Erbach (Odenwald)
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Erbach () is a town and the district seat of the Odenwaldkreis (district) in
Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...
, Germany. It has a population of around 14,000.


Geography


Location

The town lies in the ''
Mittelgebirge A ''Mittelgebirge'' (; German: ''Mittel'', "middle or mid"; ''Gebirge'', "mountains or mountainous area") is a type of relatively low mountain range or highland area typical of the geography of central Europe, especially central and southern Germ ...
''
Odenwald The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the Germany, German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Location The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße Route, Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried' ...
at elevations between 200 and 560 m in the valley of the Mümling. One geological peculiarity is the creek Erdbach's complete disappearance within Dorf-Erbach's community area. The Erdbach reappears near Stockheim. There are several places where the Erdbach disappears into the ground.


Neighbouring communities

Erbach borders in the north on the town of
Michelstadt Michelstadt () in the Odenwald is a town in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in southern Hesse, Germany between Darmstadt and Heidelberg. It has a population of 28,629 people. Geography Location Michelstadt is the biggest town in the Odenwaldkre ...
, in the east on the market town of Kirchzell (in Miltenberg district in Bavaria), in the south on the community of
Hesseneck Hesseneck is a village and a former municipality in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany. With only just over 600 inhabitants, Hesseneck was Hesse’s smallest self-governing community. Since January 2018, it is part of the new town Ober ...
and the town of
Beerfelden Beerfelden (pronunciation: ˈbeːɐˌfɛldən) was a town in the Odenwald in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany, 28 km northeast of Heidelberg. On 1 January 2018 Beerfelden, Hesseneck, Rothenberg and Sensbachtal merged to create th ...
and in the west on the community of
Mossautal Mossautal in the Odenwald is a municipality and a state-recognized health resort in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location The community lies at elevations of between 300 and 500 m above sea level. The ''Nibelun ...
(all three in the ''Odenwaldkreis''). A planned merger with the neighbouring town of Michelstadt was blocked in November 2007 by a referendum (''Bürgerentscheid''). For the time being, ways are being sought to deepen the two towns' cooperation, and possibly consider a merger once again in a few years' time.


Constituent communities

Since the amalgamations within the framework of municipal reform in 1972, the district seat of Erbach has been made up of twelve ''
Stadtteil A quarter is a part of an urban area, urban settlement. A quarter can be administratively defined and its borders officially designated, and it may have its own administrative structure (subordinate to that of the city, town or other urban area ...
e'':


History

Erbach has long been the residence of the Counts of Erbach, who trace their descent back to the 12th century, and who held the office of
cup-bearer A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person had to be regarded as thor ...
to the Electors Palatine of the Rhine until 1806. In 1532 the emperor
Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...
made the county a direct
fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
, on account of the services rendered by Count Eberhard during the Palatine Peasants' War. In 1717 the family was divided into the three lines of Erbach-Fürstenau, Erbach-Erbach and Erbach-Schönberg, who rank for precedence, not according to the age of their descent, but according to the age of the chief of their line. In 1818 the counts of Erbach-Erbach inherited the county of Wartenberg-Roth, and in 1903 the count of Erbach-Schönberg was granted the title of prince (the first Prince was Gustav, husband of Princess Marie of Battenberg). The county was incorporated with the duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt in the 19th century.


Governance


Town council

The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:


Mayors

Buschmann was re-elected in 2012 with 52.7% of the votes. Die Entwicklung der Sozialdemokratie in Erbach
, retrieved 24 October 2012


Coat of arms

The town's
arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...
might heraldically be described thus: Gules a bend wavy azure, thereon three mullets of six gules. The wavy bend is taken to be a brook, and the mullets of six (six-pointed stars) were inspired by the arms formerly borne by the princely Counts of Erbach, who were lords of the Odenwald until 1806.


Town twinning

Erbach has partnerships with four towns in Europe: * Ansião, Portugal *
Jičín Jičín (; or ''Gitschin'') is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument reservatio ...
, Czech Republic *
Königsee Königsee () is a town and a municipality in the district of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated east of Ilmenau, and south of Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Ger ...
, Thuringia * Le Pont-de-Beauvoisin, (Isère) and Le Pont-de-Beauvoisin (Savoie), France


Culture and sightseeing


Buildings

File:Erbach 02.JPG,
Harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...
track File:20206021 Erbach-2.tif, Counts' castle File:Erbach 03.JPG, Odenwaldkreis district council office File:Erbach 07.JPG, Timber-frame houses on the Mümling File:Erbach 14.JPG, Memorial to Count Franz I before the castle


Castle of the Counts of Erbach-Erbach

Erbach Palace, the castle of the princely Counts of Erbach, was built into a residence in the style of the times in the 18th century. Since the noble house did not have the needed materials on hand, only the middle wing of the planned three-winged building was ever built. The façade is to a great extent built out of not sandstone, but rather sheeting or wood coloured to look like it. The antique collections at the castle have remained almost unchanged since Count Franz I's time (1754–1823). In 2005, the state of Hesse bought the castle for €13,000,000. Within the castle complex is the likewise Late
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
orangery An orangery or orangerie is a room or dedicated building, historically where orange and other fruit trees are protected during the winter, as a large form of greenhouse or conservatory. In the modern day an orangery could refer to either ...
with the castle garden.


