Wiesbaden-Dotzheim
Encyclopedia
Dotzheim is a western borough
of Wiesbaden
, capital of the state of Hesse
, Germany
. It is the largest borough of the city by area and, with over 26,000 inhabitants, it is the second-most populated of Wiesbaden's suburban boroughs. It was the largest village in the former Duchy of Nassau
. The formerly independent village was incorporated into Wiesbaden in 1928.
Mountains. The primary peaks along its northern boundary are Hohe Wurzel (618 m) and Schläferskopf (454 m). The Weilburger Tal (Wielburg Valley), a valley complex formed by the Wielburger Bach stream and its tributaries, leads south from the mountains. After passing through the old village center, the stream enters the more extensive Belzbachtal. The ridges that border the Belzbach valley are the Schiersteiner Hang (Schierstein Slope) on the west and the Wiesbadener Kessel on the east. As the Belzbach enters the borough of Biebrich
, it becomes the Mosbach, which flows into the Rhine at Biebrich Castle.
and on the other sides by other boroughs of Wiesbaden. These are Klarenthal
and Rheingauviertel to the northeast, Biebrich
to the southeast, Schierstein
to the south, and Frauenstein
to the southwest.
, are from the La Tène culture of the Late Iron Age - about 400 BC. There is also evidence of settlement from the Roman
era. In 222, the first year of the reign of Emperor Severus Alexander, Fortunatus and Sejus dedicated an altar, a fragment of which was discovered.
After the collapse of Roman rule in the area and Frankish
king Clovis I
Merovingian’s later defeat of the Alamanni
, Frankish settlement of the area began, especially under King Dagobert I
(623 to 638). At that time, it is conjectured, a nobleman named Tuzzo or Tuozo settled in the Belzbachtal and gave his name to the place - Tuozesheim became Tozesheim and eventually Dotzheim.
The first written document which mentions Dotzheim dates to only 1128. At this time the Archbishop of Mainz, Adalbert I von Saarbrücken
, gave the Mainz Cathedral
the income from the possessions of the local landowners. In another document, dated November 21, 1184, Pope Lucius III
(1181 to 1185) in Verona
confirmed the Mainz Benedictine
monastery of St. Alban’s
possession of 25 churches, including that of Dotzheim. The monastery of Vögte was established in Dotzheim, to which such well-known families such as the Treasurer of Worms
, the Brömser of Rüdesheim, and the Knight of Sickingen belonged. Besides the clergy of Mainz (the Mainz Cathedral, St. Alban’s, St. Clare’s, and the Karthäuser Monasteries, and St. John's Convent), the monasteries of Eberbach
and Klarenthal also received income from Dotzheim. In a deed from Eberbach dated June 24, 1275 is the first mention of wine in Dotzheim - Knight Philipp von Frauenstein
donated some property in Dotzheim, consisting of a mill and twelve vineyards, to the monastery.
The beginnings of the rule of the House of Nassau
in and around Dotzheim are unknown. A document from 1310 testifies that Dotzheim owed Nassau taxes and services. The Lords of Eppstein
had held the jurisdiction in the 13th century, but at some point control passed to the House of Nassau.
The 13th and 14th-centuries mark the first mention of aristocratic families named "von Dotzheim.” The Knight Siegfried von Dotzheim (died 1316) donated to the Eberbach Abbey the first of its nine Gothic side chapels. Siegfried was buried there and his gravestone with his coat of arms (with three crowing jackdaws in the upper section) can still be seen. The nobles Sibodo (died 1331) and Catherine von Dotzheim are buried in the Klarenthal Monastery.
The village court of Dotzheim is first mentioned in writing in 1386. This can therefore be regarded as the beginning of local self-government. From 1430, there is evidence that the village was protected by fences and gates.
In 1569, Johann Lonicerus was introduced as the first Protestant minister.
In 1610, about 50 percent of the houses were destroyed by a serious fire. In 1644, almost all the inhabitants of Dotzheim fled from their home during the Thirty Years' War
. It took the village decades to recover from the consequences of the war.
The Protestant parsonage opposite the village church was built in 1695, followed by a schoolhouse in 1698. The new building of the parish church dates from 1716 to 1718.
) discontinued service on this line in 1983, but the line still exists and the Nassau Touristic Railway operates a museum train on it.
At the turn of the century, under the administrations of the last three Bürgermeister (mayors) of Dotzheim, namely Georg Heil (1881 to 1901), August Rossel (1901 to 1913) and Eduard Spork Horst (1913 to 1928), the village got a new town hall, three schools, and a forest cemetery. A development plan was implemented, which even put valuable agricultural parts of the village under protection. By 1906 Dotzheim was connected to the local gas, water and electricity supply network. A streetcar line between Wiesbaden and Dotzheim was also established. The post office at the upper Wiesbadener Straße was built in 1901 (it closed in 1997).
