Rödermark
Encyclopedia
Rödermark is a town in the Offenbach district
in the Regierungsbezirk
of Darmstadt
in Hesse
, Germany
, southeast of Frankfurt am Main
and northeast of Darmstadt
.
on the Rodau riverside flats east of Ober-Roden up to about 200 m above sea level on the Bulau. Rödermark is surrounded by greenbelts, found mainly in the area of the river Rodau. The Rodau crosses the municipal area from west to east. The northern areas of Bulau, Messenhausen and Waldacker have a mainly residential function, whereas the main centres of Ober-Roden and Urberach offer a complete infrastructure. The nearest Autobahn interchange
s are ten kilometres away, and Frankfurt Airport
some 25 km away. Rödermark lies within the area covered by the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund
, and on the grounds of Ober-Roden railway station’s favourable location, it is the terminus of Rhine-Main S-Bahn
line S1 and a station on RMV line 61.
The fiftieth parallel of north latitude (50°N) passes through the municipal area.
, in the east on the town of Rodgau
, in the south on the communities of Eppertshausen
and Messel
(both in Darmstadt-Dieburg
) and in the west on the town of Dreieich
.
in the 1960s and 1970s, Ober-Roden became an important residential community for commuters
.
The town library
, the cultural hall, the daycare centre and the primary school all stand right on the brook, the Rodau, in Ober-Roden’s centre and together with the stately Gothic
Parish Church of St. Nazarius (locally sometimes called the Rodgaudom – Rodgau Cathedral – although it is no such thing), some timber-frame
houses and a comfortable outdoor café lend the town centre a certain flair.
Ober-Roden is the location of the comprehensive school
and Europaschule Oswald-von-Nell-Breuning
-Schule
Ober-Roden is a local rail transport hub. From here begins the S-Bahn
towards Wiesbaden
by way of Offenbach, Frankfurt Hbf
and Frankfurt-Höchst
. Also found in Ober-Roden is an operational midpoint on the Dreieichbahn (railway) offering links to Urberach and Dreieich
(from Dreieich-Buchschlag
to Langen
, Darmstadt
, Frankfurt Airport
and Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof
) and serving Dieburg
in the other direction. From there connections are available to Aschaffenburg
, Darmstadt
and places in the Odenwald
.
In connection with the plans for the Regionaltangente West (RTW) project, running the Dreieichbahn with RTW trains was in the past considered. For Ober-Roden this would have meant a direct rail link with Frankfurt Airport
. The financing for the needed line expansion, however, is long-term, and the project, at least for the present, does not appear in the general transport plan.
Rödermark has developed itself in all its constituent communities into an attractive residential and living area. Adding to the town’s attractiveness are in particular the new work done on part of the town core in 2003 and 2004, the many shops there together with the market halls on the outskirts, a bathhouse with sauna facilities and greenspace (back in operation in June 2006 after conversion), the hilly location of Bulau with its great worth as a recreation area and other similar things.
Urberach was in the past a centre for the potter’s craft. A pottery
museum, a pottery market and the clay vessel in Urberach’s coat of arms
all recall this great tradition.
Urberach has been since 2002 the seat of the newly founded Berufsakademie Rhein-Main, a professional academy whose focus is on economics
and business informatics
.
Urberach dwellers call themselves Orwischer.
communal forest (marca raodora) known as the Rödermark.
Celtic finds have been unearthed in archaeological
digs in town.
in the community that was put under the Lorsch Abbey
by Abbess Aba in 786, but final proof of this is still lacking. The settlement of Rotaha had its first documentary mention in 790 in a donation to the Lorsch Abbey. Furthermore, a Frankish
nobleman named Erlulf donated all his holdings in Ober-Roden, Nieder-Roden
and Bieber to the Lorsch Abbey on 22 April 791.
