Haiger
Encyclopedia
Haiger is a country town in the 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:...

 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 nearest city is 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...

, about 25 km north of Haiger.

Location

Haiger lies about 5 km west 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 20 km southeast 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...

 on the eastern edge of the Westerwald
Westerwald
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...

 range, near where the three states of Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...

 and 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 ....

 all share a common point. It is the district's northernmost town. The river Dill
Dill (river)
The Dill is a long river, flowing through central Hesse in Germany. It is a tributary to the Lahn, joining it on the right bank at the town of Wetzlar.-Course:The Dill flows exclusively through the Lahn-Dill-Kreis district in Hesse...

 rises north of the constituent community of Offdilln.

Neighbouring communities

To the North Haiger borders with the town of Netphen
Netphen
Netphen is a town in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It lies on the river Sieg, roughly 7 km northeast of Siegen.-Location:...

 (Siegen-Wittgenstein
Siegen-Wittgenstein
Siegen-Wittgenstein is a Kreis in the southeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Olpe, Hochsauerlandkreis, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Lahn-Dill, Westerwaldkreis, Altenkirchen.-History:...

 in North Rhine-Westphalia) and the community of 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....

, to the east with the community of Eschenburg
Eschenburg
Eschenburg is a community in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. The community inherited its name from nearby Eschenburg mountain.-Geography:...

 and 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....

, to the south with the community of Breitscheid
Breitscheid (Hesse)
-Location:Breitscheid lies from 266 to 600 m above sea level on the eastern slope of the Westerwald range at the point shared by three German states: Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia....

 (all in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis), and to the west with the communities of Burbach and Wilnsdorf
Wilnsdorf
Wilnsdorf is a municipality in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:The southern municipal limits, with the Kalteiche peak, part of the Rothaargebirge, form not only the community's highest point, at 579 m above sea level, but also the boundary...

 (both in the Siegen-Wittgenstein
Siegen-Wittgenstein
Siegen-Wittgenstein is a Kreis in the southeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Olpe, Hochsauerlandkreis, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Lahn-Dill, Westerwaldkreis, Altenkirchen.-History:...

 district of North Rhine-Westphalia).

Constituent communities

Following a local government reform in the 1970s the rural villages of Sechshelden, Langenaubach
Langenaubach
Langenaubach is a is a village and a municipal district of Haiger in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis district in Hesse in Germany.There are 1807 inhabitants, of which 73.3% are Protestant and 10.8% are Catholic. There was a mine called "Constanze" in Langenaubach...

, Flammersbach, Allendorf, Kalteiche, Haigerseelbach, Steinbach, Rodenbach, Fellerdilln, Dillbrecht, Offdilln, Weidelbach, Oberroßbach and Niederroßbach became part of the district of Haiger. These are culturally diverse and speak different versions of the local dialect.

Population

(in each case on 31 December)
  • 1998 - 20,298
  • 1999 - 20,212
  • 2000 - 20,222
  • 2001 - 20,201
  • 2002 - 20,169
  • 2003 - 20,191
  • 2004 - 19,959
  • 2005 - 19,942

History

Haiger is the oldest of three towns on the river Dill. It was first mentioned in 778 in a gift deed of Lorsch monastery. The town is located at the meeting of three small valleys formed by the Haigerbach, Aubach and Dill, which in medieval times placed the town along important communication routes, but later more on the periphery. The town's most famous son was Johann Textor who was born here in 1582. Between 1608 and 1619 he was town clerk in Haiger and subsequently wrote the Nassauische Chronik, a comprehensive description of the area. One of the most famous historic depictions of the town is an engraving by Matthäus Merian
Matthäus Merian
Matthäus Merian der Ältere was a Swiss-born engraver who worked in Frankfurt for most of his career, where he also ran a publishing house.-Early life and marriage:...

. On 8 May 1729, the still fully walled town perished in a great fire that destroyed all buildings within a few hours. Even the town's church, built on an outcrop rising within the centre of town, was left in ruins. Quick financial help from surrounding principalities, towns and provinces, as well as a generous donation of 400 florins by Princess Isabella of Nassau-Dillenburg, helped relieve some of the worst deprivation.

Knights of Haiger

The nobles of Haiger were influential in the Haigermark. The Haigermark was also known as the Land of the Free Men (predium liberorum virorum), likely owing to the Knights' free rule (without intervening overlords between the family and the emperor). The family's influence gradually waned with the rise of the house of Nassau-Dillenburg.