Shortly before the outbreak of World War I, Dotzheim had about 6,200 residents and proudly described itself as "the largest village in the lands of Nassau. In 1928 the independent village was incorporated into Wiesbaden.
The re-armament efforts in the era of National Socialism brought extensive barracks buildings in Kohlheck and Freudenberg. Dotzheim survived World War II
virtually unscathed. A deep, wide crater in the northwestern Weilburg valley does testify to an attempted bombing raid. After the war, American occupation forces took up residence in the barracks.
After the Second World War, the need for housing a large number of refugees and displaced persons, and Wiesbaden’s emergence as the state capital of Hesse, led to extensive development of Dotzheim. The neighborhoods of Freudenberg and Märchenland had already been started in the 1930s. Now a number of new residential developments were built around the borough, including Kohlheck, Schelmengraben, and Sauerland. Schelmengraben, a development of 2,500 homes for 7,000 people, was the conception of urban planner Professor May. After the withdrawal of some of the American military forces from the area, the more recent development of "Auf der Heide" has emerged from the redevelopment of the barracks area in front of Freudenberg Castle.
The coat of arms of Dotzheim consists simply of a black Latin letter “T.” This coat of arms was officially adopted in 1951 and approved by the City of Wiesbaden. The same coat of arms has appeared on all of the historic seals of the town. The oldest seal, with prints dating from 1551 and 1585, was adopted as the Counts of Nassau enforced their national sovereignty in the 16th Century. The meaning of the T is not known. Various theories are that it may represent the first letter of the name of the founder of the town, the original initial of the village itself, or the Cross of St. Anthony
.
Freudenberg Castle (Schloß Freudenberg) in Dotzheim was built in 1904 by Paul Schultze-Naumburg
as a palace in the middle of a park. His clients were Scottish painter James Pitcairn-Knowles (1863–1954) and Marie Eugénie Guérinet Victoria (1870–1959). The couple lived in the castle for only three years.
Around 1920, the Landkreis Essen operated a children's home there, which subsequently was taken over by the city of Essen. The operation lasted until 1931. During the time of National Socialism, Schloß Freudenberg became, first, the “Taunusblick Children's Home,” and then a mothers’ home for Lebensborn
. Lebensborn, according to Nazi racial hygiene
ideology
, sought to increase the birth rate of "Aryan" children through extramarital relationships.
After 1945, until the 1970s, the United States Army
operated a casino in the castle for officers stationed at the nearby barracks Camp Pieri. It was later used by the International Pentecostal Church of Wiesbaden. In 1973, the U.S. army gave the castle over to the German Bundesvermögensverwaltung (federal asset management). Abandoned in 1983, the building eventually fell into an extreme state of disrepair.
In 1993, the Nature and Art Society, a charitable initiative of Matthias Schenk and Beatrice Dastis Schenk, took over the castle and park and began a restoration of the building. The Schenks were students of Hugo Kükelhaus (1900–1984), who developed the idea of field experience to develop the senses and the mind. From 1975 until his death in 1984, Kükelhaus toured Germany with a caravan of circus tents and “experience stations.” The Schenks then continued touring, until choosing Schloss Freudenberg as the permanent home of the Experience Field.
At the beginning of the renovation in 1994, Emil Hädler, a professor at Fachhochschule Mainz and an expert in building maintenance, formulated the motto “Renovation = Healing through Art.” This principle, the curative effect of art, has become a model for other projects. Another guiding principle is allowing use and redevelopment to run continuously in parallel, turning the renovation into a box with its own kind of experience - a constantly changing temporary opening of new possibilities of perception. The redevelopment project is expected to last until 2030.
In addition to applying the ideas of Kükelhaus, it also applies the ideas of Anthroposophy
by Rudolf Steiner
(1861–1925) and social sculpture
by Joseph Beuys
(1921–1986). Numerous meetings, seminars and other events about these are offered at Freudenberg Castle .
With support from the city of Wiesbaden, the Nature and Art Society maintain a unique cultural center at the castle and its surrounding 16 hectare grounds. The focal point is the so-called “experience for the senses”, which with over 80 interactive experience stations, with instruments and tests according to the models of Kükelhaus.
Schloss Freudenberg's cafe offers refreshments and desserts made at Mechtildehausen's bakery, a local organic and communal farm. “Der Dunkelbar” (“The Dark Bar”) serves food and drink in complete darkness.
The original deed was issued to Franz Klein of Bingen by Count Friederich Ludwig of Nassau Saarbrücken and Saar, Lord of Lahr, Wiesbaden, and Idstein. The mill went through numerous owners over the years. Between 1860 and 1889 alone, it went through nine sales. It particularly suffered during the War of 1795. The owners began operating a restaurant at the mill in 1890. It soon became a popular locale. As a mill, the Straßenmühle ceased operations in 1927. The small mill could not compete with the larger mills as farmers began selling their grain to cooperatives and small customers could not run the operation.
