Büdingen

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Büdingen (disambiguation) .

coat of arms	Germany map
	Coordinates: 50 ° 17 '  N , 9 ° 7'  E
Basic data
State :	Hesse
Administrative region :	Darmstadt
County :	Wetteraukreis
Height :	134 m above sea level NHN
Area :	122.88 km 2
Residents:	22,436 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	183 inhabitants per km 2
Postal code :	63654
Primaries :	06042, 06041 (Düdelsheim, Rohrbach), 06048 (Calbach, Diebach am Haag, Eckartshausen), 06049 (Michelau, Rinderbügen, Wolferborn)
License plate :	FB, BÜD
Community key :	06 4 40 004
City structure:	16 districts
City administration address :	Eberhard-Bauner-Allee 16 63654 Büdingen
Website :	www.stadt-buedingen.de
Mayor :	Erich Spamer ( FWG )
Location of the city of Büdingen in the Wetterau district

Büdingen is a medium- sized Hessian town on the eastern edge of the Rhine-Main area , in the south-eastern part of the Wetterau district . Until 1972 it was the capital of the district of the same name . Büdingen is located in a wooded area on the Seemenbach , at the transition from the Wetterau to the Vogelsberg . The city is known nationwide for its medieval old town with castle , which is one of the best preserved urban complexes in Europe. With an area of ​​122 km², Büdingen is the largest city in the district and one of the largest in Hesse .

geography

Overview map of Büdingen

Geographical location

Büdingen is located in the east of the Wetterau at the foot of the Vogelsberg at 160  m above sea level. Above sea level. The town on Seemenbach is located 15 km northwest of the Barbarossa town of Gelnhausen , 25 km north of Hanau and about 35 km northeast of Frankfurt am Main . To the east of the city center is the Büdinger Forest . To the south, Büdingen is bounded by the Büdingen-Meerholzer Hügelland (see also Natural Units in Hesse ). The city is also on the German Half-timbered Road and the German Alps-Baltic Sea Holiday Route .

Neighboring communities

Büdingen borders in the north on the municipality of Kefenrod , in the east on the city of Wächtersbach ( Main-Kinzig-Kreis ), in the south on the municipalities Gründau and Ronneburg (both Main-Kinzig-Kreis), in the southwest on the municipalities Hammersbach (Main-Kinzig -Kreis) and Limeshain , in the west to the communities Altenstadt and Glauburg , and in the northwest to the city of Ortenberg .

geology

Büdingen lies in a damp, swampy valley. The castle and the old town therefore rest on centuries-old oak planks that are stilted on beech poles. The groundwater level must be kept constantly high so that no air can reach this substructure.

City structure

Büdingen district
Overview map of the district:
Height :	160  m above sea level NN
Area :	44.22 km²
Residents :	8854 (June 30, 2019)
Population density :	181.13 inhabitants / km²
Area code :	06042
politics
Mayor :	Sabine Kraft-Marhenke (FWG)

Since 1972, the city of Büdingen has included the 16 districts of Aulendiebach , Büches , Büdingen , Calbach , Diebach am Haag (see also Herrnhaag ), Düdelsheim , Dudenrod , Eckartshausen , Lorbach , Michelau , Orleshausen , Rinderbügen , Rohrbach , Vonhausen , Wolf and Wolferborn .

At the same time, the Büdingen district was dissolved and the city of Büdingen was incorporated into the Wetterau district. The assignment of the city of Büdingen to the Wetterau district was and is not loved by the population of Büdingen. The poor connection of local public transport to the district town of Friedberg further reinforces this attitude.

history

Origin of the name Büdingen

Engraving by Büdingens von Braun - Hogenberg

Büdingens engraving by Matthäus Merian

The origin of the name Büdingen has not been finally clarified. Place name researchers consider two possibilities to be probable: Some researchers see the name as derived from budingun , a king's court ( thing ), others derive the name from descendants of a Buodo , the Buodingen .

chronology

The area around Büdingen was already settled in early pre-Christian times. The archaeologically very important find of the Celtic prince of Glauberg from the 5th century BC is evidence of the Celtic settlement of the region . Chr. As discoveries in Hirzenhain and Rinderbügen show here was limonite processed. After the Alemanni , who are occupied between 260 and 500 for Düdelsheim, another settlement by the Merovingians followed .

The construction of the St. Remigius Church in Büdingen-Großendorf as a wooden own church of an unknown landlord dates back to around 700 . In the year 847 "Büdingen" was mentioned in the Worms bishop's chronicle, but it is not certain which Büdingen it is. The St. Remigius Church was rebuilt and increased in size around 1050 ( dendrochronologically dated) to its present form.

In 1131 the lords of Büdingen ( Gerlacus et frater eius Ortswinus de Buedingen ) were first mentioned in a document. The origin of the noble family is unclear. It is certain that his ancestors in the Wetterau were wealthy and belonged to the high nobility . The family was one of the Staufer partisans . She lived on the border of the areas of interest of the clergy princes from Mainz and Fulda , who bordered the landgraves of Hesse in the middle of Wetterau . For centuries, the lords of Büdingen stood between these two power blocs, which tried to expand their rule.

Hartmann I. von Büdingen became Vogt and Burgrave of the Palatinate Gelnhausen in 1170 . The "villa" Büdingen was first mentioned in 1206.

With Gerlach II , the noble-free sex died out in the male line after 1240 and before 1247. Heirs were Gerlach's sons-in-law, the lords of Hohenlohe-Brauneck , von Ysenburg-Kempenich , von Trimberg, von Breuberg and von Ysenburg. The latter finally succeeded in ousting the other gan heirs from the Büdingen castle seat. In 1259 the Büdingen court appears for the first time in a document.

