Merzhausen (Willingshausen)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Merzhausen
Municipality Willingshausen
Coordinates: 50 ° 50 ′ 58 ″  N , 9 ° 13 ′ 6 ″  E
Height : 228  (226-246)  m
Area : 8.63 km²
Residents : 887  (Jan. 1, 2015)
Population density : 103 inhabitants / km²
Incorporation : December 31, 1971
Incorporated into: Antrefftal
Postal code : 34628
Area code : 06697

Merzhausen is a district of the community Willingshausen in the north Hessian Schwalm-Eder district .

geography

The place is immediately east of the village Willingshausen at the confluence of the Fischbach in the Antreff . Other neighboring towns are Gungelshausen in the north, Röllshausen in the east and Holzburg in the southeast.

history

The village was first mentioned in a document in 1233. In 1258 a castle was mentioned. In 1743 two mills were mentioned. In 1367, the Counts of Ziegenhain pledged the village they held as a Herfeld fief to the Kuppel family (also known as Küppel or Koppel). After them, their heirs, the lords of Rückershausen, were enfeoffed with the property in 1419. After their extinction in 1576, two thirds of the village with the hereditary and lower courts belonged to the landgrave forest and hunter Georg Schetzel and Georg von Weitershausen to one third. After Messrs Schetzel zu Merzhausen died out in 1676, Ernst von Hattenbach and his descendants became fiefs of two thirds of the town; this part was returned to the landgrave in 1707. The von Weitershausen family then owned the castle and the village of Merzhausen alone until their family died out in 1860. Then the large property was parceled out and sold.

The Protestant church, built in 1780/81, which included parts of an older building, was used again for worship after extensive renovation on Thanksgiving 2016.

The castle, which burned out on November 8, 1759, was demolished due to the constant risk of flooding.

Territorial reform

On December 31, 1971, the municipality of Merzhausen gave up its independence and, as part of the regional reform in Hesse , became part of the newly formed municipality of Antrefftal , which became part of the municipality of Willingshausen on January 1, 1974.

Jewish community

Merzhausen had a Jewish community from the 17th century to 1938. In 1743 there were 10 Jewish families in the village. In 1837, 72 inhabitants were Jewish, in 1861 there were 75. After that there was a gradual emigration to the cities and the USA , so that in 1905 only 39 Jews were counted in the village. In 1933 there were only seven families left. The majority of the local Jewish residents lived in the so-called Judengasse.

The synagogue for Merzhausen, Willingshausen and Schrecksbach was behind the school; it was partially destroyed during the Reichspogromnacht in November 1938 and then demolished in 1947. An Israelite elementary school (Dorfstrasse 10) had existed since 1833 and was closed in 1933. The community's ritual bath was used until the beginning of the 20th century. The community also had its own cemetery.

Personalities

  • Sara Nussbaum (1868–1956), German Red Cross sister and survivor of the Holocaust

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Merzhausen, Schwalm-Eder district. Historical local dictionary for Hessen. (As of July 29, 2015). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
  2. ↑ Economy and Transport. In: website. Willingshausen community, archived from the original on April 27, 2017 ; accessed in September 2018 .
  3. ↑ Merzhausen Castle, Schwalm-Eder district. Historical local dictionary for Hessen. (As of April 24, 2013). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
  4. ↑ The spelling of the place name changed several times over the centuries: Meinharteshusen (1233), Meinhardeshusen, Menhardeshusen (1254), Meynhartshusen (1334), Mershausen (1548) and Mertzhausen (1585).
  5. ↑ Götz J. Pfeiffer: "coherent, inviting, successful". Works by Michael Possinger and Friedlein + Seemüller in the renovated interior of the Protestant church in Merzhausen . In: Schwalm yearbook . DNB  010078584 , p. 116-123 .
  6. ↑ Carl Heßler (Hrsg.): Hessische Landes- und Volkskunde: The former Kurhessen and the hinterland at the end of the 19th century, Volume I: Hessische Landeskunde, second half. Elwert, Marburg, 1907, p. 343
  7. ^ 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, Stuttgart / Mainz 1983, ISBN 3-17-003263-1 , p. 411 f .

literature

Web links