Mengerskirchen
Encyclopedia
Neighbouring communities
Mengerskirchen borders in the north on the community of GreifensteinGreifenstein
Greifenstein is a community in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Its administrative seat is Beilstein. Greifenstein covers 67.43 km² on the eastern slope of the Westerwald range...
(Lahn-Dill-Kreis
Lahn-Dill-Kreis
Lahn-Dill is a Kreis in the west of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Siegen-Wittgenstein, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Gießen, Wetteraukreis, Hochtaunuskreis, Limburg-Weilburg, Westerwaldkreis.-History:...
), in the east on the community of Löhnberg
Löhnberg
Löhnberg is a community north of Weilburg in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany.- Neighbouring communities :Löhnberg borders in the north on the community of Greifenstein, in the east on the towns of Leun and Braunfels , in the south on the town of Weilburg, and in the west on the...
, in the south on the communities of Merenberg
Merenberg
-Location:Merenberg lies on the southern edge of the Westerwald between the district seat of Limburg and Weilburg.-Neighbouring communities:Merenberg borders in the north on the community of Mengerskirchen, in the east on the community of Löhnberg, in the south on the town of Weilburg, in the...
and Waldbrunn
Waldbrunn, Hesse
Waldbrunn is a community in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany.-Location:The community lies in the southern Westerwald. Within the municipal area rises the Kerkerbach, which flows through the centres of Fussingen and Lahr...
(all three in Limburg-Weilburg), and in the west on the communities of Neunkirchen
Neunkirchen, Westerwaldkreis
Neunkirchen is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-Location:...
, Elsoff
Elsoff
Elsoff is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-Location:...
and Oberrod
Oberrod
Oberrod is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.-Location:...
(all three in the Westerwaldkreis
Westerwaldkreis
The Westerwaldkreis is a district in the east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
in Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
).
Constituent communities
Mengerskirchen’s Ortsteile are, Dillhausen, Mengerskirchen, Probbach, Waldernbach and WinkelsWinkels (Mengerskirchen)
thumb|390px|The Church in Winkels Winkels is a village of the municipality of Mengerskirchen in the district of Limburg-Weilburg in Middle Hesse. It has 967 permanent and 38 temporary residents ....
.
The community administration’s seat is the market centre of Mengerskirchen. Each of the constituent communities is represented on a municipal advisory board (Ortsbeirat) by a community head (Ortsvorsteher).
Sightseeing
- Burg Mengerskirchen (castleCastleA castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
) - Acidic mineral springs in Dillhausen and Probbach
- Maienburg (Eigenberg) castle ruins near Winkels
- WinkelsWinkels (Mengerskirchen)thumb|390px|The Church in Winkels Winkels is a village of the municipality of Mengerskirchen in the district of Limburg-Weilburg in Middle Hesse. It has 967 permanent and 38 temporary residents ....
church built in 1880
Sport
Around the Knoten, the highest elevation in the community of Mengerskirchen, those who are interested can give themselves over to cross-country skiingCross-country skiing
Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...
during the winter months. In summer, the two man-made lakes
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
, Seeweiher and Waldsee, offer the opportunity to bathe.
History
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
in Dietkirchen
Dietkirchen
Dietkirchen an der Lahn is a borough of Limburg an der Lahn, seat of the district of Limburg-Weilburg in the state of Hesse, Germany. The formerly independent village was incorporated into Limburg in 1971. The town is dominated by the St...
an der Lahn in 1279. The outlying community of Winkels
Winkels (Mengerskirchen)
thumb|390px|The Church in Winkels Winkels is a village of the municipality of Mengerskirchen in the district of Limburg-Weilburg in Middle Hesse. It has 967 permanent and 38 temporary residents ....
had already been mentioned in 1243, Waldernbach in 1296, Probbach in 1299 and Dillhausen in 1307. Mengerskirchen was described in 1307 as an “oppidum
Oppidum
Oppidum is a Latin word meaning the main settlement in any administrative area of ancient Rome. The word is derived from the earlier Latin ob-pedum, "enclosed space," possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *pedóm-, "occupied space" or "footprint."Julius Caesar described the larger Celtic Iron Age...
”. Town rights are documentarily confirmed only on 18 February 1321. In 1481 came market rights, too.
Near Mengerskirchen ran the hill fort wall Rentmauer, affording the community dwellers at that time some protection. There is proof that the community had its own priest and that it also served as the centre of the Calenberg tithing area in 1313, in which year it is believed building work began on Mengerskirchen Castle. Together with the courts of Beilstein
Greifenstein
Greifenstein is a community in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Its administrative seat is Beilstein. Greifenstein covers 67.43 km² on the eastern slope of the Westerwald range...
, Haimau (today Löhnberg
Löhnberg
Löhnberg is a community north of Weilburg in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany.- Neighbouring communities :Löhnberg borders in the north on the community of Greifenstein, in the east on the towns of Leun and Braunfels , in the south on the town of Weilburg, and in the west on the...
) and Nenderoth, a tithing court was kept on the Kalenbergskopf, a high ridge between Arborn, Mengerskirchen and Nenderoth. In 1481 Friedrich III
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452...
conferred the privilege for a yearly fair to be held on 14 September near Mengerskirchen.
