Lahr (Westerwald)

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Lahr
Coordinates: 50 ° 30 ′ 35 ″  N , 8 ° 7 ′ 37 ″  E
Height : 257  (210-398)  m above sea level NHN
Area : 7.41 km²
Residents : 1273  (Jan 2012)
Population density : 172 inhabitants / km²
Incorporation : April 1, 1972
Postal code : 65620
Area code : 06479
View of Lahr
View of Lahr

Lahr is a district of the municipality of Waldbrunn (Westerwald) in the Limburg-Weilburg district in Central Hesse . The place is located on the Kerkerbach on the southern edge of the Oberwesterwald . It has about 1300 inhabitants. The place, mentioned for the first time in 782, has long played a central role as a church and market place for the surrounding villages. The townscape of the former clustered village is still dominated by the Romanesque pillar basilica of St. Johannes Beheading . In the period from 1337 to 1866 the place belonged, with interruptions, to the sphere of influence of the House of Nassau .

geography

Geographical location

The Kerkerbach near the beater mill
The former basalt quarry "Füllburg" between Lahr and Waldernbach

Lahr is located in the southern Westerwald , about 18 kilometers north of Limburg an der Lahn , 12 kilometers west of Weilburg and 13 kilometers east of Westerburg . The place is in Hesse and is about two kilometers from Rhineland-Palatinate . The district has a size of 7.41 km². The place is on the western border within the district. The largest part of the district therefore extends east of the village towards Merenberg and Heckholzhausen. Here the border is about 2 to 2.5 km from the outskirts.

The neighboring places are, starting from the north, clockwise: Waldernbach ( municipality Mengerskirchen ), Merenberg ( municipality Merenberg ), Heckholzhausen ( municipality Beselich ), Hintermeilingen with impact mill, Ellar , Hausen , Fussingen (municipality Waldbrunn Westerwald), Neunkirchen ( Verbandsgemeinde Rennerod ) . Neunkirchen belongs to the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, the other places to the Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse.

Lahr is located in the formerly swamped source basin of the Kerkerbach , above 210 m above sea level and is surrounded by wooded basalt ridges. Further sources of the Kerkerbach can be found near Fussingen. The highest elevation is the Backenscheid at 390 m above sea ​​level, followed by the mountain Füllburg at 358 m above sea ​​level, both north of Lahr towards Waldernbach. This ridge continues east over the Pilzberg (346 m above sea ​​level), Steinbühl and Maiberg (290 m above sea ​​level) to the Kerkerbach. The valley is open to the south, here the Kerkerbach meanders towards Heckholzhausen. A ridge extends south of the Kerkerbach cut between Lahr and Hintermeilingen from the mountains Honig (312 m above sea level) Steinkopf (329 m above sea level) and Obernholz (331 m above sea level) towards Ellar.

geology

Geological map of the “Lahn / Dill region” and adjacent areas. Lahr is then in the west in the Westerwald between Westerburg and Weilburg

The place is in the transition area between the Oberwesterwald and the Limburg Basin in the Oberwesterwald hill country . The subsoil consists of Upper Devonian slate , which emerges at the Kerkerbach incision in the direction of Heckholzhausen. This layer is about 300 million years old. Tertiary deposits formed over this layer, especially during the Miocene period around 20 million years ago. These essentially consist of basalts and clays , but also lignite , phosphorite , copper ores , pyrite , iron ores and manganese ores . The topsoil is loess .

climate

The annual mean temperature is 7.5 ° C. The mean annual rainfall is around 750 millimeters, which is slightly less than in the Oberwesterwald. Due to the medium altitude between the Lahn valley and the high Oberwesterwald, there are only a few foggy days.

history

The map of the topographical survey of the Rhineland from 1819, on which Lahr is recorded

The place was probably founded during a pre-Germanic settlement period. Finds are known of the Dornburg , the Heidenhäuschen , near Fussingen and near Heckholzhausen , which prove a Celtic settlement during the late Hallstatt period and the La Tène period .

According to a document dated June 10, 782, a certain Frechkolf gave land to the Lorsch Monastery “in Pago Logenehe in villa Lara”. This document could be the oldest mention of the place Lahr. The assignment of the certificate is controversial, however, as it could also refer to Lohra near Marburg .

The first clear documentary mention was made in 1213. Lahr was the central place of the Zent Lahr and seat of the parish of the parish of the same name. The Zent Lahr was part of the Office Ellar . 14 localities belonged to the center and the parish. In addition to the towns of Ellar, Hausen, Fussingen, Lahr and Hintermeilingen, which today belong to the municipality of Waldbrunn, these were the town of Waldernbach and today's desert areas of Oberlahr, Bortelbach, Brechelbach, Breitenbach, Winnau , Renderode, Graleshofen and Oberndorf.

The deserts of Oberlahr (between Lahr Waldernbach and Fussingen) and Gralshofen (about one kilometer east of Lahr) were in the area of ​​today's district. Like Lahr, Oberlahr was first mentioned in a document in 1213. Oberndorf was about a kilometer south of Ellar, Brechelbach between Hausen and Neunkirchen am Lasterbach, Breitenbach east of Waldernbach, the rest in today's forest between Waldernbach Elsoff and Neunkirchen. Oberndorf is reminiscent of the Oberndorfer Hof , which is located at the former location.

Territorial history and administration

Towards the end of the Carolingian era , the office of Ellar with the four cents belonged to the Niederlahngau of the Duchy of Franconia . In Lahr there was a court of the Lords of Molsberg, which passed to the County of Diez in the 13th century . The Counts of Diez moved the court to Ellar. This step was directed against the Lords of Westerburg , who, as bailiffs of the St. Severus monastery in Gemünden, also had the bailiff's rights over the parish of Lahr.

From 1315 the Lahr district was pledged to the Merenberg rulership . The redemption took place before 1333. In 1337, the County of Diez mortgaged the areas again, this time to the House of Nassau-Hadamar . The redemption took place between 1356 and 1362.

In 1367, the County of Diez ceded the office of Ellar to the County of Katzenelnbogen with the Zent Lahr as a dowry . After the end of the dispute over the succession of the County of Nassau-Hadamar, the house of Nassau-Dillenburg received a third of the Ellar office in 1408 , the rest remained with the County of Katzenelnbogen.

With the death of Philipp von Katzenelnbogen in 1479, the counts of Katzenelnbogen died out in the male line. There was a long-running dispute between the Counts of Nassau-Dillenburg and the Landgraviate of Hesse over the rich inheritance. As the closest relative of Philip, Heinrich III. of Hessen-Marburg possession of the Katzenelnbogen inheritance. In 1534 the Hessian landgraves sold half of their share to Kurtrier . With the settlement in the Katzenelnbogen succession dispute in 1555, the Ellar office came completely to Nassau-Dillenburg.

Boundary stone 113 of the border between Orange-Nassau and Nassau-Weilburg

When the Nassau-Dillenburg estate was divided in 1607, the Ellar office was assigned to the newly founded county of Nassau-Hadamar under Count Johann Ludwig . In 1650 the county was elevated to a principality . After the extinction of the House of Nassau-Hadamar in 1711, the principality was divided several times between the other Ottonian lines of the House of Nassau. Lahr fell to the Nassau-Dillenburg family in 1717, to the Nassau-Diez family in 1739 , to the Nassau-Siegen family (Catholic) in 1742/43 , and again to Nassau-Diez in 1743 as the last Ottonian line.

In 1806 Lahr was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Berg . The place was from 1807 the main place of the Mairie Lahr in the Canton Hadamar . This belongs to the arrondissement of Dillenburg and thus to the department of Sieg . After the defeat of Napoléon Bonaparte in the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig , the Oran-Nassau sovereignty was restored. However, the House of Orange-Nassau exchanged its property in the Westerwald with the Kingdom of Prussia for Luxembourg at the Congress of Vienna . The Kingdom of Prussia handed over the territory to the Duchy of Nassau on the same day .

Map from 1828 of the Hadamar Office in the Duchy of Nassau

When the offices in the Duchy of Nassau were restructured in 1816, Lahr was added to the Hadamar office. After the annexation of the Duchy of Nassau, Lahr again belonged to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866. There it belonged to the province of Hessen-Nassau and the administrative district of Wiesbaden . In 1866, the Prussian district and provincial order abolished the Nassau office. Lahr belonged to the Oberlahnkreis and from 1886 to the newly founded Limburg district .

In 1945 the place was assigned to the US-American zone of occupation and thus part of Hesse. Lahr belonged to the Wiesbaden administrative district . When it was dissolved in 1968, Lahr became part of the Darmstadt administrative district and in 1981 it became part of the Gießen administrative district . In 1974 the place became part of the newly created district of Limburg-Weilburg .

On April 1, 1972, as part of the regional reform in Hesse, the towns of Lahr, Fussingen and Hausen merged to form the community of Waldbrunn . The name was a compromise of the places involved. On July 1, 1974, the old municipality of Waldbrunn was merged with the municipality of Ellar to form the new municipality of Waldbrunn.

