Freudenberg, Westphalia
Encyclopedia
Freudenberg is a town in the Siegen-Wittgenstein
district, in North Rhine-Westphalia
, Germany
.
The town lies on the German-Dutch
holiday road called the Orange Route
, joining towns, cities and regions associated with the House of Orange.
Freudenberg lies in hilly uplands between 243 and 505 m above sea level
. The 17 constituent communities share roughly 55 km², of which two thirds is made up of broadleaf and spruce
forest
.
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Besides the main town, which bears the same name as the whole municipality, there are sixteen outlying centres named Alchen, Bottenberg, Bühl, Büschergrund, Dirlenbach, Heisberg, Hohenhain, Lindenberg, Mausbach, Niederheuslingen, Niederholzklau, Niederndorf, Oberfischbach, Oberheuslingen, Oberholzklau and Plittershagen. Among these, the main town is the biggest, and the next in size after that is Büschergrund, which is itself further subdivided into four parts, named Büschen, Eichen, Anstoß and Bockseifen.
The oldest constituent communities are most likely the two that were both mentioned in documents in the 11th century, namely Plittershagen and Oberholzklau in 1079. Freudenberg is known to have been an Amt
and court seat as of the early 15th century. The village and the castle
of Freudenberg had their first documentary mention in 1389.
The castle was founded over the Weibe Valley together with a settlement by the Counts of Nassau as a corner post of their domain. Count Johann IV of Nassau, Vianden and Diez gave the Freudenberg townsfolk their "freedom rights" on 7 November 1456. This was a kind of minimal town rights, but the document bestowing this distinction upon the town is taken as evidence of town rights being granted Freudenberg. Documents give clues that Freudenberg was established quite early on as a "Flecken", or market town. The historic town core is even still called Alter Flecken (alt means "old"; –er is a grammatical inflection).
In 1540, both the castle and the town were heavily damaged by a fire. On William the Rich's
orders, there came into being about the mid 16th century new building works. The market town was given a new town wall with four gates. In the northwest, the Hohenhainer Tor was built, in the northeast the Weihertor, in the southeast the Braastor and in the southwest the Schultor (Tor means "gate"). However, owing to yet another town fire on 9 August 1666, the town was once again laid waste. Prince Johann Moritz von Nassau-Siegen
built the town anew, using much the same layout, planned in 1540, as had stood before the fire. The castle, however, was not restored, and to this day, all that can be seen of it are a few wall remains.
In 1969, the new, greater Freudenberg came into being with the merger of the seventeen former municipalities named herein.
is variously interpreted as a castle or a town gate. If the later is the case, it might heraldically be described thus: In azure a crenellated town gate Or with two crenellated towers Or. In either case, the town's current arms, granted in 1911 and confirmed in 1970, are based on the town's oldest known seal, from 1473. This seal's colours were not known; the blue and gold seen today are the colours of the old princely house of Nassau-Siegen.http://www.ngw.nl/int/dld/f/freuden2.htm
At the Südwestfälische Freilichtbühne Freudenberg (Freudenberg South Westphalian Open-air Stage), before a breathtaking backdrop of forest and crag
s, two new productions are staged every year for children and adults. Yearly, about 50,000 visitors come to the open-air stage with its roofed grandstand.
built in 1904. As well, the museum has all kinds of wheeled vehicles on display.
houses. It gives the impression of a small town from the 17th century. The Alter Flecken was included in the Kulturatlas des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen (Cultural Atlas of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia) as a "Building monument of international importance". The Evangelical
church, after Freudenberg got its own parish in 1585, was built as a "fortress church" (i.e. with architecture somewhat reminiscent of a military fortification). The belltower is the only one of the former castle's towers still left standing.
The church in Oberholzklau was built early in the 13th century and is worth seeing as a Romanesque
church whose architecture nevertheless plainly shows transition to Gothic
. The rectory next door, built in half-timbered style, is from 1608.
's film LiebesLuder as an allegory of a decent, middle-class small town in which behind the scenes things stink. Likewise, the town served as the backdrop in the film Lupo und der Muezzin (Diana Film, Munich).
. Until the 1980s, there was also a railway connection through the Biggetalbahn to Olpe
in the north and through the Asdorftalbahn to Betzdorf in the south. Nowadays, a great deal of the former right-of-way
has been turned into bicycle trails or filled in with earth.
was born in Freudenberg. Freudenberg is the ancestral village of Apollo XI Astronaut Buzz Aldrin
, a descendant of Freudenberg Burgermeister Jacob Friesenhagen, circa 1660.
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:...
district, in 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...
, 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...
.
The town lies on the German-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...
holiday road called the Orange Route
Orange Route
The Orange Route is a holiday route, that runs from Amsterdam in the Netherlands through North and Central Germany and returns to Amsterdam. It is 2,400 kilometres long and crossess the Netherlands and nine German federal states...
, joining towns, cities and regions associated with the House of Orange.
Location
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 17 constituent communities share roughly 55 km², of which two thirds is made up of broadleaf and spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
.
Constituent communities
History
The town of Freudenberg in its current form came into being through municipal reform on 1 January 1969. Into it the seventeen formerly self-standing municipalities of Alchen, Bottenberg, Bühl, Büschergrund, Dirlenbach, Freudenberg, Heisberg, Hohenhain, Lindenberg, Mausbach, Niederheuslingen, Niederholzklau, Niederndorf, Oberfischbach, Oberheuslingen, Oberholzklau and Plittershagen were merged into one.The oldest constituent communities are most likely the two that were both mentioned in documents in the 11th century, namely Plittershagen and Oberholzklau in 1079. Freudenberg is known to have been an Amt
Amt (subnational entity)
Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only found in Germany, but formerly also common in northern European countries. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to a U.S...
and court seat as of the early 15th century. The village and the 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...
of Freudenberg had their first documentary mention in 1389.
