Zwingenberg
Encyclopedia
Zwingenberg lies in the Bergstraße district
in southern Hesse
, Germany
, south of Frankfurt
and Darmstadt
, and with the granting of town rights coming in 1274 it is the oldest town on the Hessian Bergstraße
.
Zwingenberg lies on the western edge of the Odenwald
at the foot of the Melibokus
, at 517.4 m above sea level
the Bergstraße’s highest mountain. The municipal area’s elevation varies between roughly 90 m above sea level in the outlying centre of Rodau and just under 300 m on the slope of the Melibokus. Zwingenberg’s highest elevation is no one single mountain. Rather, it runs along the Melibokus’s slope into the area of Auerbach, an outlying centre of Bensheim
. The 100-metre marker at Zwingenberg railway station is taken to be the standard. In the west, Zwingenberg abuts the Hessisches Ried, and thereby the Rhine rift.
In Zwingenberg’s west, towards Rodau and in Rodau itself, cropraising and meadows prevail. Only a small patch of woodland belongs to the municipal area near the Niederwaldsee
(lake). In Zwingenberg there still exist remnants of, and even new fruit farming (mainly apple
s). On the outlying hills of the Orbishöhe (heights) and towards Luciberg is found winegrowing. Moreover, almond
trees grow in the region. A narrower line of woodland in the municipal area can still be found in the area of the Morgenruhe foundry and running by way of Blockhütte towards Comoder Weg. Remains of granite
quarry
ing can also still be made out.
Under the windbreak afforded by the Melibokus, a microclimate
holds sway, which can in places near the slope lead to less precipitation
than is found, for example, on the plain.
in Darmstadt-Dieburg
in the north and the town of Bensheim
in Bergstraße district in the south. In the west Bensheim’s outlying centres of Fehlheim and Langwaden border on the outlying centre of Rodau. In the east Zwingenberg borders on the Melibokus, whose peak lies in the area of Auerbach, an outlying centre of Bensheim
.
donated hunting rights to the Lorsch Abbey
. The placename Zwingenberg refers to how travellers on the Bergstraße were forced (in German
gezwungen; infinitive zwingen) to pass through the town’s gates by the wetland
and lowland forest
that lay west of town.
Through his marriage to Hildegard von Henneberg
, Henry II of Katzenelnbogen, whom King Konrad III
raised to Count in 1138, had parts of the Bergstraße
pass to him about 1135. Zwingenberg now belonged to the County of Katzenelnbogen
with its seat at the like-named town
. The county was divided into upper and lower halves, with the former lying on the Rhine around Sankt Goar
and the latter in southern Hesse.
To guard his southern holdings on the Bergstraße and his toll income, Count Diether IV built a lower castle in Zwingenberg and a high castle, the Auerbacher Schloss
, above Auerbach.
In 1258, Diether V received the right to build a church in Zwingenberg:
In 1260, the county was partitioned between Diether V and his brother Eberhard I, with Diether taking Zwingenberg and Eberhard Auerbach.
Zwingenberg was granted town and market rights under Count Diether V and King Rudolf of Habsburg, thereby becoming the oldest town on the Bergstraße.
In 1301, Zwingenberg was destroyed and went up in flames. Count Wilhelm I of Katzenelnbogen, Diether V’s son, had allied himself with four Rhenish electors and raised tolls on the Rhine, the upshot to which was damage to free trade and a declaration of war from King Albrecht I. The Lower Castle was destroyed, too.
In 1330, Emperor Louis the Bavarian
confirmed to Count Wilhelm I Zwingenberg’s town rights:
In 1355, Wilhelm II took wedding vows with Elisabeth of Hanau. This involved providing for her in her widowhood with, among other things, a widow’s seat for her in Darmstadt
.
In 1401, the town’s name was catalogued as Twinginburg.
In 1403, Count Johann IV Katzenelnbogen an Henne Weißkreis von Lindenfels pledged the castle and town of Zwingenberg with the villages of Eschollbrücken – which the Count owned – Pfungstadt and Nieder-Ramstadt with all rights and appurtenances for 6,000 Gulden, which the Count later redeemed.
