Nieder-Modau

Nieder-Modau City of Ober-Ramstadt
Coordinates: 49 ° 48 ′ 2 "  N , 8 ° 44 ′ 22"  E
Height :	227 m above sea level NHN
Area :	4.8 km²
Incorporation :	July 1, 1971
Incorporated into:	Modau
Aerial view of Nieder-Modau (center) (2010)

Nieder-Modau

In 1971, the formerly independent municipality of Nieder-Modau , together with Ober-Modau, forms the Modau district, which has belonged to Ober-Ramstadt since 1977, in the southern Hessian district of Darmstadt-Dieburg , around 12 km southeast of Darmstadt . Finds in the local area testify to the prehistoric and early historical importance of the place, which was the scene of robber barons in the 14th century . In the 20th century, Nieder-Modau became famous in large parts of Germany due to the "banking crash". The mining history of the place goes back to the year 1507.

geography

Nieder-Modau lies in a north-south running valley of the front Odenwald on the Modau river . The European long-distance hiking trail E1 runs on the ridge bordering to the west (320–340 m) . Settlements from Roman times can be traced on the elevations adjoining to the east (260–280 m) (field name: In the Roman ground). The valley entrance is bounded in the north by the Schlossberg (280 m), on which Nieder-Modau Castle supposedly stood until 1382 . In the south, Ober-Modau is directly connected. The former separation of the two places is now hardly recognizable due to the development of gaps.

and display information about the image

Panorama photo Nieder-Modau

Evangelical Church Nieder-Modau, origins from the 13th century

Catholic Church of St. Pankratius

Neighboring communities

In the north Nieder-Modau borders on the core area of ​​the city of Ober-Ramstadt , a little further west on Nieder-Ramstadt (municipality of Mühltal ) and Waschenbach (municipality of Mühltal). In the south are the districts of Waschenbach (municipality of Mühltal) and Ober-Modau (city of Ober-Ramstadt). To the east are Asbach (municipality of Modautal ), Rodau (town of Groß-Bieberau ), Rohrbach and Wembach (both town of Ober-Ramstadt).

history

Early days

On the western ridge there are three stone axes from the Michelsberg culture (approx. 2000 BC) and shards from the Urnfield period (1200–800 BC), from the Hallstatt culture (800–500 BC) and La- Tène culture (500 BC to 50 AD) have been found. In the birch bush, southwest of Ober-Modau, there is a barrow from the La Tène period . In the 2nd century there was a Roman court on the eastern border of Nieder-Modau.

Between the Silberberg and the Hohen Rodberg , on which there are also barrows, the Kreuzstraße has been running since prehistoric times, at that time a connection between the Rhenish lowlands and the Odenwald.

Römischer Grund, former Roman settlement area near Nieder-Modau

In Roman times, a trade route ran above this height in a north-south direction (Hohe Strasse, today's E1 long-distance hiking trail ). In Roman times there was also a “high road” on the western hill, leading over the Birkenbusch to Bensheim , a cross connection from Dieburg to the Bergstraße .

Old castle mill Nieder-Modau

Place name

In the Katzenelnbogen documents, the place name is shown in alternating spelling (the year it was mentioned in brackets):

• Modaha (1255)
• Muda (1305)
• Niedermodau (1344)
• Gross Modau (1360)
• Kirchmodau (1400)

Ending Middle Ages

In 1247, Gerhard von Modau, who was a knight and count's castle man at Auerbach Castle , is named in a Katzenelnbog document . In 1255 the Nieder-Modau church is first indirectly attested. A court convened by Count Diether V. (Katzenelnbogen) and his opponent Konrad von Dornberg to settle their disputes over the payment of certain debts met in the churchyard in Modau . An arbitration tribunal was agreed . The origins of the church are believed to be around 1150, when Nieder-Modau Castle is said to have been built.

Former castle on the Schlossberg (reconstruction attempt)

Coat of arms of the calf of Reinheim

Schlossberg near Nieder Modau December 2006

The last lord of the castle on the Schloßberg is said to have been Werner Kalb von Reinheim, who entered the history books as a robber baron . Kalb had initially assured the city of Frankfurt in writing that it would no longer take action against the city itself and the merchants traveling to the city's fair and received money from the city for this. Two years later he also revoked this declaration in writing. Kalb's companions founded the Lion Association a short time later . As a reaction to this, the second Rheinische Städtebund was formed , which shortly afterwards decided that the cities of Frankfurt , Mainz and Worms should put an end to the calf driving. The castle was allegedly destroyed in 1382 by sticks (armed servants) from these cities and has not been rebuilt. Their ruin was used as a quarry. In the documents of the County of Katzenelnbogen there is an extensive list of the damage in Nieder-Modau, Ober-Modau, Rohrbach, Wembach and the Hofgut Illbach (Eulbach).

From the 13th century onwards, the Counts von Katzenelnbogen owned all church rights of the parish of Nieder-Modau, that is, they not only had patronage , but also had the tithe . In 1300 and 1310 they obtained the city charter for Reinheim and Ober-Ramstadt . 1330 for Darmstadt . Above all, this meant the right to build a wall and hold a market. From 1270 to 1474 the tithe from the villages of Nieder-Modau, Ober-Modau, Ernsthofen, Asbach and Klein Bieberau, which belong to the Nieder-Modauer parish , was awarded to the family of the Jude vom Stein. Feudal lords were the Counts of Katzenelnbogen.

In 1368 Gerhard von Katzenelnbogen, the son of Johann von Katzenelnbogen († 1357) and brother of Diether VIII (1340–1402), is proclaimed pastor of the parish church in Modau. However, he did not work as a pastor, but had set up a pleban for the performance of the service, which he paid out of his own pocket. However, he was entitled to the tithe from the parish of Nieder-Modau and the income from the church divisions . Gerhard von Katzenelnbogen became provost of Speyer in 1380.

