Frücht is a small municipality in the

federal state A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-governi ...

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 ...

in western

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 is part of the Bad Ems-Nassau Municipal Association (german:

Verbandsgemeinde A Verbandsgemeinde (; plural Verbandsgemeinden) is a low-level administrative unit in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saxony-Anhalt. A Verbandsgemeinde is typically composed of a small group of villages or towns. Rhineland- ...

) in the Rhein-Lahn District. It is located in the

Taunus The Taunus is a mountain range in Hesse, Germany, located north of Frankfurt. The tallest peak in the range is ''Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are ''Kleiner Feldberg'' (825 m) and ''Altkönig'' (798 m). The Taunus range spans ...

Mountains about southwest of

Bad Ems Bad Ems () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Rhein-Lahn rural district and is well known as a spa on the river Lahn. Bad Ems is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' (administrative community) Bad E ...

and about east of

Lahnstein Lahnstein () is a ''verband''-free town of Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated at the confluence of the Lahn with the Rhine, approximately south of Koblenz. Lahnstein was created in 1969 by the merger of the previou ...

History

Frücht was first mentioned in 1159 as ''Wruhte''. It belonged to the Countship of

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

until 1613, when it was sold to Johann Gottfried vom Stein. Frücht thereafter belonged, together with Schweighausen, to the Imperial-immediate

Barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

vom Stein. This lower-nobility family had its seat at the Stein'sche Schloss in

. The last owner from this house was Baron (german: Reichsfreiherr)

Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein Heinrich Friedrich Karl Reichsfreiherr vom und zum Stein (25 October 1757 – 29 June 1831), commonly known as Baron vom Stein, was a Prussian statesman who introduced the Prussian reforms, which paved the way for the unification of Germany. ...

(October 25, 1757 – June 29, 1831), a

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n statesman who introduced reforms, including abolition of

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...

, that paved the way for the

unification of Germany The unification of Germany (, ) was the process of building the modern German nation state with federalism, federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without multinational Austria), which commenced on 18 August 1866 with ad ...

. After his retirement in 1815, Baron vom Stein settled in Frücht, where he still owned significant property and forest lands. There he built a family tomb for his parents. After his death in 1831, the tomb also became his own final resting place. In 1804/06, Frücht was made a part of the newly formed Duchy of Nassau and in 1866 to the Prussian province of

Hesse-Nassau The Province of Hesse-Nassau () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1868 to 1918, then a province of the Free State of Prussia until 1944. Hesse-Nassau was created as a consequence of the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 by combining the p ...

. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, it was part of the French occupation zone. In 1947, it became part of the newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Visitor attractions

Near the Protestant church on the northern outskirts of Frücht is the family tomb of the Barons vom und zum Stein. The best-known member of the family, Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom Stein, is buried there. His oldest daughter, the Countess Giech, sought artistic input from architect

Sulpiz Boisserée Sulpiz Boiserée (2 August 1783 - 2 May 1854) was a German art collector and art historian. With his brother Melchior he formed a collection that ultimately formed the basis of that of the Alte Pinakothek. He played a key role in the completion of ...

for the construction of a Neo-Gothic chapel over the tomb, which was built according to the design of

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

architect Joseph Daniel Ohlmüller between 1836 and 1843. The marble relief on vom Stein's grave monument was created between 1837 and 1840 by Munich sculptor Ludwig Michael Schwanthaler. Frücht has well-marked hiking trails, including the ''Schweizertal'' (“Swiss Valley”) to Miellen on the

Lahn The Lahn is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). It has its source in t ...

Politics

Municipal council

The Municipal council (german: Gemeinderat) consists of 12 members. Their distribution by party, as of the 13 June 2004 election (

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Unive ...

: 77.6%), is as follows:

Economy

While Frücht has always had a strong agriculture sector, its business sector has remained small. This has meant that the town has been affected by declining tax revenues. Nevertheless, its financial situation is relatively good thanks to capital reserves. Beginning in the early 1970s, Frücht has experienced a construction boom under a village renewal plan. By opening up new land to development, the community has been able to meet a strong demand for housing in attractive surroundings while still being close to the city. In 1974, the newly built neighborhood "Am Hofacker" was developed. It was followed by the development in the locality called “In den Wiesen / Vordertal”, including the new streets "Grummetwiese", "Im Vogelsang" and the "Mühlenweg." A school built in Frücht in 1962-1963 was renovated into a kindergarten in 1973. The local Protestant parish took over the sponsorship of the kindergarten, which is utilized by children from Frücht and the neighboring municipality of Becheln. The village cemetery was expanded and in 1977 a new village well was drilled. A multi-purpose community center as opened in Frücht after two years of construction in 1980. A significant share of the construction costs of 500,000 DM was raised through voluntary donations of the residents. A tennis facility was opened next to the hall in 1989, adding an athletics facility and a football pitch.

Coat of arms

The municipal coat of arms of Frücht was adopted in 1983. It includes references to the town's historical owners, with the golden

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

of the House of Nassau and the five-petaled red and blue

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

of the Barony vom Stein.

Sources

Frücht
page on the Bad Ems Municipal Association website.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frucht Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate Rhein-Lahn-Kreis