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Ostheim vor der Rhön is a town in Northern
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
in the district of
Rhön-Grabfeld Rhön-Grabfeld is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southeast and clockwise) the districts of Hassberge, Schweinfurt and Bad Kissingen, and the states of Hesse (district Fulda) and Thuringia (districts ...
in
Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper ...
. Though politically part of Bavaria since 1947, it was historically a part of
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 lar ...
, and remains religiously, architecturally, and to some extent culturally distinct from its immediate surroundings.


History

Ostheim was first mentioned in 804. During the
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, Ostheim (along with much of the surrounding region) became Protestant. However, in the 1580s and 1590s, a powerful Counter-Reformation effort led by Julius Echter von Mespelbrunn, the Prince-Bishop of
Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...
, reconverted most of the Streutal (the Streu valley, in northern Franconia) back to Catholicism. Ostheim and a few villages nearby became Protestant islands in a solidly Catholic region. (The town's heavily fortified Lutheran church dates from this period.) Ostheim was sacked by Imperial troops in 1634 during the
Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...
, but survived and retained its distinctive character. From the 17th century until 1920 the town was an exclave of Protestant
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) was a historical German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was ra ...
, first in Catholic Franconia and then in
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
after Franconia came under the Bavarian crown. After the First World War, it became an
exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
of Thuringia in
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
from 1920 until 1947. During the late 19th and early 20th century, as religious differences faded in importance, the town became increasingly integrated into the surrounding region, becoming a small regional industrial center as well as a market for the surrounding agricultural hinterland. In 1945 Ostheim became part of the American controlled zone, in the Free State of Bavaria. In 1947 it was formally transferred to Bavarian control in exchange for some similar exclaves in the Soviet Zone. Ostheim lies on the river Streu between
Mellrichstadt Mellrichstadt is a town in the district Rhön-Grabfeld, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 17 km southwest of Meiningen, and 13 km northeast of Bad Neustadt Bad Neustadt an der Saale, officially Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale and often sim ...
and
Fladungen Fladungen is a town in the Rhön-Grabfeld district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Rhön Mountains, 11 km northwest of Ostheim, 20 km west of Meiningen, and 33 km east of Fulda. It is the northernmost town in Bavaria, ...
. It is one of the stops in
Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. He is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Docu ...
' 1976 road trip film
Kings of the Road ''Kings of the Road'' (german: Im Lauf der Zeit, "in the course of time") is a 1976 German road movie directed by Wim Wenders. It was the third part of Wenders' " Road Movie trilogy" which included '' Alice in the Cities'' (1974) and '' The Wrong M ...
. The gunmaking company ''
Herbert Schmidt Ostheim {{Short description, German firearm manufacturing company Herbert Schmidt Ostheim was a German gunmaking company, that was also known as HS - Herbert Schmidt Waffentechnik. The company was based in Ostheim, ( Rhön). Early days The company was foun ...
'' (also: ''HS - Herbert Schmidt Waffentechnik'') was based in Ostheim.Herbert Schmidt revolver
at Guns Lot, Retrieved 25.10.2012 It is also the home of German soft drink manufacturer
Bionade Bionade �bi.(j)oˈnaːdəis a German range of non-alcoholic, organic fermented and carbonated beverages. It is manufactured in the Bavarian town of Ostheim vor der Rhön by the ''Peter'' beer brewery. Sales started in 1995 and Bionade is now ...
. Ostheim's historic architecture, walkable town center and easy access to the biking and hiking trails of the Streu valley have helped make it a local center for tourism.


Landmarks

*Fortress church, a large Lutheran church surrounded by walls and towers. Includes a small museum. *Lichtenburg, 12th-century castle on a hill above the town center. Most of the castle is a ruin, but part has been renovated for use as a guest house *Historic Old Town with mills and half-timbered houses, including many well preserved examples from the 17th and 18th centuries. The architecture is a mixture of Thuringian and Bavarian influences. *Organ museum in the town center with over a dozen historical organs and interactive displays on construction, preservation and organ music *Hill Graves


Economy


Traffic

Ostheim is located on the Bundesstraße 285, the Bundesautobahn 71 is about ten kilometers away and accessible via the connection point
Mellrichstadt Mellrichstadt is a town in the district Rhön-Grabfeld, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 17 km southwest of Meiningen, and 13 km northeast of Bad Neustadt Bad Neustadt an der Saale, officially Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale and often sim ...
. The railway station of the city, on the route Mellrichstadt-Fladungen of Streutalbahn is operated only seasonally in the museum traffic.


Established businesses

*
Bionade Bionade �bi.(j)oˈnaːdəis a German range of non-alcoholic, organic fermented and carbonated beverages. It is manufactured in the Bavarian town of Ostheim vor der Rhön by the ''Peter'' beer brewery. Sales started in 1995 and Bionade is now ...
GmbH – Manufacturers of a biological soft drink * Hey Orgelbau – Manufacturer of pipe organs * Organbuilder Hoffmann und Schindler – Manufacturer of Organs * Verlag Peter Engstler – Alternatively literature, poetry, magazines


References


External links


Friendly end of political enclave in 1947 (German)

Ostheim vor der Rhön travel guide
on Wikivoyage {{Authority control Former exclaves Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Rhön-Grabfeld Rhön Mountains South Thuringia