Rothenberg
Encyclopedia
Rothenberg is a community in the Odenwaldkreis
(district) in Hesse
, Germany
.
in the Geo-Naturpark Bergstraße-Odenwald, 7 km north of Hirschhorn
on the Neckar
. The main centre lies in the south of the municipal area as a high settlement in a clearing 430 m high on the ridge of the otherwise wooded Hirschhorner Höhe (heights). The municipal area stretches northwestwards along the Finkenbach.
Many tourists visit Rothenberg because of the wonderful nature and because of so many possibilities to do sports (swimming, riding bikes, riding horses, hiking, gliding (with a flex-wing or with a glider), ...)
(Odenwaldkreis), in the east on the town of Eberbach
(Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
in Baden-Württemberg
), in the south on the town of Hirschhorn
(Bergstraße district) and in the west on the town of Eberbach (outlying centre of Brombach) and the community of Wald-Michelbach
(Bergstraße district).
rights in Moosbrunn, as an Imperial
fief to the Lords of Hirschhorn. After they died out in 1632, ownership passed to Otto von Kronberg, and after the Counts of Kronberg died out in 1704 to the Barons of Degenfeld-Schaumburg. Through marriage, ownership was held from 1786 to 1801 by the Counts of Erbach-Fürstenau and then lastly to the Counts of Rothberg. By the Treaty of the Confederation of the Rhine
, Rothenberg and the other villages, but not Moosbrunn, passed along with the County of Erbach in 1806 to the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt. In 1835, Rothenberg was, with 1,098 inhabitants the third biggest village in the Landratsbezirk (roughly “administrative region”). When in the course of industrialization traffic routes were being expanded, this handicraft and market community’s high elevation, which did not favour transport, became a curse. There was no industrial development, and the community’s population figures fell. To this day, the community is strongly characterized by agriculture
. In 1971, the hitherto self-governing communities of Ober-Finkenbach and Raubach were amalgamated. The hamlet
s of Kortelshütte and Hinterbach were established in the 18th century as settling communities for newcomers and those without property. Kortelshütte has developed itself since the early 20th century into a climatic spa after a highway link and new housing estates were built, while Hinterbach earned importance in the 1930s for its mineral springs.
on 18 September 2005 with 91.5% of the vote.
Parish Church”) from 1880, several timber-frame
houses in particular may be named, such as the Forsthaus Saubuche (“Sow Beech Forest House”) near the outlying centre of Raubach. There are moreover many smaller cultural monuments such as wells, border stones and rows of standing stone slabs (Stellsteinreihen in German
), believed to once have been cattle-driving ways. One of these can be found at Ober-Hainbrunn.
About the turn of the 20th century, complaints were mounting among dwellers in the upper village about the water supply’s shortcomings. The spring of the Großer Brunnen (“Great Spring”) on the slope of the Gammelsbach valley gave forth enough water; so the state authorities in the Grand Duchy of Hesse
put the Kulturinspektion Darmstadt in charge and they found the solution to the water supply problem by furnishing two water motors, delivered by the Zurich
machine factory Schmid. Each of the technically interesting motors drives a three-cylinder pump. One comes from the year 1902 and the other is two years newer. Today the historic pumphouse between Kortelshütte and Rothenberg is run by a circle of technically enthusiastic idealists.
Furthermore, in the Rothenberg hamlet of Hinterbach can be found the Odenwald’s last maintained hydraulic ram
.
and walks. From the heights, the Odenwald’s highest mountain, the Katzenbuckel, can be seen. In good weather, gliders
are also to be seen, as Rothenberg has a glider launching facility. Rest can be found at any of the many springs and resting places. Furthermore, there is an “Inliner Day” every summer, for which the highway between Rothenberg and Beerfelden (10 km) is closed to traffic for inline skating
and cycling
.
37 lies about 8 km away in Hirschhorn
. Bundesstraße 45 lies about 12 km away in Beerfelden
. The Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr railway line in Hirschhorn lies about 8 km away.
Hirschhorn
ca. 5 minutes,
Eberbach
ca. 15 minutes,
Neckarsteinach
ca. 20 minutes,
Heidelberg
ca. 30 minutes,
Mannheim
ca. 45 minutes,
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
Rothenberg lies at elevations between 200 and 500 m in the southern OdenwaldOdenwald
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...
in the Geo-Naturpark Bergstraße-Odenwald, 7 km north of Hirschhorn
Hirschhorn (Neckar)
Hirschhorn is a small town in the Bergstraße district of Hesse, Germany, and is known as "The Pearl of the Neckar valley”. Hirschhorn is a climatic health resort situated in the Geo-Naturpark Bergstraße-Odenwald.- Location :...
on 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...
