Steinheim, Westphalia
Encyclopedia
Steinheim is a town in Höxter
district in North Rhine-Westphalia
, Germany
.
The middle centre of Steinheim forms the economic, cultural and social hub of the Steinheimer Börde, one of the main territories of the old Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn. This territory was known as Wethi-Weizengau in Saxon times. Particularly scenic are the foothills of the Eggegebirge
.
Note: UWG is a citizens' coalition.
might heraldically be described thus: In argent a wall with three crenellated towers, the middle tower higher than the two flanking, gules, in the wall below the middle tower a gate Or.
Steinheim's oldest town seal, from the 15th century, shows the wall with the three towers, but not the gate. The wall and towers have figured on all seals since that time, but some seals showed the gate, and others did not. Arms were officially granted the town on 23 March 1908, and showed only the wall and towers, not the gate. On 22 March 1971, the town adopted a new coat of arms whose composition was roughly the same, but it included a narrow green chief (stripe across the top). These arms soon yielded to the present arms when a disagreement arose over the new arms, with the council opposing the new blazon that included the green chief.
The current arms were adopted on 3 July 1972.http://www.ngw.nl/int/dld/s/steinhei.htm
-Ruhr area
) and Autobahnen A 2 (Hanover
-Ruhr area
) and A 44
(Dortmund
-Kassel
) are right at hand.
Steinheim can also be reached by rail throughout the day, with hourly trains from both Hanover
and Paderborn
.
s and daycare centres, two primary schools, one special school
, a Hauptschule
, a Realschule
and a Gymnasium
.
, Poland
Haukipudas
, Finland
Specchia
, Italy
Szigetszentmiklós
, Hungary
Höxter (district)
Höxter is a Kreis in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Holzminden, Northeim, Kassel, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Hochsauerland, Paderborn, and Lippe.-History:...
district in North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
, 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...
.
The middle centre of Steinheim forms the economic, cultural and social hub of the Steinheimer Börde, one of the main territories of the old Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn. This territory was known as Wethi-Weizengau in Saxon times. Particularly scenic are the foothills of the Eggegebirge
Eggegebirge
The Eggegebirge is a range of low, forested mountains in the very east of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.-Geography:The Eggegebirge extends from the southern tip of the Teutoburger Wald range near Horn-Bad Meinberg southwards to the northern parts of the Sauerland near Marsberg...
.
Constituent communities
The greater town of Steinheim consists of the main town of Steinheim and eight outlying villages:- Bergheim
- Eichholz
- Grevenhagen
- Hagedorn
- Ottenhausen
- Rolfzen
- Sandebeck
- Vinsebeck
History
Steinheim was granted town rights in 1275 by Simon I, Bishop of Paderborn.http://www.ngw.nl/int/dld/s/steinhei.htmMain sights
- The Steinheim Catholic Parish Church of Saint Mary (Katholische Pfarrkiche St. Marien Steinheim).
- The Town Hall, built in 1835, is a plain, two-storey plaster building in late Classicist forms.
- The rectory (Pfarrhaus), a two-storey half-timberedTimber framingTimber 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...
house with a half-hipped roof, was built in 1729. - The so-called Paradieshof (Detmolder Str. 24) was formerly the episcopal financial officer's (Rentmeister) seat. It was built in 1729 with a half-hipped roof. Renovated in 1995-96, the building has been used since that time as a kindergarten, daycare centre and shelter on the parental initiative Klabautermann e.V.
- The nearby Rentmeisterhaus (Detmolder Str. 28) presents itself as a late BaroqueBaroqueThe Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
heptaxial plaster (half-timbered?) building with middle risalitRisalitA risalit, from the Italian risalto for "projection", is a German term which refers to a part of a building that juts out, usually over the full height of the building. In English the French term avant-corps is sometimes used. It is common in façades in the baroque period.A corner risalit is where...
and Mansard roof. It was built in 1767. It still has its original front door. - In the town core after the renovations in the 1970s and 1980s, only a few older residential houses had been kept. As a rule, this usually meant plain half-timbered Dielenhäuser (wide, open houses with a high hallways) almost all of which had been built after the devastating town fire in 1729. Especially well preserved is Rochusstraße 22, a half-timbered Dielenhaus from 1729.