In 903, the Rotaha monastery was confirmed as the Lorsch Abbey’s tenant. The parish church in Ober-Roden is, like the abbey itself, consecrated to Saint Nazarius, and was Mother Church for Urberach, Nieder-Roden, Messel
and Dudenhofen
.
As part of the Amt of Steinheim, the village was sold in 1425 by the former landlords, the Lords of Eppstein
, to Electoral Mainz
. For the next several centuries the Electoral Prince-Archbishop of Mainz
was the landlord.
In 1576 there were 80 households here, but in 1681 there were only 31 households and 117 inhabitants.
In 1786, the communally held land shared by Ober-Roden and several other villages was partitioned and shared out among Ober-Roden, Nieder-Roden, Urberach, Messel, Dietzenbach, Hainhausen, Jügesheim
and Dudenhofen.
The Amtsvogt
ei of Dieburg passed with Ober-Roden after Secularization
to Hesse. In 1829, Ober-Roden had 1,295 inhabitants. In 1832, the place passed from the Landratsbezirk of Langen
to the Offenbach district. From 1874 to 1977, the community belonged to the Dieburg district.
In 1896, the Rodgaubahn (railway) from Offenbach am Main by way of Ober-Roden to Dieburg was built, as was the Dreieichbahn by way of Urberach to Sprendlingen
in 1905.
In 1939, the community had 3,608 inhabitants. In 1957, Messenhausen merged with Ober-Roden after having shared with it the same mayor since 1821, while still keeping its own municipal budget. In 1977 in the course of municipal reform in Hesse, Ober-Roden was merged with Urberach, whereupon the new amalgamated municipality became Rödermark.
. The place had its first documentary mention in 1275 as Orbruch. Electoral Mainz
acquired the lordly rights over Urberach in the Late Middle Ages
. The village belonged to the Mainz Amt of Dieburg.
In 1280, part of Urberach ended up with Frankfurt as a fief.
In 1305, an estate from Urbruch belonged to Ober-Roden.
In 1425, Urbruch and Ober-Roden were sold to the Archbishop of Mainz.
In 1706, the Archbishop of Mainz, Lothar Franz von Schönborn
, ceded Urbarach to Count Johann Philipp of Isenburg-Büdingen in exchange for Weisenau and Hechtsheim
. Urberach thenceforth belonged to the Amt of Philippseich, a younger line of the House of Isenburg.
In 1786 the Röder Mark was dissolved.
After the Principality of Isenburg-Birstein was dissolved in 1816, Urberach passed to the Grand Duchy of Hesse
and has been Hessian ever since. In 1821, the community was grouped into the Landratsbezirk of Offenbach and in 1832 assigned to the Offenbach district. From 1874 to 1977, Urberach belonged to the Dieburg district.
The population figure rose from 1,488 in 1861 to 2,807 in 1939 and 9,558 in 1978. In 1977 in the course of municipal reform in Hesse, Urberach was merged with Ober-Roden, whereupon the new amalgamated municipality became Rödermark.
in 1806, the Lords of Frankenstein had been the fiefholders for centuries. In 1806, the community passed to the Grand Duchy of Hesse
.
In 1821, Messenhausen’s mayoral office was united with Ober-Roden’s, although each place maintained its own budget up until 1957, when Messenhausen joined Ober-Roden. Messenhausen had 80 inhabitants in 1829 and 605 in 1978.
Christians now also live here. Today there are five Christian parishes:
The oldest ecclesiastical building in Rödermark is the Dreifaltigkeitskapelle (“Trinity Chapel”) on the way into the community of Messenhausen (built in 1820).
, South Tyrol
, Italy
(originally with Urberach) since 1975 Saalfelden
, Salzburg
, Austria
(originally with Ober-Roden) since 1976 Bodajk
, Fejér County, Hungary
since 1992
.
Offenbach (district)
Offenbach is a Kreis in the south of Hesse, Germany and is part of the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Neighbourhood districts are Main-Kinzig, Aschaffenburg, Darmstadt-Dieburg, Groß-Gerau and the cities of Darmstadt, Frankfurt and Offenbach.-History:The district Offenbach was first...
