Epfenbach is a municipality in south western

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 ...

. It is located between

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

and

Sinsheim Sinsheim (, South Franconian: ''Sinse'') is a town in south-western Germany, in the Rhine Neckar Area of the state Baden-Württemberg about south-east of Heidelberg and about north-west of Heilbronn in the district Rhein-Neckar. Geograph ...

in the

Rhein-Neckar The Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region (german: Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar, ), often referred to as Rhein-Neckar-Triangle, is a polycentric metropolitan region located in south western Germany, between the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region to the North ...

district in the state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a 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 inhabitants across a ...

. The municipality belongs to the municipal association of

Waibstadt Waibstadt () is a town in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It belongs to the municipal administration union "Waibstadt", which consists of Epfenbach, Helmstadt-Bargen, Neckarbischofsheim, Neidenstein, Reich ...

and the tourist region Brunnenregion (''Water Spring Region''). The meaning of the name ''Epfenbach'' is disputed. It could be derived from a person or plant name.

Geography

Epfenbach is in

Kraichgau The Kraichgau () is a hilly region in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Odenwald and the Neckar to the North, the Black Forest to the South, and the Upper Rhine Plain to the West. To the east, its boundary is c ...

on the edge of the little

Odenwald The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Location The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried'' (the northeastern section ...

History

Epfenbach first appears in documents in the year 1286 as ''Epphinbach'' on a bestowal document of the

Schönau Abbey Schönau Abbey (''Kloster Schönau'') in Schönau in the Odenwald, in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis in Baden-Württemberg, was a Cistercian monastery founded in 1142 from Eberbach Abbey. The present settlement of Schönau grew up round the monastery. ...

. In 1325, the manor was sold to the

Archbishopric of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz (german: Kurfürstentum Mainz or ', la, Electoratus Moguntinus), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the ...

and then resold in 1344 to the knight Engelhard von

Hirschhorn Hirschhorn is derived from German composite word "Hirsch" (deer) and "Horn" (horn), part of a deer's antlers. A variation is Hirshhorn. It may refer to: * Hirschhorn (Neckar), a town in Hesse, Germany * Hirschhorn, Rhineland-Palatinate, a municipal ...

. In the centuries to follow, ownership of the manor changed often. In 1622,

Count Tilly Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly ( nl, Johan t'Serclaes Graaf van Tilly; german: Johann t'Serclaes Graf von Tilly; french: Jean t'Serclaes de Tilly ; February 1559 – 30 April 1632) was a field marshal who commanded the Catholic League's ...

burned down the village. In 1643, the Johannes-Kirche (''Church of Saint John'') in Epfenbach was besieged by 400 horsemen of

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

. Legend has it that the

Schultheiß In medieval Germany, the ''Schultheiß'' () was the head of a municipality (akin to today's office of mayor), a ''Vogt'' or an executive official of the ruler. As official (''villicus'') it was his duty to order his assigned village or county (' ...

at the time, one Hans Dengel, was shot in the head and killed during this siege. By end of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

, only 15 of the 72 original inhabitants still lived in the village. In 1796, Carl Ullmann was born. Carl was named by the Grand Duke of Baden as

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

and director of the high church council of the State Church of Baden in 1857. In 1799, the village was plundered by

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

troops. Later in 1812, citizens of Epfenbach took part in the

French invasion of Russia (1812) The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

under

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

. At least Chr. Zapf came back alive. Two years after the union of Lutheran churches in Baden (''Evangelischen Kirchenunion'') in 1823, the reformed and the Lutheran schools were combined. In 1876, the ''Simultanschule'' was instituted.

Government

Municipal council

The municipal council includes 12 members in addition to the chairperson and the mayor.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms is derived from a court seal which has been shown to have been first used 1752. The apple and wavy bar suggest the local folklore referring to the origin of the name has some truth to it. In 1901 the municipality adopted the coat of arms. The flag is blue and white and was awarded in 1978.

Culture and sights

The Epfenbach Museum of Local History shows how a farm household looked around the year 1850. Displayed are things such as the clothes and tools of the local farmers and craftsmen. The museum is located in a classic restored

half-timbered Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

house belonging to a former overseer from the abbey in the year 1718.

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Epfenbach sits on the L 530 state road. You can reach the A6 autobahn over Waibstadt and

Education

In Epfenbach there are the following schools: * Merian-Schule * A primary school * A secondary school with a trade school (''Werkrealschule'') Continuing schools can be found in Waibstadt,

Neckarbischofsheim Neckarbischofsheim is a town in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 8 km northeast of Sinsheim, and 24 km southeast of Heidelberg. Mayors * 1949–1974: Albert Kumpf * 1974–1990: Günte ...

, and Sinsheim.

Notable natives

* 1796, Carl Christian Ullmann, Protestant Theologian * 1939, Werner Fischer, former director of the Hochschule Karlsruhe – Technik und Wirtschaft (a university of applied sciences)

References

External links

Official home page

Museum of Local History

a private weather station in Epfenbach
{{Authority control Baden