Höchst im Odenwald
Encyclopedia
Höchst im Odenwald is a community in the Odenwaldkreis
(district) in Hesse
, Germany
.
Höchst lies 25 km east of Darmstadt
, in the northern Odenwald
at elevations between 175 and 400 m.
(Darmstadt-Dieburg
) and the town of Breuberg
, in the east on the community of Lützelbach
, in the south on the town of Bad König
, in the southwest on the community of Brensbach
and in the west on the community of Otzberg
(Darmstadt-Dieburg).
The Höchster Becken (“Höchst Basin”), was permanently settled, as were other favourable locations, no later than the New Stone Age. Many Stone Age
remnants as well as finds from Celtic and Roman
times bear witness to this. In the outlying centre of Hummetroth, a Roman villa rustica
from the 2nd century was unearthed and may be visited as an open-air museum. It is known as the Römische Villa Haselburg.
Höchst had its first documentary mention in 1156. Its overlords in the Middle Ages
were, among others, the Lords of Breuberg, the Counts of Wertheim, the Lords of Eppstein and the Counts of Erbach. By the time that the Thirty Years' War
was over, the community had nearly died out, recovering only very slowly.
Through municipal restructuring in Hesse, the community of Annelsbach, which up to this time had been self-governing, was amalgamated in 1969. Following in 1971 were Forstel, Hummetroth, Pfirschbach, Hassenroth, Mümling-Grumbach, Hetschbach and Dusenbach. Since 1857, the valley of the Obrunnbach has been known as the Obrunnschlucht (“Obrunn Gorge”) and has undergone changes due to tourism.
Early Modern France Montmélian
, Savoie
, France
since 1966
Czech Republic Bělotín
, Olomouc Region
, Czech Republic
Höchst, like Hetschbach and Mümling-Grumbach, is connected by the Odenwaldbahn (railway; RMV Line 65) towards the north with Hanau
and, through a change of trains, to Frankfurt am Main, towards the northwest directly with Darmstadt
and towards the south with Erbach and Eberbach
in the Neckar
valley.
Owing to the rising traffic volume on Bundesstraße
45, which runs north-south through the middle of Höchst, a bypass has been built to the west of the community to reduce through traffic on the roadway through downtown, which along some stretches is rather narrow. The first spadeful of earth was turned on 27 July 2005. The 2.8 km-long bypass has finally released in December 2009. The building cost has been assessed at €22,800,000.
with a Gymnasium
upper level.
Odenwaldkreis
The Odenwaldkreis is a Kreis in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Darmstadt-Dieburg, Miltenberg,Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis and Kreis Bergstraße. Odenwaldkreis belongs to the Rhine Neckar Area.-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...
.
Location
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
, in the northern Odenwald
Odenwald
The Odenwald is a low mountain range in Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Location :The Odenwald lies between the Upper Rhine Rift Valley with the Bergstraße and the Hessisches Ried in the west, the Main and the Bauland in the east, the Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin – a subbasin of...
at elevations between 175 and 400 m.
Neighbouring communities
Höchst borders in the north on the town of Groß-UmstadtGroß-Umstadt
Groß-Umstadt is a town in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany. It is near Darmstadt and Frankfurt on the northern border of the Odenwald and is on the edge of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Region. The highest point of the town is the Heidelberg .The population is...
(Darmstadt-Dieburg
Darmstadt-Dieburg
Darmstadt-Dieburg is a Kreis in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Offenbach, Aschaffenburg, Miltenberg, Odenwaldkreis, Bergstraße, Groß-Gerau, and the district-free city of Darmstadt, which it surrounds.-History:...
) and the town of Breuberg
Breuberg
Breuberg is a town in the Odenwaldkreis in Hesse, Germany, 28 km east of Darmstadt, and 20 km southwest of Aschaffenburg.- Neighbouring communities :...
, in the east on the community of Lützelbach
Lützelbach
-Location:The community lies in the northern Odenwald on the Hesse-Bavaria boundary in a richly wooded setting.-Neighbouring communities:Lützelbach borders in the north on the town of Breuberg and the town of Obernburg, in the east on the towns of Wörth am Main and Klingenberg , in the south on the...
, in the south on the town of Bad König
Bad König
Bad König is a town and resort in the central Odenwald in the Odenwaldkreis in Hesse, Germany, 29 km southeast of Darmstadt.- Neighbouring communities :...
, in the southwest on the community of Brensbach
Brensbach
-Neighbouring communities:Brensbach borders in the north on the towns of Groß-Bieberau and Reinheim and the community of Otzberg , in the east on the community of Höchst and the town of Bad König, in the south on the communities of Brombachtal and Reichelsheim and in the west on the communities of...
and in the west on the community of Otzberg
Otzberg
Otzberg is a municipality in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg, located in the Odenwald. It was founded in 1972 by the merger of six former independent municipalities....
