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Rödermark is a town in the Offenbach 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
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 ...
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 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 ...
, southeast of
Frankfurt am Main 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 ...
and northeast 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 ...
.


Geography


Location

The town lies mostly in the ''Messeler Hügelland'', a part of the Lower Main Plain with gentle hills. Differences in elevation are slight, reaching from about 130 m above
sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...
on the Rodau riverside flats east of Ober-Roden up to about 200 m above sea level on the Bulau. Rödermark is surrounded by greenbelts, found mainly in the area of the river Rodau. The Rodau crosses the municipal area from west to east. The northern areas of Bulau, Messenhausen and Waldacker have a mainly residential function, whereas the main centres of Ober-Roden and Urberach offer a complete infrastructure. The nearest
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 ...
interchanges are ten kilometres away, and
Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport ( ) , is Germany's busiest international airport by passenger numbers, located in Frankfurt, Germany's fifth-largest city. Its official name according to the German Aeronautical Information Publication is Frankfurt Main Airpor ...
some 25 km away. Rödermark lies within the area covered by the
Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund The Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund (RMV) is a List of German transport associations, transport association that covers the Public transport, public transport network of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main area in Germany. Its head offi ...
, and on the grounds of Rödermark-Ober-Roden station’s favourable location, it is the terminus of
Rhine-Main S-Bahn The Rhine-Main S-Bahn system is an integrated rapid transit and commuter rail, commuter train system for the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region, which includes the cities Frankfurt am Main, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Offenbach am Main, Hanau and Darmstadt. The ...
line S1 and a station on RMV line 61. The fiftieth parallel of north latitude (50°N) passes through the municipal area.


Neighbouring communities

Rödermark borders in the north on the town of Dietzenbach, in the east on the town of
Rodgau Rodgau is a town in the Offenbach district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. It lies southeast of Frankfurt am Main in the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region and has the greatest population of any municipality in the Offenbach d ...
, in the south on the communities of Eppertshausen and
Messel Messel is a municipality in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg in Hesse near Frankfurt am Main in Germany. The village is first mentioned, as ''Masilla'', in the Lorsch codex. Messel was the property of the lords of Groschlag from ca. 1400 to 1799 ...
(both in
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 ...
) and in the west on the town of
Dreieich Dreieich () is a town in the Offenbach district in the of Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany. The town is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area and is located roughly south of downtown Frankfurt am Main. With a population of more than 40,000 ...
.


Constituent communities

Rödermark’s '' Stadtteile'' are Messenhausen with 796 inhabitants, Ober-Roden with 12,749 inhabitants, Urberach with 11,537 inhabitants, Waldacker with 2,885 inhabitants and Bulau (as at 30 June 2007).


Ober-Roden

The community of Ober-Roden, which until 1977 was self-administering, is today the biggest of the five constituent communities. Through
suburbanization Suburbanization (American English), also spelled suburbanisation (British English), is a population shift from historic core cities or rural areas into suburbs. Most suburbs are built in a formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence ...
in the 1960s and 1970s, Ober-Roden became an important residential community for commuters. The town
library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...
, the cultural hall, the
daycare Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...
centre and the
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 ...
all stand right on the brook, the Rodau, in Ober-Roden’s centre and together with the stately Gothic Parish Church of St. Nazarius (locally sometimes called the ''Rodgaudom'' – Rodgau ''Cathedral'' – although it is no such thing), some timber-frame houses and a comfortable outdoor café lend the town centre a certain flair. Ober-Roden is the location of the
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 ...
and ''Europaschule'' (European school) Oswald-von-Nell-Breuning-Schule


