Langenhain (Waltershausen)

Langenhain City of Waltershausen Coordinates: 50 ° 54 ′ 13 ″  N , 10 ° 31 ′ 20 ″  E
Height :	338 m above sea level NN
Residents :	900
Incorporation :	July 1, 1950
Postal code :	99880
Area code :	03622
Location of Langenhain in Waltershausen
The Laucha in the local area

Langenhain is a district of the town of Waltershausen in the Gotha district in Thuringia with around 900 inhabitants.

Geography and traffic

Langenhain is located on the northern edge of the Thuringian Forest , about two kilometers west of Waltershausen and about 15 kilometers southwest of Gotha and 20 kilometers southeast of Eisenach . Langenhain is originally a street village that stretches for about 1.5 kilometers along today's Lauchaer Straße . In the middle of the street, the Laucha runs in an artificial river bed , a stream that rises on the Rennsteig and flows into the Hörsel . Langenhain is about 340 meters above sea level, with the terrain rising west of the Laucha valley to the 430-meter-high Tränksberg and east to the 451-meter-high Striemelsberg. While the mountains are forested, the broad valley floor in between is used for agricultural purposes. In addition to Waltershausen in the east, neighboring towns are Laucha in the north, Schwarzhausen in the west and Tabarz in the south.

Langenhain has a bypass road that runs past the village to the east and connects the federal motorway 4 in the north with Tabarz in the south. The federal highway 88 runs south of the village from Eisenach to Ilmenau . A connecting road also leads from Langenhain to Waltershausen. Langenhain is connected to public transport by bus. The nearest train stations are in Waltershausen and about seven kilometers to the north in Mechterstädt ( Erfurt – Gotha – Eisenach route ); there is also a connection to the Thuringian Forest Railway tram network in Tabarz and Waltershausen . Langenhain does not have its own commercial establishments, but the nearby industrial operations in Waltershausen and health facilities in Tabarz offer numerous jobs.

History and culture

Langenhain is a clearing settlement of the medieval country development and originated in the 13th century. The place was first mentioned in a document in 1286. When it was founded, the village was located in one of the Ludowingian power centers, whose center of power and place of origin was in the immediate vicinity at Reinhardsbrunn Monastery . Later, especially under the Wettins who followed the Ludowingers , the center of power shifted more strongly to Gotha, so that Langenhain belonged to the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha until the end of the monarchy in Germany (until 1858 to its office Tenneberg ). On July 1, 1950, it was incorporated into the city of Waltershausen .

From July 1st to 3rd, 2011, the place celebrated its 725th anniversary, including the reopening of the Heimatstube. Besides the local council and the parish, the Langenhainer Heimatverein, the fire brigade association and the pedigree poultry association take care of the village's cultural life.

Village church of St. Maria Magdalena

Village church of St. Maria Magdalena

The interior of the village is characterized by the village church of St. Maria Magdalena , which sits enthroned on a hill above the village. The original church dates back to the 11th century, a dendrochronological examination of a beam on the ground floor of the tower revealed a presumed felling date of 1093. The core of the high medieval church seems to be designed as a fortified church : trenches and walls are still in place. It is the oldest church in Waltershausen. In 1286 the church came into the possession of the Katharinenkloster in Eisenach and probably received the frescoes with depictions of the Marien cycle around 1300, which are counted among the most valuable in Gothaer Land. During this time, the originally round apse was converted into the current six by seven meter rectangular one. After the hardships and turmoil of the Seven Years' War , the new baroque building took place in 1763–1766 according to plans by the state master builder Johann David Weidner . The tower received a new belfry and a new tower dome. In 1769 the church received a valuable new organ from the organ builder Carl Christian Hoffmann from Ostheim and the court sculptor Ungewitter. Remnants of wall paintings from the 15th century have been secured in the eastern part of the church. Due to heavy infestation by dry rot since the early 1970s, it was decided in 1987 to demolish the church. Thanks to the active commitment of the citizens and generous donations from friends of the community and the parish, the church was saved: In the summer of 1982 it received a new hipped roof and the sponge-infested church stalls were removed. In the 1990s, the roof was slated again and lead-glazed windows were installed. From 1993 the valuable wall frescoes could be secured. In 2003 the church was reopened for the first time and in 2006 it was consecrated again.

Next to the church entrance there is a thank you plaque reminding of Lieselotte Jacobi. Jacobi, a former lecturer at the Free University of Berlin , had donated 120,000 DM to the parish in 1994 because of her family ties with Langenhain, with which portals, doors and the gallery windows could be restored, the nave windows renewed and many other things in the church could be restored.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Wolfgang Kahl: First mention of Thuringian towns and villages. Fifth edition, Bad Langensalza, 2010. p. 157.
2. ↑ Ellrich / Heinke / Hoerenz: Between Hörsel and Wilder Gera , Weimar 2005, ISBN 3-86160-167-2
3. ↑ The Dean Dietmar Trutschel the superintendency Waltershausen- Ohrdruf

Web links

Commons : Langenhain  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Representation of Langenhain on the website of the city of Waltershausen