In 1454, Count Philipp I of Katzenlenbogen agreed that Hans IV of Wallbrunn (whose seat was Wallbrunn) should provide a widowhood estate for his wife Lucie von Reifenberg consisting of, among other things, the house and a number of gardens at Zwingenberg, which Hans held from the Count as a fief, although without the military service obligation.
Until 1479, Zwingenberg belonged to the County of Katzenelnbogen, thereafter to the Landgraviate of Hesse
, and as of 1567 to the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt
, which in 1806 was raised to the Grand Duchy of Hesse
.
Owing to the abandonments during the Thirty Years' War
and shortly thereafter the Plague, the town was for decades almost uninhabited, and eventually, a fire set by French
troops in 1693 destroyed most of the houses. Only after the French Revolution
did the town recover.
In 1832, Zwingenberg was grouped into the Bensheim district, and as of 1938 it belonged to Bergstraße district
. In the time of National Socialism, Jews and the Nazis’ political foes were driven out and deported. By chance, the synagogue
was not destroyed. It is nowadays used as a house. There is a club that has made it its business to revive the synagogue. In 1941, a prisoner-of-war camp
was set up at the youth hostel.
On 31 December 1971, Rodau was amalgamated with Zwingenberg.
might be described thus: Party per fess Or a lion rampant gules armed and langued azure and azure three waterlily leaves argent.
The red lion rampant is from the arms borne by the old Counts of Katzenelnbogen. This same charge
can also be seen in Darmstadt
’s, Pfungstadt
’s and Auerbach’s arms, and they are all parted per pale (that is, horizontally across the middle), just as Zwingenberg’s arms are.
, Oise
, France
since 1968 Brisighella
, Emilia-Romagna
, Italy
Tetbury
, Gloucestershire
, England
, United Kingdom
since 1981 Eckartsberga
, Saxony-Anhalt
and winegrowing, as well as gastronomy
, since then, besides a great number of commercial enterprises, a series of smaller and midsize technology businesses has arisen.
Zwingenberg is linked to the A 5
(Frankfurt-Basel) by interchange
29, and Zwingenberg is also signposted on the A 67 at the Gernsheim interchange (8). Frankfurt Airport
is 45 km away, and the riverport at Gernsheim
on the Rhine is 12 km away.
Parallel to the Odenwald runs the Bergstraße (Bundesstraße
3), which in Zwingenberg splits into the “New” and “Old” Bergstraße, which come back together again near Darmstadt-Eberstadt.
The relief road originally planned for the B 3, called the Berliner Ring, is open in parts. The road, running parallel to the B 3, comes from Bensheim and leads back to the B 3 in Zwingenberg. Original plans to relieve the (very low – about 2.95 m) railway bridge by building another bridge farther north failed in the face of protests from residents and the neighbouring community through whose municipal area parts of the road would have run.
One of Germany’s most heavily travelled railways, the Main-Neckar Railway (Frankfurt-Darmstadt-Heidelberg/Mannheim), runs through Zwingenberg. The small railway station is served hourly by Regionalbahn
trains. These are reinforced by other trains in rush hours.
Modern bus
links of busline 669 run by Darmstadt’s HEAG mobilo link the town with Jugenheim
and Heppenheim
.
For 2015, there are plans to build a modern sport park in which all locally played sports will be represented.
on the heights of the Melibokus
on a relatively steep slope. The surrounding town wall is to a great extent still visible.
The Obergasse (“Upper Lane”) is the old getwinc, the thoroughfare that led through the town’s lower and upper gates. The street’s alignment was only slightly changed after the fire of 1693 and still more or less shows the position of the old Bergstraße.
The “New Pass” was until the 15th century still wetland. Today the B 3 runs here along the historic town wall through town. Between Schlößchen and Neugasse the remains of the town wall form the back walls of the houses and barns on Untergasse (“Lower Lane”)
Including the outlying centre of Rodau, Zwingenberg has 81 cultural monuments under monumental protection.
The town has a touristically attractive Old Town with timber-frame
houses that are interesting both as buildings and as the history that they represent, a mountain church (Bergkirche) and a former castle seat, enfeoffed by Johann von Katzenelnbogen to Hans von Wallbrunn the Elder in 1420.
At Zwingenberg’s highest spot stands today’s youth hostel, a former tithe
barn built on a bastion
’s foundation. Of the round corner towers of the upper town wall, only the Aul has been preserved. It is the northeast tower, a two-floor tower made of undressed quarrystones.
