- Solms
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Solms 
SolmsLocation of the town of Solms within Lahn-Dill-Kreis district
Coordinates 50°32′23″N 8°24′26″E / 50.53972°N 8.40722°ECoordinates: 50°32′23″N 8°24′26″E / 50.53972°N 8.40722°E Administration Country Germany State Hesse Admin. region Gießen District Lahn-Dill-Kreis Mayor Jörg Ludwig (FWG) Basic statistics Area 34.05 km2 (13.15 sq mi) Elevation 144 m (472 ft) Population 13,408 (31 December 2010)[1] - Density 394 /km2 (1,020 /sq mi) Other information Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Licence plate LDK Postal code 35606 Area code 06442 Website www.solms.de County of Solms
Grafschaft SolmsState of the Holy Roman Empire ← 
1129–1258 
→
→Capital Solms Government Principality Historical era Middle Ages - Established 1129 - Partitioned to S-Braunfels
and S-Burg-Solms
1258 1258Full style: Count of Solms, Lord of Münzenberg, Wildenfels and Sonnenwalde County of Solms: Town of Solms
Grafschaft Solms-Burg-SolmsState of the Holy Roman Empire ← 1258–1415 →Capital Solms Government Principality Historical era Middle Ages - Partitioned from Solms 1258 - Annexed to S-Braunfels 1415 Solms is a town west of Wetzlar in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Hesse, Germany.
In the constituent community of Burgsolms once stood the ancestral castle of the Counts and Princes of Solms, whose main lines were Solms-Braunfels, with their seat in Braunfels, and Solms-Hohensolms-Lich, with their seat in Lich.
Contents
Geography
Location
Solms lies right in the Lahn valley and is nestled between the foothills of both the Taunus and Westerwald at heights from 140 to 400 m above sea level. It is about 7 km west of Wetzlar and 30 km northeast of Limburg an der Lahn.
Neighbouring communities
Solms borders in the north on the community of Ehringshausen and the town of Aßlar, in the east on the town of Wetzlar, in the south on the community of Schöffengrund, and in the west on the town of Leun (all in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis).
Constituent communities
The town consists of the following centres:
- Albshausen
- Burgsolms
- Niederbiel
- Oberbiel
- Oberndorf
History
Solms had its first documentary mention in 788 in a donation document from the Lorsch Monastery. The villages that nowadays form the town of Solms belonged for centuries to the County of Solms, until this was dissolved in 1806. After a short while being part of the Duchy of Nassau, they passed to Prussia in 1815.
As part of Hesse's municipal reforms, the communities of Albshausen and Oberbiel voluntarily merged on 1 July 1971 to form Bielhausen, while Burgsolms and Oberndorf did the same to form Solms. By state law, these two new communities were amalgamated with Niederbiel on 1 January 1977 to make the new greater community of Solms, which in 1978 was granted town rights.
A new residential area has been being built on the western edge of Oberbiel since the 1990s.
Politics
Town council
The municipal elections in 2001 yielded the following results:
Party Seats Freie Wählergruppe (FWG) 13 Social Democratic Party (SPD) 11 Christian Democratic Union (CDU) 8 Free Democratic Party (FDP) 2 Greens 2 Note: FWG is a citizens' coalition.
Town of Solms Youth Council
Since 2002 there has been a Town of Solms Youth Council serving as the town's official board representing youth's interests and needs. It is elected every two years by children and youths who either live in the town or go to the comprehensive school.
Partnerships
The town of Solms maintains partnerships with the following places:
Economy and infrastructure
The town is headquarters to the firm Leica Camera AG which currently employs about 1,300 people worldwide.
Oberbiel is also home to two commercial-industrial areas. A shipping company has set up shop at the newer one, while the older one, on an island in the river Lahn, was established in the early 20th century. It was originally home to a brad factory, a wireworks and a ball bearing factory.
Sightseeing
- Kloster Altenberg (Altenberg Monastery) of the blessed Gertrud von Altenberg, Saint Elisabeth's daughter (Oberbiel)
- "Grube Fortuna" Visitors' Mine (Oberbiel)
- Jewish Cemetery (Burgsolms)
- Burgsolms Youth Centre (Stadionstraße 26), as well as youth areas in all constituent communities
References
- ^ "Die Bevölkerung der hessischen Gemeinden" (in German). Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt. 31 December 2010. http://www.statistik-hessen.de/static/publikationen/A/AI2_AII_AIII_AV_10-1hj_pdf.zip.
- This article incorporates information from the German Wikipedia.
External links
Towns and municipalities in Lahn-Dill-Kreis Aßlar | Bischoffen | Braunfels | Breitscheid | Dietzhölztal | Dillenburg | Driedorf | Ehringshausen | Eschenburg | Greifenstein | Haiger | Herborn | Hohenahr | Hüttenberg | Lahnau | Leun | Mittenaar | Schöffengrund | Siegbach | Sinn | Solms | Waldsolms | Wetzlar
Categories:- Towns in Hesse
- Former principalities
- Former countries in Europe
- States of the Holy Roman Empire
- States and territories established in 1129
- States and territories disestablished in 1258
- States and territories established in 1258
- 1258 disestablishments
- Youth councils
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