Eschenburg

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For the 19th-century German literary critic see Johann Joachim Eschenburg.

Eschenburg


Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Administrative region	Gießen
District	Lahn-Dill-Kreis
Population	11,296 (31/12/2005)
Area	45.71 km²
Population density	235 /km²
Elevation	425 m
Coordinates	50°49′ N 8°22′ E
Postal code	35713
Area code	02774 02770 Hirzenhain
Licence plate code	LDK
Mayor	Götz Konrad
Website	Gemeinde Eschenburg

Eschenburg is a community in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Culture, leisure and sightseeing
4 Economy and infrastructure
5 Reference
6 External links

[edit] Geography

About 20 km², or 43.8%, of the municipal area is wooded, 9.85 km² of this being municipal forest, and the rest state forest.

[edit] Location

The individual communities within Eschenburg lie on the river Dietzhölze and in its side valleys and high dales in the Rothaargebirge's foothills. Eschenburg lies in the northern Lahn-Dill-Kreis, some 10 km northeast of Dillenburg and 23 km east of Siegen.

[edit] Neighbouring communities

Eschenburg borders in the north on the communities of Dietzhölztal (Lahn-Dill-Kreis) and Breidenbach, in the east on the communities of Steffenberg and Angelburg (all three in Marburg-Biedenkopf), in the south on the community of Siegbach, in the southwest on the town of Dillenburg, and in the west on the town of Haiger (all in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis).

[edit] Constituent communities

Eschenburg comprises the centres of Eibelshausen – which is also the administrative seat – Eiershausen, Roth, Simmersbach, Wissenbach, Hirzenhain Ort and Hirzenhain Bahnhof.

Centre	Population	Area (km²)	Area (%)	(31 December 2005)
Eibelshausen	4055	6.858	15.0%
Eiershausen	992	5.487	12.0%
Hirzenhain	2264	9.558	20.9%
Roth	592	7.833	17.1%
Simmersbach	1412	7.22	15.8%
Wissenbach	1981	8.754	19.2%
Eschenburg	11,296	45.71	100%

[edit] History

It is known from archaeological finds that there were settlers in what is today Eschenburg as far back as Celtic times. Eschenburg had its first documentary mention in the 13th century. Quite early on in its history, ores such as silver, nickel, copper and iron were being mined in various places, and slate and diabase were being quarried. This resulted in metalworking and hammering mills being established in the area. Only recently have archaeological digs shown the groundwork of a mediaeval forest smithy in Wissenbach.

The founding of the greater community came on 1 October 1971 through a voluntary merger of Eibelshausen, Eiershausen and Wissenbach. On 1 July 1974, the communities of Hirzenhain, Simmersbach and Roth, all from the former district of Biedenkopf, also joined, bringing today's greater community of Eschenburg into being two years before municipal reform. The 589 m-high mountain "Eschenberg", seven kilometres northeast of Dillenburg, is the newer community's namesake.

Among the six constituent communities, Eibelshausen is the biggest. It serves as a centre point in the middle Dietzhölze Valley, is the administrative seat, and is the centre for secondary education with Haupt- and Realschulen with a gymnasial branch for ten villages in the communities of Eschenburg and Dietzhölztal.

[edit] Culture, leisure and sightseeing

[edit] Museums

The Heimatmuseum (Local Museum) in Eibelshausen as well as the Eschenburg-Dietzhölztal Culture Group offer interesting exhibits and a cultural programme featuring great diversity.

[edit] Sightseeing

Worth seeing is the more than 750-year-old village of Hirzenhain with its gliderport and downhill skiing run. Hirzenhain is the world's second oldest gliderport.

Glider flying is maintained by the Hirzenhain Gliding Club, but even non-members can take part for a small fee.

In the countryside around Simmersbach, the Philippsbuche ("Philip's Beech") recalls Landgrave Philip I's homecoming after a five-year Spanish-Dutch imprisonment on 10 September 1552.

[edit] Exercise, sport and leisure places

In Eschenburg there are many sport clubs in which one can practise almost any discipline, from football and handball to athletics, gymnastics, tennis, and so on.

3 gymnasia
1 ski run with lift
1 multi-purpose hall
7 sport fields
3 shooting ranges with clubhouse
5 tennis courts
sports grounds
fitness-studio
football fields
2 long-distance cross-country skiing trails
gliderport (gliding and hang-gliding)
indoor swimming pool with outdoor basin and beach volleyball court

Barbecue areas and leisure facilities are available in the outlying centres. Nature trails through the woods, hiking trails, and protected areas for birds and scenery beckon hikers.

[edit] Historic personage

From Wissenbach came the violinist, violist, concert director and radical pietist religion founder Johann Daniel Müller, also known as Elias or Elias Artista (born 10 February 1716 in Wissenbach, died sometime after 1785, presumably in Riga).

[edit] Economy and infrastructure

[edit] Established businesses

BBT Thermotechnik GmbH Werk Eibelshausen
Rittal Großschaltschränke GmbH & Co. KG Werk Wissenbach

[edit] Public institutions

volunteer fire brigades in every centre
indoor swimming pool
youth centre in Eibelshausen
Sunday emergency medical service
Evangelical or open daycare centres in every centre
Catholic daycare centre in Eibelshausen
municipal library
houses for public events in every centre

[edit] Education

Primary schools in Eibelshausen, Wissenbach, Hirzenhain, Simmersbach and Eiershausen
Holderbergschule (Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium) in Eibelshausen