History of the municipality of Breitungen (Werra)
The Thuringian municipality of Breitungen / Werra celebrated its 1075th anniversary from May 16-25, 2008.
middle Ages
Around 450 the Alemanni founded the Altenbreitungen settlement , the oldest part of Breitungen, to the left and right of the Werra .
About 300 years later, the Franks also settled in the area; During this time, Burg- und Königsbreitungen arose. While Königsbreitungen was founded on the left bank of the Werra by a Franconian Ville, Burgbreitungen on the right bank of the Werra was created by a royal palace .
Around 915 the royal Palatinate was destroyed by the Hungarians during their raids in the Franconian Empire .
On June 1, 933, Breitungen was mentioned for the first time in a document from King Heinrich I as Bretinga. The royal document describes the boundaries of the Mark Bretinga, which lies on an important Werra ford and covered an area of around 280 square kilometers. With this size, the administrative seat of the court and the mother church, Bretinga was the political and cultural center of the region in the 10th century. After the Breit forest area was mentioned in a document in 1016, Emperor Heinrich II granted the Hersfeld Monastery the “Wildbann” in a precisely delimited area near Bretinga. In 1049, a donation of land to the Fulda monastery in the Herrenbreit Abbey was recorded “in monasterio Breitingen”. The existence of the Burgbreitungen Monastery is therefore considered certain.
In 1112 the Count Palatine Siegfried von Orlamünde inherited the remains of the royal palatinate and the Vogtei Burgbreitungen and initiated the consecration of the basilica , the main building of the newly founded Benedictine monastery . With that, Burgbreitungen became Herrenbreitungen . Breitungen became more and more extended until Königsbreitungen finally in 1114 by Emperor Henry V at the request of the Abbey Hersfeld the market law gives got. Thus, Königsbreitungen became the customs and mint of the Hersfeld Abbey.
In 1137 the priest Heinrich, a pastor of the mother church Königsbreitungen, founded the hospital for the poor in Spittel on behalf of the Hersfeld Abbey. The monastery bridge between Burg- and Königsbreitungen was first mentioned in the same year. In 1150 Abbot Heinrich von Hersfeld allowed the brothers of the hospital to be constituted as a Premonstratensian monastery . Three years later, nuns also moved into the Augustinian monastery . After the founding of this nunnery, the place Königsbreitungen was probably renamed to Frauenbreitungen . In 1187 the Thuringian Landgrave Hermann I took over the administration of the Vogtei Herrenbreitungen.
In 1247, the Premonstratensian double monastery became exclusively a nunnery and enjoyed rapid economic growth. The place name Frauenbreitungen first appeared in connection with this monastery in 1285. In 1301, Landgrave Albrecht von Thuringia gave the Vogtei Altenbreitungen to Count Berthold VII von Henneberg-Schleusingen. At the same time, the Henneberger were enfeoffed with the Vogtei Frauenbreitungen by Abbot Berthold I. von Hersfeld. In 1326, Burgbreitungen was officially mentioned for the first time as Herrenbreitungen in a document. 11 years later the bailiwick of Herrenbreitungen became a Henneberg fiefdom. Now all three districts, now with their final names, were under the administration of the Henneberger Counts and remained so until the family died out.
In 1460 there was the first evidence of jurisdiction in Herrenbreitungen through the "Weisthum zu Herrenbreitungen". In 1494, flax was grown for the first time for food and lighting purposes and as a raw material for making clothing.
Modern times
In 1525 the Peasants' War raged in the region . Due to the increasing impoverishment of the farmers, there was an uprising in many places, the region was the area of activity of the Werrahaufen , which in Breitungen also directed itself against the monasteries. Three years later the Premonstratensian monastery was secularized by Count Wilhelm IV of Henneberg. Frauen- und Herrenbreitungen, which became a fiefdom of the Hersfeld monastery around 1300, were ruled as bailiwick and as an office of Henneberg counts and Meiningen princes after the abolition of the monasteries. In 1542, a bailiwick office was set up in Frauenbreitungen on the site of the former monastery, to which 4 villages and 11 farms were subordinate. Ten years later, the decline of the Benedictine monastery took place during the Reformation . The abbot Kilian Vogel left the monastery in Herrenbreitungen with the last three monks.