In a letter dated February 28, 1973, the Hessian Interior Minister spoke out against the name Waldbrunn as colorless and unfamiliar. To distinguish it from Waldbrunn (Lower Franconia) , he suggested the name Waldbrunn (Hesse) . The community stood up for the Nemen Waldbrunn (Westerwald) . It was finally given this name on January 1, 1977.

The following list gives an overview of the territories in which Lahr was located and the administrative units to which it was subordinate:

Economic history

In the Middle Ages, the Alte Rheinstraße ran between Lahr and Merenberg as one of the connections from Mainz via Limburg to Siegen . Like the other old streets , it was abandoned when the new highways were built around 1780.

The population lived mainly from the low yield of agriculture on the rather poor soils. Sheep breeding played an important role for a long time . Agriculture had been organized in the three-field economy since the Middle Ages . There was a ban on mills in Hausen and Waldernbach. The big forest was the Grafschafter Wald am Pilsberg. This was a domain forest , the use by the population repeatedly led to conflicts with the authorities.

As a result of the real estate division , smaller and smaller farms were created, which led to the population trying to develop further sources of income. In order to improve the economic situation, many residents were still doing manual work. The most important branch of the trade was man-making ( basket weaving ). Here Lahr was mainly for the bakery men , flat baskets for use in bakeries , famous.

In the Thirty Years War (1618–1648) economic life came to a standstill. Soldiers marching through caused considerable damage to the population with their looting. The poor supply led to the spread of epidemics. In 1679 Lahr had not yet reached the number of inhabitants who lived in the place before the war began.

The peddling began in the 18th century . The Saxon migrants' trade routes stretched from the Rhineland to Saxony and Switzerland . Pottery, linen and clothing were mainly traded. From 1730 onwards, the authorities tried to steer this trade in an orderly manner with the merchant guild regulations for the parishes of Frickhofen and Lahr . The cultivation of potatoes on the fallow fields also began around 1730 .

In 1780 the fair in Lahr was described as the most important fair and the parish of Lahr as the most profitable in Orange-Nassau . The market took place annually on the Tuesday after July 15th and four weeks later, in mid-August. Around 300 cattle were sold at the market, which was also visited by residents of the Principality of Nassau-Weilburg.

Loading ramps for the Maria and Barwir II clay pits on the former Kerkerbach railway near the Schlagmühle

During the Ducal Nassau epoch there was a significant increase in population. Many residents continued to be peddlers. Brauneisenstein and fuller's earth were mined in Lahr .

In 1905 the Schlagmühle station was opened, which connected Lahr to the Kerkerbach Railway . Lahr train station was around two kilometers outside the town and thus about the same distance as Fussingen and Schlagmühle train stations. Lahr station served mainly as a freight station for mining products and wood. The community participated in the construction by purchasing shares in Kerkerbachbahn AG for 4,000  marks . The transport of goods was made easier by the railways, which led to an expansion of mining. The old cellar lignite mines (north of Lahr) and coal mine (east of Lahr) were created. The basalt quarry in Füllburg (near Waldernbach ) was also opened. This had its own station on the railway line.

After the horrors of World War I, the “ Roaring Twenties ” were an era of new beginnings. Agriculture slowly lost its importance. The last shepherd stopped working in 1920. After the land consolidation in 1919/20, the three-field economy practiced since the Middle Ages ended and was replaced by crop rotation . More and more residents used the better transport links and commuted to the Rhineland and the Ruhr area as construction workers . At times there were bus connections to Cologne and Düsseldorf . At the same time, tourism began as a source of income. With the global economic crisis , the Depression began. It became increasingly difficult for commuters to find work and tourism collapsed.

In 1946, lignite mining began again in the “Alte Keller” mine. Up to a hundred people worked there. Production reached its peak in October 1948 with 2,320 tons. According to socialization article 41 of the Hessian constitution , the mine was considered socialized. The Hessian state government therefore supported the operation with loans and made plans to convert it into a state enterprise. But already in 1949 the mine was given up again due to inefficiency. The Kerkerbach Railway was shut down again from 1958 and the tracks were dismantled until 1960. With the end of the Kerkerbach Railway, mining also came to a standstill.

In 1953, the Transport and Beautification Association was founded to stimulate tourism. With the increase in tourism, Lahr achieved state recognition as a resort on November 7, 1973 . In 1980 he joined the Ferienland Westerwald-Lahn-Taunus initiative . On June 21, 1983, state recognition as a climatic health resort followed . The changing travel behavior in the 1980s and 1990s led to a decline in tourism. In the 1980s, the Hessian state government had plans to use the area between Lahr and Merenberg as a location for a reprocessing plant . However, due to popular protests, the plans were never implemented.