The remains of the moat
ed castle
may well be Zwingenberg’s oldest building. Outwards from this about 1250, the town fortifications took shape. The “New Marketplace” arose at the beginning of the 17th century on the former moated castle’s lands and the moat itself.
The old Amtsgericht (“Amt court”) was built between 1561 and 1563 and restored in 1989. It originally served the Hessian landgraves as a hunting palace.
The Schlößchen (“Little Palace”), built about 1520, has served the town since 1969 as the Town Hall. Next to it stands the former guesthouse Zum Löwen (“To the Lion”). It was built in 1595 and is the oldest building in existence outside the old town wall. Across the street from it lies the Scheuergasse (lane) formed by two rows of side-gabled barns. These were built outside the old town wall owing to the danger from fire, and today are used mainly as dwellings, offices and guesthouses.
The vaulted cellar under the Alte Apotheke (“Old Apothecary’s Shop”), which stands on the marketplace, seems to go back to the time when the town wall was built. Later, the Alte Apotheke was known as großherzogliche Apotheke von Katzenellenbogen (the first word meaning “Grand-Ducal”), and was built in 1783.
which is known for herb wines. On the slopes of the Melibokus lie, within the Auerbacher Rott growing region, the locations of Zwingenberger Steingeröll and Zwingenberger Alte Burg. Abutting them to the north is the location of Alsbacher Schöntal. White grape varieties grown here include Sylvaner, Riesling
, Müller-Thurgau
and Morio Muscat
. Asparagus
and strawberry
farming characterize the flatter areas towards Rodau. Typical for Zwingenberg, therefore, are a robust dry Riesling
and mellow asparagus dishes.
In June 2005, the information centre Blüten, Stein & Wein (“Blossoms, Stone and Wine”) of the UNESCO Geopark Bergstraße-Odenwald opened at the community centre Bunter Löwe (“Colourful Lion”). The information centre, which is open at weekends and after notification, also houses the tourist information centre.
Kreis Bergstraße
Bergstraße is a Kreis in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Groß-Gerau, Darmstadt-Dieburg, Odenwaldkreis, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, the urban district Mannheim, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, and the urban district of Worms...
in southern 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...
, south of Frankfurt
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 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 with the granting of town rights coming in 1274 it is the oldest town on the Hessian Bergstraße
Bergstraße
Bergstraße is the name of a mountainous theme route, and the area around it, stretching across the western edge of the Odenwald in southern Hesse and northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany....
.
Location
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...
at the foot of the Melibokus
Melibokus
The Melibokus is at 517 metres , the highest mountain in the Bergstraße region of southern Hesse, central Germany. The mountain overlooks the Rhine valley on the western fringe of the Odenwald region and is a local landmark, clearly visible for many miles...
, at 517.4 m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
the Bergstraße’s highest mountain. The municipal area’s elevation varies between roughly 90 m above sea level in the outlying centre of Rodau and just under 300 m on the slope of the Melibokus. Zwingenberg’s highest elevation is no one single mountain. Rather, it runs along the Melibokus’s slope into the area of Auerbach, an outlying centre of Bensheim
Bensheim
Bensheim is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany. Bensheim lies on the Bergstraße and at the edge of the Odenwald mountains while at the same time having an open view over the Rhine plain...
. The 100-metre marker at Zwingenberg railway station is taken to be the standard. In the west, Zwingenberg abuts the Hessisches Ried, and thereby the Rhine rift.
In Zwingenberg’s west, towards Rodau and in Rodau itself, cropraising and meadows prevail. Only a small patch of woodland belongs to the municipal area near the Niederwaldsee
Niederwaldsee
The Niederwaldsee is a lake in Bensheim. Bensheim is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany.-References:*http://bensheim-bilder.de/Zwingenberg/pages/Niederwaldsee.htm*http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fehlheim...
(lake). In Zwingenberg there still exist remnants of, and even new fruit farming (mainly apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
s). On the outlying hills of the Orbishöhe (heights) and towards Luciberg is found winegrowing. Moreover, almond
Almond
The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
trees grow in the region. A narrower line of woodland in the municipal area can still be found in the area of the Morgenruhe foundry and running by way of Blockhütte towards Comoder Weg. Remains of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
quarry
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
ing can also still be made out.
