Rosbach vor der Höhe (, ) is a town in the district of

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 dis ...

, in

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. It is located 25 kilometres north of

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 ...

am Main, on the eastern side of the

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' ...

mountain range. The town has a population of approximately 12,000.

History

The first documented mention of Rosbach took place in 884. The district Rodheim was already mentioned in 805. Archeological discoveries dates the first settlements back to

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

ages and the era of the

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

. The origin of the name Rosbach is still unknown. The town was named after the nearby stream () of the same name, obviously. The most accepted version of the origin of the word ''Rosbach'' itself is, that it is derived from the

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

''roezen'' or ''rozen'' (; ''to ret''). The most common

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

in Rosbach was the

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

and

retting Retting is a process employing the action of micro-organisms and moisture on plants to dissolve or rot away much of the cellular tissues and pectins surrounding bast-fibre bundles, facilitating the separation of the fibre from the stem.retting ...

is used to describe the process of the separation of the fibre from the stem during the production of linen. In 884 Rosbach was annected to the

Fulda monastery The Abbey of Fulda (; ), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda () and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (), was a Order of Saint Benedict, Benedictine abbey and Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality centered on Fulda, in the present-day Ger ...

due to a gift by the Emperor

Charles the Fat Charles the Fat (839 – 13 January 888) was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 887. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandson of Charlemagne. He was t ...

. In 1663, Rosbach received

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 ...

under the control of the

Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt () was a Imperial State, State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse among the four sons of Landgr ...

, the

Count of Nassau The County of Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire from the period of the formal recognition of the countly title in 1159 (though "de facto" sovereignty began in 1125) until the declaration of the Duchy of Nassau in 1806 with ...

and the

Electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district ...

and

Archbishopric of Trier The Diocese of Trier (), in English historically also known as ''Treves'' () from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Historic road Historic roads (or historic trails in the US and Canada) are paths or routes that have historical importance due to their use over a period of time. Examples exist from prehistoric times until the early 20th century. They include ancient track ...

'' along the Long Hesse'' () connecting

and

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. During 1850 and 1926

manganese ore Manganese is a chemical element; it has symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition metal with a multifac ...

was mined in 80 mine workings. During this time the natural resource brought technological progress and the population increased dramatically. In 1901 Nieder-Rosbach was connected to the rail network of Germany as part of the rail connection between Friedberg and

Bad Homburg Bad Homburg vor der Höhe (, ) is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, Germany, 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 ...

. In 1912 the common district of Ober- und Nieder-Rosbach was separated. In 1970 Nieder-Rosbach was incorporated by Ober-Rosbach. In August 1972 Rodheim losts its independence in terms of local politics and is a part of the town Rosbach since.

Geography

Location

To the north, Rosbach borders Friedberg; to the east,

Wöllstadt Wöllstadt () is a municipality in the Wetteraukreis in Hesse, Germany. It is located approximately 20 kilometers north of Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its ...

; to the south,

Karben Karben is a town in the Wetteraukreis, in Hessen, Germany. It is situated on the banks of the river Nidda in the Rhein-Main-Gebiet (Rhine-Main area), approximately north of Frankfurt. Division of the town Karben as a unified town was founded i ...

; and to the west,

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

Wehrheim Wehrheim is a municipality in Hesse, Germany some 30 km (20 mi) north of Frankfurt am Main. The town's nickname is "Apfeldorf Wehrheim" (''Apple-village Wehrheim''). Geography Location Wehrheim lies from 300 to 600 m above sea lev ...

. Rosbach is located 25 km north of

in the district

at the Eastern side of the

mountain range. The streams

Fahrenbach Fahrenbach is a town in the district of Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, 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 n ...

and Rosbach in Ober-Rosbach and Nieder-Rosbach, respectively, flow into the Nidda.

Geology

Between 1998 and 2000, there was a discussion about an

impact crater An impact crater is a depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...

near Rosbach called ''Rosbach Krater''. Starting with an article in the local newspaper ''Wetterauer Zeitung'', articles in other newspapers as the ''

Frankfurter Rundschau The ''Frankfurter Rundschau'' (''FR'') is a German daily newspaper, based in Frankfurt am Main. The ''Rundschaus editorial stance is social liberal. It holds that "independence, social justice and fairness" underlie its journalism. In Post-wa ...

'' and the ''

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The (; ''FAZ''; "Frankfurt General Newspaper") is a German newspaper founded in 1949. It is published daily in Frankfurt and is considered a newspaper of record for Germany. Its Sunday edition is the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung'' ( ...

'' were published. A

mineralogist Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...

and his team from the

University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...

found ''planare Strukturen'' (lit. planar structures) of the mineral

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

, arguing these are evident results to call the crater a result of a

meteorite impact An impact event is a collision between astronomical objects causing measurable effects. Impact events have been found to regularly occur in planetary systems, though the most frequent involve asteroids, comets or meteoroids and have minimal eff ...

