Mittenaar
Encyclopedia
Municipal area's extent
On Mittenaar's 3 518 ha live more than 5,000 people. About 45 km of roads connect the various centres. More than half the municipal area is wooded.Neighbouring communities
Mittenaar borders in the north on the community of SiegbachSiegbach
- Location :The community of Siegbach lies in the Lahn-Dill Highland in the valley of its namesake brook, the Siegbach, which empties into the Aar to the south at Bischoffen.More than half of the municipal area is wooded.- Neighbouring communities :...
, in the northeast on the community of 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 the east on the community of Hohenahr
Hohenahr
-Location:Hohenahr lies in the Lahn-Dill Highland at a height of between 260 and 440 m above sea level. Its constituent communities of Ahrdt and Mudersbach are on the shores of the Aartalsee .-Neighbouring communities:...
, in the southeast on the town of Aßlar
Aßlar
Aßlar is a town near Wetzlar in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany.- Location :Aßlar lies on a foothill of the Westerwald range as well as on the river Dill, which empties into the Lahn in neighbouring Wetzlar, about 5 km to the southeast...
, in the south on the community of Ehringshausen
Ehringshausen
-Location:Ehringshausen lies in the valley of the Dill between Wetzlar and Herborn.-Neighbouring communities:Ehringshausen borders in the north on the community of Mittenaar, in the east on the town of Aßlar, in the south on the towns of Solms and Leun, and in the northwest on the community of Sinn...
, in the southwest on the community of Sinn
Sinn (Hesse)
-Location:Sinn lies at a height of 185 to 356 m above sea level at the foot of the Westerwald range, 3 km south of Herborn in the Dill valley.-Edingen:...
, and in the west on the town of Herborn
Herborn
Herborn is a historic town on the Dill in the Lahn-Dill district of Hesse in Germany. Before World War I, it was granted its own title as Nassauisches Rothenburg. The symbol or mascot of this town is a bear. Scenic attractions include its half-timbered houses; Herborn is located on the German...
(all in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis).
Constituent communities
The community consists of the centres of Ballersbach, Bellersdorf, Bicken (administrative seat) and Offenbach.Mittenaar
The community of Mittenaar came into being on 1 January 1972 with the merger of the formerly independent municipalities of Ballersbach, Bicken and Offenbach. Bellersdorf was amalgamated on 1 April 1972.Ballersbach
Ballersbach had its first documentary mention in 1270. The Ballersbach Church (Capelle zu Ballersbach) was also most likely built in this time. That the chapel had some special importance can clearly be seen in the much bigger village of SeelbachHerborn
Herborn is a historic town on the Dill in the Lahn-Dill district of Hesse in Germany. Before World War I, it was granted its own title as Nassauisches Rothenburg. The symbol or mascot of this town is a bear. Scenic attractions include its half-timbered houses; Herborn is located on the German...
being placed under it.
Ballersbach grew together over time from two centres, one around the Baalerstaa (Balder- or Baldurstein; "Baldur Stone") and the other to the south.
About 1500, the church was painted with wonderful 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...
es that eventually disappeared over time.
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....
, the village was stricken with the then incurable Plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
, which took 165 lives. In this dreadful time, only 85 villagers survived. It was more than one hundred years before Ballersbach recovered from this catastrophe.
In 1912 the church was heavily damaged when it was struck by lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
. As the church was being renovated, however, the frescoes came back to light. The pictures show, symbolically, mankind's history and 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...
's beginnings in a series of individual pictures.
In 1993, there was an extensive renovation of these artworks to ensure their continued existence for posterity.
Bellersdorf
Bellersdorf had its first documentary mention in 1294. For unknown reasons, the village was abandoned for about 200 years (about 1500-1699). It can only be assumed that the Plague struck here, too, or that war forced the villagers to flee.Only in 1699 did some families settle in Bellersdorf again, with Count Ludwig von Hohensolms's permission.
