Waldensberg

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Waldensberg
City of Wächtersbach
Coordinates: 50 ° 18 ′ 15 "  N , 9 ° 13 ′ 30"  E
Height : 377 m above sea level NHN
Area : 10.18 km²
Residents : 436  (December 31, 2011)
Population density : 43 inhabitants / km²
Incorporation : March 1, 1971
Postal code : 63607
Area code : 06053
map
Location of Waldensberg in Wächtersbach
Waldensberg from above
Waldensberg from above

The formerly independent community of Waldensberg is today, along with Wittgenborn and Leisenwald, one of the three districts of the city of Wächtersbach , in the Hessian Main-Kinzig district , which lie on the edge of the Spielberger Platte plateau . Then there are the valley communities of Aufenau , Hesseldorf , Neudorf and Weilers .

geography

The village is located on the southern edge of the Vogelsberg and on the northeastern edge of the Büdinger Forest 9.2 km northwest of Wächtersbach, together with two other districts of Wächtersbach's Wittgenborn and Leisenwald on the Spielberger Platte . State road  3194 runs through the village .

history

Waldensians founded the village

Expulsion and arrival of the Waldensians

The name Waldensberg goes back to the Waldensians , a Protestant denomination that was strongly persecuted in France , especially under King Louis XIV . At the end of the 17th century persecution also reached the then French Piedmont and the Waldensians who settled there. A few years after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, which initiated the persecution of Huguenots throughout France, an act by Viktor Amadeus II , the Duke of Savoy , took place on July 1, 1698. This forced the in the localities of Mentoulles, Fenestrelle and Usseaux , in the Chisone Valley , Protestants living in the Exodus . 69 families, consisting of 348 people, came via Geneva and Basel to Nauheim and Ginsheim near Darmstadt as an intermediate stage . Contact was made with Count Ferdinand Maximilian I of Ysenburg-Wächtersbach through the arrangement of the Dutchman Pieter Valkenier . He invited the religious refugees to his county. On August 21, 1699 a settlement agreement was signed, which was written in two languages. The rights and obligations of the new settlers were defined in 29 points. These included: 10 years of tax exemption, "free wood and stones from the Büdingen forest, lumbering and grazing rights there, slaughter and brewing rights, ..." and much more.

On the Spielberger Platte , between the villages of Wittgenborn and Leisenwald, a settlement area had been designated for the refugees. Each family was promised, among other things, “25 Arpent Boden”, corresponding to around 8.5 hectares. The formalities of naturalization also included, as was customary at the time, that the new citizens had to swear an oath of allegiance to Count Ferdinand Maximilian I.

Establishment and development of Waldensberg

The refugees initially found temporary accommodation in the neighboring towns of Leisenwald, Spielberg , Wittgenborn and Wolferborn. The contract negotiated with the count was only implemented slowly, the area was inhospitable and windy, there were no water sources nearby, the small ponds nearby were only suitable as cattle troughs , the drinking water, on the other hand, "... had to be fetched from Bubenborn, a quarter of an hour away " . Another difficulty was that ... the newcomers who spoke a foreign language (North Occitan) ... were not always accepted by the local population . In addition, the new settlers were more likely to be craftsmen and therefore had to learn how to farm. Discouraged by this, about 200 of the refugees who had originally arrived moved on to Württemberg on June 14, 1700. There they founded a place, today's Nordhausen .

For those who stayed in the new location, things developed slowly. At first, the mortality rate was very high (in 1699 it was 23 of 330 people, in 1700 there were 10 people). The first cemetery in Waldensberg is mentioned in 1701. Initially, the settlers were housed in 44 barrack-like huts. The planning of permanent housing dates back to 1702. Each family was granted 625 m² for the domicile . In 1715 36 buildings were erected. In 1739 the church was inaugurated. The new citizens, who used to be hemp, wool and linen collectors, initially got involved as seasonal workers in the Wetterau . A turning point came in 1710 with the arrival of the Huguenot Verjac in the village. Together with Etienne Névache he founded a stocking knitting factory . This innovation met with interest and approval from many in the village, so that soon half of the new residents were active in this trade.

Until the beginning of the 19th century, Occitan was spoken in Waldensberg , a language that was formerly spoken in the south of France and was similar to French. From 1813 the official language and school lessons were changed from French to German . This also happened in the church sector. The last French clergyman was Pierre Mulot.

Destruction of the village on April 2, 1945

On April 2, 1945, when the end of the Second World War was long in sight, American units and units of the Waffen-SS , the 6th SS Mountain Division "North" , fought heavy fighting under SS-Gruppenführer Karl Brenner , in which two thirds of the village were destroyed. On April 1st (first Easter holiday) the SS division had reached the Altenstadt area . There she was forced into heavy fighting in the Erbstädter forest. On 2/3 April the remnants of the division were broken up in a pincer movement by American infantry and tank units after heavy fighting in the Büdinger Forest southwest of Wittgenborn . The fighting took place in the villages of Leisenwald and Waldensberg, as well as on the Weiherhof, which were under artillery fire for hours. Over 400 US soldiers, 140 SS men and more than a dozen villagers were killed in the fighting.

The rebuilt church was consecrated for the 250th anniversary of the community in 1949.

Incorporation

On March 1, 1971, Waldensberg was incorporated into the town of Wächtersbach.

politics

Local advisory board

Waldensberg has a local district according to the Hessian municipal code . The local advisory board consists of five members. The post of mayor is currently vacant; Timo Karnelka is his deputy.

