Lohra
Encyclopedia
Lohra is a community in Marburg-Biedenkopf district in the administrative region of Gießen in Hesse, Germany
.
in the northeast, Fronhausen
in the southeast and in the northwest Gladenbach
, all in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district, as well as the town of Lollar
, Wettenberg
and Biebertal
in Gießen district
, and Bischoffen
in Lahn-Dill
district.
The community of Lohra is found in the so-called Marburger Land. Together with the communities of Fronhausen, Weimar and Ebsdorfergrund
, Lohra forms the southern part of Marburg-Biedenkopf. The community of Lohra is sometimes wrongly said to be part of the Hessisches Hinterland, but not even any of the old villages now belonging to Lohra were part of the old Biedenkopf district, and therefore they were not part of the Hinterland; they had been part of the old Marburg district since days of yore.
Lohra has a population of 6,800, 2,554 of those in the namesake constituent community (as of late 2005).
found at the Gernstein in 1931, which puts the earliest habitation no later than the dying days of the New Stone Age.
The men, women and children buried here, whose number must have been about 20, had been burnt in a surprising way. Furthermore, unlike what has been found at other gallery graves in North Hesse, the dead were richly furnished with ceramics
and other everyday objects for their trip to the hereafter. Handled beakers (which owing to their unique style have also come to be called Lohra beakers in archaeological
jargon), cups, bowls, a serpentine axe
, a small stone hatchet
, a retouched radiolarite
blade and pieces of bronze
plate are all things that have been found at the site. Some of the finds have been kept at the Hesse State Museum since 1931.
At Altenvers, a Germanic
settlement dating from Roman times was found in which it is highly likely that metal was processed.
Lohra was first mentioned in an entry in the goods directory of the Benedictine
Monastery
of Fulda
in the mid 8th century, and shortly thereafter in the donation book of the Monastery of Lorsch
, as "loco lare":
Gerbrechti in Larere. Regnante itaque Karolo piissimo rege, presidentque huic loco Gundelando, primo abbate tradiderunt ad Lauresham St. Nazario, Castwich et Gerbrecht, filius eius res suas in pago Logenehe in villis Larere marca (et in Duda marca) scilicet Campos, Prata, aquas aquarumque decursus.
769, Dec. 1.Karlus, Rex
Gundelando, abbas.
Translation:
Gerbrecht's (property) in Lohra.
Under most pious King Charles, and under the leadership of the first abbot of this place, Gundeland, Castwich and his son Gerbrecht have at Lorsch donated to the holy Nazarius their property in the Lahn area, in the places Lohra (and in the Duda marches), namely fields, meadows, waters and waterways.
769 December 1 Charles
, the King.
Gundeland, the Abbot.
The name "Lare" can be traced to an Old Germanic
form of speech from before Frankish
, and likely means "place by the water". Who settled in Lohra before the Franks has not been settled once and for all. They were probably Celts (until about 50 BC) and after that the Germanic Chatti
, later known as Hessen, who possibly raised Lohra's standing in the land.
In the 8th and 9th centuries, Lohra seems to have been home to a court
of law of the Frankish region-county, known as pagus lare (Lohra region), which corresponded to the later bequest of the county of Ruchesloh.
The religious centre of this region-county seems to have been a plot of land called Retschloh (that is, Ruchesloh) near Oberweimar
as well as near the Martinskirche (church) there. Also there, justice was administered. The region-county's territory reached as far as the Amöneburg Basin and the Vogelsberg Mountains
, and seems to have taken in much of the later Lahn-Ohm county's lands as well.
Around 1238, the Late Romanesque
church, still standing today, was built.
In Ruchesloh county, which had passed to the estate of the Archbishop of Mainz in 1237, Lohra was the hub of Gerichte Lohr, a court district (≈soke
), which included roughly the Verser Grund as well as parts of today's community of Fronhausen. According to all useful contemporary documents, Ruchesloh county put itself together from the Zentgerichte (local courts with jurisdiction over a hundred
) in the areas around Amöneburg, Buseck, Ebsdorf, Gladenbach, Homberg, Kirchberg, Kirtorf, Lohra, Londorf, Merlau and Reizberg.
