Gelnhausen

Gelnhausen
Gelnhausen
Location of the town of Gelnhausen within Main-Kinzig-Kreis district
Coordinates	50°12′N 9°10′E / 50.2°N 9.16667°E / 50.2; 9.16667Coordinates: 50°12′N 9°10′E / 50.2°N 9.16667°E / 50.2; 9.16667
Administration
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Admin. region	Darmstadt
District	Main-Kinzig-Kreis
Town subdivisions	6 districts
Mayor	Thorsten Stolz [1] (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area	45.18 km2 (17.44 sq mi)
Elevation	180 - 312 m
Population	21,510 (31 December 2010)[2]
- Density	476 /km2 (1,233 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate	MKK
Postal code	63571
Area code	06051
Website	www.gelnhausen.de

Obermarkt

Gelnhausen is a town and the capital of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approx. 40 kilometers east of Frankfurt am Main, between the Vogelsberg mountains and the Spessart range at the river Kinzig. According to the Institut Géographique National since 1 January 2007 the geographic centre of the European Union is exactly located on a wheat field outside the town at 50°10′21″N 9°9′0″E / 50.1725°N 9.15°E / 50.1725; 9.15 (Gelnhausen (27 members)).

History

Gelnhausen was founded by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1170, it is therefore nicknamed "Barbarossastadt". The place was chosen because it was at the intersection of the Via Regia imperial road between Frankfurt and Leipzig and several other major trade routes. Frederick had three villages united connected by streets and surrounded by a wall. At the same time Gelnhausen received town privileges and a Kaiserpfalz was erected on an island of the Kinzig river. The emperor also granted trade privileges like the staple right which forced traveling merchants to offer their goods in the town for three days.

Hence Gelnhausen initially was a thriving trade city and head of a league of 16 towns of the Wetterau region. However prosperity came to an end already in 1326 when Emperor Louis IV gave the town in pawn to the counts of Hanau. In 1349 Count Günther von Schwarzburg received Gelnhausen from Emperor Charles IV for renouncing his claims as elected King of the Romans. In 1435 it was acquired by Elector Palatine Louis III.

Continued plundering in the Thirty Years War as depicted by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen in his novel Simplicius Simplicissimus made it nearly uninhabitable. Varying lordships made continued attempts to challenge Gelnhausen's imperial immediacy, it however formally remained a Reichsstadt. During the German Mediatisation of 1803 it became a part of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, which after the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 was annexed by Prussia. At this time Gelnhausen had completely recovered and with the Gründerzeit economic boom became a centre of the German rubber industry.

From the 1930s Gelnhausen was a garrison town of the German Wehrmacht and, after World War II, of the United States Army. The US Army closed Coleman Kaserne in 1992.

Transport

Gelnhausen lies directly along the German autobahn A66. There is also a major railroad line between Frankfurt and Fulda. The local traffic from Frankfurt to Fulda or Wächtersbach stops in Gelnhausen.

Culture

Sites of interest

Barbarossa erected one castle here. There is still a medieval town center with its famous church that exhibits both romanesque and gothic architecture.

Kaiserpfalz

As a direct imperial palatinate town, Gelnhausen had a castle. It was erected at the time of Gelnhausen's foundation southeast of the town on an island in the Kinzig River. The groundwork is stabilized by 12,000 logs.

Today it is the best preserved palatinate castle from this era, with remarkable masonry.

Catholic Church "Saint Peter"

The church's origin lies in the early 13th Century. Rich citizens of Gelnhausen planned to erect a church within the town, causing a conflict with the Selbold monastery that owned the clerical patronage for Gelnhausen. This conflict was escalated up to Pope Gregory IX who decided in favour of the monastery.

From the 13th to the 15th Century the church was used for weddings, baptisms, and funerals.

After the Reformation the building became property of the town. It subsequently decayed and was sold in 1830 to a local merchant. After the demolition of the second tower, a cigar factory was built in it.

In 1920, the Catholic community of Gelnhausen bought the church and partly restored it over an 18-year period. A complete restoration took place during 1982-83.

Twin towns

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany

Gelnhausen is twinned with:

• Clamecy, France
• Marling, Italy

Notable people

• Jost Hoen, German teacher, pedagogue and statesman, born about 1500 in Gelnhausen, died 6 June 1569 in Dillenburg
• Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen, writer, born about 1622 in Gelnhausen, died 17 August 1676 in Renchen. In his famous work Simplicissimus, the sacking of Gelnhausen during the Thirty Years' War is graphically described.
• Johann Heinrich Cassebeer, born 1784 at Gelnhausen, naturalist and mayor of Gelnhausen, died 21 April 1850 at Biebergemünd
• Johann Philipp Reis, inventor of one of the first telephones, born January 7, 1834 at Gelnhausen, died 14 January 1874 at Friedrichsdorf
• August Brey, politician, member of the Weimar National Assembly, born August 1, 1864 at Gelnhausen, died 28 July 1937 at Ronnenberg
• Oskar Fischinger, film director, born June 22, 1900 at Gelnhausen, died January 31, 1967 in Los Angeles
• Hans Fischinger, film director, brother of Oskar, born September 15, 1909 at Gelnhausen, lost 1944 in Serbia
• Hans Joachim Fröhlich, forestry scientist and conservationist, born December 16 at Meerholz, Gelnhausen, died December 20, 2008
• Klaus Ploghaus, athlete (hammer throw, 3rd place in the 1984 Summer Olympics), born January 31, 1956 at Gelnhausen
• Wolfram Weimer, chief editor of the Cicero magazine, born 1964 at Gelnhausen
• Tia and Tamera Mowry, actresses, both born July 6, 1978 at Gelnhausen
• Jeremy Jones, news editor for ABC affiliate KTUL in Tulsa, Oklahoma was born November, 2nd 1981 at Gelnhausen.

Like many American soldiers, in 1959 Colin Powell, then lieutenant of the 3rd Armored Division, served at Coleman Kaserne. A street was named after him. During the Second Gulf War there was some discussion about renaming the street because of Germany's stance on the war. The mayor of Gelnhausen strongly objected. (Before and after Fotos of General-Colin-Powell-Street at bottom of display: http://www.1-33rdar.org/genpowell.htm )

References

1. ^ Old bürgermeister impeached mid-March 2010
2. ^ "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. 

External links

• Official site
• Kaiser Frederick 1 Barbarossa Hohenstaufen/Gelnhausen
• Bob Decker's Images from Gelnhausen History page
• Decker's Postcards (and other pictures) of Gelnhausen Page
• Large aerial from town centre looking West
• Another aerial looking west, with Barbarossa Castle ruins in centre foreground
• 1st Battalion 33rd Armor Reunion Site - Gelnhausen Germany - Coleman Kaserne
• 3rd Armored Division: photos of Gelnhausen
• Stolpersteine in Gelnhausen