Town twinning

The town twinning between the town of Wächtersbach and Bobbio Pellice ( Italy ) was created against the background of the Waldensberg's origins in Piedmont. Today's Piedmontese community Bobbio Pellice lies in a valley parallel to the Chisone valley, the region of origin of the Waldensberg immigrants. Bobbio Pellice also has a Waldensian tradition.

Culture and sights

The church in Waldensberg

Cultivation, traditions

The French tradition of the place and its population is evident in many parts of the village to this day. It's not just the three streets with French names: "Bonnetstrasse" , "Arnouldstrasse" and "Rougeweg" that catch the eye. French names can also be found in the cemetery with: Joffroy, Talmon, Barandier, Piston, ... Directly at the Waldensberg church you can see a memorial that commemorates the expulsion of the Waldensians. It was won in 2007 at the “Dämmerschoppen” of the GNZ (Gelnhäuser Neue Zeitung) and designed by Pia Bopp (a media designer who lives in Waldensberg). A Waldensian symbol with a dove under the cross can also be found in the church. The Waldenserverein Waldensberg e. V. is committed to maintaining memories of its own past.

Theater group

There has been an amateur play group in Waldensberg since 1960 . She practices, also with children and young people, plays and musicals, which are usually performed in the village community center. One remembers a number of successful productions by this company:

  • 2010 “Heulalia and the big laugh” , a fairy tale
  • 2011 "Bella Italia"
  • 2012 "Trouble in the Old Court" and "Witching Hour at Balmor Castle"
  • 2014 "Ophelia and the drawer of lost happiness"
  • 2015 "Rascal with a heart"
  • 2018 "When Angels Sing"
  • 2019 "Bank robbery with rollator" and "The four ghosts and the lost key"

Natural monuments

  • Oak at the Großer Weiher with a chest height of 7.50 m (2014).

Economy and Infrastructure

education

There was a one-class school in Waldensberg . The establishment of a large school in Schlierbach in 1961 and its expansion into a supra- local , central elementary school in the following years , provided space and a replacement for the one-class schools in the Wächtersbach districts on the Spielberger Platte: Waldensberg and Leisenwald. Wittgenborn was added later. A connection is guaranteed by buses.

The cooperative comprehensive school , the Friedrich August Genth School in the Wächtersbach city center school center, is the secondary school for all parts of the city. Like all the other districts, Wittgenborn is connected to the school center in the city center by bus.

Village community center

Waldensberg has a village community center . In addition to communal use, the facilities can also be booked for private events of all kinds, family celebrations, presentations, seminars and the like.

Volunteer firefighter

The Waldensberg volunteer fire brigade has its own base in the village . It was founded in 1932. 40 years later, in 1972, a youth fire brigade was added. Joint exercises with the fire brigades Wächtersbach, Aufenau, Wittgenborn and Leisenwald take place several times a year.

literature

  • Collet, Jacques, "Châtillon, Wächtersbach et le protestantisme"
  • Decker, Klaus Peter. “Poor displaced people or unwanted strangers? On the foundation of Waldensberg 1699 ", in" 300 years Waldensberg 1699-1999 "
  • Ackermann, Jürgen, "The founding of Waldenberg", October 10, 1984.
  • Haag Hansjörg, "On the history of Waldensberg and the Waldensians ..." in "250 Years of the Evangelical Church in Waldensberg", 1989
  • Grefe August, "800 years of Waldensians, 275 years of Waldensberg" in "Festschrift for the 800th Waldensian jubilee and 275th anniversary of Waldensberg", 1974
  • Kiefner Theo, “The Waldensians on their way from Val Cluson through Switzerland to Germany. 1532-1755 ", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1985.
  • Dölemeyer Barbara, "The Huguenots." W. Kohlhammer 2006.
  • Martin Schäfer, Heimatbuch des Kreises Gelnhausen , ed. Kreisverwaltung Gelnhausen, 1950, pp. 220-223

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Waldensberg, Main-Kinzig-Kreis. Historical local dictionary for Hessen. (As of November 4, 2019). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
  2. ^ Martin Schäfer, Heimatbuch des Kreises Gelnhausen , ed. Kreisverwaltung Gelnhausen, 1950, p. 221
  3. ↑ Collet, Jacques, "Châtillon, Wächtersbach et le protestantisme"
  4. ^ Martin Schäfer (after A. Heilmann and H. Gärtner) Foundation of the village Waldensberg by the Waldensians . In: Heimatbuch des Kreises Gelnhausen, 3rd expanded edition, Kreisverwaltung Gelnhausen (Ed.), 1950, p. 221
  5. ↑ Jacques Collet Châtillon, Wächtersbach et le protestantisme
  6. ↑ Michael Keller: The end that was the beginning. Comments on the public and private memory of the end of the war and the SS state, World War II and the changes in Wetterau society between 1939 and 1949 in: Andreas Wiedemann: Between the end of the war and currency reform Politics and everyday life in the Friedberg and Büdingen districts 1945–1949 , Verlag der Bindernagelschen Buchhandlung, Friedberg 1994 as a special edition of the Wetterauer Geschichtsblätter 43/1994 part II, page XXII f., ISBN 3-87076-079-6 .
  7. ↑ Heinrich Kreß OSTERN 1945 - Waldensberg sank into rubble and ashes Between Vogelsberg and Spessart, Heimat-Jahrbuch des Kreis Gelnhausen 1964. The district administrator of the district Gelnhausen, Gelnhausen 1963, pp. 33–38.
  8. ^ 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. 362 .
  9. ^ Local Advisory Board Hesseldorf. In: website. City of Wächtersbach, accessed August 2020 .
  10. ^ Entry in the directory of monumental oaks . Retrieved January 10, 2017
  11. ^ Wittgenborn fire department