=Transport in Ober-Roden

= Ober-Roden is a local rail transport hub. From here begins line S 1 of the
Rhine-Main S-Bahn The Rhine-Main S-Bahn system is an integrated rapid transit and commuter rail, commuter train system for the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region, which includes the cities Frankfurt am Main, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Offenbach am Main, Hanau and Darmstadt. The ...
towards
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 ...
by way of Offenbach Ost, Frankfurt Hbf and Frankfurt-Höchst. Also found in Ober-Roden is an operational midpoint on the Dreieich Railway (''Dreieichbahn'') offering links to Urberach and
Dreieich Dreieich () is a town in the Offenbach district in the of Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany. The town is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area and is located roughly south of downtown Frankfurt am Main. With a population of more than 40,000 ...
(from Dreieich-Buchschlag to Langen,
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 ...
,
Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport ( ) , is Germany's busiest international airport by passenger numbers, located in Frankfurt, Germany's fifth-largest city. Its official name according to the German Aeronautical Information Publication is Frankfurt Main Airpor ...
and
Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof, also called Frankfurt Central Station and Frankfurt Main Station, is the busiest train station in the German state of Hesse. Due to its location near the middle of Germany and usage as a transport hub for long and ...
) and serving
Dieburg Dieburg () is a small town in southern Hesse, Germany. It was formerly the seat of the district ("Kreis") of Dieburg, but is now part of the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg. History Early mentions of Dieburg date back to the early 13th century, with ...
in the other direction. From there connections are available to
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 ...
,
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 places in 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 connection with the plans for the ''Regionaltangente West'' (RTW) project, running the Dreieichbahn with RTW trains was in the past considered. For Ober-Roden this would have meant a direct rail link with
Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport ( ) , is Germany's busiest international airport by passenger numbers, located in Frankfurt, Germany's fifth-largest city. Its official name according to the German Aeronautical Information Publication is Frankfurt Main Airpor ...
. The financing for the needed line expansion, however, is long-term, and the project, at least for the present, does not appear in the general transport plan.


Urberach

Urberach was until 31 December 1976 a self-administering community in what was then the Dieburg district. Since municipal reform came into force in Hesse on 1 January 1977, Urberach has been a constituent community of Rödermark, and since then has also belonged to the Offenbach district. Nevertheless, Urberach dwellers today still feel more of a connection with Dieburg and Darmstadt than with Offenbach. Rödermark has developed itself in all its constituent communities into an attractive residential and living area. Adding to the town’s attractiveness are in particular the new work done on part of the town core in 2003 and 2004, the many shops there together with the market halls on the outskirts, a bathhouse with sauna facilities and greenspace (back in operation in June 2006 after conversion), the hilly location of Bulau with its great worth as a recreation area and other similar things. Urberach was in the past a centre for the potter’s craft. A
pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...
museum, a pottery market and the clay vessel in Urberach’s
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
all recall this great tradition. Urberach has been since 2002 the seat of the newly founded ''Berufsakademie Rhein-Main'', a professional academy whose focus is on
economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
and
business informatics Business informatics (BI) is a discipline combining economics, the economics of digitization, business administration, accounting, internal auditing, information technology (IT), and concepts of computer science. Business informatics centers arou ...
. Urberach dwellers call themselves ''Orwischer''.


Population development

(each time as at 31 December) * 1998: 25,787 * 1999: 25,814 * 2000: 26,049 * 2001: 26,126 * 2002: 26,285 * 2003: 26,289 * 2004: 28,189 * 2005: 28,107 * 2006: 26,161 * 2008: 27.858 * 2011: 26.297 * 2012: 27.805 * 2013: 26.494 * 2015: 27.242


History

Rödermark was founded on 1 January 1977 out of the up until this point self-administering communities of Ober-Roden and Urberach. On 23 August 1980, Rödermark was officially granted town rights. The name goes back to the 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 ...
communal forest (''marca raodora'') known as the Rödermark.
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
finds have been unearthed in
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, ...
digs in town.


