Goldbach, Bavaria
Encyclopedia
Goldbach is a market community in the Aschaffenburg district
in the Regierungsbezirk
of Lower Franconia
(Unterfranken) in Bavaria
, Germany
.
soil, which during heavy rainfalls colours the local brook, also called the Goldbach, with a somewhat golden tinge. Gold is also the German
word for gold, and Bach means “brook”. Supposedly, the place was first called Gelbbach, gelb being the word for “yellow”.
. In 1814, Goldbach was transferred to Bavaria. On 26 May 1995, Goldbach was granted the designation Markt (“Market”).
(as at municipal election held on 2 March 2008)
might be described thus: Gules a bend wavy Or, in chief a noble coronet argent set with colourful stones, in base a wheel spoked of six of the third.
The German blazon describes the coronet as a Laubkrone, or “leaf crown”.
The “bend wavy Or” – that is to say, wavy slanted golden stripe – is canting
. As explained above, the community’s name means “Gold Brook”, and this bend is a visual representation of just such a thing. From the 7th to the 11th century, Goldbach belonged to the area of the Frankish
royal estate, which is what the crown symbolizes. Until 1803, Goldbach found itself under Electoral Mainz
hegemony, a fact recalled by the Wheel of Mainz
on the other side of the bend. The tincture
s Or and gules (gold and red) are taken from the arms once borne by the Counts of Rieneck, who until they died out in 1559 held the Vogt
ei as the vassals of the Archbishop of Mainz.
The arms have been borne since 1965.
, Calvados
, France
since 1994; the commune lies at Juno Beach
.
church that stands today was built in 1894 and 1895 on the spot where once stood an older building that had become too small. The newer church was later expanded with modern building work.
In the west of the community, which at the time was a new development area, the modern church St. Maria Immaculata was consecrated in 1961, as Saint Nicholas’s had itself become too small to handle the community’s growing numbers. The plain clinker-brick
building with a 37 m-tall asymmetrical tower has room for 600 visitors. The chancel
is graced by a monumental painting by the artist Curd Lessig as well as by a modern octagonal altar lamp whereon are shown Bible scenes. One peculiarity of the church is its organ
threesome. Besides the main organ with its 36 stops, built in 1964 by the organ building firm Michael Weise, the church also has at its disposal a Baroque organ from 1782 that was thoroughly restored in the early 1980s and a positive organ
from Hartwig Späth’s workshop.
At community limits with Hösbach
stands the Evangelical
Johanneskirche (“Saint John’s Church”).
Further clubs are VfR Goldbach, AC Bavaria Goldbach, Gesangverein Harmonie Goldbach (singing club), Gesangverein Sängerkranz Goldbach (singing club), KJG St. Nikolaus, KJG St. Maria Immaculata, DJK Goldbach 1985 e.V., MSC Goldbach, KKS Goldbach, BRK Goldbach, Freiwillige Feuerwehr Goldbach (volunteer fire brigade), RG Goldbach, F.W.V. Goldbach.
, when the Autobahn was being widened to six lanes, a “housing” was built over the roadway to reduce the noise pollution.
. The indoor swimming pool at the elementary school
is open to the public in the winter months. Throughout the community are 10 playgrounds, 3 football pitches and 2 sport halls.
Aschaffenburg (district)
Aschaffenburg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Darmstadt-Dieburg, Offenbach, Main-Kinzig , the districts Main-Spessart and Miltenberg, and the town of Aschaffenburg....
in the Regierungsbezirk
Regierungsbezirk
In Germany, a Government District, in German: Regierungsbezirk – is a subdivision of certain federal states .They are above the Kreise, Landkreise, and kreisfreie Städte...
of Lower Franconia
Lower Franconia
Lower Franconia is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria , Germany ....
(Unterfranken) in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, 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...
.
Location
The market community is one of the most heavily populated communities in the Aschaffenburg district and is well known for the “housing” that encloses the Autobahn A 3. It is believed that the name has its roots in the yellow loessLoess
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...
soil, which during heavy rainfalls colours the local brook, also called the Goldbach, with a somewhat golden tinge. Gold is also the 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....
word for gold, and Bach means “brook”. Supposedly, the place was first called Gelbbach, gelb being the word for “yellow”.
Constituent communities
On 1 July 1971, the formerly self-administering community of Unterafferbach was amalgamated with Goldbach.History
In 1218, Goldbach had its first documentary mention. From the mid 15th century, Goldbach was under the authority of the Archbishop 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...
. In 1814, Goldbach was transferred to Bavaria. On 26 May 1995, Goldbach was granted the designation Markt (“Market”).
Community council
The council is made up of 24 council members, not counting the mayor.| CSU Christian Social Union of Bavaria The Christian Social Union in Bavaria is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It operates only in the state of Bavaria, while its sister party, the Christian Democratic Union , operates in the other 15 states of Germany... |
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
FWG | Total | |
| 2008 | 9 | 2 | 13 | 24 seats |
(as at municipal election held on 2 March 2008)
Coat of arms
The community’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: Gules a bend wavy Or, in chief a noble coronet argent set with colourful stones, in base a wheel spoked of six of the third.
