Heldburger Land
The Heldburger Land cultural landscape lies between the Helling , Kreck and Rodach rivers , is part of the Itz-Baunach hill country and the southernmost part of the Free State of Thuringia and the Hildburghausen district . The Heldburger Land is called in the administrative language Heldburger Unterland , in colloquial language also Heldburger Zipfel . It is enclosed on three sides between the northern areas of the Bavarian districts of Lower and Upper Franconia and borders the Rhön-Grabfeld district in the west, the Haßberge district in the south and the Coburg district in the east. The borders of the Heldburger Land roughly coincide with those of the historic Saxon district of Heldburg. To the north, the districts of Hildburghausen and Heldburg met at Streufdorf , the line Linden –Streufdorf roughly forms the northern border. The total area is about 180 km². In terms of culture and linguistic history, the Heldburger Land is part of the Franconia region . The Franconian dialect spoken here is called Itzgründisch and belongs to the East Franconian dialect area .
history
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The earliest written reports about individual settlements in the Heldburger Land come from the Frankish settlement period in Grabfeldgau : 776 Westhausen (near Hildburghausen) and 783 Hellingen were first mentioned in documents from the Fulda monastery , and in the 9th century in other documents Heldburg and Ummerstadt . The first religious and probably also secular center of the Heldburger Land was Westhausen. In addition to its early mention, the Kilian Church indicates the missionary time of the Irish monks in Franconia. Secular rule in the tribal duchy of Eastern Franconia was exercised by the counts of the so-called Popponen for a long time . The Fulda Abbey later lost its influence to the Diocese of Würzburg . After the turn of the first millennium, the Thuringian landgrave house grew, merged with the Popponen family and the Henneberg rulers took over power, the headquarters were at Henneberg Castle near Meiningen. Soon afterwards the Hennebergers gained influence in the Heldburger Land, in the area of Strufe Castle, in the middle of the rulership of the Diocese of Würzburg. The powers of both ruling houses have overlapped for centuries. Poppo VI. resided at Strufe Castle, today the Straufhain castle ruins . It was also the seat of the court. In 1317 the cent and regional court was relocated to Heldburg Castle and Strufe Castle lost its former importance. Even under the Hennebergers, Heldburg was the new administrative center, it consisted of the Heldburg and Hildburghausen centers .
Duke Johann Casimir (Saxony-Coburg) used the castle as a hunting lodge for decades. On the occasion of his wedding (supplement) to Princess Margarethe of Braunschweig-Lüneburg in September 1599, numerous guests of the Duke stayed there, in addition to the bride, Margrave Georg Friedrich I (Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach) , Duke Ernst II (Braunschweig-Lüneburg) , Duke Wilhelm Kettler of Courland and Semigallia and Duke Johann Ernst (Saxony-Eisenach) , each with their court.
After several conquests and looting in the Thirty Years War, the Heldburg was fortified and in 1776 it was the residence of the Ernestine dukes of Saxony-Hildburghausen and finally in 1871 it was owned by the Meiningen Princely House. Duke Georg II (Sachsen-Meiningen) had it completely renovated from 1874–1898 and lived in it from May 1877 onwards with his wife Helene Freifrau von Heldburg.
Duke Bernhard II abdicated in 1918, but the ducal family retained the right to live in the side residence of Veste Heldburg. The duchies of Saxe-Meiningen and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha had expired and the Free States of Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Meiningen came into being. The former Coburg rule joined the Free State of Bavaria in 1920 after a referendum. The office of Heldburg came to the newly formed Free State of Thuringia. This brought about the state of affairs that still exists today that the Heldburger Zipfel is surrounded on three sides by Bavarian territory. Another chapter in the history of the Heldburger Land under the rule of the Wettins, which had lasted since 1374, had come to an end. Since the Thirty Years' War, the Amt of Heldburg had belonged to the Duchy of Saxony-Gotha for 40 years (1640 to 1680), 146 years to the Duchy of Saxony-Hildburghausen (1680 to 1826) and another 92 years to the area of the Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen (1826 to 1918) .
geography
relief
The highest point in the Heldburger Land is the Straufhain , it is 449 meters high and carries the Straufhain castle ruins . The 406 meter high, more striking mountain with the fortress Heldburg is 10 km south. It has no name of its own and is called Burgberg or Vestungsberg. On the western edge of the area, a ridge stretches from north to south, the highest elevations of which are the Hexenhügel (417 m), the Kornberg (405 m) and the Spanshügel (444 m). In the east, the two aforementioned castle-bearing mountains dominate the landscape, to the south, on the border with the Coburg region , lies the Hohe Stein (405 m), where many border paths cross.
