Erlenbach am Main (, ; officially: ''Erlenbach a.Main'') is the largest town in the Miltenberg district in the ''

Regierungsbezirk A ' (, 'governmental district') is a type of administrative division in Germany. Currently, four of sixteen ' (states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts ' (plural, ) serve as regional mid-level local gov ...

'' of

Lower Franconia Lower Franconia (, ) is one of seven districts of Bavaria, Germany. The districts of Lower, Middle and Upper Franconia make up the region of Franconia. It consists of nine districts and 308 municipalities (including three cities). History After ...

(''Unterfranken'') in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It has a population of around 10,000. Erlenbach is the site of one of the Miltenberg district's two hospitals, and is well known for its wine. Until 25 years ago, Erlenbach was Bavaria's newest town.

Geography

Location

Erlenbach lies in Lower Franconia in Bavaria's northwest, at the ''Mainviereck'' (“ Main Square”), near

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; Hessian: ''Aschebersch'', ) is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg, despite being its administrative seat, is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

Constituent communities

The formerly self-administering neighbouring communities of Mechenhard and Streit were amalgamated with Erlenbach in 1976 and 1978, respectively.

History

The local area has been inhabited at least since the late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, based on archaeological findings. In 1876, four barrows from the Bronze Age (roughly 1550–1250 BC) were discovered. In 1981, two typical

Urnfield culture The Urnfield culture () was a late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremation, cremating the dead and placin ...

graves from the time about 1000–800 BC were found. In the 1st century AD, the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

reached all the way to the Main. This watery stretch of the

Limes Germanicus The (Latin for ''Germanic frontier''), or 'Germanic Limes', 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 ...

was enforced with

castra ''Castra'' () is a Latin language, Latin term used during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire for a military 'camp', and ''castrum'' () for a 'Fortification, fort'. Either could refer to a building or plot of land, used as a fortified milita ...

. To avoid the Romans, the

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

moved their settlements to the other side of the Main, the east side, or right bank. After the Roman Empire fell, it took many years for the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

to move into the Main region in 531 and found settlements of their own. The first farms in Erlenbach were likely only built sometime between 800 and 950. About 1183, Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa granted Erlenbach market rights. The Imperial award was given visible expression with a market and freedom sign. It shows a large cross on whose top stands a cock. On the crossbeam a hand rises up on one side and on the other a sword. The upheld hand made clear that the Erlenbach dwellers stood under the Emperor's special protection, and that any who set himself against it would have to reckon with the sovereign's upraised sword.

Demographics

Religion

Besides the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

churches Saint Peter's and Saint Paul's,

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

’s (main town), Saint Joseph’s (outlying centre of Mechenhard) and Saint

Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo (; ; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archdiocese of Milan, Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was made a Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal in 156 ...

’s there is also the

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

Martin Luther Church. Since January 2007 there has also been the Evangelical Free Church Erlenbach Congregation, which in April 2009 counted 61 members.

Economy

Since 1918, Erlenbach has been the site of a shipyard that as of 2003 was "one of the largest inland vessel yards" in Europe.

Governance

Town council

The council is made up of 24 council members, with seats apportioned thus: * CSU 10 * SPD 7 * Bündnis 90/Die Grünen 5 * Freie Wähler 2

Mayors

The Mayor is Christoph Becker (CSU), and the deputies are Alexander Monert (CSU) and Jörg Barth (Freie Wähler).

Town twinning

* Saint-Maurice,

Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

* Erlenbach,

Canton of Zürich The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit (Swiss canton, canton) of Switzerland, situated in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton of Switzerland. Zurich is the ''de facto'' Capi ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

* Erlenbach im Simmental,

Canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

Coat of arms

The town'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 ...

might be described thus: Or an eagle with two heads displayed sable crowned on each head gules with studs of the field, armed and beaked of the field holding in his talon dexter an orb of the third banded and ensigned with a cross of the field and in his talon sinister a sword of the third, in chief an Elector's crown proper. This coat of arms, newly conferred upon the market community of Erlenbach am Main in 1953 is based on two seals known to have been borne by the Erlenbach court in the time from 1722 to 1810 and whose images matched each other. Both seals showed a crowned two-headed eagle holding a monarch's orb in the right talon and a sword in the left. Floating above the eagle's heads was an Elector's crown, and underneath their heads were the letters E and B (Erlenbach).

Culture and sightseeing

The renovated ''Frankenhalle'' offers theatre, musicals and concerts. The ''Kino-Passage'' cinema has operated since 1979 as a repertory cinema. There are also many festivals and markets. Winegrowing is only confirmed as a local practice by a document from 2 January 1261. Since 1990, Erlenbach has been located on the ''Fränkischer Rotwein Wanderweg'' ("Franconian Red Wine Hiking Trail"), a along-distance hiking path.

Sports

The town's association football club SV Erlenbach, formed in 1919, experienced its greatest success in 2013 when it won promotion to the Bayernliga for the first time.

Gallery

File:Erlenbach Rathaus.JPG, Town hall File:Erlenbach Frankenhalle.JPG, ''Frankenhalle'' File:Erlenbach Kirche.JPG, Saint Peter's and Saint Paul's Church File:Erlenbach Weinberge.JPG, Vineyards on the banks of the Main

Notable people

Friedrich Guggenberger(1915-1988), U-boat captain during the Second World War.

Sons and daughters of the town

* Aloys Schmitt (1788-1866), composer, pianist and music pedagogue * (born 1958), children's and young people's book author * Carsten Schloter (1963-2013), manager, CEO of Swisscom * Thomas Kroth (born 1959), football national player * (born 1964), psychologist and philosopher * Leon Köhler (born 1999), racing driver

Connected with Erlenbach

* Kurt Klühspies (born 1952), German handball world champion

References

External links

Town’s official webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Erlenbach Am Main Miltenberg (district) Populated places on the Main basin Populated riverside places in Germany