History of Ober-Roden

There is some likelihood that there was once a
convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
in the community that was put under the
Lorsch Abbey Lorsch Abbey, otherwise the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch (; or ''Laurissa''), is a former Imperial abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about east of Worms, Germany, Worms. It was one of the most important monasteries of the Carolingian Empire. Even in its ru ...
by Abbess Aba in 786, but final proof of this is still lacking. The settlement of ''Rotaha'' had its first documentary mention in 790 in a donation to the Lorsch Abbey. Furthermore, a
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 ...
nobleman named Erlulf donated all his holdings in Ober-Roden, Nieder-Roden and Bieber to the Lorsch Abbey on 22 April 791. In 903, the ''Rotaha'' monastery was confirmed as the Lorsch Abbey’s tenant. The parish church in Ober-Roden is, like the abbey itself, consecrated to Saint Nazarius, and was Mother Church for Urberach, Nieder-Roden,
Messel Messel is a municipality in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg in Hesse near Frankfurt am Main in Germany. The village is first mentioned, as ''Masilla'', in the Lorsch codex. Messel was the property of the lords of Groschlag from ca. 1400 to 1799 ...
and Dudenhofen. As part of the '' Amt'' of Steinheim, the village was sold in 1425 by the former landlords, the Lords of Eppstein, to
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 ...
. For the next several centuries the Electoral Prince-Archbishop of
Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
was the landlord. In 1576 there were 80 households here, but in 1681 there were only 31 households and 117 inhabitants. In 1786, the communally held land shared by Ober-Roden and several other villages was partitioned and shared out among Ober-Roden, Nieder-Roden, Urberach, Messel, Dietzenbach, Hainhausen, Jügesheim and Dudenhofen. The ''Amts
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'' of Dieburg passed with Ober-Roden after
Secularization In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...
to Hesse. In 1829, Ober-Roden had 1,295 inhabitants. In 1832, the place passed from the ''Landratsbezirk'' of Langen to the Offenbach district. From 1874 to 1977, the community belonged to the Dieburg district. In 1896, the '' Rodgaubahn'' (
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
) from Offenbach am Main by way of Ober-Roden to Dieburg was built, as was the ''Dreieichbahn'' by way of Urberach to Sprendlingen in 1905. In 1939, the community had 3,608 inhabitants. In 1957, Messenhausen merged with Ober-Roden after having shared with it the same mayor since 1821, while still keeping its own municipal budget. In 1977 in the course of municipal reform in Hesse, Ober-Roden was merged with Urberach, whereupon the new amalgamated municipality became Rödermark.


History of Urberach

Urberach was named for the first time in 796 as a branch parish of Ober-Roden according to the
Lorsch codex The Lorsch Codex (Chronicon Laureshamense, Lorscher Codex, Codex Laureshamensis) is an important historical document created between about 1175 to 1195 AD in the Lorsch Abbey, Monastery of Saint Nazarius in Lorsch, Germany. The codex is handwrit ...
. The place had its first documentary mention in 1275 as ''Orbruch''.
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 ...
acquired the lordly rights over Urberach in the Late
Middle Ages 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 ...
. The village belonged to the Mainz '' Amt'' of Dieburg. In 1280, part of Urberach ended up with Frankfurt as a fief. In 1305, an estate from ''Urbruch'' belonged to Ober-Roden. In 1425, Urbruch and Ober-Roden were sold to the Archbishop of Mainz. In 1706, the Archbishop of Mainz,
Lothar Franz von Schönborn Lothar Franz von Schönborn-Buchheim (4 October 1655 – 30 January 1729) was the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz from 1694 to 1729 and the Bishop of Bamberg from 1693 to 1729. As Archbishop of Mainz, he was also Archchancellor of the Holy Roman Emp ...
, ceded ''Urbarach'' to Count Johann Philipp of Isenburg-Büdingen in exchange for Weisenau and Hechtsheim. Urberach thenceforth belonged to the ''Amt'' of Philippseich, a younger line of the House of Isenburg. In 1786 the Röder Mark was dissolved. After the Principality of Isenburg-Birstein was dissolved in 1816, Urberach passed to the
Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine () was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The grand duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 as the Grand Duchy of Hesse (). It assumed the name ...
and has been Hessian ever since. In 1821, the community was grouped into the ''Landratsbezirk'' of Offenbach and in 1832 assigned to the Offenbach district. From 1874 to 1977, Urberach belonged to the Dieburg district. The population figure rose from 1,488 in 1861 to 2,807 in 1939 and 9,558 in 1978. In 1977 in the course of municipal reform in Hesse, Urberach was merged with Ober-Roden, whereupon the new amalgamated municipality became Rödermark.