Complete old town

On July 26, 1330, Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian granted Luther von Ysenburg, Herr zu Büdingen, market rights for his city :

“We Ludwig, by the grace of God Roman Emperors, at all times several members of the empire, announce to all those who look at or read this letter that we have allowed and allow the noble man Luther von Isenburg, our dear faithful, to exercise imperial power to have a weekly market in his town in Büdingen on Mondays, and by special grace have allowed him there to have a fair that is supposed to be annually before Saint Remigi two days before and two days after and also want the same City of Büdingen with the weekly market and the fair have freedom and rights in every way, as it has ours and the city of Gelenhausen. "

Blow house

In 1353, Heinrich II, Lord of Büdingen, gifted his city with the great "freedom letter". Now, taking responsibility for protecting their city, the riflemen were organized. The Büdinger Schützengesellschaft refers to this founding date.

In 1442 the lords of Büdingen were raised to counts. In 1578 Emperor Rudolf II gifted the Counts of Büdingen with the “Jubilate Market”. In 1806 the county of Ysenburg-Büdingen was incorporated into the Principality of Isenburg-Birstein. With the Congress of Vienna in 1816, the Principality of Isenburg was divided between the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt and the Electorate of Hesse- Kassel, and the city of Büdingen came to Hesse-Darmstadt. Count Ernst Casimir III. was elevated to the hereditary prince status by decree of the Grand Duke in 1840.

Mill Gate Bridge

Between 1480 and 1510, Count Ludwig II had a mighty wall belt laid in front of the older city walls and equipped it with 22 towers and half-shells. These walls are still completely preserved today and were one of the most important late medieval fortifications in Germany.

After the Worms Reichstag of 1521, Martin Luther came on his way to his Eisenach exile through the Büdinger Land and found hospitality in the Ysenburg house; At least this is assumed, since the rule of Büdingen - and according to the principle of " cuius regio, eius religio " also its citizens - converted to the evangelical faith in the same year . As the Reformation movement progressed in Germany, the city later became Calvinist .

The great bulwark

In 1576, the plague killed many residents. In 1632 it raged again in Büdingen. In 1590, 48 residential buildings along with barns and stables burned down in a major fire.

In 1634 imperial troops (Croats) took Büdingen, drove the Swedes out and lived badly in the city. Various citizens were killed and many houses burned down.

In 1601 Count Wolfgang Ernst founded the Latin School, today's Wolfgang-Ernst-Gymnasium. With an edict of tolerance in 1712, Count Ernst Casimir I invited to the building in Büdingen. As a result, the suburb was built in front of the Untertor (Jerusalem Gate) until 1724, in which religious refugees such as Huguenots , Waldensians and inspired people from other areas settled.

In 1822 the administration and judiciary in the Grand Duchy of Hesse- Darmstadt were separated. Büdingen became the seat of the district court district of Büdingen, from which the district of Büdingen emerged in 1852 . Hessen-Darmstadt entered into a customs union with Prussia in 1828, but this made trade with Kurhessen-Kassel, which borders on Büdingen, difficult. The rural population of the Büdinger province became increasingly impoverished and was annoyed by price increases, consumption taxes, lack of work, low wages, high taxes, arbitrariness of the police and the administrations. In order to prevent burgeoning unrest, the Hessian government relocated a military command to Büdingen to protect its interests, which soon grew to 60 men. In 1830 there were customs riots in Büdingen : On the night of September 30, 2000 armed farmers gathered in front of the city and demanded access. At first the city government refused, but as the number of "rioters" continued to grow, the gates were opened to them. They devastated the customs office and burned the files before they left in the evening. Days later, Butzbacher Dragoons put the “pile” and drove out the rebellious farmers.

In 1839 the crafts school (later the trade school) was founded. The Mathildenhospital was built between 1867 and 1868. In 1879 the "advance and credit fund" (today Volksbank ) was founded.

From 1739 there was a postal connection between Büdingen and Frankfurt am Main with a weekly stagecoach and twice a messenger on horseback. In the years 1869/1870 the Büdingen – Gelnhausen railway line was built. In 1879 the new high school was built with a gym and a director's apartment. Between 1888 and 1895 the city built an aqueduct and started partial canalization. In 1910 the municipal gas works was built. In 1913 Büdingen received electric light.

In 1911 the new elementary school was built in Brunostrasse. The agricultural reference and sales cooperative was founded in 1920. In 1965, the community center with the city library was inaugurated.

View of the “stone house” in the old town

Armstrong Barracks 2015

From 1936 Büdingen became a garrison town: the Krüger barracks was built. The machine gun battalion 3, the anti-tank department 15 and during the Second World War the anti-tank replacement department 9 were housed there. From 1945 to 2007 the barracks were used as Armstrong Barracks by various American units of the United States Army such as the 3rd US Armored Division . The last unit left in mid-2007 was the First Battalion of the First Cavalry Regiment (1st Squadron of the 1st Cavalry Regiment of the 4th Brigade of the 1st Armored Division (Hanau) of the 5th US Corps ) with around 620 soldiers and more than 900 family members Büdingen. During the refugee crisis in Europe from 2015 , it was decided to use part of the former barracks as one of the largest initial reception facilities in Hesse . By March 2016, Büdingen took in almost 800 refugees .

Witch trials

• There were many witch trials between 1532 and 1699 (peak 1633–1653) and 485 people were charged with alleged witchcraft. With over 400 executions, the small county of Büdingen belonged to the core zone of witch hunt . On October 12, 2012, the city parliament of Büdingen decided to rehabilitate the victims of the witch trials.
• In 1564, the Faulhaberin from Wächtersbach in Büdingen was accused of being an alleged witch . Georg von Ysenburg-Büdingen issued the order to harshly attack (torture) the Faulhaberin in an embarrassing interrogation. Despite “torn limbs and a corrupt body”, she defied the torture and with her silence broke the chain of denunciations.
• The Ysenburg court preacher Anton Praetorius , who succeeded in freeing a woman from the torture chamber in 1597, strongly criticized the witch trials and torture . In 1598 he continued his literary struggle with the book Thorough Report of Magic and Magicians .
• The breyden Born in Breitenborn is said to have been a witch's dance place .

time of the nationalsocialism

In Büdingen, the area of ​​state action and personal involvement, in some cases even after the war, of respected citizens during the dictatorship of the National Socialists, remains largely unprocessed . Such inquiries are made more difficult because the city archive shows significant gaps at this time and the files of the district administration were largely destroyed in the 1960s. The attitude that initially prevailed in Büdingen can at least be read from the fact that the city and its then independent districts made Adolf Hitler and other Nazi rulers honorary citizens in 1933 . Streets in different parts of the city were renamed in honor of the Nazi rulers. Today's Berliner Straße was called “ Adolf-Hitler-Straße ” and Mackensenstraße was called “ Hermann-Göring -Straße ”. As so-called martyrs of the movement , the Büdinger honored Hans (according to registration card: Johann) Handwerk (* 1916 - † July 5, 1932, shot in street fighting in Frankfurt am Main) and Josef Bleser (shot on February 28, 1933 in Kasinostraße, Frankfurt am Main) with street names.

