Girkenroth

coat of arms	Germany map
	Coordinates: 50 ° 31 '  N , 7 ° 58'  E
Basic data
State :	Rhineland-Palatinate
County :	Westerwaldkreis
Association municipality :	Westerburg
Height :	400 m above sea level NHN
Area :	2.77 km 2
Residents:	600 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density :	217 inhabitants per km 2
Postal code :	56459
Area code :	06435
License plate :	WW
Community key :	07 1 43 226
Association administration address:	Neumarkt 1 56457 Westerburg
Website :	www.girkenroth.de
Mayoress :	Claudia Schmidt
Location of the local community Girkenroth in the Westerwaldkreis

Girkenroth (Rood) in an excerpt from the Nassovia Comitatus, copperplate engraving, engraved by Salomon Rogiers, published by Blaeu, probably 1641

Girkenroth is a municipality in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate . It belongs to the community of Westerburg .

Geographical location

Girkenroth is 7 km south of Westerburg at the foot of the Watzenhahn forest area .

Cultural monuments

See the list of cultural monuments in Girkenroth

history

Girkenroth was first mentioned in a document in 1516 as Gergerode . The word ending -rode, -roth refers to the medieval clearing of forests for the production of arable and pasture land.

Population development

The development of the population of Girkenroth, the values ​​from 1871 to 1987 are based on censuses:

year Residents 1815 202 1835 306 1871 364 1905 331 1939 391

year Residents 1950 413 1961 432 1970 541 1987 572 2005 611

politics

Municipal council

The council in Girkenroth consists of twelve council members, who in the local elections on May 26, 2019 in a majority vote were elected, and the volunteer local mayor as chairman.

mayor

Claudia Schmidt became mayor of Girkenroth in 2014. In the direct election on May 26, 2019, she was confirmed in her office for another five years with a share of the vote of 57.18%.

Schmidt's predecessor Udo Sturm held the office from 1988 to 2014.

coat of arms

Blazon : “Split of gold and silver by a curved green tip, inside a golden ear; three blue sloping beams on the left, three black basalt columns on the right. "

Justification of the coat of arms: The three blue bars on a golden background show the coat of arms of the noble von Ottenstein family, who had their ancestral seat, which had already become desolate in the 14th century, within today's Girkenroth district. A field name still indicates this seat today. The von Ottenstein owned the village itself in the late Middle Ages and early modern times. The basic color green indicates the forest areas surrounding the village and the pasture management, which is important here up to our days (community cattle herd until the 1960s). Agriculture as the most important source of nutrition up until the 20th century is also symbolized by the golden ear. The three basalt columns on a silver background are supposed to symbolize the basalt massif Watzenhahn, at the foot of which lies the village of Girkenroth. In our century, quarrying in the local quarry became an important source of income for the residents.

Economy and Infrastructure

traffic

• The federal road 8 , which leads from Emmerich to Passau , runs south of the municipality .
• The next motorway junction is Diez on the A3 .
• The closest connection to the local rail transport is at the Westerburg train station and at the Willmenrod stop on the RB90, Westerwald-Sieg-Bahn ( Limburg (Lahn) - Diez Ost - Westerburg - Hachenburg - Altenkirchen - Au (Sieg) - Betzdorf (Sieg) - Siegen )
• The closest connection to long-distance rail traffic is Montabaur station on the high-speed route Cologne – Rhine / Main .

and display information about the image

Girkenroth, June 2011

Web links

Commons : Girkenroth  - Collection of Images

• Internet presence of the local community Girkenroth
• Local community Girkenroth on the website of the community community Westerburg
• Short portrait of Girkenroth on SWR television

Individual evidence

1. ↑ State Statistical Office of Rhineland-Palatinate - population status 2019, districts, communities, association communities ( help on this ).
2. ↑ Forests and people through the ages
3. ↑ State Statistical Office Rhineland-Palatinate - regional data
4. ^ The Regional Returning Officer Rhineland-Palatinate: Local elections 2019, city and municipal council elections
5. ↑ Angela Baumeier: Girkenroth now has a village chronicle: A Westerwald community through the ages . Westerwälder Zeitung, August 9, 2018, accessed on July 11, 2020 . 
6. ^ The Regional Returning Officer Rhineland-Palatinate: direct elections 2019. see Westerburg, Verbandsgemeinde, eighth line of results. Retrieved July 11, 2020 . 
7. ^ Former mayors. Girkenroth parish, accessed on July 11, 2020 .