Under the windbreak afforded by the Melibokus, a microclimate
Microclimate
A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles...
holds sway, which can in places near the slope lead to less precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
than is found, for example, on the plain.
Neighbouring communities
Zwingenberg lies between the community of Alsbach-HähnleinAlsbach-Hähnlein
Alsbach-Hähnlein is a municipality in southern Hesse in the district Darmstadt-Dieburg. It resulted from a merger of the two separate municipalities Alsbach and Hähnlein.- External links :* *...
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:...
in the north and the town of Bensheim
Bensheim
Bensheim is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany. Bensheim lies on the Bergstraße and at the edge of the Odenwald mountains while at the same time having an open view over the Rhine plain...
in Bergstraße district in the south. In the west Bensheim’s outlying centres of Fehlheim and Langwaden border on the outlying centre of Rodau. In the east Zwingenberg borders on the Melibokus, whose peak lies in the area of Auerbach, an outlying centre of Bensheim
Bensheim
Bensheim is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany. Bensheim lies on the Bergstraße and at the edge of the Odenwald mountains while at the same time having an open view over the Rhine plain...
.
Constituent communities
Zwingenberg is made up of the two centres of Zwingenberg with an area of 346 hectares, and Rodau with an area of 215 hectares.Population development
As of 31 December 1971, the population figures include Rodau.| Year | 1500 | 1622 | 1801 | 1861 | 1885 | 1900 | 1920 | 1946 | |
| Inhabitants | 450 | 600 | 1,052 | 1,531 | 1,515 | 1,638 | 2,100 | 3,148 | |
| Year | 1979 | 1980 | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
| Inhabitants | 5,030 | 5,150 | 6,076 | 6,493 | 6,777 | 6,972 | 6,963 | 6,877 | 6,814 |
History
“About when or by whom this town was built there is no information. That it is an ancient town can be gathered from all facts.” The earliest mention of locum getwinc is a document from 1015 in which Emperor Heinrich IIHenry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
donated hunting rights to 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...
. The placename Zwingenberg refers to how travellers on the Bergstraße were forced (in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
gezwungen; infinitive zwingen) to pass through the town’s gates by the wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
and lowland forest
Riparian zone
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the fifteen terrestrial biomes of the earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by...
that lay west of town.
Through his marriage to Hildegard von Henneberg
House of Henneberg
-Origins:The distant origins of this family are speculative yet seem to originate in the Rhine Valley, east of modern-day France. Charibert, a nobleman in Neustria is the earliest recorded ancestor of the family, dating before 636. Five generations pass between Charibert and the next descendant...
, Henry II of Katzenelnbogen, whom King Konrad III
Conrad III of Germany
Conrad III was the first King of Germany of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. He was the son of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia, and Agnes, a daughter of the Salian Emperor Henry IV.-Life and reign:...
raised to Count in 1138, had parts of the Bergstraße
Bergstraße
Bergstraße is the name of a mountainous theme route, and the area around it, stretching across the western edge of the Odenwald in southern Hesse and northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany....
pass to him about 1135. Zwingenberg now belonged to the County of Katzenelnbogen
County of Katzenelnbogen
The County of Katzenelnbogen was an immediate state of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed between 1095 and 1479, when it was inherited by the Landgraves of Hesse.The estate comprised two separate territories...
with its seat at the like-named town
Katzenelnbogen
Katzenelnbogen is the name of a castle and small city in the district of Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Katzenelnbogen is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde Katzenelnbogen.-History:...
. The county was divided into upper and lower halves, with the former lying on the Rhine around Sankt Goar
Sankt Goar
Sankt Goar is a town on the left bank of the Middle Rhine in the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the Verbandsgemeinde of Sankt Goar-Oberwesel, whose seat is in the town of Oberwesel....
and the latter in southern Hesse.
To guard his southern holdings on the Bergstraße and his toll income, Count Diether IV built a lower castle in Zwingenberg and a high castle, the Auerbacher Schloss
Auerbach Castle
Auerbach Castle is one of several dramatic fortresses along the Bergstrasse in southern Hesse, Germany.The castle was originally built by King Charlemagne, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and then re-built by Count Diether IV of the Katzenelnbogen dynasty in the second quarter of the 13th century...
