Elz, Hesse
Encyclopedia
Elz is a community in Limburg-Weilburg
district in western Hesse
, Germany
, on the boundary with Rhineland-Palatinate
.
in the Limburg Basin (Limburger Becken) with the municipal area reaching into the heights on its western edge and thereby into the area of the Lower Westerwald
(Elzer Wald). From north to south the municipal area is crossed by the flat-bottomed Elbbach valley, whose resident stream rises in the High Westerwald and flows south from Elz, emptying into the Lahn.
. The Devonian
bedrock here is, especially west of the Elbbach, overlain with thick sedimentary fill from the Tertiary
(clay
s, sand
s, gravel
s) of which especially the quartz
sand has afforded the region some economic importance. Overlying these in turn are layers of Ice Age
loess
deposits, which have laid the basis for fruitful agriculture
.
(in the Westerwaldkreis
in Rhineland-Palatinate) and the town of Hadamar
, in the east and south on the town of Limburg
(both in Limburg-Weilburg), and in the west on the communities of Hambach (in the Rhein-Lahn-Kreis
in Rhineland-Palatinate), Görgeshausen
, Niedererbach
and Obererbach (all three in the Westerwaldkreis).
All together, the community has 8,293 inhabitants. Elz’s main centre, also called Elz, is, after Limburg an der Lahn’s main centre the second biggest place in Limburg-Weilburg.
in Elz is 8.5 °C and in Malmeneich 7.9 °C.
The average yearly precipitation
ranges from 600 to 650 mm in Elz and in Malmeneich is 720 mm.
Spring’s
onset falls on average in Elz sometime between 29 April and 5 May.
(Erle in German
). Elz crops up for the first time in the 933 Wiltrud document, now no longer in existence. The oldest existing document comes from the year 1145.
The village on the important strata publica, or Hohe Straße (“High Road”) between Frankfurt am Main and Cologne
was in the Middle Ages
at first under royal rule. Later the property passed to the Electorate of Trier. The outlying countryside, however, belonged to the Counts of Nassau
, which led to centuries-long border disputes.
On 1 September 1442, Elz was granted town rights by King Friedrich IV
. The document attesting this, which guaranteed the Elz townsmen in the Late Middle Ages their freedom was effected by Archbishop of Trier Jacob I of Sierck. The original document has been lost, but in the Landeshauptarchiv Koblenz, three authenticated copies from 1442 and 1443 are kept (Bestand 1 A, Nr. 8101-8103). The town fortification that was soon built was later torn down by the Counts of Nassau. Complicated ownership relationships led to further disputes between the Landgraves of Hesse
, the Electorate of Trier and Nassau.
With Secularization
in 1802, Trier’s overlordship ended and Elz passed to the Principality of Nassau-Weilburg. From 1806 it belonged to the Duchy of Nassau. In 1866 it passed to Prussia
.
, which with its Romanesque
basilica
was widely known throughout the Lahn valley. According to information handed down, Elz was already an autonomous parish beginning in 1234.
Before the current parish church of Sankt Johannes der Täufer (“Saint John the Baptist
”), which to a considerable extent shapes the village’s appearance, a smaller church stood on the same spot, whose exact dimensions and appearance are only vaguely known. References can be found to a Romanesque building with a length of roughly 13.5 m and a breadth of 9.3 m. The graveyard
, now lying west of the church, lay at that time around the old parish church.
by Bishop Peter Josef Blum and Vicar-General Klein was said. A stone plaque with the yeardate 1852 over the sandstone architrave block facing Pfortenstraße still witnesses this event. After about two years, the church, albeit still without a steeple
, could be consecrated by Bishop Blum on 19 November 1854.
In the altar are found relic
s of the martyr
s Boniface, Clement and Blandinia. The church consecration festival was set at that time to the first Sunday after the autumn Ember days
(these being the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday in the week after Holy Cross Day on 14 September). Since the German Bishops' Conference
in 1872 moved the festival, the third Sunday in September has been set as the deadline for the kermis.
On 22 April 1908, the church executive and community council approved the building of a new tower. Its height is 48 m, and since 8 December 1952 it has been fitted with a set of four bells
.
Council consists of 9 members.
The mayor who currently holds office, Horst Kaiser (CDU) was elected on 25 September 2005 with 84.8% of the vote.
