Lichtenwald

Lichtenwald is a municipality located in the Schurwald forest in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Situated on the state road L1151 between Reichenbach an der Fils and Schorndorf. It belongs to the Stuttgart Region and the European metropolitan region of Stuttgart.

Geography

Geographic Location

The district of Hegenlohe lies on the wooded eastern slope of the Reichenbach valley and, like Thomashardt situated on the high ridge, is surrounded by the mixed forests of the Schurwald. The municipal area ranges from 342 to 480 meters in elevation.
On the high trail, one has a panoramic view of the Swabian Alb and areas in front of it on a clear day. There is a view of about 50 km to the southwest, and about 30 km to the east.

Municipal Division

Lichtenwald consists of the two districts of Hegenlohe and Thomashardt, which emerged from the two formerly independent municipalities of the same names from which the municipality of Lichtenwald was formed. The Hegenlohe district includes the village of Hegenlohe and the residential areas of Bannmühle and Ölmühle as well as the deserted village of Ritzenweiler. The Thomashardt district includes the village of Thomashardt. Approximately 66% of the municipal area consists of forest.

Neighboring Municipalities

To the west, Thomashardt borders the also elevated municipality of Baltmannsweiler with its districts of Baltmannsweiler and Hohengehren on the Schurwald heights. To the south is the neighboring valley town of Reichenbach an der Fils. Again on the Schurwald heights lie the eastern neighboring towns of Büchenbronn and Baiereck, as well as the northern neighboring towns of Schlichten, and the northwestern villages of Manolzweiler and Engelberg.

Climate

The climate in Lichtenwald is somewhat harsher than in the Fils valley. During the day, there can be a temperature difference of 1-3 degrees Celsius compared to the valley. This decreases in the evening, and in summer a reversal of the effect can be observed, as the warm air rises from the valley after sunset. In general, it is windier in Lichtenwald than in the valley, as the town is located on a mountain ridge. In winter, snow lies more often and for longer periods, as on the entire Schurwald, compared to the Fils, Neckar or Rems valleys. Due to the elevated location and unobstructed views to the west and east, Lichtenwald can take nearly full advantage of potential sunshine duration.

Geology

The geological structure of Lichtenwald follows the pattern also found in most of the remaining Schurwald region.
The Lichtenwald ridge consists of a very narrow zone of Black Jurassic or Lias alpha. This in turn is composed of a layer of weathered products such as dark loam, clay and sand, with the light gray Angulatensandstone underneath and even deeper the Psilonotenton. The Lias soils are, apart from their stony edges, good arable soils.
The further layers belong to the Keuper. Below the Lias alpha layer begins a 2–3 meters thick layer of Rhaetian. The clayey Knollenmergel joins as a 20–30 meters thick layer next to the Rhaetian and can be immediately identified as a 50–300 meters wide, undulating meadowland between the fields above and the forest edge below.
The Knollenmergel does not provide a good foundation and tends to swell when wet, which can lead to landslides. Typical consequences of ground movements are the many trees growing at an angle or with a kink in the lower part of the trunk towards the light, which is also referred to as crutch growth or saber growth.
The lowest layer of the Schurwald consists of Stubensandstein with a layer thickness of 90–100 meters. This formation consists largely of sandstone banks into which numerous streams have cut.

Tectonics

The geological layers in the Schurwald generally dip from the northwest to the southeast by about 0.5-1°. Furthermore, today's Fils valley in the Reichenbach-Plochingen area represents a fault zone. Due to the sinking of the zone, in Reichenbach, Stubensandstein layers lie 50–70 meters lower than north of the fault line. The tensions have not yet subsided, which explains the tectonic earthquake of August 1940, whose epicenter was about 10 km below Hegenlohe.

History

Lichtenwald from 1971

The municipality of Lichtenwald was formed on 1 January 1971 through the voluntary merger of the previously independent municipalities of Hegenlohe and Thomashardt. In a citizen's vote on 13 December 1970, more than 90% of voters, with a high turnout, voted in favor of the merger.
The name Lichtenwald is derived from "lichten Wald", a term that appeared as early as 1555 in old forestry ledger books of the Schorndorf forestry office in reference to the municipalities of Hegenlohe and Thomashardt. The components of the town names, Lohe and Hardt, also trace back to the concepts of pasture forest and light forest. The inspiring idea for the name ultimately came from long-established citizen Karl Roos from Thomashardt. Other rejected suggestions included: Hegenhardt, Thomaslohe, Schlichtenwald, Hohenlau, Schurdorf, Langgehren and Langrain.
Since the 1990s, several public construction projects have taken place in Lichtenwald. After the town hall and village square in Thomashardt were initially redesigned, the water tower in Thomashardt was artistically designed in 1996, for which over 55,000 German marks were raised through donations from individuals, benefit events and sponsors from the business community. In 1998, the youth center near the elementary school was inaugurated, followed by the completion of the community center in October 2000, which houses the volunteer fire department, the municipal works yard and a community hall for clubs and cultural events. A new sports field was built in 2003. In 2012, a new multipurpose hall was added. The old sports and community hall was demolished in 2012 as it was in dire need of renovation, far too small, and no longer met today's requirements for such a building.
Population development:

Hegenlohe

The first documented mention of Hegenlohe was on 26 April 1173, under the name Haginilo, when the Antipope Callixtus III confirmed the properties of the St. Blasien Monastery in Hegenlohe. Until 1364, the Dukes of Teck held the feudal lordship. Later, the feudal lordship over Hegenlohe was transferred to the Counts of Württemberg, who in turn enfeoffed it to the Esslinger family Holdermann among others. In 1457, the lordship reverted to the Württembergs, who then assigned the town to the district office of Schorndorf. The municipality has belonged to the Esslingen district since the regional reform of 1938. Until 1379, the settlement of Ritzisweiler, mentioned around 1140, existed on Hegenlohe's municipal area. Another settlement called Witzenweiler existed until before the Thirty Years' War.
Thomashardt and Hegenlohe always formed a unified parish community. Around 1700, the municipality of Hegenlohe began introducing its own school instruction; previously, school-age children had to attend classes in Thomashardt and Hohengehren.

Holy Cross Church

An ecclesia was first documented in 1173. The present sacristy was built after 1200, with the ribbed groin vaulting inserted much later. The Protestant parish church of the Holy Cross, which sits on a rocky hilltop spur, was likely completed in 1479, although the interior underwent several changes over the centuries, most recently in 1955. The stone altar table probably dates back to the first chapel, while on the north wall there is a Gothic baptismal niche and in the flat-ceilinged nave, again on the north wall, a late Gothic sacrament niche from 1479. The wooden altar crucifix was carved around 1520 by an unknown hand and restored in 1955. An organ was likely already present around 1700, while the current one dates from 1835.
The church tower is 29 meters high, resting on both sides on a strong, freestanding medieval oak construction, with the upper two floors and tower roof completely rebuilt in 1809. The first large church bell from 1501, cast by the Esslingen bell founder Sydler and weighing almost 300 kg, had to be recast in 1949 due to a crack. Previously it was confiscated during World War II and transported to Esslingen, but returned in 1947. A small bell was last recast in 1832, melted down in 1917 during World War I and replaced by a new one in 1922. A third bell, the baptismal bell, was acquired in 1949. The bells ring in E-G-A.

Thomashardt

Thomashardt first is first documented on 18 November 1324 under the name Dagemanshart. Until 1333, part of the town was owned by the Counts of Aichelberg, while another part was owned by the Dukes of Teck until 1367. Later, the Counts of Württemberg held the respective rights. The third part of the village belonged to Adelberg Monastery from 1268 onwards, which transferred its feudal rights to Württemberg in 1362. The monastery itself exercised its territorial lordship until 1535. Since 1453, the municipality belonged to the Schorndorf district office, and since 1938 to the Esslingen district.
Until 1966, Thomashardt had neither a parish nor a church building. The Resurrection Church was built in 1965/66. The educational sector developed earlier than in Hegenlohe, with a school building constructed in 1812 that was also used as a town hall.

Shared History Before 1971

Even before 1971, there were many commonalities between Thomashardt and Hegenlohe. Between 1560 and 1819, both municipalities belonged to the Schlichten Forest Court, and in 1819 they even formed a united municipality with Schlichten and Baiereck, based in Thomashardt. After Baiereck and Schlichten left the association, the two remaining municipalities separated on 29 September 1825, regaining their independence. Historically, the towns were part of old Württemberg for centuries, then part of the Kingdom of Württemberg from 1806 to 1918, and afterwards part of the Free People's State of Württemberg. In 1945, the towns fell into the American occupation zone and thus became part of the newly founded state of Württemberg-Baden, which merged into the present state of Baden-Württemberg in 1952. Even before reuniting in 1971, Thomashardt and Hegenlohe joined in a school association. In 1962, a school building was constructed on the municipal border, which today houses the elementary school.