From 1933 to 1938 there were attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions in Büdingen . In 1938 the last Jew is said to have left Büdingen and emigrated. In Düdelsheim a " roll command " of the SA from Büdingen appeared on the Reichspogromnacht , which Düdelsheim followers joined. As part of the staged pogrom, the mob from Büdinger and Düdelsheim Nazi people (especially SA) broke into the synagogue, smashed the windows and set the curtains on fire. The inventory, consisting of tables, benches, desks and other things, was devastated, loaded onto carts, taken to the market meadow and burned there to the cheering of a large crowd. The apartments of the Jewish citizens still living in Düdelsheim were broken into, devastated and in some cases looted. A 55-year-old was dragged from the toilet, splashed with liquid manure and beaten together with her 52-year-old brother and kicked to the town hall. There a sack was put over their head and they had to “dance” with a broom in hand. A 51-year-old was led through Düdelsheim by two people, while another “rode” him sitting on the neck. The Jews were then rounded up in the town hall, insulted, and ridiculed. Some had ropes around their necks and sacks of flour put over their heads in order to "display" them to the audience at the window. A brass plate on the historic town hall commemorates the fate of the Büdingen Jews: To commemorate the dead, the living as a warning - In memory and in memory of our fellow citizens of the Büdingen Jewish community who were deprived of their livelihood by the National Socialist dictatorship and murdered - we mourn this Suffering of all Büdingen Jews.

Memorial and memorial for the victims of the Second World War

A text by Reiner Bajus, which was published in the Büdinger Geschichtsbl Blätter, among others, is devoted to the subject of Nazi forced labor in Büdingen and in the city districts .

Büdingen was the location of 19 bunkers of the Wetterau-Main-Tauber-position (Little Siegfried-Line), of which 18 were blown up by the Americans after the war. Only one bunker remained at the grove .

On April 15, 1960, the memorial and memorial designed by the Marburg sculptor Dieter Paffrath for the victims of the Second World War was unveiled. In front of the city school in today's Max-Halberstadt-Park, the inhuman violence of the war against the civilian population, the victims on the battlefields, those displaced from their homeland and the terrifying number of prisoners of war, internment and concentration camps remember men, women and children tortured to death during and after the war. Paffrath emphasized that the memorial not only commemorates the fallen soldiers, but all victims of the war. Through a private initiative, another memorial was set up for the fallen soldiers in the Büdingen cemetery, which lists the names of the fallen Büdingen soldiers.

Territorial reform

The regional reform in Hesse was promoted from 1970 mainly by the FDP as a junior partner of the SPD-led state government. The aim was to significantly reduce the number of rural districts and independent municipalities.

Municipal reform On November 26, 1971, as a result of voluntary mergers, border change agreements were signed with Altwiedermus , Aulendiebach, Büches, Calbach, Diebach am Haag, Dudenrod, Eckartshausen, Lorbach, Michelau, Orleshausen, Rinderbügen, Rohrbach, Vonhausen, Wolf and Wolferborn. Düdelsheim had previously broken off negotiations with Büdingen with 7: 6 votes. On December 13, 1971, the city council approved the contract with Mittelgründau . On December 21, 1971, the state government postponed the approval of the contracts with Altwiedermus, Michelau, Mittelgründau and Wolferborn "with due regard to the currently ongoing planning investigations" . The state government intended to integrate Altwiedermus into the large community of Ronneburg, Mittelgründau to Gründau, Michelau and Wolferborn (and Gelnhaar) in a large community around Kefenrod. Wolferborn and Düdelsheim were only incorporated into Büdingen by law of July 11, 1972, with effect from August 1, 1972 (against the resolution of the municipal council) . A lawsuit with the aim of integrating Mittelgründau before the administrative court later failed.

District reform The district reform, which led to the break-up of the Büdingen district , was marked by fierce resistance and sharp protests by local actors. A draft of the parliamentary group of the FDP of August 28, 1971 was decisive for the current division. The city of Büdingen rejected with a clear majority the connection of Büdingen to the district of Friedberg and voted for a merger with the district of Hanau. The integration contract was signed on April 19, 1972 in Büdingen. With the reorganization law of July 11, 1972, the Hessian state parliament overrode the resolutions passed and with effect from August 1, 1972, Büdingen was incorporated into the newly formed Wetterau district.

Religions

57.9% of the inhabitants (of all districts) are Protestant, 13.9% Roman Catholic and 28.2% belong to other religious communities or are non-denominational.

Population development

Population development of Büdingen from 1961 to 2018

Since the territorial reform

year Residents 0June 6, 1961 1 12,330 May 27, 1970 1 13,233 December 31, 1971 1 13,474 December 31, 1972 16,810 December 31, 1973 16,982 December 31, 1974 16,886 December 31, 1975 16,845 December 31, 1976 16,884 December 31, 1977 16,911 December 31, 1978 16,853 December 31, 1979 17,018 December 31, 1980 17.176 December 31, 1981 17,276 December 31, 1982 17,258 December 31, 1983 17,116 December 31, 1984 17,139

year Residents December 31, 1985 17,083 December 31, 1986 17.094 December 31, 1987 16,899 December 31, 1988 17,013 December 31, 1989 17,552 December 31, 1990 18,346 December 31, 1991 18,885 December 31, 1992 19,465 December 31, 1993 19,874 December 31, 1994 20.183 December 31, 1995 20,547 December 31, 1996 20,784 December 31, 1997 20,888 December 31, 1998 20,889 December 31, 1999 21,029 December 31, 2000 21,156

year Residents December 31, 2001 21,468 December 31, 2002 21,804 December 31, 2003 21,842 December 31, 2004 21,771 December 31, 2005 21,830 December 31, 2006 21,745 December 31, 2007 21,656 December 31, 2008 21,610 December 31, 2009 21,544 December 31, 2010 21,475 December 31, 2011 20,897 December 31 2013 21,563 December 31, 2015 21,785 December 31, 2016 21,902 December 31, 2017 22,043 December 31, 2018 21,959