In 1366, the Count of Nassau burnt Lohra down in a revenge campaign against the Hessian Landgrave
s. The villagers fled into the woods, while the wealthiest and most distinguished figures in the village were taken away by the Nassauers along with all the cattle
to be ransom
ed for a great price.
After the partition of the county by Philip the Magnanimous
in 1567, Lohra passed to Hesse-Marburg
.
When the Swedes
overran Hesse in the Thirty Years' War
, it marked the onset of hard times for the villages that now make up the community. Many local people fled to Marburg, finding refuge in the Landgraves' castle
there while their villages were sacked by marauding Landsknecht
e (mercenary
troops). In 1648, once the Peace of Westphalia
had brought the war to an end, and the so-called Hesse War had ended, the northern part of Hesse-Marburg, and therefore Lohra, passed to Hesse-Kassel
(or Hesse-Cassel). At the time of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss in 1803 and the Napoleonic Era
, the community of Lohra was annexed by the Kingdom of Westphalia
, whose capital was Kassel
, and whose ruler was Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte
. After Napoleon's downfall, Landgrave Wilhelm
took over the leadership of Hesse-Kassel as Elector
.
In 1866, Kurhessen, as Hesse-Kassel was known under the Elector ("Kurfürst"), and thereby also the villages now in Lohra, were annexed by Prussia
, and along with the likewise absorbed Nassau were made into the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau.
Even before the First World War, the way was being paved that would see Lohra turn from a mostly farming community to a worker community, a process that continued in the years between the wars.
In 1946, owing to the great number of Germans driven out of the lost territories east of the Oder
and Neiße
, the number of inhabitants rose by a healthy proportion given the available room for settling.
In 1952, the local anthem Lohra über'm Wiesengrund was composed by Dr. Reinnhard Ide for the 1,200th anniversary celebration of the village's first documentary mention in 752. The lyrics come from Wilhelm Ide.
Since 1972 and 1974, the formerly independent communities of Lohra, Damm, Nanz-/Willershausen, Rodenhausen, Reimershausen, Kirchvers, Altenvers, Weipoltshausen, Rollshausen and Seelbach have formed today's greater community of Lohra.
In 2002, Lohra observed the 1,250th anniversary of its first documentary mention with a festival week.
, which was bestowed on the community on the occasion of its 1,200th anniversary, might be described thus: Party per fess, above, in Or spangled with shingles azure a lion rampant azure armed and langued gules; below, in azure a saltire Or interspersed with twelve little crosses.
The lion
stands for the Counts of Solms, and the saltire
(X-shaped cross), with an altered colour scheme, for the Lords of Merenberg.
and Herborn has been abandoned.
The rails from the disused railway were torn up early in 2006 under mysterious circumstances and some were carted off. The Lithuania
n man to whom the illegal job had been entrusted was meanwhile seized, whereas no trace of his "wirepullers" has yet been found.
Since 10 August 2005 there has been in Lohra a Funk-W-DSL
service that is unique in the country, and through which outlying communities are also served.
. The ones in Lohra and Kirchvers are run by the Evangelical Church of Kurhessen-Waldeck, whereas the one in Altenvers is under municipal management.
The community moreover has a primary school at its disposal. Higher schools such as Gymnasien
, Realschule
n and Hauptschule
n are to be found in Marburg
, Niederwalgern
, Gladenbach
, Biebertal
and Gießen
.
Higher learning opportunities are to be had in the surrounding district at universities
and Fachhochschule
n in Marburg
, Gießen
and Kassel
.
Herges–Hallenberg
, Thuringia
Vivonne
near Poitiers
, France
Dziemany, Poland
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...
.
Geography
Lohra's municipal area, measuring 49 km², stretches across the middle Salzböde valley and the Versgrund. Among its neighbouring communities are Weimar an der LahnWeimar (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 northeast, 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...
in the southeast and in the northwest Gladenbach
Gladenbach
-Location:The town of Gladenbach lies on the eastern edge of the Westerwald in the Hessian Highland . This part of the Lahn-Dill Highland is often also called the Gladenbach Uplands...