The parish Modau belonged to the Reformation to the country chapter Gross-Gerau and thus to Archidiakonat St. Victor in Mainz. Church saint was St. Prankatius. This also explains the name of the diaspora community that emerged after the Second World War , “St. Pankratius ”in Modau.

Fiefs in Nieder-Modau in the late Middle Ages were the families Ludwig Blache (1287), Jude vom Stein (Steyne) (1305), a family from Mainz who later settled in Bensheim, Werberg von Lindenfels (1371), one in the 15th century for a time very influential family at the Heidelberger Hof, Kalb von Reinheim (1382), the family was later a member of the knightly canton of Odenwald , Wilhelm and Gerhard Kuche von Dornberg (1386), Henne von Zwingenberg (1400) and von Ortenberg (1403). In 1407 Konrad von Frankenstein denied the right of the Counts of Katzenelnbogen to the tithe from Nieder-Modau, but on February 22nd, 1409, he renounced his right to "Count Johann von Katzenelnbogen" to lend the church to Modau (Muda) and transferred it to the Count who can make use of this without contradicting Konrad and his heirs as often as necessary. "

In 1410, Count Johann von Katzenelnbogen assures the knight Emicho von Bürresheim (Burntz) that his loyal services owing to u. a. the "formerly Gerlach and Hermann Hagelstein (Hail-) part of the estate at Modau", "if it were to die without physical heirs, to be transferred to all of his male grandchildren." The von Echter family was also feudal bearers in Nieder-Modau in 1420, she received the goods of the late Heinrich von Hattstein and was later a member of the knightly canton of Odenwald . In 1421 the Gayling von Altheim family received fiefs in Modau (the family later became a member of the knightly canton of Odenwald). In 1445 the Lords of Wallbrunn , who had bought Ernsthofen Castle (today Ernsthofen Castle , Modautal municipality ) around 1440 and built their manor there, bought Wilhelm Kuche's court in Nieder-Modau. Further fiefs were the orphans von Fauerbach (1516), von Buseck, called Münch and von Bobenhausen (1671).

Nieder-Modau is mentioned again in a document dated June 18, 1449: “ Count Philipp the Elder gives his son his seal so that he can confirm this contract with his own seal. Junggraf Philipp is not allowed to transfer, sell or otherwise forgive, lend or encumber anything from what is assigned to him for life, but must keep it as long as his father lives as it is now transferred to him, unless that his father gives his consent to such a sale or encumbrance. (...) On the basis of these agreements, Count Philipp the Elder Ä. handed over the following castles, towns and villages with all their accessories to his son: Burg and town Darmstadt , Bessungen , Arheilgen , Erzhausen , Schneppenhausen , Wixhausen , Graefenhausen , Nieder-Ramstadt , Ober-Ramstadt, Nieder-Modau, Ober-Modau, Hahn, Klein- Bieberau, Semd , Zimmer and Dudenhofen as well as half of the city of Reinheim with accessories and half of the Gülte, Beede, Zinse and slope to Rüsselsheim, Seilfurt and Raunheim. However, he should not have any other rights in the last three places mentioned. "

In 1457, Count Philipp the Elder pledged a quarter of Modau to Count Palatine Friedrich I.

Philipp's sons Eberhardt and Philipp the Younger died before his death, so that Philipp the Elder died without male descendants. The County of Katzenelnbogen therefore fell to the Landgraviate of Hesse in 1479 , to Philip's son-in-law Heinrich III. of Hessen . Around 1490, Nieder-Modau, along with other neighboring towns, was obliged to bring firewood to Lichtenberg Castle as a labor service.

In 1526 Landgrave Philipp ("the Magnanimous") ordered the Reformation to be introduced in his country. He himself had already joined the "new doctrine" in 1524. In the same year, Pastor Ewald Poth was one of the first clergy to convert to the Protestant faith.

From the church accounts of the years 1554/55, construction work on the Nieder-Modau church can be proven as compulsory labor ("old buildings demolished, embroidery wood torn ...").

The capture of the brothers Hans Adolf and Hans Philipp von Wallbrunn in Modau is dated on Christmas Day in 1550. Her mother is said to have been asked by "old Hornbeck", a farmer from Nieder-Modau, to give birth to a child on Christmas Day. Elisabeth von Wallbrunn is said to have consented and attended the service in Nieder-Modau together with her two sons, her daughter Maria and a servant. However, their sons are said to have become conspicuous in the period from 1549 onwards through acts of violence and the arbitrary exercise of power, which is why the then Lichtenberg bailiff, Burkhard von Heringshausen, with the help of the Count of Ober-Ramstadt, arranged for the brothers to be arrested. They were originally supposed to be brought to Kassel. a. the intervention of her mother's sister, Helena von Frankenstein , failed. Instead, after three days of arrest, they were taken to a Nieder-Modau farmhouse in Reinheim and interrogated there. They were only released at the urging of their brother, Hans Eberhard von Wallbrunn, after they had vowed to have the disputes settled in court before the landgrave councilors.

For the year 1569 there is a "process announcement of Count Christoph Ernst von Diez against his half-brother, Landgrave Georg I von Hessen-Darmstadt , because of fiefdom property of the Kalbenhof" in the archives of the State Archives Darmstadt and from 1609 there is a documentation about the "Rauen Hof zu Nieder-Modau ”.

