Biedenkopf

Infobox Ort in Deutschland
Art = Stadt
Wappen = Wappen Biedenkopf.pnglat_deg = 50 |lat_min = 54 | lat_sec = 46
lon_deg = 08 |lon_min = 31 | lon_sec = 56
Lageplan = Marburg Biedenkopf Biedenko.pngBundesland = Hessen
Regierungsbezirk = Gießen
Landkreis = Marburg-Biedenkopf
Höhe = 261-674
Fläche = 90.33
Einwohner = 13599
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 35216
Vorwahl = 06461
Kfz = MR (bis 30. Juni 1974 BID)
Gemeindeschlüssel = 06 5 34 004
Gliederung = 9 Ortsteile bzw. Stadtbezirke
Straße = Hainstraße 63
Website = [http://www.biedenkopf.de/ www.biedenkopf.de]
Bürgermeister = Karl-Hermann Bolldorf
Partei = CDUThe climatic spa town of Biedenkopf is in western Hesse, in Germany.

Geography

Location

The town of Biedenkopf lies in the west of Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Ringed by mountains reaching up to 674 m above sea level – the Sackpfeife in the Rothaargebirge reaches this height – the town lies on the upper reaches of the river Lahn. Together with 18 other municipalities, it belongs to the Lahn-Dill-Bergland region

Neighbouring communities

Clockwise from the north, the following towns and communities border on Biedenkopf: the towns of Hatzfeld and Battenberg in Waldeck-Frankenberg district, in Marburg-Biedenkopf district the towns of Münchhausen am Christenberg and Wetter and the communities of Dautphetal and Breidenbach as well as the towns of Bad Laasphe and Bad Berleburg in Siegen-Wittgenstein district.

Divisions within the town

Christian communities

*Evangelical-Lutheran congregation of Biedenkopf
*Parish of St. Josef Biedenkopf (Roman Catholic)
*Free Evangelical Congregation of Biedenkopf
*New Apostolic Congregation of Biedenkopf
*Biblical Community of the Jesus Christ Oasis

Politics

Town council

Town council consists of 37 seats. At the last election in 2006, the seats were apportioned thus:
*CDU: 12 seats
*SPD: 12 seats
*FDP: 2 seats
*Bürgerblock Biedenkopf: 7 seats
*UBL Wallau: 4 seats

The CDU and SPD form a grand coalition.

Town partnerships

*Flagicon|France La Charité-sur-Loire, France
*Flagicon|Belgium Oostduinkerke, Belgium
*Flagicon|Belgium Wépion-sur-Meuse, Belgium
*Flagicon|Germany Neustadt an der Orla, Germany
*Flagicon|Italy Cogoleto, Italy
*Flagicon|Hungary Kecskéd, Hungary

Culture and sightseeing

Museums

* Schloss Biedenkopf (stately home) with Hinterlandmuseum
* Schartenhof Eckelshausen
* Wallau village museum
* Dorfstube Engelbach
* Private "Holder" tractor museum in Engelbach

Music

* [http://www.eckelshausener-musiktage.de/ Eckelshausener Musiktage ("music days")]
* Harmonica orchestra and mouth organ group

Parks

* Town park below the community centre

Sport

* indoor swimming pool at the community centre
* Lahnauenbad (outdoor swimming pool)
* indoor and outdoor swimming pool in Wallau community
* four sports halls in the main community (Großsporthalle, Stadtschule, Lahntalschule, Jahn-Halle)
* Großsporthalle (sports hall) in Wallau, gymnasium in Weifenbach
* Aue-Tenniscenter
* Franz-Josef-Müller-Stadion (stadium)
* Sports field in Wallau, football pitches in most communities
* riding hall
* shooting range
* Trimm-Dich-Pfad ("Trim-Yourself-Path")
* Perfstausee (reservoir) with bathing beach

Regular events

*Every seven years, the town holds a "Grenzgang" in which people walk around the borders of the town's forest (see External links).

Culinary specialities

The "Kartoffelbraten" – or popularly the "Brott" – is a typical Biedenkopf culinary custom which has grown out of the autumn potato harvest. In many places in the forest, traditionally in early autumn, the tasty tuber is cooked in the glow of a heap of charcoal made from freshly felled beechwood. The unpeeled potato tastes best with butter, salt, liverwurst and salad. For the "Biedenkopfer Kartoffelbraten", only three kinds of salad are traditionally served: radish salad, onion salad and herring salad.

