Marienmünster
Encyclopedia
Marienmünster is a town in Höxter
Höxter (district)
Höxter is a Kreis in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Holzminden, Northeim, Kassel, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Hochsauerland, Paderborn, and Lippe.-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...

.

Location

Marienmünster is North Rhine-Westphalia's smallest municipality by land area. It lies in the Weserbergland
Weserbergland
The Weser Uplands is a hill region in Germany The Weser Uplands (German: Weserbergland) is a hill region (Bergland = uplands, hills or hill region) in Germany The Weser Uplands (German: Weserbergland) is a hill region (Bergland = uplands, hills or hill region) in Germany (Lower Saxony, Hesse,...

, in the state's easternmost district, about 15 km north of Brakel
Brakel
Brakel is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek and the Flemish Ardennes. The name is derived from a Carolingian villa Braglo first mentioned in 866 and located in the center of Opbrakel. Since 1970, the municipality has comprised the villages of Nederbrakel,...

.

Neighbouring communities

Clockwise from the north, Marienmünster's neighbours are:
  • The Town of Schieder-Schwalenberg
    Schieder-Schwalenberg
    Schieder-Schwalenberg is a town in the Lippe district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approx. 20 km east of Detmold.It consists of 8 communes, which have been combined to a town in 1970...

    , Lippe
    Lippe
    Lippe is a Kreis in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Herford, Minden-Lübbecke, Höxter, Paderborn, Gütersloh, and district-free Bielefeld, which forms the region Ostwestfalen-Lippe....

     district;
  • The Town of Höxter
    Höxter
    Höxter is the seat of the Höxter district, and a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia on the left bank of the river Weser, 52 km north of Kassel in the centre of the Weser Uplands...

    , Höxter district;
  • The Town of Brakel
    Brakel
    Brakel is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek and the Flemish Ardennes. The name is derived from a Carolingian villa Braglo first mentioned in 866 and located in the center of Opbrakel. Since 1970, the municipality has comprised the villages of Nederbrakel,...

    , Höxter district;
  • The Town of Nieheim
    Nieheim
    Nieheim is a town in Höxter district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Constituent communities :Nieheim consists of the following 10 centres:* Entrup* Eversen* Erwitzen* Himmighausen* Holzhausen* Merlsheim* Nieheim* Oeynhausen* Schönenberg...

    , Höxter district;
  • The Town of Steinheim
    Steinheim, Westphalia
    Steinheim is a town in Höxter district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.The middle centre of Steinheim forms the economic, cultural and social hub of the Steinheimer Börde, one of the main territories of the old Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn. This territory was known as Wethi-Weizengau in Saxon...

    , Höxter district.

Constituent communities

Marienmünster consists of the following centres:
  • Altenbergen – 519 inhabitants
  • Born – 100 inhabitants
  • Bremerberg – 122 inhabitants
  • Bredenborn – 1,603 inhabitants
  • Eilversen – 84 inhabitants
  • Großenbreden – 103 inhabitants
  • Hohehaus – 206 inhabitants
  • Kleinenbreden – 126 inhabitants
  • Kollerbeck with the farming community of Langenkamp – 778 inhabitants
  • Löwendorf with the farming community of Saumer – 267 inhabitants
  • Münsterbrock with the former abbey and the farming community of Oldenburg – 131 inhabitants
  • Papenhöfen with the farming community of Bönekenberg – 234 inhabitants
  • Vörden – 1,337 inhabitants

Climate

Marienmünster-Vörden's bioclimate and the surrounding area's displays a number of factors of varying intensity that make it quite agreeable and restful, giving the area the proper preconditions for using the climate in therapy. This goes for all times of year other than the winter months, when cold, dry weather takes hold under the influence of Continental
Continental climate
Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...

 systems, and the Weserbergland, Teutoburg Forest
Teutoburg Forest
The Teutoburg Forest is a range of low, forested mountains in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia which used to be believed to be the scene of a decisive battle in AD 9...

 and Eggegebirge
Eggegebirge
The Eggegebirge is a range of low, forested mountains in the very east of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.-Geography:The Eggegebirge extends from the southern tip of the Teutoburger Wald range near Horn-Bad Meinberg southwards to the northern parts of the Sauerland near Marsberg...

 have their heights covered in snow.

