Biebergemünd | |
|---|---|
 The southern part of the municipality, seen from the southwest | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Biebergemünd within Main-Kinzig-Kreis district  | |
 Location of Biebergemünd | |
  Biebergemünd  Biebergemünd | |
| Coordinates:50°12′25″N9°16′47″E / 50.20694°N 9.27972°E /50.20694; 9.27972 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Hesse |
| Admin. region | Darmstadt |
| District | Main-Kinzig-Kreis |
| Subdivisions | 6Ortsteile |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2021–27) | Matthias Schmitt[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 78.45 km2 (30.29 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 200 m (660 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 135 m (443 ft) |
| Population (2023-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 8,347 |
| • Density | 106.4/km2 (275.6/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 63599 |
| Dialling codes | 06050 |
| Vehicle registration | MKK |
| Website | www.biebergemuend.de |
Biebergemünd (German pronunciation:[ˈbiːbɐɡəˌmʏnt]) is a municipality in theMain-Kinzig district, inHesse,Germany. It has a population of over 8,000 and lies in the wooded hills of theSpessart.
The name derives from the RiverBieber, which flows (mündet) into the Kinzig at Wirtheim.
Biebergemünd is mostly located in the Hessian part of theSpessart at elevations between 140 and 250 metres aboveNHN. Around 70% of the municipal territory is covered by forest.[3]: 2 In the north, the municipality extends into the valley of theKinzig river.
The municipality's territory borders on the state ofBavaria in the south. The neighbouring communities are (from the north, clockwise):Wächtersbach,Bad Orb,Jossgrund,Flörsbachtal,Wiesener Forst [de],Geiselbacher Forst [de] andHuckelheimer Wald [de] (three woodedgemeindefreie Gebiete, Bavaria),Kleinkahl (Bavaria),Linsengericht andGelnhausen.
Villages that belong toBiebergemünd, (population numbers for 2013):[4]
Pre-historichillforts were located on several hills in the area. Those on the hills Burgberg (Bieber), Alteburg (Kassel) and Hainkeller (Lützel) are attributed to theCelts, or more specifically to the lateHallstatt and earlyLa Tène cultures, circa 540 to 340 BC. Although the reason for this concentration of Iron Age settlements in this area is not known, it may be associated with the presence of ores and mining activities (see below).[5]: 6
The area is mentioned quite early in documentary sources: in 886 the settlementHegersfeld (Wirtheim) makes an appearance, followed by Wirtheim and Kassel in a gift byOtto II in 976. Although Bieber is a very old settlement, it only appears in written documents in 1339 (as the seat of a court of theArchbishop of Mainz administered by theCounts of Rieneck). Originally a poor village of foresters, its fortunes improved with the establishment of mines (first mentioned in 1494).Silver,copper,lead and (later)cobalt,nickel,bismuth andiron were mined in the area. Originally the Mainz authorities conducted the mining jointly with theLords of Hanau, but after 1546 Mainz left Hanau in charge. The local mining industry peaked in the 18th century under the family von Cancrin. In 1925, the mines were closed.[3]: 4 [6]: 60 [5]: 46
In 1736, Bieber fell to theLandgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt along with theCounty of Hanau.[6]: 60 It came to theKingdom of Prussia in 1866.[5]: 47
A local narrow-gauge track was built in 1885 to transport ore from the mines to the Kinzig valley at Gelnhausen. It covered a distance of around 23 km and was known as theSpessartbahn. After 1895 the trains also transported passengers. The last passenger service was discontinued in 1951.[5]: 47
The current municipality was created in the 1970s as part of theGebietsreform [de] in three steps: In 1970, Wirtheim and Kassel merged to become "Biebergemünd". In 1971, Bieber, Roßbach, Lanzingen, Breitenborn and Lützel merged to become "Bieber". Finally, in 1974 Biebergemünd and Bieber merged to become theGroßgemeinde Biebergemünd.[7]
Biebergemünd is located on theDeutsche Ferienroute Alpen–Ostsee [de], a markedscenic route for tourists.