. After the decision to build a chapel
on this bank was overturned, this area came into being in 1911 in the form of a little wood. The name “Anlagen” (“facilities” or “sites” in German
) was in the beginning only meant to be the working name, but it so strongly worked its way into the inhabitants’ everyday speech that it stuck, and is still used as the area’s name today. The “Anlagen” nowadays offer, besides the structuredly laid-out tree learning path, a miniature golf
course and a playground
. The Elz Beautification Club (Elzer Verschönerungsverein) has been taking care of the recreation area since 1913.
8 towards the outlying centre of Malmeneich.
–Frankfurt) near kilometre 100 going towards Frankfurt is a notorious accident black spot. The speed limit of 100 km/h for passenger cars and 40 km/h for trucks has watch kept over it by stationary speed measuring apparatus.
Through Elz runs Bundesstraße 8, on its way from the Dutch
border to Passau
. As traffic regularly backs up here, the plan for the long-distance federal roads has identified a bypass for Elz as an urgent need; the price for such work will be €12,600,000.
, Koblenz
, Frankfurt am Main and Wiesbaden
may be reached directly. Furthermore, Elz is linked to the Limburg-Staffel–Siershahn line (Unterwesterwaldbahn) through a halt, Elz Süd.
The nearest InterCityExpress
stop is Limburg Süd railway station
on the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line. Alternatively, Montabaur
station on the same high-speed rail line may be reached on the Unterwesterwaldbahn.
on Bundesautobahn 3. Elz has its own airport
at its disposal which is also home to Flugsportgruppe Elz e. V., a sport flying club.
with broad outdoor facilities (table tennis
table, volleyball
field, basketball
nets). Right next to it are found the central sporting ground and the tennis
courts. The community also offers three sport halls: the Vereinsturnhalle (“club gym
nasium”), the Süd-Schule Elz gymnasium (school) and since 30 May 2008 the Erlenbachhalle, a two-field sport hall belonging to the Erlenbachschule (school) on Hadamarer Straße.
There are two homes for the elderly in Elz that look after elderly residents and those in need of care.
s, St. Martin, Unterm Regenbogen and Lollipop, the primary school Oranienschule (formerly known as Grundschule Elz Süd), and also the Erlenbachschule, which functions as a primary school, a Hauptschule
and a Realschule
.
Limburg-Weilburg
Limburg-Weilburg is a Kreis in the west of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Lahn-Dill, Hochtaunuskreis, Rheingau-Taunus, Rhein-Lahn, Westerwaldkreis.-History:...
district in western 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...
, on the boundary with Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
.
Location
Elz lies at an elevation of 110 to 291 m north of the LahnLahn
The Lahn River is a -long, right tributary of the Rhine River in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia , Hesse , and Rhineland-Palatinate ....
in the Limburg Basin (Limburger Becken) with the municipal area reaching into the heights on its western edge and thereby into the area of the Lower Westerwald
Westerwald
The Westerwald is a low mountain range on the right bank of the River Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhine Massif...
(Elzer Wald). From north to south the municipal area is crossed by the flat-bottomed Elbbach valley, whose resident stream rises in the High Westerwald and flows south from Elz, emptying into the Lahn.
Geology
The Elbbach’s broad lower reaches follow a tectonically created fault (Elzer Graben) which stretches northwards into the community of DornburgDornburg, Hesse
Dornburg is a community in the Westerwald in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany.- Neighbouring communities :Dornburg borders in the north and west on communities in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, with the other neighbours all lying in Limburg-Weilburg...
. The Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
bedrock here is, especially west of the Elbbach, overlain with thick sedimentary fill from the Tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
(clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
s, sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
s, gravel
Gravel
Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
s) of which especially the quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
sand has afforded the region some economic importance. Overlying these in turn are layers of Ice Age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
loess
Loess
Loess is an aeolian sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown silt, typically in the 20–50 micrometre size range, twenty percent or less clay and the balance equal parts sand and silt that are loosely cemented by calcium carbonate...
deposits, which have laid the basis for fruitful 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...
.
Neighbouring communities
Elz borders in the north on the community of HundsangenHundsangen
Hundsangen is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-Location:...
(in the Westerwaldkreis
Westerwaldkreis
The Westerwaldkreis is a district in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
in Rhineland-Palatinate) and the town of Hadamar
Hadamar
Hadamar is a small town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany.Hadamar is known for its Clinic for Forensic Psychiatry/Centre for Social Psychiatry, lying at the edge of town, in whose outlying buildings is also found the Hadamar Memorial...