Waters
The dominant flowing body of water is the little river Kreck (river) , one source of which is near Streufdorf, three other tributaries are named Westhäuser, Gompertshäuser and Gellershäuser Kreck. Coming from the Holzhäuser valley, the Saarbach flows into the Kreck near Heldburg. The slipway drains the Hellinger Valley and only flows into the Kreck south of the Heldburger Land near Autenhausen . The Kreck flows into the Rodach (Itz) near Gemünda in Bavaria. In the east, the Rodach (Itz), the source of which is close to Hildburghausen, crosses the border between Thuringia and Bavaria several times. All of the named rivers ultimately carry their water into the Upper Franconian Itz , which ultimately flows into the Main.
Alongside several small ponds, there is the Lauter reservoir near Rieth (approx. 20 hectares), the Westhausen reservoir (approx. 20 hectares) and two small reservoirs near Hellingen. In the old days the Heldburger Land had a lake under the Heldburg Fortress. Today's meadows at the confluence of the Saarbach in the Kreck were flooded and formed the Heldburger or Hundshauker lake of approx. 25.5 hectares with flourishing fish farming. The Meiningen Duke Georg I (reign 1782-1803) made a new agricultural policy and drained numerous bodies of water in the Duchy of Meiningen, including this lake.
geology
From a geological point of view, the Heldburger Land is Keuper area with strong clay layers, sandstone deposits and basalt breakthroughs (Straufhain, Höhenberg, the nearby Gleichberge near Römhild ). All breakthroughs are of volcanic origin. The Heldburger Burgberg also consists of basaltic rock called phonolite (Klingstein). Basalt comes to the surface in the entire area north and west of Heldburg. Several basalt veins run through the landscape, some of them just below the surface over long stretches. The most famous of these is called the Hell or Heidenmauer and runs from Gleichamberg past Gleicherwiesen and Linden to Trappstadt and on to the Main. The geologists call the many basalt veins running from northeast to southwest the Heldburger gangschar . In the Tertiary, basalt magma penetrated into a fissure system caused by plate tectonics, the “Heldburger Gangschar” formed. These "hardships" offered greater resistance to the subsequent erosion and now protrude from the landscape. Clay and marl were more susceptible to erosion, while the more resistant sandstones and basalts remained as ridges and knolls.
The “Keuperrangen” geotope is located southeast of Heldburg. Layers of the bubble sandstone in the middle Keuper are exposed . The Keup layers are penetrated by a basalt dike.
Natural resources
In 1665 ten stone quarries, twelve clay pits, eleven lime kilns and 13 brickworks were operated in the district of Heldburg. Clay pits were used for pottery in Ummerstadt until the 20th century, the craft has ceased. The emerging sandstone was or is being mined in several places as so-called Coburg building sandstone or fortress sandstone. A number of sandstone banks contain fossil deposits, after which they are called Semionotus sandstone. As a companion to the sandstone, gypsum is stored in the ground in various states. It used to be mined as fertilizer, in the early days it was popular for stucco work. In some places gypsum alabaster is found, a marble-like, more or less translucent plaster of paris . Between Heldburg and Hellingen (Kreitberg or Amyssenhügel) it is immaculate white and tough enough for sculpting. The most famous work from it is the twelve meter high Renaissance epitaph for Duke Johann Friedrich II in the Morizkirche Coburg .
Groundwater seeping through layers of gypsum results in spring water with a high lime content and a bitter taste, a common phenomenon in the Heldburger Land that led to problems with the drinking water supply. The bitter water was used in the Lindenau salt works to produce Epsom salts. Several wells drilled provided the required brine with a few interruptions for centuries. A graduation system ensured higher concentrations. At the beginning of the 20th century there was an attempt to set up brine baths in Lindenau-Friedrichshall. The thermal brine operation was later relocated to Bad Colberg, the clinic there with thermal baths uses its own springs. The operation of the Heldburger Bahn was not possible with the calcareous water of the Heldburger Land, the water had to be treated in a special plant in Lindenau. Today the Heldburger Land is supplied with drinking water through a long-distance water pipe from the Schönbrunn dam.
