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, municip ...

Main-Tauber-Kreis Main-Tauber-Kreis is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the northeast of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from northwest clockwise) Miltenberg, Main-Spessart, Würzburg, Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim and Ansbach (all in Bavari ...

, in

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, 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 i ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is situated on the river

Main Main may refer to: Geography *Main River (disambiguation), multiple rivers with the same name *Ma'in, an ancient kingdom in modern-day Yemen * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *Spanish Main, the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territ ...

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, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 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 German, 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 (river), M ...

, and 30 km south-east of

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

. Freudenberg is the terminus of the hiking path '' Nibelungensteig'' which starts at Zwingenberg (Bergstrasse). It is also located on the ', a

tourist route A scenic route, tourist road, tourist drive, scenic byway, or holiday road is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by scenic viewpoints. The designation is usually det ...

from

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

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

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 (Spessart), Geiersberg at 586 metre ...

. 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 (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

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

Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a Margravia ...

. 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...

s. 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 objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

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 A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...

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 simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes. Thus monkeys, in that sense, co ...

zebras Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped Animal coat, coats. There are three Extant taxon, living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and t ...

and

kangaroos Kangaroos are 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 grey ...

. * ', a castle ruin above the town

References

External links

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