(Darmstadt-Dieburg).
Constituent communities
Höchst’s Ortsteile, besides the main centre, also called Höchst, are Annelsbach, Dusenbach, Forstel, Hassenroth i.Odw., Hetschbach, Hummetroth, Mümling-Grumbach and Pfirschbach.History
Stone Age
The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...
remnants as well as finds from Celtic and Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
times bear witness to this. In the outlying centre of Hummetroth, a Roman villa rustica
Villa rustica
Villa rustica was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a villa set in the open countryside, often as the hub of a large agricultural estate . The adjective rusticum was used to distinguish it from an urban or resort villa...
from the 2nd century was unearthed and may be visited as an open-air museum. It is known as the Römische Villa Haselburg.
Höchst had its first documentary mention in 1156. Its overlords in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
were, among others, the Lords of Breuberg, the Counts of Wertheim, the Lords of Eppstein and the Counts of Erbach. By the time that the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
was over, the community had nearly died out, recovering only very slowly.
Through municipal restructuring in Hesse, the community of Annelsbach, which up to this time had been self-governing, was amalgamated in 1969. Following in 1971 were Forstel, Hummetroth, Pfirschbach, Hassenroth, Mümling-Grumbach, Hetschbach and Dusenbach. Since 1857, the valley of the Obrunnbach has been known as the Obrunnschlucht (“Obrunn Gorge”) and has undergone changes due to tourism.
Politics
The municipal election held on 27 March 2011 yielded the following results:| Parties and voter communities | % 2011 |
Seats 2011 |
% 2006 |
Seats 2006 |
% 2001 |
Seats 2001 |
|
| CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany | 20.5 | 6 | 22.6 | 7 | 20.6 | 6 |
| SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
30.9 | 10 | 32.1 | 10 | 31.7 | 10 |
| GREENS | Bündnis 90/Die Grünen | 12.5 | 4 | 4.3 | 1 | 5.8 | 2 |
| KAH | Kommunalpolitischer Arbeitskreis Höchst i. Odw. | 28.9 | 9 | 35.1 | 11 | 41.9 | 13 |
| WfH | Wende für Höchst | 7.1 | 2 | 6.0 | 2 | – | – |
| Total | 100.0 | 31 | 100.0 | 31 | 100.0 | 31 | |
| Voter turnout in % | 48.5 | 51.1 | 59.4 | ||||
Mayor
At the mayoral election on 5 February 2006, Reiner Guth (KAH) was elected mayor with 64.3% of the vote. His opponent Jürgen Hild (SPD) got 35.7%.Town partnerships
The community of Höchst im Odenwald maintains partnership arrangements with the following places: Early Modern France MontmélianMontmélian
Montmélian is a commune in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.-Population :-External links:*...
, Savoie
Savoie
Savoie is a French department located in the Rhône-Alpes region in the French Alps.Together with the Haute-Savoie, Savoie is one of the two departments of the historic region of Savoy that was annexed by France on June 14, 1860, following the signature of the Treaty of Turin on March 24, 1860...
, 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...
since 1966
Czech Republic BělotínBelotín
Bělotín is a village and municipality in Přerov District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 1,693 ....
, Olomouc Region
Olomouc Region
Olomouc Region is an administrative unit of the Czech Republic, located in the north-western and central part of its historical region of Moravia and in a small part of the historical region of Silesia . It is named for its capital Olomouc.-External links:* *...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
Transport
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 :...
and, through a change of trains, to Frankfurt am Main, towards the northwest directly with Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
and towards the south with Erbach and Eberbach
Eberbach (Baden)
Eberbach is a town in Germany, in northern Baden-Württemberg, located 33 km east of Heidelberg. It belongs to the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis. Its sister city is Ephrata, United States.- Location :...
in the Neckar
Neckar
The Neckar is a long river, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, but also a short section through Hesse, in Germany. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the River Rhine...
valley.
Owing to the rising traffic volume on Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
45, which runs north-south through the middle of Höchst, a bypass has been built to the west of the community to reduce through traffic on the roadway through downtown, which along some stretches is rather narrow. The first spadeful of earth was turned on 27 July 2005. The 2.8 km-long bypass has finally released in December 2009. The building cost has been assessed at €22,800,000.
Education
Since 1964, Höchst has been home to the Ernst-Göbel-Schule, a coöperative comprehensive schoolComprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
with a 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...
upper level.
Regular events
- Each year in May, the four-day Apple Blossom Festival (Apfelblütenfest) takes place. On this occasion, an “Apple Blossom Queen” (Apfelblütenkönigin) is chosen. In 2007, the festival was held for the 56th time.
- Also full of tradition is the Odenwälder Kartoffelmarkt (potato market).
- Yearly, in November, the theatrical group TEGS stages a première of a play at the community centre.