Retzstadt () is 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 Main-Spessart district in the ''

Regierungsbezirk A ' (, 'governmental district') is a type of administrative division in Germany. Currently, four of sixteen ' (states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts ' (plural, ) serve as regional mid-level local gov ...

'' of

Lower Franconia Lower Franconia (, ) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. It consists of nine districts and 308 municipalities (including three cities). History After ...

(''Unterfranken'') in

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 ...

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 ...

and a member of the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'' (Administrative Community) of Zellingen.

Geography

Location

Retzstadt lies in the Main-Spessart district in a side-valley of the

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 ...

, on the river Retz. The community has only the ''Gemarkung'' (traditional rural cadastral area) of Retzstadt.

History

''Reccisstadt'' had its first documentary mention in the mid 8th century. Retzstadt was, as part of the Princely Electorate (''Hochstift'') of Würzburg (Cathedral chapter) in Bavaria's favour

secularized In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

and passed in the Peace of Pressburg in 1805 to Archduke Ferdinand of Tuscany to form the

Grand Duchy of Würzburg The Grand Duchy of Würzburg () was a German grand duchy centered on Würzburg existing in the early 19th century. History As a consequence of the 1801 Treaty of Lunéville, the Bishopric of Würzburg was secularized in 1803 and granted to the ...

, with which it passed in 1814 to Bavaria.

Politics

Mayors

The current mayor is Karl Gerhard (

CSU CSU may refer to: Universities and university systems United States * Columbia Southern University, in Orange Beach, Alabama * California State University system * Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, Colorado * Connecticut State Univers ...

). Among former mayors are: * Siegfried Schmitt (Christliche Freie Wähler, 2002–2008) * Reinhold H. Möller (CSU/Unabhängige Wählergruppe, 1984 – 2002). Municipal taxes in 1999 amounted to €572,000 (converted), of which net business taxes amounted to €66,000.

Town partnerships

* Mouen,

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples and/or pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norman distillation was ma ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

since 1990 *

Mondrainville Mondrainville () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy région in northwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Calvados department The following is a list of the 526 Communes of France, communes of the Ca ...

, Calvados, France since 1990

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 ...

might be described thus: Azure a winepress argent, in a base of the second a saltire gules. The winepress in the arms refers to Retzstadt's winegrowing and winemaking. The saltire (X-shaped cross) is

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Church stems from the Gospel of Jo ...

’s attribute, and it is to him that the church from 1726 is consecrated. The

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

s argent and gules (silver and red) recall the centuries during which the Prince-Bishopric (

Hochstift In the Holy Roman Empire, the German language, German term (plural: ) referred to the territory ruled by a bishop as a prince (i.e. prince-bishop), as opposed to his diocese, generally much larger and over which he exercised only spiritual auth ...

) of Würzburg held sway in the area. The arms have been borne since 1970.Description and explanation of Retzstadt’s arms
/ref>

Sightseeing

*Parish church, built by

Balthasar Neumann Johann Balthasar Neumann (; c. 27 January 1687 – 19 August 1753), usually known as Balthasar Neumann, was a German architect and military artillery engineer who developed a refined brand of Baroque architecture, fusing Austrian, Bohemian, Ita ...

Economy and infrastructure

According to official statistics, there were 22 workers on the social welfare contribution rolls working in producing businesses in 1998. In trade and

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

this was 7. In other areas, 18 workers on the social welfare contribution rolls were employed, and 600 such workers worked from home. There were 10 processing businesses. No businesses were in construction, and furthermore, in 1999, there were 71 agricultural operations with a working area of 1 378 ha, of which 1 172 ha was cropland and 142 ha was meadowland. On an area of more than 80 ha, there is

winegrowing Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...

. In 2000, Retzstadt was, as “Teledorf Retzstadt” one of

Expo 2000 Expo 2000 was a World Expo held in Hanover, Germany from 1 June to 31 October 2000. It was located on the Hanover Fairground (Messegelände Hannover), which is the largest exhibition ground in the world. Initially, some 40 million people were ...

’s 19 outlying projects in Bavaria. Retzstadt was a model community for the use of information and communication technology for developing the rural area.

Education

In 1999 the following institutions existed in Retzstadt: *

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

: 50 places with 51 children *

Primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s: 1 with 4 teachers and 102 pupils

References

{{Authority control Main-Spessart