Lahnau is a municipality 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 ...

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 ...

, and lies about midway – about 6 km each way – between the towns 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

Gießen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...

Geography

Neighbouring communities

Lahnau borders in the north on the community of

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 ...

, in the east on the community of

Heuchelheim Heuchelheim (official name: ''Heuchelheim a. d. Lahn'') is a municipality in the district of Gießen, in Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. ...

(both in

district), and in the south and west on the town of Wetzlar (Lahn-Dill-Kreis).

Constituent communities

The centres of Atzbach (3,065 inhabitants), Dorlar (1,924 inhabitants) and Waldgirmes (3,393 inhabitants) are all part of the community. ''(The population figures are drawn from a statistical extrapolation from 30 June 2003)'' The community of Dorlar had itself incorporated into Wetzlar in 1972. Wetzlar, Gießen, Atzbach, Waldgirmes and 12 other municipalities formed from 1977 to 1979 the city of

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 ...

. Within Lahn, the constituent communities of Waldgirmes, Dorlar and Atzbach the ''Stadtbezirk'' (roughly "borough") of Lahntal. After the city of Lahn was dissolved, the borough became an independent community under the name Lahnau on 1 August 1979 The constituent community of Dorlar thereby managed to belong to four different municipalities over only seven years, which stands as a curiosity even in the complex history of Hessian municipal reform.

Public institutions

Educational institutions

*Lahntalschule Lahnau (district integrated

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 ...

in Atzbach) *

Grundschule Education in Germany is primarily the responsibility of individual German States of Germany, states (), with the federal government playing a minor role. Optional Kindergarten, Kindergarden (nursery school) education is provided for all child ...

WaldgirmesAs of 2012 it has also taken on the function of the now defunct Grundschule Atzbach

Sports and leisure

*Trimm-Dich-Pfad Atzbach (path) *Sportpark Lahnau in Dorlar,

artificial turf Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commer ...

and hard court, athletic facility *Indoor and outdoor

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

with 50m × 12.5m basin and broad

sunbathing Sun tanning or tanning is the process whereby skin color is darkened or tanned. It is most often a result of exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight or from artificial sources, such as a tanning lamp found in indoor tanning beds. ...

lawn *Riding hall and square *Sports ground in Waldgirmes, natural and artificial turf

Clubs

*TSV Atzbach (gymnastic and sport club) *SC 1929 Waldgirmes (sport club) *TV05 Waldgirmes (gymnastic club) *TSG Dorlar (gymnastic and sport club) *AS LahnLaender Lahnau *CVJM Atzbach-Dorlar (YMCA)
CVJM Waldgirmes (YMCA)
*Sängervereinigung Waldgirmes (singers' association) *Deutsch-Englischer Freundeskreis Lahnau e.V. (German-English circle of friends) *

Burschenschaft A Burschenschaft (; sometimes abbreviated in the German ''Burschenschaft'' jargon; plural: ) is one of the traditional (student associations) of Germany, Austria, and Chile (the latter due to German cultural influence). Burschenschaften were fo ...

Fidelio Atzbach e.V. (fraternity) *Mädchenschaft Atzbach (sorority)

Town partnerships

Wincanton Wincanton ( or ) is a small town and electoral ward in South Somerset, southwest England. The town lies off the A303 road, a main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry. The town and electoral ward has a populati ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Geraberg Geraberg is a village and a former municipality located at the northern edge of the Thuringian Forest in the district Ilm-Kreis, in Thuringia, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Euro ...

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 ...

Culture and sightseeing

* The

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

'' Forum von Waldgirmes'' – owing to a lack of any Roman written record of the place it is still nameless – is Germany's oldest known stone building foundation, and shows that the Romans founded a town in

Magna Germania Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north- ...

north of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

and east of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

. The site was dated by finds of Roman coins showing likenesses of

Publius Quinctilius Varus Publius Quinctilius Varus (Cremona, 46 BC – Teutoburg Forest, AD 9) was a Roman general and politician under the first Roman emperor Augustus. Varus is generally remembered for having lost three Roman legions when ambushed by Germanic tribes l ...

, placing the ruins at about the time of the

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, described as the Varian Disaster () by Ancient Rome, Roman historians, took place at modern Kalkriese in AD 9, when an alliance of Germanic peoples ambushed Roman legions and their auxiliaries, led by Publius ...

in the year 9, in which Varus lost three legions and his own life.

Museums

*''Heimatmuseum'' in Waldgirmes (local history)

Buildings

*Atzbach Church *Amtsgericht Atzbach (formerly the ''

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 ...

courthouse, now a primary school) *Backhaus Atzbach ("bakehouse") *Dorlar Church *Altes Backhaus Dorlar (https://web.archive.org/web/20161003145317/http://altesbackhauslahnau.de/) *Waldgirmes Church

Regular events

* Kirmes in Atzbach (Atzbach Fair), in May * 2. Advent Atzbacher Adventmarkt * LahnLaender, last Sunday in June * Kirmes in Waldgirmes (Waldgirmes Fair), first weekend in August

References

External links

LahnauEvangelical parishes of Dorlar & Atzbach
* {{Authority control Lahn-Dill-Kreis