. The main centre lies in the south of the municipal area as a high settlement in a clearing 430 m high on the ridge of the otherwise wooded Hirschhorner Höhe (heights). The municipal area stretches northwestwards along the Finkenbach.
Many tourists visit Rothenberg because of the wonderful nature and because of so many possibilities to do sports (swimming, riding bikes, riding horses, hiking, gliding (with a flex-wing or with a glider), ...)
Neighbouring communities
Rothenberg borders in the north on the town of BeerfeldenBeerfelden
Beerfelden is a town in the Odenwald in the Odenwaldkreis in Hesse, Germany, 28 km northeast of Heidelberg. The region around Beerfelden has for touristic reasons been dubbed the Beerfelder Land.-Location:...
(Odenwaldkreis), in the east on the town of 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 :...
(Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
Rhein-Neckar-Kreis is a district in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Bergstraße, Odenwaldkreis, Neckar-Odenwald, Heilbronn, Karlsruhe, district-free Speyer, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, and district-free Mannheim and Heidelberg.-History:The district was created in...
in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
), in the south on the town of Hirschhorn
Hirschhorn (Neckar)
Hirschhorn is a small town in the Bergstraße district of Hesse, Germany, and is known as "The Pearl of the Neckar valley”. Hirschhorn is a climatic health resort situated in the Geo-Naturpark Bergstraße-Odenwald.- Location :...
(Bergstraße district) and in the west on the town of Eberbach (outlying centre of Brombach) and the community of Wald-Michelbach
Wald-Michelbach
Wald-Michelbach is a community in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany.Through Wald-Michelbach runs the now disused Überwaldbahn .-Hardberg:...
(Bergstraße district).
Constituent communities
Rothenberg’s Ortsteile are Finkenbach, Hinterbach, Kortelshütte, Ober-Hainbrunn, Raubach and Rothenberg.History
Rothenberg went, as Rodenberg, in 1535, along with the villages of Ober-Hainbrunn and Unter-Finkenbach, and VogtVogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...
rights in Moosbrunn, as an Imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
fief to the Lords of Hirschhorn. After they died out in 1632, ownership passed to Otto von Kronberg, and after the Counts of Kronberg died out in 1704 to the Barons of Degenfeld-Schaumburg. Through marriage, ownership was held from 1786 to 1801 by the Counts of Erbach-Fürstenau and then lastly to the Counts of Rothberg. By the Treaty of the Confederation of the Rhine
Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederation of the Rhine was a confederation of client states of the First French Empire. It was formed initially from 16 German states by Napoleon after he defeated Austria's Francis II and Russia's Alexander I in the Battle of Austerlitz. The Treaty of Pressburg, in effect, led to the...
, Rothenberg and the other villages, but not Moosbrunn, passed along with the County of Erbach in 1806 to the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt. In 1835, Rothenberg was, with 1,098 inhabitants the third biggest village in the Landratsbezirk (roughly “administrative region”). When in the course of industrialization traffic routes were being expanded, this handicraft and market community’s high elevation, which did not favour transport, became a curse. There was no industrial development, and the community’s population figures fell. To this day, the community is strongly characterized by agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
. In 1971, the hitherto self-governing communities of Ober-Finkenbach and Raubach were amalgamated. The hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
s of Kortelshütte and Hinterbach were established in the 18th century as settling communities for newcomers and those without property. Kortelshütte has developed itself since the early 20th century into a climatic spa after a highway link and new housing estates were built, while Hinterbach earned importance in the 1930s for its mineral springs.
Politics
The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:| Parties and voter communities | % 2006 |
Seats 2006 |
% 2001 |
Seats 2001 |
|
| CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany | 12.8 | 2 | 13.0 | 2 |
| 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... |
35.1 | 5 | 41.5 | 6 |
| WGR | Wählervereinigung Gemeinde Rothenberg | 52.0 | 8 | 45.5 | 7 |
| Total | 100.0 | 15 | 100.0 | 15 | |
| Voter turnout in % | 63.3 | 72.4 | |||
Mayor
The independent mayor Hans Heinz Keursten was reëlected in the first round of votingTwo-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
on 18 September 2005 with 91.5% of the vote.