Citizens' initiatives

In the area of the orangery and the castle garden, a citizens' initiative in the 1970s managed to thwart plans to tear down the orangery and build a highrise hotel on the site The memorial on the castle square to Count Franz I – the last ruling count – that was knocked off its pedestal and thereby broken was repaired and set back in place with support from two
Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...
artists and some Erbach citizens. The work was financed through grants from the ''Landesamt für Denkmalpflege'' ("State Office for Care of Monuments") as well as donations.


Regular events


''Wiesenmarkt/Eulbacher Markt''

The ''Erbacher Wiesenmarkt'' ("meadow market") was originally called the ''Eulbacher Markt'' or ''Eulbacher Wiesen(Vieh-)markt''. Eulbach is an outlying centre of the neighbouring town of Michelstadt. It was once a regionally very important livestock, horse and farm market. The livestock and farm market was only moved to Erbach sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century by the Counts of Eulbach. Until about 1960, the livestock and horse market with its associated
horseracing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...
and other horse sports was the main part of the ''Eulbacher Markt''. The ''Schützenhaus'' ("Marksmen's House") standing on the way into the ''Wiesenmarkt'', however, suggests that the ''Eulbacher Markt'', at least in part, must already have been held in Erbach as early as the mid 19th century: it was here that the Democratic Revolutionaries met in 1848 and on what is now the market grounds beside the ''Schützenhaus'' that the Odenwald "Moot" (''Volksversammlung'') was held under the Michelstadt revolutionary and lawyer Ludwig Bogen's leadership.


Museums

The ''Deutsches Elfenbeinmuseum Erbach'' ("Erbach German Ivory Museum") has been in existence since 1966 and is unique in Europe. Its exhibits are almost exclusively
ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and Tooth, teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mamm ...
. Visitors can also watch the resident carvers as they go about their artistic work.


Economy

Franz I, the last ruling count (1754–1823), introduced ivory carving in 1783, thus giving the town the nickname ''Elfenbeinstadt'' ("Ivory Town"). Many artists made their homes here and today their works and activities can still be admired at the town's ''Deutsches Elfenbeinmuseum Erbach''. Owing to widespread bans since 1989, aimed at protecting animals, on dealing in ivory, nowadays comparable materials such as animal horns are used. Very popular as a material is prehistoric mammoth tusk, which is still found from time to time in Siberia. Besides the slightly different colour, this is comparable to elephant tusk ivory.


Established businesses

* Bosch Rexroth AG, Erbach works, Electric Drives and Controls division * Rowenta, Erbach works (
clothes iron A clothes iron (also flatiron, smoothing iron, dry iron, steam iron or simply iron) is a small appliance that, when heated, is used to press Clothing, clothes to remove Wrinkle, wrinkles and unwanted creases. Domestic irons generally range in o ...
manufacturing) *Koziol GmbH, plastic articles


Infrastructure


Transport

Erbach lies on ''
Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...
n'' 45 and 47, and also on the Odenwald Railway (RMV Line 65;
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...
/
Hanau Hanau () is a city in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its railway Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ma ...
–Erbach– Eberbach). A planned ''Bundesstraße'' 45 bypass proposed since the 1970s has once again been included in Hesse state planning.


Education

* ''Schule am Treppenweg'' (primary school) * ''Astrid-Lindgren-Schule'' (primary school) * ''Schule am Sportpark'' (
Hauptschule A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...
and
Realschule Real school (, ) is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), F ...
with transition level) * ''Schule am Drachenfeld'' (special school with department for physically handicapped learners)


Notable people

* Franz, Count of Erbach-Erbach (b.1754 d.1823), nobleman and art collector * Norbert Busè (b.1963), filmmaker and film producer * Denis Huseinbasic (b.2001), football player * Oka Nikolov (b.1974), Football goalkeeper * Jessica Schwarz (b.1977), actress and presenter *
Timo Boll Timo Boll (, ; born 8 March 1981) is a German former professional table tennis player. Boll is the most successful German table tennis player of all time, having won several medals at Olympic Games, world cups, and world championships. He was ra ...
(b.1981), table tennis player * Meike Weber (b.1987), Football player * (b.1882 d.1942), farmer and
Righteous among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...
* Christian Wilhelm Karl Kehrer (b.1775 d.1869), court painter and archivist *
Karl Christian Kehrer Karl Christian Kehrer (1 August 1755, Dillenburg - 7 April 1833, Ballenstedt) was a German portrait, landscape and history painter. Biography He was born to Martin Tobias Andreas Kehrer (1717-1790), a local land commissioner, and his wife El ...
(b.1755 d.1833), portrait painter


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erbach Franconian Circle Odenwaldkreis