¹ Without Düdelsheim, Michelau and Wolferborn

politics

magistrate

The magistrate consists of Mayor Erich Spamer (FWG), First Councilor Henrike Strauch ( SPD ) and the honorary councilors Horst Diefenbach (SPD), Reinhold Dießl ( CDU ), Sylvia Klein ( GREEN ), Norbert Mäser (CDU), Wilhelm Schierhorn ( FWG), Jörg Sebulke (Pro Vernunft), Tim Strehm (FWG) and Edgar Stürz (SPD) together.

Several local constitutional disputes occurred under Mayor Spamer in Büdingen , as he refused to implement the resolutions of the city council. Approaches to a solution only emerged through a mediation carried out by the President of the Administrative Court in Gießen at the end of 2007 , which ended in a settlement. Spamer was unsuccessful in two judgments.

In the runoff election for the mayor's position on October 18, 2015, Spamer was re-elected for another six years with 50.8 percent of the vote . The turnout was 52.2 percent.

City Council

The local elections on March 6, 2016 produced the following results, compared to previous local elections:

Distribution of seats in the 2016 city council         A total of 37 seats SPD : 7 Greens : 2 FDP : 2 CDU : 9 FW : 10 PRO : 3 NPD : 4	Parties and constituencies		% 2016	Seats 2016	% 2011	Seats 2011	% 2006	Seats 2006	% 2001	Seats 2001
	FWG	Free community of voters	27.4	10	22.8	8th	-	-	-	-
	CDU	Christian Democratic Union of Germany	24.4	9	27.8	10	31.1	12	39.8	15th
	SPD	Social Democratic Party of Germany	19.5	7th	25.5	10	30.7	11	41.0	15th
	NPD	National Democratic Party of Germany	10.2	4th	2.2	1	1.8	1	-	-
	PER	Pro sanity	8.1	3	5.8	2	-	-	-	-
	GREEN	Alliance 90 / The Greens	6.4	2	12.7	5	6.1	2	6.5	2
	FDP	Free Democratic Party	4.0	2	3.4	1	-	-	-	-
	FWG / FDP	Free community of voters / Free Democratic Party	-	-	-	-	30.4	11	12.7	5
	total		100.0	37	100.0	37	100.0	37	100.0	37
	Voter turnout in%		50.8		48.2		48.7		53.1

→ Main article : List of mayors and city councilors in Büdingen

On January 27, 2017, the city council was the first NPD corporation in Germany to cut parliamentary funds. The decision was based on the judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court in the NPD ban proceedings. The refusal of the parliamentary group donations was made by the Hessian Administrative Court (HessVGH) in Kassel (ruling of April 5, 2017 - 8 C 459 / 17.N) and by the Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG) in Leipzig (ruling of June 27, 2018 - 10 CN 1.17) declared illegal.

Referendums

The first referendum (§ 8b HGO) was carried out in Büdingen in 1995 . The citizens voted with the required majority in favor of taking over the indoor swimming pool from the Wetteraukreis and continuing to operate it. Another referendum to relocate the sports field (establishment of a community park on Seemenbach and construction of a large sports field on Dohlberg together with the schools) took place in 2013/2014. The required majority was not achieved. At the beginning of 2015, a referendum against wind turbines failed for formal reasons, as the attacked decision of the city council was already a year old.

City arms

City arms of Büdingen

Description of coat of arms: In gold, a red crenellated wall with a black gate and a golden gate, behind which a two-story red tower, covered on the upper floor with a silver shield with two black bars, grows out, on both sides with two identical flags, each with black bars on silver. The tower is accompanied by two single-storey, red crenellated towers that also grow out of the battlements and contain, like the central tower on the lower floor, an arrow slit each. The city coat of arms is taken from the city seal and was approved by the Interior Minister of the State of Hesse on December 13, 1982. The Büdinger “heraldic animal” is the frog, which can be traced back to the settlement of the city moat in front of the fortifications in the Middle Ages with frogs. Today the frog appears in numerous variations in public and private publications and in Büdingen's artistic representations.

Town twinning

Logo of the Büdingen twin cities

The city of Büdingen maintains city ​​partnerships with cities from Belgium , France , the Czech Republic , Romania , the USA and Brandenburg :

Bruntál

The former district of Bruntál was the partner district of the Wetterau district in the Moravian-Silesian region / Czech Republic . Looking for a twin town, the then Mayor of Bruntáls ( Freudenthal ) Petr Krejčí contacted the town of Büdingen on the advice of District Administrator Gnadl.

In April 2000 an official delegation headed by Mayor Bernd Luft visited the city of Bruntál. Soon the corresponding resolutions were passed in the city parliaments. A group of more than 100 participants from Büdingen visited Bruntál at the end of April 2001. The content of the partnership is the reconciliation of the peoples with one another, the processing of the common history, association contacts as well as private encounters and cultural exchange.

Herzberg

Contacts between the Protestant parish of Herzberg in Brandenburg and Büdingen had existed for many years before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

In January 1990 an official delegation from the city of Büdingen, headed by Mayor Eberhard Bauner and First City Councilor Wilhelm Kröll, visited the city of Herzberg for the first time. The partnership certificate was signed in Herzberg even before the reunification agreement was signed. The declared aim of the partnership is to come to terms with the common past, to bring the population together and to achieve mutual understanding and acceptance

Loudéac

The town twinning between Büdingen and Loudéac in Brittany / France was founded on May 28, 1983 by the then mayors of the two towns, Yves Ropers (†) and Eberhard Bauner (†).