A millstone from the mill was found by chance. Made of sandstone, the “runner” measures 94 cm in diameter and 24 cm in thickness and now stands in the establishment’s garden. The original "overshot" mill wheel measured 6 m in diameter and approximately 0.6 m in thickness. It was powered by water from a millrace, which diverged from the Belzbach in the center of Dotzheim. It was about 1.1 km long and 80 cm wide.
.
As the number of Catholics in Dotzheim increasingly grew at the end of the 19th century, money was collected to build a Catholic church. On December 8, 1901, the Eucharist was held again in Dotzheim for the first time since the Protestant Reformation
. The mass was conducted in the old school, because the church was not ready. On March 31, 1902 (Easter Monday), the church was solemnly inaugurated and dedicated to St. Joseph. Dotzheim was not its own parish, but organizationally belonged to Frauenstein until 1926.
During World War II
, on the night of February 2–3, 1945, St. Joseph’s Church was burned during a bombing raid. It was only roughly restored afterward. In 1955, the church was expanded and a large tower added, but by the 1970s, the church was again too small. It was demolished in 1976, and the church and rectory were replaced with a modern community center, with the church on one side and the rectory and parish office on the other. Bishop Gerhard Pieschl inaugurated the facility on February 3, 1978.
The structure of St. Joseph’s Church is impressive with massive, geometric shapes such as rectangles, triangles, and cylindars, covered with a pyramidal roof. The exterior and the interior of the church are covered with a rustic plaster, the "trademark" of the architect Justus Dahinden. Built in the style of the 1970s, when churches were understood as multi-functional rooms, the Church of St. Joseph still has a strong religious character. It has windows of completely transparent glass, an ox-blood red color on the inside, indirect lighting, and pale wood. The Easter candlesticks and a Cross with Christ Enthroned in a mandorla (wood) were designed by the Wiesbaden artist Clemens Schmidt. The organ in St. Joseph’s, built in the French style by the organ workshop of Alfred Wild in Saverne
, Alsace
, France
, has 20 registers including “Spanish Trumpets.” The construction of the organ, inaugurated on March 19, 1994, was completed in 2003.The St. Joseph Parish Center next to the church includes a kindergarten, cafeteria, meeting rooms and a bowling alley.
The Church of the Visitation of Mary (Mariae Heimsuchung) in Kohlheck was built between 1963 and 1966 and soon became a Wiesbaden landmark. Designed by the architect Johannes Jackel of Berlin, the building is meant to be a symbol of the path of God with people, as shown in the example of the Virgin Mary. It forms the shape of a giant letter “M” (for Mary) when viewed from the west. Its ground plan is shaped like a Star of David, because Mary was of the Jewish people. The dominant construction materials of the church are concrete, Rhenish slate, and glass. One of the largest stained-glass church windows in the world allows the altar area to be flooded with light and the narrow east wall to be illuminated with reflected light.
), the Erlösergemeinde (Deliverer Community) in Sauerland, and the community church of Schelmengraben.
Dotzheim is also home to the Freie Christengemeinde (Free Christian Community) Wiesbaden. This Pentecostal church, whose roots in Wiesbaden go back to 1932, has been located in Dotzheim since June 2001.
The "Turnverein Dotzheim" (Dotzheim gymnastics club) was founded in the Revolution year of 1848. In 1875, the club built its first Turnhalle (gymnasium) on Frauensteiner Strasse. The construction and dedication of the Turnerheim took place in 1895. In 1914, the gymnasium was taken for war purposes and in 1921 the Turnerheim was seized by the French occupation forces. In 1925, a new Notturnhalle was constructed on Erich Ollenhauer-Str. as a training facility for gymnastics, fistball, and handball. From 1939 through 1945, almost the entire membership was involved in active military service, leading to a total collapse of the club until after the war.
After World War II, the Allied forces ordered that boroughs with less than 10,000 residents must have only one sports club. For this reason, in December 1945, the TuS Wiesbaden-Dotzheim 1848 eV was organized as the legal successor of the former clubs: Turnverein 1848 eV, Radlerclub 1902 eV (cycling club), Kraftsportverein 1903, Arbeiterturnverein 1908 (workers’ gymnastics club), and the Verein der Sportfreunde 1910 eV (association of sports enthusiasts).
An independent association football club had existed in Dotzheim since 1910. Today the football department, with over 300 members, is one of the largest divisions of the TuS Wiesbaden-Dotzheim. For the 2008/2009 season, the men’s teams compete in the Kreisoberliga and Kreisliga C. Including the youth leagues, TuS Wiesbaden-Dotzheim has a total of 10 football teams. In addition, a "old men’s” team is active in a number of games and contests throughout the year. The top men’s and women’s handball teams compete in the Hessian Landesliga Mitte.
