Friedrichsdorf
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Friedrichsdorf () is a town of the
Hochtaunuskreis The Hochtaunuskreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the middle of Hesse, Germany and is part of the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Neighbouring districts are Lahn-Dill, Wetteraukreis, district-free Frankfurt, Main-Taunus, Rheingau-Taunus, ...
, some north 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 ...
in
Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
,
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 ...
.


Geography


Location

Friedrichsdorf is located in 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 ...
area, ranking third among the Hochtaunuskreis boroughs after
Bad Homburg vor der Höhe Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's official name is ''Bad Homburg v.d.Höhe'', w ...
and
Oberursel (Taunus) Oberursel (Taunus) () is a town in Germany and part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. It is located to the north west of Frankfurt, in the Hochtaunuskreis county. It is the 13th largest town in Hesse. In 2011, the town hosted the 51st Hes ...
. The municipal area includes, on the one hand,
agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
land such as that between Burgholzhausen and the edge of the
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 ...
. On the other hand, there are vast
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
s on the crest of the Taunus, where the highest point in Friedrichsdorf's rural areas can be found: the ''Gickelsburg'' at 471 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 ...
. From the Taunus' heights, the river Erlenbach makes its way down and through town.


Neighbouring communities

Friedrichsdorf borders in the north and east on the town of Rosbach (
Wetteraukreis The Wetteraukreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Landkreis Gießen, Vogelsbergkreis, Main-Kinzig-Kreis, district-free Stadt Frankfurt, Hochtaunuskreis and Lahn-Dill-Kreis. History The distric ...
), in the south on the town of
Bad Homburg Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority, Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's offic ...
, and in the west on the community of
Wehrheim Wehrheim is a municipality in Hesse, Germany some 30 km (20 mi) north of Frankfurt am Main. The town's nickname is "Apfeldorf Wehrheim" (''Apple-village Wehrheim''). Geography Location Wehrheim lies from 300 to 600 m above sea lev ...
.


History

The town's founding in 1687 goes back to the persecution of the
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
s in
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 ...
, where millions of them fled their country. Part of this exodus was granted asylum by
Landgrave Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), a ...
Friedrich II Frederick II, Frederik II or Friedrich II may refer to: * Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (1194–1250), King of Sicily from 1198; Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 * Frederick II of Denmark (1534–1588), king of Denmark and Norway 1559–1588 * Fr ...
with the words "Lieber will ich mein Silbergerät verkaufen, als diesen armen Leuten die Aufnahme versagen" ("I would rather sell my silverware than deny these poor people asylum."). The Huguenots then founded Friedrichsdorf, gratefully naming it after the Landgrave. They brought
flannel Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fiber. Flannel is commonly used to make tartan clothing, blankets, b ...
and
stocking Stockings (also known as hose, especially in a historical context) are close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh. Stockings vary in color, design, and transparen ...
s with them from France, which spread quickly. Later,
Zwieback Zwieback is a form of rusk eaten in Germany, Poland, Scandinavia, Austria, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. It is a type of crisp, ...
was produced in Friedrichsdorf, which is why Friedrichsdorf is known as the "Town of Zwieback". The zwieback factory "Emil Louis Pauly" became Milupa, still in business now as a
baby food Baby food is any soft easily consumed food other than breastmilk or infant formula that is made specifically for human babies between four and six months and two years old. The food comes in many varieties and flavors that are purchased ready-mad ...
maker, and still headquartered in Friedrichsdorf. It is now owned by
Numico Nutricia is a Danone brand that specialises in therapeutic food and infant formula, including medical nutrition for babies with specific needs. The former company, N.V. Nutricia., was established in The Netherlands by brothers Jan and Martinus ...
, a
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
company, and the production facilities have been moved abroad. The town's most famous son was
Johann Philipp Reis Johann Philipp Reis (; 7 January 1834 – 14 January 1874) was a self-taught German scientist and inventor. In 1861, he constructed the first ''make-and-break'' telephone, today called the Reis telephone. Early life and education Reis ...
, a teacher at the Institut Garnier. He is the inventor of the electric transmission of speech, better known as the
telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...
and has been dedicated a museum. Friedrichsdorf's
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 ...
('' Philipp-Reis-Schule'') is also named after him. In 1916, Dillingen, which had been founded only in 1804, was joined with Friedrichsdorf. Dillingen took its name from a village which had been forsaken in 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 ...
, on the rural area of which Friedrichsdorf's Huguenots later settled.
Paul Tirard Paul Tirard (2 June 1879 – 23 December 1945) was chairman of the Inter-Allied Rhineland High Commission from 1919 to 1930. Biography He was born in Nogent-le-Rotrou on 2 June 1879 into a family of industrialists, son of Ferdinand Tirard. H ...
reported that the town archives were kept in French up until 1871, but thenceforth in German. He also states that the names on grave stones were French up and till 1914 and that Protestant Sunday services were held locally up until the same date.


