Weinbach
Encyclopedia
Location
Weinbach lies on the LahnLahn
The Lahn River is a -long, right tributary of the Rhine River in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia , Hesse , and Rhineland-Palatinate ....
and the Weil
Weil River
The Weil is small 50 km long river in Hesse, Germany. It is a left tributary to the Lahn river and the city of Weilburg is located next to its mouth. The river flows exclusively through the Taunus mountain range with its source being located between the Kleiner Feldberg and Großer Feldberg...
between Wetzlar
Wetzlar
Wetzlar is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. Located at 8° 30′ E, 50° 34′ N, Wetzlar straddles the river Lahn and is on the German Timber-Framework Road which passes mile upon mile of half-timbered houses. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis on the north edge of...
and Limburg an der Lahn
Limburg an der Lahn
Limburg an der Lahn is the district seat of Limburg-Weilburg in Hesse, Germany.-Location:Limburg lies in western Hesse between the Taunus and the Westerwald on the river Lahn....
.
Neighbouring communities
Weinbach borders in the north on the town of WeilburgWeilburg
Weilburg is, with just under 14,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg.- Location :...
, in the east on the community of Weilmünster
Weilmünster
- Geography :Weilmünster is among the most richly wooded places in Limburg-Weilburg. The forestry office looks after not only the State Forest but also twelve municipalities’ woodlands in the south of the Limburg-Weilburg and Lahn-Dill districts.- Location :...
, and in the west on the community of Villmar
Villmar
Villmar is a market town in the Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany. The community is the centre for quarrying and processing the so-called Lahn Marble.-Location:...
and the town of Runkel
Runkel
Runkel is a town on the Lahn River in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany.- Location :Runkel lies in the Lahn Valley on both sides of the river between the Westerwald and the Taunus, some eight kilometres east of Limburg....
(all in Limburg-Weilburg).
Constituent communities
Weinbach is made up of eight Ortsteile. The main centre is also called Weinbach, and the outlying centres are Blessenbach, Edelsberg, Elkerhausen, Freienfels, Fürfurt, Gräveneck and Kleinweinbach.History
Fürfurt was mentioned in a document from sometime between 1148 and 1154, thus making it the first part of the community to have its first documentary mention. Elkerhausen’s first documentary mention came in 1191. The knightly family who lived there was heavily involved in a feud in the 14th century with the landlord, the Archbishop of Trier. The Elkerhauser Wasserburg (a moated castleCastle
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 destroyed in 1352. About 1500, there arose a stronghouse out of which a new castle grew.
Edelsberg had its first documentary mention in 1246, Blessenbach in 1267 and Weinbach in 1344. Freienfels Castle was built about 1300, presumably by the Diez family’s Weilnau branch. In 1327 it had its first documentary mention. Gräveneck Castle was built in 1395 by a knightly order under Nassau’s
House of Nassau
The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The lords of Nassau were originally titled Count of Nassau, then elevated to the princely class as...
leadership to guard against the Knights of Elkerhausen.
Evangelical 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...
church in Weinbach arose in 1728; the forerunner church’s Early 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....
quire was incorporated into this newer church.
The history of the greater community of Weinbach began in 1970 when the formerly self-administering communities of Weinbach, Blessenbach, Freienfels and Gräveneck amalgamated in the course of municipal restructuring in Hesse. In 1974, the communities of Elkerhausen, Fürfurt and Edelsberg were also merged into the greater community.
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 | 29.5 | 4 | 27.5 | 6 |
| 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... |
43.7 | 7 | 48.8 | 11 |
| GREENS | Bündnis 90/Die Grünen | 5.5 | 1 | 3.6 | 1 |
| FWG | Freie Wählergemeinschaft Weinbach | 21.3 | 3 | 20.1 | 5 |
| Total | 100.0 | 15 | 100.0 | 23 | |
| Voter turnout in % | 52.4 | 60.3 | |||
Town partnerships
Weinbach has maintained a partnership arrangement with the PolishPoland
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...
community of Debrzno
Debrzno
Debrzno is a town in Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland.The town was first mentioned as Fredeland in a document of 1346, when the manager of the Teutonic Order in Schlochau assigned four Hufen territory to Tylo. 1354 the Grandmaster Winrich von Kniprode granted the Culmer Law to the town....
, roughly 150 km southwest of Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
in the Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship
Pomeranian Voivodeship, or Pomerania Province , is a voivodeship, or province, in north-central Poland. It comprises most of Pomerelia , as well as an area east of the Vistula River...
, since 1992.
Since 2005, another partnership has existed with the Czech
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
community of Blatno, which lies roughly 50 km south of Chemnitz
Chemnitz
Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
, right at the Reitzenhain border crossing above the town of Chomutov
Chomutov
Chomutov is a city in the Czech Republic, in the Ústí nad Labem Region.Chomutov has been a statutory town since 1 July 2006. It occupies an area of 29,26 km² and has 50 782 inhabitants , thereby making it the 20th largest town in the Czech Republic, the 4th largest in the Ústí nad Labem...
.
Buildings
- Burg Elkerhausen (castle)
- Burg Neu-Elkerhausen (castle) on the Lahn near Gräveneck
- Burg Freienfels (castle ruins) above the Weil in the outlying centre of Freienfels
Transport
Weinbach is linked to the long-distance road network by BundesstraßeBundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
456. On the Lahntalbahn (railway) are stations in the centres of Gräveneck and Fürfurt.
Until 1969, the centre of Freienfels was also linked to the rail network by the now abandoned Weiltalbahn.
Public institutions
- Weinbach Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1932 (includes youth fire brigade)
- Blessenbach Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1932 (includes youth fire brigade)
- Edelsberg Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1934 (includes youth fire brigade)
- Elkerhausen Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1934 (includes youth fire brigade)
- Freienfels Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1934 (includes youth fire brigade)
- Gräveneck Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1934 (includes youth fire brigade)
Sons and daughters of the town
- Karl Schapper (b. 30 December 1812, d. 29 April 1870 in London), forestry scientist, protagonist of the labour movementLabour movementThe term labour movement or labor movement is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and governments, in particular through the implementation of specific laws governing labour...
and revolutionaryRevolutionaryA revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
from the Duchy of Nassau. - Helmut Hild, (b. 23 May 1921, d. 11 September 1999 in Darmstadt), Church president of the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau.