Bergen-Enkheim is a borough (''
Ortsbezirk
A ''Stadtbezirk'' (also called ''Ortsbezirk'' in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate) is an administrative division in Germany, which is part of a larger city. It is translated as "borough". In Germany, ''Stadtbezirke'' usually only exist in a metropo ...
'') of
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
,
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 ...
.
Bergen-Enkheim is a popular residential area with families and sports enthusiasts for its small-town character, excellent infrastructure, and the highest number of clubs (
Vereine) in Frankfurt, many of them sports clubs. Its athletic facilities include a modern track and field complex, a tennis club, an extensive, recently modernized indoor and outdoor public swimming and sports center, and a nature preserve with small lakes and many kilometers of forested walking, running and biking paths (
Enkheimer Ried). The southern side of the
Berger Rücken, once covered with vineyards, is now one of Frankfurt's premier residential districts, the
Berger Hang.
The district in the eastern part of Frankfurt was once formed from the independent towns of Bergen and Enkheim. It borders the districts of
Seckbach in the west and
Fechenheim
Fechenheim is a quarter of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the ''Ortsbezirk
A ''Stadtbezirk'' (also called ''Ortsbezirk'' in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate) is an administrative division in Germany, which is part of a larger city. It i ...
in the south, the town of
Maintal
Maintal is the second largest town of the Main-Kinzig district, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated on the river Main, between Frankfurt am Main and Hanau.
Geography
Neighbouring places
The neighbouring countries of Maintal are Niederdorfelden an ...
in the east and the town of
Bad Vilbel
Bad Vilbel () is a spa town in Hesse (Hessen), Germany, famous for its many mineral water Spring (hydrology), springs. Bad Vilbel is the largest town in the Wetteraukreis district and part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority, Frankfurt R ...
in the north.
Bergen and Enkheim were first mentioned as a common village in the thirteenth century. The two locations were administered together for centuries in 1936, but Bergen-Enkheim only officially became a town in 1968. In 1977 it was incorporated into the city of Frankfurt.
Geographically the territory is marked by the transition of the
Main
Main may refer to:
Geography
* Main River (disambiguation)
**Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany
* Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province
*"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries
...
valley into the rising
Wetterau
The Wetterau is a fertile undulating tract, watered by the Wetter, a tributary of the Nidda River, in the western German state of Hesse, between the hilly province Oberhessen and the north-western Taunus mountains.
Bettina von Arnim writes of We ...
.
It is directly linked to the Rhine-Main area's RMV
U-Bahn
Rapid transit in Germany consists of four U-Bahn systems and fourteen S-Bahn systems. The U-Bahn commonly understood to stand for Untergrundbahn (''underground railway'') are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while ...
and bus network.
Culture
Bergen-Enkheim is a district connected to literature, and the literary prize, the
Stadtschreiber von Bergen, is awarded as a part of the market
Berger Markt
Berger is a surname in both German and French, although there is no etymological connection between the names in the two languages. The French surname is an occupational name for a shepherd, from Old French ''bergier'' (Late Latin ''berbicarius'' ...
every year (Friday before the first Tuesday in September).
The ''Arabidopsis thaliana'' race Enkheim, which is important in plant molecular biology research originates here.
Sights
The old town of Bergen is an interesting site. Its historic town hall holds the area's historical museum. The
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
foundation of the building dates from 1300 to 1350 and the upper floor in the rural
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
style dates from the early sixteenth century. It also holds a tower holding a baroque lantern, added in 1704.
A remnant of the old city walls frames the so-called "White Tower" (''Weiße Turm''). This was a late gothic watchtower which was created under the counts of
Hanau
Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ...
along the town walls.
Image:Heimatmuseum001.jpg, Entrance of "Heimatmuseum" in Bergen
Image:Bergerrathaus2.JPG, Rear side of "Heimatmuseum"
Image:Marktstrasse-ffm001.jpg, view from ''Heimatmuseum''
Image:Schelmenburg-2014-Ffm-Bergen-776.jpg, "Schelmenburg" with Schloßbornquelle (spring) (Bergen)
Image:Weißerturm2.JPG, "Weisser Turm" (White Tower) Part of the castle wall in Bergen
Image:Stadtschreiberhaus-ffm005.jpg, ''Stadtschreiberhaus'' in Bergen
Image:Stadtplan-bergen-enkheim-1800-ffm001.jpg, old map at ''Heimatmuseum''
Image:Berger-synagoge001.jpg, commemorative plaque about synagogue
Image:Judenfriedhof005.jpg, Jewish cemetery
Image:Judenfriedhof002.jpg, Jewish cemetery
Economy and infrastructure
Local businesses
Equinix
Equinix, Inc. is an American multinational company headquartered in Redwood City, California, that specializes in Internet connection and data centers. The company is a leader in global colocation data center market share, with 240 data centers ...
(data centers),
Nord-Micro (aerospace),
Sun Chemical
Sun Chemical is the world's largest producer of printing inks and pigments and is located in Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey. It was incorporated in 1945. The company has its roots as the Lorilleux & Cie. Paris in 1818, but was incorporated u ...
(printing inks for food packaging) and the German innovation campus of the French gas manufacturer
Air Liquide
Air Liquide S.A. (; ; literally "liquid air"), is a French multinational company which supplies industrial gases and services to various industries including medical, chemical and electronic manufacturers. Founded in 1902, after Linde it is ...
have business locations in Bergen-Enkheim. The local trade association comprises 140 businesses. The Hessen-Center is a major shopping mall.
Infrastructure and events
Sport facilities include an extensive, recently modernized public indoor and outdoor pool with 50m lap pool and diving pool and sports center, a modern athletics facility, a tennis club with nine outdoor courts and Frankfurt's most modern indoor hall, which can also be rented by non-members, a
pump track
A pump track is a circuit of rollers, banked turns and features designed to be ridden completely by riders "pumping"—generating momentum by up and down body movements, instead of pedaling or pushing. It was originally designed for the mountain bi ...
, an E-
kart track
Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...
and a nature preserve with small lakes and kilometers of wooded hiking, running and cycling paths, the
Enkheimer Ried.
Regular sport events include a road race (
Volkslauf), a
triathlon
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...
as well as a big sports and fun day for children and young people.
Every year the trade association Bergen-Enkheim organizes a trade show and the Christmas market.
Bergen-Enkheim holds the only county fair in the greater city of Frankfurt. It is location of the
Berger Market
Berger is a surname in both German and French, although there is no etymological connection between the names in the two languages. The French surname is an occupational name for a shepherd, from Old French ''bergier'' (Late Latin ''berbicarius'', ...
(Berger Markt) that takes place in the last weekend in August. On the Friday beforehand, the new
Stadtschreiber von Bergen is inducted and celebrated. The festival pavilion is also used to crown the official
Apfelwein
''Apfelwein'' ( German, 'apple wine'), or ''Viez'' ( Moselfranken, Saarland, Trier, ''vice'') or ''Most'' ( Austria, Switzerland, South Germany, ''must'') are German words for cider. It is made from a mix of sour tasting apples, such as "Bohna ...
(Cider) Queen.
Fairground
Image:Berger-markt-nacht002.jpg, Fairground organ
Image:Berger-markt-nacht003.jpg, Carousel
Image:Berger-markt-nacht004.jpg, Lottery
Image:Berger-markt-nacht005.jpg, Swing boat
Education
Bergen-Enkheim has two
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
s (''Schule am Hang'' and ''Schule am Landgraben'') and a
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) ...
, as well as a
music school
A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...
.
References
External links
Bergen-Enkheimculture society
{{Authority control
Districts of Frankfurt