Constituent communities

In July 1972 the communities of Friedrichsdorf, Seulberg, Köppern and Burgholzhausen merged to form the town of Friedrichsdorf/Taunus.


Köppern

Köppern had its first documentary mention in 1269. At this time, Buchard von Printsac was given in
fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...
a
watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...
at "coppern" by Count Gerhard von Eppstein.
Linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...
weaving and
brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
making were for a long time, next to
farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
, the most important economic activities. Later came
hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
making and
tanning Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
. In 1901, the ''Waldkrankenhaus'' ("Forest Hospital"), which still stands today (as the ''Fachklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie'', or Specialized Clinic for
Psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psych ...
and
Psychotherapy Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome pro ...
) was founded by Dr. Emil Sioli from Frankfurt. Köppern has a
street hockey Street hockey (also known as shinny, dek hockey, ball hockey, road hockey) is a collection of team sport variants played outdoors either on foot or with wheeled skates, using a either a ball or puck designed for play on flat, dry surfaces. The o ...
team, trained by, among others, professional hockey player Ingo Schwarz, who plays for ''Rote Teufel Bad Nauheim''.


Burgholzhausen

In 1221, Burgholzhausen was being mentioned as Holzhausen in documents. The most important economic activity next to farming and linen weaving was said to be
tile Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or o ...
making, whose raw materials were dug from nearby
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
pits. In the late 17th century, through the Ingelheimer family's lordly leadership, fruit growing was brought to Burgholzhausen File:Burgholzhausen Altes Rathaus (Giebelseite).jpg, Old Town Hall (gable side) File:Burgolzhausen Altes Rathaus.JPG, Burgholzhausen's Old Town Hall (1605) File:Burgholzhausen Ortsmitte.JPG, Renovated building from 1630 (downtown)


Seulberg

Seulberg was first mentioned in the
Lorsch codex The Lorsch Codex (Chronicon Laureshamense, Lorscher Codex, Codex Laureshamensis) is an important historical document created between about 1175 to 1195 AD in the Monastery of Saint Nazarius in Lorsch, Germany. The codex is handwritten in Carol ...
in 767. It is said to be one of the oldest settled places in the Hochtaunuskreis. Besides farming and linen weaving,
pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...
has long been an important activity here. With the Huguenots in Friedrichsdorf there was brisk trade. In a somewhat less cheerful chapter in Seulberg's history, there were
witch trial A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern perio ...
s in the 17th century which resulted in 31 women being put to death. File:Friedrichsdorf Seulberg Kirche.jpg, Evangelical-Lutheran Church (1862)
web page
) File:Friedrichsdorf Seulberg Toepferbrunnen.jpg, ''Töpferbrunnen'' ("Potters' Fountain") File:Friedrichsdorf Seulberg Komplett.jpg, Seulberg as a whole


Coat of arms

Friedrichsdorf was given its first civic
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
in 1821 in remembrance of
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n Princess Alexandra's – and her eight guests' – visit to Count Friedrich in
Bad Homburg Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority, Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's offic ...
: In azure a ring of nine roses argent (''i.e.'' a blue shield with a ring of nine silver roses). After amalgamation, a new coat of arms was created in 1975, taking the newly amalgamated parts of town into account. It might heraldically be described thus: Party per saltire, above, in azure a rose argent, dexter in argent a four-spoked wheel gules, sinister in argent a horseshoe gules, below, in gules a tower Or. The silver rose charge has been kept, although now there is only one instead of a ring of nine. The red stylized wheel stands for Köppern and the red horseshoe for Seulberg. The tower comes from Burgholzhausen's old arms.