Another club, 1. SC Kohlheck 1951 e.V., is based in the Kohlheck neighborhood. It offers competition in football, volleyball, fist ball, tennis, gymnastics, table tennis, and Bob and Luge.
Dotzheim is also the home of Basketball Club Wiesbaden 1952 eV, whose top basketball teams compete in the Hessian men’s Landesliga and women’s Oberliga. Other football clubs include Kohlheck United 1998 and FC Freudenberg 1950.eV. Finally, Dotzheim is home to the swimming club, Schwimmverein Delphin Wiesbaden 1986 e.V.
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
of 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...
, capital of the state of 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...
. It is the largest borough of the city by area and, with over 26,000 inhabitants, it is the second-most populated of Wiesbaden's suburban boroughs. It was the largest village in the former Duchy of Nassau
Nassau (state)
Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire and later in the German Confederation. Its ruling dynasty, now extinct in male line, was the House of Nassau.-Origins:...
. The formerly independent village was incorporated into Wiesbaden in 1928.
Location
Dotzheim is located in the northwest of Wiesbaden. To the north and northwest are the wooded slopes of the Hochtaunus, or High TaunusTaunus
The Taunus is a low mountain range in Hesse, Germany that composes part of the Rhenish Slate Mountains. It is bounded by the river valleys of Rhine, Main and Lahn. On the opposite side of the Rhine, the mountains are continued by the Hunsrück...
Mountains. The primary peaks along its northern boundary are Hohe Wurzel (618 m) and Schläferskopf (454 m). The Weilburger Tal (Wielburg Valley), a valley complex formed by the Wielburger Bach stream and its tributaries, leads south from the mountains. After passing through the old village center, the stream enters the more extensive Belzbachtal. The ridges that border the Belzbach valley are the Schiersteiner Hang (Schierstein Slope) on the west and the Wiesbadener Kessel on the east. As the Belzbach enters the borough of Biebrich
Wiesbaden-Biebrich
Biebrich is a borough of the city of Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany. With over 36,000 inhabitants, it is the most-populated of Wiesbaden's boroughs. It is located south of the city center on the Rhine River, opposite the Mainz borough of Mombach...
, it becomes the Mosbach, which flows into the Rhine at Biebrich Castle.
Neighboring communities
Dotzheim is bordered on the northwest by the municipality of TaunussteinTaunusstein
Taunusstein is the biggest town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. It consists of more than 29,000 inhabitants.- Location :...
and on the other sides by other boroughs of Wiesbaden. These are Klarenthal
Wiesbaden-Klarenthal
Klarenthal is a borough of Wiesbaden, capital of the federal state of Hesse, Germany. The community, situated on the slopes of the Taunus Mountains, was planned by architect and urban planner Ernst May in the style of a commuter town in the early 1960s...
and Rheingauviertel to the northeast, Biebrich
Wiesbaden-Biebrich
Biebrich is a borough of the city of Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany. With over 36,000 inhabitants, it is the most-populated of Wiesbaden's boroughs. It is located south of the city center on the Rhine River, opposite the Mainz borough of Mombach...
to the southeast, Schierstein
Wiesbaden-Schierstein
Schierstein is a southwestern borough of Wiesbaden, capital of state of Hesse, Germany. First mentioned in historical records in 860, Schierstein was incorporated into Wiesbaden in 1926. Today the borough has about 10,000 residents...
to the south, and Frauenstein
Wiesbaden-Frauenstein
Frauenstein is the western-most borough of the city of Wiesbaden, located in the Rhine Main Area near Frankfurt and capital of the federal state of Hesse, Germany. The borough has a population of approximately 2,400. The formerly independent village was incorporated into Wiesbaden in 1928.The...
to the southwest.
Early history
The oldest evidence of settlement in the Belzbachtal comes from five closely spaced Celtic stone box graves (or cists) discovered in the area of Hohlstraße 3. The graves, made of uncut slabs of quartziteQuartzite
Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...
, are from the La Tène culture of the Late Iron Age - about 400 BC. There is also evidence of settlement from the Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
era. In 222, the first year of the reign of Emperor Severus Alexander, Fortunatus and Sejus dedicated an altar, a fragment of which was discovered.
After the collapse of Roman rule in the area and 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...
king Clovis I
Clovis I
Clovis Leuthwig was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the leadership from a group of royal chieftains, to rule by kings, ensuring that the kingship was held by his heirs. He was also the first Catholic King to rule over Gaul . He was the son...
Merovingian’s later defeat of the Alamanni
Alamanni
The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Rhine river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211 to 217 and claimed thereby to be...
