Reichelsheim | |
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Location of Reichelsheim (Odenwald) within Odenwaldkreis district | |
Coordinates: 49°43′N08°51′E / 49.717°N 8.850°E Coordinates: 49°43′N08°51′E / 49.717°N 8.850°E | |
Country | Germany |
State | Hesse |
Admin. region | Darmstadt |
District | Odenwaldkreis |
Government | |
• Mayor (2020–26) | Stefan Lopinsky [1] |
Area | |
• Total | 58.21 km2 (22.48 sq mi) |
Elevation | 211 m (692 ft) |
Population (2020-12-31) [2] | |
• Total | 8,471 |
• Density | 150/km2 (380/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 64381–64385 |
Dialling codes | 06164 |
Vehicle registration | ERB |
Website | www.reichelsheim.de |
Reichelsheim (Odenwald) is a municipality in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany.
Reichelsheim lies in the middle Odenwald at elevations between 200 and 538 m in the middle of the Geo-Naturpark Bergstraße-Odenwald.
Reichelsheim borders in the north on the communities of Fränkisch-Crumbach, Brensbach and Brombachtal, in the east on the town of Michelstadt and the community of Mossautal (all in the Odenwaldkreis), in the south on the community of Fürth and in the west on the town of Lindenfels (both in Bergstraße district).
Reichelsheim’s Ortsteile , besides the main one, also called Reichelsheim, are Beerfurth, Bockenrod, Eberbach, Erzbach, Frohnhofen, Gersprenz, Gumpen, Klein-Gumpen, Laudenau, Ober-Kainsbach, Ober-Ostern, Rohrbach and Unter-Ostern.
In 1303, Reichelsheim had its first documentary mention.
This section needs to be updated.(July 2021) |
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 | 45.8 | 14 | 45.8 | 14 |
CDU-RWG | Christian Democratic Union of Germany - Reichelsheimer Wähler-Gemeinschaft | 41.1 | 13 | – | – |
FDP | Free Democratic Party | 7.5 | 2 | 4.6 | 1 |
GREENS | Bündnis 90/Die Grünen | 5.6 | 2 | 6.4 | 2 |
CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany | – | – | 24.4 | 8 |
RWG | Reichelsheimer Wähler-Gemeinschaft | – | – | 18.8 | 6 |
Total | 100.0 | 31 | 100.0 | 31 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Voter turnout in % | 55.2 | 62.0 |
In the mayoral election in 2008, Stefan Lopinsky (RWG) was elected with 61.2% of the vote.
From 1990 to 2008, the community’s mayor was Gerd Lode (SPD).
The community’s arms might heraldically be described thus: Gules on a mount Or three oaks Or, in between also two oak saplings Or, above them three mullets of six argent, the sinister and dexter slightly lower.
Since 1995, yearly on the last weekend in October, the Reichelsheimer Märchen- und Sagentage are held, during which the Wildweibchenpreis (or “Wild Woman Prize”, this “wild woman” being a character in German legend) is awarded. Many mediaeval sets and costumes are on show to admire.
This is housed in the former town hall, Germany’s oldest timber-frame town hall with the stud bracing called a Mannform in German. Exhibition highlights are mining, typical handicrafts such as gingerbread baking, Gäulchesmacher (woodcarvers who carve horses), shakemakers and shoemakers along with village school life of yore and the old Reinheim-Reichelsheim railway.
Today’s Schloss Reichenberg (palace) came into being as Richenburg Castle in the 13th century, and had its first documentary mention in 1307. Worth noting is the Herrenhaus (“Lord’s house”), or Palas. The Palas was called the Crooked Building (Krummer Bau) for its crooked footprint.
Here on 14 February 1776, Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck, who later became a prominent botanist, zoologist and mycologist, was born. He was a friend of Goethe’s, a cofounder of the University of Bonn and the Bonn Botanical Garden, President of the Leopoldina for 40 years and Director of the Botanical Garden in Breslau (now Wrocław in Poland), where he died on 16 March 1858.
Until the mid 19th century, the castle was undergoing continual changes in noble ownership. From 1876 to 1924, the castle, now styled Schloss Reichenberg, was used as a private upperclass boys’ school. Thereafter, the Siefert family from the Frohnhof took over the palace. They sold some of the buildings in 1963 as a holiday home to Deutsche Bundespost.
In July 1979, Schloss Reichenberg was bought by the ecumenical community Offensive Junger Christen (OJC, literally “Young Christians’ Offensive”, but known in English as the Reichenberg Fellowship). They converted it into a publicly accessible international meeting and conference centre with a palace café. The upper, older part of the palace, the so-called Crooked Building, is currently being renovated.
By way of Bundesstraßen 47 (Nibelungenstraße between Michelstadt and Worms) and 38 (between Roßdorf bei Darmstadt and Weinheim/Mannheim), which together run through the community, Reichelsheim is linked to the long-distance road network. Bus connections to Bensheim, Fürth im Odenwald, Reinheim and Michelstadt afford a link to the public railway network (Deutsche Bahn and Odenwaldbahn).
The Odenwald is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
Bergstraße is a Kreis (district) in the south of Hesse, Germany. It is at the northern end of the Bergstraße route. 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. Kreis Bergstraße belongs both to the Rhine Neckar Area and the Rhein-Main Region.
Zwingenberg lies in the Bergstraße district in southern Hessen, Germany, south of Frankfurt and Darmstadt, and with the granting of town rights coming in 1274 it is the oldest town on the Hessen Bergstraße.
Lindenfels is a town in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany.
Michelstadt in the Odenwald is a town in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in southern Hesse, Germany between Darmstadt and Heidelberg. It has a population of 28,629 people.
Erbach is a town and the district seat of the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany. It has a population of around 13,000.
Birkenau in the Odenwald is a municipality in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany. Its nickname is Das Dorf der Sonnenuhren – “The Sundial Village”.
Roßdorf is a municipality in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg, in Hesse, Germany. It has a population of 12,619. It is situated 8 km east of Darmstadt.
Fürth is a community and a state-recognized recreational resort (Erholungsort) in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany.
Mörlenbach is a municipality in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany.
Bad König is a town and resort (Kurort) in the central Odenwald in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany, 29 km southeast of Darmstadt.
Rimbach in the Odenwald is a municipality in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany.
Bickenbach is a municipality in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district of Hesse, Germany. It is situated on the Hessische Bergstraße wine region.
Brensbach is a municipality in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany.
Brombachtal is a community in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany.
Fränkisch-Crumbach is a community in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany.
Lützelbach is a municipality in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany.
Mossautal in the Odenwald is a municipality and a state-recognized health resort in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany.
The Überwald is a wooded area in the southeast of Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany, between the "Anterior" and "Hinder" Odenwald, comprising the communities of Abtsteinach, Grasellenbach and Wald-Michelbach. Wald-Michelbach is the Überwald's central community. The name was likely first used by the inhabitants of the neighbouring Weschnitz valley. The direction of view from this valley goes over the higher elevation at the Tromm, "over the forest" towards the higher-lying places Wald-Michelbach, Abtsteinach and Grasellenbach.
Oberzent is a town in the district of Odenwaldkreis, in Hesse, Germany. It was created with effect from 1 January 2018 by the merger of the former town Beerfelden and the former municipalities of Hesseneck, Rothenberg and Sensbachtal.