Michelstadt

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coat of arms Germany map
Coat of arms of the city of Michelstadt
Michelstadt
Map of Germany, position of the city of Michelstadt highlighted

Coordinates: 49 ° 41 ′  N , 9 ° 0 ′  E

Basic data
State : Hesse
Administrative region : Darmstadt
County : Odenwaldkreis
Height : 201 m above sea level NHN
Area : 86.98 km 2
Residents: 16,007 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density : 184 inhabitants per km 2
Postcodes : 64720,
63925 (Vielbrunn-Brunnthal)Template: Infobox municipality in Germany / maintenance / zip code contains text
Primaries : 06061,
06066 ( Vielbrunn ),
09372 ( Vielbrunn-Brunnthal )Template: Infobox municipality in Germany / maintenance / area code contains text
License plate : ERB
Community key : 06 4 37 011
LOCODE : DE MIS
City structure: 8 districts

City administration address : 		Frankfurter Strasse 3
64720 Michelstadt
Website : www.michelstadt.de
Mayor : Stephan Kelbert ( independent )
Location of the city of Michelstadt in the Odenwald district
Breuberg Höchst im Odenwald Lützelbach Bad König Brensbach Brombachtal Fränkisch-Crumbach Reichelsheim (Odenwald) Mossautal Michelstadt Erbach (Odenwald) Oberzent Landkreis Darmstadt-Dieburg Bayern Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg Kreis Bergstraße Kreis Bergstraße Kreis Bergstraßemap
About this picture

Michelstadt is a town in the Odenwaldkreis in southern Hesse , between Darmstadt and Heidelberg .

geography

location

With around 16,000 inhabitants, Michelstadt is the largest city in the Odenwald district . It borders on the district town of Erbach, which is located immediately to the south, and together with it forms the center of the Odenwald district. The core city is conveniently located in the wide, south-north-running valley of the Mümling at about 200 meters above sea level. The Stockheim district in the southeast has grown together structurally with the core city. The Steinbach district is located in the northwest at the confluence of the Rehbach and the Mümling. The districts of Rehbach and Steinbuch are located in the west of the city in higher side valleys. Weiten-Gesäß lies on a hilltop in the northeast, and the two highest districts of Vielbrunn (430 meters) and Würzberg (515 meters) are located in the far east on the border with Bavaria on the ridge that separates the Mümlingtal from the Mudtal . The highest point of the urban area is on the western outskirts of Würzberg and reaches 544 meters, the lowest point (176 meters) is on the northeastern city limit at Laudenbach on the Hessian-Bavarian border in the area of ​​Vielbrunn.

From the west of Rehbach to the northeast of Vielbrunn, the urban area extends in an east-west direction for around 16 kilometers, while the north-south extent in the Mümlingtal is limited to three to four kilometers, but reaches around 15 kilometers along the border in the east.

Neighboring communities

Michelstadt borders in the north on the municipality of Brombachtal , the town of Bad König and the municipality of Lützelbach , in the east on the town of Klingenberg , the markets in Laudenbach , Kleinheubach , the town of Miltenberg , the market in Weilbach , the town of Amorbach and the market in Kirchzell (all seven districts Miltenberg in Bavaria ), in the south to the city of Erbach and in the west to the municipalities of Mossautal and Reichelsheim .

City structure

Districts of Michelstadt are:

and display information about the image
In the middle of the Odenwald - Michelstadt seen from the east

Climate table

Michelstadt- Vielbrunn
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.
 
