Sondheim vor der Rhön is a municipality in the district
Rhön-Grabfeld
Rhön-Grabfeld is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southeast and clockwise) the districts of Hassberge, Schweinfurt and Bad Kissingen, and the states of Hesse (district Fulda) and Thuringia (distri ...
,
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 ...
. It is administrated by the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Ostheim''. As of 2002 it had a population of 1123, and covers an area of 18.58 km
2.
History
The first written proof of Sondheim was on February 27, 789, when it was mentioned in a donation document of the monastery of
Fulda
Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival.
Histor ...
. Sondheim was the main settlement of the Baringau area. In 1359, it received the right to be called "city", however it was never exercised. Until 1945 Sondheim was an
enclave
An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is so ...
of
Saxe-Weimar
Saxe-Weimar () was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar. The Weimar branch was the most genealogically senior extant branch of the House of W ...
and later
Thuringia
Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area.
Er ...
, and was added to Bavaria due to the military administration after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. In 1978, the village Stetten was included into the municipality, which then joined the ''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft''.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms shows in the bottom three rows of red and silver blocks, the escutcheon of
Henneberg. Silver and red were the colors of the bishops of
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...
. To the left is the head of a ram, the symbol animal of the Gebsattel family, as one of the historically important land owners of the area. The yellow crown-ring to the right is taken from the coat of arms of
Saxony
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
, recalling that the municipality was formerly an enclave of Saxe-Weimar.
References
External links
Official website
{{Authority control
Rhön-Grabfeld