In 1982 an official delegation from Büdingen visited Loudéac in order to establish initial contacts to establish the town twinning. The aim was the reconciliation of the peoples with one another, the maintenance and promotion of the European idea, the promotion of contacts between the associations of the two partner cities, the maintenance of personal contacts between the population and the promotion of cultural exchange.

Relationships are still alive today. Every year in spring, students from the Wolfgang-Ernst-Gymnasium and the Schule am Dohlberg have the opportunity to exchange students in Loudéac. Official exchanges between the cities take place every two years, regular visits to the Braderie in Loudéac and visits to the kindergartens on the St Nicholas weekend.

Tinley Park

The partnership between Büdingen and Tinley-Park in Illinois / USA comes from an acquaintance between Prince Ferdinand zu Ysenburg and Büdingen and Captain Patrick E. Rea, who was stationed in Büdingen.

In 1986 a delegation from Tinley Park visited Büdingen. In 1988, the city ​​council officially decided on the town twinning. In September 1989, 148 people from Büdingen visited Tinley Park for two weeks with the music train of the Büdingen volunteer fire brigade to celebrate the partnership. In 2006 a larger delegation also traveled to the twin city.

The aim of the town twinning is the reconciliation of the peoples with one another, the cultural and student exchange, personal contacts between families, and simply getting to know each other's cultures and customs and traditions.

Gistel

From the time before the regional reform there was a partnership between the current Büdingen district of Aulendiebach and the town of Gistel in West Flanders / Belgium .

Sebeș

Initial contacts for a future partnership have been established between Sebeș ( Mühlbach ) and the Büdingen districts of Michelau, Wolferborn, Rinderbügen and Vonhausen.

Economy and Infrastructure

traffic

Road traffic

The city can be reached via the motorway network via the A 66 , connection point Gründau -Lieblos or via the A 45 , connection point Altenstadt . The districts to the south-west also benefit from the Hammersbach junction (A 45) established in 2007 .

Büdingen is on federal highways 457 and 521 . The former leads from Gießen via Nidda to Gründau-Lieblos to the A66 and leads through the districts of Büches and Büdingen, as well as the districts of Rohrbach, Aulendiebach and Vonhausen. The federal highway 521 begins in the Büches district and leads through Düdelsheim via Altenstadt and Nidderau to Frankfurt am Main. Due to massive traffic and sometimes very narrow streets, bypass roads for Büdingen, Büches and Orleshausen have been required for some time. A bypass of Büches is currently being built.

Rail transport

Büdingen is on the Gießen – Gelnhausen railway ( Lahn-Kinzig-Bahn ), which leads from Gießen via Lich, Hungen, Nidda and Büdingen to Gelnhausen. There are train stations in the city center ( Büdingen (Oberhess) station ) and Büches (Büches-Düdelsheim stop). There is an almost 60-minute cycle in both directions, which is supplemented by individual half-hourly connections during rush hour. Giessen can be reached in 75 minutes, Frankfurt am Main with a change in Gelnhausen in 55 minutes.

The Lahn-Kinzig-Bahn also offers other transfer options in Nidda (with RB / RE 32 towards Frankfurt / Friedberg) and Glauburg-Stockheim (with RB / RE 34 towards Frankfurt / Bad Vilbel).

Bus transport

At the Büdinger train station there is a connection to 11 bus routes to the surrounding region, including to Altenstadt, Gedern, Ortenberg, Kefenrod, Ronneburg, Hammersbach, Schotten-Sichenhausen and Friedberg. Line 374 plays a special role here, supplementing the rail traffic early in the morning and late in the evening with the traffic on the Lahn-Kinzig railway. While the connections in Gelnhausen and Nidda have priority early in the morning, there are travel options between Glauburg-Stockheim and Gründau and Gelnhausen until late in the evening.

Other traffic

The nearest international airport is in Frankfurt, which can be reached by car in 30–40 minutes. Between 1959 and 2007 there was a helipad of the United States Army on the western outskirts , which belonged to the Armstrong barracks a few 100 m southeast.

Companies

• The Accumulatorenfabrik Sonnenschein GmbH , headquartered in Büdingen, was headed between 1957 and 1982 by the later Federal Post Minister Schwarz-Schilling . The company has belonged to Exide GmbH and thus to the Exide Corporation since 2000 . The former Sonnenschein GmbH, now Exide Technologies GmbH, is still the largest and most important employer in Büdingen.
• The Röder tent systems and Service AG . The listed company produces, sells and rents tent systems.
• The VR Bank Main-Kinzig-Büdingen is based in Büdingen

education

• Wolfgang Ernst High School
• Primary and junior high school school at Dohlberg
• professional school
• Technical college for economics and administration and business informatics
• various elementary schools
• Stress-free learning and support center (LFZ Stressfrei) in Büdingen-Vonhausen

Offices

• Branch of the ( coll. ) District Office (the district committee of the Wetterau district)
• Land Management Office
• Büdingen District Court
• Police station

Leisure and sports facilities

Mini golf course in the old town of Büdingen, 2005

• City library with over 40,000 media . Books , CDs , DVDs etc.
• Outdoor pool with two swimming pools, a diving pool with diving tower (up to 10 m) and a paddling pool. There is also a water slide and beach volleyball court.
• Sports halls on the Dohlberg. Mainly handball , basketball and volleyball are played here.
• Municipal sports field (SG 05 Büdingen ( football )) with a cinder track and sports fields in the 15 other parts of the city.
• Willi-Zinnkann-Halle (community center), concerts, comedy and other entertainment events take place here regularly
• five tennis sand courts of the tennis club SW Büdingen e. V.
• wildlife Park
• Kneipp facility in the castle park
• beach volleyball
• Mini golf
• Shooting range of the Büdinger Schützengesellschaft with 4 shooting ranges for compressed air, small caliber and large caliber disciplines, including the z. Currently the most modern 100-meter long gun stand in Hessen.
• Büdingen is connected to the volcano cycle path . The route leads from Büdingen via the Büdingen districts of Büches and Düdelsheim, the Limeshain district of Hainchen to Altenstadt.
• There is a connection from Büdingen to Hohe Straße , which leads to Frankfurt via the Büdingen districts of Vonhausen and Diebach.

