Mainaschaff
Encyclopedia
Mainaschaff is a community in the Aschaffenburg district
in the Regierungsbezirk
of Lower Franconia
(Unterfranken) in Bavaria
, Germany
.
, to the west just outside Aschaffenburg
. Its located on the Main’s right bank, and the small river Aschaff
, which empties into the River Main. This fork gave the community its name.
’s privilege for the monastery at Aschaffenburg. In the early 12th century, the small village, which was made up mainly of farms, belonged to Saints Peter’s and Paul’s Monastery in Aschaffenburg. The inhabitants, who made their livings mostly by growing fruit and fishing, had to pay ongoing tribute to this monastery, and perform compulsory labour for it, too.
Only in 1872 did Mainaschaff become a self-administering community.
might be described thus: A pall reversed wavy argent, dexter barry of six Or and gules, sinister gules a demi-wheel of the first divided palewise the rim towards sinister, the base azure.
The pall reversed (that is, upside-down Y-shape) symbolizes the forks of the rivers Main and Aschaff, which, in a way, also makes the arms canting
, as the community’s name is drawn from a fusion of these two rivers’ names. The stripes on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side come from the arms formerly borne by the Counts of Rieneck, to whom parts of the community historically belonged. The halved wheel comes from Electoral Mainz
’s coat of arms, the community having belonged to this state until 1803. The tincture
s azure (blue) in the escutcheon’s base and argent (silver) in the pall reversed are Bavaria’s colours, which have flown over Mainaschaff since 1816.
The arms were conferred on Mainaschaff on 28 August 1968.
Also found in the community is the Maintalhalle (“Main Valley Hall”) in which cultural and sporting events take place. The hall is especially well known for its musical productions by the Aschaffenburg district Fachakademie für Sozialpädagogik (“Professional Academy for Social Work”) and the Edelweiß Mainaschaff singing club.
Aschaffenburg (district)
Aschaffenburg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Darmstadt-Dieburg, Offenbach, Main-Kinzig , the districts Main-Spessart and Miltenberg, and the town of Aschaffenburg....
in the Regierungsbezirk
Regierungsbezirk
In Germany, a Government District, in German: Regierungsbezirk – is a subdivision of certain federal states .They are above the Kreise, Landkreise, and kreisfreie Städte...
of Lower Franconia
Lower Franconia
Lower Franconia is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria , Germany ....
(Unterfranken) in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, 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 near the boundary with HesseHesse
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...
, to the west just outside Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg is a city in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is the administrative seat.Aschaffenburg is known as the Tor zum Spessart or "gate to the Spessart"...
. Its located on the Main’s right bank, and the small river Aschaff
Aschaff
The Aschaff is a river in the northern Spessart in Bavaria, Germany.It is a right tributary of the Main and is 21,4 km long. It begins at the confluence of Autenbach and Kleinaschaff in Waldaschaff. Loosely translated the name Aschaff means Eschenwasser. The largest tributary is the Laufach...
, which empties into the River Main. This fork gave the community its name.
History
In 1184, Mainaschaff had its first documentary mention as a holding in Pope Lucius IIIPope Lucius III
Pope Lucius III , born Ubaldo, was pope from 1 September 1181 to his death.A native of the independent republic of Lucca, he was born ca. 1100 as Ubaldo, son of Orlando. He is commonly referred to as a member of the aristocratic family of Allucingoli, but this is not proven...
’s privilege for the monastery at Aschaffenburg. In the early 12th century, the small village, which was made up mainly of farms, belonged to Saints Peter’s and Paul’s Monastery in Aschaffenburg. The inhabitants, who made their livings mostly by growing fruit and fishing, had to pay ongoing tribute to this monastery, and perform compulsory labour for it, too.
Only in 1872 did Mainaschaff become a self-administering community.
Community council
The council is made up of 20 council members, not counting the mayor.| CSU Christian Social Union of Bavaria The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany... |
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
Freie Wählergemeinschaft | Total | |
| 2002 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 seats |
| 2008 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 20 seats |
Coat of arms
The community’s 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: A pall reversed wavy argent, dexter barry of six Or and gules, sinister gules a demi-wheel of the first divided palewise the rim towards sinister, the base azure.