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 Darmstadt
Darmstadt (region)
Darmstadt is one of the three Regierungsbezirke of Hesse, Germany, located in the south of the state.- External links :*...
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...
, southeast of Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt
Frankfurt 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...
and northeast of Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt 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...
.
Location
The town lies mostly in the Messeler Hügelland, a part of the Lower Main Plain with gentle hills. Differences in elevation are slight, reaching from about 130 m above sea levelSea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
on the Rodau riverside flats east of Ober-Roden up to about 200 m above sea level on the Bulau. Rödermark is surrounded by greenbelts, found mainly in the area of the river Rodau. The Rodau crosses the municipal area from west to east. The northern areas of Bulau, Messenhausen and Waldacker have a mainly residential function, whereas the main centres of Ober-Roden and Urberach offer a complete infrastructure. The nearest Autobahn interchange
Interchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
s are ten kilometres away, and Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport may refer to:Airports of Frankfurt, Germany:*Frankfurt Airport , the largest airport in Germany*Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport, a general aviation airport*Frankfurt-Hahn Airport , a converted U.S...
some 25 km away. Rödermark lies within the area covered by the Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund
Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund
The Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund is an organised transport network in the German state of Hesse, centred around the city of Frankfurt am Main. Its head office is located in Hofheim im Taunus...
, and on the grounds of Ober-Roden railway station’s favourable location, it is the terminus of Rhine-Main S-Bahn
Rhine-Main S-Bahn
The Rhine-Main S-Bahn system is an integrated rapid transit and commuter transport system for the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region, which includes the cities Frankfurt am Main, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Offenbach am Main, Hanau and Darmstadt...
line S1 and a station on RMV line 61.
The fiftieth parallel of north latitude (50°N) passes through the municipal area.
Neighbouring communities
Rödermark borders in the north on the town of DietzenbachDietzenbach
Dietzenbach is the seat of Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany and lies roughly 12 km southeast of Frankfurt am Main on the river Bieber. Before the Second World War, the current town was a farming village with not quite 4,000 inhabitants...
, in the east on the town of Rodgau
Rodgau
Rodgau is a town in the Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany. It lies southeast of Frankfurt am Main in the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region and has the greatest population of any municipality in the Offenbach district...
, in the south on the communities of Eppertshausen
Eppertshausen
Eppertshausen is a municipality in southern Hesse in the district Darmstadt-Dieburg. The municipality has a total population of 5,805 inhabitants. Currently, the mayor is Carsten Helfmann.-External links:*...
and Messel
Messel
Messel is a municipality in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg in Hesse near Frankfurt am Main in Germany.The village is first mentioned, as Masilla, in the Lorsch codex.Messel was the property of the lords of Groschlag from ca. 1400 to 1799...
(both in Darmstadt-Dieburg
Darmstadt-Dieburg
Darmstadt-Dieburg is a Kreis in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Offenbach, Aschaffenburg, Miltenberg, Odenwaldkreis, Bergstraße, Groß-Gerau, and the district-free city of Darmstadt, which it surrounds.-History:...
) and in the west on the town of Dreieich
Dreieich
Dreieich is a town in the Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. It lies roughly 10 km south of Frankfurt am Main and with more than 40,000 inhabitants is the district’s second biggest town.- Location :...
.
Constituent communities
Rödermark’s Stadtteile are Messenhausen with 796 inhabitants, Ober-Roden with 12,749 inhabitants, Urberach with 11,537 inhabitants, Waldacker with 2,885 inhabitants and Bulau (as at 30 June 2007).Ober-Roden
The community of Ober-Roden, which until 1977 was self-administering, is today the biggest of the five constituent communities. Through suburbanizationSuburbanization
Suburbanization a term used to describe the growth of areas on the fringes of major cities. It is one of the many causes of the increase in urban sprawl. Many residents of metropolitan regions work within the central urban area, choosing instead to live in satellite communities called suburbs...
in the 1960s and 1970s, Ober-Roden became an important residential community for commuters
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...