Culture and sights

Cultural property protection symbol

Buildings

Büdingen is often referred to as the Rothenburg of Hesse. In the historic city center there are half-timbered houses , some of which are several hundred years old. The ground floor is mostly made of solid sandstone, which was used for fire protection at the time. The well-preserved medieval fortifications of the city ​​are worth seeing : large parts of the city ​​wall , the defense towers and city ​​gates have been preserved and are partially accessible. Büdingen is on the German half-timbered street .

The Jerusalem Gate

A special attraction is the Lower Gate (also known as the Jerusalem Gate) with a bridge in front, completed in 1503. Tradition has it that this gate was built after the pilgrimage of a son of Count Ludwig as a copy of the Jerusalem Sheep Gate.

The Büdinger Castle

The Büdinger Schloss , a moated castle of the Staufer core , received its current appearance in the 16th century. The lords of Büdingen have always called the complex a castle. The Fürst zu Ysenburg and Büdingen family still live there today .

The outer courtyard is freely accessible to visitors. The buildings themselves can be explored in guided tours. Directly behind the castle is the largely public castle park, which today serves the people of Büdingen as a local recreational destination.

The oldest residential building in the city is the stone house , which, unlike the other half-timbered houses, was built entirely of stone. With its castle-like wall, it had the task of securing the important bridgehead at the Mühltor and is an integral part of the city fortifications.

The oldest Renaissance building in the city is the Oberhof . The Bandhaus , the dilapidated house of the cooper from the 16th century, served in 2013 as an archive for documents from the time of the princely administration.

The historic town hall was the center of the Büdingen market and served as a market hall, dance and playhouse and on the upper floor as a high court . Today it houses the "Heuson Museum" and the meeting room of the city ​​council .

→ Main article : List of cultural monuments in Büdingen

Museums

• Heuson Museum in the historic town hall from 1485. Topics: The history of Büdingens; Finds from Roman times and the Middle Ages; historical craft.
• Büdingen Castle Museum
• Model building museum in the Oberhof
• 1950s museum
• Sandrosen Museum in Untertor
• Butcher Museum in the Schlaghaus

nature

→ Main article : List of natural monuments in Büdingen

View of the old town from the "Wilder Stein" geotope that towers south of the old town

Regular events

• On Mardi Gras Sunday, the city is traditionally stormed by the fools at the Untertor (carnival parade).
• The main and knight shooting of the Büdinger Schützengesellschaft 1353 has been proven to have taken place every year on Whitsun since 1535.
• The old town festival takes place annually on the Sunday after Pentecost.
• The Gallusmarkt is also held in the old town on the weekend around the fourth Sunday in September.
• The Medieval Festival takes place every two years, alternating with the Culture Night on the second weekend in July.
• The country party always takes place on the second weekend in September.
• The Theater Club A city plays Theater offers summer with its Summer Stage Open Air Theater at the Cultural Oberhof and in the winter with the Winter Stage Theater in the Willi-Zinnkann hall (community center).
• The Büdinger Weihnachtszauber always takes place on the second weekend in Advent.

Personalities

Honorary citizen

• 1846 - Ludwig Westernacher (born April 5, 1811 in Echzell ; † September 6, 1884 in Büdingen).
• 1846 - Ernst Carl Casimir Wegelin (born October 27, 1779 in Büdingen; † March 13, 1862 in Büdingen), Grand Duke Hessian district judge.
• 1902 - Ferdinand Rabenau (born March 13, 1845 in Darmstadt , † January 4, 1932 in Büdingen), senior magistrate i. R.
• 1911 - Friedrich Wolfgang Karl von Thudichum , respected legal scholar and historian as well as professor of law in Tübingen (born November 18, 1831 in Büdingen; † March 17, 1913 in Bad Wildbad ).
• 1919 - Gustav Christian Dörr (born June 5, 1844 in Büdingen; † January 9, 1927 in Frankfurt am Main ), businessman.
• 1922 - Georg Albert (born February 7, 1852 in Büdingen, † in New York ).
• 1931 - Wilhelm Dotter (born February 12, 1859 in Büdingen; † April 29, 1934 in Büdingen), city councilor, businessman and haulier.
• 1933 - Adolf Hitler (born April 20, 1889 in Braunau am Inn , † April 30, 1945 in Berlin ), Reich Chancellor / Führer (revocation of honorary citizenship on April 21, 2007).
• 1933 - Paul von Hindenburg (born October 2, 1847 in Posen , † August 2, 1934 at Gut Neudeck , West Prussia ), Field Marshal General and President.
• 1933 - Ferdinand Werner , President of the State and Education ( NSDAP ), (revocation of honorary citizenship on September 3, 1946).
• 1933 - Heinrich Müller, Minister of State for the Interior, Justice and Finance ( NSDAP ), (revocation of honorary citizenship on September 3, 1946).
• 1948 - Karl Heuson (born November 4, 1869 in Wenings ; † January 16, 1953 in Büdingen), teacher i. R.
• 1965 - Peter Niess (born February 4, 1895 in Rinderbügen , † August 21, 1965 in Büdingen), senior commercial teacher.
• 1984 - Otto Friedrich Prince of Ysenburg and Büdingen (born September 16, 1904 in Halberstadt ; † September 25, 1990 in Büdingen).
• 1985 - Willi Zinnkann (born October 27, 1915 in Worms ; † October 23, 1997 in Büdingen), retired mayor D.
• 1993 - Hans-Velten Heuson (born July 19, 1926 in Wenings; † September 14, 2002 in Büdingen), retired secondary school teacher D.
• 1995 - Martin Bauss (born November 2, 1920; † May 12, 1998 in Büdingen), painter.
• 1996 - Willi Ernst Luh (born October 31, 1926 in Großen-Linden ; † August 28, 2017 in Büdingen), retired school director. D. image
• 2004 - Christian Schwarz-Schilling (born November 19, 1930 in Innsbruck , Austria ), former Federal Post Minister D.
• 2011 - Jules August Schröder, (born December 30, 1934 in Hamburg), Managing Director i. R. image
• 2012 - Volkmar Stein (born January 29, 1937 in Dortmund ), Director of Studies i. R., local history researcher and author Bild
• 2014 - Siegfried Müller (born September 5, 1935 in Herne ), trade unionist , social democrat and co-founder of ProAsyl .
• 2017 - Lothar Keil, geologist.
• 2020 - Klaus Peter Decker (born October 1, 1939), historian. Honor for researching the history of the city and the region.