, Frankish settlement of the area began, especially under King Dagobert I
Dagobert I
Dagobert I was the king of Austrasia , king of all the Franks , and king of Neustria and Burgundy . He was the last Merovingian dynast to wield any real royal power...
(623 to 638). At that time, it is conjectured, a nobleman named Tuzzo or Tuozo settled in the Belzbachtal and gave his name to the place - Tuozesheim became Tozesheim and eventually Dotzheim.
The first written document which mentions Dotzheim dates to only 1128. At this time the Archbishop of Mainz, Adalbert I von Saarbrücken
Adalbert of Mainz
Adalbert I von Saarbrücken , Archbishop of Mainz , played a key role in opposing Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor and in securing the election of Lothar III, Holy Roman Emperor.-Life:...
, gave the Mainz Cathedral
Mainz Cathedral
Mainz Cathedral or St. Martin's Cathedral is located near the historical center and pedestrianized market square of the city of Mainz, Germany...
the income from the possessions of the local landowners. In another document, dated November 21, 1184, Pope Lucius III
Pope Lucius III
Pope Lucius III , born Ubaldo, was pope from 1 September 1181 to his death.A native of the independent republic of Lucca, he was born ca. 1100 as Ubaldo, son of Orlando. He is commonly referred to as a member of the aristocratic family of Allucingoli, but this is not proven...
(1181 to 1185) in Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
confirmed the Mainz Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monastery of St. Alban’s
St. Alban's Abbey, Mainz
St. Alban's Abbey, Mainz originated as a Benedictine abbey, founded in 787 or 796 by Archbishop Richulf in honour of Saint Alban of Mainz, located to the south of Mainz on the hill later called the Albansberg. It was turned into a collegiate foundation in 1442...
possession of 25 churches, including that of Dotzheim. The monastery of Vögte was established in Dotzheim, to which such well-known families such as the Treasurer of Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
, the Brömser of Rüdesheim, and the Knight of Sickingen belonged. Besides the clergy of Mainz (the Mainz Cathedral, St. Alban’s, St. Clare’s, and the Karthäuser Monasteries, and St. John's Convent), the monasteries of Eberbach
Eberbach Abbey
Eberbach Abbey is a former Cistercian monastery near Eltville am Rhein in the Rheingau, Germany. On account of its impressive Romanesque and early Gothic buildings it is considered one of the most significant architectural heritage sites in Hesse, Germany...
and Klarenthal also received income from Dotzheim. In a deed from Eberbach dated June 24, 1275 is the first mention of wine in Dotzheim - Knight Philipp von Frauenstein
Wiesbaden-Frauenstein
Frauenstein is the western-most borough of the city of Wiesbaden, located in the Rhine Main Area near Frankfurt and capital of the federal state of Hesse, Germany. The borough has a population of approximately 2,400. The formerly independent village was incorporated into Wiesbaden in 1928.The...
donated some property in Dotzheim, consisting of a mill and twelve vineyards, to the monastery.
The beginnings of the rule of the House of Nassau
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...
in and around Dotzheim are unknown. A document from 1310 testifies that Dotzheim owed Nassau taxes and services. 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:...
had held the jurisdiction in the 13th century, but at some point control passed to the House of Nassau.
The 13th and 14th-centuries mark the first mention of aristocratic families named "von Dotzheim.” The Knight Siegfried von Dotzheim (died 1316) donated to the Eberbach Abbey the first of its nine Gothic side chapels. Siegfried was buried there and his gravestone with his coat of arms (with three crowing jackdaws in the upper section) can still be seen. The nobles Sibodo (died 1331) and Catherine von Dotzheim are buried in the Klarenthal Monastery.
The village court of Dotzheim is first mentioned in writing in 1386. This can therefore be regarded as the beginning of local self-government. From 1430, there is evidence that the village was protected by fences and gates.
In 1569, Johann Lonicerus was introduced as the first Protestant minister.
In 1610, about 50 percent of the houses were destroyed by a serious fire. In 1644, almost all the inhabitants of Dotzheim fled from their home during the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
. It took the village decades to recover from the consequences of the war.
The Protestant parsonage opposite the village church was built in 1695, followed by a schoolhouse in 1698. The new building of the parish church dates from 1716 to 1718.
Modern era
The population increased significantly in the 18th Century as many construction workers, involved in the development of the “spa city” of Wiesbaden, settled in Dotzheim. In 1889, Dotzheim was connected to the Langenschwalbacher railway (later called the Aartalbahn) and a thriving industrial and commercial area grew up around the station. German Federal Railways (Deutsche BundesbahnDeutsche Bundesbahn
The Deutsche Bundesbahn or DB was formed as the state railway of the newly established Federal Republic of Germany on September 7, 1949 as a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft '...
) discontinued service on this line in 1983, but the line still exists and the Nassau Touristic Railway operates a museum train on it.
