Weilbach
Encyclopedia
Weilbach is a market municipality
in the Miltenberg district
in the Regierungsbezirk
of Lower Franconia
(Unterfranken) in Bavaria
, Germany
.
(range).
and from 1171 to 1272 protective Vögte
of the Amorbach Monastery.
For most of its history, Weilbach was under Electoral Mainz
lordship. In 1803, Weilbach was passed to the Principality of Leiningen, and along with this passed shortly thereafter to the Grand Duchy of Baden
. A few years later (1810), Weilbach ended up with the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt
. Since 1816 it has belonged to Bavaria.
In 1977, under municipal reform, Weckbach with its outlying centres of Gönz, Ohrnbach, Wiesenthal and Sansenhof was amalgamated with Weilbach.
There are otherwise no further, active local party groups in Weilbach. The SPD, though, has a Young Socialist
working group.
Mayor Kern is on the Freie Wähler district board.
might be described thus: Per mantle argent a fountain with three spouts, dexter, affronty and sinister, before which a trough azure, in chief dexter gules a wheel spoked of six of the first, in chief sinister a cogwheel spoked of four and toothed of twelve of the first.
The Wheel of Mainz
refers to Electoral Mainz’s
long rule over the community, as do the tincture
s argent and gules (silver and red). The cogwheel refers to the long tradition of metalworking in the municipal area. The fountain is the municipality’s landmark.
The arms have been borne since 1969.
’s town limits, there is a panoramic view over the Odenwald and on into the Spessart
(range).
column basilica, stands on the summit of the nearby Gotthardsberg. From here one has a magnificent view into seven dales and the surrounding hills. The “Gotthard”, once “Frankenberg”, has an eventful history. It was for a time a robber-baron’s castle and then later a convent.
The first written account that has come down to the present goes back to the year 714. It was then that the Gaugraf (regional count) Ruthard von Frankenberg supposedly called the missionaries Saint Pirmin
and Amor to the “Gotthard”. During the German Peasants' War
(1525), rebels laid the “Gotthard” in rubble and ashes. In 1631, the church was built anew by Abbot Erhard Landecker. On 8 June 1714, the Gotthard Basilica was struck by lightning and destroyed. The ruins, such as they are today, were restored in 1956.
relief. The water squirts out through three spouts. The fountain even appears in the municipality’s coat of arms, held as it is to be one of its landmarks. At the opening of Carnival
(known locally as Fasching) by the Weilbacher Frösch Carnival Company on 11 November, the water is dyed green.
Since 25 June 2006, the Glockenspiel – now expanded to 37 bells – plays in a specially built tower on the old schoolyard. One particularity is that the Glockenspiel can also be played by hand, making it a rarity in Bavaria, where there are only five functional carillon
s.
, was founded. Several scale-modelling businesses that make moulded models consequently settled here.
A pallet
factory works wood from the Odenwald.
At the new Gewerbegebiet-Süd (“Commercial Area South”), a logistics business and craft businesses have set up shop.
For his outstanding services, he was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz
with Ribbon. Furthermore he was the recipient of the Mayor’s Medal in Gold of the market municipality of Weilbach. In 1985 he became an honorary citizen and in 1991 he was awarded the Kommunale Verdienstmedaille (a Bavarian medal for municipal service) in silver. On 24 August 2006, Paul Breunig died in his hometown, Weilbach.
Municipalities of Germany
Municipalities are the lowest level of territorial division in Germany. This may be the fourth level of territorial division in Germany, apart from those states which include Regierungsbezirke , where municipalities then become the fifth level.-Overview:With more than 3,400,000 inhabitants, the...
in the Miltenberg district
Miltenberg (district)
Miltenberg is an administrative district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the city of Aschaffenburg, the districts of Aschaffenburg and Main-Spessart, and the states of Baden-Württemberg and Hesse .-History:During the Middle Ages there was continuous...
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...
.
Location
Weilbach lies in the Bavarian part of 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...
(range).