The largest single private employer isEngelbert Strauss GmbH & Co. KG (founded in 1948), a manufacturer ofworkwear. Its number of employees has almost quadrupled from 300 ten years ago. Its annual turnover is in the "500 million to 1 billion euro" bracket.[8]
The smallBiebergrundmuseum in Bieber, opened in 2000, showed exhibits on local history. It closed on 3 May 2015, however. No date for reopening has yet been scheduled.[9]
Two signposted hiking trails, part of the European projectEuropäische Kulturlandschaft Spessart which point out cultural highlights and explain the ways in which human habitation has changed the landscape, are located in the municipality. The first focuses on the mining history of the area. The second highlights theCeltic presence at Kassel (at the prehistoric settlement known today asAlteburg).[10][11]
TheAlteburg is roughly 3 km east of Kassel. Its hill-top fortification covers an area of 5.1 hectares, with ramparts of up to 6 m height, surrounded by a moat. Access was by three gates. It mostly dates to the early Middle Ages, but made use of an earlier, Celtic hillfort.Radiocarbon dating has put the foundations in the range of 540 to 340 BC. The upper layers likely date from 705 to 905 AD.[5]: 6
The Burgberg, ca. 2 km from Bieber, also features traces of pre-historic walls and ramparts. More prominent are the remains of early medieval walls of up to 5 m height with a moat 5 to 7 m wide and up to 1.5 m deep. The fortification covers an area of 4.9 hectares and when in use had two gates.[5]: 6
The thirdcircular rampart is found on the Hainkeller, above the Lützelbach valley. It is a double ring fort that likely served as a local centre in the 4th and 3rd century BC. The distance between the inner and outer rampart averages 30 m. The inner circle covers an area of 2.4 hectares.[5]: 6
The Gothic parish church of Bieber was rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries and features a notable pulpit from 1797.[6]: 60
TheBurgbergkapelle St. Mauritius (chapel) on the Burgberg near Bieber dates to the 14th and 15th centuries. The interior is Baroque. The chapel stands close to the remains of acircular rampart, likely built in prehistoric times.[12]
Few traces remains of the historic mining activities near Bieber. The forest has covered the previously largely treeless hills around the Lochborn.[13] Since in early modern times mines usually had ceiling heights of just 50 centimetres, children or people suffering from stunted growth were often used as miners ("dwarves"). Bieber is one of the towns that may have inspired the legends about "dwarves" which served as the source of the fairy tale ofSnow White, as written down by theBrothers Grimm, who grew up in nearbySteinau an der Strasse. Thus Bieber marks the endpoint of theSchneewittchenweg hiking trail that crosses the Spessart fromLohr am Main.[14]: 80
In the south, Biebergemünd borders on the nature preserve of theWiesbüttmoor [de], a rare hanging bog, and theWiesbüttsee [de], an artificial lake created for mining operations in the 18th century.
The mayor of Biebergemünd is Matthias Schmitt, elected in 2021.
Wirtheim is located on theBundesautobahn 66 betweenHanau andFulda.Bundesstrasse 276 [de] crosses the municipality from northwest to southeast.[3]: 2
There is a railway stop at Wirtheim onthe line connecting Hanau to Fulda.[3]: 2 The narrow-gaugeSpessartbahn [de] from Gelnhausen to the former mining area at Lochborn (southeast of Bieber) was discontinued in 1951.
There are highly controversial plans to build several largewind farms in the municipality. If implemented, a total of around 50 wind turbines of 200 metres height would be erected in prominent positions on hills around Biebergemünd. Environmentalists and many locals reject these plans due to the destruction of forests and animal habitats, possible health risks to residents and a threat to local property values and, in particular, to the tourism business as a result of a declining attractiveness of the region to visitors.[15]
Biebergemünd has four kindergartens, 3Grundschulen and oneHaupt- und Realschule (seeEducation in Germany).[3]: 12–13
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