Großostheim (or ''Grossostheim'') is a market community in the
Aschaffenburg 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 ...
. The inhabitants call themselves ''Aistmer'' (''ostheimers'').
Geography
Location
Großostheim lies on the northeast edge 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' ...
in the Bavarian Lower Main (''Bayerischer Untermain'') region.
Constituent communities
Großostheim's ''
Ortsteil
A village is a human settlement or Residential community, community, larger than a hamlet (place), hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located ...
e'' are Großostheim, Pflaumheim, Wenigumstadt and Ringheim.
Neighbouring communities
Clockwise from the north, these are the community of
Stockstadt, the district-free town of
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 ...
, the community of
Niedernberg, the community of
Mömlingen (both in
Miltenberg district) and the community of
Schaafheim (
Darmstadt-Dieburg).
Together with Stockstadt am Main and the neighbouring Hessian community of Schaafheim, the market community forms the historic Bachgau region.
History
The market community of Großostheim, as a greater community, is made up of the constituent communities of Großostheim, Ringheim, Pflaumheim and Wenigumstadt. While Ringheim has always been part of Großostheim, the other two places, Pflaumheim and Wenigumstadt, have only been as much since municipal reform on 1 May 1978.
Ostheim, called Großostheim since the 18th century – ''groß'' is
German for “great” or “big” – had its first documentary mention in a document from the
Fulda Abbey dating from sometime between 780 and 799.
Ostheim belonged from the time of its first documentary mention to various lordly domains, before it passed along with the whole Bachgau to the
Electorate of Mainz
The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...
.
The constituent community of Ringheim gets its name from an older village that died out in the early 16th century. The ''Ringheimer Mühle'' – a mill, formerly an inn and a farmhouse – seems to be the last piece of property from the old Ringheim. The new Ringheim arose after 1945 on the lands of the former
Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
base, in whose barracks and other buildings
Germans driven out of their homelands were housed. Quick growth with industries locating in the new settlement has made of the initially small constituent community a considerable settlement today, which has become a desirable place to live.
The constituent community of Pflaumheim, despite lying right near the significant centre of Ostheim, had always been an independent community. It did, however, belong ecclesiastically as a branch parish to the parish of St. Peter and Paul in Großostheim. Only in 1923 did Pflaumheim, with its ''Kirche St. Luzia'' (church) become an independent parish. In 1994, Pflaumheim's 1,200-year jubilee was celebrated, as in 794 the Pflaumgau, and in the same era Pflaumheim itself, were named in documents handed down from the
Lorsch and
Fulda Abbeys.
The constituent community of Wenigumstadt had its first documentary mention in 1229 as ''villa Omestad minore''. The village had, however, surely been settled much earlier, as the many
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
finds from Wenigumstadt show a human presence from every cultural epoch in the last 7,000 years.
The former (until 1782)
Electoral Mainz
The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...
Vogt
An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...
ei
amt (''Vogt'' district) became in 1803 part of Archbishop-Elector of Mainz
Karl von Dalberg's newly formed Electorate of Aschaffenburg, along with which, under the terms of the Treaties of Paris, it passed in 1814 (by this time it had become a department of the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt) to Bavaria.
In the course of administrative reform in Bavaria, the current community came into being with the ''Gemeindeedikt'' (“Municipal Edict”) of 1818.
Population development
Within the municipal area lived 12,788 inhabitants in 1970, 13,514 in 1987, 15,913 in 2000 and 16,299 in 2004.
Politics
The mayor is Herbert Jakob (
CSU), elected in April 2014 and re-elected in 2020.
The income from municipal taxes in 1999 amounted to €9,751,000 (converted) of which net intake from business taxes amounted to €3,180,000.
Coat of arms
The community'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: Party per fess Or and sable, a buck salient of the second langued gules and couped at the thigh, and three trefoils slipped argent.
Until the 18th century, Großostheim was known simply as Ostheim. It was in 1774 that the name Großostheim first cropped up. The coat of arms, conferred on 17 January 1911 by
Prince Regent Luitpold and borne ever since, is a combination of the 17th-century community seal, which is no longer on hand, and a smaller version of the arms borne by the family Schad, whose members called themselves Schad von Ostheim. The family died out in 1581, after having lived for centuries in the Bachgau, to whose
tithing district the community of Ostheim then belonged. The cloverleaves below the
parting was a popular, old local symbol for
agriculture
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
. They are taken from the lost Großostheim community seal and refer to how, in the course of time, clover growing displaced
winegrowing.
Culture and sightseeing
* 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 ...
Saints Peter's and Paul's parish church (''St. Peter und Paul'') holds a “
Lamentation of Christ
The Lamentation of Christ is a very common subject in Christian art from the High Middle Ages to the Baroque. After Crucifixion of Jesus, Jesus was crucified, his Descent from the Cross, body was removed from the cross and his friends mourned over ...
” by
Tilman Riemenschneider (1515), which is iconographically and stylistically akin to earlier work at the Hessenthal Pilgrimage Church.
* Housed today in the
timber-frame ''Nöthig-Gut'' at the marketplace, a former feudal estate held by the Mainz cathedral provosts (1537–1629), is the ''Bachgaumuseum''. The exhibits display regional crafts and agriculture in the 19th century, with a local emphasis.
*
Timber-frame houses from the 16th to 18th centuries characterize the whole core of the community, on the marketplace, Marktgasse, Kanzleistraße, Haarstraße and Breite Straße. With 148 houses under monumental protection (as at 2007), Großostheim is thereby a leader in the Aschaffenburg district.
* Of the town fortifications torn down in the 19th century, all that has been left standing is the ''Spitzer Turm'' (“Sharp Tower”, a prison tower with a dungeon), the ''Stumpfer Turm'' (“Blunt Tower”, the powder tower), the ''Hexenturm'' ("
Witches’ Tower"), in which in 1602 and 1603 eleven women were found guilty of witchcraft in the
Electoral Mainz
The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...
) and a small remnant of the formerly 2 km-long town wall on Grabenstraße.
* Three chapels stand in Großostheim. A local
farrier
A farrier is a specialist in equine hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves, if necessary. A farrier combines some blacksmith's skills (fabricating, adapting, and adju ...
, Peter Drippel, built one of these in 1517 and it was consecrated to the patron saint of his craft,
Saint Eligius
Eligius (; 11 June 588 – 1 December 660), venerated as Saint Eligius, was a Frankish goldsmith, courtier, and bishop who was chief counsellor to Dagobert I and later Bishop of Noyon–Tournai. His deeds were recorded in ''Vita Sancti Eligii' ...
. The so-called ''Frauhäuschen'' is a chapel sacred to Mary (late 15th century). The most important piece of decoration at the ''Kreuzkapelle'' (“Cross Chapel”) is a Crucifixion scene by
Hans Backoffen, a late work from 1513.
* In the constituent community of Pflaumheim stands the oldest town hall in the Bachgau. The timber-frame building, restored in 1981, comes from 1548. A stylistically similar town hall building from 1584 is found in the constituent community of Wenigumstadt.
* Großostheim lies on the ''Einhardsweg''. This 77 km-long hiking and cycling trail follows
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
’s biographer
Einhard
Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart; ; 775 – 14 March 840) was a Franks, Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the ''Vita Karoli M ...
’s footsteps, running from
Bad König to
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 ...
.
* Thirty-six ''Bildstöcke'' (sing. ''Bildstock'' – a cross-shaped or columnar pillar functioning as a
wayside shrine
A wayside shrine is a religious image, usually in some sort of small shelter, placed by a road or pathway, sometimes in a settlement or at a crossroads, but often in the middle of an empty stretch of country road, or at the top of a hill or mount ...
) from the 16th to 18th centuries stand along the hiking and cycling trails right nearby.
* Filmed in Großostheim from 1988 to 1992 was the television series ''
Mit Leib und Seele'' with regional actor
Günter Strack
Günter Strack (4 June 1929 – 18 January 1999) was a German film and television actor.
Career
In English language films, he played Professor Karl Manfred in the Hitchcock thriller '' Torn Curtain'' (1966) and appeared as Kunik in '' The O ...
in the main role. However, the town was known in the show as ''Eberfeld''.
Economy and infrastructure
Economy, agriculture, forestry
According to official statistics, in 1998, there were 85 workers on the social welfare contribution rolls working in
agriculture
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
and
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...
. In producing businesses this was 2,427, and in trade and
transport
Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...
1,067. In other areas, 910 workers on the social welfare contribution rolls are employed, and 5,627 are
remote work
Remote work (also called telecommuting, telework, work from or at home, WFH as an initialism, hybrid work, and other terms) is the practice of work (human activity), working at or from one's home or Third place, another space rather than from ...
ers. There were 9 processing businesses. Fourteen businesses are in construction, and furthermore, in 1999, there were 84 agricultural operations with a working area of 2 656 ha, of which 2 428 ha was cropland and 193 ha was meadowland. There are a brewery and several winegrowing operations here.
The best known firm in the community was the European head office of
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles.
The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...
before its closure and relocation to
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 2015. Also, the meat processing business Salomon Foodworld is resident here.
Transport
Großostheim lies on ''
Bundesstraße
''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.
Germany
Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km.
German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...
n'' 469 and 26 near
Autobahn
The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'.
Much of t ...
A 3. In the constituent community of Ringheim lies a regional airport. Großostheim once had passenger train service, but unfortunately that service ended in 1974 with the closing of the Bachgau railway line. The nearest major railway station is the
Aschaffenburg Hauptbahnhof. Bus service to nearby towns, including
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 ...
, is available.
Education
There are the following institutions (as at 2007):
*
Kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...
s: 675 kindergarten places with 652 children
*
Elementary school
A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
s: 5 with 72 teachers and 1,234 pupils
Famous people
Sons and daughters of the town
*
Otto Becker (1958– ), German
show jumper
* Heinrich Hock (1887–1971), German chemist
* Prof. Dr. Rudolf Schüßler (1960– ), German (moral) philosopher
Town partnerships
*
Carbon-Blanc,
Gironde
Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749. ,
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 ...
*
Saulxures-sur-Moselotte,
Vosges
The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...
, France
*
Hamoir
Hamoir (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium.
On 1 January 2006, Hamoir had a total population of 3,592. The total area is 27.80 km2 which gives a population ...
,
Liège Province
Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is the easternmost province of the Wallonia region of Belgium.
Liège Province is the only Belgian province that has borders with three countries. It borders (clockwise from the north) the Dutch province of Limburg, the ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
References
Further reading
* Wolfgang Hartmann: ''1200 Jahre Großostheim''. Großostheim 1999
* Frank Schmelz: ''Lineare anthropogene Gehölz- und Saumstrukturen im Bachgau (Gmde. Großostheim, Lkrs. Aschaffenburg)''. Gießen 2001
External links
Bavarian Lower Main history portal
Großostheim in National Socialist times, documentation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grossostheim
Aschaffenburg (district)