Constituent communities
The municipality is divided into the centres of Weilbach, Weckbach, Gönz, Reuenthal, Ohrenbach, Wiesenthal and Sansenhof.History
In 1201, Weilbach had its first documentary mention. The knight Cunrat von Wilenbach was witness to a land deal of the House of Dürn, which he served. The Lords of Dürn were Hohenstaufen ministerialesMinisterialis
Ministerialis ; a post-classical Latin word, used in English, meaning originally servitor, agent, in a broad range of senses...
and from 1171 to 1272 protective Vögte
Vogt
A Vogt ; plural Vögte; Dutch voogd; Danish foged; ; ultimately from Latin [ad]vocatus) in the Holy Roman Empire was the German title of a reeve or advocate, an overlord exerting guardianship or military protection as well as secular justice...
of the Amorbach Monastery.
For most of its history, Weilbach was under Electoral 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...
lordship. In 1803, Weilbach was passed to the Principality of Leiningen, and along with this passed shortly thereafter to the Grand Duchy 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....
. A few years later (1810), Weilbach ended up with the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt
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...
. Since 1816 it has belonged to Bavaria.
In 1977, under municipal reform, Weckbach with its outlying centres of Gönz, Ohrnbach, Wiesenthal and Sansenhof was amalgamated with Weilbach.
Mayor
The current mayor is Bernhard Kern (Unabhängige Liste), who is in his second term of office. In 2002, Kern got 94.13% of the vote. He had no opponents and the voter turnout was 72.66%.Municipal council
The council is made up of 15 voting council members, with seats apportioned thus:- CSUChristian Social Union of BavariaThe 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...
5 (444 votes in 2002) - Freie Wähler 5 (416 votes in 2002)
- SPDSocial Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
4 (392 votes in 2002)
There are otherwise no further, active local party groups in Weilbach. The SPD, though, has a Young Socialist
Young Socialists in the SPD
Young Socialists in the SPD is the youth organization of the Social Democratic Party of Germany .The Jusos see themselves as a socialist and feminist association within the SPD. Generally more left-wing in their approach to current events than their mother party, Jusos tend to criticize leading...
working group.
Mayor Kern is on the Freie Wähler district board.
Coat of arms
The municipality’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: Per mantle argent a fountain with three spouts, dexter, affronty and sinister, before which a trough azure, in chief dexter gules a wheel spoked of six of the first, in chief sinister a cogwheel spoked of four and toothed of twelve of the first.
The Wheel of Mainz
Wheel of Mainz
thumb|150px|version until 1992thumb|150px|version from 1992 - 2008thumb|150px|version from 2008The Wheel of Mainz or Mainzer Rad, in German, was the coat of arms of the Archbishopric of Mainz and thus also of the Electorate of Mainz , in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It consists of a silver wheel...
refers to Electoral Mainz’s
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...
long rule over the community, as do 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 argent and gules (silver and red). The cogwheel refers to the long tradition of metalworking in the municipal area. The fountain is the municipality’s landmark.
The arms have been borne since 1969.
Buildings
There are the church and the historic centre with the Drei-Röhren-Brunnen (“Three-Pipe Fountain”). From the Gotthardsruine, half of which is within AmorbachAmorbach
Amorbach is a town in the Miltenberg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany, with some 4,100 inhabitants .- Location :...
’s town limits, there is a panoramic view over the Odenwald and on into the Spessart
Spessart
The Spessart is a low mountain range in northwestern Bavaria and southern Hesse, Germany. It is bordered on three sides by the Main River. The two most important towns located at the foot of the Spessart are Aschaffenburg and Würzburg....
(range).
Gotthardsruine
The Gotthardsruine, a GothicGothic architecture
Gothic 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....
column basilica, stands on the summit of the nearby Gotthardsberg. From here one has a magnificent view into seven dales and the surrounding hills. The “Gotthard”, once “Frankenberg”, has an eventful history. It was for a time a robber-baron’s castle and then later a convent.
The first written account that has come down to the present goes back to the year 714. It was then that the Gaugraf (regional count) Ruthard von Frankenberg supposedly called the missionaries Saint Pirmin
Saint Pirmin
Saint Pirmin , also named Pirminius, was a monk, strongly influenced by Celtic Christianity and Saint Amand.-Biography:...
and Amor to the “Gotthard”. During the German Peasants' War
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt was a widespread popular revolt in the German-speaking areas of Central Europe, 1524–1526. At its height in the spring and summer of 1525, the conflict involved an estimated 300,000 peasants: contemporary estimates put the dead at 100,000...