Thirty Years War (1618-1648)

The parish of Nieder-Modau, which at that time also included Ober-Modau, Ernsthofen, Asbach, Klein-Bieberau, Webern and Rohrbach, had around 800 inhabitants at the beginning of the Thirty Years' War . Two years after the end of the war, in 1650, 55 people still lived in the villages of the parish, 24 of them in Nieder-Modau. The population decline is mainly due to the invasion of the armies of Peter Ernst II von Mansfeld in 1622 and the famine and plague period of 1634/35. The mayor and alderman Hans Herzog is said to have testified to the events in Nieder-Modau: “ A bunch of Mansfeld riders came to them from Nieder-Ramstadt and oats were picked up from them. Lenchen Keller, a seventy-year-old man with them, had beaten them, burned them in his nose and mouth with burning fuses, took his money of about 60 guilders from him, so that he would have to die of it two days later. "

The old rectory, which was described as "totally ruined" in 1701 and abandoned as a parish apartment in 1718, also suffered from the effects of the Thirty Years' War. From the year 1707 the condition of the church is also handed down as if there were “no worse place of worship in the whole country like the one in Niedermodau”.

Former mine tunnel

Mining history

In the pit " Zur Gnade Gottes ", which lies above the Nieder-Modauer Weg between Ober-Ramstadt and Nieder-Modau and belongs to the district of the "core city", copper ores containing silver were mined and melted on the spot in the smelter. A smelter already existed at this site in 1507. Wilhelm II, Landgrave of Hesse , built a silver mine in the Upper County of Katzenelnbogen, in the area of ​​the "Gingelbach", on the "Haselberg" (today: Silberberg) in Ober-Ramstadt . He named it "At the grace of God". In 1506 he enfeoffed two Dutchmen. Gilsberge von der Scheldt and Massilius von Antwerp with the mountain justice. In 1514, with the support of Hans von Wallbrunn , Vach wrote to the "Landgravine and the decreed councilors" that he had built himself up in Roßdorf and Ober-Ramstadt. The silver mine in Auerbach should therefore be left to him so that he can recover from his damage. Then the mine in Ober-Ramstadt was idle for over 60 years. In 1577, Landgrave Georg resumed silver mining on Haselberg (today: Gingelbach), part of the north-western ridge near Nieder-Modau. In 1581 a red colored ore was mined. One sample found 15 pounds of copper and 16 lots of silver per hundredweight. In 1582 so much ore was accrued that one is considering building a pounding and smelting plant. Landgrave Georg issued an "open patent", ie a search advertisement for a Pochmeister. One was apparently found, and the following year the work was under way. 1583 was both the heyday of the mine and its abrupt decline. Shortly before Pentecost, the mountain master Hans Stadtler died. The search for an experienced successor turned out to be very difficult. The shareholders pushed for a continuation of the mine. In 1586 the mining operations came to a standstill towards the end of the year because there was a lack of money.

In 1598, two years after the death of Landgrave Georg I, the bailiff Balthasar Schrautenbach reported to Eleonore, Georg's widow, that the walls of the hut had largely crumbled. Only the smelter is still there. Eleonore had an expert report on the condition of the hut made. In 1598 the personal physician of Landgrave Ludwig V , Dr. med. Joachim Strupp , enfeoffed with the mine. However, it is not known whether operations were restarted at the beginning of the 17th century.

New mining attempts in the 19th and 20th centuries at the old sites got stuck or were abandoned as unsuccessful. After introduction of the Mining Act 1876, the ceremony of the mine due 1878 is an older Mutsch One takes place under the name "Anna." Towards the end of 1907, extensive exploration work began and the mine workings were cleared . It is to be regretted that the work in the interesting pit came to a quick end, so that further completion of the not unimportant information is not to be expected for the time being. Trial drilling was carried out in 1938. Around 1944 a shaft was sunk above the old mine structures at the height of the “Silberberg”. This was done in secrecy, apparently in search of uranium. Allied aerial photos show the consequences of a bomb attack on this shaft, which was missed. The shaft has now been kept, but the spoil heaps can still be seen clearly.

Today the tunnels have partially collapsed, but a tunnel entrance on the bike and hiking trail from Ober-Ramstadt to Nieder-Modau was reopened by the Ober-Ramstadt Local History Association and the Nature Conservation Union in 1997 to create winter quarters for bats. The mouth of the tunnel has been rebuilt in the form of the first documentary mention. The design was based on books: "Georg Agricola, 12 books on mining and metallurgy", 1556 and "Black mountain book", 1556.

The tunnel "At God's grace" is located directly below the Silberberg on the Modau.

The influx and reconstruction after the Thirty Years War and modern times

New settlers were recruited from many parts of Europe after the Thirty Years War. They should ensure economic recovery. For the village of Nieder-Modau, immigrants from the Vogtland were predominant. Some of the clans now resident in Nieder-Modau owe their origins to these settlers from the Vogtland. An example of the condition of the village is a description of the condition of the church from 1714:

“The old chapel, on which the tower stands, is very torn through, the vault over the sacristey, the man chairs on the Borbühn (= gallery) want to fall over the heap, which is dangerous in front of the people, both below and above stand in the chairs. "

In September 1715 the choir housing and the upper part of the church, i.e. the roof, were torn down and the pastor Petrus Sahlfeld had to hold the service in the open air. Construction began in 1716. After the front part with the tower and the pretty half-timbering that is still preserved today, the money ran out. It took another two years, until 1718, until Pastor Petrus Sahlfeld and his community had a roof over their heads again. The church still has the size it was given in the years 1716–1718. In 1890, during a restoration, the floor of the church was raised by 35 cm, new stalls were purchased, the men's stage was renewed, and the pulpit, altar and church stove were relocated.

The statistical-topographical-historical description of the Grand Duchy of Hesse reports on Nieder-Modau in 1829:

»Niedermodau (L. Bez. Reinheim) Lutheran parish village; is located on the Modaubach 2 St. von Reinheim, has 67 houses and 606 inhabitants, except for 4 reform. and 1 Catholic are Lutheran. Among these are 22 farmers and 65 who do civil trades. - In a feud that broke out in 1379 between the city of Frankfurt, with which Mainz and Worms were connected, and the so-called Lion League, which Count Wilhem and Eberhard von Katzenellenbogen, among others, had also joined, the place and some neighboring ones suffered from pillage by fire significant damage. The church sentence to Herr von Frankenstein, from which he came to the Count of Katzenellenbogen. "

The collapse of the Nieder-Modauer savings and credit association eGmuH

On December 19, 1911, bankruptcy proceedings were opened for Nieder-Modauer Spar- und Kreditverein eGmuH. The bankruptcy balance sheet of the fund founded in 1874 showed that at this point in time there was overindebtedness of 1,600,000 marks. The comrades had to be liable to each creditor with all their personal assets for the entire debts of the cooperative . The bankruptcy trustee drew up an advance calculation of the amount of each comrade to be liable for the debts. On May 10, 1912, the Reinheim district court declared the advance invoice of 200,000 marks against every comrade to be enforceable.

The collapse of the Modauer cash register attracted attention throughout Germany and was the subject of meetings of the state estates of the Grand Duchy of Hesse and the basis for an amendment to the law.

As a result, numerous farmers in Nieder-Modau and the surrounding area got into financial difficulties. So z. B. also the Hottenbacher Hof near Klein-Bieberau.

After 1945

As part of the regional reform in Hesse , the voluntary merger of the municipalities of Nieder-Modau and Ober-Modau to form the municipality of Modau took place on July 1, 1971. Modau was incorporated into Ober-Ramstadt on January 1st, 1977 by state law. A local district according to the Hessian municipal code was not established.

Territorial history and administration

The administration of the place takes place already at the time of the Counts of Katzenelnbogen and after its extinction in the 15th century, in the Landgraviate of Hessen-Darmstadt by the Office of Lichtenberg . Nieder-Modau was in the judicial district of the district of Oberramstadt . The centering was divided into so-called "rice car," each of which a top magistrate board that the Zentgrafen were subordinated. Nieder-Modau belonged to the "Oberramstädter Reiswagen", which also included the towns of Ober-Ramstadt with its mills and the German residents in Hahn and Wembach , Asbach , Dilshofen , Ober-Modau and Frankenhausen . The entire district of Oberramstadt was assigned to the Lichtenberg office . This classification existed until the beginning of the 19th century.

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

• before 1479: Holy Roman Empire , County Katzenelnbogen , Upper County Katzenelnbogen , Amt Lichtenberg , Zent Oberramstadt
• from 1479: Holy Roman Empire, Landgraviate of Hesse , Upper County of Katzenelnbogen, Office of Lichtenberg, district of Oberramstadt
• from 1500: Holy Roman Empire, Upper Rhenish District , Landgraviate of Hesse , Upper County of Katzenelnbogen, Lichtenberg Office
• from 1567: Holy Roman Empire, Upper Rhine Empire, Landgraviate Hessen-Darmstadt , Upper County Katzenelnbogen, Lichtenberg Office, Oberramstadt district, Oberramstädter Reiswagen
• from 1803: Holy Roman Empire, Upper Rhine Empire, Landgraviate Hessen-Darmstadt, Principality of Starkenburg , Lichtenberg Office
• from 1806: Grand Duchy of Hesse , Principality of Starkenburg, Lichtenberg Office
• from 1815: German Confederation , Grand Duchy of Hesse, Province of Starkenburg , Lichtenberg Office
• from 1821: German Confederation, Grand Duchy of Hesse, Starkenburg Province, Reinheim District District (separation between justice ( Lichtenberg District Court ) and administration)
• from 1832: German Confederation, Grand Duchy of Hesse, Province of Starkenburg, District of Dieburg
• from 1848: German Confederation, Grand Duchy of Hesse, Dieburg administrative region
• from 1852: German Confederation, Grand Duchy of Hesse, Province of Starkenburg, District of Dieburg
• from 1866: Grand Duchy of Hesse, Province of Starkenburg, District of Dieburg
• from 1871: German Empire , Grand Duchy of Hesse, Province of Starkenburg, District of Dieburg
• from 1918: German Empire, People's State of Hesse , Starkenburg Province, Dieburg District
• from 1938: German Empire, People's State of Hesse, Darmstadt district (In the course of the regional reform in 1938 , the three Hessian provinces of Starkenburg, Rheinhessen and Upper Hesse were dissolved.)
• from 1945: American zone of occupation , Greater Hesse , Darmstadt district, Darmstadt district
• from 1949: Federal Republic of Germany , State of Hesse , Darmstadt district, Darmstadt district
• on July 1, 1971 merger with the municipality of Ober-Modau to form the municipality of Modau
• on January 1, 1977 to the city of Ober-Ramstadt
• from 1977: Federal Republic of Germany, Land Hessen, administrative district Darmstadt, administrative district Darmstadt-Dieburg in which the administrative districts Darmstadt and Dieburg were dissolved in the course of the regional reform in Hesse .

dishes

Nieder-Modau belonged to the Oberramstadt district court . In the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt, the judicial system was reorganized in an executive order of December 9, 1803. The “Hofgericht Darmstadt” was set up as a court of second instance for the Principality of Starkenburg . The jurisdiction of the first instance was carried out by the offices or the landlords . The Lichtenberg office was responsible for Nieder-Modau. The court court was the second instance court for normal civil disputes, and the first instance for civil family law cases and criminal cases. The superior court of appeal in Darmstadt was superordinate . The main courts had lost their function.

With the formation of the regional courts in the Grand Duchy of Hesse, the regional court of Lichtenberg was the court of first instance from 1821 . It followed:

• from 1848: Regional Court of Reinheim (relocated from Lichtenberg)
• from 1879: Reinheim District Court (renamed); second instance district court Darmstadt
• from 1968: Darmstadt District Court with the dissolution of the Reinheim District Court; second instance district court Darmstadt

Population development

• 1440: around 50 rural settlers and Huben people ( hooves )
• 1630: 075 inhabitants (estimated)
• 1791: 332 inhabitants
• 1800: 338 inhabitants
• 1806: 423 inhabitants, 57 houses
• 1829: 606 inhabitants, 76 houses
• 1867: 617 inhabitants, 86 houses

Nieder-Modau: Population from 1791 to 1970
year				Residents
1791			332
1800			338
1806			423
1829			606
1834			626
1840			630
1846			672
1852			635
1858			630
1864			651
1871			605
1875			620
1885			630
1895			627
1905			653
1910			622
1925			641
1939			685
1946			1.012
1950			1,000
1956			955
1961			1,019
1967			1,284
1970			1,326
Data source: Historical municipality register for Hesse: The population of the municipalities from 1834 to 1967. Wiesbaden: Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt, 1968. Other sources:

Religious affiliation

• 1829:	602 Lutheran (= 99.34%), 4 Reformed (= 0.66%) and one Catholic (= 0.15%) Mennonite population
• 1961:	824 Protestant (= 80.86%) and 184 (= 18.06%) Catholic residents

politics

mayor

Former town hall in Kirchstrasse

• 1822–1830 Roßmann, Johann Heinrich
• 1832–1842 Matthes, Johannes IV .
• 1848–1862 Rossmann
• 1863–1871 Matthes, Johannes V.
• 1871-1883 Schaller
• 1883–1909 Roßmann, Philipp Wilhelm III.
• 1909–1921 Schaller, Philipp II.
• 1921–1932 Perron, Daniel
• 1932–1933 Schuchmann, Georg
• 1933–1945 Beyer, Georg VI.
• 1946–1948 Nickolaus, Joseph
• 1948–1950?
• 1950–1968 Nickolaus, Joseph
• 1968–1976 Mager, Heinz

Culture and sights

Sunrise over Nieder-Modau

music

• Gesangverein Nieder-Modau (founded before 1864, expired)
• Liederkranz Nieder-Modau (founded 1881, expired)
• Gesangverein Frohsinn 03 (founded in 1903 as a workers choir) with its own club magazine ("Modauer Saiten")

Sports

• SG Modau, football club, club area Am Lohberg, large playing field grass field, playing field artificial turf, small playing field grass field, beach volleyball facility, specially managed sports home
• TSV Modau with the departments handball, table tennis, gymnastics, hiking
• Angelsportverein Modau (ASV) 1976 e. V., with its own fish ponds

Other clubs

• German Red Cross local association Modau / Modautal
• Modau volunteer fire brigade with youth fire brigade and fire station
• Association for the promotion of fruit growing by gardening and landscape maintenance in Modau with its own association garden

Regular events

Every two years in summer, usually at the same time as the “Darmstädter Heinerfest”, the “Murrer Strasse Curb ” is celebrated. The festival, which lasts several days, takes place on Kirchstrasse, which is closed for this purpose, and in the courtyards of the farms along the street.

Culinary specialties

"Murrer Essich": The name goes back to a wine that was previously produced by vines on Wingertsberg. Today it is more often used to describe the apple wine popular in this region.

hikes

• The hiking trail O4 (Ober-Ramstadt) leads through northern Modau.
• The hiking route "Waldenserweg" described by Rainer Türk goes right through the village
• On the western edge of Modau, the European long-distance hiking trail E1 (Baltic Sea-Bodensee) runs along the Hohen Strasse

Attractions

• Nieder-Modau Castle
• Nieder-Modau church
• Old castle mill in Modau

Economy and Infrastructure

traffic

Modau is on the L 3099 state road . Today the L 3099 is called Odenwaldstraße and runs in a north-south direction and continues to Ober-Modau, Ernsthofen and Brandau. To the west, the district road K 137 connects Nieder-Modau with Frankenhausen and to the east, the K 133 with Rohrbach.

The bus line "O" of the Darmstadt-Dieburger Verkehrsverbund goes through Modau .

Modau itself has no railway connection (even if a railway line from Ober-Ramstadt via Modau to Ernsthofen was once planned). The next train station is the train station of Ober-Ramstadt .

Public facilities

• Modauhalle, Am Lohberg 40, multi-purpose hall, hall: 405 m², foyer: 86 m², multi-speaker room: 99 m², visitor capacity: depending on the type of event, up to 500 people

education

• The school house was built in 1869
• kindergarten
• Finkennest day nursery (private)
• The children from Nieder-Modau go to Modautalschule, 64397 Modautal / Ernsthofen, elementary school with special needs

Personalities

sons and daughters of the town

Karl Heuss

Karl Heuss was the eldest son of Johannes Heuss from Lichtenberg and Katharina Ludwig from Nieder-Modau. He was born in Nieder-Modau in 1859 and learned to be a stonemason. It is known from old age stories that he did not want to join the soldiers of Kaiser Wilhelm and moved to Mansfield in Ohio in 1880. For the same reason, his brother Johannes followed him there in 1881. Karl Heuss married Maria Anna Ackermann, also from Nieder-Modau, in America and had seven children with her. In the flourishing city of Mansfield, he founded a construction business and, through his stone buildings, made a significant contribution to giving the city a new face. In 1898 he laid the foundation stone and rebuilt the Lutheran St. Paul's Church, of which he was a member. Many important secular buildings and four other churches were added.

