Hohenstein () is a municipality in the

Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis Rheingau-Taunus is a Kreis (Districts of Germany, district) in the west of Hesse, Germany. Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis is part of the Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt region; its main administrative seat is Bad Schwalbach. Outposted sections of the local ad ...

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

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Geography

Location

Hohenstein lies in the western

Taunus The Taunus () is a mountain range in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located north west of Frankfurt and north of Wiesbaden. The tallest peak in the range is '' Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are '' Kleiner Feldberg' ...

, on both sides of the river

Aar The Aare () or Aar () is the main tributary of the High Rhine (its discharge even exceeds that of the latter at their confluence) and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to i ...

between

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

and

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

Neighbouring communities

Hohenstein borders in the north on the community of

Aarbergen Aarbergen () is a municipality in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. As of 2022, it had a population of 6,374. Geography Location Aarbergen lies on the river Aar south of Limburg an der Lahn ...

, in the northeast on the community of

Hünstetten Hünstetten is a municipality in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring communities Hünstetten borders in the north on the community of Hünfelden, in the northeast on the town of Bad ...

, in the east and south on the town of

Taunusstein Taunusstein () is the biggest town in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany. It has 30,068 inhabitants (2020). Geography Location Taunusstein lies roughly 10 km northwest of Wiesbaden and abou ...

, in the southwest on the town of

Bad Schwalbach Bad Schwalbach (; called Langenschwalbach until 1927) is the district seat of Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Geography Geographic location Bad Schwalbach is a spa town some 20 km northwest of Wiesbaden. It lies at 289 to 465&n ...

, and in the west on the community of

Heidenrod Heidenrod is a municipality in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Seat of municipal administration is to be found in the most populated municipal district, in Laufenselden. Geo ...

(all in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis).

Constituent communities

Hohenstein’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 Breithardt (administrative seat), Burg-Hohenstein, Holzhausen über Aar, Strinz-Margarethä, Born, Hennethal and Steckenroth.

History

In 1184, Strinz-Margarethä had its first documentary mention, making it the earliest of Hohenstein’s constituent communities to have its name appear in the historical record. The other centres followed in the 13th and 14th centuries. In the course of municipal reform in Hesse, the current greater community of Hohenstein was founded out of the formerly self-governing communities of Breithardt, Hohenstein, Holzhausen über Aar, Strinz-Margarethä, Born, Hennethal and Steckenroth on 1 July 1972. The constituent community of Hohenstein was thereafter known as Burg-Hohenstein (''Burg'' means “castle” in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Politics

Community council

The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

* At Hohenstein Castle (ruin), built about 1190 by the Counts of

Katzenelnbogen Katzenelnbogen () is the name of a castle and small town in the district of Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Katzenelnbogen is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Aar-Einrich. History Katzenelnbog ...

and the Counts of Nassau-Laurenburg, are found a hotel and a restaurant. * In the woods near Hennethal is found a late

mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...

border earthwork (wall-ditch complex), which was presumably built in the late 14th century to guard the ''Limburger Straße'' (road).

Regular events

* In the summer months there are theatrical productions on an open-air stage in the castle courtyard. * Each year in late summer or early autumn, most constituent communities hold their traditional ''Kerb'' (

kermis Kermesse, or kermis, or kirmess, is an outdoor fair or festival usually organized for charitable purposes. The term was derived from 'kerk' (church) and 'mis' (mass) in the original Dutch language term, and was borrowed in English, French, Spa ...

), which mostly have been organized by youth for several generations. * Hohenstein Christmas Market

Economy and infrastructure

The centres in the community, whose livelihood was once based on

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 ...

, have built themselves into residential communities. There are the usual trades and businesses in Hohenstein, but no true industry.

Transport

Hohenstein 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 ...

'' 54 between Wiesbaden and Limburg.

Education

In the constituent community of Breithardt is a

primary 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 ...

. The nearest

comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is restricted on the basis ...

s are to be found in

and

. The latter offers a Gymnasium upper level. The nearest Gymnasium is likewise to be found in Taunusstein.

Twin towns – sister cities

Hohenstein Strinz-Margaretha is twinned with: *

Aube Aube ( ) is a French departments of France, department in the Grand Est region of northeastern France. As with sixty departments in France, this department is named after a river: the Aube (river), Aube. With 310,242 inhabitants (2019),

Orne Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Community’s official webpage
{{Authority control Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis