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Groß-Umstadt (, , in contrast to " Little Umstadt") is a town in the district of
Darmstadt-Dieburg Darmstadt-Dieburg is a Kreis (district) in the south of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Offenbach, Aschaffenburg, Miltenberg, Odenwaldkreis, Bergstraße, Groß-Gerau, and the district-free city of Darmstadt, which it surrounds. Histo ...
in the Bundesland (federal state) of
Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...
in
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 is near
Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...
and
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, in the southeastern part of the Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, just north of the
Odenwald The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the Germany, German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Location The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße Route, Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried' ...
mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...
. The population is about 21,000. Half of them live in Groß-Umstadt itself, the remainder in eight other districts which were incorporated by the ''Hesse State Municipal Reform Act'' in the 1970s: * Dorndiel * Heubach * Kleestadt * Klein-Umstadt * Raibach * Richen * Semd * Wiebelsbach (also includes village Frau-Nauses).


History

Traces of palaeolithic habitation have been identified outside the town. The settlement of Civitas Auderiensium was founded at Dieburg in AD 125 in the context of the Roman occupation of the section of the province of
Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesont ...
on the right bank of the
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
. The foundation was followed by an orderly settlement and Romanisation of the district, and a market for agricultural produce was established. The main building of a Roman ''
villa rustica Villa rustica () was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a farmhouse or villa set in the countryside and with an agricultural section, which applies to the vast majority of Roman villas. In some cases they were at the centre of a large ...
'' has been excavated under the current town church. This villa remained until the collapse of the
Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...
around AD 300. The town's history over the following 450 years until the first documentary evidence of the town is unclear. Alemannic and later
Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...
tombs point to a settlement in the area of the town. The siting of the church in the core area of the former villa indicates an uninterrupted settlement, or at least to awareness of the previous settlement.


Early mediaeval period

After the conquest of Alemannic territory by the Franks, they established royal fortifications in order to secure control of the area. One such was undoubtedly established in Umstadt, the center of government of the ''Umstaedter Mark'', which included the current municipalities of Otzberg, Höchst im Odenwald,
Breuberg Breuberg is a town in the Odenwaldkreis, 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 communi ...
and Schaafheim as well as Umstadt itself. At that time Umstadt had the status of a
market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...
as well as a church and the seat of a Count. The first documentary evidence of the district was in 743 under the name of "Autmundisstat", which signified "Autmund's town" (possibly Edmund's). Another possible origin of the name is "''ad montes''" (near the mountains). In 766 Princely Abbey of Fulda acquired the ownership of the ''Umstaedter Mark'', and by 985 it owned three churches, mills and vineyards here.


Late mediaeval period

By 1263 or earlier, Umstadt had obtained
town privileges Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the traditio ...
as well as a town wall. Konrad IV of
Hanau Hanau () is a city in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its railway Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ma ...
incurred substantial debts in connection with his election as Prince Abbot of Fulda in 1373. He attempted to recoup these debts from the Princely abbey of Fulda after he came to power. Thus in 1374 he mortgaged the Otzberg Castle, the town of Hering and parts of Umstadt to his nephew Ulrich IV for 23,875
guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' (" gold penny"). This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Rom ...
s ''(
florin The Florentine florin was a gold coin (in Italian ''Fiorino d'oro'') struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains () of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a pu ...
s)''. Other parts were taken over by
Electoral Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy Roman Empero ...
, resulting in a
condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...
. There is physical evidence for this in two palaces: the ''Hanau Palace'' () which originated from the first moated palace at the town's NE corner, and the ''Palatinate Palace'' () at the opposite corner. Between these were the mansions of the burghers of the town, including the seat of the Wambolts of Umstadt, which soon eclipsed the palaces of both lords of the town.


Early modern period

In 1504 the town was conquered by Landgrave Wilhelm II of Hesse, who occupied it until the ownership of the town was clarified by the
Diet of Worms The Diet of Worms of 1521 ( ) was an Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire), imperial diet (a formal deliberative assembly) of the Holy Roman Empire called by Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V and conducted in the Imperial Free City o ...
in 1521. This resulted in another condominium, this time between Hesse and the Palatinate. As compensation Hanau received 12,000 guilders and several nearby villages, viz. Harpertshausen, Kleestadt, Langstadt and Schlierbach. Under this common ownership the town developed until shortly before the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
; the still extant town hall was built from 1596. During the war the town was protected by its strong fortifications, preventing major destruction, but nevertheless there was great suffering, not least during the plague in 1634–36. The town was briefly occupied and laid waste by a force of 600 dragoons under the Marquis of Barbistere in December 1688 during the
War of the Palatine Succession The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between France and the Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial possessions in the Americas, India, and West Africa. Relat ...
.


19th and 20th centuries

In 1802 the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt took over the joint dominion of the town, which was the 2nd most important town of the district of Dieburg which was founded at that time. From 1857 the town adopted the name of Gross-Umstadt to distinguish it from Klein-Umstadt and Wenigumstadt. Many factories were established in the town after it obtained a railway connection. In the election of 1933, 60% of the inhabitants voted for the Nazis, and in 1938 the town's synagogue was desecrated. After WW2 the town's population grew to about 22,500 following several expansions to its boundaries. There is now a substantial Portuguese community.


Population Growth


Groß-Umstadt (excluding the 8 other districts)

* 800 - 100 * 985 - 200 * 1604 - 1,000 * 1636 - 424 * 1816 - 2,780 * 1905 - 3,580 * 1945 - 4,500 * 1990 - 9,087


After their inclusion

(December 31) * 1998 - 21,175 * 1999 - 21,338 * 2000 - 21,403 * 2001 - 21,571 * 2002 - 21,620 * 2003 - 21,685 * 2004 - 21,724 * 2005 - 22,600 *2025 + 2


Mayors

* 1945–1954: Peter Hartmann (SPD) (1888–1969) * 1954–1965: Ludwig Wedel (SPD) (1909–1993) * 1969–1988: Hugo Seibert (independent) (1925–2011) * 1988–2005: Wilfried Köbler (SPD) * 2006-2021: Joachim Ruppert (SPD) (1962–2021) * 2022–2028: René Kirch (independent)


Culture

Each year on the second weekend of September there is a "Winzerfest" (a wine festival) which attracts tens of thousands of people.


Infrastructure

Groß-Umstadt has schools for students of all ages and a general hospital. The city is connected to the Odenwald Railway and has three train stations: Groß-Umstadt Wiebelsbach, Groß-Umstadt Mitte and Groß-Umstadt Klein-Umstadt. Trains running between
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
/
Hanau Hanau () is a city in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its railway Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ma ...
and Eberbach stop at these stations, while trains running between
Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...
and Eberbach only stop at Groß-Umstadt Wiebelsbach.


Partner cities

* Saint-Péray (
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 ...
; since 1966) *
Santo Tirso Santo Tirso () is a city and municipality located in the north of Porto Metropolitan Area, 25 km from central Porto, Portugal. In the region, the Ave Valley, there is a large center of textile industry. The population in 2021 was 67,709, in ...
(
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
; since 1988) * Dicomano (
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
; since 2010) Brücke Ohl Winehouse / Pub is not on the Market Square but on the Main Road and has closed some years ago.


Notable people

* Otto Frank (physiologist) (1865–1944), physiologist * Hans Trippel (1908–2001), German autoconstructor ("father of the amphibious vehicles"), entangled crimes of
national socialism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequ ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gross-Umstadt Darmstadt-Dieburg