Selters is a town in the

Westerwaldkreis The Westerwaldkreis ("District of Westerwald") is a district (''Kreis'') in the north-east of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighbouring districts are (from north clockwise) Altenkirchen, Lahn-Dill, Limburg-Weilburg, Rhein-Lahn, the district-free ...

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

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 ...

. Selters is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Selters, a kind of collective municipality.

Geography

The city is located in the Westerwald between

Koblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman mili ...

and

Siegen Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly sho ...

, roughly 12 km northwest of Montabaur, and 25 km northeast of Koblenz.

History

In 1194/1198, Selters had its first documentary mention as ''Saltres''. On 9 November 1938, the

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

was burnt down. In October 1939, Selters was “Jew-free”. Only the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

graveyard on the Wacht still bears witness to the Jews’ history in Selters. On 15 October 2000, the then community of Selters, by decision of the Ministry of the Interior and Sport, was granted town rights.

Religion

Catholic Church

The

Roman Catholic 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 ...

parish of

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...

has existed only since the late 19th century. In 1892, the parish’s own

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

was consecrated, which was built in neo-Gothic style. In November 1965, owing to the church building’s unsoundness, it was torn down, and on the land a new, modern church was built. Beneath this church is found the parish centre with meeting and event rooms. In the parish church, the

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s of

Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows (born Francesco Possenti 1 March 1838 – 27 February 1862) was an Italian Passionist clerical student. Born to a professional family, he gave up ambitions of a secular career to enter the Passionist congregation. H ...

are kept and worshipped. Particular stress is the devotion to church music and youth work. Many musical groups busy themselves, without pay, in the parish and enrich church services with their musical pieces. Since August 2009, the priest Marcus W. Fischer has headed the parish.

Evangelical Church

The

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

parish in Selters has owned its own church since 1842. This building’s side wings also housed the Selters elementary school until 1958. The same rooms are now used by the town administration. In 1850, the Evangelical parish got its first pastor. In 1963, a

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

and a parish centre were dedicated. Since 2006, Mr. Wehrmann has been the one responsible for leading the parish.

Politics

The town council is made up of 22 council members, as well as the honorary and presiding mayor (''Ortsbürgermeister''), who were elected in a municipal election on 13 June 2004. ''Apportionment of seats on town council:''

Economy and infrastructure

The town lies west of ''

Bundesstraße 8 The Bundesstraße 8 (abbr. B8) is a German federal highway in southwestern Germany of great historical importance. It has existed since the 9th century, known then as Via Publica, and until recent times was a key trade route linking the towns of ...

'', leading from Limburg an der Lahn to Siegburg. Selters also lies right near the

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 A 3 (

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

–

Frankfurt 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 Bundesautobahn 48, A 48 (to

). The nearest InterCityExpress stop is the railway station at Montabaur on the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line.

Notable people

* John Peter Altgeld (1847–1902), 20th Governor of Illinois

Sources

Landjuden in Selters/Westerwald. In: Nassauische Annalen, Bd. 108. Wiesbaden 1997, S. 169-183. Erinnern für die Zukunft. 60 Jahre nach der Befreiung von der Nazi-Herrschaft im Westerwald

References

{{Authority control Westerwaldkreis