, in the east and south on the town of Limburg
Limburg an der Lahn
Limburg an der Lahn is the district seat of Limburg-Weilburg in Hesse, Germany.-Location:Limburg lies in western Hesse between the Taunus and the Westerwald on the river Lahn....
(both in Limburg-Weilburg), and in the west on the communities of Hambach (in the Rhein-Lahn-Kreis
Rhein-Lahn-Kreis
Rhein-Lahn is a district in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are Westerwaldkreis, Limburg-Weilburg, Rheingau-Taunus, Mainz-Bingen, Rhein-Hunsrück, Mayen-Koblenz, and the district-free city Koblenz.-History:With the Congress of Vienna the area was added to the duchy...
in Rhineland-Palatinate), Görgeshausen
Görgeshausen
Görgeshausen is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-Location:...
, Niedererbach
Niedererbach
Niedererbach is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-Location:...
and Obererbach (all three in the Westerwaldkreis).
Constituent communities
Elz’s Ortsteile are, with population figures as at 31 December 2007, Elz (7,949) and Malmeneich (344).All together, the community has 8,293 inhabitants. Elz’s main centre, also called Elz, is, after Limburg an der Lahn’s main centre the second biggest place in Limburg-Weilburg.
Climate
The yearly average temperatureTemperature
Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Objects of low temperature are cold, while various degrees of higher temperatures are referred to as warm or hot...
in Elz is 8.5 °C and in Malmeneich 7.9 °C.
The average yearly 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...
ranges from 600 to 650 mm in Elz and in Malmeneich is 720 mm.
Spring’s
Spring (season)
Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...
onset falls on average in Elz sometime between 29 April and 5 May.
History
The placename presumably springs from the alderAlder
Alder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
(Erle 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....
). Elz crops up for the first time in the 933 Wiltrud document, now no longer in existence. The oldest existing document comes from the year 1145.
The village on the important strata publica, or Hohe Straße (“High Road”) between Frankfurt am Main and Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
was in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
at first under royal rule. Later the property passed to the Electorate of Trier. The outlying countryside, however, belonged to the Counts 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...
, which led to centuries-long border disputes.
On 1 September 1442, Elz was granted town rights by King Friedrich IV
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452...
. The document attesting this, which guaranteed the Elz townsmen in the Late Middle Ages their freedom was effected by Archbishop of Trier Jacob I of Sierck. The original document has been lost, but in the Landeshauptarchiv Koblenz, three authenticated copies from 1442 and 1443 are kept (Bestand 1 A, Nr. 8101-8103). The town fortification that was soon built was later torn down by the Counts of Nassau. Complicated ownership relationships led to further disputes between the Landgraves 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:...
, the Electorate of Trier and Nassau.
With Secularization
Secularization
Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...
in 1802, Trier’s overlordship ended and Elz passed to the Principality of Nassau-Weilburg. From 1806 it belonged to the Duchy of Nassau. In 1866 it passed 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...
.
History
Until the 13th century, Elz belonged with some 20 other places to the parish of DietkirchenDietkirchen
Dietkirchen an der Lahn is a borough of Limburg an der Lahn, seat of the district of Limburg-Weilburg in the state of Hesse, Germany. The formerly independent village was incorporated into Limburg in 1971. The town is dominated by the St...
, which with its Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
was widely known throughout the Lahn valley. According to information handed down, Elz was already an autonomous parish beginning in 1234.
Before the current parish church of Sankt Johannes der Täufer (“Saint John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
”), which to a considerable extent shapes the village’s appearance, a smaller church stood on the same spot, whose exact dimensions and appearance are only vaguely known. References can be found to a Romanesque building with a length of roughly 13.5 m and a breadth of 9.3 m. The graveyard
Graveyard
A graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones...
, now lying west of the church, lay at that time around the old parish church.
Current parish church
The foundation stones were laid on 27 June 1852, on the occasion of which a celebratory MassMass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
by Bishop Peter Josef Blum and Vicar-General Klein was said. A stone plaque with the yeardate 1852 over the sandstone architrave block facing Pfortenstraße still witnesses this event. After about two years, the church, albeit still without a steeple
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
, could be consecrated by Bishop Blum on 19 November 1854.