(1525), rebels laid the “Gotthard” in rubble and ashes. In 1631, the church was built anew by Abbot Erhard Landecker. On 8 June 1714, the Gotthard Basilica was struck by lightning and destroyed. The ruins, such as they are today, were restored in 1956.
Dreiröhrenbrunnen
The Dreiröhrenbrunnen (“Three-Pipe Fountain”) is found in Weilbach’s community core, right at an intersection. It has a great sandstone trough with a BaroqueBaroque architecture
Baroque 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...
relief. The water squirts out through three spouts. The fountain even appears in the municipality’s coat of arms, held as it is to be one of its landmarks. At the opening of Carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
(known locally as Fasching) by the Weilbacher Frösch Carnival Company on 11 November, the water is dyed green.
Mudmühle
On the northwest route out of Weilbach stands the mill with its Renaissance gable converted by Mainz court master builder Ambrosius Brosamer in 1585.Hallsteine
These are a collection of interesting ancient stones on the Hallhöhe (heights) in Weilbach’s west. A signposted hiking trail leads to this natural monument.Glockenspiel
The Glockenspiel was added to the Town Hall in December 1991 with 24 bells. These ring daily at 9:10, 12:10 and 18:10. This was financed by a private initiative by Weilbach citizens and clubs under the umbrella of the Heimatverein Weilbach-Weckbach e.V. (local historical society).Since 25 June 2006, the Glockenspiel – now expanded to 37 bells – plays in a specially built tower on the old schoolyard. One particularity is that the Glockenspiel can also be played by hand, making it a rarity in Bavaria, where there are only five functional carillon
Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
s.
Economy and infrastructure
At the beginning of the 19th century, the factory der Eisenhammer (“The Iron Hammer”), now belonging to The Linde GroupThe Linde Group
The Linde Group, registered as Linde AG is an international industrial gases and engineering company founded in Germany in 1879. Linde shares are traded on all the German stock exchanges and also in Zürich, and the Linde share price is included in the DAX 30 index...
, was founded. Several scale-modelling businesses that make moulded models consequently settled here.
A pallet
Pallet
A pallet , sometimes called a skid, is a flat transport structure that supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, pallet jack, front loader or other jacking device. A pallet is the structural foundation of a unit load which allows handling and storage efficiencies...
factory works wood from the Odenwald.
At the new Gewerbegebiet-Süd (“Commercial Area South”), a logistics business and craft businesses have set up shop.
Honorary citizens
Paul Breunig (b. 6 January 1926; d. 24 August 2006) began working at the post of municipal secretary in 1946. From 1956 to 1985, he was mayor of the market municipality of Weilbach. Beginning in 1966 he was a Member of the Kreistag (district assembly) for three terms. From 1967 to 1984, as Chairman of the Bavarian Municipal Assembly (Bayerischer Gemeindetag), he took on responsibility for the Miltenberg district chapter.For his outstanding services, he was awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz
Bundesverdienstkreuz
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...
with Ribbon. Furthermore he was the recipient of the Mayor’s Medal in Gold of the market municipality of Weilbach. In 1985 he became an honorary citizen and in 1991 he was awarded the Kommunale Verdienstmedaille (a Bavarian medal for municipal service) in silver. On 24 August 2006, Paul Breunig died in his hometown, Weilbach.
Sons and daughters of the town
- Lorenz Breunig (b. 11 August 1882 - d. February 1945), Member of the Reichstag
- Elisabeth Schüssler-Fiorenza (b. 1938), Catholic feminist theologian
- Norbert WalterNorbert Walter (economist)Norbert Walter is a German economist. He was the chief economist of Deutsche Bank from 1990 to 2009.Born in Weckbach, Bavaria, Walter studied economics at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, earning his Diplom in 1968.In 1990, he succeeded Franz-Josef Trouvain as chief...
(b. 23 September 1944 in Weckbach), chief economist of Deutsche BankDeutsche BankDeutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...
Group