In 1554, Count Wilhelm IV of Henneberg signed the Kahla inheritance contract with the Dukes of Saxony on September 1st . The Ernestiner obtained through the assumption of debt of Henneberger the reversion of their possessions. In 1559, Count Georg Ernst von Henneberg set the collection fee for strangers moving to Herrenbreitungen in a village regulation. In the next few years, Count Poppo XII began. von Henneberg, to build a residential palace from parts of the monastery, and took up residence there with his wife Sophie. Structural changes were also made to the monastery basilica, for example the tower was given two additional floors and a round gable end. Furthermore, the basilica was used as a Protestant castle church. Count Poppo XII died in 1574. von Henneberg, without leaving any descendants.
On August 31, 1583, Georg Ernst, the last Count of Henneberg, Landgrave Wilhelm of Hesse and representatives of Ernestine Saxony signed the so-called Salzung Treaty. Accordingly, after the extinction of the Henneberg line, the Landgrave of Hesse received the castle, with right of residence for Count Poppo's widow Sophie, and the Vogtei Herrenbreitungen including the Abbot Forest. The House of Saxony received jurisdiction and hunting justice. Frauen- and Altenbreitungen as well as the wilderness from Pless to Rosa and Werra were left to the Saxon house. This brought about the political separation of the districts. Georg Ernst von Henneberg died in the same year and the agreements of the Salzung Treaty came into force. In 1590 the first school next to the church was mentioned in Frauenbreitungen.
In 1598 the witch trials began in Breitungen. Records can be found in the church book Frauenbreitungen. Seventeen people were charged in the witch hunts, at least eleven were executed, and the outcome of some of the trials is unknown. The last cremation took place on August 17, 1700: Catharina Burckhardt, the Büttner's wife.
In 1615 and 1616 the Marienkirche was rebuilt in Frauenbreitungen with the inclusion of the Romanesque church tower of the previous church.
After the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War , troops of the Catholic League and the Protestant Union both caused severe damage to the place between 1634 and 1640.
On June 10, 1640, Herrenbreitungen fell victim to the flames. The renaissance castle , the rectory, barns and various stables were badly affected by the fire. The roof, the truss and the transept of the Romanesque basilica were destroyed.
In the following years, Breitungen was able to recover, and in 1654 many craftsmen were finally working in Breitungen. These included, for example, tailors, millers, linen weavers, butters, bakers, butchers, joiners, farriers and wagons. Tobacco began to be grown in 1659. This became the main source of income for the landowners and an important means of feeding the landless population.
In 1661 the elderly and women spread to Duke Ernst the Pious of Gotha. In 1662 the basilica in Herrenbreitungen was restored to its present form for further use as a Protestant castle church. In 1680 the office of Frauenbreitungen passed to Duke Bernhard I of Saxe-Meiningen , the 3rd son of Duke Ernst the Pious of Gotha. In 1686 a new rectory was built opposite the church in Herrenbreitungen by order of Landgrave Hedwig Sophie von Hessen. In 1721 the first floor of the “chapel”, today's landmark Altenbreitens, was built on the foundations of an earlier building from the late Romanesque period. A year later Altenbreitungen built its own school house and hired a schoolmaster.
In 1731, the Romanesque Michaeliskapelle was demolished and the foundation stone for the new village church in Herrenbreitungen was laid using the church tower of the former chapel. In 1753 a community brewery was built in Herrenbreitungen. Five years later, potatoes were also grown in Breitungen for the first time.
