Mespelbrunn
Encyclopedia
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...
and a member of the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft (Administrative Community) of Mespelbrunn, whose seat is in Heimbuchenthal
Heimbuchenthal
Heimbuchenthal is a community in the Aschaffenburg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany, and the seat of the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft of Mespelbrunn...
.
Amalgamations
The community was formed out of the former communities of Hessenthal and MespelbrunnCommunity council
The council is made up of 14 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... |
Freie Bürger 84 | Total | |
| 2002 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 14 seats |
(as at municipal election held on 3 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 the castle portal of Mespelbrunn argent surmounted above the lintel by an inescutcheon azure a bend of the second surmounted by three annulets of the third, from base issuant into the gateway arch a hazel twig growing palewise with two leaves and one nut of the second.
The arms were conferred in 1986 and show the castle entrance of the family Echter with their family coat of arms in the inescutcheon. The hazel twig stands for Hessenthal, whose name was once “Haseltal” (“Hazeldale”). 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...
.
Culture and sightseeing
Mespelbrunn earns its livelihood above all from tourismTourism
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...
, and is known for its charming Mespelbrunn Castle
Mespelbrunn Castle
Mespelbrunn Castle is a medieval moated castle on the territory of the town of Mespelbrunn, between Frankfurt and Würzburg, built in a remote tributary valley of the Elsava valley, within the Spessart forest. One of the most visited water castles in Germany, it is frequently featured in tourist...
(Wasserschloss Mespelbrunn), expanded beginning in 1551 by the family Echter. In Mespelbrunn and at the moated castle, several scenes of the 1950s German classic film Das Wirtshaus im Spessart
The Spessart Inn
The Spessart Inn is a 1958 West German musical comedy film directed by Kurt Hoffmann. It was entered into the 1958 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Liselotte Pulver - Comtesse Franziska von Sandau* Carlos Thompson - Räuberhauptmann...
were made.
A further very important point of interest is the three-naved pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
church in the outlying centre of Hessenthal with:
- the GothicGothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
pilgrimage chapelChapelA 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,...
(family Echter’s burial ground with a RenaissanceRenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
tomb for Julius Echter von MespelbrunnJulius Echter von MespelbrunnJulius Echter von Mespelbrunn was a Prince-Bishop of Würzburg, Echter was born in Mespelbrunn Castle, Spessart and died in Würzburg....
’s parents and siblings) - a Divine Grace Chapel with a Late Gothic PietàPietàThe Pietà is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus, most often found in sculpture. As such, it is a particular form of the Lamentation of Christ, a scene from the Passion of Christ found in cycles of the Life of Christ...
as an image of divine graceDivine graceIn Christian theology, grace is God’s gift of God’s self to humankind. It is understood by Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to man - "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" - that takes the form of divine favour, love and clemency. It is an attribute of God that is most... - a Crucifixion Group by Hans Backoffen and a Lamentation of Christ attributed to Tilman RiemenschneiderTilman RiemenschneiderTilman Riemenschneider was a German sculptor and woodcarver active in Würzburg from 1483. He was one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of the transition period between late Gothic and Renaissance, a master in stone and limewood.- Biography :Tilman Riemenschneider was born between 1459...
in a wing by Hans Schädel from the 1950s.
Sons and daughters of the town
- Julius Echter von MespelbrunnJulius Echter von MespelbrunnJulius Echter von Mespelbrunn was a Prince-Bishop of Würzburg, Echter was born in Mespelbrunn Castle, Spessart and died in Würzburg....
(1545–1617), Prince-Bishop of 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....
and Duke of Franconia. - Jakob Brand (1776–1833), first Bishop of Limburg