Schotten is a town in the middle of 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 ...

. Larger towns nearby include Alsfeld in the north,

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. History ...

in the east, Friedberg in the south and Gießen in the west.

Geography

Location

The officially recognised climatic spa lies between 168 m and 773 m above sea level on the western slope of the Vogelsberg Mountains. Nearby are Hoherodskopf (764 m) and Taufstein (773 m), the two highest peaks in the High Vogelsberg Nature Park. Schotten is a

tourist town A honeypot site is a location attracting throngs of tourists who, due to their numbers, place pressure on the environment and local people. Honeypots are often used by cities or countries to manage their tourism industry. The use of honeypots c ...

thanks to reliably high

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

fall in the winter and

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

opportunities in the summer in the extensive

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s. Watersports are also possible on the Nidda Reservoir. In the outermost northwestern municipal area is the source of the river Nidda, a favourite destination for hikers.

Neighbouring communities

Schotten borders in the north on the town of Ulrichstein, in the northeast on the town of Herbstein, in the east on the community of Grebenhain, in the south on the town of

Gedern Gedern is a town in the Wetteraukreis district in Hesse, Germany, and historically belongs to Oberhessen. It is located northeast of Hanau at the foot of the Vogelsberg, one of the largest inactive volcanoes in Europe. Neighboring towns Gedern i ...

and the community of

Hirzenhain Hirzenhain is a municipality in the Wetteraukreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approximately 45 kilometers northeast of Frankfurt am Main. It has a population of around 2,800. History From 1943 to 1945 the area was the site of '' :de:Arbeitse ...

(both in the Wetteraukreis), and in the west on the town of Nidda (Wetteraukreis) and the town of Laubach (

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Constituent communities

Besides the main town, which bears the same name as the whole municipality, Schotten is divided into the following communities: Betzenrod, Breungeshain, Burkhards, Busenborn, Eichelsachsen, Einartshausen, Eschenrod, Götzen, Kaulstoß, Michelbach, Rainrod, Rudingshain, Sichenhausen and Wingershausen.

History

Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

finds from the Schotten area reach back to the New Stone Age. Several barrows bear witness to

prehistoric times Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

as do the "Alteburg" and "Wildhauskopf" ringwalls, whose building date is unknown. Schotten had its first documentary mention in 778. The "Horstburg", a local

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

near the constituent community of Rudingshain, may have stood in connection with the town's founding. There were digs at the ruins in the 1970s, and they were interpreted as having been a

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

royal court. Schotten is said to have been founded by Irish-

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

monks. The

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

Church of Our Lady was built in the 14th century. In 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 ...

, Schotten belonged to the Eppstein and Trimberg noble families. The

Rhenish League Several leagues of cities (in German: ''Städtebünde'', singular ''Städtebund'') became influential in the history of the Holy Roman Empire. Military alliance and mutual assistance strengthened the position of imperial cities, especially during t ...

of Towns, in a feud with these families, captured the town and destroyed the walls and the stately home. From 1403, Schotten belonged to the Hessian

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 ...

s. The current stately home, the Schotten Castle, dates from this time.

Municipal area development

Under the municipal reforms in the early 1970s, 15 communities were amalgamated into a greater community of Schotten.

Coat of arms

Schotten's civic coat of arms might heraldically be described thus: In azure a falcon argent armed gules wings outstretched standing upon a hill. Or, the golden hill stands for the Vogelsberg Mountains. The falcon comes from a legend about the town's founding.

Twin towns – sister cities

Schotten is twinned with: *

Arco ARCO ( ) is a brand of gasoline stations currently owned by Marathon Petroleum after BP sold its rights. BP commercializes the brand in Northern California, Oregon and Washington, while Marathon has rights for the rest of the United States an ...

, Italy (1960) * Belœil, Belgium (1963) * Crosne, France (1963) *

Rýmařov Rýmařov (; german: Römerstadt) is a town in Bruntál District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. ...

, Czech Republic (1996) * Maybole, Scotland, United Kingdom (2000) Schotten also has friendly relations with Bogen, Germany and

Ozimek Ozimek (german: Malapane; szl, Uoźimek) is a town in Opole County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 8,657 inhabitants (2019). History Ozimek dates back to an early modern period, early modern settlement. It was named both ''Ozimek'' and ''Ma ...

, Poland.

Transport

Schotten - Evangelische Liebfrauenkirche

Federal highways (''Bundesstraßen'') B 455 and B 276 run through the town. The nearest

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'. ...

en are the A 5 and the A 45. The B 276 from Gedern by way of Schotten to Laubach is a notorious

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

road that attracts motorcyclists, not least of all for the motorcycle clubs along the road, such as the ''Falltorhaus'' ("Portcullis House"). There have been problems with street racing, which in 2005 left 12 people dead and another 129 injured. A particular problem on the highway is the "Applauskurve", a 180° bend in the road between Schotten and Laubach, known to motorcyclists all over Germany.

Sports

In motorsport, the town is known for the

Schottenring The Schottenring was a motorsport race track situated near Schotten in the Vogelsbergkreis of Hesse, between Fulda and Gießen. After Nürburgring, Schleizer Dreieck, Solituderennen and AVUS, it was one of Germany's oldest race tracks, inaugu ...

races.

Sights

In the Old Town, there is the Church of Our Lady with its famous ''Marienaltar''. The

winged altar A winged altarpiece (also ''folding altar'') or winged retable is a special form of altarpiece ( reredos, occasionally retable), common in Northern and Central Europe, in which the central image, either a painting or relief sculpture (or some c ...

was made about 1385 by an unknown painter. Schotten is home to the Niddastau Lake, a man-made lake suitable for recreation and water sports.

Notable people

* Samuel Schotten (1644–1719), rabbi *

Wilhelm Gontrum Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Mount ...

(1910–1969), politician ( CDU), Member of the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...

Harry H. Eckstein Harry H. Eckstein (January 26, 1924 in Schotten, Germany – June 22, 1999) was an American political scientist. He was an influential scholar of comparative politics and political culture, as well as qualitative research methods. Early life and ...

(1924-1999), political scientist

Gallery

Schotten15-001.jpg, Villa Vogelsbergstr.121 Schotten15-002.jpg, Vogelsberger Heimatmuseum Schotten15-004.jpg, Oldtown Schotten Schotten15-005.jpg, Oldtown Schotten Schotten15-006.jpg, Oldtown Schotten Schotten15-007.jpg, Oldtown Schotten, former town hall Schotten15-009.jpg, Oldtown Schotten Schotten15-010.jpg, Oldtown Schotten

References

External links

Official websiteHigh Vogelsberg Nature ParkSchottenring
{{Authority control Vogelsbergkreis Grand Duchy of Hesse