Wald-Michelbach is a municipality in the Bergstraße district in

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

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

Location

The community lies in the Odenwald, 12 km east of Weinheim. The now disused ''Überwaldbahn'' (

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 ...

) runs through Wald-Michelbach.

Geology

→ Odenwald#Geology

Hardberg

In the area of Wald-Michelbach's outlying centre of Siedelsbrunn is found the Hardberg, at 593 m above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

the Odenwald's third highest mountain. On the Hardberg's peak is a 135 m-tall

Hessischer Rundfunk Hessischer Rundfunk (HR; "Hesse Broadcasting") is the German state of Hesse's public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it is a member of the national consortium of German public broadcasting corporations, ARD. Studios Do ...

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

transmission mast. From each side of the Hardberg there is a unique view over the Odenwald and the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

valley.

Neighbouring communities

Wald-Michelbach borders in the north on the community of

Grasellenbach Grasellenbach is a municipality in the Bergstraße district in southern Hesse, Germany. Geography Location The community lies in the Odenwald and the UNESCO ''Geo-Naturpark Bergstraße-Odenwald'' at elevations between 420 and 580 m above s ...

, in the east on the community of

Mossautal Mossautal in the Odenwald is a municipality and a state-recognized health resort in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location The community lies at elevations of between 300 and 500 m above sea level. The ''Nibelun ...

, the town of Beerfelden and the community of

Rothenberg Rothenberg is a village and a former municipality in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany. Since January 2018, it is part of the new town Oberzent. Geography Location Rothenberg lies at elevations between 200 and 500 m in the sou ...

(all three in the

Odenwaldkreis The Odenwaldkreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Darmstadt-Dieburg, Miltenberg, Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis and Kreis Bergstraße. ''Odenwaldkreis'' belongs to the Rhine Neckar Are ...

), in the south on the town of Eberbach (outlying centre of Brombach) and the communities of Heddesbach and

Heiligkreuzsteinach Heiligkreuzsteinach is a town in the district of Rhein-Neckar in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is located about 25 km North-East of Heidelberg. In 1293 the community was officially mentioned for the first time. Until 1525 the administr ...

(all three in the

Rhein-Neckar-Kreis The Rhein-Neckar-Kreis is a district in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The administrative headquarters are based in the city Heidelberg, which is a district-free city. As of 2019, the district is the most populous in Baden-Württe ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

) and in the west on the communities of Abtsteinach, Mörlenbach and Rimbach.

Constituent communities

Wald-Michelbach's ''

Ortsteil A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

e'' are Siedelsbrunn, Gadern, Affolterbach, Kreidach, Aschbach, Ober-Schönmattenwag, Unter-Schönmattenwag, Hartenrod, Kocherbach, Ober-Mengelbach, Stallenkandel and Wald-Michelbach

Development of municipal area

Amalgamations

On 1 December 1970, Hartenrod was amalgamated with Wald-Michelbach. Gadern and Kreidach followed on 1 January 1971 and Aschbach on 1 October of the same year. On 1 January 1972, Siedelsbrunn, Ober-Schönmattenwag and Unter-Schönmattenwag became parts of Wald-Michelbach, with Affolterbach and Kocherbach joining them on 1 August 1972.

Politics

Community council

The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:

Mayor

Since July 2017, the community's mayor has been Sascha Weber.

Town partnerships

* Montmirail, Marne,

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 ...

Hassocks Hassocks is a large village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. Its name is believed to derive from the tufts of grass found in the surrounding fields. Located approximately north of Brighton, with a populatio ...

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Economy

The community's and surrounding area's biggest employer is the firm Coronet (household appliances).

Education

Wald-Michelbach has at its disposal two

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s, one special school, one

Hauptschule A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...

Realschule ''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), ...

and one Gymnasium. Since 2007 there has also been an open private school based on

Maria Montessori Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori ( , ; August 31, 1870 – May 6, 1952) was an Italian physician and educator best known for the philosophy of education that bears her name, and her writing on scientific pedagogy. At an early age, Montessori e ...

’s methodology.

