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Hadamar is a small town in
Limburg-Weilburg Limburg-Weilburg is a Kreis (district) in the west of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Lahn-Dill, Hochtaunuskreis, Rheingau-Taunus, Rhein-Lahn, Westerwaldkreis. History *1867 the ''Oberlahnkreis'', capital Weilburg was created *1886 the d ...
district in Hesse, Germany. Hadamar is known for its Clinic for Forensic Psychiatry/Centre for Social Psychiatry, lying at the edge of town, in whose outlying buildings is also found the Hadamar Memorial. This remembers the murders of people with handicaps and
mental illness A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
es under the Nazi regime at the ''NS-Tötungsanstalt Hadamar''.http://www.graf-von-katzenelnbogen.de/ The History of the County of Katzenelnbogen and the First Riesling of the World


Geography


Location

Hadamar lies 7 km north of Limburg between Cologne and Frankfurt am Main on the southern edge of the Westerwald at elevations from 120 to 390 m above sea level.


Neighbouring communities

Hadamar borders in the north on the communities of Dornburg,
Elbtal Elbtal is a municipality in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Elbtal lies on the Westerwald’s southern slope above the Lahn valley. Constituent communities Elbtal’s ''Ortsteile'' are Dorchheim (administrative s ...
and Waldbrunn, in the east on the community of
Beselich Beselich is a municipality in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Beselich lies on the northeast edge of the Limburg Basin on the edge of the Lahn valley, on the southeast slope of the Westerwald 220 m above ...
, in the south on the town of Limburg and the community of Elz (all in Limburg-Weilburg) and in the west on the community of Hundsangen (in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate).


Constituent communities

The town consists of eight formerly autonomous communities. *Hadamar (main town) *Niederhadamar *Niederzeuzheim *Oberzeuzheim *Steinbach *Oberweyer *Niederweyer *Faulbach