 
94
 
1
-3
 
 
83
 
3
-2
 
 
78
 
7th
0
 
 
71
 
12
3
 
 
78
 
16
7th
 
 
97
 
20th
11
 
 
93
 
21st
12
 
 
98
 
21st
12
 
 
79
 
18th
9
 
 
76
 
13
6th
 
 
98
 
6th
1
 
 
109
 
3
-2
Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm
Source:
Average monthly temperatures and precipitation for Michelstadt- Vielbrunn
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 1 3 7th 12 16 20th 21st 21st 18th 13 6th 3 O 11.8
Min. Temperature (° C) −3 −2 0 3 7th 11 12 12 9 6th 1 −2 O 4.5
Precipitation ( mm ) 94 83 78 71 78 97 93 98 79 76 98 109 Σ 1,054
Rainy days ( d ) 19th 15th 12 14th 13 13 15th 14th 14th 14th 17th 17th Σ 177
Humidity ( % ) 88 84 80 75 73 75 74 75 80 83 87 88 O 80.1
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
1
−3
3
−2
7th
0
12
3
16
7th
20th
11
21st
12
21st
12
18th
9
13
6th
6th
1
3
−2
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
N
i
e
d
e
r
s
c
h
l
a
g 		94
83
78
71
78
97
93
98
79
76
98
109
  Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Source:

history

Market square with town hall
Theft on the city wall

Michelstadt was first mentioned in a document in 741 AD by the Frankish caretaker Karlmann , the uncle of Charlemagne .

Michelstadt is one of the oldest settlements in the inner Odenwald. His castle emerged from a Franconian estate . This was developed into a place of refuge for the residents of the area; Karlmann gave it as a Franconian royal estate in 741 to Burkard , the first bishop of Würzburg , a student of Boniface . This donation was certainly intended for the bishop personally, because the area of ​​"Michelnstat" was returned to the Franconian royal crown after his death in 755.

In 815 the mark "Michlinstat" was given away again. In recognition of his great services as a confidante at the court of Charlemagne, Einhard received the capital and all land within two leagues (about 15 km) from Charles' son, Ludwig the Pious , as free property. He is the builder of the Einhard basilica . In 819 he bequeathed his Odenwald property to the Lorsch Abbey and described the limits of the Mark Michelstadt very precisely . On March 14, 840, the Lorsch monastery received this property. The Michelstädter pharmacy was founded probably in 1551 .

In the 17th century, the first houses were built outside the protective walls. The new gate was added as a third city gate in 1773. In the 19th century, the gate towers were demolished one after the other.

In 1806 Michelstadt came to the Grand Duchy of Hesse with the county of Erbach , which had been in the Franconian Empire since 1500 .

The construction of the railway line - also known as the Odenwald Railway - and its completion in 1870 to Darmstadt and its continuation in 1881 to Eberbach brought a strong economic upswing for Michelstadt: From the former agricultural town with all its craftsmen and traders, a sizable community developed with important industrial companies on the basis a centuries-old iron processing that had already started in the 16th century. A new economic era began. A cloth factory developed from the cloth weavers 'and dyers' guild, and machine factories emerged from ironworks. The ivory carving was the starting point for companies in the souvenir industry and plastics processing.

Memorial plaques in the synagogue building, which was restored as a museum, as well as 59 " stumbling blocks ", plaques with the names of the murdered, which were inserted in the pavement in front of their former homes, are reminiscent of the persecution of Jewish fellow citizens in the Shoah after 1933 .

In 2007 it was decided to merge the cities of Michelstadt and Erbach to form the new city of Erbach-Michelstadt for 2009. The aim was, on the one hand, to have a greater weighting in Hessen with 31,000 inhabitants and, on the other hand, to save costs. However, the project was stopped by a referendum in both cities. The Michelstädter voted against the city merger with 54.9 percent.