. Two weeks later they revised their previous interpretation, saying those planar elements are

Boehm Boehm () is a German surname, transliterated from Böhm (literally: Bohemian, from Bohemia) or reflective of a spelling adopted by a given family before the introduction of the umlaut diacritic. It may refer to: * Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm (bo ...

lamellae Lamella (: lamellae) means a small plate or flake in Latin, and in English may refer to: Biology * Lamella (mycology), a papery rib beneath a mushroom cap * Lamella (botany) * Lamella (surface anatomy), a plate-like structure in an animal * Lame ...

instead. Thus the "crater" with its deformed lamellae seems to have been created during the formation of the Taunus mountain range rather than by a meteorite.

Town subdivisions

Rosbach vor der Höhe consists of three separate villages—Ober-Rosbach (Upper Rosbach), Nieder-Rosbach (Lower Rosbach) and Rodheim. The distribution of the population is as follows:

Politics

District council

The results of the last municipal election in 2011 are listed in the table below and are compared to those of 2006 and 2001:

Arms and flag

Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

: Or, chevron gules, base flower rose gules, seeded or barbed vert, chief dexter brick tower azure, chief sinister plowshare azure. In English: A red

chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock la ...

on a gold sign; at the bottom a, green barbed and golden seeded, red

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

; in the upper left a blue brick

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

; in the upper right a blue

plowshare In agriculture, a plowshare (Differences between American and British spellings, US) or ploughshare (Differences between American and British spellings, UK; ) is a component of a plow (or plough). It is the cutting or leading edge, preceding t ...

Heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and genealo ...

: The plowshare stands for Nieder-Rosbach; the tower stands for Rodheim; the rose, the insignia of Ober-Rosbach, stands for Rosbach as a whole.

International relations

Rosbach is twinned with: *

Netzschkau Netzschkau () is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea ...

, Saxony, Germany ''(since 1990)'' *

Ciechanowiec Ciechanowiec (; )JewishGen Locality Page - Ciechanowiec, Poland
, f ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

''(since 1995)'' *

Saint-Germain-lès-Corbeil Saint-Germain-lès-Corbeil (, literally ''Saint-Germain near Corbeil'') is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Population Inhabitants of Saint-Germain-lès-Corbeil are known as ''Saint-Germinois'' in Fren ...

, Essonne, France ''(since 1995)''

Economy and infrastructure

Traffic

The town is located at the motorway access Autobahn A5 directing to

and

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

. This motorway access has a high traffic density as the majority of the commuters from the Western

working in Frankfurt travel via Rosbach to their place of work. The train station in Nieder-Rosbach connects Friedberg and

Local businesses

The industrial park with an area of 0.44 km² is quite huge in relation to the living area with 4.46 km² in size. This relies on its location to the motorway access directing to

. *Rosbacher Mineralwasserquelle (

mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. It is usually still, but may be sparkling ( carbonated/ effervescent). Traditionally, mineral waters were used or consumed at t ...

brand; since 2001 part of Hassia Mineralquellen GmbH & Co. KG) *

REWE Rewe (stylized as REWE; ) is a supermarket chain in Germany and the main brand of Rewe Group headquartered in Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of ...

Deutscher Supermarkt KGaA (supermarket chain), administrative building and center of distribution *

Triumph Motorcycles Ltd Triumph Motorcycles Ltd is the largest UK-owned motorcycle manufacturer, established in 1983 by John Bloor after the original company Triumph Engineering went into receivership. The new company, initially called Bonneville Coventry Ltd, contin ...

. (motorcycle manufacturer), German headquarters *Trigema GmbH & Co. KG ( conglomerate of

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of textiles: yarn, cloth and clothing. Industry process Cotton manufacturing Cotton is the world's most important natural fibre. In the year 2007, th ...

and

filling station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

Culture and sights

Points of interest

Kapersburg

The Kapersburg is located three kilometres to the west of Ober-Rosbach and is one of the best preserved

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

s 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 ...

in Germany. It was excavated around the turn of the 20th century. In 2005, as a part of the

Upper Germanic limes The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes (), or ORL, is a 550-kilometre-long section of the former external frontier of the Roman Empire between the rivers Rhine and Danube. It runs from Rheinbrohl to Eining on the Danube. The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Li ...

, the remnants of the Upper Germanic & Rhaetian Limes were inscribed on the List of

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

s as ''Frontiers of the Roman Empire''. Thereafter an archeological park was built around the fort. The fort was built presumably during the time of Emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

in 98, or of Emperor

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

in 130. The occupation withdrawed in the third century, as the occupations of other forts during that time. As a result, the fort was diminished and a wall was built in the middle of the fort. The end of the fort enforced non-violently and is dated to the middle of the third century.