During the Seven Years' War from 1756 to 1763, Herrenbreitungen experienced constant billeting, especially French troops, which were associated with the extortion of money and food for the journey. On April 25, 1760, imperial hussars appeared , extorted provisions and took the mayor Valentin Hoffmann to the oil mill, where he was released for three thalers and 18 kreuzers. In 1780 the rectory was built in Frauenbreitungen in the Franconian half-timbered style.
In 1799, the first large population census counted 70 houses and 410 residents in Frauenbreitungen. On May 13, 1825, the pharmacist Wilhelm Rhodemann received at his request from Duke Bernhard von Sachsen-Meiningen the right to establish a pharmacy in the ducal office of Frauenbreitungen. From 1842 to 1846 the Werra run at the Bußhof was straightened. In 1846 the construction of a new school began in Altenbreitungen, which was inaugurated on April 13, 1847. In 1848 farmers fought for better economic conditions in the region. In order to express their demands, they felled the poplars on Bußhofallee. Even today there are no more trees on the road between Breitungen and Bußhof.
The Eisenach-Lichtenfels railway line, known as the Werra Railway , was built from 1856 to 1858 . Breitungen received a stop on the route of this railway line on July 20, 1886. In 1865 a stone bridge over the Truse was built for 242 thalers. In 1866, Hesse fought on Austria's side in the Austro-Prussian War. Since Austria lost, Herrenbreitungen passed to Prussia.
Modern
Empire
According to the information provided by Duke Georg II of Meiningen , the ducal hunting lodge was built on the Pleßberg in 1886/87 . The loan office was founded in 1890 and began trading and banking activities in the building on Schillerstrasse. In 1894 a new school was built on Gartenstrasse in Frauenbreitungen.
In the following years a large number of new factories were built, mainly metal goods factories. In 1902 the volunteer fire brigade was founded. 26 men declared their agreement with the statute by signing it. In 1903 a stone bridge between Alten- and Frauenbreitungen was built with state support. The water pipe from the Bußhof was also built according to Frauenbreitungen. In 1907 the Werra bridge between Frauen- and Herrenbreitungen was rebuilt.
To ensure a secure electricity supply to the cities and communities north and south of the Thuringian Forest , a modern large power plant with an initial output of 9,000 kW was built in 1912/13.
The foundation stone was laid on October 13, 1913 and the inauguration of the new school in Herrenbreitungen on January 4, 1915, which was closed in 2006.
After the outbreak of the First World War , 333 men from the then 3000 inhabitants of the town went to war. At the end of the war in 1918, 89 men from the old and female part and 26 men from the male part had died.
Weimar Republic
In 1921 the first wooden observation tower was built on the Pleß as well as a joint school for the elderly and women (completed in 1923). Due to inflation, the construction costs in the end amounted to about 6.723 quadrillion marks.
In 1925, the district of Grumbach was incorporated. Elderly and women spreads were united to Breitungen / Werra. A commission was set up to classify and name the streets.
In 1926 the water pipe, the elevated tank and the pumping station in Herrenbreitungen were rebuilt. In addition, the expansion of the local road network in Herrenbreitungen and the construction of the town hall in Frauenbreitungen began.
In 1928 Breitungen received an 8-level elementary school with parallel classes, which became the fourth largest school in the district alongside Meiningen, Bad Salzungen and Wasungen. The steadily growing passenger and freight traffic made it necessary to convert and expand the station building.
In 1929, the extraordinary cold spell at the beginning of the year (at times −30 ° C) and the extreme drought in summer caused major problems in the water supply.
Nazi era
In 1933 the town celebrated the 1000th anniversary of the Breitungen community with a historical parade. In the same year the Winne domain was dissolved and sold. On April 24th, the wooden Ples Tower collapsed in a strong storm.
From 1935 the power plant was gradually rebuilt, with the aim of further increasing the output (1944: 60,000 kW).
In 1936 the new cemetery with cemetery chapel was handed over at Craimar . In accordance with a contract with the High Command of the Wehrmacht (OKW), the metal goods factory was converted and expanded into an ammunition factory. For the construction of three new production halls, four residential buildings with outbuildings had to give way.