The advancing technical development led to a gradual departure from agriculture. The commuter movement increasingly shifted to the Rhine-Main area .

religion

East side of the historic church with choir and defense tower

The old parish church , a Romanesque pillar basilica , was built in the 13th century, it was the center of an original parish that was probably founded earlier . The earliest known pastor was the dean Herr Dietrich , who, as a witness, sealed a certificate for the Beselich monastery on July 1, 1284 . Filial churches were the Appenkirche near Merenberg and the Liebfrauenkirche am Seeweiher near Mengerskirchen.

With the onset of the Reformation in Nassau-Weilburg, the Appenkirche was removed from the parish in 1532. Four years later, the Reformation began in the county of Nassau-Dillenburg. The parish became Lutheran . Calvinism was introduced around 1557 . In the course of the Reformation, the parish school for the region was founded in 1582. Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar initiated the re-catholicization in 1630 .

Jews living in the area of ​​the parish of Lahr have been recorded since the 17th century. The center of the community was the Synagogue in Ellar, founded in 1717 . By 1843 the Jewish community in Amt Ellar had grown to 124 members. Efforts to set up another synagogue in Lahr failed due to the lack of financial capacity of the community. In order to keep the existing community together, the ducal Nassau government took vigorous action against the angular worship services in Lahr.

In 1806, after belonging to the Grand Duchy of Berg , the summer school was introduced. After the place fell to the Duchy of Nassau, the parish school was taken over by the state as part of the school reform in 1817. In the following century, the places belonging to the parish increasingly founded their own parishes. The freedom movement of 1848 meant that the Lahr Catholics made a pilgrimage to the pilgrimage chapel Maria Hilf Beselich for many decades and impressively proclaimed their faith there.

The new church was built between 1964 and 1966 and consecrated on October 30, 1966.

Local history

Middle Ages and Early Modern Times

Little is known about the village from before the 17th century. Most of the documents concern sovereign rights or can be assigned to church history. The Counts of Nassau-Dillenburg and Katzenelnbogen freed the parish villages in 1450 against payment of an annual fee for labor .

In 1614, a plague epidemic raged in Hintermeilingen, Ellar and Lahr. In the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) the village was almost destroyed. Other places in the neighborhood disappeared from the map. In 1619 Bavarian and Habsburg soldiers looted the place. In 1622/23 the troops of the imperial general Johann t'Serclaes von Tilly took winter quarters in the Westerwald. Holstein troops were housed in the office of Ellar . In 1624 the place was sacked again by imperial troops. In 1632/33 there was severe devastation by Swedish troops. As a result, the plague broke out among the suffering population. The plague broke out again as early as 1636/37. The Jesuit priest Rutger Hesselmann made a contribution to nursing the sick in Lahr. He died of the plague on April 30, 1637 and was buried at the request of Princess Ursula von Nassau-Hadamar in the Church of Our Lady in Hadamar. In 1640 the Swedish troops took up quarters in the Amt Ellar. There were two soldiers for every inhabitant. In 1646, Lahr was again plundered by imperial troops, who burned everything but a few houses. During the Thirty Years War, five residents of Lahr died as soldiers in imperial service.

In 1736 the Lahr farmers took part in the “lace dispute”, an uprising against the new sovereign in Dillenburg. The cause was the war tax that Prince Christian von Nassau-Dillenburg had imposed on the villages. The farmers chased the seizure officers out of the villages. About 1,600 farmers gathered for an army camp at the Seeweiher near Mengerskirchen. The peasants had brought cattle and movable property to other rulers across the nearby borders. At the same time, the farmers called the Reich Chamber of Commerce . However, on June 13, 1736, the court upheld Christian von Nassau-Dillenburg in his rights and sentenced the farmers to a fine. But Christian had to ask the princes of Nassau-Weilburg for help to enforce the sentence.

The murder cross for Wilhelm Keyl

During the Seven Years' War , the village was temporarily occupied by French troops in 1759 . The Waldernbach farmer Wilhelm Keyl was shot by them on the Backenscheid between Lahr and Waldernbach. The murder cross , which indicates the person responsible for the crime, is a reminder of the crime to this day .

During the 18th century there were repeated disputes with Merenberg over the border in the area of ​​the Pilzberg. This dispute strained the relationship between Nassau-Hadamar and Nassau-Weilburg. It culminated in the issuing of the shooting order to the Nassau-Weilburg forest ranger in Merenberg on all Lahrer who used the forest claimed by Merenberg. The dispute was settled with the marking of the border in 1772/73. On March 4, 1790, a fire raged in the village, which caused considerable damage.