The pall reversed (that is, upside-down Y-shape) symbolizes the forks of the rivers Main and Aschaff, which, in a way, also makes the arms canting
Canting arms
Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name in a visual pun or rebus. The term cant came into the English language from Anglo-Norman cant, meaning song or singing, from Latin cantāre, and English cognates include canticle, chant, accent, incantation and recant.Canting arms –...
, as the community’s name is drawn from a fusion of these two rivers’ names. The stripes on the dexter (armsbearer’s right, viewer’s left) side come from the arms formerly borne by the Counts of Rieneck, to whom parts of the community historically belonged. The halved wheel comes from Electoral Mainz
Archbishopric of Mainz
The Archbishopric of Mainz or Electorate of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire between 780–82 and 1802. In the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae, the substitute of the Pope north of the Alps...
’s coat of arms, the community having belonged to this state until 1803. The tincture
Tincture (heraldry)
In heraldry, tinctures are the colours used to emblazon a coat of arms. These can be divided into several categories including light tinctures called metals, dark tinctures called colours, nonstandard colours called stains, furs, and "proper". A charge tinctured proper is coloured as it would be...
s azure (blue) in the escutcheon’s base and argent (silver) in the pall reversed are Bavaria’s colours, which have flown over Mainaschaff since 1816.
The arms were conferred on Mainaschaff on 28 August 1968.
Theatre
Mainaschaff is home to the Puppenschiff marionette theatre.Also found in the community is the Maintalhalle (“Main Valley Hall”) in which cultural and sporting events take place. The hall is especially well known for its musical productions by the Aschaffenburg district Fachakademie für Sozialpädagogik (“Professional Academy for Social Work”) and the Edelweiß Mainaschaff singing club.
Buildings
The Kapellenberg, a big hill formerly serving as a vineyard from the 14th century onwards, with a chapel and a statue of Mary, is said to have been a pilgrimage site for the last hundred years, and is still the destination of many processions. Public institutions (a playground and others) have also made it into a well known outing destination. On this hill is found the entrance to an old grotto that nevertheless was never open to the public until this century. Winegrowing began on the hill once again in 2005.Parks
The Mainparksee, a now 240 000 m² lake which came out of building work on the new Autobahn in the 1950s from a so-called Baggersee (a lake arising from an old quarry), offers a long-term camping ground and bathing. Since 2005, one of Germany’s biggest sauna areas has been located on the lands at the Mainparksee. It has been open to the public as a recreation area.Transport
- Mainaschaff lies right on the Autobahn A 3 (Aschaffenburg West exit) and on BundesstraßeBundesstraßeBundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
8 between KleinostheimKleinostheimKleinostheim is a community in the Aschaffenburg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany.-Location:...
and AschaffenburgAschaffenburgAschaffenburg is a city in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is the administrative seat.Aschaffenburg is known as the Tor zum Spessart or "gate to the Spessart"...
. - For local and long-distance travel, the AschaffenburgAschaffenburgAschaffenburg is a city in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is the administrative seat.Aschaffenburg is known as the Tor zum Spessart or "gate to the Spessart"...
- FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
railway line can be reached through the main railway station in AschaffenburgAschaffenburg Hauptbahnhofis the central railway station of Aschaffenburg in Germany.The station was built in 1854 by the Ludwigs-West-Bahn. It remained largely unchanged until destroyed in a 1944 air raid, after which it was rebuilt in the style typical for the 1950s...
. The local transport running on the AschaffenburgAschaffenburgAschaffenburg is a city in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is the administrative seat.Aschaffenburg is known as the Tor zum Spessart or "gate to the Spessart"...
- DarmstadtDarmstadtDarmstadt 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...
line sometimes stops in Mainaschaff. The station stands at the intersection of Milanstraße and Bahnhofstraße, and has a park-and-ride facility. - The community is linked to the town and regional bus service of the Verkehrsgesellschaft Untermain (“Lower Main Transport Company”), and is served by route 14 (town bus) and route 51 (regional bus to Kahl-Hanau).
Further reading
- Matthias Thiel: Das Privileg Papst Lucius' III. für das Stift Aschaffenburg von 1184. Geschichts- u. Kunstverein, Aschaffenburg 1984, ISBN 3-87965-004-7