Incorporations

As part of the Hessian municipal area reform , seven previously independent municipalities were assigned to the Michelstadt urban area from April 1, 1971 to August 1, 1972 .

district Date of
incorporation		 Ew.
1961		 Ew.
1970		 Ew.
2012		 Remarks
Michelstadt - 7779 8559 8927
Rehbach 1st December 1971 264 303 586
Steinbach August 1, 1972 1869 1904 2096 with the hamlet of Asselbrunn
Stone book February 1, 1972 540 527 554
Stockheim April 1, 1971 504 649 1367
Vielbrunn August 1, 1972 986 1163 1297 with the hamlets of Bremhof and Brunnthal
Wide buttocks 1st October 1971 661 758 961
Wurzberg February 1, 1972 835 837 840 with the hamlets of Mangelsbach and Eulbach

politics

City Council

The local elections on March 6, 2016 produced the following results, compared to previous local elections:

Distribution of seats in the 2016 city council
     
A total of 37 seats
Parties and constituencies %
2016 		Seats
2016 		%
2011 		Seats
2011 		%
2006 		Seats
2006 		%
2001 		Seats
2001
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany 32.6 12 35.7 13 36.7 14th 36.7 14th
ÜWG Non-partisan voter community 28.7 11 23.2 9 22.8 8th 26.8 10
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany 19.9 7th 21.7 8th 27.4 10 27.0 10
GREEN Alliance 90 / The Greens 9.9 4th 14.5 5 9.4 4th 9.5 3
FDP Free Democratic Party 7.4 3 3.7 1 3.7 1 - -
THE LEFT The left 1.6 0 1.2 1 - - - -
total 100.0 37 100.0 37 100.0 37 100.0 37
Voter turnout in% 49.7 49.2 49.3 56.6
Half-timbered houses on the market square with market fountain
Elephant house
Historic inn "Grüner Baum"

mayor

Michelstadt's full-time political mayors have existed since the change in the rural community ordinance after the First World War. On July 3, 1919, the Michelstadt town council decided to introduce a full-time (paid) mayor who was directly elected by the people.

In the election on March 8, 2009, the non-party candidate Stephan Kelbert was elected mayor with 52.7% in the first ballot. He took office on September 16, 2009 as the successor to Reinhold Ruhr (ÜWG), who ruled the city from 1979 to 2009, and was re-elected in 2015 with over 80% of the votes.

coat of arms

The city of Michelstadt in the Odenwaldkreis was granted a coat of arms with the following blazon by the Hessian Minister of the Interior on July 14, 1980 : Two (Erbacher) stars (the lower half decorated with tendrils) in a shield divided by blue and gold.

Town twinning

City friendships

Religions

Christian communities

Jewish community

Michelstadt synagogue
  • The Orthodox Jewish Community of Michelstadt (2005)

Muslim communities

Culture and sights

theatre

  • Cabaret Patat
  • Erbach-Michelstädter Theatersommer, open-air theater in front of the historic town hall (formerly Michelstädter Theatersommer in the Kellereihof), since 2009 in annual alternation with Erbach
  • Theater carts e. V. Odenwald, since 1998 events with changing groups and directors
  • Playful Michelstadt e. V., since 2010 theater events in summer, autumn and spring

Museums

Buildings

Michelstadt has an old town with many half-timbered houses . The following buildings deserve special mention - partly within the old town, partly in the forests of the rest of the city: the historical town hall, the thief tower on the city wall, the cellar courtyard (a Franconian early medieval castle complex built over in the early Renaissance style) in the city wall ring, the late Gothic City church (end of the 15th century), the Einhards basilica, the castle of the Counts of Erbach-Fürstenau - Castle Fürstenau - including parts of an old moated castle in Michelstadt-Steinbach, the hunting castle Eulbach of the Counts of Erbach-Erbach with the Eulbacher Park , the synagogue, the Roman baths and forts as part of the Neckar-Odenwald-Limes. The late Gothic Holy Cross Chapel is located in the Michelstädter Friedhof , after it was moved there around 1535.

historical town hall

Town hall from 1484
Michelstadt town church from 1490

The Michelstädter half-timbered town hall , shown on a postage stamp of the Deutsche Bundespost ("500 years Michelstadt town hall 1984"), was built in 1484 in the late Gothic style, then changed several times inside and was shingled from 1743 to 1903 . The ground floor of the town hall served as a market hall from the start. The town hall was built using a frame construction, the rear part (east wall) was originally part of the cemetery wall, on which the upper frame of the ground floor rests. The builder is unknown, it is believed that the suggestion for the construction of Schenk Adolar von Erbach and Bishop Johann III. from Worms (his adviser) could have started. A modern replica of the town hall is the Casa Moellmann built in the 1970s in Blumenau, Brazil .

