Kleinostheim
Encyclopedia
Kleinostheim is a community in the Aschaffenburg district
in the Regierungsbezirk
of Lower Franconia
(Unterfranken) in Bavaria
, Germany
.
Kleinostheim lies upstream from Frankfurt on the Main river. It is at the western edge of the Spessart
range near Aschaffenburg
.
, and because it lies on the Rhine-Danube waterway and in the middle of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region, the community offers many advantages as a location. Kleinostheim benefits from lying near prosperous cities such as Frankfurt
, Offenbach and Aschaffenburg
by serving as a commuter town. Since the 1960s, the community’s population has more than doubled from 4,000 to over 8,000.
, and in 975, it had its first documentary mention. For almost a thousand years it was ecclesiastically and politically tightly bound with Saints Peter’s and Alexander’s Monastery in Aschaffenburg.
On 21 January 1945, the community suffered the most dreadful day in its history. In an air raid
, more than 500 buildings were either damaged or utterly destroyed, and 61 people were killed. Commemorating this is a memorial site, renovated in 1995, at the graveyard.
In 1951, the third Saint Lawrence’s Church (Laurentiuskirche) in the Catholic parish’s over 1000-year history was consecrated. Nearby, in 1955, so was Saint Mark’s Church (Markuskirche) for the new Evangelical
parish.
In 1814, Kleinostheim passed to Bavaria, having belonged before that, since the 10th century, to Electoral Mainz
.
(as at municipal election held on 2 March 2008)
might be described thus: Gules a base wavy argent, above which an oaktree with five leaves Or between a wheel spoked of six and a spade blade in pale of the second.
Kleinostheim lies between the Main and the Spessart, which is well known for its oaks. This is symbolized by the oaktree in the arms. The wavy base refers to the community’s geographical location between the Main and the Spessart. Kleinostheim is a very old community with an agricultural history going back more than twenty centuries. Standing for this is the spade blade, which was actually an archaeological
find from Celtic times. The Wheel of Mainz
and the tincture
s gules and argent (red and silver) are taken from the arms borne by the Electorate of Mainz
and recalls the community’s former allegiance to this state.
The arms were conferred on 5 June 1975.
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 community of Kleinostheim is about 40 kilometers east southeast of Frankfurt am Main about a half hour drive from it.Kleinostheim lies upstream from Frankfurt on the Main river. It is at the western edge of the Spessart
Spessart
The Spessart is a low mountain range in northwestern Bavaria and southern Hesse, Germany. It is bordered on three sides by the Main River. The two most important towns located at the foot of the Spessart are Aschaffenburg and Würzburg....
range near Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg is a city in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is the administrative seat.Aschaffenburg is known as the Tor zum Spessart or "gate to the Spessart"...
.
Constituent communities
Kleinostheim’s four Ortsteile are Kleinostheim, Waldstadt, Industriegebiet West and Wingert.Community of Kleinostheim as a residential town
Owing to the favourable transport connections over an important north-south railway link and the Autobahnen A 3 and 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...
, and because it lies on the Rhine-Danube waterway and in the middle of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region, the community offers many advantages as a location. Kleinostheim benefits from lying near prosperous cities such as 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...
, Offenbach and Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg is a city in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is the administrative seat.Aschaffenburg is known as the Tor zum Spessart or "gate to the Spessart"...
by serving as a commuter town. Since the 1960s, the community’s population has more than doubled from 4,000 to over 8,000.
History
Kleinostheim was most likely founded in the 6th century as Ossenheim by the FranksFranks
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...
, and in 975, it had its first documentary mention. For almost a thousand years it was ecclesiastically and politically tightly bound with Saints Peter’s and Alexander’s Monastery in Aschaffenburg.
On 21 January 1945, the community suffered the most dreadful day in its history. In an air raid
Strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war with the goal of defeating an enemy nation-state by destroying its economic ability and public will to wage war rather than destroying its land or naval forces...
, more than 500 buildings were either damaged or utterly destroyed, and 61 people were killed. Commemorating this is a memorial site, renovated in 1995, at the graveyard.
In 1951, the third Saint Lawrence’s Church (Laurentiuskirche) in the Catholic parish’s over 1000-year history was consecrated. Nearby, in 1955, so was Saint Mark’s Church (Markuskirche) for the new 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...
parish.
In 1814, Kleinostheim passed to Bavaria, having belonged before that, since the 10th century, to 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...
.
Community council
The council is made up of 20 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... |
FW | 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... |
Total | |
| 2008 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 20 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 base wavy argent, above which an oaktree with five leaves Or between a wheel spoked of six and a spade blade in pale of the second.
Kleinostheim lies between the Main and the Spessart, which is well known for its oaks. This is symbolized by the oaktree in the arms. The wavy base refers to the community’s geographical location between the Main and the Spessart. Kleinostheim is a very old community with an agricultural history going back more than twenty centuries. Standing for this is the spade blade, which was actually an archaeological
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
find from Celtic times. 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...
and 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 gules and argent (red and silver) are taken from the arms borne by the Electorate of 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...
and recalls the community’s former allegiance to this state.
The arms were conferred on 5 June 1975.
Personages
- Franz Adolf Gräbner (b. 8 October 1944 in HörsteinAlzenauAlzenau is a town in the north of the Aschaffenburg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. The epithet “in Unterfranken” , now dropped, was to distinguish it from another Alzenau since 1945 no longer in Germany...
; d. 2 April 2004 in Frankfurt) was a well known artistic painter. Gräbner was buried here, as it was also the last place where he lived. In the books that he had published, Mühlen und Landschaften der Heimat and Gemälde und Zeichnungen, some of his works are reproduced.
Transport
- Railway station (Frankfurt - Aschaffenburg – Würzburg mainline)
- Autobahn A 3, between FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt 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...
(roughly 40 km away) and WürzburgWürzburgWürzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
(roughly 80 km away). - Connection to the A 45Bundesautobahn 45is 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...
.