During the First Coalition War , from 1792 onwards, troop marches and billeting took place again. In 1795 French troops looted the places in the Amt Ellar. According to a list by the bailiff Creutzer from 1795 to 1800 the damage caused in Lahr amounted to 57,369 guilders, 24 albus and 4 pfennig. On November 21, 1810, six people from Lahr were doing French military service.

Duchy of Nassau

During the 19th century there were isolated emigrations to North America. The emigrants even included the Lahr mayor and miller of Vöhlermühle Wilhelm Heun, who emigrated with his family to Nebraska , Colfax County , in 1867 and founded the town of Heun there.

In 1830/31 a typhus epidemic raged, from which the school teacher Bausch died. This was the reason to press ahead with the long-planned construction of a new school building. This was inaugurated in Bornweg in 1833. The choir was first mentioned in 1839 . It is thus one of the oldest choral societies in the Westerwald.

In October 1848 the German Revolution reached the Westerwald. After initial tumult and tax refusals, open resistance broke out when the military tried to collect pawns for taxes. On February 5, 1849, there were widespread riots. In Lahr the population forcibly removed the mayor . With Wilhelm Heun, a mayor was elected by the population for the first time in 1849. In the same year the Lahr pastor Johann Georg Rau became a member of the post-revolutionary estates of the Duchy of Nassau .

Prussia

For the Franco-Prussian War , 27 residents were drafted as soldiers, two died during the campaign. At the end of the 19th century the population had grown so much that the school building on Bornweg was no longer sufficient. Therefore, in 1899 a new school building was started on Gartenstrasse. As early as 1904, a comprehensive water supply for most of the houses in Lahr was built. This was the first water supply network in what is now Waldbrunn. In 1907 the Lahr Volunteer Fire Brigade was founded.

During the First World War , 29 residents died in combat operations, 6 residents were reported missing. On February 28, 1924 there was the first electric light in Lahr, in 1925 the first motorcycle. On December 22nd, 1926, the postal service to Hadamar was opened. The first radio sounded in the baker's shop Schardt . Signs with street names were purchased by the municipality on June 17, 1927. At times there was a local history museum in the town hall.

The spirit of optimism ended with the global economic crisis. The unemployed population built a gymnasium and sports field on Merenberger Weg between 1929 and 1931. In 1932, 60 young people joined forces for voluntary labor service and built the road to Heckholzhausen. After the seizure of power by the Nazis in 1933, the village associations were either brought into line or stopped their work. At least the work of the Nazi killing center Hadamar was known to the population. In September 1936 Lahr was in an extensive maneuvering area . During the Second World War 45 residents were killed and 17 residents were reported missing.

Hesse

The proportion of the population displaced was 8 percent in 1961 and was significantly lower than in the Limburg district as a whole (19 percent). Most of the expellees came from what was then Czechoslovakia .

In the second half of the 1960s, Lahr was hit by the general upswing ( economic boom ). The community developed brisk construction activity. In 1968 a new school was built in the corridor “in front of Weltersbühl”. In the same year a new waterworks was built on the road to Waldernbach. A new sports hall was built between 1968 and 1972 . In 1974 the sports field was expanded. In 1982 the place celebrated its 1200th anniversary.

population

People from 18 nations live in Lahr. The proportion of foreigners is seven percent. The largest foreign population group has Portuguese citizenship, followed by citizens from Serbia and Montenegro .

The predominant religion is Roman Catholic . About 70 percent of the population belong to this belief. The Catholic parish maintains two local churches, operates the kindergarten and the “Winnau” holiday home. With the carol singers , the rattle boys and the Corpus Christi procession, the community in the village has an impact beyond the church. Numerous wayside shrines and crosses characterize the townscape and the district.

About 16 percent of the population belong to the Protestant church . The next Protestant church is in Heckholzhausen. Around 14 percent of the population belong to other religious groups or are non-denominational.

Population development

Lahr: Population from 1751 to 2005
year     Residents
1751
  
 380
1789
  
 424
1810
  
 502
1820
  
 643
1830
  
 643
1834
  
 694
1840
  
 714
1846
  
 767
1852
  
 823
1858
  
 779
1864
  
 854
1871
  
 793
1875
  
 833
1885
  
 830
1895
  
 796
1905
  
 776
1910
  
 718
1925
  
 876
1939
  
 918
1946
  
 1,156
1950
  
 1,116
1956
  
 965
1961
  
 1,074
1967
  
 1,175
1970
  
 1,204
1986
  
 1,333
2005
  
 1,438
Data source: Historical municipality register for Hesse: The population of the municipalities from 1834 to 1967. Wiesbaden: Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt, 1968.
Other sources:

 Source:

year households
1608 20th
1615 21st
1624 18th
1679 23
1751 65
1804 91
1820 147

Religious affiliation

 Source: Historical local dictionary

• 1885: one Protestant (= 0, 12%), 814 Catholic (= 98.07%), 15 Jewish (= 1.81%) residents
• 1961: 37 Protestant (= 3.45%), 1035 Catholic (= 96.37%) residents

politics

For elections to the German Bundestag, the place belongs to constituency 178  Rheingau-Taunus - Limburg , for elections to the Hessian state parliament it belongs to constituency "21 Limburg-Weilburg I ".