From 1343 to 1561, Mengerskirchen lay under Nassau-Beilstein rule, then passing along with all Nassau-Beilstein’s holdings back to Nassau-Dillenburg. Count Otto II of Nassau-Dillenburg bequeathed Mengerskirchen to his wife, Adelheid von Vianden as a widow’s seat.
At the crossroads where the two old trade roads, the Hohe Straße (“High Road”) from Herborn to Limburg, and the Rheinstraße from Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
to 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...
, meet, an important customs place was built. Its territory comprised Almenrod, Arborn, Cödlingen, Dillhausen, Helmenrod, Nenderoth, Nieder- and Oberprobbach (today simply Probbach), Obershausen, Odersberg and Winkels, thereby making Mengerskirchen bigger than the actual Residence of Beilstein. The castle in Mengerskirchen housed the Amt of Mengerskirchen with many interruptions until 1816. The last Amtmann retired in this year and the Amt was united with the Amt of Weilburg.
In 1867, Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
created through a new ordering of the Duchy of Nassau, which it had annexed the year before this, among others, the district of Oberlahnkreis to which Mengerskirchen thereafter belonged. In the administrative reform in Hesse in 1974, it was grouped into the district of Limburg-Weilburg. On 1 January 1971, the market town of Mengerskirchen became the administrative seat of the like-named greater community.
Community council
The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:| Parties and voter communities | % 2006 |
seats 2006 |
% 2001 |
seats 2001 |
|
| CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany | 59.0 | 15 | 59.9 | 15 |
| 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... |
28.0 | 7 | 28.0 | 7 |
| FWG | Freie Wähler- und Wählerinnengemeinschaft Mengerskirchen | 13.0 | 3 | 12.1 | 3 |
| Total | 100.0 | 25 | 100.0 | 25 | |
| voter turnout in % | 47.3 | 56.9 | |||
Transport
Mengerskirchen is not directly linked to the long-distance road network. The nearest interchangeInterchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
s with Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
49 are found in the communities of Merenberg and Löhnberg (about 5 km or 3 miles away). The nearest interchanges with the A 45
Bundesautobahn 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...
(Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
–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"...
) are found in the town of Herborn
Herborn
Herborn is a historic town on the Dill in the Lahn-Dill district of Hesse in Germany. Before World War I, it was granted its own title as Nassauisches Rothenburg. The symbol or mascot of this town is a bear. Scenic attractions include its half-timbered houses; Herborn is located on the German...
(about 18 km or 11 miles away). Ever since the narrow-gauge Kerkerbachbahn (railway) was closed in 1958, there has been no railway line. Frankfurt and Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport may refer to:Airports of Frankfurt, Germany:*Frankfurt Airport , the largest airport in Germany*Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport, a general aviation airport*Frankfurt-Hahn Airport , a converted U.S...
lies some 85 km (52.8 mi) away.
Education
In the community of Mengerskirchen there is one primary school and one HauptschuleHauptschule
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...
-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...
. Furthermore, other secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s are attended in Weilburg
Weilburg
Weilburg is, with just under 14,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg.- Location :...
.
Franz-Leuninger-Schule
In the main centre of Mengerskirchen stands the Franz-Leuninger-Schule, the community’s primary school. It was named after the German ResistanceGerman Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
fighter against the Nazi régime
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, Franz Leuninger, who was from Mengerskirchen.
Westerwaldschule
In the outlying centre of Waldernbach is found the Westerwaldschule, opened on 21 October 1977, a Hauptschule and Realschule for the communities of Mengerskirchen, MerenbergMerenberg
-Location:Merenberg lies on the southern edge of the Westerwald between the district seat of Limburg and Weilburg.-Neighbouring communities:Merenberg borders in the north on the community of Mengerskirchen, in the east on the community of Löhnberg, in the south on the town of Weilburg, in the...
, Waldbrunn
Waldbrunn, Hesse
Waldbrunn is a community in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany.-Location:The community lies in the southern Westerwald. Within the municipal area rises the Kerkerbach, which flows through the centres of Fussingen and Lahr...
(except Ellar) and Beselich
Beselich
- Location :Beselich lies on the northeast edge of the Limburg Basin , on the edge of the Lahn valley, on the southeast slope of the Westerwald 220 m above sea level. Visible from far away is the Beselicher Kopf . The brooks Tiefenbach, Kerkerbach and Brandbach flow through the municipal area...
(constituent community of Heckholzhausen).
Public institutions
- KindergartenKindergartenA 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...
Mengerskirchen - Kindergarten Waldernbach
- Kindergarten Winkels und Probbach
- Kindergarten Dillhausen
- Mengerskirchen Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1898 (includes Youth Fire Brigade)
- Dillhausen Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1927 (includes Youth Fire Brigade)
- Probbach Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1934 (includes Youth Fire Brigade)
- Waldernbach Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1925 (includes Youth Fire Brigade)
- Winkels Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1928 (includes Youth Fire Brigade)
Famous people
- Franz Leuninger (1898–1945), German ResistanceGerman ResistanceThe German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
fighter against the Nazi régimeNazi GermanyNazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...