Flora and fauna
Nature reserves and monuments
- European bird sanctuary Rodachaue with Bischofsau and Althellinger Grund, a protected area of European importance, part of the NATURA 2000 network of protected areas.
- Alstergrund nature reserve with border strip near Käßlitz
- Langer Berg nature reserve near Schweickershausen
- Nature reserve: Althellinger Grund and Kreckaue
- Fauna-flora-habitat area forests in Grabfeld : Straufhain forest area near Streufdorf, part of the NATURA 2000 network of protected areas
- Weidenallee natural monument in Friedrichshall
- Species protection, research and bat center Billmuthausen in the cultural monument Grenzturm Billmuthausen
Woods
The Heldburg Forestry Office is the southernmost forestry office in Thuringia with six forest districts. The forest districts Ummerstadt, Heldburg, Hellingen, Rieth and partly Straufhain belong to the Heldburger Land. The forests in the region are characterized by a high proportion of communal forests. Deciduous forests shape the forest landscape in many places. The natural forest communities are hornbeam and rennet-oak-hornbeam forests with varying degrees of involvement of beech and hardwood. The forests are often mixed stands. In addition to the main tree species spruce, pine, oak and beech, there are also many other species in varying proportions, e.g. B. larch, hornbeam, sycamore maple, winter linden or service tree. The forestry office extends over three growth areas and comprises 18,000 hectares of forest, 60% of which is municipal property. The largest part (47%) is taken up by the Franconian Keuper south of the Streufdorf - Linden line. The Heldburg Forestry Office is one of the main oak deposits in Thuringia. Sessile oak and English oak have a share of 22% in the entire Itz-Baunach hill country. The oak is the real character tree of the region.
Wild plants
The flora of the Heldburger Land is rich in species. Rare plant communities can be found on the outstanding basalt mountains. In the shade of oak and hornbeam forests, contiguous areas of arum, lily of the valley, cowslips, liverwort, forget-me-nots and bear's garlic thrive. The Burgberg near Heldburg, the Straufhain, the Hexenhügel and the somewhat more distant Gleichberge have carpets of flowers in spring. Large parts of the forests are designated as nature reserves. The Green Belt Germany surrounds the Heldburger Land as a striped biotope instead of the former inner-German border.
Wildlife
The species-rich bird life is particularly striking here. The attentive observer will find species such as red-backed horns, goldenhammer, whinchat and blackcap almost everywhere on the Green Belt. The bluethroat has increased significantly in some areas. Occasionally you can see tree falcons, gray shrike and the gray bugs that occur locally in southern Thuringia. The man-made reservoirs of the Heldburger Land offer many swamp and water bird species suitable resting places during their passage. Some occurrences of meadow-breeding bird species are known on the extensively used and moist grassland areas of the stream meadows. The species that are threatened with extinction in Thuringia are the lapwing, common snipe and corncrake. The Bluethroat, which was considered threatened with extinction just a few years ago, can be seen again in the Heldburger Land. The beaver is at home again in undisturbed watercourses. The extensive oak stocks allow an endangered insect to survive: the stag beetle .
climate
The climate of the Heldburger Land is characterized by its location between the upper Main Valley in the south and the Thuringian Forest in the north. It corresponds to the climate of Franconia : sunny and relatively warm; especially in summer the area is one of the sunniest in Germany. There is comparatively little rain; even summer thunderstorms are often less productive than in Bavaria or in the south-west of the republic. Nevertheless, it is raining enough to enable extensive agriculture and viticulture. The climate change has made the winters in Franconia sunnier, as the data analysis by the Institute for Weather and Climate Communication shows.