History of Messenhausen

The village had its first documentary mention in 1282. In the time that followed, the Lords of Eppstein enfeoffed various noble families with Messenhausen. Up until the end of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
in 1806, the Lords of Frankenstein had been the fiefholders for centuries. In 1806, the community passed to the
Grand Duchy of Hesse The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine () was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The grand duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 as the Grand Duchy of Hesse (). It assumed the name ...
. In 1821, Messenhausen’s mayoral office was united with Ober-Roden’s, although each place maintained its own budget up until 1957, when Messenhausen joined Ober-Roden. Messenhausen had 80 inhabitants in 1829 and 605 in 1978.


Churches

Rödermark’s traditional character is
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 ...
. Owing to migration into the town in the latter half of the 20th century, however, many
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 ...
Christians now also live here. Today there are five Christian parishes: * St. Nazarius Ober-Roden (Catholic) * Ober-Roden (Evangelical) * St. Gallus Urberach (Catholic) * Petrusgemeinde Urberach (Evangelical) * Free Evangelical parish of Rödermark The oldest ecclesiastical building in Rödermark is the ''Dreifaltigkeitskapelle'' (“Trinity Chapel”) on the way into the community of Messenhausen (built in 1820).


Politics


Town council

The municipal elections held from 2006 to 2021 yielded the following results:


Mayors

Rödermark’s mayors since 1977 have been: *Karl Martin Rebel, CDU (1977–1982) *Walter Faust, CDU (1982–1993) *Alfons Maurer, CDU (1993–2005) *Roland Kern, AL/Greens (2005–2019) *Jörg Rotter, CDU (2019–present)


Twin towns – sister cities

Rödermark is twinned with: * Tramin an der Weinstraße, Italy (1975, originally with Urberach) * Saalfelden am Steinernen Meer, Austria (1976, originally with Ober-Roden) * Bodajk, Hungary (1992) * Pleśna, Poland (2022)


Economy

Rödermark’s economy is based on midsize businesses. Besides the many retail and craft businesses, the following major companies are resident in Rödermark: *CeoTronics AG (speech transmission) *Zeppelin Systems GmbH (
mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...
) *Winkelmann Palsis (vibration technology) *Elta (
consumer electronics Consumer electronics, also known as home electronics, are electronic devices intended for everyday household use. Consumer electronics include those used for entertainment, Communication, communications, and recreation. Historically, these prod ...
, cooling appliances) *Videor E. Hartig GmbH (video technology distribution) *Köhl (office furniture) *Adicon (building) *Schleinkofer GmbH (mechanical engineering) *Galvanni Europe GmbH (clothes)


Notable people

* Peter Kunter (born 1941), footballer, lives in Rödermark and had a dental practice in Urberach in 1974–2005 * Bernd Spier (born 1944), singer, lives in Waldacker and has been running a real estate business in Ober-Roden *
Werner Lorant Werner Heinz Erich Lorant (21 November 1948 – 20 April 2025) was a German football player who played as a defender or as a defensive midfielder. He later became a manager, notably managing TSV 1860 Munich for nine years between 1992 and 2001 ...
(born 1948), football player and manager, lived in Ober-Roden in 1979–1982 * Kristina Bach (born 1962), singer, lived in Rödermark-Urberach in the 1990s


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodermark Offenbach (district)