.
The town library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, the cultural hall, the daycare centre and the primary school all stand right on the brook, the Rodau, in Ober-Roden’s centre and together with the stately Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
Parish Church of St. Nazarius (locally sometimes called the Rodgaudom – Rodgau Cathedral – although it is no such thing), some 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 and a comfortable outdoor café lend the town centre a certain flair.
Ober-Roden is the location of the comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
and Europaschule Oswald-von-Nell-Breuning
Oswald von Nell-Breuning
Oswald von Nell-Breuning SJ was a Roman Catholic theologian and sociologist.Born in Trier, Germany into an aristocratic family, Nell-Breuning was ordained in 1921 and appointed Professor of Ethics at the University of Frankfurt am Main in 1928...
-Schule
Transport in Ober-Roden
S-Bahn
S-Bahn refers to an often combined city center and suburban railway system metro in Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark...
towards Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
by way of Offenbach, Frankfurt Hbf
Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof
is the central station for Frankfurt am Main. In terms of railway traffic, it is the busiest railway station in Germany. With about 350,000 passengers per day the station is the second most frequented railway station in Germany and one of the most frequented in Europe.- Proto-history :In the late...
and Frankfurt-Höchst
Höchst (Frankfurt am Main)
Höchst is a district of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the Ortsbezirk West, and is subdivided into 4 Stadtbezirke.Höchst am Main became part of Frankfurt am Main in 1928 together with its boroughs Sindlingen, Unterliederbach and Zeilsheim. It is situated 10 km west of downtown...
. Also found in Ober-Roden is an operational midpoint on the Dreieichbahn (railway) offering links to Urberach and Dreieich
Dreieich
Dreieich is a town in the Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. It lies roughly 10 km south of Frankfurt am Main and with more than 40,000 inhabitants is the district’s second biggest town.- Location :...
(from Dreieich-Buchschlag
Dreieich
Dreieich is a town in the Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. It lies roughly 10 km south of Frankfurt am Main and with more than 40,000 inhabitants is the district’s second biggest town.- Location :...
to Langen
Langen, Hesse
Langen is a town of roughly 36,000 in the Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany, between Darmstadt and Frankfurt am Main...
, Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt 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...
, Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport may refer to:Airports of Frankfurt, Germany:*Frankfurt Airport , the largest airport in Germany*Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport, a general aviation airport*Frankfurt-Hahn Airport , a converted U.S...
and Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof
Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof
is the central station for Frankfurt am Main. In terms of railway traffic, it is the busiest railway station in Germany. With about 350,000 passengers per day the station is the second most frequented railway station in Germany and one of the most frequented in Europe.- Proto-history :In the late...
) and serving Dieburg
Dieburg
Dieburg is a town in southern Hessen, Germany. It was formerly the seat of the district of Dieburg, but is now part of the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg.-History:...
in the other direction. From there connections are available to 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"...
, Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt 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...
and places in the Odenwald
Odenwald
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 connection with the plans for the Regionaltangente West (RTW) project, running the Dreieichbahn with RTW trains was in the past considered. For Ober-Roden this would have meant a direct rail link with Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport may refer to:Airports of Frankfurt, Germany:*Frankfurt Airport , the largest airport in Germany*Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport, a general aviation airport*Frankfurt-Hahn Airport , a converted U.S...
. The financing for the needed line expansion, however, is long-term, and the project, at least for the present, does not appear in the general transport plan.