In 1938 Neuhof and Knollbach were incorporated. In addition, a fire station was built in Altenbreitungen. Hitler passed the law on fire extinguishing, whereby the clubs and associations formed by the volunteer fire brigade were dissolved and replaced by an auxiliary police force structured according to extinguishing units. In 1939 the cinema was built on Schillerstrasse. Until the outbreak of the Second World War , the planned Reichsautobahn Eisenach - Bamberg was built east of Breitungen , the so-called " Route 85 ". But it was never completed. Federal highway 19 is now on its route as a bypass.
In January 1945 the new school in Frauenbreitungen was used as a hospital. On April 2, both Werra bridges were blown up by retreating Wehrmacht troops . However, army units of the US Army were able to occupy Breitungen completely in the following weeks. After the surrender of the German Wehrmacht, around 1200 foreign workers from the barracks on Farnbacher Strasse left the town in May.
During the Second World War, around 1,740 prisoners of war as well as women and men from the countries occupied by Germany had to do forced labor . Numerous victims of forced labor from Breitungen as well as from Allendorf , Kaltenborn and Wernshausen were buried in the Frauenbreitungen cemetery. A memorial there today commemorates them.
The Renaissance castle was occupied by evacuees from bomb-prone areas during the war and, from 1945, by displaced persons from the eastern areas. The interior of the castle was changed considerably through the installation of apartments. In 1980 Vietnamese workers moved into the building, from the mid-1980s it was uninhabited and in dire need of renovation - as were the large farm buildings.
Post-war and GDR times
In July 1945 the Soviet Army took over the administration of Breitens, where around 360 dead and missing persons were mourned at the end of the Second World War. Regular school lessons started again on October 10th. A month later, a census showed 4,373 residents, 1,067 of whom were evacuated.
On January 26, 1946, the KPD and SPD merged to form the SED in Breitungen. On May 15th a kindergarten was opened in the barracks at the sports field. In 1947 the metal goods factory was expropriated, taken over into public ownership and since then has operated under the name TEWA metal goods factory VEB Breitungen / Werra. In November 1948, a burial site and a memorial for citizens of foreign nations were built in the Craimar cemetery.
On July 1, 1950, the incorporation of Herrenbreitungen took place.
After the new district division, Breitungen no longer belonged to the Meiningen district from July 25, 1952, but to the Schmalkalden district . In 1953, an agricultural vocational school was set up in the Altenbreit school building. There were brigadiers and other cooperative farmers their training as "Certified Farmer". In 1954 the Werra bridge was rebuilt between Alten- and Frauenbreitungen. It was named "Bridge of Unity". The power plant's cultural center was built. The inauguration took place in December.
On August 21, 1955, 15 federal friends signed the founding protocol of a local group of the Kulturbund of the GDR in the “Burgbreitungen” inn. They set themselves three basic tasks: firstly, the building security and restoration of the basilica, secondly, the rescue of the Breiter Lakes from being buried and thirdly, the continuation of the local history.
In 1956 the Farnbach settlement was incorporated. In 1957, the Breiter Lakes were declared an animal protection area. In the autumn, the power plant completely stopped depositing the ash in the lake area. The recultivation work on the dump , which began in 1953, was brought to a targeted conclusion. In connection with the introduction of polytechnic lessons for students in grades 7-10 and a related practical activity in an industrial or agricultural company, a polytechnic center was set up in 1958. In addition, a state veterinary practice was opened and a workers' housing cooperative was founded. 108 new apartments were built in Geschwister-Scholl-Ring.
On March 28, 1960, the founding meeting of LPG Type I "Thomas Müntzer" Breitungen took place in the power plant's cultural center . 39 farmers sealed their entry into the LPG with their signature. On April 6th, LPG Type II "Zuchtfreunde Winne" was founded. On April 9th, Breitungen was the 17th place in the Schmalkalden district as a “fully cooperative village”. It was the municipality with the largest LPG in the Suhl district .