With the territorial reform, the municipal administration was transferred to the municipality of Waldbrunn (Westerwald). A local advisory board consists of five members. At the head of the local advisory board is the mayor Ralf Blattmann (as of 2018). The local advisory board has the right to make suggestions and to be heard vis-à-vis the municipal council in matters affecting the locality.

The election of the local council is based on the Hessian municipal electoral law . This provides for cumulation and variegation . The next local election will take place in 2016. The local elections on March 27, 2011 produced the following results for the local council:

Parties and constituencies Seats
2011 		Seats
2006 		Seats
2001
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany 2 3 3
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany 1 0 1
FOAG Waldbrunn Citizens List 2 2 1
total 5 5 5

The place did not have its own coat of arms until the regional reform in the 1970s. In the course of the regional reform, the municipality of Waldbrunn (Westerwald) took over the coat of arms of the village of Ellar as the municipality's coat of arms . A rooster , known as the Lorscher Gickel , serves as the unofficial heraldic animal in the Lahr district .

Culture and sights

The fire station of the Lahr Volunteer Fire Brigade

societies

The cultural life of the village is carried out by the associations. Club life is shaped by the traditional Catholic milieu. There are clubs such as the Catholic Workers' Movement (founded in 1900), the DJK Sportgemeinschaft (founded in 1928) or the Kolping Family (founded in 1946) in the village. The choir community 1839 eV is one of the oldest choral societies in the Westerwald. The mixed choir also works as a church choir .

The Lahr Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded in 1907, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2007. It is the oldest volunteer fire brigade in what is now Waldbrunn. With the youth fire brigade founded on October 26, 1977, it is an important provider of youth work in the area. Since May 2nd, 2009 a children's fire brigade has also been part of it.

Sports

Gym

The place has a sports hall and a football hard court . Several clubs such as the Turn- und Sportverein eV (founded 1921) and the DJK-Sportgemeinschaft (original name: Edelweiß Lahr ) organize an extensive program. The football department of the Turn- und Sportverein eV belonged to the Hausen / Fussingen / Lahr community from 2003 to 2017. She has been a member of FC Waldbrunn since 2017.

natural reserve

The Wiesen protected area north of Lahr

To the north of the village there is a fauna, flora and habitat protection area with the meadows north of Lahr . This protected area is particularly used as a habitat for the endangered species of the dark ( Maculinea nausithous ) and the light blue-fly blue ant ( Maculinea teleius ).

Buildings

Cultural monuments

In addition to the church, there are still a few half-timbered buildings in the town center , in particular the single houses typical of the Westerwald . Some houses built around 1900 have also been preserved. Some of these have an elaborate facade design .

In the former town hall there is a functional baking house (community baking house ) . The building also served as a local prison and was at times a local museum, accommodation for the homeless and displaced persons , a fire station , and is now the clubhouse of the small animal breeding association.

St. John the Baptist

Main article: St. Johannes (Lahr Westerwald)

The most important sight is the church “St. John the Baptist". It consists of the Romanesque pillar basilica from the 13th century, the new octagonal parish church, the massive basalt retaining walls, the rectory, remains of the old parish cemetery and a protected stock of old linden trees.

  • The bakery and town hall in the center

  • West side of the old church above the massive basalt retaining wall between the rectory and the new church

Regular events

The most important festivals of the Catholic village are the carnival parade on Shrove Tuesday and the fair in September. The spring and autumn markets are traditional events. There are also numerous street festivals such as the Backesfest, the fire brigade festival or the parish festival.

The event "Waldbrunn on the Road / Waldbrunn uf de Baa" has been held annually since 2002. The streets in Waldbrunn and in the neighboring towns are closed to motor vehicle traffic for cycling, hiking and skating days. The event is accompanied by an extensive supporting program.