Urberach
Urberach was until 31 December 1976 a self-administering community in what was then the Dieburg district. Since municipal reform came into force in Hesse on 1 January 1977, Urberach has been a constituent community of Rödermark, and since then has also belonged to the Offenbach district. Nevertheless, Urberach dwellers today still feel more of a connection with Dieburg and Darmstadt than with Offenbach.Rödermark has developed itself in all its constituent communities into an attractive residential and living area. Adding to the town’s attractiveness are in particular the new work done on part of the town core in 2003 and 2004, the many shops there together with the market halls on the outskirts, a bathhouse with sauna facilities and greenspace (back in operation in June 2006 after conversion), the hilly location of Bulau with its great worth as a recreation area and other similar things.
Urberach was in the past a centre for the potter’s craft. A pottery
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...
museum, a pottery market and the clay vessel in Urberach’s 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...
all recall this great tradition.
Urberach has been since 2002 the seat of the newly founded Berufsakademie Rhein-Main, a professional academy whose focus is on economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
and business informatics
Business informatics
Business informatics or organizational informatics is a discipline combining information technology , informatics and management concepts. The BI discipline was created in Germany, from the concept of "Wirtschaftsinformatik"...
.
Urberach dwellers call themselves Orwischer.
Population development
(each time as at 31 December)- 1998: 25,787
- 1999: 25,814
- 2000: 26,049
- 2001: 26,126
- 2002: 26,285
- 2003: 26,289
- 2004: 28,189
- 2005: 28,107
- 2006: 26,161
History
Rödermark was founded on 1 January 1977 out of the up until this point self-administering communities of Ober-Roden and Urberach. On 23 August 1980, Rödermark was officially granted town rights. The name goes back to the late mediaevalMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
communal forest (marca raodora) known as the Rödermark.
Celtic finds have been unearthed 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...
digs in town.
History of Ober-Roden
There is some likelihood that there was once a conventConvent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
in the community that was put under the Lorsch Abbey
Lorsch Abbey
The Abbey of Lorsch is a former Imperial Abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about 10 km east of Worms, one of the most renowned monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ruined state, its remains are among the most important pre-Romanesque–Carolingian style buildings in Germany...
by Abbess Aba in 786, but final proof of this is still lacking. The settlement of Rotaha had its first documentary mention in 790 in a donation to the Lorsch Abbey. Furthermore, a 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...
nobleman named Erlulf donated all his holdings in Ober-Roden, Nieder-Roden
Rodgau
Rodgau is a town in the Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany. It lies southeast of Frankfurt am Main in the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region and has the greatest population of any municipality in the Offenbach district...
and Bieber to the Lorsch Abbey on 22 April 791.
In 903, the Rotaha monastery was confirmed as the Lorsch Abbey’s tenant. The parish church in Ober-Roden is, like the abbey itself, consecrated to Saint Nazarius, and was Mother Church for Urberach, Nieder-Roden, Messel
Messel
Messel is a municipality in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg in Hesse near Frankfurt am Main in Germany.The village is first mentioned, as Masilla, in the Lorsch codex.Messel was the property of the lords of Groschlag from ca. 1400 to 1799...
and Dudenhofen
Rodgau
Rodgau is a town in the Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany. It lies southeast of Frankfurt am Main in the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region and has the greatest population of any municipality in the Offenbach district...
.
As part of the Amt of Steinheim, the village was sold in 1425 by the former landlords, the Lords of Eppstein
Lords of Eppstein
The Lords of Eppstein were a family of German nobility in the Middle Ages. From the 12th century they ruled extensive territories in the Rhine Main area from their castle in Eppstein, northwest of Frankfurt, Germany.-History:...
, to 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...
. For the next several centuries the Electoral Prince-Archbishop of Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
was the landlord.
In 1576 there were 80 households here, but in 1681 there were only 31 households and 117 inhabitants.
In 1786, the communally held land shared by Ober-Roden and several other villages was partitioned and shared out among Ober-Roden, Nieder-Roden, Urberach, Messel, Dietzenbach, Hainhausen, Jügesheim
Rodgau
Rodgau is a town in the Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany. It lies southeast of Frankfurt am Main in the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region and has the greatest population of any municipality in the Offenbach district...
and Dudenhofen.