In the altar are found relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s of the martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
s Boniface, Clement and Blandinia. The church consecration festival was set at that time to the first Sunday after the autumn Ember days
Ember days
In the liturgical calendar of the Western Christian churches, Ember days are four separate sets of three days within the same week — specifically, the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday — roughly equidistant in the circuit of the year, that were formerly set aside for fasting and prayer...
(these being the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday in the week after Holy Cross Day on 14 September). Since the German Bishops' Conference
Conference of the German Bishops
The German Bishops' Conference is the episcopal conference of the bishops of the Roman Catholic dioceses in Germany. Members include diocesan bishops, coadjutors, auxiliary bishops, and diocesan administrators....
in 1872 moved the festival, the third Sunday in September has been set as the deadline for the kermis.
On 22 April 1908, the church executive and community council approved the building of a new tower. Its height is 48 m, and since 8 December 1952 it has been fitted with a set of four bells
Church bell
A church bell is a bell which is rung in a church either to signify the hour or the time for worshippers to go to church, perhaps to attend a wedding, funeral, or other service...
.
Pastors of the community since the 20th century
- Clemens Verdelmann 1892-1914
- Ferdinand Müller 1914 - 1922
- Caspar Fein 1922-1956
- Alois Weier 1956–1967
- Reinhard Klein 1967–1986
- Rainer Saarholz 1986–1997
- Franz-Josef Kremer since 1997
Politics
Community 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 | 60.7 | 19 | 60.3 | 19 |
| 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... |
21.9 | 7 | 21.0 | 7 |
| GRÜNE | Bündnis 90/Die Grünen | 3.6 | 1 | 4.2 | 1 |
| FWG | Freie Wählergemeinschaft Elz | 13.8 | 4 | 13.7 | 4 |
| GBE | Grüne Bürger Elz | – | – | 0.8 | 0 |
| Total | 100.0 | 31 | 100.0 | 31 | |
| voter turnout in % | 44.6 | 55.4 | |||
Council consists of 9 members.
Mayors since the 20th century
- Johann Schmidt 1871-1911
- Edmund Pnischek 1911-1918
- Jakob Sommer 1919-1923
- Josef Drexler 1923-1935
- Otto Kempa 1937-1945
- Joseph Friedrich 1945-1967
- Theo Michaely 1967-1974
- Günter Schmitt 1974-1981
- Winfried Schumacher 1982-2005
- Horst Kaiser since 2006
The mayor who currently holds office, Horst Kaiser (CDU) was elected on 25 September 2005 with 84.8% of the vote.
Local recreation area
The local recreation area “Anlagen” lies not far from the middle of the community, north of the parish church on a bank towards MalmeneichMalmeneich
Malmeneich is a village in Hesse, Germany. It belongs to the municipality of Elz. Its post code is 65604 and its dialing code is 06433. It has 345 inhabitants.-Geography and climate:...
. After the decision to build a chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
on this bank was overturned, this area came into being in 1911 in the form of a little wood. The name “Anlagen” (“facilities” or “sites” 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....
) was in the beginning only meant to be the working name, but it so strongly worked its way into the inhabitants’ everyday speech that it stuck, and is still used as the area’s name today. The “Anlagen” nowadays offer, besides the structuredly laid-out tree learning path, a miniature golf
Miniature golf
Miniature golf, or minigolf, is a miniature version of the sport of golf. While the international sports organization World Minigolf Sport Federation prefers to use the name "minigolf", the general public in different countries has also many other names for the game: miniature golf, mini-golf,...
course and a playground
Playground
A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...
. The Elz Beautification Club (Elzer Verschönerungsverein) has been taking care of the recreation area since 1913.
Regular events
- Elzer Kirmes: One attraction is Elz’s kermis, the church consecration festival of the parish of Saint John the Baptist (Sankt Johannes der Täufer), held each year on the third weekend in September and counted among the region’s biggest folk festivalFolk festivalA Folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and folk music.-Canada:Alberta*Calgary Folk Music Festival*Canmore Folk Music Festival*Edmonton Folk Music Festival*Jasper Folk Festival*Wild Mountain Music FestOntario*Barriefolk...
s. On the Friday before the festival, the Kirmesburschen – young men – keep watch over the kermis tree. On the Saturday, the young men of the next age group stand the richly decorated tree near the town hall: the kermis then begins. The festivities last until Tuesday, when the Rausschmiss der Kirmesburschen (roughly “Chucking Out of the Kermis Lads”) by the men of the next age group concludes the Elzer Kirmes. Traditionally, the kermis is “buried” on the following Thursday: a straw doll is burnt at the kermis tree after the Kermis Lads’ mourning procession. In 2004, Elz marked the sesquicentenary of its church consecration with an historic festival parade and market.