, above Auerbach.
In 1258, Diether V received the right to build a church in Zwingenberg:
- Cathedral Provost Werner, Cathedral Deacon Johann and the Chapter at Mainz as well as Provost Ludwig of St. Viktor thereat evince that the inhabitants of Zwingenberg can only reach their mother church in Bensheim to hear God’s word and receive the Sacraments with difficulty owing to the great distance and danger to life. They allow therefore with the Archbishop’s approval at the request of the worldly lord in Zwingenberg, Count Diether of Katzenelnbogen, a church with graveyard to be built in Zwingenberg and a priest of its own to be appointed.
In 1260, the county was partitioned between Diether V and his brother Eberhard I, with Diether taking Zwingenberg and Eberhard Auerbach.
Zwingenberg was granted town and market rights under Count Diether V and King Rudolf of Habsburg, thereby becoming the oldest town on the Bergstraße.
In 1301, Zwingenberg was destroyed and went up in flames. Count Wilhelm I of Katzenelnbogen, Diether V’s son, had allied himself with four Rhenish electors and raised tolls on the Rhine, the upshot to which was damage to free trade and a declaration of war from King Albrecht I. The Lower Castle was destroyed, too.
In 1330, Emperor Louis the Bavarian
Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Louis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....
confirmed to Count Wilhelm I Zwingenberg’s town rights:
- Emperor Louis confirms to the Count Wilhelm of Katzenelnbogen for faithful services the freedom that King Rudolf granted him for Zwingenberg, and the freedom that he granted him for Reichenberg, as well as the Rhine upstream toll at Sankt Goar that Count Wilhelm and his forefathers have held in fief from the Empire. Whoever undertakes anything against it shall pay with 100 Marks of gold, half of which shall fall to the Chamber of the Empire and half to the Count.
In 1355, Wilhelm II took wedding vows with Elisabeth of Hanau. This involved providing for her in her widowhood with, among other things, a widow’s seat for her in 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...
.
In 1401, the town’s name was catalogued as Twinginburg.
In 1403, Count Johann IV Katzenelnbogen an Henne Weißkreis von Lindenfels pledged the castle and town of Zwingenberg with the villages of Eschollbrücken – which the Count owned – Pfungstadt and Nieder-Ramstadt with all rights and appurtenances for 6,000 Gulden, which the Count later redeemed.
In 1454, Count Philipp I of Katzenlenbogen agreed that Hans IV of Wallbrunn (whose seat was Wallbrunn) should provide a widowhood estate for his wife Lucie von Reifenberg consisting of, among other things, the house and a number of gardens at Zwingenberg, which Hans held from the Count as a fief, although without the military service obligation.
Until 1479, Zwingenberg belonged to the County of Katzenelnbogen, thereafter to the Landgraviate of Hesse
Landgraviate of Hesse
The Landgraviate of Hesse was a Landgraviate of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed as a unity from 1264 to 1567, when it was divided between the sons of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse.-History:...
, and as of 1567 to the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt
Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was a member state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse between the four sons of Philip I, the last Landgrave of Hesse....
, which in 1806 was raised 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...
.
Owing to the abandonments 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....
and shortly thereafter the Plague, the town was for decades almost uninhabited, and eventually, a fire set by French
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...
troops in 1693 destroyed most of the houses. Only after the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
did the town recover.
In 1832, Zwingenberg was grouped into the Bensheim district, and as of 1938 it belonged to Bergstraße district
Kreis Bergstraße
Bergstraße is a Kreis in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Groß-Gerau, Darmstadt-Dieburg, Odenwaldkreis, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, the urban district Mannheim, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, and the urban district of Worms...
. In the time of National Socialism, Jews and the Nazis’ political foes were driven out and deported. By chance, the synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
was not destroyed. It is nowadays used as a house. There is a club that has made it its business to revive the synagogue. In 1941, a prisoner-of-war camp
Prisoner-of-war camp
A prisoner-of-war camp is a site for the containment of combatants captured by their enemy in time of war, and is similar to an internment camp which is used for civilian populations. A prisoner of war is generally a soldier, sailor, or airman who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or...
was set up at the youth hostel.
On 31 December 1971, Rodau was amalgamated with Zwingenberg.
