Luftaufnahme von Burgsolms, Hessen, Deutschland

Geography

Location

Solms lies right in the

Lahn The Lahn is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). It has its source in t ...

valley at the mouth of the eponymous little river

Solmsbach Solmsbach is a river of Hesse, Germany. It flows into the Lahn in Solms Geography Location Solms lies right in the Lahn valley at the mouth of the eponymous little river Solmsbach and is nestled between the foothills of both the Taunus and W ...

and is nestled between the foothills of both the

Taunus The Taunus is a mountain range in Hesse, Germany, located north of Frankfurt. The tallest peak in the range is ''Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are ''Kleiner Feldberg'' (825 m) and ''Altkönig'' (798 m). The Taunus range spans ...

and

Westerwald The Westerwald (; literally 'Western forest') is a low mountain range on the right bank of the river Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhenish Massif ( or Rhenish ...

at heights from 140 to 400 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

. It is about 7 km west of

Wetzlar Wetzlar () is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the twelfth largest city in Hesse with currently 55,371 inhabitants at the beginning of 2019 (including second homes). As an important cultural, industrial and commercial center, the un ...

and 30 km northeast of

Limburg an der Lahn Limburg an der Lahn (officially abbreviated ''Limburg a. d. Lahn'') is the district seat of Limburg-Weilburg in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Limburg lies in western Hessen between the Taunus and the Westerwald on the river Lahn. The to ...

Neighbouring communities

Solms borders in the north on the community of

Ehringshausen Ehringshausen is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Ehringshausen lies in the valley of the Dill between Wetzlar and Herborn. Neighbouring communities Ehringshausen borders in the north on the community ...

and the town of

Aßlar Aßlar (or Asslar, ) is a town near Wetzlar in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Aßlar lies on a foothill of the Westerwald range as well as on the river Dill, which empties into the Lahn in neighbouring Wetzlar, abou ...

, in the east on the town of

, in the southeast on the community of

Schöffengrund Schöffengrund is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Schöffengrund lies only a few kilometres south of Wetzlar in the Hochtaunus Nature Park. Neighbouring communities Schöffengrund borders in the north ...

, in the southwest on the town of

Braunfels Braunfels () is a town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. It is located on the German Timber-Frame Road. Geography Location The climatic spa of Braunfels lies at a height of some 100 m above the Lahn valley. It is 9 km southwest ...

and in the west on the town of

Leun Leun is a small town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Leun lies some 10 km west of Wetzlar between the foothills of the northern Taunus and the Westerwald in the Lahn valley, at a height of 150 to 330 m above ...

(all in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis).

Constituent communities

The town consists of the following centres: *Albshausen * Burgsolms * Niederbiel * Oberbiel * Oberndorf Solms is a town west of

in the

Lahn-Dill-Kreis Lahn-Dill is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the west of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Siegen-Wittgenstein, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Gießen, Wetteraukreis, Hochtaunuskreis, Limburg-Weilburg, Westerwaldkreis. History The southern district belo ...

Hessen Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Darm ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

with around 13,500 inhabitants. In the constituent community of Burgsolms once stood the ancestral

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 Counts and Princes of

Solms Geography Location Solms lies right in the Lahn valley at the mouth of the eponymous little river Solmsbach and is nestled between the foothills of both the Taunus and Westerwald at heights from 140 to 400 m above sea level. It is about 7&n ...

Politics

Town council

The municipal elections in 2011 yielded the following results: Note: FWG is a citizens' coalition.

Town of Solms Youth Council

Since 2002 there has been a ''Town of Solms Youth Council'' serving as the town's official board representing youth's interests and needs. It is elected every two years by children and youths who either live in the town or go to the

comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...

Partnerships

The town of Solms maintains partnerships with the following places: *

Liezen Liezen (Central Bavarian: ''Liezn'') is a municipality in the Austrian federal state of Styria, district capital of the district of the same name and economic center on the River Enns. Population Politics Since 1995, the left-wing SPÖ party ...

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

* La Grand-Combe,

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig is a village and a former municipality in Thuringia, Germany. Formerly in the district Ilm-Kreis, it is part of the town Suhl since January 2019. Gallery File:Winter in Schmiedefeld am Rennsteig.jpg, Schmiedefeld am Ren ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

Economy and infrastructure

Oberbiel is home to two commercial-industrial areas. A shipping company has set up shop at the newer one, while the older one, on an island in the river Lahn, was established in the early 20th century. It was originally home to a

brad Brad may refer to: * Brad (given name), a masculine given name Places * Brad, Hunedoara, a city in Hunedoara County, Romania * Brad, a village in Berești-Bistrița Commune, Bacău County, Romania * Brad, a village in Filipeni, Bacău, Romania * ...

factory, a

wireworks Wire drawing is a metalworking process used to reduce the cross-section of a wire by pulling the wire through a single, or series of, drawing die(s). There are many applications for wire drawing, including electrical wiring, cables, tension-lo ...

and a

ball bearing A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation between the bearing races. The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It achieves this ...

factory.

History

Solms had its first documentary mention in 788 in a donation document from the Lorsch Monastery. The villages that nowadays form the town of Solms belonged for centuries to the County of Solms, an independent state within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

, elevated to a county in 1223, until it was dissolved in 1806. Early branches of the

House of Solms A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

See German article ''

'' or French article '' Maison de Solms. were Burgsolms (extinguished 1415), Konigsberg (near

Biebertal Biebertal is a municipality in the district of Gießen, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 7 km northwest of Gießen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the distric ...

, extinguished 1364), Old and New Hohensolms (at

Hohenahr Hohenahr () is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Hohenahr lies in the Lahn-Dill Highland at a height of between 260 and 440 m above sea level. Its constituent communities of Ahrdt and Mudersbach are on th ...