, all in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district, as well as the town of 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....
, Wettenberg
Wettenberg
Wettenberg is a municipality in the district of Gießen, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 5 km northwest of Gießen....
and Biebertal
Biebertal
Biebertal is a municipality in the district of Gießen, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 7 km northwest of Gießen.It is Denbigh's twin town...
in Gießen district
Gießen (district)
Gießen is a Kreis in the middle of Hessen, Germany. Neighboring districts are Marburg-Biedenkopf, Vogelsbergkreis, Wetteraukreis, Lahn-Dill.-History:...
, and 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 community of Lohra is found in the so-called Marburger Land. Together with the communities of Fronhausen, Weimar and Ebsdorfergrund
Ebsdorfergrund
Ebsdorfergrund is a community consisting of 11 villages in the southeast of Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany.The community's municipal area extends over the Ebsdorfer Grund in the valley of the Zwester Ohm and the areas around its edges, connecting the Amöneburg Basin with the middle...
, Lohra forms the southern part of Marburg-Biedenkopf. The community of Lohra is sometimes wrongly said to be part of the Hessisches Hinterland, but not even any of the old villages now belonging to Lohra were part of the old Biedenkopf district, and therefore they were not part of the Hinterland; they had been part of the old Marburg district since days of yore.
Lohra has a population of 6,800, 2,554 of those in the namesake constituent community (as of late 2005).
Community divisions
The community includes the following constituent communities:- Altenvers (about 602 inhabitants)
- Damm / Etzelmühle (about 269 inhabitants)
- Kirchvers (about 992 inhabitants)
- Lohra (about 2,554 inhabitants)
- Nanz-Willershausen (about 277 inhabitants)
- Reimershausen (about 140 inhabitants)
- Rodenhausen (about 242 inhabitants)
- Rollshausen (about 311 inhabitants)
- Seelbach und (about 78 inhabitants)
- Weipoltshausen (about 615 inhabitants)
History
Witness to Lohra's early occupation is the gallery graveLohra (megalithic tomb)
The Lohra tomb was a megalithic monument outside Lohra near Marburg in north central Hesse, Germany. It is one of the lesser known among its type in Central Europe. It dates to the late Neolithic, probably just after 3000 BC...
found at the Gernstein in 1931, which puts the earliest habitation no later than the dying days of the New Stone Age.
The men, women and children buried here, whose number must have been about 20, had been burnt in a surprising way. Furthermore, unlike what has been found at other gallery graves in North Hesse, the dead were richly furnished with ceramics
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
and other everyday objects for their trip to the hereafter. Handled beakers (which owing to their unique style have also come to be called Lohra beakers in archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
jargon), cups, bowls, a serpentine axe
Axe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
, a small stone hatchet
Hatchet
A hatchet is a single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade used to cut and split wood...
, a retouched radiolarite
Radiolarite
Radiolarite is a siliceous, comparatively hard, fine-grained, chert-like, and homogeneous sedimentary rock that is composed predominantly of the microscopic remains of radiolarians. This term is also used for indurated radiolarian oozes and sometimes as a synonym of radiolarian earth...
blade and pieces of bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
plate are all things that have been found at the site. Some of the finds have been kept at the Hesse State Museum since 1931.
At Altenvers, a Germanic
Germanic peoples
The Germanic peoples are an Indo-European ethno-linguistic group of Northern European origin, identified by their use of the Indo-European Germanic languages which diversified out of Proto-Germanic during the Pre-Roman Iron Age.Originating about 1800 BCE from the Corded Ware Culture on the North...
settlement dating from Roman times was found in which it is highly likely that metal was processed.
Lohra was first mentioned in an entry in the goods directory of the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
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...
of 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 :...
in the mid 8th century, and shortly thereafter in the donation book of the Monastery of Lorsch
Lorsch
Lorsch is a town in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany, 60 km south of Frankfurt. Lorsch is well known for the Lorsch Abbey, which has been named a World Heritage Site.-Location:...