The news from his old homeland that the big bell of the Nieder-Modauer church was melted down during World War I and there was no money for a new one after the war, prompted him to organize a fundraising campaign in Mansfield in 1922. The following entry can be found in the church chronicle of Nieder-Modau under the year 1922 about the result of this fundraising campaign in Mansfield: “New Year's Day brought our parish the joyful news that our former Nieder-Modauers in America are buying a new bell instead of the one during the war delivered, had collected. "

The 20 named donors raised $ 103.50. In 1922 this corresponded to the equivalent of approx. 18,000 German marks. With the amount raised by the former Nieder-Modauer and emigrants from the surrounding villages, a new bell could be purchased. Karl Heuss not only helped his family members, but also organized help for those in need in the Old World through the German aid association in Mansfield.

• Johann Heinrich Rossmann (1777–1852) economist, politician and member of the 2nd Chamber of the Estates of the Grand Duchy of Hesse.

• Johannes Matthes (1798–1866) farmer, politician and member of the 1st Chamber of the Estates of the Grand Duchy of Hesse.

Personalities who have worked in the place

• Karl Schlechta (born January 23, 1904 in Vienna, † February 19, 1985 in Modau, district of Ober-Ramstadt) was an Austrian Nietzsche researcher and editor of the works of Friedrich Nietzsche in Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich (so-called "Schlechta edition ").

• The family Boßler has from 1738 through from Rodau originating Johann Ludwig Boßler (1710-1783) ( " Ludwig Bosler, of Rodau ") one of its genealogical roots in Nieder-Modau. The teacher , businessman , economist and landlord Johannes Boßler (1796-1834) was born in Nieder-Modau as the son of the citizen of the same name and his wife Barbara Schuchmann. He became a citizen in Neckarsteinach in 1822 and was a double cousin of the Landtag member and mayor Johann Heinrich Roßmann.

literature

• Heinz Bormuth: History and collapse of the Modauer cash register . In: Zeitschrift des Breuberg-Bund , 1977, issue 2, p. 52.
• Karl E. Demandt : Regest of the Counts of Katzenelnbogen 1060–1486, Volumes I – IV. Self-published by the Historical Commission for Nassau , Wiesbaden 1953/57, ( DNB 450899047 ).
• Arthur Funk: On the history of the Schloßberg near Nieder Modau . Published by the Association for Local History, Ober-Ramstadt 1985, ( DNB 860643816 ).
• Brigitte Köhler: The pastor of Modau and the Rohrbachers who pay him tithing . In: Journal of the Breuberg-Bund, 1981, issue 1.
• Prof. Dr. Diethard Köhler : Modauer families 1635–1750 , parish Nieder-Modau. On behalf of the Association for Local History Ober-Ramstadt, 1987, ( DNB 880868198 ).
• Werner Hahn: Ober-Ramstadt - A chronicle on the history of the city . Published by the Magistrate of the City of Ober-Ramstadt, Ober-Ramstadt 2010, ISBN 978-3-9813356-0-6 .
• Thomas Steinmetz: The southwestern tip of the Dreieich Wildbann in the Odenwald - A contribution to the history of the upper Modautal and Nieder-Modau Castle . In: Der Odenwald , magazine of the Breuberg-Bund, 2014, issue 2, pp. 43–62.
• Literature on Nieder-Modau in the Hessian Bibliography