, extinguished in the 14th century) and

. The still existing lines are the princely branches of

Solms-Braunfels Solms-Braunfels was a County and later Principality with Imperial immediacy in what is today the federal Land of Hesse in Germany. Solms-Braunfels was a partition of Solms, ruled by the House of Solms, and was raised to a Principality of th ...

Solms-Hohensolms-Lich Solms-Hohensolms-Lich was at first a County and later Principality with Imperial immediacy in what is today the federal Land of Hessen, Germany. It was ruled by a branch of the House of Solms, originally from Solms. Grafschaft The county was o ...

with their seat in

Lich In fantasy fiction, a lich (; from the Old English , meaning "corpse") is a type of undead creature. Various works of fantasy fiction, such as Clark Ashton Smith's "The Empire of the Necromancers" (1932), had used ''lich'' as a general term fo ...

and

Solms-Baruth Solms-Baruth was a Lower Lusatian state country, from 16th century until 1945. History The House of Solms had its origins at Solms, Hesse, and ruled several of the many minor states of the Holy Roman Empire. These lost their independence in the G ...

, furthermore the Counts of

Solms-Laubach Solms-Laubach was a County of southern Hesse and eastern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The House of SolmsSee German article on the ''House of Solms'' or French article '' Maison de Solms. had its origins in Solms, Hesse. History Solms-Laubach w ...

with their

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

Laubach Laubach is a town of approximately 10,000 people in the Gießen region of Hesse, Germany. Laubach is known as a ', a climatic health resort. It is situated east of Gießen. Surrounding Laubach are the towns of Hungen, Grünberg, Schotten and Lic ...

Solms-Rödelheim-Assenheim Solms-Rödelheim-Assenheim was a County of southern Hesse and eastern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The House of Solms had its origins at Solms, Hesse. Solms-Rödelheim-Assenheim was thrice created by a union of the Counts of Solms-Assenheim a ...

with their seat in Assenheim, Solms-Sonnewalde and

Solms-Wildenfels Solms-Wildenfels was a minor County around Wildenfels in south-western Saxony, Germany. The House of Solms had its origins at Solms, Hesse. Solms-Wildenfels was a partition of Solms-Baruth. In 1741 it was partitioned between itself and Solms-Sa ...

. The Burgsolms castle at Solms, ancestral seat of the family since around 1100, was destroyed in 1384 by a coalition of nearby towns under the leadership of

, forcing count John to move to

Greifenstein Greifenstein is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Its administrative seat is Beilstein. Greifenstein covers 67.43 km² on the eastern slope of the Westerwald range. It was named for the castle of the same name in th ...

castle. After a short while being part of the

Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what is now the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine and later of the G ...

, Solms passed to

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

in 1815. As part of Hesse's municipal reforms, the communities of Albshausen and Oberbiel voluntarily merged on 1 July 1971 to form ''Bielhausen'', while Burgsolms and Oberndorf did the same to form ''Solms''. By state law, these two new communities were amalgamated with Niederbiel on 1 January 1977 to make the new greater community of Solms, which in 1978 was granted town rights. A new residential area has been being built on the western edge of Oberbiel since the 1990s.

Sightseeing

* Kloster Altenberg (Altenberg Monastery) - ''Burial place of the blessed Gertrud von Altenberg (1227-1297), Saint Elisabeth's daughter'' * Grube Fortuna (Oberbiel) - ''

Visitors' Mine A mine, i.e. an industrial facility for the underground extraction of mineral commodities, has three operating phases: it may be open or running, or closed or it may be a working museum. Most mines are simply closed once they are no longer product ...

including a light and mine railway museum'' ''(Iron ore was mined here until 1983.)'' *Stone Bench (Oberbiel Forest) - ''A secluded place, that may have originally served as a hunting post'' * Jewish Cemetery (Burgsolms) - ''Tombstones from 1705 to 1939'' *Gallows of Solms (Forest between Burgsolms/Oberndorf and Albshausen) - ''Memorial against death penalty: Erected in stone in 1750, the gallows has never been used for an execution.'' *Schäferburg ("Shepherd's castle", Niederbiel) - ''Log cabin and barbecue area on the edge of the forest (Westerwald side) overlooking the city and the Lahn valley'' *Former Hunting Lodge Dr. Roth, later a children's home (Albshausen) - A kind of counterpart to Niederbiel's "Schäferburg" on the Taunus side (built around 1920) *Old Station Braunfels-Oberndorf (Oberndorf) - Representative building on the disused Solmsbach-valley-route to Brandoberndorf

Images

Burgsolms-Braunfels.jpg, The churches of Burgsolms in front of

castle Oberndorf Kirche mit Himmel.jpg, Oberndorf Kloster Altenberg - panoramio.jpg,

Altenberg Abbey Altenberg Abbey (''Abtei Altenberg'') ( la, Vetus Mons) is a former Cistercian monastery in Altenberg, now a part of the municipality of Odenthal in the Bergisches Land, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. History The abbey was founded in 113 ...

Pfingstmontag 2019 im Feld- und Grubenbahnmuseum Fortuna 06.jpg, Visitors' Mine Fortuna Jüdischer Friedhof Solms.jpg, Jewish Cemetery Solmser Galgen.jpg, alt=Gallows, Gallows Evangelische Kirche Solms-Albshausen.jpg, Albshausen church Kirche Solms-Niederbiel.jpg, Niederbiel church

References

External links

''Grube Fortuna'' homepage
* {{Authority control 1258 disestablishments in Europe States and territories established in 1129 Youth councils Lahn-Dill-Kreis