, as "loco lare":
Gerbrechti in Larere. Regnante itaque Karolo piissimo rege, presidentque huic loco Gundelando, primo abbate tradiderunt ad Lauresham St. Nazario, Castwich et Gerbrecht, filius eius res suas in pago Logenehe in villis Larere marca (et in Duda marca) scilicet Campos, Prata, aquas aquarumque decursus.
769, Dec. 1.Karlus, Rex
Gundelando, abbas.
Translation:
Gerbrecht's (property) in Lohra.
Under most pious King Charles, and under the leadership of the first abbot of this place, Gundeland, Castwich and his son Gerbrecht have at Lorsch donated to the holy Nazarius their property in the Lahn area, in the places Lohra (and in the Duda marches), namely fields, meadows, waters and waterways.
769 December 1 Charles
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
, the King.
Gundeland, the Abbot.
The name "Lare" can be traced to an Old Germanic
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
form of speech from before Frankish
Old Frankish language
Old Frankish is an extinct West Germanic language, once spoken by the Franks. It is the parent language of the Franconian languages, of which Dutch and Afrikaans are the most known descendants...
, and likely means "place by the water". Who settled in Lohra before the Franks has not been settled once and for all. They were probably Celts (until about 50 BC) and after that the Germanic Chatti
Chatti
The Chatti were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser. They settled in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of the Weser River and in the valleys and mountains of the Eder, Fulda and Weser River regions, a district approximately...
, later known as Hessen, who possibly raised Lohra's standing in the land.
In the 8th and 9th centuries, Lohra seems to have been home to a court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
of law of the Frankish region-county, known as pagus lare (Lohra region), which corresponded to the later bequest of the county of Ruchesloh.
The religious centre of this region-county seems to have been a plot of land called Retschloh (that is, Ruchesloh) near Oberweimar
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:...
as well as near the Martinskirche (church) there. Also there, justice was administered. The region-county's territory reached as far as the Amöneburg Basin and the Vogelsberg Mountains
Vogelsberg Mountains
The Vogelsberg Mountains are a group duct of ancient volcanic activity and are separated from the Rhön Mountains by the Fulda River and its valley....
, and seems to have taken in much of the later Lahn-Ohm county's lands as well.
Around 1238, the Late 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,...
church, still standing today, was built.
In Ruchesloh county, which had passed to the estate of the Archbishop of Mainz in 1237, Lohra was the hub of Gerichte Lohr, a court district (≈soke
Soke
The word soke has several meanings:* Soke , an early Western jurisdictional concept.* Soke or eke is a Tongan stick dance, originating from Wallis and Futuna., a Japanese title meaning "head of the family," and is usually used to denote the headmaster of a school of Japanese martial arts.* Soke of...
), which included roughly the Verser Grund as well as parts of today's community of Fronhausen. According to all useful contemporary documents, Ruchesloh county put itself together from the Zentgerichte (local courts with jurisdiction over a hundred
Hundred (division)
A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in England, Wales, Denmark, South Australia, some parts of the United States, Germany , Sweden, Finland and Norway, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions...
) in the areas around Amöneburg, Buseck, Ebsdorf, Gladenbach, Homberg, Kirchberg, Kirtorf, Lohra, Londorf, Merlau and Reizberg.
Landgrave
Landgrave was a title used in the Holy Roman Empire and later on by its former territories. The title refers to a count who had feudal duty directly to the Holy Roman Emperor...
s. The villagers fled into the woods, while the wealthiest and most distinguished figures in the village were taken away by the Nassauers along with all the cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
to be ransom
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
ed for a great price.
After the partition of the county by Philip the Magnanimous
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse
Philip I of Hesse, , nicknamed der Großmütige was a leading champion of the Protestant Reformation and one of the most important of the early Protestant rulers in Germany....
in 1567, Lohra passed to Hesse-Marburg
Hesse-Marburg
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Marburg was a German landgraviate, and independent principality, within the Holy Roman Empire, that existed between 1485 and 1500, and between 1567 and 1604/1650....
.
When the Swedes
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
overran Hesse in 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....
