The municipality of Lahntal is found in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district in northwest Middle Hesse,
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
Lahntal lies on the upper
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 ...
about 83 km 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 ...
and about 7 km northwest of
Marburg
Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approxima ...
. In the north, it borders on the town of Wetter, in the east on the community of
Cölbe
Cölbe () is a municipality in Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany.
Location
Cölbe's municipal area lies on the southern edge of the ''Burgwald'', a low mountain range and part of the ''Hessisches Bergland'' (Hessian Highland), an ...
, in the south on Marburg, and in the west on the community of
Dautphetal
Dautphetal is a municipality in Hesse, Germany, and is among the six larger municipalities of the 22 in Marburg-Biedenkopf district.
Geography
The municipality lies in the western part of the district about 37 km east of Siegen and about 15 ...
.
West of the community rises the 498 m-high ''Rimberg''.
Lahntal's civic coat of arms might be described thus: In gules an inescutcheon showing the shield of the
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...
(in argent a cross sable), laid over a fess wavy argent; behind the inescutcheon tilted dexter and turned sinister an abbess's staff Or with velum argent; spangled with seven trefoils, three above the fess and four below.
The coat of arms was adopted as part of the municipal reform in Hesse, and the wavy fess represents the community's namesake river. The
clover
Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (from Latin ''tres'' 'three' + ''folium'' 'leaf'), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume or pea family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus ...
s represent the seven constituent communities within Lahntal's bounds; moreover, the abbess's staff stands for Caldern, where there was once a
convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...
, and the Teutonic Knights' shield stands for Goßfelden, which lies south of the river Lahn.
Municipal partnerships
*
Stara Kiszewa
Stara Kiszewa (german: Alt Kischau; csb, Stôrô Cziszewa) is a village in Kościerzyna County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Stara Kiszewa. It lies approximately ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
Lahntal has been partnered since 6 April 1986 with the community of Sussargues, which lies in the department of
Hérault
Hérault (; oc, Erau, ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,175,623 in 2019.Montpellier (about 17 km) and the Mediterranean Sea. Lahntal and Sussargues lie about 1 050 km apart.
Between the Polish community of
Stara Kiszewa
Stara Kiszewa (german: Alt Kischau; csb, Stôrô Cziszewa) is a village in Kościerzyna County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Stara Kiszewa. It lies approximately ...
and Lahntal, a community partnership was ceremoniously sealed in Poland on 10 January 2005. The underwriting of the intercommunal deal in Lahntal took place on 26 May 2006. Stara Kiszewa has about 6,200 inhabitants in some 20 centres, some quite small, and is in the powiat of Kościerzyna, about 80 km south of Gdańsk and 80 km west of Malbork in the tourist region of
Kashubia pl, Kaszuby
, native_name_lang = csb, de, csb
, settlement_type = Historical region
, anthem = Zemia Rodnô
, image_map = Kashubians in Poland.png
, image_flag ...
.
Culture and Sightseeing
Buildings
* Rimberg Tower near Caldern
* Defensive church tower in Sterzhausen from the 12th or 13th century.
* Old Lahn Bridge in Goßfelden
* Otto-Ubbelohde-Haus in Goßfelden
Economy and infrastructure
Transport
Running west–east through the municipal area is the Federal Highway (''Bundesstraße'') B 62 coming from
Biedenkopf
Biedenkopf () is a spa town in western Hesse, Germany with a population of 13,491 (2020).
Geography
Location
The town of Biedenkopf lies in the west of Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Ringed by mountains reaching up to above sea level – ...
and going on towards
Cölbe
Cölbe () is a municipality in Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany.
Location
Cölbe's municipal area lies on the southern edge of the ''Burgwald'', a low mountain range and part of the ''Hessisches Bergland'' (Hessian Highland), an ...
and farther to
Alsfeld
Alsfeld () is a town in the center of Hesse, in Germany.
Located about north of Frankfurt, Alsfeld is in the center of Hesse and part of the densely populated Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. It is well known for its well-preserved old ...
. In Lahntal-Göttingen, the B 252 from
Diemelstadt
Diemelstadt is a small town in Waldeck-Frankenberg district in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Diemelstadt lies in a small "bay" of Hesse that thrusts into, and is surrounded on three sides by, North Rhine-Westphalia. The River Diemel, the tow ...
and
Korbach
Korbach (pronunciation: ˈkoːɐˌbax), officially the Hanseatic City of Korbach (German: Hansestadt Korbach), is the district seat of Waldeck-Frankenberg in northern Hesse, Germany. It is over a thousand years old and is located on the German Tim ...
to the north comes to an end.
The ''Obere Lahntalbahn'', a single-track Deutsche Bahn unelectrified secondary
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 ...
line run by DB's ''Kurhessenbahn'' subsidiary, joins Marburg by way of
Biedenkopf
Biedenkopf () is a spa town in western Hesse, Germany with a population of 13,491 (2020).
Geography
Location
The town of Biedenkopf lies in the west of Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Ringed by mountains reaching up to above sea level – ...
Erndtebrück
Erndtebrück is a municipality in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Geography
Location
Erndtebrück situated on the river Eder in the Rothaargebirge, approx. 20 km northeast of Siegen.
Neighbouring com ...
. Stops on the line may be found at Sarnau (full station), Goßfelden, Sterzhausen and Caldern.
Tourism
The community of Lahntal belongs, along with parts of its environs to the ''Burgwald'' region, the Lahn
tourism region
A tourism region is a geographical region that has been designated by a governmental organization or tourism bureau as having common cultural or environmental characteristics. These regions are often named after historical or current administrati ...
and the Lahn-Dill Nature Park; it also lies on the Lahntal bicycle trail.
Otto Ubbelohde
Otto Ubbelohde (5 January 1867 – 8 May 1922) was a German painter, etcher and illustrator.Bernd Küster: ''Otto Ubbelohde''. Worpsweder Verlag, Worpswede 1984
Life
Ubbelohde was born and grew up in Marburg, where his father was a profe ...
,
drawer
A drawer is a box-shaped container inside a piece of furniture that can be pulled out horizontally to access its contents. Drawers are built into numerous types of furniture, including cabinets, chests of drawers (bureaus), desks, and the ...
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...