History

The town of Marienmünster was formed on 1 January 1970 by merging the until then independent municipalities of Bredenborn, Vörden (both towns), Altenbergen, Born, Bremerberg, Eilversen, Großenbreden, Hohehaus, Kleinenbreden, Kollerbeck mit Langenkamp, Löwendorf mit Saumer, Münsterbrock mit Abtei, Oldenburg and Papenhöfen mit Bönekenberg. The town's administrative centre is in Vörden.

Großenbreden

Between the Oldenburg and Vörden, the Münsterholze, the Hungerberg and Löwendorf lay until the first half of the 16th century a town named Wendedhen (1188), Winethe (1203), Winethen (1240), Wenethen (1241), Wenden (1430). The monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...

s from Marienmünster earned their tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...

s from this town.

According to the registers of the Corvey Monastery, the town was mentioned as early as 980 under the name "Wynithun". In the 16th century, the three villages of Großenbreden (Wendenbreden 1541, Wendelbreden 1650, Großenwendelbreden 1793), Kleinenbreden (Lütkenbreden 1650, Lükewendelbreden 1793) and Papenhöfen (earlier die Höfe zu Wenden 1545) developed. The farming community of Bönekenberg, belonging to Papenhöfen, was described as a settlement beginning in 1430. Settlement was established in the 16th century on the site of the failed village of Mechtestorpe (1138) or Mestorp (1339), where in the 9th and 10th centuries, the Corvey Monastery already had holdings.

Hohehaus

Hohehaus's history can be traced back to the earlier village of Dungen, which was named as early as 825 or thereabouts in the Corvey Traditions, the monastery's donation registers. The Corvey Monastery received at that time several donations and owned a main farm of 22 Hufen here. Besides Corvey, the Marienmünster Abbey must have been working holdings here quite early on, too, since in 1339, Abbot Hermann von Mengersen surrendered half his earnings from the place to the Counts, the Lord of Everstein and his son Otto, to protect and defend the Abbey's holdings for six years. In 1360, evidence shows that the Corvey estates along with the ecclesiastical fief
Ecclesiastical fief
In the feudal system of the European Middle Ages, an ecclesiastical fief, held from the Church, followed all the laws laid down for temporal fiefs. The suzerain, e.g...

, passed into Count Hermann von Pyrmont's hands. He in turn passed them as a direct fief to the von Kanne family.

There arose in the 16th century between the Count of Pyrmont
Pyrmont
Pyrmont may refer to:* Bad Pyrmont, a spa town in northern Germany* Pyrmont, Indiana, United States* Pyrmont, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia* Pyrmont Bridge is a landmark connecting Pyrmont, NSW to Sydney in Australia...

 and the Corvey Monastery a boundary dispute that on 15 June 1535 was arbitrated to the effect that Dungen passed to the von Kanne family. In 1595, Dungen was still called a village. In a document from 1602, a new placename crops up, rendered "Dungen, itzo dat Hagehauß", archaic German for "Dungen, the house in the forest". Later, this was shortened to "Hagehaus", and by 1660, the current form "Hohehaus" had arisen.

Town council

Town council's 22 seats are apportioned as follows, 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...

     12 seats
  • SPD
    Social Democratic Party of Germany
    The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...

     3 seats
  • UWG 4 seats
  • Wähler Gemeinschaft Bürgernähe: 3 seats

Note: The last two named are citizens' coalitions.

Coat of arms

Marienmünster's civic coat of arms
Coat 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 heraldically be described thus: In argent an abbey gules with two side towers gules with pointed roofs sable and between these and behind the abbey a tower gules with cupola sable, on the abbey wall between the side towers an eight-pointed star Or.

