Wörth am Main (officially '; ) is a town in the Miltenberg district in the ''

Regierungsbezirk A ' () means "governmental district" and is a type of administrative division in Germany. Four of sixteen ' ( states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts. Saxony has ' (directorate districts) with more res ...

'' of

Lower Franconia Lower Franconia (german: Unterfranken) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. History After the founding of the Kingdom of Bavaria the state was totally ...

(''Unterfranken'') 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 lan ...

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 ...

. It has a population of around 4,700.

Geography

Location

Wörth am Main lies on the left bank of the

Main Main may refer to: Geography * Main River (disambiguation) **Most commonly the Main (river) in Germany * Main, Iran, a village in Fars Province *"Spanish Main", the Caribbean coasts of mainland Spanish territories in the 16th and 17th centuries ...

, nestled between the hills of the Odenwald and

Spessart Spessart is a '' Mittelgebirge'', a range of low wooded mountains, in the States of Bavaria and Hesse in Germany. It is bordered by the Vogelsberg, Rhön and Odenwald. The highest elevation is the Geiersberg at 586 metres above sea level. Ety ...

, northwest of

Miltenberg Miltenberg () is a town in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named district and has a population of over 9,000. Geography Location The old town lies on the Mai ...

, and south of

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Aschebersch'') is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not part of the Aschaffenburg (district), district of Aschaffenburg, but is its administrative sea ...

. Wörth lies in the Bavarian section of the ''Naturpark Bergstraße-Odenwald''.

History

It is believed that

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 lette ...

soldiers built a simple earthen-wooden

castrum In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...

in Wörth as early as Roman Emperor

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...

’s time (AD 81–96), and later a massive stone castrum. In

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

times, beginning in the 6th century, Wörth was a centre of royal power and with Saint Martin’s Chapel, in today’s graveyard, it was a jumping-off point for Christian missionary work in the Odenwald. The town was refounded on its current site in the latter half of the 13th century by the Lords of

Breuberg Breuberg is a town in the Odenwaldkreis district of Hesse, Germany. It is 28 km east of Darmstadt and 20 km southwest of Aschaffenburg. Geography Location Breuberg lies in the northern Odenwald. Neighbouring communities Breuberg ...

under the overlordship of the Archbishops of Mainz. In 1291, it had its first documentary mention as the town of ''Werde'' (“Island”). An important political change was the town's cession to the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German ...

in 1816. Wörth has long been a site of ship and boat building. Inland navigation also was an important source of local income. From 1652 until 1918 up to three ship yards built wooden river boats and ships here. The last remaining yard eventually moved to Erlenbach across the river, where it still operates.

Arts and culture

The old town is characterized by the mediaeval town fortifications and many historic monuments and

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 ...

houses. From the former

Electoral Mainz The Electorate of Mainz (german: Kurfürstentum Mainz or ', la, Electoratus Moguntinus), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the ...

castle, the tower with its

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

portal is still preserved (today used by businesses). Wörth lies on the ''Deutsche Limesstraße'' ("German

Limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a ...

Road"). In Wörth is found the archaeological monument that was once a Roman castrum (specifically, a numerus castrum) at a spot where the older border, the

Neckar-Odenwald Limes The Neckar-Odenwald Limes (german: Neckar-Odenwald-Limes) is a collective term for two, very different early sections of the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes, a Roman defensive frontier line that may have been utilised during slightly different perio ...

, met the Limes Germanicus following the Main river. Wörth town forest (1000 ha) offers more than of signposted hiking trails.

Museums

There are the ''Schiffahrts- und Schiffbaumuseum Wörth'' ("Wörth Shipping and Shipbuilding Museum") in the former St. Wolfgang-Kirche (church) and a small branch office at the community centre with information about the Romans in Wörth.

Buildings

* ''Bürgerhaus'' ("community centre", formerly the town hall) with

portal from 1600 * Wörth Shipping and Shipbuilding Museum in the former ''St. Wolfgang-Kirche'' (15th to 18th century). The mostly Baroque building was used as a church until 1903. * New town with residential buildings made of bunter in numbers unique in Bavaria, 1883–85 * Town centre with town hall (1885, a former school), parish centre,

railway station 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 prep ...

(1876), vocational college (1790, a former parish hall), ''Wendelinuskapelle'' (

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

, 1780) and estate (formerly the new town inn) * ''St Nikolaus-Kirche'', built in

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

style from the year 1898, with a cross altar, Crucifixion group and Passion image * "Gallows" monument, made out of two 7-metre-tall sandstone pillars, 1754 * ''St Martin-Kapelle'' in the graveyard, 14th century, originally established, however, in the time when the Lower Main was

Christianized Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

* ''Schlossturm'' ("castle tower", today used by businesses), late 13th century * Upper gate, 15th century * ''Tannenturm'' (tower), 15th century * Wörth castrum (1st-2nd century) and castrum bath, lying below the mill, only discernible by low humps in the ground

Transport

*''

Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (German for "federal highway"), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' ...

'' 469 to the

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 ...

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 it ...

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' ...

A 3 * Deutsche Bahn

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 ...

network *Main Federal Waterway

Governance

Town twinning

Wörth am Main is twinned with: *

Honfleur Honfleur () is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. The people that inhabit Honf ...

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Nor ...

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 ...

(since 16 June 2006)

Mayors

In March 2014 Andreas Fath (Freie Wähler - Free voters) was elected the new mayor. He is the successor of Erwin Dotzel (CSU), he was 30 years in office.

References

External links

''St Nikolaus-Kirche''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worth Am Main Miltenberg (district)