History

One of the oldest witnesses to the Hadamar region's settlement is the cist (see also Megaliths) stemming from the Wartberg culture, and therefore some 5,000 years old, in Hadamar-Niederzeuzheim. A further grave was found in Oberzeuzheim, but it was taken apart and reassembled in the castle garden at Hachenburg ( Westerwaldkreis). Out of all today's constituent communities, Oberweyer and Niederweyer were the first to be mentioned in documents, in 772. The town's name itself did not have its first documentary mention until 832 in 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 ...
exchange document. On the spot where now stands the Renaissance palace on the banks of the Elbbach,
Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
monks from Eberbach Abbey in the
Rheingau The Rheingau (; ) is a region on the northern side of the Rhine between the German towns of Wiesbaden and Lorch near Frankfurt, reaching from the Western Taunus to the Rhine. It is situated in the German state of Hesse and is part of the Rheing ...
worked a model farm in the 13th century which Count Emich von Nassau-Hadamar bought in 1320 and converted into a
moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...
ed
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 ...
. In 1324, Emperor Ludwig IV granted him Frankfurt town rights for his residence. A yearly fair is known to have existed in 1430. After a devastating fire in the 16th century, there were great changes to the town's appearance in the 17th century. The town had Count, later Prince,
Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar John Louis of Nassau-Hadamar, (Dillenburg, 6 August 1590 – Hadamar, 10 March 1653) and also known in German as Johann Ludwig, was a German nobleman and member of the House of Nassau who is best known for his role as an aide to the head of the i ...
(1590–1653) to thank for the new building work. He had the old moated castle expanded as his residence into a Renaissance palace, and he laid out the
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
new town's streets in a grid pattern with broad marketplaces and public fountains. The Prince called the Franciscans to town, supported the building of the monastery with endowments and saw to the establishment of the Society of Jesus in Hadamar in 1630.
Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar John Louis of Nassau-Hadamar, (Dillenburg, 6 August 1590 – Hadamar, 10 March 1653) and also known in German as Johann Ludwig, was a German nobleman and member of the House of Nassau who is best known for his role as an aide to the head of the i ...
managed to bring his lordly domain some importance when the Emperor named him Commissioner-General of the negotiations surrounding the
Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...
, which eventually put an end to the Thirty Years' War. He was the first to sign the document for the peace treaty. In 1650, he was made Prince, whereby Hadamar became a residence town. After several conversions, Johann Ludwig became Catholic again in 1629 and arranged for Jesuits to live in Hadamar who instituted a Gymnasium in 1652. Prince Johann Ludwig is the namesake of the
comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...
that has grown out of this Jesuit Gymnasium, and which still exists today in Hadamar. "Hadamar Baroque" earned importance in the field of altar building art. The terms "Hadamar Baroque" and "Hadamar school" (''Hadamarer Barock'' and ''Hadamarer Schule'' in
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
) are indeed quite commonly used in the area of the former Principality of Nassau-Hadamar, though how it arose and spread, along with its meaning and connections to art history are largely unknown. Archival finds about 70 to 80 years ago yielded isolated clues. New findings are to a significant extent especially Ludwig Baron Döry's work through his publications since the 1970s. The four sculptors who were among the best of the "Hadamar school" were Martin Volk, Johann Valentin Neudecker the Elder, Johann Neudecker the Younger and Johann Theodor Thüringer. Not long ago, streets in the main town were named after them. The ''Corrigendenanstalt'', the forerunner of today's Centre for Social Psychiatry, was built in 1883 beside the former Franciscan monastery on the Mönchberg. The architect was Building Councillor (''Baurat'') Eduard Zais, who clearly laid the new facility out using one of his earlier works, the ''Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie Eichberg'', designed about 30 years earlier, as a model. The institution served as a workhouse for interning and reeducating vagrants in the '' Regierungsbezirk'' of Wiesbaden and had 236 places for men and 80 for women. In the neighbouring former monastery at the same time, an institution for rural paupers (''Landarme'') from Hadamar and the outlying countryside was founded that was less strictly run and seldom had more than a dozen inmates. In 1906, the ''Corrigendenanstalt'' was converted into a care facility for the mentally ill. In Nazi Germany, beginning in 1941 at the ''NS-Tötungsanstalt Hadamar'' as it is nowadays called in
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
(literally: "Hadamar Nazi Killing Facility"), the then state health and care facility on the Mönchberg, at least 14,494 handicapped or mentally ill people, along with those known as "Half-Jews" under the Nuremberg Laws and ''
Ostarbeiter : ' (, "Eastern worker") was a Nazi German designation for foreign slave workers gathered from occupied Central and Eastern Europe to perform forced labor in Germany during World War II. The Germans started deporting civilians at the beginning ...
'' ("Eastern workers") were
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
ed. Today a memorial recalls these crimes. On the grounds today stands the Clinic for Forensic Psychiatry. Most of Hadamar's Jews were murdered in camps that were farther away. In 1942 alone, 19 Jewish inhabitants were taken away and murdered. After the Second World War, German-speaking refugee families from the
Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...
came to live here. They brought with them their glass crafts and founded businesses, which in turn led to the founding of the now Germany-wide famous ''Erwin-Stein-Glasfachschule'', a vocational school in which glass craftsmen and -women, and also
stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
makers from all over Germany are trained. The school enjoys an outstanding reputation far beyond Germany's borders. There are plans to open a glass museum in the renovated princely dwelling at the Hadamar palace. In Hadamar is also found the "Musical Boarding School", since 1969 the rehearsal seat of the
Limburger Domsingknaben Limburger Domsingknaben (; "Limburg Cathedral singing boys") is the name of the boys' choir at the Limburg Cathedral in Limburg, Hesse, Germany. The choir was founded in 1967 by the then bishop of Limburg, Wilhelm Kempf. Its conductors were Hans ...
and since 1998 of the department of church music of the Bishopric of Limburg. Throughout the town, one comes across witnesses to the past. Among these are the ''Fürstenschloss'' (princely residence) with its old stone bridge, the ''Liebfrauenkirche'' (church) with a bell from the time of the Thirty Years' War, the ''Stadtkirche'' ("Town Church") with the old Franciscan friary, the former Jesuit house on the Mönchberg, the renovated "Old Town Hall", 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 ...
, the historic marketplaces, and some old timber-frame houses. In many ways it can still be clearly seen that the town was a princely seat, a court seat, administrative seat and a market town for centuries for a broad outlying area.


Politics

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


Coat of arms

Hadamar's
arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...
have their roots in a seal image that was already being used in the town of Hadamar and in the outlying countryside by the late 15th century. The crosses in the arms stand for peace and the crossed swords for might.