Politics
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 | 34.0 | 10 | 30.2 | 9 |
| 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... |
28.4 | 9 | 37.1 | 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... |
14.9 | 5 | 12.6 | 4 |
| GUD | Gemeinschaft für Umweltschutz und Demokratie | 18.9 | 6 | 17.1 | 5 |
| FWZ | Freie Wähler Zwingenberg | 3.8 | 1 | 2.9 | 1 |
| Total | 100.0 | 31 | 100.0 | 31 | |
| Voter turnout in % | 54.1 | 61.4 | |||
Mayors
From 2001 to 2007, Dieter Kullak (independent) held office. At the election on 25 March 2007, in which Kullak was not a candidate, Dr. Holger Habich (FDP, but also supported by the CDU) was victorious.Coat of arms
The town’s 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 be described thus: Party per fess Or a lion rampant gules armed and langued azure and azure three waterlily leaves argent.
The red lion rampant is from the arms borne by the old Counts of Katzenelnbogen. This same charge
Charge (heraldry)
In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...
can also be seen in 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...
’s, Pfungstadt
Pfungstadt
Pfungstadt is a German town of 25,117 inhabitants, in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg in the state of Hesse.The town was first mentioned in 785 as property of the Monastery of Lorsch and got its town rights in 1886 due to its railway station...
’s and Auerbach’s arms, and they are all parted per pale (that is, horizontally across the middle), just as Zwingenberg’s arms are.
Town partnerships
PierrefondsPierrefonds, Oise
Pierrefonds is a village in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Oise.-References:*...
, Oise
Oise
Oise is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise.-History:Oise is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
, 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...
since 1968 Brisighella
Brisighella
Brisighella is a comune in the Province of Ravenna in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 45 km southeast of Bologna and about 40 km southwest of Ravenna....
, Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million 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...
Tetbury
Tetbury
Tetbury is a town and civil parish within the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It lies on the site of an ancient hill fort, on which an Anglo-Saxon monastery was founded, probably by Ine of Wessex, in 681. The population of the parish was 5,250 in the 2001 census.In the Middle Ages,...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
since 1981 Eckartsberga
Eckartsberga
Eckartsberga is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated west of Naumburg. It is part of the Verbandsgemeinde An der Finne....
, Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
Economy and infrastructure
Although the economy was formerly largely based on agricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and winegrowing, as well as gastronomy
Gastronomy
Gastronomy is the art or science of food eating. Also, it can be defined as the study of food and culture, with a particular focus on gourmet cuisine...
, since then, besides a great number of commercial enterprises, a series of smaller and midsize technology businesses has arisen.
Established businesses
- BRAIN Biotechnology Research and Information Network GmbH (biotechnological and genetic-technological research)
- Preussag Wasser und Rohrtechnik GmbH (water and pipe technology – environmental technology branch)
- PWT Wasser- und Abwassertechnik GmbH (water and sewage)
- Resin Express GmbH (plastic granulate distribution)
- SurTec Deutschland GmbH (chemical products and processes for surfacing technology)
Transport
Bundesautobahn 5
is a 445 km long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the Hattenbach triangle intersection is a 445 km (277 mi) long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the Hattenbach triangle intersection is a 445 km (277 mi) long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the...
(Frankfurt-Basel) by 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...
29, and Zwingenberg is also signposted on the A 67 at the Gernsheim interchange (8). 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...
is 45 km away, and the riverport at Gernsheim
Gernsheim
Gernsheim is a town in Groß-Gerau district and Darmstadt region in Hesse, Germany, lying on the Rhine.-Location:The Schöfferstadt Gernsheim, as Gernsheim may officially call itself – it was Peter Schöffer's birthplace – lies 18 km southwest of Darmstadt and 16 km northeast of Worms, right...
on the Rhine is 12 km away.
Parallel to the Odenwald runs the Bergstraße (Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
3), which in Zwingenberg splits into the “New” and “Old” Bergstraße, which come back together again near Darmstadt-Eberstadt.
The relief road originally planned for the B 3, called the Berliner Ring, is open in parts. The road, running parallel to the B 3, comes from Bensheim and leads back to the B 3 in Zwingenberg. Original plans to relieve the (very low – about 2.95 m) railway bridge by building another bridge farther north failed in the face of protests from residents and the neighbouring community through whose municipal area parts of the road would have run.