Michelstadt Castle

Michelstadt Castle

Michelstadt Castle, also known as the cellar , is a Franconian early medieval castle complex that was built over in the 16th century and is integrated into the city wall ring around Michelstadt. The western tower, known as the Diebsturm , served as a prison and is now incorrectly referred to as the keep of the Frankenburg during city ​​tours .

The late Gothic town church

The town church, completed in 1490, was built to replace a stone church built by Einhard in the Carolingian era instead of a wooden church. The pillars of the central nave and the walls of the south and north aisles were built in 1475. The choir dates from 1461, the north wall of the antechamber is still Carolingian. Up until the 1970s it housed one of the most valuable libraries in Germany in its bell tower, the library of over a thousand volumes of the Speyer canon Nicolaus Matz , who came from Michelstadt and which he bequeathed to his hometown and its citizens at the end of the 14th century. The library is now housed in a specially converted warehouse at the Michelstädter post station owned by von Thurn und Taxis. The predecessor of the town church was built next to the stream called "Kiliansfloß" that jumps out again here. In addition to the baptismal font, the collected Kilians raft also fed all of the city's fountains. The actual source of the Kiliansfloss lies far outside the city, the brook disappears into a hole in the ground not far from the cemetery and then rises again in the middle of the city.

Einhardsbasilika in the Steinbach district

Einhardsbasilika (Steinbach) near Michelstadt, built around 825

The Einhard basilica was built by Einhard , the chronicler and confidante of Charlemagne . The Carolingian church, built between 824 and 827, is one of the few Carolingian buildings that have been largely preserved.

On behalf of Einhard, his notary Ratleik had stolen relics of Saints Peter and Marcellinus in Rome ; they were kept in the crypt of the basilica. When these began to "sweat blood" and Einhard's servants also had corresponding nightmares, Einhard came to the conclusion that the bones in the crypt were not "comfortable" and therefore he and his wife Emma moved their seat and the relics to Ober-Mulinheim am Main, today's Seligenstadt, which then also became a place of pilgrimage with a new, larger basilica. It is known that the stolen relics were transported from Rome to Saint-Maurice (Canton Valais) in hiding . From there they were brought to Michelstadt in a jubilant pilgrimage.

The Steinbach basilica has been rebuilt, expanded, rededicated several times, served as a hospital and from the 17th century as a barn. After it was rediscovered as Carolingian in 1873, research into and protection of the parts of the basilica that were still intact began. The Einhards basilica was owned by the Counts of Erbach-Fürstenau until 1967. Today the site is owned by the State of Hesse.

The castle of the Counts of Erbach-Fürstenau in the Steinbach district

Fürstenau Castle with decorative archway (1588)
New Palace (left) of Fürstenau Castle

The entire palace ensemble is a series of different architectural styles: from the remains of the old Kurmainzische border fortress and moated castle (around 1300) on the north side to the Gothic work of the stonemasons who came from the Strasbourg cathedral building yard to Steinbach, to the Renaissance style of the gigantic archway (1588) between the two western corner towers of the moated castle, which replaced the castle wall and opened the dark and damp castle courtyard to the former castle garden, the Renaissance castle mill, a former mint (today its own run-of-river power station ), the graceful baroque cavalier's house on the Mümling, the one to the west The neo-classical residential wing "Neues Palais" (1810/1811) adjoining the Wasserburg and the late-baroque orangery in the castle park, which was designed in the English style. The small palace theater was located on the upper floor of the orangery.

