Wehrheim
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Wehrheim is a
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
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 ...
some 30 km (20 mi) north of
Frankfurt am Main 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 ...
. The town's nickname is "Apfeldorf Wehrheim" (''Apple-village Wehrheim'').


Geography


Location

Wehrheim lies from 300 to 600 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 ...
on the north slope of the crest of 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 span ...
between Bad Homburg and Usingen im Taunus.


Neighbouring communities

Wehrheim borders in the north on the town of
Usingen Usingen is a small town in the Hochtaunuskreis in Hessen, Germany. Until 1972, this residential and school town was the seat of the former district of Usingen. Coat of arms The earliest seal whose appearance is known – there had been earlier on ...
and the community of Ober-Mörlen (
Wetteraukreis The Wetteraukreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Landkreis Gießen, Vogelsbergkreis, Main-Kinzig-Kreis, district-free Stadt Frankfurt, Hochtaunuskreis and Lahn-Dill-Kreis. History The distri ...
), in the east on the towns of Friedberg and Rosbach (both in the Wetteraukreis), in the south on the towns of
Friedrichsdorf Friedrichsdorf () is a town of the Hochtaunuskreis, some north of Frankfurt am Main in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Friedrichsdorf is located in the Taunus area, ranking third among the Hochtaunuskreis boroughs after Bad Homburg vor der ...
and
Bad Homburg vor der Höhe Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's official name is ''Bad Homburg v.d.Höhe'', w ...
, and in the west on the town of Neu-Anspach.


Constituent communities

The community has four centres named Wehrheim, Obernhain, Pfaffenwiesbach and Friedrichsthal.


History

The first traces of settlement go back to the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
. In Wehrheim, a burying ground from the early to middle
Urnfield The Urnfield culture ( 1300 BC – 750 BC) was a late Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremating the dead and p ...
culture (11th to 10th century BC) was discovered. Wehrheim im Taunus itself had its first documentary mention in 1046. In 1372, the village was granted town rights, which it however lost again in 1814. The town's overlords changed several times, from the Castle Counts of Friedberg to the Counts of Diez, the area then passing to Nassau-Dillenburg and finally to
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 ...
in 1866. In 1895 the
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 ...
line from Bad Homburg vor der Höhe – then still called Homberg – through Friedrichsdorf to Usingen came into operation, and was extended to Weilburg a few years later, linking the community a bit more closely with the Frankfurt area, a trend that would continue in the coming century. As part of Hesse's municipal reforms, the communities of Wehrheim, Obernhain, Pfaffenwiesbach and Friedrichsthal merged into the new greater community of Wehrheim in 1972.


Politics


Municipal council

The municipal elections on 6 March 2016 resulted in the following division of seats on town council: compared to previous local elections:


Mayor

Gregor Sommer (CDU) has been mayor since 2002.


Sister cities

*
Pilisvörösvár Pilisvörösvár (german: Werischwar or ) is a town in Pest County, Hungary. Notable people * Károly Erős, football player * Laszlo Toth, Hungarian-Australian geologist & vandal *Solomon Breuer, German rabbi Twin towns – sister cities Pili ...
near
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
in
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, since 1989. * Meransen in the
Puster Valley The Puster Valley ( it, Val Pusteria ; german: Pustertal, ) is one of the largest longitudinal valleys in the Alps that runs in an east-west direction between Lienz in East Tyrol, Austria, and Mühlbach near Brixen in South Tyrol, Italy. The S ...
in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, since 2001.


Coat of arms

The community's current civic
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
was granted in 1953 and is based on seals known from the 15th century. The arms show the two lions of the Counts of Diez, and the letter is, of course, the community's initial. Wehrheim once had another coat of arms after the original one was apparently forgotten. It appeared in the 19th century and featured a building with towers. This is believed to have been a
canting ' (IPA: , VOS Spelling: ''tjanting'', jv, ꦕꦤ꧀ꦛꦶꦁ, Tjanting) is a pen-like tool used to apply liquid hot wax ( jv, ) in the batik-making process in Indonesia, more precisely ''batik tulis'' (lit. "written batik"). Traditional '' ...
symbol since it was a military structure (''Wehr'' is a
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 **Ge ...
word for "army"). These arms were used, without ever being officially approved, until the current arms were conferred in 1953.International Civic Heraldry website
Wehrheim Coat of Arms
accessed on February 27, 2007