Economy and infrastructure

Planning

In the 2001 Middle Hesse Regional Plan, the former district seat ("Kreisstadt") Biedenkopf is designated the middle centre in the rural area. The town is part of the "Marburg - Dautphetal - Biedenkopf - (Bad Laasphe)" development belt. This belt's job is to open up the region, to make possible an exchange of goods and services between middle centres as well as to connect the region to the high centre of Marburg and to the long-distance transportation network. Building on public transport is thus given special importance.

Moreover, there exists a local transport and population belt, "Dillenburg - Steffenberg - Breidenbach – Biedenkopf", with a regional connective function. Together with Dautphetal and Breidenbach, Biedenkopf is described as a commercial hub.

Transport

Highway

* Federal Highway (Bundesstraße) 62
* Federal Highway 253
* Federal Highway 453

Alongside the two regional buslines 481 (RKH line 5301) and 491 (RKH line 5356), other local buses serve the town.

Railway

The "Obere Lahntalbahn" is the only railway line that serves the town. In May 1987, passenger traffic towards Dillenburg on the "Scheldetalbahn" was discontinued. Minor freight services persisted for a few years serving the Buderus firm until December 2002.

Biedenkopf is joined by the "Obere Lahntalbahn" (a Deutsche Bahn line) to Erndtebrück in Siegen-Wittgenstein district and the town of Marburg by way of Bad Laasphe, Dautphetal and Lahntal. The railway serves three stations in Biedenkopf: Wallau, Biedenkopf- Schulzentrum and Biedenkopf. On weekdays there are 21 journeys between 5:30 and 21:00, on Saturdays 13 between 6:45 and 19:00 and on Sundays 12 between 8:45 and 19:00. All trains allow bicycles.

Established enterprises

In Biedenkopf and its outlying communities, machine manufacture and mould making have always been strongly represented. Among the companies in this business are Meissner AG (model- and toolmaking), Banss Schlacht- und Fördertechnik GmbH and CFS (packing systems, formerly Krämer & Grebe Tiromat). Furthermore, processing synthetic products is another of the town's industries, represented by, among others, the firm Elkamet.

Media

The daily newspaper with the greatest market share in Biedenkopf is the "Hinterländer Anzeiger" owned by the Lahn-Dill newspaper group (flagship paper: the "Wetzlarer Neue Zeitung"). A local section can also be found for the old district of Biedenkopf in Marburg's "Oberhessische Presse", itself a regional paper. Furthermore, there is a whole range of advertising flyers such as "Hinterland extra" from the "Oberhessische Presse", the MAZ ("Mittelhessische Anzeigen Zeitung", or Middle Hesse Advertising Newspaper) or the "Sonntag Morgenmagazin" ("Sunday Morning Magazine") from publishing houses in Gießen.

Public institutions

* Police station
* Branch of the Marburg-Biedenkopf State Council Office (with vehicle licensing, job centre, folk high school, building and youth office as well as the authority responsible for foreigners)
* Financial office (branch of the Marburg-Biedenkopf financial office)
* Employment agency (branch of the Wetzlar office)
* Kreishandwerkerschaft Biedenkopf (district craftsmen's association)
* Branch of the Dillenburg "Industrie- und Handelskammer" (IHK, Chamber of Industry and Commerce)
* Medienzentrum Biedenkopf – one of three places in Marburg-Biedenkopf where educational media can be rented
* Pension office of the Biedenkopf Evangelical Deaconate.

Biedenkopf also has a DRK hospital with 110 beds. Alongside surgery, the areas of specialization include gynaecology and obstetrics, internal medicine, and urology.

Education

* Gymnasium (Lahntalschule Biedenkopf)
* Real- and Hauptschule (Stadtschule Biedenkopf)
* Professional schools
* Biedenkopf primary school
* Primary school and Hauptschule (Mittelpunktschule Wallau)
* Folk high school

State institutions

Since 1953, Biedenkopf has been host to a "Hessischer Rundfunk" VHF and television transmission facility on the "Sackpfeife". The antenna are borne by a 210-m guyed steel-lattice mast with a diagonal cross-section measure of 1.8 m. Its position is 50°57'8"N, 8°32'1"E.

Personalities

Sons and daughters of the town

* Karl-Heinz Schneider, bearer of the "Verdienstkreuzes am Bande" (bestowed 28 April 2004)
* Wilhelm Henkel, bearer of the "Verdienstkreuzes am Bande" (bestowed 9 January 2004)
* Gretel Henkel, bearer of the "Verdienstmedaille" (bestowed 9 January 2004)

References

External links

* [http://www.biedenkopf.de Biedenkopf's official webpage]
* [http://www.Wallau-Lahn.de Wallau/Lahn community]
*
* further links
* [http://www.grenzgang-biedenkopf.de Official "Grenzgang" page]