Fürstenau Castle is still inhabited today by descendants of the Erbach-Fürstenau family. The former Kurmainzische defense system lay on the ground of the Schenken zu Erbach (an ancestor of the then undivided family) and came into his possession in 1355. An outside tour of the castle is possible during the day. In the past, some well-known visual artists have set up shop in the stylish outer bailey with an archway from 1765 (including in the former stables after 1765).

synagogue

The late Baroque synagogue at Mauerstraße 19, built in 1791, is one of the few synagogues in southern Hesse that has been preserved from the outside after the Nazi persecution of Jews between 1933 and 1945. See also under museums.

Roman baths and castles

Roman baths in Würzberg

In the immediate vicinity of Würzberg , in the middle of a clearing, are the remains of a Roman fort , which was built as part of the Neckar-Odenwald-Limes around the year 100 AD and was used for around 60 years before the border line moved further east has been. The fort can only be recognized in its outline through an earth wall. On the other hand, the small Roman bathhouse located directly at the fort was partially restored, the floors restored and the walls built up to a height of about one meter. Despite the small size of the bath, which was only built for the about 120-strong crew of the fort, the structure of a Roman bath can be seen.

Not far from the district of Vielbrunn , in the area of ​​the former hunting lodge of the princes of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg, traces of the Limes fort Hainhaus are still visible in the area. Furthermore, on the eastern edge of the Michelstädter area, the Eulbach Fort is located near the Eulbacher Park , an English landscape park from the early 19th century with the hunting lodge of the same name and an attached wildlife park .

Other structures

Regular events

Eulbacher Park
Eulbach Roman fort
Limes hiking trail between the tower points Wp 10/14 and Wp 10/15 on the Odenwald Limes
Tower reconstruction near the Hainhaus fort
  • "Michelstädter Bienenmarkt " - every year at Whitsun , has been held since 1954.
  • "Music Night" - every year shortly before the start of the Hessian summer holidays, various concert performances take place in the old town.
  • "Kirchweihfest mit Weinbrunnenfest" - At the Weinbrunnenfest, the fountains in the old town are served and the fountains are decorated.
  • "Michelstädter Christmas Market" - From the Friday before the first Advent to the 4th Advent.
  • “Erbach-Michelstädter Theatersommer” - since 2003 annual open-air festival alternating with the city of Erbach.
  • Weekly market - every Friday on the bees market area (large parking lot Altstadt, Wiesenweg).

Economy and Infrastructure

Public facilities

The Michelstadt District Court , a court of ordinary jurisdiction , has its seat in Michelstadt.

traffic

In Michelstadt the federal highways 45 and 47 cross , both old trade routes from Frankfurt am Main to Augsburg and from Worms to Würzburg . Via the L3349 (Eulbach-Vielbrunn-Seckmauern) and the K94 (Vielbrunn-Laudenbach am Main) you get to the federal highway 469 towards Aschaffenburg and A3.

The city has the Michelstadt train station on the Odenwaldbahn (Eberbach – Erbach – Darmstadt –Frankfurt or - Hanau ). VIAS GmbH trains stop here .

Michelstadt also has the special airfield at Michelstadt Airport , which is located about two kilometers west of the city and is operated by an association.

Bike trails

The following cycle paths lead along the Mümling :

  • The 225 km long 3-country cycle route leads as a circular route through the triangle of Hesse, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. The route explores the Odenwald along the Mümling, Neckar and Main rivers.
  • The Mümlingtalradweg R1 is part of the three-country cycle path (after the Mümling ) and connects over 75 kilometers of Hirschhorn am Neckar with Obernburg am Main.
  • The Hessian long-distance cycle route R4 begins in Hirschhorn am Neckar and runs with a total length of 385 kilometers from south to north through Hesse, along from Mümling, Nidda and Schwalm to Bad Karlshafen an der Weser.