Places in the Heldburger Land
- Adelhausen , part of the municipality of Straufhain
- Albingshausen , part of the city of Heldburg
- Bad Colberg , part of the city of Heldburg
- Billmuthausen , memorial on the inner-German border (political desolation )
- Einöd , part of the city of Heldburg
- Eisausen , part of the municipality of Straufhain
- Erlebach , memorial on the inner-German border (political desertification)
- Friedrichshall , part of the municipality of Lindenau
- Gellershausen , part of the city of Heldburg
- Gompertshausen , part of the city of Heldburg
- Haubinda , part of the Westhausen community
- Heldburg , part of the city of Heldburg
- Hellingen , part of the city of Heldburg
- Holzhausen , part of the city of Heldburg,
- Käßlitz , part of the city of Heldburg
- Leitenhausen , memorial on the inner-German border (political desolation)
- Linden , part of the municipality of Straufhain
- Lindenau , part of the city of Heldburg
- Massenhausen , part of the municipality of Straufhain
- Poppenhausen , part of the city of Heldburg
- Rieth , part of the city of Heldburg
- Wickedness
- Schweickershausen
- Seidingstadt , part of the municipality of Straufhain
- Sophienthal , part of the municipality of Straufhain
- Steinfeld , part of the municipality of Straufhain
- Stressenhausen , part of the municipality of Straufhain
- Streufdorf , part of the municipality of Straufhain
- Ummerstadt
- Völkershausen , part of the city of Heldburg
- Volkmannshausen , part of the city of Heldburg
- Westhausen
Ummerstadt (granted twice: Henneberg before 1347, Saxon 1394) and Heldburg (Saxon 1394) have city rights . Bad Colberg has been officially recognized as a place with mineral springs and a spa since 2002 .
Administrative division
- Administrative community Heldburger Unterland (2 cities and 5 municipalities)
- Unified community of Straufhain (9 districts, of which Streufdorf, Seidingstadt and Linden are part of the Heldburger Land)
Residents
The Heldburger Land is the most sparsely populated region in Thuringia, with an average of 35 inhabitants per square kilometer. Population figures (2011 census):
- Total population of Heldburger Land: 6382
- Straufhain community: 2795, of which approx. 1430 belong to the Heldburger Land (proportion estimated)
- City of Bad-Colberg-Heldburg: 2098.
- Hellingen municipality: 1039.
- Westhausen community: 549
- City of Ummerstadt: 492
- Community of Gompertshausen: 456
- Community Bad Kind: 166
- Schweickershausen community: 152
Economy and Transport
Agriculture
Agriculture dominates in the Heldburger Land. The arable and meadow areas are used by agricultural companies and eco-farms. Large meadows and pastures enable cattle and sheep to be raised. Until the end of the 18th century, the warm and calcareous southern slopes of the Heldburger Land were a flourishing wine-growing region, a northern extension of the Main wine-growing region. The end of viticulture had natural causes, especially extremely severe frosts. In the 21st century, viticulture has returned to the Heldburger Land. There is another vineyard on the Brummharz near Schlechtsart. Hop cultivation, which was widespread for a long time, has ceased.
Industry, craft and services
The cities of Bad Colberg-Heldburg, Ummerstadt and the municipality of Streufdorf have designated industrial areas in which small businesses, service providers and manufacturing companies have settled, e.g. B. Construction companies, metal construction, toolmaking, plastics processing. Smaller companies in the wood and food processing industry and handicraft businesses are also included. The Rehabilitation Clinic Bad Colberg GmbH with its public terrace thermal bath in the Bad Colberg district of the city of Bad Colberg-Heldburg occupies an outstanding position as an employer.
traffic
No long-distance roads cross the Heldburger Land. The roads connecting the town largely correspond to the historically grown routes and are adapted to the geographical conditions. The road network is in good condition. The A 73 motorway can be reached from Heldburg after 20 km near Coburg.
Bus routes connect the Heldburger Land with the district town of Hildburghausen.
In 1888 the Heldburger Land was connected to the rail network with a narrow-gauge line. The Hildburghausen-Lindenau-Friedrichshall railway line , also known as the Heldburger Bahn , initially led to Heldburg and was extended to Lindenau-Friedrichshall in 1895. It existed until 1946, when it was demanded as reparation by the Russian occupation forces, dismantled and taken away with sleepers, rails, locomotives and rolling stock. The train stations in Heldburg and Seidingstadt have been preserved, as has the terminal at the Saline loading ramp in Lindenau-Friedrichshall.
The cycle path network is in good condition and is constantly being expanded (see tourism).
Culture and tourism
tourism
The tourist office Heldburger Land e. V. takes care of the development of touristic opportunities and the care of visitors. The seat of the association is Heldburg. The Rodachtal e. V. promotes the cross-border economic development of rural areas in the area of the municipalities of Straufhain, Bad Colberg-Heldburg, Ummerstadt, Bad Rodach , Weitramsdorf , Seßlach , Ahorn and Itzgrund . The seat of the association is Ummerstadt.
