Weilburg


Weilburg is, with just under 13,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg.

Geography

Location

The community lies in the Lahn valley between the Westerwald and the Taunus just upstream from where the Weil empties into the river Lahn and 80 km southeast of Koblenz. The Old Town, built on and around a rocky hill, is almost encircled by the Lahn.

Neighbouring communities

Weilburg borders in the north on the communities of Merenberg and Löhnberg, in the east on the town of Braunfels, in the south on the communities of Weilmünster and Weinbach as well as on the town of Runkel, and in the west on the community of Beselich.

Constituent communities

Besides the main town, in which just under 40% of the inhabitants live, the outlying centres of Ahausen, Bermbach, Drommershausen, Gaudernbach, Hasselbach, Hirschhausen, Kirschhofen, Kubach, Odersbach and Waldhausen also belong to Weilburg's municipal area.

History

It is believed that the earliest traces of settlers in the area around Weilburg are attested by finds from La Tène times from the Scheuernberger Kopf near Kirschhofen.
Weilburg was first mentioned in 906 in a chronicle by Abbot Regino of Prüm as a fortification under the name of Wilineburch. Six years later King Conrad I, whose father had been buried in the fortification after having fallen in battle while fighting the Babenbergers near Fritzlar in 906, founded a church and an abbey. In 912, the St. Walpurgis-Chorherrenstift was founded. The building, which was built on high ground, afforded the monastery control over the Lahn as well as the Hohe Straße running from Frankfurt to Cologne and the Via Publica from Flanders to Bohemia, which ran nearby.
In 918, the Wilineburg gained special historic importance when King Conrad I, lying on his deathbed, recommended to his brother Eberhard that he deliver the Imperial insignia to his bitterest rival, the Saxon duke Heinrich.
From 993 to 1062, the town was bit by bit donated to the Bishopric of Worms. About 1225, the Bishop of Worms pledged overlordship over the town to the House of Nassau, which in the end they bought up, granting the place a year later the same town rights held by Frankfurt. Count Johann I of Nassau built his residence here in 1355, renovated the castle to a palace, and also built the town fortifications. In 1359, he had a stone bridge built across the Lahn.
The House of Nassau shaped the town's history for several centuries. Count Johann Ernst, in particular, renovated and beautified his town of residence by expanding the Renaissance high palace, building a park and changing the town's face. Weilburg thus became one of the most fully preserved examples of a small German residence town from the time of absolutism. From 1806, the town was the governmental seat of the newly created Duchy of Nassau. Only in 1816 did William, Duke of Nassau move his residence to Biebrich. In 1866, the Duchy of Nassau was annexed by Prussia, and in 1871 it became part of the newly established German Empire.
In the field of architectural history, Weilburg is known for its loam buildings from the time before 1800. Wilhelm Jacob Wimpf, a "government lawyer", was instrumental in furthering the so-called Pisee style of building in the town and its environs, yielding what is still Germany's tallest loam building, a six-floor house.

National Socialism and the Second World War

In 1933, as in other German cities and towns, the National Socialists were elected into power. Shortly before this, the Nazis in the region had had strong showings in elections. The last non-Nazi mayor chosen by the town council, Diffenhardt, was ousted in a no-confidence vote instigated by the Nazis in the summer of 1933.
During World War II, in 1939–1941, it was the location of the Oflag IX-B prisoner-of-war camp for Polish and Belgian officers and orderlies. In the war, the town sustained only light damage. The middle façade of the palace's orangery collapsed after an aerial bomb meant for the Weilburg railway station fell right in front of the gate and exploded. The railway station and the nearby Helbig brewery house were also damaged. While United States troops were taking over the town on 27 March 1945, the fighting caused some light damage, although all the town's bridges were blown up by retreating German troops.

Municipal centre

Weilburg was the old Oberlahnkreis's seat from the district's founding in 1867. Weilburg lost this function when, in the course of administrative reform in Hesse, both the Oberlahnkreis and the Limburg district were abolished and the new Limburg-Weilburg district came into being on 1 July 1974, with Limburg as its seat. To this day, however, a district administration outpost can be found at the former district administrator's office on Limburger Straße.
In 2005, the town hosted the 45th Hessentag state festival from 17 to 26 June.