Wasserburg

The ''Wasserburg'' is not really a castle. It might have been built as a

motte A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or Bailey (castle), bailey, surrounded by a protective Rampart (fortificati ...

as insignia of the

ministerialis The ''ministeriales'' (singular: ''ministerialis'') were a legally unfree but socially elite class of knights, administrators, and officials in the High Middle Ages in the Holy Roman Empire, drawn from a mix of servile origins, free commoners, and ...

Wehrturm

The ''Wehrturm'' is a

fortified tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with defensive walls such as curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of ...

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 ...

times in the old center of Ober-Rosbach. It is now the location of the municipal archive from the ''Heimatgeschichtsverein 1984 Rosbach v. d. Höhe e.V.'' (Association for Local History Rosbach).

Faselstall

The ''Faselstall'' was a former stable with a tavern in the backyard of the old town hall of Rodheim. It is now the location of the municipal archive from the ''Rodheimer Geschichts- und Heimatverein e.V.'' (Association for Local History Rodheim).

Steinkopf

The highest point of the Eastern

edge is the Steinkopf with a height of 518 m. The mountain lies in between Ober-Rosbach and Pfaffenwiesbach, part of the town

Regular events

Blütenfest, Altstadtfest, Schwimmbadfest, Burgfest, Rosbach goes Gospel

Personalities

* Wilhelm Christoph von Hessen-Bingenheim und Hessen-Homburg (13 November 1625 in Ober-Rosbach – 27 August 1681 in Bingenheim), Landgrave of Hessen-Homburg, was born in Ober-Rosbach *

Johann Ludwig Christ Johann Ludwig Christ (18 October 1739, in Öhringen – 19 November 1813, in Kronberg im Taunus)Öhringen Öhringen (East Franconian: ''Ähringe'') is the largest town in Hohenlohe (district) in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in southwest Germany, near Heilbronn. Öhringen is on the railline to Schwäbisch Hall and Crailsheim. With a population o ...

– 18 November 1813 in

Kronberg Kronberg im Taunus (, ) is a town in the Hochtaunuskreis district, Hesse, Germany and part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. Before 1866, it was in the Duchy of Nassau; in that year the whole Duchy was absorbed into Prussia. Kronberg lies ...

), German naturalist, gardener and pastor, worked from 1776 to 1786 as a pastor in Rodheim * Katherine Halberstadt (1879 in

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

– 18 January 1926 in Artesia, California), the mother of First Lady

Pat Nixon Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon (; March 16, 1912 – June 22, 1993) was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974 as the wife of President Richard Nixon. She also served as the Second ladies and gentlemen of the United States, second lady ...

, was a German immigrant from Ober-Rosbach *

Adolf Reichwein Adolf Reichwein (3 October 1898 – 20 October 1944) was a German educator, economist, and cultural policymaker for the SPD, who resisted the policies of Nazi Germany. Biography Reichwein was born in Bad Ems. He took part in the First World W ...

(3 October 1898 in

Bad Ems Bad Ems () is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Rhein-Lahn rural district and is well known as a spa on the river Lahn. Bad Ems was the seat of Bad Ems collective municipality, which has been merged i ...

– 20 October 1944 in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

- Plötzensee, executed), German educator, economist, cultural policymaker for the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together w ...

, resistance fighter in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, grew up in Ober-Rosbach *

Frank Farian Franz Reuther (18 July 1941 – 23 January 2024), known professionally as Frank Farian, was a German record producer and singer who founded the 1970s disco-pop group Boney M., the pop band No Mercy, and the pop band Milli Vanilli. He frequent ...

(born on 18 July 1941 in

Kirn Kirn () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Kirner Land. Kirn is a Central place theory, middle centre serving an area ...

), German record producer, singer-songwriter, used his recording studio in Ober-Rosbach until 2005 *

Jessica Wahls Jessica Martina Wahls (born 2 February 1977), also known under her nickname Jess, is a German pop singer, radio music editor, and former television host, who rose to fame as one of the founding members of the successful all-female pop band No An ...

(born on 2 February 1977 in

Bad Nauheim Bad Nauheim () is a town in the Wetteraukreis district of Hesse state of Germany. As of 2020, Bad Nauheim has a population of 32,493. The town is approximately north of Frankfurt am Main, on the east edge of the Taunus mountain range. It is a w ...

), German pop singer, songwriter and television host, member of the German all-female band

No Angels No Angels are an all-female Pop music, pop group from Germany, formed in 2000. Originally a quintet, consisting of band members Nadja Benaissa, Ludmilla Diakovska, Lucy Diakovska, Sandy Mölling, Vanessa Petruo, and Jessica Wahls, they originat ...

, grew up and lives in Rodheim

References

External links

* *
Heimatgeschichtsverein 1984 Rosbach v. d. Höhe e.V.
Website of the ''Association for Local History of Rosbach''
Rodheimer Geschichts- und Heimatverein e.V.
Website of the ''Association for Local History of Rodheim'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosbach vor der Hohe Wetteraukreis