Regular events
Events with a national impact:
- Thuringian Montgolfiade (ballooning)
- Thuringian-Franconian hiking day
- Castle festival with medieval market at Veste Heldburg (Whitsun)
- Castle garden festival on the fortress Heldburg (Ascension)
- City festivals in Heldburg and Ummerstadt
- Concerts at the Veste Heldburg
- Borderland ultra run
In many communities and districts, the fair and brewery and bakery festivals take place annually. Gompertshausen celebrates a vineyard festival, while Heldburg celebrates the Kuhseefest.
Hiking and biking trails
A network of paths opens up the Heldburger Land. The centerpiece is the approximately 100 km long two-country route Rodachtal. It leads as a circular hiking trail through the Rodach Valley area. Parts of the long-distance hiking trails Saar-Schlesien-Weg, Rückert-Weg, Amtsbotenweg and the castle educational trail in the Hassberge Nature Park are integrated into the Heldburger Land network of trails. Small circular hiking trails between 2 and 13 km in length lead from the towns and villages to sights and natural beauties of the region. The Werra-Obermain cycle path is a branch of the Werratal cycle path and leads from Hildburghausen through the Heldburger Land and on via Seßlach to Bad Staffelstein, where it reaches the Main cycle path.
Museums
- German Castle Museum on the Veste Heldburg: On September 8, 2016, the German Castle Museum was opened on the Veste Heldburg.
- Straufhain castle ruins : open-air facility, remains of the wall of the palace, landscape protection area
- Two-country museum Streufdorf in the gaden (kemenaten) of the churchyard: history and culture of the region, plus outstations in Heldburger Land
- Billmuthausen memorial : open-air memorial (outdoor station of the Zweiländermuseum Streufdorf) to commemorate the destroyed village on the inner-German border, cemetery with memorial chapel, memorial cross, fountain, millstone
- Local museums in Ummerstadt, Heldburg (old brewery), Rieth (tithe barn).
literature
- P. Lehfeld: Architectural and art monuments of Thuringia. Booklet XXXI, Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen, Heldburg and Römhild district court districts, 1904. (Reprint: Verlag Rockstuhl, Bad Langensalza 2013, ISBN 978-3-86777-378-2 )
- E. Fritze: The fortress Heldburg. Jena 1903. (Reprint: Verlag Frankenschwelle, Hildburghausen 1990, ISBN 3-86180-016-0 )
- Max-Rainer Uhrig: The Heldburger Land. In: Frankenland, magazine for Franconian regional studies and culture. Issue 6, Würzburg, June 1990 ( digitized version , PDF; 1.58 MB)
- Norbert Klaus Fuchs: Billmuthausen - The condemned village. Verlag Frankenschwelle Hildburghausen, 1991. (2nd edition: Greifenverlag, Rudolstadt / Berlin 2009, ISBN 978-3-86939-004-8 )
- Norbert Klaus Fuchs: The Heldburger Land - a historical travel guide. Fiedler-Verlag Coburg, 1994. (New edition: Verlag Rockstuhl, Bad Langensalza 2013, ISBN 978-3-86777-349-2 )
- Hans Löhner: The "Bimmelbähnle" from Hildburghausen to Lindenau-Friedrichshall: A Thuringian narrow-gauge railway into Heldburger Land. Self-published / Offizin Hildburghausen, 1994. (2nd edition: Verlag Michael Resch, Neustadt / Coburg 2000, ISBN 3-9805967-5-3 )
- Gerd Geyer, Hermann Schmidt-Kaler: Coburg country and Heldburger gang. Verlag Pfeil, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-89937-068-6 .
- Initiative Rodachtal (ed.): Wandervielfalt Rodachtal. Ummerstadt approx. 2006, OCLC 634786689 . (Brochure with directions, maps, information, available from the guest information in Bad Colberg and Streufdorf)
cards
- Bad Rodach thermal baths, Bad Colberg baths, Heldburger Land, Gleichberge. (= Fritsch hiking map 140). Fritsch Landkartenverlag e. K., Hof / Saale approx. 2000, ISBN 3-86116-140-0 .
- Cycling & hiking map with riding trails in the Hildburghausen district. 2nd Edition. Kartographische Kommunale Verlagsgesellschaft, Nordhausen 2011, ISBN 978-3-86973-013-4 .
- Principality of Hildburghausen with the offices of Eisfeld, Hildburghausen, Schalkau, Sonnenfeld, Heldburg, Königsberg, Office Römhild and Office Seßlach. JB Homann, Norimbergae 1729. (Reprint: Rockstuhl-Verlag, Bad Langensalza 1999, ISBN 3-932554-63-9 )
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