At the turn of the century, under the administrations of the last three Bürgermeister (mayors) of Dotzheim, namely Georg Heil (1881 to 1901), August Rossel (1901 to 1913) and Eduard Spork Horst (1913 to 1928), the village got a new town hall, three schools, and a forest cemetery. A development plan was implemented, which even put valuable agricultural parts of the village under protection. By 1906 Dotzheim was connected to the local gas, water and electricity supply network. A streetcar line between Wiesbaden and Dotzheim was also established. The post office at the upper Wiesbadener Straße was built in 1901 (it closed in 1997).
Shortly before the outbreak of World War I, Dotzheim had about 6,200 residents and proudly described itself as "the largest village in the lands of Nassau. In 1928 the independent village was incorporated into Wiesbaden.
The re-armament efforts in the era of National Socialism brought extensive barracks buildings in Kohlheck and Freudenberg. Dotzheim survived World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
virtually unscathed. A deep, wide crater in the northwestern Weilburg valley does testify to an attempted bombing raid. After the war, American occupation forces took up residence in the barracks.
After the Second World War, the need for housing a large number of refugees and displaced persons, and Wiesbaden’s emergence as the state capital of Hesse, led to extensive development of Dotzheim. The neighborhoods of Freudenberg and Märchenland had already been started in the 1930s. Now a number of new residential developments were built around the borough, including Kohlheck, Schelmengraben, and Sauerland. Schelmengraben, a development of 2,500 homes for 7,000 people, was the conception of urban planner Professor May. After the withdrawal of some of the American military forces from the area, the more recent development of "Auf der Heide" has emerged from the redevelopment of the barracks area in front of Freudenberg Castle.
Coat of arms
Anthony the Great
Anthony the Great or Antony the Great , , also known as Saint Anthony, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Abba Antonius , and Father of All Monks, was a Christian saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers...
.
Culture
Dotzheim has a varied cultural scene that helps to preserve its independence and identity despite decades of involvement in the larger entity of Wiesbaden. Annual events include "Dotzheimer Days", the Kohlheck Veranstaltungsprogramm, and the Dibbemarkt which takes place annually in September on the central Pfarrer-Luja-Platz. The Aartalbahn is a museum train which operates between the Dotzheim station (bahnhof) and Hohenstein Castle (Nassauische Touristikbahn e.V.). Other attractions are the rediscovered ancient Dotzheimer wine Judenkirsch, the attractive Heimat (Heritage) Museum, and the Castle Freudenberg with its exhibition "experience for the senses" and the adjacent "smallest museum in the world" – a piece of cake with peepholes. There are also celebrations in the Freudenberg, Sauerland und Schelmengraben neighborhoods, and the Wine Festival in the local wine estates.Schloss Freudenberg
Paul Schultze-Naumburg
Paul Schultze-Naumburg was a Nazi architect and one of Nazi Germany's most vocal political critics of modern architecture...
as a palace in the middle of a park. His clients were Scottish painter James Pitcairn-Knowles (1863–1954) and Marie Eugénie Guérinet Victoria (1870–1959). The couple lived in the castle for only three years.
Around 1920, the Landkreis Essen operated a children's home there, which subsequently was taken over by the city of Essen. The operation lasted until 1931. During the time of National Socialism, Schloß Freudenberg became, first, the “Taunusblick Children's Home,” and then a mothers’ home for Lebensborn
Lebensborn
Lebensborn was a Nazi programme set up by SS leader Heinrich Himmler that provided maternity homes and financial assistance to the wives of SS members and to unmarried mothers, and also ran orphanages and relocation programmes for children.Initially set up in Germany in 1935, Lebensborn expanded...
. Lebensborn, according to Nazi racial hygiene
Racial hygiene
Racial hygiene was a set of early twentieth century state sanctioned policies by which certain groups of individuals were allowed to procreate and others not, with the expressed purpose of promoting certain characteristics deemed to be particularly desirable...
ideology
Racial policy of Nazi Germany
The racial policy of Nazi Germany was a set of policies and laws implemented by Nazi Germany, asserting the superiority of the "Aryan race", and based on a specific racist doctrine which claimed scientific legitimacy...
, sought to increase the birth rate of "Aryan" children through extramarital relationships.
After 1945, until the 1970s, the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
operated a casino in the castle for officers stationed at the nearby barracks Camp Pieri. It was later used by the International Pentecostal Church of Wiesbaden. In 1973, the U.S. army gave the castle over to the German Bundesvermögensverwaltung (federal asset management). Abandoned in 1983, the building eventually fell into an extreme state of disrepair.