Economy and infrastructure


Transport

Through Friedrichsdorf's outlying rural areas runs
Autobahn The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...
A5, an important traffic artery that also has an interchange at the northern edge of the municipal area (16, ''Friedberg / Friedrichsdorf''). Furthermore, Federal Highway (''Bundesstraße'') B 455 also runs through the town. The town is also well supplied when it comes to rail transport. There are four stations: one in every constituent community.
Friedrichsdorf station Friedrichsdorf (Taunus) station is in the centre of Friedrichsdorf on Bahnstraße. Although the city has mostly dispensed with the appendage of "Taunus" in its name the station still officially retains it, although signs on the newest platform and ...
is the end of
Rhine-Main S-Bahn The Rhine-Main S-Bahn system is an integrated rapid transit and commuter train system for the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region, which includes the cities Frankfurt am Main, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Offenbach am Main, Hanau and Darmstadt. The network compris ...
line S 5. Also, railcars from the Frankfurt-Königstein
Railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
, which run on the '' Taunusbahn'' stop here. The cross-country connection to the Main-Weser Railway to Friedberg is provided by the Butzbach-Lich Railway.
Frankfurt International Airport Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres. ...
can easily be reached by road. Also, the ''Firma Rotorflug'' can also be found in Friedrichsdorf, offering
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
flights.


Population

(in each case on 31 December)


Politics


Town council elections


Mayor

* Horst Burghardt (Green) is mayor of Friedrichsdorf since 1997. In March 2021, Lars Keitel (Green) was elected as his successor.


Twin towns – sister cities

Friedrichsdorf is twinned with: *
Bad Wimsbach-Neydharting Bad Wimsbach-Neydharting is a municipality in the district of Wels-Land in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Population International relations Twin towns – Sister cities Bad Wimsbach-Neydharting is twinned with: * Friedrichsdorf Frie ...
, Austria (1968) *
Houilles Houilles () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is a northwestern suburb of Paris, located from the center of Paris. History Until 2000, the command post of French Navy's Ballisti ...
, France (1973) *
Chesham Chesham (, , or ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, north-west of central London, and part of the London commuter belt. It is in the Chess Valley, surrounded by farmla ...
, England, United Kingdom (1980)


Schools

* Philipp-Reis-Schule * King's College The British School of Frankfurt


Notable people

*
François Blanc François Blanc (; 12 December 1806 – 27 July 1877), nicknamed "The Magician of Homburg" and "The Magician of Monte Carlo", was a French entrepreneur and operator of casinos, including the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco. His daughter, Marie-F ...
(1806–1877), French entrepreneur and operator of casinos *Abraham Louis Wallon (1807–1889), Methodist preacher in Germany and the United States *
Pierre Jean Édouard Desor Pierre Jean Édouard Desor (13 February 1811, Friedrichsdorf, Grand Duchy of Hesse23 February 1882) was a German-Swiss geologist and naturalist. Biography Desor studied law at Giessen and Heidelberg, was compromised in the republican movements ...
(1811–1882), German-Swiss geologist and naturalist *
Paul Cérésole Paul Cérésole (16 November 1832, in Friedrichsdorf, Hesse-Homburg – 7 January 1905) was a Swiss politician, judge of the Supreme Court (1867–1870) and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1870–1875). He was elected to the Federal Council ...
(1832–1905), Swiss politician and judge of the Supreme Court (1867–1870) *
Johann Philipp Reis Johann Philipp Reis (; 7 January 1834 – 14 January 1874) was a self-taught German scientist and inventor. In 1861, he constructed the first ''make-and-break'' telephone, today called the Reis telephone. Early life and education Reis ...
(1834–1874), teacher and inventor of the
Reis telephone The Reis telephone was an invention named after Philipp Reis of a telephone-like device he constructed. Reis's first successful work is dated to October 1861. History In 1861, Philipp Reis succeeded in creating a device that captured sound, co ...
*
Karl Willy Wagner Karl Willy Wagner (22 February 1883 – 4 September 1953) was a German pioneer in the theory of electronic filters. He is noted by Hendrik Bode as being one of two Germans whose; The other German being referred to is Wilhelm Cauer. Wagner wa ...
(1883–1953), pioneer in the theory of electronic filters *
Martin Schneider Martin Schneider (born 25 May 1964), often just called "Maddin", is a German comedian, cabaret artist and actor. Biography Born in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Schneider grew up in Burgholzhausen, a district of Friedrichsdorf. He has a twin s ...
(born 1964), comedian, cabarettist and actor *
Rob Pilatus Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob ...
(1965–1998), model, dancer and singer


Religion

In Friedrichsdorf stands one of the two
Temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
in Germany, called the Frankfurt Germany Temple (the other one is in
Freiberg, Saxony Freiberg is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany. It is a so-called ''Große Kreisstadt'' (large county town) and the administrative centre of Mittelsachsen district. Its historic town centre has been placed under heritage ...
). The Temple was dedicated for operation in 1987 by then President of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
, Ezra Taft Benson.


References


External links

*
Friedrichsdorf am Taunus

Philipp-Reis-Schule (PRS)

Rhein-Main International Montessori School (RIMS)
* {{Authority control Hochtaunuskreis