sons and daughters of the town

• Diether von Isenburg (1412–1482), Archbishop of Mainz (1459–1463 and 1475–1482). See also Mainzer Stiftsfehde .
• Konrad Krebs (1492–1540), builder and architect.
• Count Anton von Isenburg-Büdingen zu Ronneburg (1501–1560), founder of the sub-county of Ysenburg-Ronneburg . He was buried in the Marienkirche , where his descendants built a magnificent epitaph for him and his wife Elisabeth von Wied-Runkel in 1563 .
• Johann Samuel König (1712–1757), mathematician ( König's theorem ).
• Johannes Jahresig (1747–1795), Mongolist and Mongolian researcher and translator of Tibetan and Mongolian texts.
• Moses Büding (1748 / 49–1811), senior court agent and founder of the MJ Büding bank in Kassel.
• Carl Friedrich Buderus von Carlshausen (1759–1819), tax officer of Elector Wilhelm I of Hesse-Kassel and business partner of the banker Mayer Amschel Rothschild .
• Ernst Casimir I of Ysenburg and Büdingen (1781–1852), 1st Prince of Ysenburg and Büdingen.
• Ernst Casimir II of Ysenburg and Büdingen (1806–1861), 2nd Prince of Ysenburg and Büdingen.
• Gustav zu Isenburg and Büdingen (1813–1883), diplomat and lieutenant general.
• Ludwig Eberling (1823–1898), as court gardener, Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden, he was the first to develop the neglected island of Mainau in Lake Constance and is considered the creator of today's flower island .
• Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Thudichum (1829–1901), founder of brain chemistry .
• Friedrich Wolfgang Karl von Thudichum (1831–1913 in Bad Wildbad ), respected legal scholar and historian as well as professor of law.
• Bruno zu Ysenburg and Büdingen (1837–1906), 3rd Prince of Ysenburg-Büdingen.
• Richard Haupt (1846–1940), art historian and provincial curator.
• Albrecht Haupt (1852–1932), architect and university professor.
• Wilhelm Ludwig Koch (1863–1942), administrative lawyer and ministerial official born on Gut Marineborn, president of the Reich Insurance Company for salaried employees.
• Wolfgang zu Ysenburg and Büdingen (1877–1920), 4th Prince of Ysenburg-Büdingen.
• Erich Geißler (1895–1967), major general, bearer of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross .
• Ado Kraemer (1898–1972), chess composer .
• Wilhelm Kämmerer (1905–1994), engineer and computer pioneer of the GDR.
• Wolfgang Göttelmann (* 1935), Ambassador to Lebanon and the Philippines.
• Ebba D. Drolshagen (* 1948), writer and translator.
• Achim Vandreike (* 1948), Mayor and Head of Sports and Housing in Frankfurt am Main .
• Peter Wichtel (* 1949), politician (Member of the Bundestag) and works council chairman and member of the supervisory board of Fraport AG.
• Axel Gallun (* 1952), freelance painter, sculptor and graphic artist.
• Wolfgang Luh (* 1955), painter and editor.
• Gerhard Wies (* 1961), silver medalist in the shot put at the Paralympics 2004 in Athens with 11.29 m in class F 56. Javelin World Champion from 1998.
• Jürgen Rollmann (* 1966), Bundesliga goalkeeper, qualified journalist and coordinator of the federal government for the 2006 World Cup.
• Daniel Hensel (* 1978), composer, his piece "Reflexionen für Orchester" op. 16 was heard as the official German contribution to the handover of the EU Council Presidency.
• Mathilde von Ysenburg and Büdingen (1811–1886), composer. The Princess-Mathilde-Ysenburg-Gässchen in Büdingen is named after her (with a memorial plaque).

Other personalities associated with the city:

• Erasmus Alber , also Alberus (* around 1500; † May 5, 1553) German theologian, reformer and poet, around 1520 teacher in Büdingen.
• Samuel Heinrich König , reformed theologian of the pietistic direction, professor of oriental studies and mathematics. 1711–1730 as court preacher to the Counts of Büdingen.
• Georg Thudichum (1794–1873), German philologist and theologian, Büdinger pastor and director of the Wolfgang-Ernst-Gymnasium .
• Hermann von Ihering (1850–1930), doctor, zoologist and paleontologist , lived here for the last nine years of his life and is buried in Büdingen.
• Otto Dingeldein (1861–1951), philologist, high school professor and author.
• Beate Kuhn (1927–2015), German ceramicist and ceramic sculptor.
• Christian Schwarz-Schilling , High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (2006–2007), former Federal Post Minister (1982–1992) and member of the German Bundestag for the CDU (1976–2002). Schwarz-Schilling was managing director of the Sonnenschein accumulator factory from 1957 to 1982 .
• Siegfried Müller (* 1935), social democrat and trade unionist.
• Sergeant Major of the Army Gene McKinney .
• Dirk Raufeisen (* 1966), jazz pianist, is one of the most famous jazz musicians in Europe and lives in Büdingen.
• Dieter Egner (* 1944), social democrat and volunteer.