In 1993, the Nature and Art Society, a charitable initiative of Matthias Schenk and Beatrice Dastis Schenk, took over the castle and park and began a restoration of the building. The Schenks were students of Hugo Kükelhaus (1900–1984), who developed the idea of field experience to develop the senses and the mind. From 1975 until his death in 1984, Kükelhaus toured Germany with a caravan of circus tents and “experience stations.” The Schenks then continued touring, until choosing Schloss Freudenberg as the permanent home of the Experience Field.
At the beginning of the renovation in 1994, Emil Hädler, a professor at Fachhochschule Mainz and an expert in building maintenance, formulated the motto “Renovation = Healing through Art.” This principle, the curative effect of art, has become a model for other projects. Another guiding principle is allowing use and redevelopment to run continuously in parallel, turning the renovation into a box with its own kind of experience - a constantly changing temporary opening of new possibilities of perception. The redevelopment project is expected to last until 2030.
In addition to applying the ideas of Kükelhaus, it also applies the ideas of Anthroposophy
Anthroposophy
Anthroposophy, a philosophy founded by Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world accessible to direct experience through inner development...
by Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Steiner
Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, and esotericist. He gained initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher...
(1861–1925) and social sculpture
Social sculpture
Social sculpture is a specific example of the extended concept of art, that was advocated by the conceptual artist and politician Joseph Beuys. Beuys created the term Social Sculpture to illustrate his idea of art's potential to transform society. As an artwork it includes human activity, that...
by Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys was a German performance artist, sculptor, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art.His extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy; it culminates in his "extended definition of art" and the idea of social...
(1921–1986). Numerous meetings, seminars and other events about these are offered at Freudenberg Castle .
With support from the city of Wiesbaden, the Nature and Art Society maintain a unique cultural center at the castle and its surrounding 16 hectare grounds. The focal point is the so-called “experience for the senses”, which with over 80 interactive experience stations, with instruments and tests according to the models of Kükelhaus.
Schloss Freudenberg's cafe offers refreshments and desserts made at Mechtildehausen's bakery, a local organic and communal farm. “Der Dunkelbar” (“The Dark Bar”) serves food and drink in complete darkness.
The Straßenmühle
The Straßenmühle was built in 1714, two years before the construction of the present Protestant church. The mill was located on the "Elfelder Weg", today's Straßenmühlweg. In medieval times, this road connected Wiesbaden with the Rheingau, via on Freudenberg, the guest house "Zur Heide," and Oberwalluf (Rennpfad). The historic structure now operates as a guest house and restaurant.The original deed was issued to Franz Klein of Bingen by Count Friederich Ludwig of Nassau Saarbrücken and Saar, Lord of Lahr, Wiesbaden, and Idstein. The mill went through numerous owners over the years. Between 1860 and 1889 alone, it went through nine sales. It particularly suffered during the War of 1795. The owners began operating a restaurant at the mill in 1890. It soon became a popular locale. As a mill, the Straßenmühle ceased operations in 1927. The small mill could not compete with the larger mills as farmers began selling their grain to cooperatives and small customers could not run the operation.
A millstone from the mill was found by chance. Made of sandstone, the “runner” measures 94 cm in diameter and 24 cm in thickness and now stands in the establishment’s garden. The original "overshot" mill wheel measured 6 m in diameter and approximately 0.6 m in thickness. It was powered by water from a millrace, which diverged from the Belzbach in the center of Dotzheim. It was about 1.1 km long and 80 cm wide.
Roman Catholic community
The first written mention of the Dotzheimer church comes from the year 1128. In 1569, the country's Lord, Count Philipp von Nassau-Idstein, introduced the first Protestant pastor to Dotzheim. Catholics from Dotzheim, whose existence has been documented since 1696, could only worship in FrauensteinWiesbaden-Frauenstein
Frauenstein is the western-most borough of the city of Wiesbaden, located in the Rhine Main Area near Frankfurt and capital of the federal state of Hesse, Germany. The borough has a population of approximately 2,400. The formerly independent village was incorporated into Wiesbaden in 1928.The...
.
As the number of Catholics in Dotzheim increasingly grew at the end of the 19th century, money was collected to build a Catholic church. On December 8, 1901, the Eucharist was held again in Dotzheim for the first time since the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
. The mass was conducted in the old school, because the church was not ready. On March 31, 1902 (Easter Monday), the church was solemnly inaugurated and dedicated to St. Joseph. Dotzheim was not its own parish, but organizationally belonged to Frauenstein until 1926.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, on the night of February 2–3, 1945, St. Joseph’s Church was burned during a bombing raid. It was only roughly restored afterward. In 1955, the church was expanded and a large tower added, but by the 1970s, the church was again too small. It was demolished in 1976, and the church and rectory were replaced with a modern community center, with the church on one side and the rectory and parish office on the other. Bishop Gerhard Pieschl inaugurated the facility on February 3, 1978.