One of Germany’s most heavily travelled railways, the Main-Neckar Railway (Frankfurt-Darmstadt-Heidelberg/Mannheim), runs through Zwingenberg. The small railway station is served hourly by Regionalbahn
RegionalBahn
The Regionalbahn is a type of local passenger train in Germany.-Service:Regionalbahn trains usually call at all stations on a given line, with the exception of RB trains within S-Bahn networks, these may only call at selected stations...
trains. These are reinforced by other trains in rush hours.
Modern bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
links of busline 669 run by Darmstadt’s HEAG mobilo link the town with Jugenheim
Seeheim-Jugenheim
Seeheim-Jugenheim is a municipality in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district in Hesse, Germany. It has a population of approximately 17,000.Seeheim-Jugenheim consists of seven villages:*Balkhausen *Jugenheim...
and Heppenheim
Heppenheim
Heppenheim is the seat of Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany, lying on the Bergstraße on the edge of the Odenwald.- Location :...
.
Leisure and sport facilities
Zwingenberg has at its disposal a small sporting ground with grass and a complete athletics facility, a paved ground and a field. Moreover, there are several tennis courts and two sport halls. Rodau likewise has a grass playing field.For 2015, there are plans to build a modern sport park in which all locally played sports will be represented.
Culture and sightseeing
Zwingenberg lies on the edge of the OdenwaldOdenwald
The Odenwald is a low mountain range in Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Location :The Odenwald lies between the Upper Rhine Rift Valley with the Bergstraße and the Hessisches Ried in the west, the Main and the Bauland in the east, the Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin – a subbasin of...
on the heights of the Melibokus
Melibokus
The Melibokus is at 517 metres , the highest mountain in the Bergstraße region of southern Hesse, central Germany. The mountain overlooks the Rhine valley on the western fringe of the Odenwald region and is a local landmark, clearly visible for many miles...
on a relatively steep slope. The surrounding town wall is to a great extent still visible.
The Obergasse (“Upper Lane”) is the old getwinc, the thoroughfare that led through the town’s lower and upper gates. The street’s alignment was only slightly changed after the fire of 1693 and still more or less shows the position of the old Bergstraße.
The “New Pass” was until the 15th century still wetland. Today the B 3 runs here along the historic town wall through town. Between Schlößchen and Neugasse the remains of the town wall form the back walls of the houses and barns on Untergasse (“Lower Lane”)
Including the outlying centre of Rodau, Zwingenberg has 81 cultural monuments under monumental protection.
Buildings
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 that are interesting both as buildings and as the history that they represent, a mountain church (Bergkirche) and a former castle seat, enfeoffed by Johann von Katzenelnbogen to Hans von Wallbrunn the Elder in 1420.
At Zwingenberg’s highest spot stands today’s youth hostel, a former tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
barn built on a bastion
Bastion
A bastion, or a bulwark, is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall , facilitating active defence against assaulting troops...
’s foundation. Of the round corner towers of the upper town wall, only the Aul has been preserved. It is the northeast tower, a two-floor tower made of undressed quarrystones.
The remains of the moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
ed castle
Castle
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...
may well be Zwingenberg’s oldest building. Outwards from this about 1250, the town fortifications took shape. The “New Marketplace” arose at the beginning of the 17th century on the former moated castle’s lands and the moat itself.
The old Amtsgericht (“Amt court”) was built between 1561 and 1563 and restored in 1989. It originally served the Hessian landgraves as a hunting palace.
The Schlößchen (“Little Palace”), built about 1520, has served the town since 1969 as the Town Hall. Next to it stands the former guesthouse Zum Löwen (“To the Lion”). It was built in 1595 and is the oldest building in existence outside the old town wall. Across the street from it lies the Scheuergasse (lane) formed by two rows of side-gabled barns. These were built outside the old town wall owing to the danger from fire, and today are used mainly as dwellings, offices and guesthouses.
The vaulted cellar under the Alte Apotheke (“Old Apothecary’s Shop”), which stands on the marketplace, seems to go back to the time when the town wall was built. Later, the Alte Apotheke was known as großherzogliche Apotheke von Katzenellenbogen (the first word meaning “Grand-Ducal”), and was built in 1783.