In 1962 a large tobacco drying plant was built, in which in winter first onions were dried, potatoes were pre-germinated and later mushrooms were grown. At the Polytechnische Oberschule I (POS) in Frauenbreitungen, a large extension building with a break hall began in 1966 and was completed in 1968. A total of 22 classrooms and 5 new subject rooms are now available. In addition, the Breitungen gravel works was built in 1966 .
In 1967 the Breiter lake landscape was legally confirmed as a nature reserve . In 1969 the Breitungen power plant was given the task of building up the central district heating supply for the surrounding companies; construction began in 1971.
In 1974 the former princely hunting lodge on the Pleß was moved from the military restricted area there to the Heuberg and rebuilt as the “Seeblick” restaurant. The Peace Park designed there was inaugurated on the site of the old Breiter Friedhof. On October 7, 1976, the social building of the VEB Vereinigte Metallwarenfabriken (soup palace) opened its doors.
In 1981 the new electroplating of VEB Vereinigte Metallwarenfabriken started production. In 1982 Breitungen hosted the GDR championships in women's judo.
In 1983 Breitungen celebrated its 1050th anniversary with a festival week from May 25th to June 5th. At that time the community had around 5,700 inhabitants. The construction of a new heating plant in Breitungen began with the aim of putting it into operation in 1990.
In 1985, the expansion of the Werra banks began as an essential part of the flood protection measures. 2,800 trees and bushes were planted in Bahnhofstrasse in the lake area and at the Kiessee. In 1986, a 200-meter-high chimney was built at the thermal power station. Breitungen was also the venue for the GDR fishing championships.
In 1989, on March 18, Breitungen was the first municipality in the Suhl district to be awarded the title of "exemplary water management territory".
On September 9th, the 875th anniversary of the market law for Breitungen was celebrated.
In autumn 1989 dissatisfaction with the political grievances in the GDR increased. In Breitungen there were citizen forums in the Marienkirche and in the Kulturhaus Kraftwerk.
After reunification
On May 6, 1990, free democratic local elections were held for the first time since 1946. The elected community council of 20 members elected a mayor (CDU) from among their number.
On July 1, 1991 the LPG was converted into the agricultural cooperative "Werragrund" eG with an agricultural area of 1300 hectares.
On July 25th, a new mourning hall was handed over to the cemetery in Herrenbreitungen. The Gottesackerkirche from 1728 was given to the Henneberg Museum in Veßra Monastery . A new school system was introduced with two state primary schools (men's and women's spreads) and one state regular school (women's spreads).
The renovation work started in April 1990 on the Herrenbreiter Werra Bridge with the widening of the lane was completed on November 22nd. The total costs amount to about 2.2 million DM. On April 1st, 1992 the power plant and on September 30th the heating plant were shut down. The administrative community "Werratal" with the places Breitungen, Fambach and Heßles, with around 8000 inhabitants and headquarters in Breitungen, was founded.
In 1994 the active museum for the maintenance of rural customs was set up in the castle. The village center on the "Schafwerra" with its shopping and service facilities was completed.
In 1995, the three fire brigades for the elderly, women and men were combined to form the Breitungen volunteer fire brigade . In June the place received a new fire station . On December 13th, a youth club was handed over in Gartenstrasse.
In March 1996 the community acquired the area of the Pleßberg . Breitungen now has its own local mountain. On July 9th, two Thuringian ordinances regulate the restructuring of municipalities belonging to the district. Breitungen took over the function of a fulfilling community for Hessles , Fambach , Rosa and Roßdorf . In August, after negotiations at the state level, the basilica became the property of the municipality. The castle remains in the state ownership.
In 1997 the traditional sports field "Friedenskampfbahn" was inaugurated on July 19th. Football can be played there again after almost 25 years. On December 1st, a daycare center with a capacity of 160 places was opened on Riegelsweg. The previous facilities had been gradually closed.