Culinary specialties

The regional cuisine corresponds to the typical Western Forest cuisine. Johann Textor described this in his Nassauer Chronik 1617 with the words: “The house meals / as well with the citizens in the places / as the building: and village people in the country / are either pure: or with barley / oats / beans etc. Bread baked with mixed grain: Bey maalzeiten / and otherwise also wol Weck od 'wheat bread: fresh veal: hammel: sheep: beef and pork: soups or broth / made from wine / beer or milk. ”This list is in the In the following centuries the potato was added as an important food.

The local dishes include: B. the "pan". These are baked eggs with bacon, blood and liver sausage. The “ dip cake ” made from grated potatoes with diced ham and eggs is also a traditional dish and is eaten with “Äppelmok” ( apple sauce ) as a side dish . Another traditional dish is egg cheese , a dessert made from cracked eggs with milk and sugar, which requires special dishes to be prepared using the egg cheese strainer.

Traditional drinks are cider and corn brandy . Meanwhile, however, beer has the predominant importance. As in other places, “Brocksel” was prepared on New Year's Eve, a dish made from gingerbread, brown rock candy and Dauborn corn brandy.

Economy and Infrastructure

Today Lahr has the usual local craft and service companies. However, the majority of the population commutes to work in Limburg or the Rhine-Main area .

traffic

The Borsig locomotive , built in 1901, was erected as a memorial for the Kerkerbach Railway in Heckholzhausen.

There are no highways through the town. The next connection points to the federal highway 49 are in Heckholzhausen. Since the closure of the Kerkerbach Railway in 1958, there has been no railway line. However, there are regular bus routes to Limburg an der Lahn. The distance to Frankfurt Airport is around 80 km.

Lahr is on the Hessian R8 cycle path and the Kerkerbachtal cycle path. The place has an extensive network of signposted hiking trails.

education

In Lahr there is the Catholic kindergarten “St. John the Baptist ”since 1954. The place has a primary school . As a secondary school serve as a main and secondary school the Westerwald school in Waldersbach. The next grammar school is in Hadamar, and secondary schools in Limburg an der Lahn are also attended.

Public facilities

In Lahr, the Lahr Volunteer Fire Brigade , founded in 1907 (since October 26, 1977 with its youth fire brigade and from May 2, 2009 with a children's fire brigade), provides fire protection and general help.

Personalities

Honorary citizen

  • Alfons Heun oCist . (* July 17, 1898 in Lahr, † June 28, 1984 in Dernbach near Marienstatt Monastery ), attended the high school of the boarding school in Marienstatt Monastery. After being ordained a priest on June 16, 1924, he entered the Cistercian order. From 1927 he took over the management of the reconstruction of the orphaned Hardehausen monastery in Westphalia, whose first abbot he became. After the dissolution of the monastery by the Nazi government in 1938, he turned to Brazil and founded the Hardehausen-Itatinga monastery in Itatinga . In 1957 he returned to Germany. Until his death he worked for the Cistercian order in Germany. He was an honorary citizen of his native parish which named a street after him in the new building area that was created in 2008.

Personalities who have worked on site

  • Rutger Hesselman, Jesuit priest († April 30, 1637), who came to re-Catholicize the Principality of Hadamar. During a plague epidemic he did a great job of caring for the sick and was buried in the parish church of Our Lady in Hadamar. A street in Lahr is named after him.

literature

  • Hermann-Josef Hucke (Ed.): Great Westerwaldführer . 3. Edition. Westerwald-Verein eV, Montabaur 1991, ISBN 3-921548-04-7 .
  • Hellmuth Gensicke : State history of the Westerwald . 3. Edition. Historical Commission for Nassau, Wiesbaden 1999. ISBN 3-922244-80-7
  • Walter Rudersdorf : In the shadow of Ellar Castle . Ed .: Municipality of Ellar / Westerwald. Waldemar Kramer, Frankfurt am Main 1967.
  • Walter Rudersdorf : Waldbrunn / Westerwald - From farming village to climatic health resort . Ed .: Community of Waldbrunn Westerwald. 1st edition. Geiger-Verlag, Horb 1986. ISBN 3-89264-015-7
  • Walter Rudersdorf : Chronicle of Hausens - History of a Westerwalddorf . Ed .: The community council of Waldbrunn. 1st edition. Kissel-Verlag, Beselich 1988.
  • Hessischer Rundfunk (Ed.): Hessen à la carte, Spicy from the Westerwald . No. 7 . Hessischer Rundfunk, Frankfurt June 22, 1988.
  • Bernhard Hemmerle : Preserved medieval bells in the Limburg-Weilburg district . In: District Home Office of the Limburg-Weilburg District (Ed.): Yearbook 2006 . Rekom, Wetzlar 2005, p. 259-264 .
  • Sascha Braun: A real gem . In: Diocese of Limburg (ed.): The Sunday . No. 26 , July 15, 2007, pp. 11 .
  • Armin M. Kuhnigk: The 1848 Revolution in the Province . 2nd Edition. Lange, Camberg 1980. ISBN 3-87460-028-9
  • Falko Lehmann: Cultural monuments in the Hesse district Limburg-Weilburg . Ed .: State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen. tape 1 . Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn, Braunschweig / Wiesbaden 1994. ISBN 3-528-06243-6
  • Falko Lehmann: Cultural monuments in the Hesse district Limburg-Weilburg . Ed .: State Office for Monument Preservation Hessen. tape 2 . Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn, Braunschweig / Wiesbaden 1994. ISBN 3-528-06243-6
  • Christian Daniel Vogel : Description of the Duchy of Nassau . Wilhelm Beyerle, Wiesbaden 1844.
  • Hessian State Office for Soil Management and Geoinformation (Ed.): 5414 Mengerskirchen Topographical Map 1: 25000 . 2005.
  • Literature about Lahr in the Hessian Bibliography

