Wehbach

Wehbach City churches (victory) Coordinates: 50 ° 49 ′ 8 ″  N , 7 ° 51 ′ 27 ″  E
Area :	3.4 km²
Residents :	1114
Population density :	328 inhabitants / km²
Incorporation :	1942
Postal code :	57548
Area code :	02741
Location of Wehbach in Rhineland-Palatinate

Wehbach is a district and a district of the city of Kirchen (Sieg) in the district of Altenkirchen (Westerwald) in northern Rhineland-Palatinate on the border with North Rhine-Westphalia . Until 1942, Wehbach was an independent municipality.

geography

Wehbach lies in the Asdorftal in the shadow of the "Brühlkopf" and the "Molzberg". In the village, the eponymous Wehbach flows into the Asdorf , a tributary of the Sieg .

history

Emergence

Wehbach's beginnings can probably be found around 1400. A feudal deed of Count Gerhard von Sayn dates from 1466. For a long time, the area was rather sparsely populated and characterized by agriculture. Mining was also carried out as a sideline, as can be seen from old prospecting holes and pits.

industrialization

In 1839 the industrialization of Wehbach began, supported by the available hydropower. First, the Kirchen factory owner Carl Daniel Stein founded a sheet metal rolling mill, which later became the Friedrichshütte. The second half of the 19th century was Wehbach's heyday. The population grew rapidly, as the steel works, mechanical engineering, a brewery, a tannery, and the wood and mill factories needed workers. At times this made Wehbach larger than Kirchen. In 1919, 2822 inhabitants were counted, while the neighboring municipality came to 2569 at the same time.

Association with churches

In 1942, Wehbach was forcibly united with churches by the National Socialists to form the double community of Kirchen-Wehbach (Sieg) . After the Second World War there was an attempt to reverse this merger for several years. The efforts of a citizens' initiative “Away from Churches” were unsuccessful, however. With the incorporation of Freusburg, Herkersdorf, Offhausen, Wingendorf and Katzenbach on June 7, 1969, the new large community and, from 2004, the town was renamed Kirchen (Sieg) .

Another decisive year was 1967. At that time the Friedrichshütte finally closed its doors for economic reasons after more than 125 years. A structural change away from heavy industry had to be managed.

politics

District

Wehbach is designated as a local district of the city of Kirchen (Sieg) and has a local advisory board and an honorary mayor .

The plan to unite the local districts of Wehbach and Wingendorf after the local elections in 2019 was stopped in 2018 after a unanimous rejection by the two local advisory councils concerned by the churches city council.

Local advisory board

The local advisory board consists of eight advisory board members. In the local elections on May 26, 2019 , these advisory board members were elected in a personalized proportional representation. There were seven advisory board members until the 2019 election.

The distribution of seats in the elected local council:

choice	SPD	CDU	total
2019	5	3	8 seats
2014	5	2	7 seats

Mayor

The mayor is Ulrich Haas (non-party). In the direct election on May 26, 2019, he was elected with a share of 73.11% of the vote, making him the successor to Bruno Schumann (SPD), who did not run again.

Culture

A lively club life enriches local life. The Singkreis 1868 Wehbach is a mixed choir with international appearances. Other large clubs are the VfL Wehbach sports club and the Grindel sport shooters .

Economy and Infrastructure

Companies

On the site of the former Friedrichshütte, new industrial companies were established with great financial commitment from the city of Kirchen.

traffic

Wehbach is on Landesstraße 280, which leads from Kirchen to Freudenberg and offers a connection to the A45 motorway.

The place was on the Asdorftalbahn , opened in 1887 , which also connected churches with Freudenberg. After the cessation of passenger traffic in 1983, the final shutdown followed in 1997. Parts of the route are now used as a cycle path.

Web links

• Wehbach on the website of the Association of Churches (Sieg)
• Wehbach on the sides of the city churches (victory)

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} Siegener Zeitung: From farming village to important industrial location. January 31, 2004, accessed November 17, 2019 . 
2. ^ ^{A b c} Verbandsgemeinde Kirchen (Sieg): Wehbach. Retrieved November 17, 2019 . 
3. ^ City of churches (Sieg): main statute. (PDF) § 14 to 17. Stadt Kirchen, June 25, 2019, accessed on November 17, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Claudia Geimer: City council churches stop merging: Wehbach and Wingendorf remain "independent". (PDF) Rhein-Zeitung, December 14, 2018, accessed on November 16, 2019 . 
5. ^ The Regional Returning Officer Rhineland-Palatinate: Local Advisory Council election 2019 Wehbach. Retrieved November 17, 2019 . 
6. ^ The Regional Returning Officer of Rhineland-Palatinate: Local Advisory Council election 2014 Wehbach. Retrieved November 17, 2019 . 
7. ↑ The Regional Returning Officer Rhineland-Palatinate: direct elections 2019. see churches (Sieg), Verbandsgemeinde, eighth result line. Retrieved November 17, 2019 .