Freudenberg (also: ''Freudenberg am Main'') is a town and a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

in the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

Main-Tauber-Kreis, in

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. It is situated on the river Main and has a population around 3,700.

Geography

Location

Freudenberg is located in the extreme northeast of the state of Baden-Württemberg, on the left bank of the river Main which here is the border to

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

. Across the river is the municipality of Collenberg. The old town of Freudenberg faces Kirschfurt, an ''Ortsteil'' of Collenberg. Freudenberg lies approximately 15 km west of

Wertheim am Main Wertheim ( East Franconian: ''Wärde'') is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg with a population of around 23,400. It is located on the confluence of the rivers Tauber and Main. Wertheim is best known for its ...

, and 30 km south-east of

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative seat. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

. Freudenberg is the terminus of the hiking path ''

Nibelungensteig The Nibelungensteig is a Hiking, hiking trail in the Germany, German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. It traverses the Odenwald, a hill range or ''Mittelgebirge'' located between the rivers Rhine and Main (river), Main. The trail ...

'' which starts at Zwingenberg (Bergstrasse). It is also located on the ', a tourist route from

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city ** Worms (electoral district) * Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertai ...

to Wertheim. The hills on the left bank of the Main are part of the ''

Mittelgebirge A ''Mittelgebirge'' (German: ''Mittel'', "middle/medium"; ''Gebirge'', "mountain range") is a type of relatively low mountain range or highland area typical of the geography of central Europe, especially central and southern Germany; it refers to ...

Odenwald The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Location The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried'' (the northeastern se ...

while those on the opposite side of the river belong to the

Spessart Spessart is a '' Mittelgebirge'', a range of low wooded mountains, in the States of Bavaria and Hesse in Germany. It is bordered by the Vogelsberg, Rhön and Odenwald. The highest elevation is the Geiersberg at 586 metres above sea level. Et ...

. The municipal territory totals 3,478 hectares and stretches far into the wooded hills.

Subdivisions

Freudenberg has the '' Stadtteile'' Boxtal, Ebenheid, Rauenberg and Wessental in addition to Freudenberg town proper.

History

Freudenberg was first mentioned around 1100. In 1803, the ''

Reichsdeputationshauptschluss The ' (formally the ', or "Principal Conclusion of the Extraordinary Imperial Delegation"), sometimes referred to in English as the Final Recess or the Imperial Recess of 1803, was a resolution passed by the ' (Imperial Diet) of the Holy Roman Em ...

'' awarded Freudenberg to the House of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg. Mondfeld, Rauenberg and Wessental (previously ruled by

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

) became part of ''

Amt Freudenberg Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

''. In 1806, Freudenberg became a part of the

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918. It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and sub ...

. In 1907, the first (sandstone) bridge over the Main was built. In 1928–34, the '' Staustufe Freudenberg'' followed. In 1935, with the ' and the laws that followed, Freudenberg lost its status as town. A year later, the ''Bezirksamt Wertheim'' was dissolved. Freudenberg became a part of the ''Amtsbezirk''/' (part of the '' Regierungsbezirk Karlsruhe''). Towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the first Main bridge was blown up. From 1946 to 1950, a ferry boat linked Kirschfurt and Freudenberg. In 1950, the second (current) bridge was built. In 1955, Freudenberg asked the Interior Minister of Baden-Württemberg for a reinstatement of the status of town. This was confirmed in February 1956. Six years later, Freudenberg was awarded the current municipal coat of arms. In 1968, Freudenberg and Boxtal became publicly recognized resorts. On 1 January 1972, as a result of ''Gebietsreform'' Boxtal, Ebenheid and Wessental were merged to Freudenberg, followed by Rauenberg on 31 December. In 1973, the Tauberbischofsheim district was abolished and Freudenberg has since been a part of the ''Main-Tauber-Kreis''.

Economy

Notable businesses in the town include ', a

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating ( tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks) ...

manufacturing company, established in 1897. Freudenberg also hosts the high-end distillery ''Brennerei Ziegler'', which has been manufacturing spirits since 1865.

Attractions

Rauch have, as part of their plant, a zoo which the public are free to visit. The zoo exhibits many exotic animals such as

monkeys Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

, zebras and

kangaroos Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern ...

. * ', a castle ruin above the town

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freudenberg Am Main Main-Tauber-Kreis Historic Jewish communities