Web links

• Modau district (Ober-Modau and Nieder-Modau). In: website. City of Ober-Ramstadt 
• Nieder-Modau, Darmstadt-Dieburg district. Historical local dictionary for Hessen. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
• Modau, Darmstadt-Dieburg district. Historical local dictionary for Hessen. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Nieder-Modau, Darmstadt-Dieburg district. Historical local lexicon for Hessen (as of March 23, 2018). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS). Hessian State Office for Historical Cultural Studies (HLGL), accessed on March 25, 2018 .  
2. ↑ Karl E. Demandt: Regesten der Graf von Katzenelnbogen. No. 100.
3. ↑ Demandt, Karl E .: Die Regesten der Grafen von Katzenelnbogen, Volume 1: 1060-1418 , Publications of the Historical Commission for Nassau, 1953. No. 116
4. ^ ^{A b c} Arthur Funk, Georg Zimmermann: On the history of the Evangelical Church in Nieder-Modau . Reinheim, after 1985
5. ↑ The Reichsministeriale von Dornberg (before 1160 those from Hagen-Münzenberg ) are (...) to be presumed to be the main rulers in the upper Modau valley and the most likely builders and owners of the castle near Nieder-Modau until they died out . Thomas Steinmetz: The southwestern tip of the Dreieich Wildbann in the Odenwald - a contribution to the history of the Upper Modau Valley and Nieder-Modau Castle. In: Der Odenwald , Zeitschrift des Breuberg-Bund, 2014, No. 2, p. 59
6. ↑ Walter Möller: The destruction of Modau Castle. In: Der Odenwald , Zeitschrift des Breuberg-Bund, 1955, issue 2, pp. 51–54. Olaf Wagener: The siege and destruction of the castle in Nieder-Modau in 1382 - new findings on siege systems. In: Der Odenwald, Zeitschrift des Breuberg-Bund, 2013, issue 1, p. 23
7. ^ Documents of the County of Katzenelnbogen. In: HADIS: Hessisches Archiv-Dokumentations- und Informations-System, signature: 1732, as of January 7, 2007
8. ↑ The Mainz commissioner Hermann settles the dispute between Mr. Gerhard von Katzenelnbogen, pastor in Muda [Nieder-Modau], and Ruppert von Wetter, pastor in Ramstadt, about the benefit exchange . Gerhard von Katzenelnbogen received Ober-Ramstadt and Ruppert from Wetter Nieder-Modau. Vigener, Fritz (arr.) In: Regesten der Archbischöfe von Mainz von 1289-1396 . Second section (1354-1396), first volume 1354-1371. No. 2478, November 4, 1368 (URI: www.ingrossaturbuecher.de/id/source/9833 ). Online Regest, No. 12600, November 4, 1368. Regest of the Landgraves of Hesse. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
9. ↑ Jew from Steyne . In: Regesta of the Archbishops of Mainz, StA Wü, MIB 14 fol. 375v, July 20, 1413 ( URI: www.ingrossaturbuecher.de/id/source/10141 )
10. ^ Documents of the County of Katzenelnbogen. In: Hessisches Archiv-Dokumentations- und Informations-System, Demandt, Regesten der Grafen von Katzenelnbogen, Regesten-Nr. 2607 as of January 7, 2007
11. ^ Documents of the County of Katzenelnbogen. In: Hessisches Archiv-Dokumentations- und Informations-System, Sig. 2631, as of January 7, 2007
12. ↑ ^{a b c} Gernot Scior: The Lords of Wallbrunn to Ernsthofen - History of a county from 1440 to 1722 . Association for Local History Ober-Ramstadt, 1977
13. ^ Documents of the County of Katzenelnbogen. In: Hessisches Archiv-Dokumentations- und Informations-System, Sig. 4590, as of January 7, 2007
14. ↑ Karl E. Demandt: Regesten der Graf von Katzenelnbogen. No. 4971, June 21, 1457
15. ↑ Online Regest No. 6513 of September 29, 1490. Regest of the Landgraves of Hesse. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
16. ^ "War damage register of the Upper County of Katzenelnbogen: Incursion of Count Ernst v. Mansfeld. “  (HStAD inventory E 8 A No. 31/1). In: Archive Information System Hessen (Arcinsys Hessen), as of January 8, 2007.
17. ^ Helfrich Bernhard Wenck: Hessische Landesgeschichte , 1783, p. 155
18. ↑ Erwin Netscher: Ober-Ramstadt at the time of the ironworks and the hammer mill . In: Glaube und Heimat , Evangelisches Gemeindeblatt Ober-Ramstadt, March 1939.
19. ↑ Gingelbach. In: Map of the Grand Ducal Hesse . Recorded by the Grand Ducal Hessian General Quartermaster Staff (the year is not known).
20. ^ Name Silberberg . In: Ordinance sheet for the Darmstadt district, No. 9/1854.
21. ^ Karl-Heinz Schanz: Chronicle of mining in Ober-Ramstadt . In: The Museum Ober-Ramstadt provides information . Supplement to Odenwälder Nachrichten , No. 6, November 1998, p. 23
22. ^ Resumption of mining and the smelter in Ober-Ramstadt (1579–1599), Hessisches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt, E 14 A, 120/1.
23. ^ Operation of the mine in Ober-Ramstadt 1577–1599 , Hessisches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt, E 14 A No. 120/2.
24. ↑ Dr. med. Joachim Strupp. In 1598 he was enfeoffed with the mine in Ober-Ramstadt and a court ride on the market in Darmstadt, including freedom of the castle . Hessisches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt Best. E 12 No. 299/53.
25. ↑ Bergassessor Sommer: The mining of Landgrave Georg I of Hesse near Oberramstadt in the Odenwalde. In: The ore mining . Zentralblatt für die Erzbergbau, December 1908, pp. 508-519 u. 536-545. Library of the Ruhr area Bochum, call number 8 b 73.4 1908.
26. ^ Friedrich Mößinger: Mines and iron hammers in the Odenwald , publishing house of the "Südhessische Post", Heppenheim, 1957.
27. ↑ Test drilling on Silberberg , see report: "Where is the width stone?" In: Odenwälder Nachrichten, April 2, 1938.
28. ^ Odenwälder Nachrichten of March 7 and April 4, 1908
29. ^ Carl Horst Hoferichter: Brief local history of Ober-Ramstadt . In: Festbuch for the anniversary of the city of Ober-Ramstadt 1960, p. 34 , Ober-Ramstadt, 1960