The abbey in the arms is a stylized representation of the west façade of the Marienmünster abbey church established by Count Widukind III of Schwalenberg in 1128. Its meaning in relation to the town is therefore quite visible even today as a unifying symbol of town, people and church. The star is from the Schwalenberg family's arms.

This coat of arms was conferred on 25 July 1973.http://www.ngw.nl/int/dld/m/marienmu.htm

Flag

The town's flag
Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...

 is striped red and white lengthwise with the coat of arms in the middle.

Museums

  • Aussichts- und Museumsturm (look-out and museum-tower). It is located next to the Hungerbergkapelle (see below) and recalls station no. 30 of the optical telegraph-line from Berlin
    Berlin
    Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

     to Koblenz
    Koblenz
    Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...

    .

Buildings

  • Marienmünster is well known for the Abteikirche Marienmünster, the former Marienmünster Abbey, with 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...

    , which is well worth seeing and hearing.
  • Schloss Vörden is a Baroque
    Baroque
    The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

     stately home with a lovely park.
  • The Hungerbergkapelle (chapel
    Chapel
    A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...

    ) is part of a complete Way of the Cross with 14 stations.
  • Mühlengrund in Hohehaus.

Tourism

The town of Marienmünster has a well-developed tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

 industry. The community of Vörden was dubbed "State-recognized climatic spa" in 1999.

Education

In Marienmünster are three primary schools and a Hauptschule
Hauptschule
A Hauptschule is a secondary school in Germany and Austria, starting after 4 years of elementary schooling, which offers Lower Secondary Education according to the International Standard Classification of Education...

. Students who go to Realschule
Realschule
The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...

n and Gymnasien
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...

 are driven by bus to nearby towns such as Bad Driburg
Bad Driburg
Bad Driburg is a town and spa in Höxter district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, pleasantly situated on the Aa and the historic railway Soest-Höxter-Berlin....

, Höxter
Höxter
Höxter is the seat of the Höxter district, and a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia on the left bank of the river Weser, 52 km north of Kassel in the centre of the Weser Uplands...

, Steinheim
Steinheim
Steinheim may refer to:*municipalities in Germany:**Steinheim, Westphalia, in the district of Höxter, North Rhine-Westphalia**Steinheim an der Murr, in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg...

 and Brakel
Brakel
Brakel is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek and the Flemish Ardennes. The name is derived from a Carolingian villa Braglo first mentioned in 866 and located in the center of Opbrakel. Since 1970, the municipality has comprised the villages of Nederbrakel,...

.

The schools in Marienmünster are:
  • Katholische Grundschule Bredenborn
  • Grundschule Kollerbeck
  • Grundschule Vörden
  • Hauptschule der Stadt Marienmünster (Vörden)


Furthermore, the town of Marienmünster, together with the town of Höxter, runs the Höxter-Marienmünster Volkshochschule
Folk high school
Folk high schools are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal...

. Marienmünster also has two municipal kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

s, and in Bredenborn a church kindergarten.

Sport and leisure

  • 1 indoor swimming pool
    Swimming 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...

     in Vörden
  • 3 tennis
    Tennis
    Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

     grounds (in Bredenborn, Kollerbeck and Vörden)
  • 7 sports grounds
  • 3 Kneipp
    Sebastian Kneipp
    Sebastian Kneipp was a Bavarian priest and one of the founders of the Naturopathic medicine movement...

     wading pools
  • 29 children's playground
    Playground
    A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...

    s
  • 1 adventure playground in Vörden
  • 1 miniature golf
    Miniature golf
    Miniature golf, or minigolf, is a miniature version of the sport of golf. While the international sports organization World Minigolf Sport Federation prefers to use the name "minigolf", the general public in different countries has also many other names for the game: miniature golf, mini-golf,...

     course in Vörden
  • 3 gym
    Gym
    The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...

    nasia in Bredenborn (big triple hall), Kollerbeck and Vörden

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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