Lichtenau is a small town in Rastatt district

Rastatt (district)

Rastatt is a district in the west of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Karlsruhe, Calw, Freudenstadt and the Ortenaukreis. To the west it borders the French département Bas-Rhin...

 in southwestern Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...

, 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...

.

Geography

Lichtenau is located in the Upper Rhine River Plains on the right bank of the Rhine between Rastatt

Rastatt

Rastatt is a city and baroque residence in the District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 50'000...

 and Kehl

Kehl

Kehl is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg.-History:...

.

Neighboring communities

The city shares borders with the following communities, listed clockwise from the north: Rheinmünster

Rheinmünster

Rheinmünster is a town in the district of Rastatt in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....

, Ottersweier

Ottersweier

Ottersweier is a community in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-Twin cities: - Westerlo, Flanders, Belgium, since 1962 - Krauschwitz, Germany, since 1989...

, Achern

Achern

Achern is a city in Western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located approximately 18 km southwest of Baden-Baden and 19 km northeast of Offenburg...

 and Rheinau

Rheinau (Baden)

Rheinau is a town in southwestern Baden-Württemberg, Germany and is part of the district of Ortenau.-Geography:Rheinau is located in the Upper Rhine River Plains directly on the Rhine and as such at the German-French border...

. West of the city is the Rhine and with it the French

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...

 border.

Boroughs

The city of Lichtenau consists of Lichtenau (proper), Scherzheim, Ulm, Muckenschopf and Grauelsbaum.

History

Lichtenau developed from a water castle that the Bishop of Strasbourg had built in the years 1293 to 1296, complete with defensive wall

Defensive wall

A defensive wall is a fortification used to protect a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...

, ditch

Ditch (fortification)

A ditch in military engineering is an obstacle, designed to slow down or break up an attacking force, while a trench is intended to provide cover to the defenders...

 and parapet

Parapet

A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...

. In 1300 Lichtenau received its city charter and until its Slighting

Slighting

A slighting is the deliberate destruction, partial or complete, of a fortification without opposition. During the English Civil War this was to render it unusable as a fort.-Middle Ages:...

 in 1686 it remained a fortress. After the line of the Counts of Hanau-Lichtenau ended the city became part of 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...

 in 1736 and then was made part of Baden

Baden

Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....

 together with the Hanauerland in 1803.

District reform

In Lichtenau the Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg

Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...

 district reform of the 1970s took place in stages.

{| border="0"
| valign="top" |
{| class="wikitable"
! Town
! Merged into Lichtenau as of
|-
| align="left" | Scherzheim || January 1, 1972
|-
| align="left" | Ulm || January 1, 1973
|-
| align="left" | Muckenschopf || January 1, 1974
|-
| align="left" | Grauelsbaum ||January 1, 1975
|}

Government

The city is part of the administrative district of "Rheinmünster-Lichtenau" with seat in Rheinmünster.

City council

In addition to the mayor and city council president the council is made up of 20 members. The councilmen and councilwomen belong to political parties as follows:

{| border="0"
| valign="top" |
{| class="wikitable"
! Party
! Seats
|-
| align="left" | 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...

|| align="right" | 9
|-
| align="left" | SPD

Social Democratic Party of Germany

The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...

 || align="right" | 6
|-

| align="left" | Bündnis 90/Green Party

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...

 || align="right" | 2
|-

| align="left" | Independents || align="right" | 3
|}

Famous people

Gabriele Frechen (born October 12, 1956), politician.

Fredrick Archenhold scientist