30. ↑ On ore mining in Ober-Ramstadt . In: The Museum Ober-Ramstadt provides information . Supplement to Odenwälder Nachrichten , No. 1, May 1998
31. ^ Chronicle of mining in Ober-Ramstadt . In: The Museum Ober-Ramstadt provides information . Supplement to Odenwälder Nachrichten , No. 6, November 1998
32. ^ Karl-Heinz Schanz: The Annaberg miners' altar . In: The Museum Ober-Ramstadt provides information . Supplement to Odenwälder Nachrichten , No. 7, December 1998, p. 26
33. ↑ Quotation from the princely master builder Sonnemann In Funk und Zimmermann: On the history of the Nieder-Modau church, page 11
34. ^ ^{A b c} Georg Wilhelm Justin Wagner : Statistical-topographical-historical description of the Grand Duchy of Hesse: Province of Starkenburg . tape 1 . Carl Wilhelm Leske, Darmstadt October 1829, OCLC 312528080 , p. 169 ( online at google books ).
35. ^ General assembly of the savings and credit association Nieder-Modau . In: Odenwälder Nachrichten of August 17, 1911.
36. ^ Court judgment of June 14, 1913, In: Odenwälder Nachrichten of June 17, 1913, July 2, 1914, July 4, 1914, October 17, 1914.
37. ^ Heinz Bormuth: History and collapse of the Modauer cash register . In: Der Odenwald , Volume 24, 1977, pp. 52–61.
38. ^ Carl Crüger: Nieder-Modau and the revision of the cooperative law . In: Blätter für Genossenschaftwesen , year 1913, p. 43ff.
39. ↑ Law on the reorganization of the districts of Darmstadt and Dieburg and the city of Darmstadt (GVBl. II No. 330–334) of July 26, 1974 . In: The Hessian Minister of the Interior (ed.): Law and Ordinance Gazette for the State of Hesse . 1974 No. 22 , p. 318 ff ., § 8 ( online at the information system of the Hessian state parliament [PDF; 1.5 MB ]).
40. ↑ rice car = provision of freight cars, including draft animals and servants for campaigns.
41. ^ Ferdinand Dieffenbach: The Grand Duchy of Hesse in the past and present . Literary Institution, Darmstadt 1877, p. 254 ( online at google books ).
42. ↑ ^{a b} Hessen-Darmstadt state and address calendar 1791 . In the publishing house of the Invaliden-Anstalt, Darmstadt 1791, p.  123 ( online in the HathiTrust digital library ).
43. ^ 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). 
44. ^ Grand Ducal Central Office for State Statistics (ed.): Contributions to the statistics of the Grand Duchy of Hesse . tape 1 . Großherzoglicher Staatsverlag, Darmstadt 1862, DNB  013163434 , OCLC 894925483 , p. 43 ff . ( Online at google books ).
45. ↑ ^{a b} List of offices, places, houses, population. Hessisches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt, E 8 A No. 352/4.
46. ^ Helfrich Bernhard Wenck: Hessische Landesgeschichte , 1783, p. 172
47. ^ Population 1630: In: "Der Odenwald", Zeitschrift des Breuberg-Bund, 1965, issue 3, p. 79.
48. ↑ Hessen-Darmstadt state and address calendar 1800 . In the publishing house of the Invaliden-Anstalt, Darmstadt 1800, p.  125 ( online in the HathiTrust digital library ).
49. ^ Ph. AF Walther : Alphabetical index of the residential places in the Grand Duchy of Hesse . G. Jonghaus, Darmstadt 1869, OCLC 162355422 , p. 64 ( online at google books ).
50. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Werner Hahn: Ober-Ramstadt - A chronicle of the history of the city . Ed .: Magistrate of the City of Ober-Ramstadt. Ober-Ramstadt 2010, ISBN 978-3-9813356-0-6 , pp. 151 .
51. ↑ Mayor Roßmann. In: Wochenblatt des Bezirks Dieburg, No. 35/1848.
52. ↑ Mayor Roßmann. In: Advertisement sheet for the Dieburg u. Neustadt No. 9/1862.
53. ↑ Mayor Matthes, Johannes V. In: Advertisement sheet for the Dieburg u. Neustadt No. 27/1865.
54. ↑ Mayor Schaller. In: Odenwälder Bote (Groß-Umstadt) January 30, 1878, August 4, 1883.
55. ↑ Mayor Roßmann III. In: Odenwälder Bote (Groß-Umstadt) November 3, 1883.
56. ↑ Mayor Daniel Perron * October 28, 1865 in Rohrbach † October 17, 1938 in Darmstadt.
57. ^ Advertisement sheet for the Dieburg u. Neustadt, No. 55/1864, Friday July 8, 1864.
58. ^ Odenwälder Nachrichten, June 21, 1906.
59. ^ ^{A b} Rainer Türk: Hikes in the front Odenwald . Lorsch, 2003, ISBN 3-9808202-2-X
60. ^ Construction of the school in Nieder-Modau . In: Starkenburger Provinzial-Anzeiger - Dieburger Kreisblatt, No. 52/1869.
61. ↑ Artur Funk: Odenwälder in der neue Welt - The members of the St. Paul's parish in Mansfield / Ohio from the year 1891 . In: Der Odenwald , Zeitschrift des Breuberg-Bund, 39th year. Issue 4, December 1992, page 163 ff.
62. ↑ Werner Hahn: Ober-Ramstadt - A chronicle on the history of the city . Ed .: Magistrate of the City of Ober-Ramstadt. Ober-Ramstadt 2010, ISBN 978-3-9813356-0-6 , pp. 137 .
63. ↑ Prof. Dr. Diethard Köhler: Families in Rodau, Asbach, Klein-Bieberau, Webern 1635–1750 . Volume II: Address book front Odenwald 1635–1750. Ober-Ramstadt 1987, OCLC 74995814 , chapter: Rodau 1700–1780, church Groß-Bieberau .
64. ↑ Werner Hahn: Ober-Ramstadt - A chronicle on the history of the city . Ed .: Magistrate of the City of Ober-Ramstadt. Ober-Ramstadt 2010, ISBN 978-3-9813356-0-6 , pp. 150 .
65. ^ Nadine Sauer: Families in Neckarsteinach 1603-1900, Volume I. the Protestant church records . Ed .: Evangelical Church Community Neckarsteinach and Darsberg. tape 171 of the B series of the German local family books. Neckarsteinach 1999, DNB  959404473 , p. 76 .
66. ↑ Marcel Bossler: A small text on the genealogy and ancestry of the court rifle maker in Darmstadt Johann Peter Boßler (Bosler) illuminating as well as the history, meaning and origin of the early Boßler family via the Lichtenberg office to Darmstadt and Neckarsteinach . Ed .: Marcel Bossler. Volume I. - History of the Hessian Boßler family. Self-published by M. Bossler, Bad Rappenau 2019, ISBN 978-3-00-063737-7 , p. 1 .