Löhnberg

Infobox German Location
Wappen = Wappen Löhnberg.svg
lat_deg = 50 |lat_min = 31
lon_deg = 08 |lon_min = 16
Lageplan = Limburg-Weilburg Löhnberg.pngBundesland = Hessen
Regierungsbezirk = Gießen
Landkreis = Limburg-Weilburg
Höhe = 145
Fläche = 33.85
Einwohner = 4370
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 35792
Vorwahl = 06471
Kfz = LM
Website = [http://www.gemeinde-loehnberg.de www.gemeinde-loehnberg.de]
Bürgermeister = Jörg Sauer

Löhnberg is a community north of Weilburg in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany.

Geography

Location

Löhnberg lies between Wetzlar and the district seat of Limburg an der Lahn.

Neighbouring communities

Löhnberg borders in the north on the community of Greifenstein, in the east on the towns of Leun and Braunfels (all three in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis), in the south on the town of Weilburg, and in the west on the communities of Merenberg and Mengerskirchen (all three in Limburg-Weilburg).

Constituent communities

Löhnberg’s "Ortsteile" are Löhnberg (administrative seat), Niedershausen, Obershausen and Selters.

History

All three constituent communities had their first documentary mention in the late 13th or early 14th century, although in Selters’s case it is rather unclear as the village has the same name as both Selters in Rhineland-Palatinate and Selters in the Taunus. A document from the year 1317, however, can unequivocably be said to refer to Selters an der Lahn, now the Löhnberg constituent community, although it seems likely that the place might have been mentioned earlier. In 1324, the Laneburg, a castle belonging to Nassau, was first mentioned. It must have been built shortly before this. At that time, Löhnberg’s main centre was still called "Heimau" and was granted under this name town rights in 1321. However, the new town had its growth stunted because it lay so near Weilburg and also because it was pledged in 1344 to the Nassau line whose seat was there. The Laneburg had its own church by 1342 and as of 1355 a priest. In the Reformation, the community became Evangelical. In the late 16th century, the Laneburg was converted into a Renaissance palace and for a short time was a Nassau-Dillenburg residence. In 1900, the castle was gutted by fire.

The constituent community of Obershausen had its first documentary mention in 1310, and Niedershausen in 1296.

Within the framework of administrative reform in Hesse in the 1970s, the formerly autonomous communities of Löhnberg, Niedershausen, Obershausen and Selters an der Lahn, which had belonged to the old Oberlahnkreis, merged into a new collective community of Löhnberg.

Politics

Community council

The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:

Town partnerships

Löhnberg maintains partnership arrangements with the following places:
*flagicon|Switzerland Ostermundigen, Bern, Switzerland since 1979
*flagicon|Germany Auleben, Thuringia, Germany

Sightseeing

Museums

* "Lahneburgmuseum für Geologie und Paläontologie"

Buildings

In Löhnberg stands the Laneburg. Furthermore, there are the Evangelical castle church from 1738 and the Catholic church of Saint Hedwig’s parish.

Economy and infrastructure

In the outlying centre of Selters are two bottling businesses that market the mineral water that is recovered there, one of which is the countrywide famous "Selterswasser", marketed throughout Germany.

Transport

Through the community runs "Bundesstraße" 49 (Limburg - Wetzlar).

With its railway station on the "Lahntalbahn", Löhnberg is linked to the railway network.

Education

In Löhnberg there is one primary school named "Grundschule auf dem Falkenflug". Secondary schools are available in the nearby town of Weilburg.

Public institutions

* Kindergarten HABAKUK Löhnberg
* Kindergarten "Kleine Strolche" Niedershausen
* Löhnberg Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1901 (includes Youth Fire Brigade)
* Niedershausen Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1901 (includes Youth Fire Brigade)
* Obershausen Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1934 (includes Youth Fire Brigade)
* Selters Volunteer Fire Brigade, founded 1934

Famous people

* Hermine Spies-Hardtmuth (b. 25 February 1857 in Löhnberger Hütte; d. 26 February 1893 in Wiesbaden) was a German opera singer. She was said to be one of Europe’s leading contraltos and an outstanding interpreter of works by Johannes Brahms, with whom she was friends.

* Wilhelm Kremer. He was Mayor of Löhnberg and Hessian State Chairman of the VdK (service club for the handicapped, chronically ill, elderly).

External links

* [http://www.gemeinde-loehnberg.de/ Löhnberg] de icon
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