Medal bearers from Büdingen:

→ Main article : List of medal winners from Büdingen

See also

More articles on individual structures in Büdingen
Büdinger old town	Büdingen Castle	Lower gate
Great bulwark and witch tower	historical town hall	Stone house
Oberhof	Blow house	Marienkirche
St. Remigius Church

• County of Büdingen
• Isenburg (noble family)
• District of Büdingen
• List of cultural monuments in Büdingen
• Horse brook desert
• Nazi forced labor in the Büdingen area
• Büdinger Schützengesellschaft from 1353
• Fanfare and minstrel parade of the city of Büdingen
• Büdingen . In: Meyers Konversations-Lexikon . 4th edition. Volume 3, Verlag des Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig / Vienna 1885–1892, p. 599.

literature

• Karl Heusohn, Peter Niess: Büdingen - its history and monuments. Büdingen 1927.
• History Association Büdingen (Hrsg.): District Büdingen, essence and becoming. Büdingen 1956.
• Karl Winter: Büdingen . Munich 1966.
• Architectural monuments in Hessen, Wetteraukreis I (monument topography Federal Republic of Germany). Braunschweig / Wiesbaden 1982, ISBN 3-528-06231-2 , p. 69.
• Jürgen Ackermann: Debt, Reich Debit Administration, Mediatization. A study on the financial problems of the inferior classes in the Old Kingdom. The example of the county of Ysenburg-Büdingen 1687–1806. (= Writings of the Hessian State Office for Historical Regional Studies. 40). Marburg 2002, ISBN 3-921254-93-0 .
• Hans-Velten Heuson: Büdingen - Yesterday and Today: Works on the history of the city and its surroundings (1300–1945) . Collection of articles by Hans-Velten Heuson. Collected and edited by Volkmar Stein for the author's 75th birthday. Büdingen 2004.
• Volkmar Stein: Büdingen: An attempt at the history of the city. History workshop Büdingen, Büdingen 2011, ISBN 978-3-939454-63-2 .
• Willi Luh: On the history and culture of the Jews in Büdingen . Büdinger Geschichtsverein, Büdingen 2013, ISBN 978-3-939454-76-2 .

Web links

Commons : Büdingen  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Wikisource: Büdingen in Merian's Topographia Hassiae  - sources and full texts

Wikivoyage: Büdingen  - travel guide

Wikivoyage: Büdingen as the starting point of the Celtic route in the Wetterau  - travel guide

• Official website of the city of Büdingen
• Büdingen Wiki , everything about the city and district of Büdingen.
• City history of Büdingen
• Büdingen, Wetterau district. Historical local dictionary for Hessen. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
• Link catalog on the topic of Büdingen at curlie.org (formerly DMOZ )
• Literature from and about Büdingen in the catalog of the German National Library

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hessian State Statistical Office: Population status on December 31, 2019 (districts and urban districts as well as municipalities, population figures based on the 2011 census) ( help ).
2. ↑ Matt Millham: DOD lists closing dates for 31 Germany bases: shutdown will affect 2,400 soldiers . In Stars and Stripes , July 12, 2007, accessed March 17, 2016.
3. ↑ Hessens brown spots , article from March 7, 2016 by Kevin Hagen on Spiegel Online
4. ↑ Janina Raschdorf: Neo-Nazi demo in Büdingen: Report: "Bunt statt Braun!" Bad Vilbeler Neue Presse , January 31, 2016, accessed on March 17, 2016.
   Local election in Hesse: NPD comes to 14 percent in Büdingen . RP Online , March 7, 2016, accessed March 17, 2016.
5. ^ Rolf Schulte: Warlocks. Frankfurt am Main, 2000, p. 72.
6. ↑ Büdingen city council rehabilitates victims of the witch trials October 12, 2012
7. ↑ Hartmut Hegeler : Anton Praetorius, fighter against witch trials and torture. To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the life's work of a Protestant pastor. Self-published, Unna 2002.
8. ↑ Book: I fight: The old guard of the Führer on the 10th anniversary of the seizure of power on January 30, 1943. Ed. Hauptkulturamt, Zentralverlag der NSDAP, 1943.
9. ^ List of streets in Frankfurt am Main that were renamed during the Nazi era with explanations.
10. ↑ Rainer Heß (pastor): unresolved past. - The Jewish fellow citizens during the Nazi persecution (1933–1945). In: Chronicle Düdelsheim - 792–1992. 1991.
11. ↑ Matthias Schneider: Little Siegfried-line: The history of the Wetterau-Main-Tauber-position. S. Roderer Verlag, Regensburg 1997, ISBN 3-89073-169-4 .
12. ↑ ^{a b} Law on the reorganization of the districts of Büdingen and Friedberg (GVBl. II 330-19) of July 11, 1972 . In: The Hessian Minister of the Interior (ed.): Law and Ordinance Gazette for the State of Hesse . 1972 No. 17 , p. 230 , §§ 11 and 18 ( online at the information system of the Hessian state parliament [PDF; 1,2 MB ]).
13. ^ Federal Statistical Office (ed.): Historical municipality directory for the Federal Republic of Germany. Name, border and key number changes in municipalities, counties and administrative districts from May 27, 1970 to December 31, 1982 . W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Mainz 1983, ISBN 3-17-003263-1 , p. 353 .
14. ↑ Büdingen Wiki: "Erich Spamer"
15. ^ Result of the municipal election on March 6, 2016. Hessian State Statistical Office, accessed in April 2016 . 
16. ^ Hessian State Statistical Office: Result of the municipal elections on March 27, 2011
17. ^ Hessian State Statistical Office: Result of the municipal elections on March 26, 2006
18. ^ Kreis-Anzeiger : "Büdingen: City councilors commemorate the Holocaust and cut funds for NPD parliamentary group", January 28, 2017
19. ↑ Büdingen has to pay the NPD fraction money
20. ↑ BüdingenWiki: referendum to relocate the sports field
21. ↑ State Gazette for the State of Hesse No. 1 from 1983, p. 5.
22. ↑ State of affairs at Hessen Mobil for the OU Büches
23. ↑ Vulkanradweg In: www.vogelsberg-touristik.de. Accessed December 2018.
24. ↑ Regional Park: Route Hohe Straße
25. ↑ Files in a dilapidated band house. In: FAZ . January 5, 2013, p. 51.
26. ↑ Eine Stadt Spielt Theater eV Accessed on March 25, 2019 . 
27. ↑ geocities.com
28. ↑ www.vialibri.net. Retrieved June 12, 2020 . 
29. ^ Princess Mathilde Ysenburg Gässchen. Retrieved June 12, 2020 .