Amöneburg

Infobox Ort in Deutschland
Art = Stadt
image_photo = Amoeneburg.jpg
image_caption = View of the town from the east
Wappen = Wappen Amöneburg.pnglat_deg = 50 |lat_min = 47 |lat_sec = 52
lon_deg = 8 |lon_min = 55 |lon_sec = 23
Lageplan = Marburg Biedenkopf Amönebur.pngBundesland = Hessen
Regierungsbezirk = Gießen
Landkreis = Marburg-Biedenkopf
Höhe = 365
Fläche = 43.95
Einwohner = 5279
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 35287
Vorwahl = 06422
Kfz = MR
Gemeindeschlüssel = 06 5 34 001
Straße = Schulgasse 2
Website = [http://www.amoeneburg.de www.amoeneburg.de]
Bürgermeister = Michael Richter-Plettenberg
Partei = parteilos

Amöneburg (IPA2|aˈmøːnəbʊʁk) is a town in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany. It lies on a mountain and is built around the castle of the same name, "Burg Amöneburg".

Geography

Location

Amöneburg lies on a basalt cone that can be seen from a great distance, below which flows the river Ohm, a tributary to the Lahn. From the Vogelsberg massif in the southeast, Amöneburg is split by the Amöneburg Basin, a hollow suspected of being a meteorite crater. [http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/ccc/cc100202.html] In the southwest rise the Lahn Mountains.

Neighbouring communities

In the north, Amöneburg borders on the town of Kirchhain, in the east on the town of Stadtallendorf (both in Marburg-Biedenkopf), in the southeast on the town of Homberg (Vogelsbergkreis), and in the west on the community of Ebsdorfergrund (Marburg-Biedenkopf).

Communities within town

* Erfurtshausen
* Mardorf
* Roßdorf
* Rüdigheim

Coat of arms

Amöneburg's coat of arms depicts Saint Martin of Tours cutting off a piece of his cloak for a poor man. It is thus very similar in concept – although the colours are different – to Neustadt's coat of arms.

History

Findings from digs have suggested that the area was already settled in the New Stone Age. It is supposed that in Celtic times there was a town (or "oppidum") here. In 721, Saint Boniface built a small monastery and a church below the castle.

and its vassals. The parish of Amöneburg belonged to the archbishopric until 1803.

Amöneburg's rectangular market square was laid out in this shape in the 18th century. Also worth seeing is the "Mainzer Hof" with its barn and manor house at the Lindauer Tor (gate).

The adjoining church is a neo-Gothic basilica. On its north side stands the 14th-century church tower with its Baroque cupola.

Around the knoll that forms the townsite runs the town wall, still preserved to a great extent. A loop road offers good views of the surrounding countryside.

At the southeastern foot of the crags on which the town is built lies the "Brückermühle", and old mill, with an old stone bridge ("Ohmbrücke") across the river Ohm, which was an historically important crossing. It is known from the Hessians' and Brunswickers' fight against the French in 1762, recalled nowadays by a Baroque obelisk in the yard outside the "Brückerwirtshaus" (inn).

Abandonments

Around Amöneburg, the abandoned communities of Brück, Brunsfort, Gerende, Heuchelheim, Lindau, Radenhausen and Wanehusen may be found.

Politics

Town council

As of municipal elections held on 26 March 2006, town council seats are apportioned thus:

Transport

Somewhat north of Amöneburg runs Federal Highway B 62 (Biedenkopf - Alsfeld) with connections to B 454 to Schwalmstadt and B 3 towards Marburg. Rail connections are not to be had right in Amöneburg. One must instead travel 5 km north to Kirchhain.

Regular events

* Kirchweihfest (Church dedication festival, yearly, last weekend in August, organized by local clubs)

Museums

Museum Amöneburg: Prehistory and early history of the Amöneburg Basin, agricultural history, mediaeval fortifications and finds from digs, models and dioramas with explanatory notices, and in the attic rooms a nature preservation information centre.

Personalities

*Johannes Eisermann, called Ferraius Montanus, religious scholar, jurist and first rector of the University of Marburg.

Town partnerships

* Château Garnier, France, since 1974
* Tragwein, Austria
* Tuoro sul Trasimeno, Italy, since 1987There has also been a common "ring" partnership among these towns since 1997.

References

External links

* [http://www.amoeneburg.de/ Official website]
* [http://www.erziehung.uni-giessen.de/studis/Robert/amoeneburg.html St. Boniface and Amöneburg]
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