Neighbouring communities

Romrod borders in the north on the town of Alsfeld

Alsfeld

Alsfeld is a town in the center of Hesse, somewhere in Germany. Large towns nearby are Bad Hersfeld about 33 km to the east, Fulda 36 km to the southeast, Gießen 47 km to the west and Marburg an der Lahn about 36 km to the northwest...

, in the east on the community of Schwalmtal, in the south on the community of Feldatal

Feldatal

-Location:The community lies 285 to 598 m above sea level on the north slope of the Vogelsberg Mountains. Through the community flows the river Felda, which empties into the Ohm at Gemünden.-Neighbouring communities:...

, and in the west on the community of Gemünden

Gemünden (Felda)

-Location:Gemuenden lies on the rivers Felda and Ohm, flowing from the Vogelsberg Mountains in the region of Upper Hessen amongst Homberg Grünberg, Kirtorf, Romrod and Feldatal, or more broadly, between Gießen and Bad Hersfeld...

 and the town of Kirtorf

Kirtorf

Kirtorf is a town in the northern Vogelsbergkreis in Hesse, Germany. Through the town runs the Deutsche Märchenstraße, or German Fairytale Road, a touristic route joining many of the places commonly associated with the Brothers Grimm's tales.-Geography:...

.

Constituent communities

Romrod consists of the communities of Nieder-Breidenbach, Ober-Breidenbach, Romrod, Strebendorf and Zell.

History

The village of "Rumerode" came into being at the crossroads of the Diotweg ("People's Way") and the Kurze Hessen army road. The first 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...

 was built in the 11th century in the Antrift valley. It is thus assumed that there was already a settlement there, as valley castles were often built in places where there were already people.
In the first half of the 12th century, the old castle with the moat

Moat

A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...

 was built. The builders of this castle were presumably the local von Romrod noble family's forebears. These nobles were first mentioned in writing in 1197, when Ludwig von Romrod's name cropped up when he witnessed a document from the 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 :...

 Abbey. In the centuries that followed, the von Romrods held important offices. Heinrich von Romrod was a Hessian marshal and Hermann von Romrod held command over the Order of St. John

Knights Hospitaller

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...

 in Grebenau

Grebenau

-Location:Lying from 220 to 350 m above sea level, Grebenau is northeast of the Vogelsberg some 26 km northwest of Fulda, at the place where the Schwarza empties into the Jossa, itself a tributary to the Fulda.-Neighbouring communities:...

. Also worthy of noting are the Abbots Heinrich VI von Romrod (1320 - 1323/1324) in Hersfeld

Bad Hersfeld

The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld is the district seat of Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southeast of Kassel....

 and Friedrich I von Romrod (1383–1395) in Fulda.

Through the course of the 14th century, the von Romrods fell on hard times and had to sell their stately home to the Landgrave

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 Otto and Heinrich von Hessen. By 1408 at the latest, Romrod had passed to Hesse.

Amalgamations

As part of municipal reforms, the new greater community of Romrod came into being on 31 December 1971 with the amalgamation of the town of Romrod and the communities of Nieder-Breidenbach, Ober-Breidenbach, Strebendorf and Zell.

Politics

Romrod town council is made up of 23 members. As of municipal elections held on 26 March 2006 the seats are apportioned thus:

SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...	: 10 seats
CDU Christian Democratic Union (Germany) The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum... /FWG	: 13 seats

The town executive consists of 5 councillors and the mayor.

The mayor, Dr. Birgit Richtberg was elected on 14 March 2004 with a 54.3% share of the vote.

Coat of arms

Heraldically, Romrod'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...

 might be described thus: In Or a stone wall with a crenellated tower sable, below the tower and before the wall an inescutcheon, therein the Lion of Hesse (in azure a lion rampant striped nine times silver and gules, armed Or and langued gules).

The golden shield with the wall and tower has its roots in Romrod's old knightly family. The Lion of Hesse, of course, refers to Hesse, to which Romrod has belonged for centuries.

Transport

Romrod lies on Autobahn A 5

Bundesautobahn 5

is a 445 km long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the Hattenbach triangle intersection is a 445 km (277 mi) long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the Hattenbach triangle intersection is a 445 km (277 mi) long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the...

, at interchange 3, Pfefferhöhe. Furthermore, Federal Highway (Bundesstraße) B 49 runs through Romrod.

Public institutions

At the Schloss is a "memorial academy" educational centre of the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz, an initiative whose goal is to protect cultural monuments.

Sons and daughters of the town

• August von Bibra
  August von Bibra
  August Ludwig Karl Georg Friedrich Freiherr von Bibra was director of the business affairs of Hermann, prince of Wied...
  
   (* 1808 – † 1894), Manager of the Mainzer Adelsverein
  Adelsverein
  Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas, better known as Adelsverein , organized on April 20, 1842, was a colonial attempt to establish a new Germany within the borders of Texas.-History:...
  
  in Texas
• Karl Follen, German-American academic and writer