Only after the Second World War, when improved transport connections eliminated the village's remote location as a problem did a great upswing begin. By participating in the contest "Unser Dorf soll schöner werden" ("Our village should become nicer"), Bellersdorf became known nationally. The advantageous location, the quiet and the lack of through traffic have made Bellersdorf into the constituent community with the highest quality of living.
Bicken
Bicken had its first documentary mention in a CologneCologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
document in 1218. The village is, however, likely much older, as a castle from Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
times reportedly once stood in Bicken.
The nobles of Bicken and Dernbach were subject to the Count of Nassau in the struggle for ascendancy in the Herborner Mark. As a result, various rights and estates had to be sold to the Nassauers.
Bicken's advantageous location (with connections to several long-distance roads) had both an upside and a downside in earlier times, leading time and again to uninvited visits by soldiers 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....
, whereby many lost belongings and even lives. In Napoleonic times
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
, Bicken was made the hub of the Ballersbach-Bicken-Offenbach-Herbornseelbach area.
During both world wars, Bicken suffered great losses. In the First World War, 27 soldiers from Bicken died, and in the Second World War, 78.
Bicken's coat of arms
The village of Bicken bore no 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...
in earlier times, and used no seal. The community was granted leave to bear a coat of arms in 1952. It might heraldically be described thus: In sable two bars argent. It is based on the old noble family's arms, who owned the village as vassals of the Counts of Nassau from 1327 to 1732. The arms have become part of Mittenaar's civic coat of arms.
Offenbach
Offenbach had its first documentary mention in one of Johann von Dernbach's documents.In the dreadful years of the Thirty Years' War, Imperial General Philipp von Mansfeld's hordes overran the villages in the Aar Valley setting houses ablaze. In Offenbach, 60 burnt down, in Bicken 53 and in Ballersbach 18 buildings.
Also unforgotten is a grim chapter in this great war, the persecution of witches. In 1629 and 1630, thirty men and women (6 from Offenbach, 18 from Bicken and 6 from Ballersbach) were burnt at the stake
Execution by burning
Death by burning is death brought about by combustion. As a form of capital punishment, burning has a long history as a method in crimes such as treason, heresy, and witchcraft....
by their own fellow villagers.
As for the oldest cultural monument, the tower at the Offenbach Church houses a bell
Church bell
A church bell is a bell which is rung in a church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding, funeral, or other service...
from the year 1452, which has been in use uninterruptedly since then. The burgeoning population in 1955-1956 made church nave expansion necessary.
Coat of arms
Mittenaar's civic coat of arms might heraldically be described thus: In sable a bend wavy sinister Or, above, a trefoil Or, below, two bars argent.The arms show besides a wavy fess as a symbol for the Aar, which flows through the community, two charges of former noble families who held sway in what is now the municipal area: the cloverleaf for the Lords of Dernbach and, as mentioned earlier, the two bars of the Lords of Bicken.
Music
The youth choir "Young Voices Mittenaar" was brought together in January 2000 on an initiative by 3 choirChoir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
s: MGV 1861 Ballersbach, GV Sängervereinigung 1860 Bicken and GV Eintracht Offenbach.
The repertoire includes spirituals, gospels, evergreens and modern pieces (for example Dancing Queen, Y.M.C.A, Wade in the water, Bridge over troubled water, and so on).
Notable people
- Johann Heinrich AlstedJohann Heinrich AlstedJohann Heinrich Alsted was a German Calvinist minister and academic, known for his varied interests: in Ramism and Lullism, pedagogy and encyclopedias, theology and millennarianism.-Life:...
(born mid-March 1588 in Ballersbach, died 9 November 1638 in Weißenburg (nowadays Alba IuliaAlba IuliaAlba Iulia is a city in Alba County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 66,747, located on the Mureş River. Since the High Middle Ages, the city has been the seat of Transylvania's Roman Catholic diocese. Between 1541 and 1690 it was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania...
), RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
), was a reformed theologian and polymath.
Literature
- Helmut Groos (editor): Mittenaar – Ein Heimatbuch. Mittenaar, 1988
- Helmut Groos (editor): Heimat und Geschichte. Mittenaar – Ein Heimatbuch, Band II. Mittenaar, 2004