Merenberg is a municipality in
Limburg-Weilburg district in
Hesse,
Germany.
Geography
Location
Merenberg lies on the southern edge of the
Westerwald between the district seat of
Limburg and
Weilburg.
Neighbouring communities
Merenberg borders in the north on the community of
Mengerskirchen, in the east on the community of
Löhnberg
Löhnberg is a municipality north of Weilburg in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Löhnberg lies between Wetzlar and the district seat of Limburg an der Lahn.
Neighbouring communities
Löhnberg borders ...
, in the south on the town of
Weilburg, in the southwest on the community of
Beselich
Beselich is a municipality in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Beselich lies on the northeast edge of the Limburg Basin on the edge of the Lahn valley, on the southeast slope of the Westerwald 220 m above ...
, and in the west on the community of
Waldbrunn (all in Limburg-Weilburg).
Constituent communities
The market community of Merenberg consists of the five centres of Merenberg, Barig-Selbenhausen, Allendorf, Reichenborn and Rückershausen.
History
On both the Almerskopf and the Höhburg are found remnants of settlements from
La Tène times.
In Merenberg stands the family
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
of the House of Merenberg, a noble family in the 12th and 13th centuries. In connection with this family, the community had its first documentary mention in 1129. In 1290, Merenberg was granted town rights and weekly market rights by King
Rudolph I, whereupon a town wall was built. In 1634 the castle was destroyed, and since then it has stood, as a ruin, as Merenberg’s landmark.
In the early 19th century, Merenberg was stripped of town rights. In the late 19th century, the
House of Nassau named the children from
Prince Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau's marriage to
Pushkin's daughter the “
Counts of Merenberg”.
In the course of administrative reform in Hesse, the formerly autonomous communities of Allendorf, Barig-Selbenhausen, Merenberg, Reichenborn and Rückershausen, which had all belonged to the old Oberlahnkreis (district), merged into the new collective community of Merenberg.
Allendorf had its first documentary mention in 1250, Rückershausen in 1370 and Reichenborn in 1435.
Politics
Community council
The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:
Coat of arms
The community’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 ...
are those formerly borne by the Lords of Merenberg, which were also represented in the old Oberlahnkreis district’s (seat: Weilburg) arms.
Sightseeing
Image:Merenberg Burg.JPG, Merenberg castle ruins
Image:Merenberg Stadttor.JPG, Historic town gate in Merenberg
Image:Merenberg Kirche.JPG, Historic Evangelical church in Merenberg
Image:Merenberg Abbekirch.JPG, Historic ''Appenkirche'' at the current graveyard
Image:Barig Selbenhausen.JPG, Barig-Selbenhausen
Economy and infrastructure
Besides the trade and crafts that are customary for such a place, there are a few small and medium-size industrial businesses. The main fields of activity are
mechanical engineering, plant engineering,
metalworking, plastics processing and
automation. Merenberg’s best known business is the record label
ZYX Music.
Transport
The community lies on ''
Bundesstraße'' 49, which is currently (February 2006) being widened to four lanes between Limburg and
Wetzlar, and which links Merenberg to the long-distance road network.
Education
Merenberg has, with its ''Albert-Wagner-Schule'', a
primary school and a
Hauptschule. In 1958, it was dedicated as the first ''Mittelpunktschule'' (“midpoint school”, a central school, designed to eliminate smaller outlying schools) in Hesse. It was named after the administrative official and politician Albert Wagner. Merenberg lies in the feeder area of the ''Westerwaldschule'', a Hauptschule-
Realschule in Mengerskirchen-Waldernbach. Moreover, students from Merenberg attend other
secondary school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
s in
Weilburg.
Public institutions
* Kindertagesstätte "Villa Kunterbunt" Merenberg (
daycare)
*
Kindergarten "Tigerente" Barig-Selbenhausen
* Merenberg Volunteer
Fire Brigade, founded 1902 (includes Youth Fire Brigade)
* Allendorf Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1926 (includes Youth Fire Brigade)
* Barig-Selbenhausen Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1925 (includes Youth Fire Brigade)
* Reichenborn Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1925 (includes Youth Fire Brigade)
* Rückershausen Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1934 (includes Youth Fire Brigade)
Notable residents
*
Wilhelm Dörr
Wilhelm "Willy" Dörr (7 August 1881 – 5 April 1955) was a German track and field athlete and tug of war competitor who competed in the 1906 Intercalated Games. He was born and died in Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt a ...
(1921-1945), SS and concentration camp officer executed for war crimes
References
External links
Merenberg administration’s homepage*
{{Authority control
Limburg-Weilburg