The castle was founded over the Weibe Valley together with a settlement by the Counts of Nassau as a corner post of their domain. Count Johann IV of Nassau, Vianden and Diez gave the Freudenberg townsfolk their "freedom rights" on 7 November 1456. This was a kind of minimal town rights, but the document bestowing this distinction upon the town is taken as evidence of town rights being granted Freudenberg. Documents give clues that Freudenberg was established quite early on as a "Flecken", or market town. The historic town core is even still called Alter Flecken (alt means "old"; –er is a grammatical inflection).
In 1540, both the castle and the town were heavily damaged by a fire. On William the Rich's
Wilhelm, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg
William of Jülich-Cleves-Berg was a Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg .William was born in and died in Düsseldorf. He was the only son of John III, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, and Maria, Duchess of Jülich-Berg. William took over rule of his father's estates upon his death in 1539...
orders, there came into being about the mid 16th century new building works. The market town was given a new town wall with four gates. In the northwest, the Hohenhainer Tor was built, in the northeast the Weihertor, in the southeast the Braastor and in the southwest the Schultor (Tor means "gate"). However, owing to yet another town fire on 9 August 1666, the town was once again laid waste. Prince Johann Moritz von Nassau-Siegen
John Maurice of Nassau
John Maurice of Nassau was count and prince of Nassau-Siegen.He was born in Dillenburg...
built the town anew, using much the same layout, planned in 1540, as had stood before the fire. The castle, however, was not restored, and to this day, all that can be seen of it are a few wall remains.
In 1969, the new, greater Freudenberg came into being with the merger of the seventeen former municipalities named herein.
Town council
The town council's 34 seats are apportioned thus, in accordance with municipal elections held on 26 September 2004:| CDU Christian Democratic Union (Germany) The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum... |
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
Greens Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir... |
FDP 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... |
independent councillors | total | |
| 2004 | 17 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 34 |
Coat of arms
The charge in Freudenberg'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...
is variously interpreted as a castle or a town gate. If the later is the case, it might heraldically be described thus: In azure a crenellated town gate Or with two crenellated towers Or. In either case, the town's current arms, granted in 1911 and confirmed in 1970, are based on the town's oldest known seal, from 1473. This seal's colours were not known; the blue and gold seen today are the colours of the old princely house of Nassau-Siegen.http://www.ngw.nl/int/dld/f/freuden2.htm
Theatre
Cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
s, two new productions are staged every year for children and adults. Yearly, about 50,000 visitors come to the open-air stage with its roofed grandstand.
Museums
The town museum (Stadtmuseum) has exhibits relating to local history and economic history. Especially worth seeing is the House's clock collection. The Technical Museum (Technikmuseum) has on display exhibits relating to trade and industrial history from the region. The museum's centrepiece is a steam engineSteam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
built in 1904. As well, the museum has all kinds of wheeled vehicles on display.
Buildings
The "Alter Flecken" is Freudenberg's downtown core, built wholly of 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...
houses. It gives the impression of a small town from the 17th century. The Alter Flecken was included in the Kulturatlas des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen (Cultural Atlas of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia) as a "Building monument of international importance". The Evangelical
Evangelical Church in Germany
The Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
church, after Freudenberg got its own parish in 1585, was built as a "fortress church" (i.e. with architecture somewhat reminiscent of a military fortification). The belltower is the only one of the former castle's towers still left standing.
The church in Oberholzklau was built early in the 13th century and is worth seeing as a 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,...
church whose architecture nevertheless plainly shows transition to Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
. The rectory next door, built in half-timbered style, is from 1608.
Film backdrop
The prim and proper seeming town has served in, among others, Detlev BuckDetlev Buck
Detlev Buck is a German film director and actor.-Life and work:From his first short film at the age of 21 in 1982, Erst die Arbeit und dann?, he has remained one of the most important filmmakers working in Germany...
's film LiebesLuder as an allegory of a decent, middle-class small town in which behind the scenes things stink. Likewise, the town served as the backdrop in the film Lupo und der Muezzin (Diana Film, Munich).
Economy and infrastructure
The town is crossed from north to southeast by Autobahn A 45Bundesautobahn 45
is an autobahn in Germany, connecting Dortmund in the west with Aschaffenburg in the southwest. It is colloquially known by its byname Sauerlandlinie, which derives from the Sauerland, the landscape which said autobahn is running through between the cities of Hagen and Siegen. Many people think of...
. Until the 1980s, there was also a railway connection through the Biggetalbahn to Olpe
Olpe, Germany
Olpe is situated in the foothills of the Ebbegebirge in North Rhine-Westphalia, roughly 60 km east of Cologne and 20 km northwest of Siegen. It is part of the Regierungsbezirk of Arnsberg and is the seat of the district of Olpe.- Location :...
in the north and through the Asdorftalbahn to Betzdorf in the south. Nowadays, a great deal of the former right-of-way
Right-of-way (railroad)
A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted, through an easement or other mechanism, for transportation purposes, such as for a trail, driveway, rail line or highway. A right-of-way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the right-of-way...
has been turned into bicycle trails or filled in with earth.
Personalities
Former mayor Hermann Vomhof is at this time Freudenberg's only honorary citizen. The German historian Hans-Ulrich WehlerHans-Ulrich Wehler
Hans-Ulrich Wehler is a German historian known for his role in promoting social history through the "Bielefeld School", and for his critical studies of 19th century Germany.-Career:...
was born in Freudenberg. Freudenberg is the ancestral village of Apollo XI Astronaut Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history...
, a descendant of Freudenberg Burgermeister Jacob Friesenhagen, circa 1660.