Constituent communities' history

Ahausen is first mentioned in documents in 1320. The cluster village lies right on the Lahn where the Grundbach empties into it, which explains why the three mills that once stood here.
Under the name Berinbach, the outlying centre of Bermbach was first mentioned in documents in 1253. Besides agriculture, the villagers also worked at mining. Ore was mined from pits in Bermbach's municipal area up until 1914, when operations ceased.
The certification of an estate in 1196 by Pope Celestine III is Drommershausen's first mention in documents. There is historical evidence of an oil mill in 1666, and also, a blast furnace for smelting ironstone mined in the area is mentioned in 1679.
In 1325, under the name Gauderinbach, today's outlying centre of Gaudernbach was first mentioned. At first, the place belonged to the Amt of Runkel and the parish of Schupbach. The chapel consecrated to Saint Peter was built in 1769. A school in the community was mentioned before 1618, although it is unknown how long it lasted. In a great fire in 1863, 68 buildings in Gaudernbach were destroyed. Besides agriculture and mining, villagers found income working in the Gaudernbach marble quarry.
In a document from 1235, the place name Hasilibach was first mentioned, later changing its name to Hasselbach. At the time of its first mention, the community belonged to the Trier Burgmann Johann von Schupbach, who resided in Montabaur.
Hirschhausen is first mentioned in documents in 1327, and can be found in writings from 1466 referred to as Herbishusen. In Hirschhausen's municipal area there were many hematite and limonite pits, among which the "Anna" pit was one of the richest in the Lahn area. Worth mentioning is the eight-sided Lutheran church built in 1763 by 27 families from Hirschhausen. Near Hirschhausen, from the 15th to the mid 16th century, was the pilgrimage centre of Pfannstiel.
The outlying centre of Kirschhofen was first mentioned in documents in 1363 with the spelling Kyrchschyrben. The spelling Kirschhofen is known from 1684. Since 1978, Kirschhofen has been linked by footbridge to the outlying centre of Odersbach on the other side of the Lahn.
The constituent community of Kubach was first referred to in documents as parvulam cubach in one of Otto III's documents from 27 December 1000. It is assumed that Kubach had its own church as of 1516. The current church was finished in 1784.
Odersbach and Waldhausen are the two constituent communities which are first mentioned in documents before that of Weilburg's in 906.
Waldhausen was first mentioned in documents in 881 in the Prüm Abbey's Golden Book, in which it is known as Mark Ualthusa in a passage dealing with the settlement there and the Carolingian forest holdings. Until 1960, the villagers earned their livelihood mainly in agriculture and mining.

Politics

Town council

The municipal election held on March 6, 2016, yielded the following results:

Mayor

Johannes Hanisch has been mayor since July 1, 2017.

Town partnerships

The town's arms were granted in 1906 on the occasion of the town's one thousandth anniversary of its first mention in documents. They show a castle in silver on a blue background. The middle tower of the three has a red roof with a golden ball on the peak. The gate, which is shut and strewn with black, is overlaid with a blue inescutcheon, which itself bears the Nassau lion in gold. The arms are modelled on the town's seal from 1329.

Flag

Weilburg's town flag is a horizontal tricolour in yellow, blue and white. The colours are drawn from the tinctures in the coat of arms, with yellow standing for the gold, and white for the silver. Blue was the former ruling counts' colour.

Seal

Weilburg's town seal is first known to have appeared in a document dating from 1327, although it seems likely that it was first acquired on the occasion of the granting of town rights in 1295. The seal bears the inscription "SIGILLUM CIVITATIS IN WILBURC". The design itself shows a town wall with two corner towers of the same height, between which is a taller tower with a pointed roof, and in the middle of the town wall a town gate with a coat of arms.
Along with this first seal, most likely made in the late 14th century, a smaller seal was also made. A replacement for this seal was introduced by 1650.
Moreover, a further seal to these three others, which all still exist, was made in 1905, and was likewise modelled on the first seal.