Cultural monuments
Rothenberg and its outlying centres are rich in cultural monuments. Besides the Old Lutheran Schwarze Kirche (“Black Church”) from 1883 and the Evangelische Pfarrkirche (“EvangelicalEvangelical Church in Germany
The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
Parish Church”) from 1880, several timber-frame
Timber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
houses in particular may be named, such as the Forsthaus Saubuche (“Sow Beech Forest House”) near the outlying centre of Raubach. There are moreover many smaller cultural monuments such as wells, border stones and rows of standing stone slabs (Stellsteinreihen in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
), believed to once have been cattle-driving ways. One of these can be found at Ober-Hainbrunn.
About the turn of the 20th century, complaints were mounting among dwellers in the upper village about the water supply’s shortcomings. The spring of the Großer Brunnen (“Great Spring”) on the slope of the Gammelsbach valley gave forth enough water; so the state authorities in the Grand Duchy of Hesse
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine , or, between 1806 and 1816, Grand Duchy of Hesse —as it was also known after 1816—was a member state of the German Confederation from 1806, when the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to a Grand Duchy, until 1918, when all the German...
put the Kulturinspektion Darmstadt in charge and they found the solution to the water supply problem by furnishing two water motors, delivered by the Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
machine factory Schmid. Each of the technically interesting motors drives a three-cylinder pump. One comes from the year 1902 and the other is two years newer. Today the historic pumphouse between Kortelshütte and Rothenberg is run by a circle of technically enthusiastic idealists.
Furthermore, in the Rothenberg hamlet of Hinterbach can be found the Odenwald’s last maintained hydraulic ram
Hydraulic ram
A hydraulic ram, or hydram, is a cyclic water pump powered by hydropower. It functions as a hydraulic transformer that takes in water at one "hydraulic head" and flow-rate, and outputs water at a higher hydraulic-head and lower flow-rate...
.
Sport
The Rothenberg Heights are worthy of recommendation for hikingHiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
and walks. From the heights, the Odenwald’s highest mountain, the Katzenbuckel, can be seen. In good weather, gliders
Glider aircraft
Glider aircraft are heavier-than-air craft that are supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against their lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Mostly these types of aircraft are intended for routine operation without engines, though engine failure can...
are also to be seen, as Rothenberg has a glider launching facility. Rest can be found at any of the many springs and resting places. Furthermore, there is an “Inliner Day” every summer, for which the highway between Rothenberg and Beerfelden (10 km) is closed to traffic for inline skating
Inline skating
Inline skating is a recreational sport practiced widely internationally. Inline skates typically have 2 to 5 polyurethane wheels, arranged in a single line. The in-line design allows for greater speed than roller skates and better maneuverability...
and cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
.
Transport
BundesstraßeBundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
37 lies about 8 km away in Hirschhorn
Hirschhorn (Neckar)
Hirschhorn is a small town in the Bergstraße district of Hesse, Germany, and is known as "The Pearl of the Neckar valley”. Hirschhorn is a climatic health resort situated in the Geo-Naturpark Bergstraße-Odenwald.- Location :...
. Bundesstraße 45 lies about 12 km away in Beerfelden
Beerfelden
Beerfelden is a town in the Odenwald in the Odenwaldkreis in Hesse, Germany, 28 km northeast of Heidelberg. The region around Beerfelden has for touristic reasons been dubbed the Beerfelder Land.-Location:...
. The Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr railway line in Hirschhorn lies about 8 km away.
Sights
Cities to be seen, when visiting Rothenberg:Hirschhorn
Hirschhorn
Hirschhorn is derived from German composite word 'Hirsch' and 'Horn' , part of a deers' antlers. A variation is Hirshhorn. It may refer to:* Hirschhorn , a town in Hesse, Germany...
ca. 5 minutes,
Eberbach
Eberbach
Eberbach can refer to:* Eberbach , city on the river Neckar in Baden-Württemberg, Germany* Eberbach Abbey, Cistercian monastery in Germany* Eberbach-Seltz, commune of the Bas-Rhin département in FrancePeople:...
ca. 15 minutes,
Neckarsteinach
Neckarsteinach
The four-castle town of Neckarsteinach lies on the Neckar in the Bergstraße district in the southernmost part of Hesse, Germany, 15 km east of Heidelberg.-Location:...
ca. 20 minutes,
Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
ca. 30 minutes,
Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
ca. 45 minutes,