Bromskirchen
Encyclopedia
Location
Bromskirchen lies at the edge of the RothaargebirgeRothaargebirge
The Rothaargebirge is a low mountain range reaching heights of up to 843.1 m in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, Germany....
in southwest Waldeck-Frankenberg, right on the boundary with North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
's district of Hochsauerlandkreis.
More than 70% of the community's area is wooded.
Neighbouring communities
Bromskirchen borders in the north on the town of HallenbergHallenberg
Hallenberg is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Hallenberg is situated approx. 15 km southeast of Winterberg and 35 km north of Marburg.- Neighbouring Places :* Allendorf* Bad Berleburg...
(Hochsauerlandkreis in North Rhine-Westphalia), in the east on the town of Frankenberg
Frankenberg, Hesse
Frankenberg an der Eder is a town in Waldeck-Frankenberg district in Hesse, Germany.The mountain at a ford over the Eder north of the Burgwald range was for a long time a fortified place, playing an especially important rôle under the Franks in the Saxon Wars...
, in the south on the community of Allendorf
Allendorf (Eder)
Allendorf is a municipality in Waldeck-Frankenberg in Hesse, Germany.- Location :Allendorf lies in the upper Eder Valley between Frankenberg and Battenberg west of the Burgwald range and east of the Breite Struth ....
and the town of Battenberg
Battenberg, Hesse
Battenberg is a small town in the Waldeck-Frankenberg district in Hesse, Germany. The town is noted for giving its name to the Battenberg family, a morganatic branch of the ruling House of Hesse-Darmstadt, and through it, the name Mountbatten used by members of the British royal family, a literal...
(all three in Waldeck-Frankenberg), and in the west on the town of Bad Berleburg
Bad Berleburg
Bad Berleburg is a town, in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of Germany's largest towns by land area. It is located approx...
(Siegen-Wittgenstein
Siegen-Wittgenstein
Siegen-Wittgenstein is a Kreis in the southeast of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Olpe, Hochsauerlandkreis, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Lahn-Dill, Westerwaldkreis, Altenkirchen.-History:...
in North Rhine-Westphalia).
History
Bromskirchen had its first documentary mention in 1238 in an account from the Archbishopric of MainzArchbishopric of Mainz
The Archbishopric of Mainz or Electorate of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire between 780–82 and 1802. In the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae, the substitute of the Pope north of the Alps...
. After 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....
, the village passed to 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....
, and in 1866 to Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
.
For centuries, the village's livelihood was based on agriculture
Agriculture
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...
on scant land, and the forest.
Population development
| Year | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | |
| Inhabitants | 1,852 | 1,868 | 1,896 | 1,895 | 1,858 | 1,879 | 1,895 | 1,920 | 1,913 | 1,952 | 1,961 | 1,958 | 1,940 | 1,916 |
Municipal council
The council's 15 seats and the executive's 5 are apportioned thus, in accordance with municipal elections held on 26 March 2006:Eligible voters: 1,528
Voter participation: 52.2%
| Party | Votes | % | Council seats | Executive seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bürgerliste Bromskirchen | 5,210 | 49.2 | 7 | 3 |
| Bürgerliste Somplar | 2,926 | 27.6 | 4 | 1 |
| Unabhängige Bürgerliste | 2,459 | 23.2 | 4 | 1 |
The three "parties" represented on council are all "citizens' lists". None of Germany's national parties is represented.
Coat of arms
Bromskirchen's civic coat of armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
might heraldically be described thus: Party per pale, dexter in sable a sword Or with hilt per cross pattée Or, sinister in argent a lattice per lozengy sable, thereover a fess Or.
These arms were conferred on 12 November 1982. The sword stands for the local patron saint, Saint Martin of Tours, who is actually depicted in some Hessian civic coats of arms (see Amöneburg
Amöneburg
Amöneburg is a town in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany. It lies on a mountain and is built around the castle of the same name, Burg Amöneburg.- Location :...
and Neustadt (Hesse)
Neustadt (Hesse)
Neustadt is a town in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hessen, Germany.-Location:Neustadt lies in the Middle Hessian Bergland at the eastern end of Marburg-Biedenkopf district.-Neighbouring communities:...
). The cross stands for the church, thereby making it a canting
Canting arms
Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name in a visual pun or rebus. The term cant came into the English language from Anglo-Norman cant, meaning song or singing, from Latin cantāre, and English cognates include canticle, chant, accent, incantation and recant.Canting arms –...
element for the —kirchen name ending (which means "church"). The other half of the arms comes from those borne by the Lords of Winter, the local rulers from the 15th to 18th century. The black and silver (or white, or indeed grey, as it appears in this article) were the old County of Battenberg colours.http://www.ngw.nl/int/dld/b/bromskir.htm
Partnerships
Bromskirchen maintains partnership links with: Arrou, département of Eure-et-LoirEure-et-Loir
Eure-et-Loir is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers.-History:Eure-et-Loir is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790 pursuant to the Act of December 22, 1789...
, 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 1978
Buildings
Bromskirchen's town hall was built between 1619 and 1621. It is a half-timberedTimber 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...
house with ornamental carvings.