education

philately

On February 16, 1984, the Deutsche Bundespost issued a postage stamp to mark the “500 years Michelstadt Town Hall” anniversary . There was also a first day cover with special postmarks from Bonn and Michelstadt. From 1927 to 1932 the first advertising stamp at the post office in Michelstadt was used to cancel postage stamps. The historic town hall of Michelstadt is shown on the stamp (text of the stamp: Michelstadt (Odenwald) Luftkurort Stadion). The first two postal stationery (postcard with printed postage stamps) with motifs from Michelstadt were issued by the Deutsche Reichspost in 1928: the historical town center with the town hall and the stadium in Michelstadt were shown on the picture postcards as motifs.

Personalities

Carl Weyprecht

literature

ESOC ground station Michelstadt
  • Wolfram Becher: Michelstadt and Erbach. Two romantic cities in the Odenwald. Amorbach 1980.
  • Philipp Buxbaum: Michelstadt in words and pictures. A home book. Börsig-Verlag Darmstadt 1950, OCLC 73290302.
  • Wolfgang Hartmann: On the early documentary mentions of Michelstadt in the Odenwald. In: Der Odenwald 40 (1993), pp. 47-57. Online publication
  • Wolfgang Hartmann: The Einhardweg from Michelstadt to Seligenstadt. In: Odenwälder Yearbook for Culture and History, 1997, pp. 93-102. Online publication
  • Andrea Schnellbacher, b. Banse: Einhard's Basilica. Michelstadt 1999, 2015.
  • (Ed. And editor) Ursula Braasch-Schwersmann, (editing) Holger Th. Gräf: Hessischer Städteatlas, delivery I, 7: Michelstadt. Hessian State Office for Historical Regional Studies, Marburg 2005, 44 pages ( online [PDF; 409 kB])
  • Literature about Michelstadt in the Hessian Bibliography
  • Literature on Michelstadt in the catalog of the German National Library

Web links

Commons : Michelstadt  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: Michelstadt  - travel guide
Wikisource: Michelstadt in Merian's Topographia Hassiae  - Sources and full texts
Wikisource: Michelstadt in the Topographia Franconiae (Mathäus Merian)  - sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hessian State Statistical Office: Population status on December 31, 2019 (districts and urban districts as well as municipalities, population figures based on the 2011 census) ( help ).
  2. ↑ wetterkontor.de
  3. ↑ Erbach-Michelstadt: City wedding burst ( Memento from May 21, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) In: http://www.hr-online.de . Retrieved October 24, 2012
  4. ^ 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. 358 and 359 .
  5. ↑ City of Michelstadt: data-numbers-facts. Population figures ( Memento from December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ a b Law on the reorganization of the district of Erbach (GVBl. II 330–16) of July 11, 1972 . In: The Hessian Minister of the Interior (ed.): Law and Ordinance Gazette for the State of Hesse . 1972 No. 17 , p. 224 , § 4 ( online at the information system of the Hessian state parliament [PDF; 1,2 MB ]).
  7. ^ Result of the municipal election on March 6, 2016. Hessian State Statistical Office, accessed in April 2016 .
  8. ^ Hessian State Statistical Office: Result of the municipal elections on March 27, 2011
  9. ^ Hessian State Statistical Office: Result of the municipal elections on March 26, 2006
  10. ↑ Mayoral election in Michelstadt, city. Hessian State Statistical Office , accessed in April 2019 .
  11. ↑ Approval of a coat of arms of the city of Michelstadt, Odenwaldkreis (point 827) from July 14, 1980 . In: The Hessian Minister of the Interior (ed.): State Gazette for the State of Hesse. 1980 No. 30 , p. 1323 ( online at the information system of the Hessian state parliament [PDF; 5.1 MB ]).
  12. ↑ Evangelical Dean's Office Odenwald
  13. ↑ Website: Theaterteam Spiellust e. V. Michelstadt
  14. ↑ Michel Catalog No. 1200
  15. ↑ Michel catalog no.P 185