- Hexenkessel: Since 1994, the Rotjacken (“Redjackets”), who as a subgrouping of the "Kulturkreis Elzer Bürgerhaus" – a local “cultural circle” – are responsible for arranging various Shrovetide ("Fastnacht") events, have been staging a CarnivalCarnivalCarnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
parade through Elz on Altweiberfastnacht (“Old Women’s Fasting Night” – the Thursday before Ash WednesdayAsh WednesdayAsh Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...
). Groups on foot without motorized vehicles may take part. Every year, it begins at 19:11. The parade route leads through the middle of the community, which is partly decorated by those living along the route at great expense. After the groups have reached the Witch’s Fire at Hirtenplatz (square) about an hour and a half later, the festivities go on into the innINNInterNetNews is a Usenet news server package, originally released by Rich Salz in 1991, and presented at the Summer 1992 USENIX conference in San Antonio, Texas...
s and the Bürgerhaus – a community building. Within a few years, this event became well known far beyond Elz’s limits and up to 60 groups were taking part in the parade. Over the last few years, the number of participants has dropped somewhat, perhaps as a result of changes made to the parade route in 2007. The event’s name, Hexenkessel, is GermanGerman languageGerman 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....
for “Witch’s Cauldron”.
Culinary specialities
- Elzer Zwetschgenkuchen: The fifth verse of the Elz kermis song runs Quetschekuche soiß än zoart, bäckt mer in Elz die richtig Oart, or in standard High GermanGerman languageGerman 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....
, Zwetschgenkuchen süß und zart, bäckt man in Elz auf die richtige Art, or indeed in EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, “DamsonDamsonThe damson or damson plum is an edible drupaceous fruit, a subspecies of the plum tree. Sometimes called the Damask plum, damsons are commonly used in the preparation of jams and jellies...
cake sweet and mellow, is baked in Elz in the right way.” This describes the regional speciality, which at Elz kermis time in September is well known far beyond the village’s limits. The reason for the damson cake’s popularity is, among other things, that the fair’s end traditionally falls at the same time as the damson harvest also ends. The cake is traditionally prepared on a great oblong baking sheet. The doughDoughDough is a paste made out of any cereals or leguminous crops by mixing flour with a small amount of water and/or other liquid. This process is a precursor to making a wide variety of foodstuffs, particularly breads and bread-based items , flatbreads, noodles, pastry, and similar items)...
is a yeastBaker's yeastBaker's yeast is the common name for the strains of yeast commonly used as a leavening agent in baking bread and bakery products, where it converts the fermentable sugars present in the dough into carbon dioxide and ethanol...
dough upon which are laid pitted and chopped damsons. In the preparation, the grounds for choosing damsons over plumPlumA plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
s can be seen. Plums would give off too much moisture while baking and would soak the cake. The Zwetschgenkuchen is eaten with whipped creamWhipped creamWhipped cream is cream that has been beaten by a mixer, whisk, or fork until it is light and fluffy. Whipped cream is often sweetened and sometimes flavored with vanilla, in which case it may be called Chantilly cream or crème Chantilly ....
at afternoon coffeeCoffeeCoffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
time.
Economy and infrastructure
The community is home to more than 600 businesses with well over 2,000 jobs. A commercial park can be found on BundesstraßeBundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
8 towards the outlying centre of Malmeneich.
Road transport
The community is also known countrywide for its Elzer Berg (mountain) on the notable drop in elevation from the Lower Westerwald into the Limburg Basin. This long sloped stretch of roadway on the A 3 (CologneCologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
–Frankfurt) near kilometre 100 going towards Frankfurt is a notorious accident black spot. The speed limit of 100 km/h for passenger cars and 40 km/h for trucks has watch kept over it by stationary speed measuring apparatus.
Through Elz runs Bundesstraße 8, on its way from the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
border to Passau
Passau
Passau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or "City of Three Rivers," because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north....