- Of the town wall, built beginning in 1280, one rather lengthy stretch has been preserved on the street "Hinter der Mauer" ("Behind the Wall").
Cultural events
- Steinheim's RosenmontagRosenmontagRosenmontag is the highlight of the German "Karneval" , and is on the Shrove Monday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. The "Mardi Gras," though celebrated on Tuesday, is a similar event...
szug – a colourful parade – is the biggest and oldest in the East Westphalia-Lippe region. Also, the Steinheim shooting festival, held every year in early summer, enjoys great popularity.
Town council
Town council's 26 seats are apportioned as follows, in accordance with municipal elections held on 26 September 2004:- CDUChristian 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...
12 seats - SPDSocial Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
6 seats - GreensAlliance '90/The GreensAlliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir...
3 seats - UWG 5 seats
Note: UWG is a citizens' coalition.
Mayors
At the municipal elections, the new mayor Joachim Franzke (CDU) was elected with an absolute majority, succeeding the old mayor Reinhard Spieß (CDU).Coat of arms
Steinheim's civic 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...
might heraldically be described thus: In argent a wall with three crenellated towers, the middle tower higher than the two flanking, gules, in the wall below the middle tower a gate Or.
Steinheim's oldest town seal, from the 15th century, shows the wall with the three towers, but not the gate. The wall and towers have figured on all seals since that time, but some seals showed the gate, and others did not. Arms were officially granted the town on 23 March 1908, and showed only the wall and towers, not the gate. On 22 March 1971, the town adopted a new coat of arms whose composition was roughly the same, but it included a narrow green chief (stripe across the top). These arms soon yielded to the present arms when a disagreement arose over the new arms, with the council opposing the new blazon that included the green chief.
The current arms were adopted on 3 July 1972.http://www.ngw.nl/int/dld/s/steinhei.htm
Transport
Owing to Steinheim's advantageous location on the north-south-running East Westphalia Road (Ostwestfalenstraße), otherwise known as Federal Highway (Bundesstraße) B252, connections to the B1 (PaderbornPaderborn
Paderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader, which originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried.-History:...
-Ruhr area
Ruhr Area
The Ruhr, by German-speaking geographers and historians more accurately called Ruhr district or Ruhr region , is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million , it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...
) and Autobahnen A 2 (Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
-Ruhr area
Ruhr Area
The Ruhr, by German-speaking geographers and historians more accurately called Ruhr district or Ruhr region , is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million , it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...
) and A 44
Bundesautobahn 44
is a German Autobahn. It consists of three main-parts and a few smaller parts. It begins in Aachen at the German-Belgian border and ends near Kassel. Before the German unification it was an unimportant provincial-motorway but after this event it became an integral part of the German highway-system...
(Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
-Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
) are right at hand.
Steinheim can also be reached by rail throughout the day, with hourly trains from both Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
and Paderborn
Paderborn
Paderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader, which originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried.-History:...
.
Education
Steinheim has several kindergartenKindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
s and daycare centres, two primary schools, one special school
Special education
Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
, a Hauptschule
Hauptschule
A Hauptschule is a secondary school in Germany and Austria, starting after 4 years of elementary schooling, which offers Lower Secondary Education according to the International Standard Classification of Education...
, a Realschule
Realschule
The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
and a Gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
.
Town partnerships
Steinheim maintains partnership links with the following placeshttp://www.steinheim.de/uploads/download/flyer_mai_05_web.pdf: Busko-ZdrójBusko-Zdrój
Busko-Zdrój is a town in Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Busko County. As of 2004, its population is 17,363.-History:...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Haukipudas
Haukipudas
Haukipudas is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. Its shore runs along the Gulf of Bothnia, with the river Kiiminkijoki running through the province....
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
Specchia
Specchia
Specchia is a town and comune in the province of Lecce. in the Apulia region of southeast Italy.-Main sights:*Mother Church *Church of the Francescani Neri *Baroque church of Assunta...
, 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...
Szigetszentmiklós
Szigetszentmiklós
Szigetszentmiklósis a city in Pest county in Hungary with approximately 26,662 inhabitants.- Name :* Sziget – island: Szigetszentmiklós is a town in the Csepel Island* Szent Miklós – Saint Nicholas, who is the patron saint of Szigetszentmiklós...
, 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...