The structure of St. Joseph’s Church is impressive with massive, geometric shapes such as rectangles, triangles, and cylindars, covered with a pyramidal roof. The exterior and the interior of the church are covered with a rustic plaster, the "trademark" of the architect Justus Dahinden. Built in the style of the 1970s, when churches were understood as multi-functional rooms, the Church of St. Joseph still has a strong religious character. It has windows of completely transparent glass, an ox-blood red color on the inside, indirect lighting, and pale wood. The Easter candlesticks and a Cross with Christ Enthroned in a mandorla (wood) were designed by the Wiesbaden artist Clemens Schmidt. The organ in St. Joseph’s, built in the French style by the organ workshop of Alfred Wild in Saverne
Saverne
Saverne is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It is situated on the Rhine-Marne canal at the foot of a pass over the Vosges Mountains, and 45 km N.W...
, Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, has 20 registers including “Spanish Trumpets.” The construction of the organ, inaugurated on March 19, 1994, was completed in 2003.The St. Joseph Parish Center next to the church includes a kindergarten, cafeteria, meeting rooms and a bowling alley.
Protestant churches
There are five Protestant (Evangelische) churches in Dotzheim. These are the central village church on the Roemergasse, the Dreikoenigsgemeinde (Three Kings Community) in Freudenberg, the Paul-Gerhardt-Kirche in Kohlheck (named for famous German Lutheran hymn writer, Paul GerhardtPaul Gerhardt
Paul Gerhardt was a German hymn writer.-Biography:Gerhardt was born into a middle-class family at Gräfenhainichen, a small town between Halle and Wittenberg. At the age of fifteen, he entered the Fürstenschule in Grimma. The school was known for its pious atmosphere and stern discipline...
), the Erlösergemeinde (Deliverer Community) in Sauerland, and the community church of Schelmengraben.
Dotzheim is also home to the Freie Christengemeinde (Free Christian Community) Wiesbaden. This Pentecostal church, whose roots in Wiesbaden go back to 1932, has been located in Dotzheim since June 2001.
Politics
The distribution of seats in borough council (Ortsbeirat) of Dotzheim since 1972 is as follows:| 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... |
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '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... |
FDP | The Republicans | Total | |
| 2006 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 15 |
| 2001 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| 1997 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 15 |
| 1993 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| 1989 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| 1985 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 1981 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| 1977 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| 1972 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
Sports
The oldest and largest athletic club in Dotzheim is the TuS Wiesbaden-Dotzheim 1848 eV. It has organized activities in association football, badminton, team handball, Radball (cycle polo), judo and Ju-Jitsu, table tennis, chess, and sports for seniors and the disabled. With 2400 members and employing more than 40 licensed trainers, Wiesbaden-TuS Dotzheimer is one of the largest clubs in Wiesbaden.The "Turnverein Dotzheim" (Dotzheim gymnastics club) was founded in the Revolution year of 1848. In 1875, the club built its first Turnhalle (gymnasium) on Frauensteiner Strasse. The construction and dedication of the Turnerheim took place in 1895. In 1914, the gymnasium was taken for war purposes and in 1921 the Turnerheim was seized by the French occupation forces. In 1925, a new Notturnhalle was constructed on Erich Ollenhauer-Str. as a training facility for gymnastics, fistball, and handball. From 1939 through 1945, almost the entire membership was involved in active military service, leading to a total collapse of the club until after the war.
After World War II, the Allied forces ordered that boroughs with less than 10,000 residents must have only one sports club. For this reason, in December 1945, the TuS Wiesbaden-Dotzheim 1848 eV was organized as the legal successor of the former clubs: Turnverein 1848 eV, Radlerclub 1902 eV (cycling club), Kraftsportverein 1903, Arbeiterturnverein 1908 (workers’ gymnastics club), and the Verein der Sportfreunde 1910 eV (association of sports enthusiasts).
An independent association football club had existed in Dotzheim since 1910. Today the football department, with over 300 members, is one of the largest divisions of the TuS Wiesbaden-Dotzheim. For the 2008/2009 season, the men’s teams compete in the Kreisoberliga and Kreisliga C. Including the youth leagues, TuS Wiesbaden-Dotzheim has a total of 10 football teams. In addition, a "old men’s” team is active in a number of games and contests throughout the year. The top men’s and women’s handball teams compete in the Hessian Landesliga Mitte.
Another club, 1. SC Kohlheck 1951 e.V., is based in the Kohlheck neighborhood. It offers competition in football, volleyball, fist ball, tennis, gymnastics, table tennis, and Bob and Luge.
Dotzheim is also the home of Basketball Club Wiesbaden 1952 eV, whose top basketball teams compete in the Hessian men’s Landesliga and women’s Oberliga. Other football clubs include Kohlheck United 1998 and FC Freudenberg 1950.eV. Finally, Dotzheim is home to the swimming club, Schwimmverein Delphin Wiesbaden 1986 e.V.