- Greifenstein
Infobox Ort in Deutschland
Name = Greifenstein
Wappen = Wappen Greifenstein (Hessen).png
lat_deg = 50 |lat_min = 36 |lat_sec = 34
lon_deg = 08 |lon_min = 14 |lon_sec = 35
Lageplan = Lahn-Dill-Kreis Greifenstei.png
Bundesland = Hessen
Regierungsbezirk = Gießen
Landkreis = Lahn-Dill-Kreis
Höhe = 273
Fläche = 67.43
Einwohner = 7230
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 35753
Vorwahl = 02775, 02779, 06449, 06473, 06478, 06477
Kfz = LDK
Gemeindeschlüssel = 06 5 32 010
LOCODE = DE GFS
Adresse = Herborner Straße 38
35753 Greifenstein
Website = [http://www.greifenstein.de/ www.greifenstein.de]
Bürgermeister = Martin Kröckel
Partei = parteilosGreifenstein is a community in the
Lahn-Dill-Kreis inHesse ,Germany . Its administrative seat is Beilstein. Greifenstein covers 67.43 km² on the eastern slope of theWesterwald range. Its name comes from thecastle of the same name in the constituent community of the same name, where the German Bell Museum ("Deutsches Glockenmuseum") is to be found, with about 50 bells showing the development of bell pouring.Geography
Neighbouring communities
Greifenstein borders in the northwest on the community of
Driedorf , in the north on the town ofHerborn and the community of Sinn, in the east on the community ofEhringshausen , in the south on the town ofLeun (all in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis) and the community ofLöhnberg , and in the southwest on the community ofMengerskirchen (both inLimburg-Weilburg ).Constituent communities
The community was founded as part of Hesse's municipal reforms in 1977 from the following centres (with population figures as at
31 December 2004 ):
* Allendorf: 1355 inhabitants
* Arborn: 609 inhabitants
* Beilstein: 1655 inhabitants
* Greifenstein: 631 inhabitants
* Holzhausen: 972 inhabitants
* Nenderoth: 408 inhabitants
* Odersberg: 285 inhabitants
* Rodenberg: 210 inhabitants
* Rodenroth: 438 inhabitants
* Ulm: 751 inhabitantstotal: 7409 inhabitants
History
Allendorf
Allendorf had its first documentary mention in 774. In the
14th century , the village was stricken with the Plague, and the population in outlying hamlets swiftly fell, and those left moved to the village. It is said that the name "Allendorf" comes from this episode in the village's history, specifically from the phrase "Alle ein Dorf" – "All one village".After the
Thirty Years' War , Allendorf becamePrussia n. The border with Nassau, no stranger to war, ran right by the village.In the early 1920s, the Ulmbach Valley
Railway came to town to transport raw materials from the Ulm Valley.In 1934, Allendorf became an independent community in the Wetzlar district.
Allendorf lost 75 young men in the fighting in the
Second World War . There is now a memorial to them. After the war, newcomers fromEast Prussia ,Pomerania andSilesia found new homes in Allendorf.In 1972, Allendorf was united with Ulm and Holzhausen into the community of Ulmtal, which was dissolved again in 1977 in the municipal reforms. Allendorf was then amalgamated into Greifenstein over citizens' protests at the "
Landtag " inWiesbaden .In the mid-1970s, Allendorf was a climatic spa and attracted tourists mostly from the
Ruhr area .Beilstein
Beilstein is the result of three neighbouring villages growing together, Beilstein, Haiern and Wallendorf, the last of which had its first documentary mention in 774. Beilstein itself was granted town rights on
18 February 1321 , but was stripped of them after the Thirty Years' War. Haiern only became part of Beilstein in 1941.Politics
Municipal council
The municipal elections on
26 March 2006 yielded the following results:Note: FWG is a citizens' coalition.Partnerships
*
Sankt Andrä-Wördern ,Austria since1980 Transport and infrastructure
The greater community lies in a triangle formed by the towns of
Wetzlar ,Weilburg and Herborn. The Ehringshausen and Herborn Süd Autobahn interchanges on the A 45 can be reached in 10 to 20 minutes, as is also true for Federal Highway ("Bundesstraße") 49. Each constituent community is connected to the bus network.From 1922 a railway line ran from the Lahntal Railway by way of Leun-Stockhausen, Leun-Bissenberg, Greifenstein's constituent communities of Allendorf, Ulm and Holzhausen to Beilstein. This line was once to have been built to Driedorf to meet the Westerwald cross-regional line. In the mid 1970s, however, passenger service ceased on the line, and in the early 1990s so did goods service, shortly whereafter the tracks were torn up.
Since the early 1970s, Allendorf has been home to a big event hall with seating for up to 600 people. In Beilstein, a sport hall is on hand. Each constituent community also has its own community house for events.
Education
The community has 3 kindergartens at its disposal in Allendorf, Beilstein and Nenderoth. Two
primary school s can be found in the community, namely in Allendorf and Beilstein.Tourism
Each constituent community has half-timbered houses, built in different styles, that are well worth seeing. Moreover, there are the following attractions:
* Greifenstein Castle with bell museum
* the "Altes Haus" ("Old House") in Holzhausen
* church with village well and 1000-year-old oak in Allendorf
* Beilstein Castle (partially reconstructed ruins), first mentioned in 1229, and church in BeilsteinFor athletes, the community has over 100 km of well built
cycling andhiking trails. One attraction is the Ulmbach Reservoir between Holzhausen and Beilstein. It offers acampground , asunbathing field and a bathing area. In summer, theDLRG sees to safety. The pathway (about 2.7 km long) is used by many hikers, cyclists, inline skaters and Nordic walkers.In Arborn is a weekend cottage neighbourhood that has an outdoor
swimming pool at its disposal. A further outdoor swimming pool is to be found in Nenderoth.Skilift s for winter sports can be found in Greifenstein and Arborn.Since 2002 there has been in Allendorf the "Outdoor-Center-Lahntal", a nature-linked leisure and adventure park. Overnight stays in
tepee s, and workshops for adults and children may be booked here.References
External links
* [http://www.greifenstein.de/ Greifenstein]
* [http://www.burg-greifenstein.net/ Greifenstein Castle]
* [http://www.glockenmuseum.de/ German Bell Museum]
* [http://www.outdoor-center-lahntal.de/ Outdoor-Center-Lahntal in Greifenstein-Allendorf]
*dmoz|World/Deutsch/Regional/Europa/Deutschland/Hessen/Landkreise/Lahn-Dill-Kreis/Städte_und_Gemeinden/Greifenstein|Greifenstein
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