, it marked the onset of hard times for the villages that now make up the community. Many local people fled to Marburg, finding refuge in the Landgraves' castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
there while their villages were sacked by marauding Landsknecht
Landsknecht
Landsknechte were European, predominantly German mercenary pikemen and supporting foot soldiers from the late 15th to the late 16th century, and achieved the reputation for being the universal mercenary of Early modern Europe.-Etymology:The term is from German, Land "land, country" + Knecht...
e (mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
troops). In 1648, once the Peace of Westphalia
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October of 1648 in Osnabrück and Münster. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, with Spain formally recognizing the...
had brought the war to an end, and the so-called Hesse War had ended, the northern part of Hesse-Marburg, and therefore Lohra, passed to Hesse-Kassel
Hesse-Kassel
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel or Hesse-Cassel was a state in the Holy Roman Empire under Imperial immediacy that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1567 upon the death of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. His eldest son William IV inherited the northern half and the...
(or Hesse-Cassel). At the time of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss in 1803 and the Napoleonic Era
Napoleonic Era
The Napoleonic Era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative Assembly, and the third being the Directory...
, the community of Lohra was annexed by the Kingdom of Westphalia
Kingdom of Westphalia
The Kingdom of Westphalia was a new country of 2.6 million Germans that existed from 1807-1813. It included of territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the First French Empire, ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte...
, whose capital was Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
, and whose ruler was Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte
Jérôme Bonaparte
Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte, French Prince, King of Westphalia, 1st Prince of Montfort was the youngest brother of Napoleon, who made him king of Westphalia...
. After Napoleon's downfall, Landgrave Wilhelm
William I, Elector of Hesse
William I, Elector of Hesse was the eldest surviving son of Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Mary of Great Britain, the daughter of George II.-Early life:...
took over the leadership of Hesse-Kassel as Elector
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
.
In 1866, Kurhessen, as Hesse-Kassel was known under the Elector ("Kurfürst"), and thereby also the villages now in Lohra, were annexed by Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, and along with the likewise absorbed Nassau were made into the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau.
Even before the First World War, the way was being paved that would see Lohra turn from a mostly farming community to a worker community, a process that continued in the years between the wars.
In 1946, owing to the great number of Germans driven out of the lost territories east of the Oder
Oder
The Oder is a river in Central Europe. It rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany, part of the Oder-Neisse line...
and Neiße
Lusatian Neisse
The Lusatian Neisse is a long river in Central Europe. The river has its source in the Jizera Mountains near Nová Ves nad Nisou, Czech Republic, reaching the tripoint with Poland and Germany at Zittau after , and later forms the Polish-German border on a length of...
, the number of inhabitants rose by a healthy proportion given the available room for settling.
In 1952, the local anthem Lohra über'm Wiesengrund was composed by Dr. Reinnhard Ide for the 1,200th anniversary celebration of the village's first documentary mention in 752. The lyrics come from Wilhelm Ide.
Since 1972 and 1974, the formerly independent communities of Lohra, Damm, Nanz-/Willershausen, Rodenhausen, Reimershausen, Kirchvers, Altenvers, Weipoltshausen, Rollshausen and Seelbach have formed today's greater community of Lohra.
In 2002, Lohra observed the 1,250th anniversary of its first documentary mention with a festival week.
Coat of arms
The civic 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...
, which was bestowed on the community on the occasion of its 1,200th anniversary, might be described thus: Party per fess, above, in Or spangled with shingles azure a lion rampant azure armed and langued gules; below, in azure a saltire Or interspersed with twelve little crosses.
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...
stands for the Counts of Solms, 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), with an altered colour scheme, for the Lords of Merenberg.