Name

The town's name, Haiger, is possibly derived from old middle German. The great number of heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....

s on the Haigerbach, Aubach and Dill may have helped to give the town the name Reiherbach, or in old middle German Heigerahe. This name came from the words Heiger ( = Reiher) and Ahe ( = Bach; brook or waterway). Over the centuries, the spelling changed many times: → "Heigrahe" → "Heigera" → "Heigere" → "Heigerin" → "Heigre" → "Heigeren" → "Hegere" → "Hegera" → "Heygere" → "Heyger" → "Heiger" → "Häger" → "Häyer". Eventually, this became Haiger. The bird in the coat of arms may likewise be a reference to the herons, although it might also be a corruption of what was once the Lion of Nassau (see Coat of arms below).

Coat of arms

Haiger's civic coat of arms
Coat 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...

 was granted in 1908 and confirmed in 1934. The design goes back to a town seal used in the 15th century, although originally the town seal showed the Lion of Nassau (a golden lion) rising from a tower. The lion somehow changed into a jay
Jay
The jays are several species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the crow family Corvidae. The names jay and magpie are somewhat interchangeable, and the evolutionary relationships are rather complex...

, possibly as a misinterpretation. The jay nonetheless serves as a canting symbol (Häher is German for jay, and this resembles some older forms of the town's name). A structure has also grown up around the jay replete with spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....

s, crosses, and apparently flying buttress
Flying buttress
A flying buttress is a specific form of buttressing most strongly associated with Gothic church architecture. The purpose of any buttress is to resist the lateral forces pushing a wall outwards by redirecting them to the ground...

es, too.http://www.ngw.nl/int/dld/h/haiger.htm

Town partnerships

Montville
Montville
Montville may refer to:*Montville, Queensland, Australia*Montville, Seine-Maritime, France*Montville, Connecticut, United States*Montville, Maine, United States*Montville, New Jersey, United States*Montville Township, Geauga County, Ohio, United States...

, France
This partnership came into being through an initiative by the Johann-Textor-Schule in Haiger which has been conducting school exchanges with the Collège Eugène Noël in Montville for about 20 years. This friendship became official in Montville in 1991 and in Haiger in 1992 with the sealing of a document to this effect, signed by both towns' mayors. Citizens, clubs and groups maintain lively contacts.
Plombières-lès-Dijon
Plombières-lès-Dijon
Plombières-lès-Dijon is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.-Population:-Personalities:*Chantal Sébire, teacher* Paillet, Julien , 1771-?...

 (with Sechshelden)
In 1964, the villages of Plombières-lès-Dijon and Sechshelden – which was then an independent municipality – sealed this partnership whose origins are traceable to the thoughtfulness shown a former French prisoner 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...

 taken in by some families in Sechshelden.
Wolfsberg, 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....


Museums

  • Heimatmuseum Haiger (local history)

As part of Haiger's 1200th anniversary celebrations of first documentary mention, this museum was established in 1978 in one of the loveliest half-timbered
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...

 houses, built in 1724-1725, on the marketplace.
  • Leinenmuseum Haigerseelbach (linen museum)
  • Heimatstube Sechshelden

Buildings

  • Stadtkirche Haiger: After the Kirchberg (Church Hill) in Haiger had been used, as must be assumed, for pagan
    Paganism
    Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....

     purposes in pre-Christian times, a baptistery
    Baptistery
    In Christian architecture the baptistry or baptistery is the separate centrally-planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistry may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral and be provided with an altar as a chapel...

     was built on the site once Christianity
    Christianity
    Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

     had arrived. In uncertain times the church's mighty tower served as defence and refuge. The church was gifted by King Konrad I on 14 April 914 together with the king's court - Meierhof
    Meierhof
    A Meierhof or Meyerhof was a farm or building which was occupied or had been occupied by the administrator of a noble or spiritual estate....

     - Heigera and the market rights, given to the Walpurgis Monastery.


In 1048, the new church building in the Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...

 style was consecrated by Archbishop Eberhard of Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....

. More than 400 years later came further remodelling in the Late Gothic style
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

: the flat wooden ceiling was replaced with a stone vault, and side naves and the choir were added.

