Lindenfels
Encyclopedia
Lindenfels is a town in the Bergstraße district
in Hesse
, Germany
.
in southern Hesse and is nestled in a mountain landscape with a great deal of woodland.
and Fischbachtal
(both in Darmstadt-Dieburg
), in the northeast on the community of Fränkisch-Crumbach
, in the east on the community of Reichelsheim
(both in the Odenwaldkreis
), in the south on the community of Fürth, and in the west on the community of Lautertal.
. After that, the town belonged for nearly 600 years to Electoral Palatinate. In 1336, Emperor Ludwig IV
granted Lindenfels town and market rights. In 1802, after Electoral Palatinate’s downfall, Lindenfels passed to the Grand Duchy of Hesse
and was from 1821 to 1832 seat of the Landratsbezirk of Lindenfels. Later, from 1852 to 1874, it was the seat of the Lindenfels district.
After the Second World War ended in May 1945, Lindenfels found itself in the American Zone of Occupation. The US
military administration built a displaced persons camp
to house displaced Jews. The camp was dissolved in 1948.
The designation heilklimatischer Kurort (“climatic spa”) was granted Lindenfels in 1969.
, Finistère
, France
since 1968 Pawłowiczki, Opole Voivodeship
, Poland
since 1998
Kreis Bergstraße
Bergstraße is a Kreis in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Groß-Gerau, Darmstadt-Dieburg, Odenwaldkreis, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, the urban district Mannheim, the Rhein-Pfalz-Kreis, and the urban district of Worms...
in 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...
.
Location
The climatic spa, also known as the “Pearl of the Odenwald”, lies in the OdenwaldOdenwald
The Odenwald is a low mountain range in Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in Germany.- Location :The Odenwald lies between the Upper Rhine Rift Valley with the Bergstraße and the Hessisches Ried in the west, the Main and the Bauland in the east, the Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin – a subbasin of...
in southern Hesse and is nestled in a mountain landscape with a great deal of woodland.
Neighbouring communities
Lindenfels borders in the north on the communities of ModautalModautal
Modautal is a municipality in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, in Hesse, Germany. Around 5,050 inhabitants live in 11 districts on an area of 31 km2 . The first historical chronicles date back to the 13th century.-History:...
and Fischbachtal
Fischbachtal
Fischbachtal is a municipality in southern Hesse in the district Darmstadt-Dieburg. The municipality has a total population of 2,686 inhabitants...
(both in Darmstadt-Dieburg
Darmstadt-Dieburg
Darmstadt-Dieburg is a Kreis in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Offenbach, Aschaffenburg, Miltenberg, Odenwaldkreis, Bergstraße, Groß-Gerau, and the district-free city of Darmstadt, which it surrounds.-History:...
), in the northeast on the community of Fränkisch-Crumbach
Fränkisch-Crumbach
Fränkisch-Crumbach is a community in the Odenwaldkreis in Hesse, Germany.-Location:Fränkisch-Crumbach lies in the middle Odenwald on the Gersprenz, which empties into the Main near Stockstadt.-Neighbouring communities:...
, in the east on the community of Reichelsheim
Reichelsheim (Odenwald)
Reichelsheim is a community in the Odenwaldkreis in Hesse, Germany.-Location:Reichelsheim lies in the middle Odenwald at elevations between 200 and 538 m in the middle of the Geo-Naturpark Bergstraße-Odenwald....
(both in the Odenwaldkreis
Odenwaldkreis
The Odenwaldkreis is a Kreis in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Darmstadt-Dieburg, Miltenberg,Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis and Kreis Bergstraße. Odenwaldkreis belongs to the Rhine Neckar Area.-History:...
), in the south on the community of Fürth, and in the west on the community of Lautertal.
Constituent communities
Lindenfels has outlying centres named Eulsbach, Glattbach, Kolmbach, Schlierbach, Seidenbuch, Winkel and Winterkasten.History
In 1123, Lindenfels had its first documentary mention as a holding of the Lorsch AbbeyLorsch Abbey
The Abbey of Lorsch is a former Imperial Abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about 10 km east of Worms, one of the most renowned monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ruined state, its remains are among the most important pre-Romanesque–Carolingian style buildings in Germany...
. After that, the town belonged for nearly 600 years to Electoral Palatinate. In 1336, Emperor Ludwig IV
Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Louis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....
granted Lindenfels town and market rights. In 1802, after Electoral Palatinate’s downfall, Lindenfels passed to the Grand Duchy of Hesse
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine , or, between 1806 and 1816, Grand Duchy of Hesse —as it was also known after 1816—was a member state of the German Confederation from 1806, when the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to a Grand Duchy, until 1918, when all the German...
and was from 1821 to 1832 seat of the Landratsbezirk of Lindenfels. Later, from 1852 to 1874, it was the seat of the Lindenfels district.