Wine and culinary specialities
Zwingenberg is part of the small winegrowing region of Hessische BergstraßeHessische Bergstraße
The Hessische Bergstraße is a defined region for wine in Germany located in the state of Hesse among the northern and western slopes of the Odenwald mountain chain. With only of vineyards it is the smallest of the 13 German quality wine regions...
which is known for herb wines. On the slopes of the Melibokus lie, within the Auerbacher Rott growing region, the locations of Zwingenberger Steingeröll and Zwingenberger Alte Burg. Abutting them to the north is the location of Alsbacher Schöntal. White grape varieties grown here include Sylvaner, Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...
, Müller-Thurgau
Müller-Thurgau
Müller-Thurgau is a variety of white grape which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882. It is a crossing of Riesling with Madeleine Royale. It is used to make white wine in Germany, Austria, Northern Italy, Hungary, England, in Australia, Czech Republic, Slovakia,...
and Morio Muscat
Morio Muscat
Morio Muscat is a white wine grape that was created by viticulturalist Peter Morio at the Geilweilerhof Institute for Grape Breeding in the Palatinate in 1928. He claimed to have crossed the varieties Silvaner and Pinot Blanc, but based on the variety's properties it has been speculated that he...
. Asparagus
Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis is a spring vegetable, a flowering perennialplant species in the genus Asparagus. It was once classified in the lily family, like its Allium cousins, onions and garlic, but the Liliaceae have been split and the onion-like plants are now in the family Amaryllidaceae and...
and strawberry
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
farming characterize the flatter areas towards Rodau. Typical for Zwingenberg, therefore, are a robust dry Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...
and mellow asparagus dishes.
Theatre
In the vaulted cellar under the former Amtsgericht is found the Theater Mobile, which puts on its own and others’ productions mainly in the fields of music, reading, children’s theatre, dance and cabaret.Museums
The Heimatmuseum (local history) on historic Scheuergasse shows old handicrafts and historically decorated rooms.In June 2005, the information centre Blüten, Stein & Wein (“Blossoms, Stone and Wine”) of the UNESCO Geopark Bergstraße-Odenwald opened at the community centre Bunter Löwe (“Colourful Lion”). The information centre, which is open at weekends and after notification, also houses the tourist information centre.
Famous people with ties to the town
- Heinrich von GagernHeinrich von GagernHeinrich Wilhelm August Freiherr von Gagern was a statesman who argued for the unification of Germany.The third son of Hans Christoph Ernst, Baron von Gagern, a liberal statesman from Hesse, Heinrich von Gagern was born at Bayreuth, educated at the military academy at Munich, and, as an officer in...
(1799–1880) politician, in the preliminary convention (Vorparlament) of Frankfurt for the electoral district of Zwingenberg.
- Henry KissingerHenry KissingerHeinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
, who acted as the liaison officer to the National Security AgencyNational Security AgencyThe National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
in Bensheim, lived for a few months at the Arthur-Sauer-Villa, which was requisitioned for him, in Zwingenberg.
- Arthur Sauer (chemist), joined the Deutsche Milchwerke pharmaceutical plant founded by WormsWorms, GermanyWorms 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...
apothecary Rudolf Pizzala in 1897, and took the business over in 1898. Out of this grew the later Fissan-Werke (1924). By 1934, the firm already had 160 workers and employees, as well as 50 others employed in sales. Arthur Sauer died in 1946, and his vehicle is today on display at the Technikmuseum SpeyerSpeyerSpeyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
Further reading
- Matthias Markert: Zwingenberg an der Bergstraße und Umland, ISBN 3-932199-00-6
- Rudolf Kunz: Die Bergstraße: Der Nördliche Teil. Seeheim, Jugenheim, Bickenbach, Alsbach, Hähnlein, Zwingenberg (image file)
- Fritz Kilthau: Mitten unter uns: Zwingenberg an der Bergstraße von 1933 bis 1945, ISBN 3-922781-85-3
- Karl Wilfried Hamel: Auerbacher Schloß - Feste Urberg - die bedeutendste Burganlage der Obergrafschaft Katzenelnbogen. AAA-Verlag, Bensheim-Auerbach 1997, ISBN 3-9803139-0-5
- Ludwig März: Zwingenberg (privately published picture book)