Mayor
Since April 2005 Georg Gaul (independent) has been mayor of Lohra. He succeeded Hermann Brand (SPD), who did not seek a further mandate owing to age.Council
Since the last municipal election on 26 March 2006, the seats in the municipal parliament have been apportioned thus:| Parties and voter communities | Share in % | Seats | |
| SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany | 44.7 | 12 |
| CDU | Christian Democratic Union (Germany) | 31.1 | 9 |
| BfB | Bündnis für Bürgernähe (citizens' coalition) | 18.2 | 8 |
| FWG | Free Voter Community (citizens' coalition) | 6.0 | 2 |
| total | 100 | 31 | |
Economy, infrastructure and transport
Through the northern part of the municipal area runs the Federal Highway (Bundesstraße) 255 between Marburg and Herborn. Meanwhile, the Aar-Salzböde railway leading between NiederwalgernWeimar (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:...
and Herborn has been abandoned.
The rails from the disused railway were torn up early in 2006 under mysterious circumstances and some were carted off. The Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n man to whom the illegal job had been entrusted was meanwhile seized, whereas no trace of his "wirepullers" has yet been found.
Since 10 August 2005 there has been in Lohra a Funk-W-DSL
Digital Subscriber Line
Digital subscriber line is a family of technologies that provides digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network. DSL originally stood for digital subscriber loop. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line ,...
service that is unique in the country, and through which outlying communities are also served.
Education
Each of the community's three biggest centres, Lohra, Kirchvers and Altenvers, has a kindergartenKindergarten
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...
. The ones in Lohra and Kirchvers are run by the Evangelical Church of Kurhessen-Waldeck, whereas the one in Altenvers is under municipal management.
The community moreover has a primary school at its disposal. Higher schools such as Gymnasien
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...
, 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...
n and Hauptschule
Hauptschule
A Hauptschule is a secondary school in Germany and Austria, starting after 4 years of elementary schooling, which offers Lower Secondary Education according to the International Standard Classification of Education...
n are to be found in 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 :...
, Niederwalgern
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:...
, Gladenbach
Gladenbach
-Location:The town of Gladenbach lies on the eastern edge of the Westerwald in the Hessian Highland . This part of the Lahn-Dill Highland is often also called the Gladenbach Uplands...
, Biebertal
Biebertal
Biebertal is a municipality in the district of Gießen, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 7 km northwest of Gießen.It is Denbigh's twin town...
and Gießen
Gießen
Gießen, also spelt Giessen is a town in the German federal state of Hesse, capital of both the district of Gießen and the administrative region of Gießen...
.
Higher learning opportunities are to be had in the surrounding district at universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
and Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...
n in Marburg
Philipps University of Marburg
The Philipp University of Marburg , was founded in 1527 by Landgrave Philip I of Hesse as the world's oldest university dating back to a Protestant foundation...
, Gießen
University of Giessen
The University of Giessen is officially called the Justus Liebig University Giessen after its most famous faculty member, Justus von Liebig, the founder of modern agricultural chemistry and inventor of artificial fertiliser.-History:The University of Gießen is among the oldest institutions of...
and Kassel
University of Kassel
The University of Kassel, founded in 1970, is one of the newer universities in the state of Hesse. The university is in Kassel, and as of September 2010 has about 18,113 students...
.
Daughters and sons of the community
- Heinrich Naumann, regional poet from Nanzhausen
- Walter Schäfer, former board chairman of the Hessian-Thuringian State BankHelabaHelaba short for Hessische Landesbank Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen is a commercial bank with core regions in Hesse and Thuringia, Germany...
(Helaba)
Partnerships
The community of Lohra maintains partnerships with the following communities:Herges–Hallenberg
Steinbach-Hallenberg
Steinbach-Hallenberg is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated in the Thuringian Forest, 8 km east of Schmalkalden, and 13 km northwest of Suhl.-References:-External links:*...
, 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....
Vivonne
Vivonne
Vivonne is a commune in the Vienne department in the Poitou-Charentes region in western France.Louis Victor de Rochechouart de Mortemart, brother of Madame de Montespan was the duc de Vivonne....
near Poitiers
Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and of the Poitou-Charentes region. The centre is picturesque and its streets are interesting for predominant remains of historical architecture, especially from the Romanesque...
, 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...
Dziemany, 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...
Literature
- Huth, Karl: Die Gemeinde Lohra und ihre 10 Ortsteile im Wandel der Jahrhunderte, 1989
- Kaiserzeitliche Siedlung bei Altenvers