Between 1485 and 1490 the choir was decorated by Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

 painters with three fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...

 bands. In the lower band they depict the story of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

's suffering from His entry into Jerusalem to His Ascension, in the middle band the Twelve Apostles, and in the upper band, under the vault, Jesus as the Judge of the Worlds, the Four Evangelists
Four Evangelists
In Christian tradition the Four Evangelists are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the authors attributed with the creation of the four Gospel accounts in the New Testament that bear the following titles:*Gospel according to Matthew*Gospel according to Mark...

, the Veil of Veronica
Veil of Veronica
The Veil of Veronica, or Sudarium , often called simply "The Veronica" and known in Italian as the Volto Santo or Holy Face is a Catholic relic, which, according to legend, bears the likeness of the Face of Jesus not made by human hand The Veil of Veronica, or Sudarium (Latin for sweat-cloth),...

, and more.

The fresco paintings had been financed by the last two Knights of Haiger, Hermann and his son Jost.

After the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

 was introduced in Nassau-Dillenburg in 1578, the frescoes were covered with whitewash
Whitewash
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a very low-cost type of paint made from slaked lime and chalk . Various other additives are also used...

 probably around 1588. This proved to be a blessing since increasing layers of whitewash helped to preserve the fresco paintings well until their re-discovery. It is almost certain that the fire of 1729 would otherwise have destroyed the frescoes.

In about 1900, when the organ was resited to the centre gallery, it was noted that the whitewash had begun to flake off in various places. In 1902 parts of pictures came to light next to the vestry entrance, and in 1905 the paintings were fully uncovered once again.

World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 hit Haiger hard and bombings caused immense destruction. One bomb fell beside the church, but luckily did not go off, leaving the frescoes undamaged.

Regular events

  • Altstadtfest (Old Town Festival)
  • Lukasmarkt (market; October)
  • Pfingstmarkt (Whitsun
    Whitsun
    Whitsun is the name used in the UK for the Christian festival of Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples...

     Market)
  • Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas
    Christmas
    Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

     Market; December)

Culinary specialities

Worthy to mention are the Neujahrsscheiben ("New Year's Slices"), or Naujohrn in the local dialect, baked traditionally in the constituent communities of Allendorf and Haigerseelbach between Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 and New Year's. As a rule, these are round and made of rye
Rye
Rye is a grass grown extensively as a grain and as a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe and is closely related to barley and wheat. Rye grain is used for flour, rye bread, rye beer, some whiskeys, some vodkas, and animal fodder...

 meal, salt
Edible salt
Salt, also known as table salt, or rock salt, is a mineral that is composed primarily of sodium chloride , a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of ionic salts. It is essential for animal life in small quantities, but is harmful to animals and plants in excess...

, pepper
Black pepper
Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...

 and water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

, thus being similar to Matzah, although other kinds of dough
Dough
Dough is a paste made out of any cereals or leguminous crops by mixing flour with a small amount of water and/or other liquid. This process is a precursor to making a wide variety of foodstuffs, particularly breads and bread-based items , flatbreads, noodles, pastry, and similar items)...

 may be used. They are baked in a special iron over an open fire. There are also the Fispeln, which unlike the usual Naujohrn are filled with pickled meat. The Fispeln are baked in Steinbach.

Established businesses

  • Carl Cloos Schweisstechnik GmbH
  • Hailo – manufacturing ladders, steam ironing systems, etc.
  • Klingspor Schleifsysteme GmbH & Co. KG
  • Pracht Spedition und Logistik GmbH
  • Rittal GmbH & Co. KG, NL Haiger
  • Loh Services GmbH & Co. KG (service and management company of Friedhelm-Loh-Group => Rittal)
  • Schenker Deutschland AG, NL Haiger
  • Weiss Chemie + Technik GmbH & Co.KG

Public institutions

  • fire brigade
  • German Red Cross
    German Red Cross
    The German Red Cross , or the DRK, is the national Red Cross Society in Germany.With over 4.5 million members, it is the third largest Red Cross society in the world. The German Red Cross offers a wide range of services within and outside Germany...

     rescue station
  • town library
    Library
    In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...


Education

  • Budenbergschule (specialised education school)
  • Primary schools (Haiger, Sechshelden, Langenaubach, Allendorf, Dillbrecht, Roßbachtal)
  • Kindergarten
    Kindergarten
    A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

    , 3 in Haiger and 12 more in outlying communities.
  • Johann-Textor-Schule, comprehensive school with (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 Gymnasium
    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...

    divisions up to level X, i.e. leading up to approximately the age of 16)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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