The Amtsvogt
Vogt
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...
ei of Dieburg passed with Ober-Roden after Secularization
Secularization
Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...
to Hesse. In 1829, Ober-Roden had 1,295 inhabitants. In 1832, the place passed from the Landratsbezirk of Langen
Langen, Hesse
Langen is a town of roughly 36,000 in the Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany, between Darmstadt and Frankfurt am Main...
to the Offenbach district. From 1874 to 1977, the community belonged to the Dieburg district.
In 1896, the Rodgaubahn (railway) from Offenbach am Main by way of Ober-Roden to Dieburg was built, as was the Dreieichbahn by way of Urberach to Sprendlingen
Dreieich
Dreieich is a town in the Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. It lies roughly 10 km south of Frankfurt am Main and with more than 40,000 inhabitants is the district’s second biggest town.- Location :...
in 1905.
In 1939, the community had 3,608 inhabitants. In 1957, Messenhausen merged with Ober-Roden after having shared with it the same mayor since 1821, while still keeping its own municipal budget. In 1977 in the course of municipal reform in Hesse, Ober-Roden was merged with Urberach, whereupon the new amalgamated municipality became Rödermark.
History of Urberach
Urberach was named for the first time in 796 as a branch parish of Ober-Roden according to the Lorsch codexLorsch codex
The Lorsch Codex is an important historical document created between about 1175 to 1195 AD in the Monastery of Saint Nazarius in Lorsch, Germany. It consists of 460 pages in large format containing more than 3800 entries...
. The place had its first documentary mention in 1275 as Orbruch. 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...
acquired the lordly rights over Urberach in the Late Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. The village belonged to the Mainz Amt of Dieburg.
In 1280, part of Urberach ended up with Frankfurt as a fief.
In 1305, an estate from Urbruch belonged to Ober-Roden.
In 1425, Urbruch and Ober-Roden were sold to the Archbishop of Mainz.
In 1706, the Archbishop of Mainz, Lothar Franz von Schönborn
Lothar Franz von Schönborn
Lothar Franz von Schönborn was the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1694 until 1729, and the Bishop of Bamberg from 1693 until 1729.Lothar Franz was born in Steinheim am Main in 1655 to Count Philip Erwin of Schönborn...
, ceded Urbarach to Count Johann Philipp of Isenburg-Büdingen in exchange for Weisenau and Hechtsheim
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
. Urberach thenceforth belonged to the Amt of Philippseich, a younger line of the House of Isenburg.
In 1786 the Röder Mark was dissolved.
After the Principality of Isenburg-Birstein was dissolved in 1816, Urberach passed to 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...
and has been Hessian ever since. In 1821, the community was grouped into the Landratsbezirk of Offenbach and in 1832 assigned to the Offenbach district. From 1874 to 1977, Urberach belonged to the Dieburg district.
The population figure rose from 1,488 in 1861 to 2,807 in 1939 and 9,558 in 1978. In 1977 in the course of municipal reform in Hesse, Urberach was merged with Ober-Roden, whereupon the new amalgamated municipality became Rödermark.
History of Messenhausen
The village had its first documentary mention in 1282. In the time that followed, the Lords of Eppstein enfeoffed various noble families with Messenhausen. Up until the end of the Holy Roman EmpireHoly 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...
in 1806, the Lords of Frankenstein had been the fiefholders for centuries. In 1806, the community passed to 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...
.
In 1821, Messenhausen’s mayoral office was united with Ober-Roden’s, although each place maintained its own budget up until 1957, when Messenhausen joined Ober-Roden. Messenhausen had 80 inhabitants in 1829 and 605 in 1978.
Churches
Rödermark’s traditional character is Catholic. Owing to migration into the town in the latter half of the 20th century, however, many 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...