On April 6, 1999, the groundbreaking ceremony took place for the construction of what is now the third observation tower on the 644-meter-high Pleß mountain. After 37 years, around 3,000 to 4,000 visitors were able to climb their new Ples Tower on October 2nd and enjoy the unique view. On February 19, 2000, the completely reconstructed culture and association center Kulturhaus am Kraftwerk was reopened.
In April 2001 the dormitory for the mentally handicapped of the Diakonische Behindertenhilfe Bad Salzungen-Schmalkalden was officially inaugurated in Frauenbreiter Weg.
In September 2002 a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the Breitungen volunteer fire brigade took place in the Kulturhaus. After the funding had been approved, assembly of the third Werra crossing on the Schafwerra for pedestrians and cyclists began in November. On April 22, 2003 the bridge was opened. After the laying of the foundation stone in October 2002, the official handover of the “Haus Werragarten” elderly care center took place in January 2003. The property offered an assisted home for 60 elderly people. Furthermore, the industrial wasteland power plant was demolished. A leisure and local recreation center was built on the site. From June 9th to 20th there was a festival week with numerous events and a large parade on the occasion of “100 Years of Football in Breitungen”. On May 15, the long-serving mayor Günter Hirsch (CDU) died completely unexpectedly. The previous First Alderman Peter Heimrich (SPD) was elected as his successor on September 26th.
On August 6, 2005, the heating plant was demolished and the 200 meter high forge was blown up. In the same year the primary school in Herrenbreitungen (which was moved to Fambach ) was closed and the pedestrian and cyclist bridge at the local recreation center was inaugurated on November 18.
In 2006, the renovated stone cross in the Herrenbreiter church wall was opened to the public on May 20th. In June, the foundation stone was laid for the reception and sanitary building at the "Tourism, Culture and Sports Center of the Breitungen am Kiessee community / culture center". After 40 years, the Breitener Burgsänger said goodbye with a last public concert in the basilica.
The basilica was refurbished in the mid-1990s and is now used as a concert and exhibition space.
The urgently needed renovation of the castle complex began after the fall of the Wall - with the use of subsidies - with the reconstruction of the decaying large barn building on the estate. The Renaissance castle itself had been uninhabited since the mid-1980s and was in a deplorable structural condition. In 2007 the castle was sold to the Koenitz family from Großpösna near Leipzig . She lives in the castle and takes the initiative - after the roof has been reconstructed - to gradually restore the interior. For example, by removing the fixtures from the Soviet Zone and GDR times and extensive restoration work, a palace hall exists (2009), which is used for concerts, events and as a gallery. The outer walls of the building show considerable cracks. Also in need of renovation is the large stable building within the four-sided complex of the castle with the former property.
In 2007 a local DRK association was founded.
In 2011 the market square at the Marienkirche was completely renovated.
In 2012, Mayor Peter Heimrich , who had been in power since 2006, was elected District Administrator of the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district and therefore resigned from his office. Ronny Römhild, nominated by the SPD and without a party, was elected as the new mayor.
In 2013 the old station ruin was demolished and replaced by a parking lot.
Literature and Sources
- Festschrift 1075 years Breitungen (Werra)
- http://www.breitungen.de/
- http://www.schloss-breitungen.de/
- Ernst-Ulrich Hahmann: The knights from Frankenstein . Resch-Verlag, Meiningen 2011, p. 100 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Site plan of the Herrenbreitungen Monastery and its successor buildings
- ↑ Kai Lehmann : Innocent. Witch hunt south of the Thuringian Forest, over 500 researched cases from the 16th and 17th centuries , Untermaßfeld 2012, p. 106f .; Kai Lehmann: Exhibition “Luther and the Witches”, area Frauenbreitungen, Library Museum Schloss Wilhelmsburg Schmalkalden, 2012; Ronald Füssel: The persecution of witches in the Thuringian region , publications by the working group for historical research on witches and crime in Northern Germany, Volume 2, Hamburg 2003, p. 236 and 240.