Lautertal (Odenwald) is a municipality in the
Bergstraße district in the
Hessian
A Hessian is an inhabitant of the German state of Hesse.
Hessian may also refer to:
Named from the toponym
*Hessian (soldier), eighteenth-century German regiments in service with the British Empire
**Hessian (boot), a style of boot
**Hessian f ...
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 ...
in
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 ...
that came into being with the merger of several former communities.
Geography
Location
The Lauter valley (also called the ''Lautertal'' in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
) begins near the source of the brook called the Lauter, which is found on the ''Neunkircher Höhe'' (“Neunkirchen Heights”). The brook then runs first along a broad streambed, but then gets quite narrow and steep as it approaches the
Bergstraße, where the brook's name becomes the Winkelbach once it reaches
Bensheim
Bensheim () is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hessen, Germany. Bensheim lies on the Bergstraße and at the edge of the Odenwald mountains while at the same time having an open view over the Rhine plain. With about 40,000 inhabita ...
. Furthermore, the valley includes several peaks on both sides.
Neighbouring communities
Lautertal borders in the north on the communities of
Seeheim-Jugenheim
Seeheim-Jugenheim is a municipality in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district in Hesse, Germany. It has a population of approximately 17,000.
Seeheim-Jugenheim consists of seven villages:
*Balkhausen (population 693)
*Jugenheim (population 4,448)
*Malch ...
and
Modautal
Modautal is a municipality in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, in Hesse, Germany. Approximately 5,050 inhabitants live in 11 districts on an area of 31 km2 with about 38.7% wood. The first historical chronicles date back to the 13th century.
H ...
(
Darmstadt-Dieburg
Darmstadt-Dieburg is a Kreis (Districts of Germany, district) in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Offenbach (district), Offenbach, Aschaffenburg (district), Aschaffenburg, Miltenberg (district), Miltenberg, Odenwaldkreis, Berg ...
), in the east on the town of
Lindenfels
Lindenfels is a town in the Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
The climatic spa, also known as the “Pearl of the Odenwald”, lies in the Odenwald in southern Hesse and is nestled in a mountain landscape with a gre ...
, in the south on the community of
Fürth
Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the t ...
and the town of
Heppenheim
Heppenheim (Bergstraße) is the seat of Bergstraße district in Hesse, Germany, lying on the Bergstraße on the edge of the Odenwald. It is best known for being the birthplace of 4-time Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel.
Geography ...
and in the west on the town of
Bensheim
Bensheim () is a town in the Bergstraße district in southern Hessen, Germany. Bensheim lies on the Bergstraße and at the edge of the Odenwald mountains while at the same time having an open view over the Rhine plain. With about 40,000 inhabita ...
.
History
The community of Lautertal came into being through municipal reform on 1 January 1972. The formerly self-governing communities of Beedenkirchen, Elmshausen, Gadernheim, Lautern, Raidelbach, Reichenbach, Staffel and Wurzelbach merged voluntarily, but later the same year, the communities of Knoden and Schannenbach were forcibly merged with Lautertal, and so was Schmal-Beerbach in 1978.
Some of the individual constituent communities had their beginnings in
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 ...
times and the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
(of a castle that supposedly once stood near Gadernheim, there is no trace today).
Politics
Community council
The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:
Mayor
Andreas Heun (SPD) is Lautertal's mayor since 2018.
Town partnerships
*
Parish of Aldenham,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
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 ...
since 25 October 1980
*
Jarnac
Jarnac (; ; Saintongese: ''Jharnat'') is a commune in the Charente department, southwestern France.Charente
Charente (; Saintongese: ''Chérente''; oc, Charanta ) is a department in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, south western France. It is named after the river Charente, the most important and longest river in the department, an ...
,
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 ...
since 4 September 1982
Culture and sightseeing
The ''Geo-Naturpark Bergstraße-Odenwald'' is a local recreation area for many daytrippers from the heavily populated
Frankfurt Rhine Main Region
The Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, often simply referred to as Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main area or Rhine-Main area (German: ''Rhein-Main-Gebiet'' or ''Frankfurt/Rhein-Main'', abbreviated FRM), is the second-largest metropolitan re ...
and
Rhine Neckar Area
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 ...
. Besides the many local hiking trails, two
European long-distance paths
The European long-distance paths (alternatively, abbreviated as E-paths) are a network of long-distance footpaths that traverse Europe. While most long-distance footpaths in Europe are located in just one country or region, each of these numbered ...
cross in Lautertal,
E1 and
E8
Felsenmeer
Popular with families is the nationally known Felsenmeer above the constituent community of Reichenbach. The reason is that there is a slope here with rounded blocks of
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
that is easily climbed even by children. The
Romans
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 lette ...
used the Felsenmeer as a source of building material, witnessing which is, among other things, the so-called ''Riesensäule'' – “Giant's Column”.
Hohenstein and Borstein
In the constituent community of Reichenbach lie two climbing cliffs recognized by the
German Alpine Club
The German Alpine Club (german: links=no, Deutscher Alpenverein, DAV for short) is the world's largest climbing association and the eighth-largest sporting association in Germany. It is a member of the German Olympic Sports Confederation and the ...
(''Deutscher Alpenverein''), the 17 m-high Hohenstein und der 8 m-high Borstein near the
Naturfreundehaus. Both cliffs can be climbed with a slight degree of difficulty and are used in many climbing courses.
Historic houses
Several constituent communities have kept their old
timber-frame
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 ...
town halls, mostly from the 16th and 17th centuries. These are Elmshausen, Reichenbach and Gadernheim, whose old town hall now houses the local history museum. Gadernheim has also been home to a
smithy since 1608, the Lauter valley's oldest building. Moreover, it is one of Hesse's oldest unchanged smithies. It is, however, in a bad state and may not be preserved much longer.
''Kaiserturm''
![Peter Stehlik 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Peter_Stehlik_2010.10.31_036a.jpg)
This tower's forerunner was a 24 m-tall wooden tower built in 1888 by Adam Fleischman which blew down on the stormy night of 11 February 1904.
The
Emperor Tower was built in memory of
Emperor William I on the ''Neunkircher Höhe'' ("Neunkirchen Heights") and is the Lauter valley's highest point. It is within Gadernheim's limits. In its current incarnation it was designed by architects Hacker and Jaide as a lookout tower with a height of 34 m. Master builder Adam Arras from Gadernheim built the tower in 1906 and 1907. The project initiators chose the 25th anniversary of the Darmstadt chapter of the ''Odenwaldklub'' as the occasion on which to formally open the tower to the public in a dedication ceremony on 7 July 1907.
In 1982, the ''Kaiserturm'' was extensively restored.
Only a few years later, though, cracks began to appear once again in the tower due to “huge antennae” used by the post and the police. Rainwater leaked in and started processes of decay. In November 1986, thanks to financial help from the districts of Darmstadt-Dieburg and Bergstraße as well as the city of Darmstadt, all damage was repaired.
In the ''Kaiserturm'' is found the Odenwald's “highest pub”.
Evangelical Parish Church in Gadernheim
In 1912 and 1913, the well known
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
architect Heinrich Metzendorf built this great church in the so-called ''Heimatstil'' (“Homeland style”). Standing on the village's highest hill, it dominates the upper Lauter valley. It is a one-room church with overhanging polygonal apse and a façade tower, all topped with steep roofs. On the outside, the stone is mostly granite with sandstone elements. The upper part of the façade and tower is covered in greyish-blue-lacquered shakes.
The furnishings inside – pews and altar – are original equipment.
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Bergstraße (district)
Grand Duchy of Hesse