Christians now also live here. Today there are five Christian parishes:
- St. Nazarius Ober-Roden (Catholic)
- Ober-Roden (Evangelical)
- St. Gallus Urberach (Catholic)
- Petrusgemeinde Urberach (Evangelical)
- Free Evangelical parish of Rödermark
The oldest ecclesiastical building in Rödermark is the Dreifaltigkeitskapelle (“Trinity Chapel”) on the way into the community of Messenhausen (built in 1820).
Town council
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 | 47.1 | 21 | 52.9 | 24 |
| 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... |
17.1 | 8 | 25.8 | 12 |
| FDP | Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party (Germany) The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government... |
7.8 | 3 | 5.2 | 2 |
| AL/Grüne | Andere Liste Rödermark/Grüne | 28.1 | 13 | 16.1 | 7 |
| Total | 100.0 | 45 | 100.0 | 45 | |
| Voter turnout in % | 47.7 | 57.3 | |||
Mayors
Rödermark’s mayors since 1977 have been:- Karl Martin Rebel, CDU (1977–1982)
- Walter Faust, CDU (1982–1993)
- Alfons Maurer, CDU (1993–2005)
- Roland Kern, AL/Grüne (2005–present)
Town partnerships
Tramin an der WeinstraßeTramin an der Weinstraße
Tramin an der Weinstraße is a comune in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about 35 km northeast of the city of Trento and about 20 km southwest of the city of Bolzano. The name of the grape variety Gewürztraminer Tramin an der Weinstraße is a comune (municipality) in South Tyrol,...
, South Tyrol
South Tyrol
South Tyrol , also known by its Italian name Alto Adige, is an autonomous province in northern Italy. It is one of the two autonomous provinces that make up the autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol. The province has an area of and a total population of more than 500,000 inhabitants...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(originally with Urberach) since 1975 Saalfelden
Saalfelden
Saalfelden is a town in the Austrian state of Salzburg and is the administrative centre of the Pinzgauer Saalachtal...
, Salzburg
Salzburg (state)
Salzburg is a state or Land of Austria with an area of 7,156 km2, located adjacent to the German border. It is also known as Salzburgerland, to distinguish it from its capital city, also named Salzburg...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
(originally with Ober-Roden) since 1976 Bodajk
Bodajk
Bodajk is a town in Fejér county, Hungary. Since July 1, 2008, Bodajk is a town....
, Fejér County, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
since 1992
Economy
Rödermark’s economy is based on midsize businesses. Besides the many retail and craft businesses, the following major companies are resident in Rödermark:- CeoTronics AG (speech transmission)
- Reimelt (mechanical engineeringMechanical engineeringMechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
) - Winkelmann Palsis (vibration technology)
- Elta (consumer electronicsConsumer electronicsConsumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...
, cooling appliances) - Videor E. Hartig GmbH (video technology distribution)
- Köhl (office furniture)
- Adicon (building)
- Schleinkofer GmbH (mechanical engineering)
Sons and daughters of the town
Hendrik Nachtsheim, former member of the Rodgau Monotones and today the Rödermärk half of the comedy duo BadesalzBadesalz
Badesalz is a comedy duo from the German state of Hesse, founded in the early 1980s by Hendrik "Henni" Nachtsheim and Gerd Knebel as "Badesalz Theater"....
.
Other persons connected with Rödermark
- Kristina BachKristina BachKristina Bach is a German "Schlager" singer, lyricist and music producer. Bach is noted for her 3 ½-octave vocal range.-Biography:...
, hit singer, lived in Rödermark-Urberach in the 1990s. - Bernd SpierBernd SpierBernd Spier is a German schlager singer and record producer. He is now a real estate broker.- Biography :Spier was born in Ludwigslust, Mecklenburg and is the son of Robby Spier, who was the conductor of the Hessischer Rundfunk orchestra in Frankfurt. Spier started his first band with two friends...
, hit singer, lives in Waldacker and for some years has been running a real estateReal propertyIn English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...
business in the industrial area in Ober-Roden.