps mean Krähn (“crows”). Etymologically
, the many spellings cannot be explained. Even misspellings and mishearings over time are suspected.
in a municipal election on 7 June 2009.
Verbandsgemeinde
A Verbandsgemeinde is an administrative unit in the German Bundesländer of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt.-Rhineland-Palatinate:...
– in the Westerwaldkreis
Westerwaldkreis
The Westerwaldkreis is a district in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
, 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...
.
Location
The community lies in 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...
between Limburg
Limburg an der Lahn
Limburg an der Lahn is the district seat of Limburg-Weilburg in Hesse, Germany.-Location:Limburg lies in western Hesse between the Taunus and the Westerwald on the river Lahn....
and 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...
. The river Nister, which is in the Sieg
Sieg
The Sieg is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany named after the Sigambrer. It is a right tributary of the Rhine and 153 kilometres in length....
drainage basin
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
, flows east to west through the community. Großseifen belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Bad Marienberg
Bad Marienberg (Verbandsgemeinde)
Bad Marienberg is a Verbandsgemeinde in the district Westerwaldkreis, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The seat of the Verbandsgemeinde is in Bad Marienberg....
, a kind of collective municipality. Its seat is in the like-named town
Bad Marienberg
Bad Marienberg is a town in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, and also the seat of the like-named Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality.- Geography :...
.
History
This community near Bad Marienberg had its first documentary mention on 6 January 1307 when Count Heinrich of Nassau with his wife Adelheid confirmed to the abbotAbbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
and convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
of the Marienstatt Cistercian Monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
the existing revenue in Velde (=Fehl/Fehl-Ritzhausen
Fehl-Ritzhausen
Fehl-Ritzhausen is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-Location:...
) and Graynsiven. The community of Großseifen celebrated 700 years of existence on 19 and 20 August 2006. The community’s name has undergone many changes over the centuries, at various times being written Gransifen, Grassyffen, Grassifen, Graensüffen, Graseiffen and then eventually Großseifen, as the community is now known.
The name’s ending of –siven, –sifen or –seifen describes a kind of wetland found in the area. The first syllable Grayn– or Gran– might perhaps mean Krähn (“crows”). Etymologically
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
, the many spellings cannot be explained. Even misspellings and mishearings over time are suspected.
Community council
The council is made up of 12 council members who were elected in a majority votePlurality voting system
The plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
in a municipal election on 7 June 2009.
Mayors
The following persons have held the office of Ortsbürgermeister of Großseifen since 1946:- 1946–1954: Wilhelm Hoffmann
- 1954–1969: Walter Utsch
- 1969–1979: Hermann Wollenweber
- 1979–1992: Jürgen Steup
- 1992–1994: Günter Thiede
- 1994–1996: Günther Uhr
- 1996–1999: Günter Thiede
- since 1999: Thomas Stalp