Main sights

In the Old Town (''Altstadt''), many timber-frame buildings have been preserved, among them the Town Hall (''Rathaus'') built in 1639 and the Jesuit
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
(early 17th century) at the Limburg Gate (''Limburger Pforte''). That is why Hadamar is located on the German Timber-Frame Road. 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 ...
''Liebfrauenkirche'' on the Elbbach was built before 1376 and until 1818 served as the town church. The bell that rings in the churchtower comes from the time of the Thirty Years' War, making it one of Germany's oldest bells still in use. The
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
Church of ''St. Johannes Nepomuk'', currently serving as the town church, is part of the Jesuit residence (built 1756-1758). The ''Ägidienkirche'' (“Saint Giles’s Church”) on the Mönchberg was part of the Franciscan monastery from 1632 to 1816. Thirty-one members of the House of Nassau-Hadamar are buried here. Above the Old Town is the Baroque ''Herzenbergkapelle'' (a chapel built about 1676) in which the Hadamar Princes’ hearts are buried. All the churches are decorated in the “Hadamar Baroque” style. 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 ...
is likewise preserved. Today the building houses a permanent exhibit about Jewish life. At the edge of the Old Town, right on the Elbbach stands the former Nassau residence, Schloss Hadamar, in whose
stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
is housed the town museum. Within the town, two old bridges have also been preserved, the ''Steinerne Brücke'' (“Stone Bridge”) and the ''St. Wendelinbrücke''. At the ''Herzenbergkapelle'', a rose garden has been laid out. In an area of some 3 000 m², roughly 2,000 rose plants of over 160 varieties have been planted.


Transport

The town of Hadamar lies on '' Bundesstraße'' 54 from Siegen to Limburg. Hadamar lies on the
Upper Westerwald Railway Upper may refer to: * Shoe#Shoe construction, Shoe upper or ''vamp'', the part of a shoe on the top of the foot * Stimulant, drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both * ''Upper'', the original film titl ...
(''Oberwesterwaldbahn'') to Limburg and Au. From there, the cities of Cologne,
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 ...
, Frankfurt am Main and Wiesbaden may be reached directly.


Education

There are five primary schools in town, one each in Hadamar, Niederhadamar, Niederzeuzheim, Oberzeuzheim and Steinbach.
Secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
education is to be had at the ''Fürst-Johann-Ludwig-Schule'', a
comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...
with
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 and Gymnasium branches. The school's feeder area reaches far beyond the town's limits. Moreover, Hadamar is a centre for glazier training. The Federal vocational school of the glazier's craft and the ''Erwin-Stein-Schule'' (state glass vocational school) are located here. The ''Erwin-Stein-Schule'' is named after Erwin Stein, one of the fathers of the Hessian state constitution. Hadamar is seat of the “Musical Boarding School”, where the
Limburger Domsingknaben Limburger Domsingknaben (; "Limburg Cathedral singing boys") is the name of the boys' choir at the Limburg Cathedral in Limburg, Hesse, Germany. The choir was founded in 1967 by the then bishop of Limburg, Wilhelm Kempf. Its conductors were Hans ...
are trained.


People

* Johann Wilhelm Bausch (1774-1840) 1834-1840 Bishop of Limburg *
Karl Wilhelm Diefenbach Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austria ...
(1851–1913), painter *
Christian Egenolff Christian Egenolff or Egenolph (26 July 1502 – 9 February 1555), also known as Christian Egenolff, the Elder, was the first important printer and publisher operating from Frankfurt-am-Main, and best known for his ''Kräuterbuch'' and re-iss ...
(1502–1555), Frankfurt's first independent book printer * Ernst Moritz Engert (1892–1986), silhouette artist and painter * Karl Faust (1874–1952), German botanist * Maria Mathi (1889–1961), writer *
Peter Melander von Holzappel Peter Melander, Count of Holzappel (8 February 1589 – 17 May 1648) was a German general who was a Protestant military leader in the Thirty Years' War until 1640 when he switched sides and even became Chief of the imperial army from 1647 unt ...
(1589–1648), commander in the Thirty Years' War * Prince
Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar John Louis of Nassau-Hadamar, (Dillenburg, 6 August 1590 – Hadamar, 10 March 1653) and also known in German as Johann Ludwig, was a German nobleman and member of the House of Nassau who is best known for his role as an aide to the head of the i ...
(1590–1653), regent, Imperial commissioner and signer of the peace agreement for the
Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...
* Gustav Ricker (1870–1948), physician and scientist * Ruth Stock-Homburg (b. 1972), currently Germany's youngest business studies professor


See also

* Hadamar Euthanasia Centre


Notes and references


External links

* {{Authority control Limburg-Weilburg Holocaust locations in Germany