Web links

Commons : Lahr  - Collection of Images

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Inhabitants of Waldbrunn Westerwald HW ( Memento from November 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 20 kB)
  2. ^ Walter Rudersdorf: From the historical calendar 2000 in Waldbrunner Nachrichten No. 1/2/200 p. 19
  3. ↑ a b c 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 GmbH, Stuttgart and Mainz 1983, ISBN 3-17-003263-1 , p. 369, 370 and 384 .
  4. ↑ a b c Lahr, Limburg-Weilburg district. Historical local dictionary for Hessen. (As of March 23, 2018). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
  5. ^ Michael Rademacher: German administrative history from the unification of the empire in 1871 to the reunification in 1990. State of Hesse. (Online material for the dissertation, Osnabrück 2006).
  6. ↑ Falko Lehmann, State Office for Monument Preservation Hesse (ed.): Cultural monuments in Hesse, Limburg-Weilburg district. 1 page 14
  7. ↑ a b c files of the Nassau-Orange government in Dillenburg (until 1806) in the Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Department 172
  8. ^ Walter Rudersdorf: From the historical calendar 2000 in Waldbrunner Nachrichten No. 1/2/200 p. 19
  9. ^ A b c Hans-Peter Schick: Lahr in the Westerwald in 1966–1986; DJK SG Blau-Weiß Lahr eV
  10. ^ Hessischer Landtag: Drucksache 268 of December 24, 1948
  11. ^ Hessischer Landtag: Plenary minutes of the 76th meeting on May 6, 1982, page 4680
  12. ^ Franz-Josef Sehr : 250 years pilgrimage chapel Maria Hilf Beselich . In: Yearbook for the Limburg-Weilburg district 2017 . The district committee of the district of Limburg-Weilburg, Limburg-Weilburg 2016, ISBN 3-927006-54-8 , p. 137-141 .
  13. ^ Walter Rudersdorf: From the historical calendar 2000 in Waldbrunner Nachrichten No. 1/2/200 p. 19
  14. ^ Walter Rudersdorf : A forgotten murder cross in the forest in Waldbrunner Nachrichten No. 8/16/96
  15. ↑ Walter Rudersdorf : In the shadow of Ellar Castle 1967
  16. ↑ Christof W. Martin: The mayor of Lahr Wilhelm Heun - pioneer in the "Wild West" of Nebraska. In: 50 years of the Lahr Kolping Family. Pp. 32-43.
  17. ^ Armin M. Kuhnigk: The 1848 Revolution in the Province . 2nd Edition. Lange, Camberg 1980. ISBN 3-87460-028-9
  18. ↑ a b Walter Rudersdorf : Chronicle Hausen. Waldbrunn 1998, p. 160.
  19. ↑ a b c d page no longer available , search in web archives: population statistics of the community Waldbrunn (Westerwald) (status: January 2005)@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.waldbrunn-info.de
  20. ^ A b Walter Rudersdorf: Waldbrunn / Westerwald. From farming village to climatic health resort . Ed .: Community of Waldbrunn Westerwald. 1st edition. Geiger-Verlag, Horb 1986, ISBN 3-89264-015-7 .
  21. ^ Rules of procedure for the local advisory councils in the Waldbrunn / Ww community. (Status: June 18, 1990; PDF; 60 kB)
  22. ^ Karl Ernst Demandt : Hessisches Ortswappenbuch 1956
  23. ↑ Quoted in: Hessischer Rundfunk (Ed.): Hessen à la carte, Spicy from the Westerwald. No. 7 , Hessischer Rundfunk, Frankfurt June 22, 1988