Economy and infrastructure


Transport

Despite its idyllic location in the Taunus, Wehrheim is advantageously placed for transportation. With the Friedberg interchange on Autobahn A 5 6 km away, and the
Oberursel Oberursel (Taunus) () is a town in Germany and part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. It is located to the north west of Frankfurt, in the Hochtaunuskreis county. It is the 13th largest town in Hesse. In 2011, the town hosted the 51st He ...
-Nord interchange on Autobahn A 661 only 8 km away it is well connected to the long-distance road network. The community has at its disposal two stops, Wehrheim and
Saalburg The Saalburg is a Roman fort located on the main ridge of the Taunus, northwest of Bad Homburg, Hesse, Germany. It is a cohort fort, part of the Limes Germanicus, the Roman linear border fortification of the German provinces. The Saalburg, ...
, on the '' Taunusbahn'' railway (officially called line 15 by the RMV, or ''
Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund The Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) is a transport association that covers the public transport network of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main area in Germany. Its head office is located in Hofheim im Taunus. Organisation and area covered The RMV ...
'').


Established businesses

Earplug An earplug is a device that is inserted in the ear canal to protect the user's ears from loud noises, intrusion of water, foreign bodies, dust or excessive wind. Since they reduce the sound volume, earplugs are often used to help prevent hear ...
s made by the firm Ohropax GmbHA are well-known product from Wehrheim, marketed under the name Ohropax. Heraeus Medical, a division of
Heraeus Heraeus is a German technology group with a focus on precious and special metals, medical technology, quartz glass, sensors and specialty light sources. Founded in Hanau in 1851, the company is one of the largest family-owned companies in German ...
, the manufacturer of Palacos®
bone cement Bone cements have been used very successfully to anchor artificial joints (hip joints, knee joints, shoulder and elbow joints) for more than half a century. Artificial joints (referred to as prostheses) are anchored with bone cement. The bone ce ...
, is also located in Wehrheim.


Educational institutions

Wehrheim has one
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 ...
, the ''Limes-Schule''. There is also a special school, the ''Heinrich-Kielhorn-Schule'', named after an early pioneer in special education. The ''Taunusheim'', an
orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or ab ...
established in 1943 to house war orphans, was until 1998 a home for children and youths run by the city of Frankfurt. Before that, the building housed the Waldfriede Hotel. In the last twenty years of its existence, the ''Taunusheim'' was home to up to 18 children and young people from 6 to 18 years old, looked after round the clock in two groups. In 1994, a day group also attended the home. The home was closed in 1998 for reasons of economy. The school for children with learning difficulties that was attached to the home remained until 2001, when it was moved to Frankfurt-Höchst. Moving part of the Wehrheim primary school into the now empty building is being considered as a way of alleviating the dearth of school space.


Culture and sightseeing


Museum

Inside the former town gate, a local landmark, is the ''Stadtormuseum Wehrheim'' ("Wehrheim Town Gate Museum"), where visitors can see the Bronze-Age archaeological finds from the Urnfield culture (see History).


Buildings

The Wehrheim municipal area contains 13 km of the
Limes Germanicus The (Latin for ''Germanic frontier'') is the name given in modern times to a line of frontier () fortifications that bounded the ancient Roman provinces of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior and Raetia, dividing the Roman Empire and the unsubd ...
which was declared a
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
in 2005 by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
. One of Wehrheim's sights, near Pfaffenwiesbach, is an old
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 ...
Limes Fort, the ''Kapersburg'', on top of the Limes. There is another Roman fort in the main community, the ''
Saalburg The Saalburg is a Roman fort located on the main ridge of the Taunus, northwest of Bad Homburg, Hesse, Germany. It is a cohort fort, part of the Limes Germanicus, the Roman linear border fortification of the German provinces. The Saalburg, ...
'', which has been restored.


Other

The theme park Lochmühle is another one of Wehrheim's attractions, it features a combination of animals and theme park rides.


References


External links


Wehrheim

Lochmühle


*
Live images of Wehrheim's town hall
{{Authority control Hochtaunuskreis