Westerngrund is a community in the Aschaffenburg 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 Schöllkrippen. From 2013 to 2020, the

geodetic Geodesy or geodetics is the science of measuring and representing the geometry, gravity, and spatial orientation of the Earth in temporally varying 3D. It is called planetary geodesy when studying other astronomical bodies, such as planets ...

centre of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

was located within the community's boundaries.

Geography

The community lies in the Bavarian Lower Main (''Bayerischer Untermain''). With the accession of

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

to the

on 1 July 2013 the geodetic centre of the EU shifted to Westerngrund. It moved again on 1 January 2014 (when

Mayotte Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...

joined the EU) but remained within the community's borders. A monument site has been set up. On 31 January 2020, as a result of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union, the geodetic centre of the European Union moved from Westerngrund to

Gadheim Gadheim is a village in Lower Franconia, in northern Bavaria belonging to the municipality of Veitshöchheim. It is located about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) north of Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, t ...

, approximately eighty kilometres (fifty miles) away. The community has the following ''Gemarkungen'' (traditional rural cadastral areas): Oberwestern, Unterwestern, Huckelheim.

History

Today's community of Westerngrund mainly comprises areas that belonged to the Schönborn ''

Amt 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 ...

'' of Krombach, which in 1806 was

mediatized Mediatization or mediatisation may refer to: * German mediatisation, German historical territorial restructuring * Mediatization (media) Mediatization (or medialization) is a method whereby the mass media influence other sectors of society, inclu ...

with the newly formed

Principality of Aschaffenburg The Principality of Aschaffenburg () was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire created in 1803 and, following the dissolution of the Empire in 1806, of the Confederation of the Rhine, which existed from 1806 to 1810. Its capital was Aschaffenb ...

, with which it passed in 1814 (by this time it had become a department of the

Grand Duchy of Frankfurt The Grand Duchy of Frankfurt was a German satellite state of Napoleonic creation. It came into existence in 1810 through the combination of the former territories of the Archbishopric of Mainz along with the Free City of Frankfurt itself. Histo ...

) to the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

. In the course of administrative reform in Bavaria, the current community came into being with the ''Gemeindeedikt'' (“Municipal Edict”) of 1818.

Demographics

Within community limits in 1970, 1,454 inhabitants were counted, in 1987 1,584 and in 2000 1,918.

Governance

The mayor is Brigitte Heim (WIR).

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: Gules a demi-lion rampant armed, langued and crowned azure Or issuant from the base, in his gambes a shepherd's staff in pale of the second, in chief sinister two miner's hammers in saltire argent. Westerngrund has only existed as a community since 1972, having been assembled out of the formerly separate communities of Huckelheim, Oberwestern and Unterwestern, which all lie in the so-called Westerngrund, a steep-sided dale that became the community's namesake. The lion in the arms, and also 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, were taken from the arms borne by the Counts of Schönborn, who held the area until the Old Empire's downfall in 1803. The staff held by the lion is a symbol of

Saint Wendelin Saint Wendelin of Trier (; 554 - 617 AD) was a hermit and abbot. His cultus is wide-spread in German-speaking areas. He is a patron of country folk and herdsmen. He is honored on October 22. Life Because no information about him was availabl ...

, the community's patron saint. The crossed miner's hammers stand for the former silver and copper mining in the centre of Huckelheim. The community has borne the arms since 24 March 1980.

Economy

Municipal tax revenue amounted in 1999 to €661,000 (converted), of which net business taxes accounted for €28,000. According to official statistics, there were 74 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 0. In other areas, 715 such workers worked from home. Three businesses were in processing. Two businesses were in construction, and furthermore, in 1999, there were 30 agricultural operations with a working area of 722 ha, of which 408 ha was cropland and 313 ha was meadowland.

Education

In 1999 the following institutions existed in Westerngrund: *

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 ...

s: 75 places with 72 children