The German blazon describes the coronet as a Laubkrone, or “leaf crown”.
The “bend wavy Or” – that is to say, wavy slanted golden stripe – is 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 –...
. As explained above, the community’s name means “Gold Brook”, and this bend is a visual representation of just such a thing. From the 7th to the 11th century, Goldbach belonged to the area of the Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
royal estate, which is what the crown symbolizes. Until 1803, Goldbach found itself under Electoral Mainz
Archbishopric 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...
hegemony, a fact recalled by the Wheel of Mainz
Wheel of Mainz
thumb|150px|version until 1992thumb|150px|version from 1992 - 2008thumb|150px|version from 2008The Wheel of Mainz or Mainzer Rad, in German, was the coat of arms of the Archbishopric of Mainz and thus also of the Electorate of Mainz , in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It consists of a silver wheel...
on the other side of the bend. The tincture
Tincture (heraldry)
In heraldry, tinctures are the colours used to emblazon a coat of arms. These can be divided into several categories including light tinctures called metals, dark tinctures called colours, nonstandard colours called stains, furs, and "proper". A charge tinctured proper is coloured as it would be...
s Or and gules (gold and red) are taken from the arms once borne by the Counts of Rieneck, who until they died out in 1559 held the Vogt
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...
ei as the vassals of the Archbishop of Mainz.
The arms have been borne since 1965.
Town partnerships
Courseulles-sur-MerCourseulles-sur-Mer
Courseulles-sur-Mer is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.It is a popular tourist destination not only with locals but also with international visitors who come to tour the Normandy landing beaches...
, Calvados
Calvados
The French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
, 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 1994; the commune lies at Juno Beach
Juno Beach
Juno or Juno Beach was one of five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. The sector spanned from Saint-Aubin, a village just east of the British Gold sector, to Courseulles, just west of the British Sword sector...
.
Churches
Goldbach has at its disposal two Catholic parish churches. The alte Kirche (“old church”), as Saint Nicholas’s Church (St. Nikolaus-Kirche) is called, is found in the old village core. The sandstone Romanesque RevivalRomanesque Revival architecture
Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid 19th century inspired by the 11th and 12th century Romanesque architecture...
church that stands today was built in 1894 and 1895 on the spot where once stood an older building that had become too small. The newer church was later expanded with modern building work.
In the west of the community, which at the time was a new development area, the modern church St. Maria Immaculata was consecrated in 1961, as Saint Nicholas’s had itself become too small to handle the community’s growing numbers. The plain clinker-brick
Clinker brick
Clinker bricks are partially vitrified brick stones used in the construction of buildings.Clinkers are burnt under temperatures so high that the pores of the fuel property are closed by the beginning sinter process. Thus they are considerably denser and therefore heavier than regular bricks...
building with a 37 m-tall asymmetrical tower has room for 600 visitors. The chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
is graced by a monumental painting by the artist Curd Lessig as well as by a modern octagonal altar lamp whereon are shown Bible scenes. One peculiarity of the church is its organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
threesome. Besides the main organ with its 36 stops, built in 1964 by the organ building firm Michael Weise, the church also has at its disposal a Baroque organ from 1782 that was thoroughly restored in the early 1980s and a positive organ
Positive organ
A positive organ is a small, usually one-manual, pipe organ that is built to be more or less mobile. It was common in sacred and secular music between the 10th and the 18th centuries, in chapels and small churches, as a chamber organ and for the basso continuo in ensemble works...
from Hartwig Späth’s workshop.
At community limits with Hösbach
Hösbach
Hösbach is a market community in the Aschaffenburg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany.-Location:...
stands 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...
Johanneskirche (“Saint John’s Church”).
Sport and clubs
In Goldbach there is a lively sport, culture and club life. Drawing attention from well beyond the region is the Winterlaufserie (“Winter Run Series”), carried on TV Goldbach, which is said to cover 10 km on each of nine appointed times.Further clubs are VfR Goldbach, AC Bavaria Goldbach, Gesangverein Harmonie Goldbach (singing club), Gesangverein Sängerkranz Goldbach (singing club), KJG St. Nikolaus, KJG St. Maria Immaculata, DJK Goldbach 1985 e.V., MSC Goldbach, KKS Goldbach, BRK Goldbach, Freiwillige Feuerwehr Goldbach (volunteer fire brigade), RG Goldbach, F.W.V. Goldbach.
Transport
Goldbach lies right on the A 3 between Frankfurt (roughly 45 km away) and Würzburg (roughly 75 km away). Between Goldbach and HösbachHösbach
Hösbach is a market community in the Aschaffenburg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany.-Location:...
, when the Autobahn was being widened to six lanes, a “housing” was built over the roadway to reduce the noise pollution.
Public institutions
On the way out of the community, going towards Unterafferbach, is a forest 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...
. The indoor swimming pool at the elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
is open to the public in the winter months. Throughout the community are 10 playgrounds, 3 football pitches and 2 sport halls.