After the Second World War ended in May 1945, Lindenfels found itself in the American Zone of Occupation. The US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military administration built a displaced persons camp
Displaced persons camp
A displaced persons camp or DP camp is a temporary facility for displaced persons coerced into forced migration. The term is mainly used for camps established after World War II in West Germany and in Austria, as well as in the United Kingdom, primarily for refugees from Eastern Europe and for the...
to house displaced Jews. The camp was dissolved in 1948.
The designation heilklimatischer Kurort (“climatic spa”) was granted Lindenfels in 1969.
Community council
The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:| Parties and voter communities | % 2006 |
Seats 2006 |
% 2001 |
Seats 2001 |
|
| 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... |
38.3 | 12 | 37.3 | 12 |
| GREENS | Bündnis 90/Die Grünen | 8.7 | 3 | 8.1 | 2 |
| FDP | Free Democratic Party 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... |
6.2 | 2 | 5.3 | 2 |
| LWG/CDU | Lindenfelser Wählergemeinschaft/ Christian Democratic Union of Germany |
46.9 | 14 | 49.3 | 15 |
| Total | 100 | 31 | 100 | 31 | |
| Voter turnout in % | 52.1 | 68.6 | |||
Mayor
Oliver Hoeppner (LWG/CDU) has been Lindenfels’s mayor since 2001. In 2007 he was reëlected.Town partnerships
Moëlan-sur-MerMoëlan-sur-Mer
Moëlan-sur-Mer is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Population:Inhabitants of Moëlan-sur-Mer are called in French Moëlanais.-References:** -External links:* *...
, Finistère
Finistère
Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...
, 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 1968 Pawłowiczki, Opole Voivodeship
Opole Voivodeship
- Administrative division :Opole Voivodeship is divided into 12 counties : 1 city county and 11 land counties. These are further divided into 71 gminas.The counties are listed in the following table .- Economy :...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
since 1998
Regular events
Among the most important yearly events held in town are:- the traditional Burg- und Trachtenfest (“Castle and Costume Festival”) on the first weekend in August, with fireworks, parade and folk festival at the castle;
- the Mittelalterliche Spektakulum (“MediaevalMiddle AgesThe 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...
Spectacle”) in May, with knightly games; - Brauchtumstage (“Custom Days”) in October, at which old Odenwald customs and arts and crafts are presented.
Buildings
- In the middle of town stand the Lindenfels castle ruins, which today serve as a popular outing destination. There is also a view into the distance over the Weschnitz valley.
- The BismarckOtto von BismarckOtto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
-Warte – one of many Bismarck memorial towers – is found on the Litzelröder Höhe (heights), 452 m above sea levelSea levelMean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. It was built in 1906 and 1907 by the Verschönerungs- und Verkehrsverein (“Beautification and Transport Club”) and Odenwaldklub Lindenfels. The tower is 12.3 m tall and freely open to the public. In 1997 and 1998, the tower was thoroughly restored. Up a stairway inside, one can reach the visitable platform which affords an enjoyable view worthy of seeing of the valleys around Lindenfels. - Further sights worthy of seeing are the house Baur de Betaz, the inner and outer Fürther Tor (gate) and various timber-frameTimber framingTimber 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 and BaroqueBaroque architectureBaroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
buildings, which line the pedestrian precinct towards the castle (among these are the Town Hall and the Catholic church). - Near Lindenfels on the Krehberg (mountain) at position 49°41′03"N 08°43′50"E is found a 122 m-tall transmissionRadio masts and towersRadio masts and towers are, typically, tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. They are among the tallest man-made structures...
tower run by Deutsche Telekom AG for VHFVery high frequencyVery high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency...
and microwave relay. The said tower consists of a freestanding steel-lattice base upon which a guyedGuy-wireA guy-wire or guy-rope, also known as simply a guy, is a tensioned cable designed to add stability to structures . One end of the cable is attached to the structure, and the other is anchored to the ground at a distance from the structure's base...
transmission mast is mounted.
Sons and daughters of the town
- Thomas Heinze (b. 30 March 1964), actor
- Timo GlockTimo GlockTimo Glock is a German motor racing driver, currently driving in Formula One for the Virgin Racing team. At the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix, standing in for Giorgio Pantano who had a contract dispute with Jordan Grand Prix, he joined a select group of drivers who have scored a World Championship...
(b. 18 March 1982), Formula One racer - Sebastian KneißlSebastian KneißlSebastian Kneißl is a German professional footballer who plays for 1. FC Schweinfurt 05.-Club career:After beginning as a youth player in Germany with KSG Mitlechtern, FC 07 Bensheim and Eintracht Frankfurt, Kneißl signed for English side Chelsea in 2000...
(b. 13 January 1983), German footballer