Main community

* Adam-Karrillon-Schule (primary school) * Mary-Anne-Kübel-Schule (school for pupils with learning difficulties) * Eugen-Bachmann-Schule (Haupt- und Realschule) * Überwald-Gymnasium * Drachenschule Odenwald - open school (1st to 6th class)

Outlying centres

* Grundschule Unter-Schönmattenwag (primary school)

Leisure and sport facilities

Wald-Michelbach has an outdoor swimming pool that was renovated in 2003. Furthermore, the community has at its disposal an artificial-turf football pitch, which in 2000 replaced the former cinder pitch. It is used by SG Wald-Michelbach and SV Eintracht Wald-Michelbach. There is also a sport hall used by both men and women

team handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the ...

players from SG Wald-Michelbach and TV 02 Siedelsbrunn as well as the ÜSC Wald-Michelbach women volleyball players.

Culture and sightseeing

Libraries

Library at the Überwald-Gymnasium

In autumn 2007, the Überwald-Gymnasium opened its new library MIZ (''Medien- und Infozentrum'' – “Media and Infocentre”). This may be used not only by students, but as of April 2008 also by all citizens of the surrounding municipalities.

Museums

''Heimatmuseum''

The ''Heimatmuseum'' (local history museum) has been housed since 1988 at the old town hall (''Altes Rathaus'') right in the heart of the community. The building was built in 1594. On display here are not only items from Wald-Michelbach's historical development but sometimes also special exhibits.

''Stoewermuseum''

The ''Stoewermuseum'' was opened in 2002 and is housed in the building that formerly housed the old savings bank, near the heart of the community. On show here is a collection of products from the Stoewer works in Stettin (now Szczecin,

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 ...

). The museum's centrepiece is the array of cars on display on the ground floor. Most have been restored and are in operating condition. Furthermore, more of the Stoewer company's products, such as sewing machines,

typewriter A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an inked ribbon selectivel ...

s and bicycles, can also be seen. The museum is run privately by a collector who was born in Stettin. In 2005, in honour of the owner and his dedication, a street in the main community was christened ''Stoewerstraße''. It is planned to move the Stoewermuseum back to its origins in Stettin (Szczecin), Poland.

Buildings

The ''Überwälder Einhaus'' was completed in 2005 by the ''Überwälder Museums- und Kulturverein'' (“ Überwald Museum and Culture Club”) and unpaid help. The name ''Einhaus'' (“Onehouse”) refers to how such buildings were formerly used: a single building contained a dwelling, a storage cellar, a stable and a barn. Today, though, this one houses a civil wedding venue and a sizeable multipurpose room used by the community's clubs for social occasions. In 2006, the ''Bücherbrunnen'' (“Book Fountain”) was also built before the ''Einhaus''. On that spot, until the 19th century, when it was torn down, once stood a town tower in which, in Adam Karrillon’s novel ''Michael Hely'' was the hero’s home. The books displayed at the fountain are meant to remind one of the spot’s literary importance.

Regular events

* Fumaba * Gassenmarkt (“Lane Market”) * Heimatfest (“Homeland Festival”, first weekend in July) * Kerwe (church consecration festival, next to last Sunday in August) * Kommunales Kino (“Municipal Cinema”, second Saturday each month) * Weihnachtsmarkt (“Christmas Market”)

Healthcare

On the Hardberg's slope in outlying centre of Siedelsbrunn lies the Buddhist monastery "Buddhas Weg" ("Way of Buddha"). It offers a variety of traditional Chinese and Vietnamese therapies as well as spiritual seminars. The "Systelios" clinic for people suffering from the Burnout syndrome is also located in Siedelsbrunn.

Famous people

Sons and daughters of the town

* Adam Karrillon (1853–1938), writer and physician (honorary citizen 1921) * Lothar Mark (1945– ), SPD politician * Heinrich Schlerf (1890–1970), founder of the Coronet works * Dr. Rudolf Wünzer (1862–1929), honorary citizen: 16 September 1913 * Karl Kübel (1909–2006), founder of the ''Karl Kübel-Stiftung''. * Eugen Bachmann (1913–1975), Member of the Landtag (CDU) and former mayor of Wald-Michelbach (1948–1975)