. As traffic regularly backs up here, the plan for the long-distance federal roads has identified a bypass for Elz as an urgent need; the price for such work will be €12,600,000.
Rail transport
Elz has two railway stations: Near the middle of the community is found Elz station on the Oberwesterwaldbahn (railway) to Limburg and Au (Sieg). From the regional station at Limburg, the cities of GießenGießen
Gießen, also spelt Giessen is a town in the German federal state of Hesse, capital of both the district of Gießen and the administrative region of Gießen...
, Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
, Frankfurt am Main and 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...
may be reached directly. Furthermore, Elz is linked to the Limburg-Staffel–Siershahn line (Unterwesterwaldbahn) through a halt, Elz Süd.
The nearest InterCityExpress
InterCityExpress
The Intercity-Express or ICE is a system of high-speed trains predominantly running in Germany and neighbouring countries. It is the highest service category offered by DB Fernverkehr and is the flagship of Deutsche Bahn...
stop is Limburg Süd railway station
Limburg Süd railway station
Limburg Süd is a railway station in Germany, connecting the town of Limburg an der Lahn to the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line...
on the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line. Alternatively, Montabaur
Montabaur railway station
Montabaur is a railway station in Montabaur, Germany, situated on the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line. The station consists of three platform tracks, two through tracks and five shunting tracks....
station on the same high-speed rail line may be reached on the Unterwesterwaldbahn.
Air transport
It is roughly a 65-km drive to Frankfurt AirportFrankfurt 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...
on Bundesautobahn 3. Elz has its own airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
at its disposal which is also home to Flugsportgruppe Elz e. V., a sport flying club.
Public facilities
Elz has a big outdoor swimming poolSwimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
with broad outdoor facilities (table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
table, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
field, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
nets). Right next to it are found the central sporting ground and the tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
courts. The community also offers three sport halls: the Vereinsturnhalle (“club gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasium”), the Süd-Schule Elz gymnasium (school) and since 30 May 2008 the Erlenbachhalle, a two-field sport hall belonging to the Erlenbachschule (school) on Hadamarer Straße.
There are two homes for the elderly in Elz that look after elderly residents and those in need of care.
Education
Elz has at its disposal three kindergartenKindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
s, St. Martin, Unterm Regenbogen and Lollipop, the primary school Oranienschule (formerly known as Grundschule Elz Süd), and also the Erlenbachschule, which functions as a primary school, a Hauptschule
Hauptschule
A Hauptschule is a secondary school in Germany and Austria, starting after 4 years of elementary schooling, which offers Lower Secondary Education according to the International Standard Classification of Education...
and a Realschule
Realschule
The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
.
Public institutions
- Kindergarten of the Catholic parish of Elz "St. Martin", Kolpingstraße (Elz-Süd)
- Municipal kindergarten "Unterm Regenbogen", Musikantenring (Fleckenberg)
- Municipal kindergarten "Lollipop", Pfortenstraße (downtown)
- Kinderkrippe Mary Poppins Elz (daycare), Limburger Straße
- Schülerganztagsbetreuung (all-day care) sponsored by Schulverein der Erlenbachschule Elz e.V.
- Elz Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1889 (includes Youth Fire Brigade, founded 1972)
- Malmeneich Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1957 (includes Youth Fire Brigade, founded 2006)
Sons and daughters of the town
- Theodor BlankTheodor BlankTheodor Anton Blank was a German politician of the CDU. He was one of the founders of the CDU in 1945....
(b. 19 September 1905, d. 14 May 1972 in BonnBonnBonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
), German politician (CDU), Member of the BundestagBundestagThe Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
, Member of the North Rhine-WestphaliaNorth Rhine-WestphaliaNorth 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...
LandtagLandtagA Landtag is a representative assembly or parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority.- Name :...
, Federal Defence Minister (1955–1956) and Federal Minister for Labour and Social Order (1957–1965) - Joseph Blank (b. 12 February 1913, d. 14 June 1994 in DüsseldorfDüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
), German politician (CDU), Member of the North Rhine-Westphalia Landtag, State Minister for State Planning, Housing Building and Public Works (1962–1963)
Further reading
- Erhard Weimer: Chronik der Gemeinde Elz. Elz 1982. 288 S.
- Erhard Weimer: Elzer Atlas Elz 2006. 400 S.