Buchen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Buchen
Coat of arms Location
Coat of arms of Buchen
Buchen (Germany)
Buchen
Administration
Country Flag of Germany Germany
State Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region Karlsruhe
District Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis
Town subdivisions 14
Mayor Roland Burger
Basic statistics
Area 138.99 km² (53.7 sq mi)
Elevation 337 m  (1106 ft)
Population 18,820  (31/12/2006)
 - Density 135 /km² (351 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate MOS
Postal codes 74710–74722
Area code 06281
Website www.buchen.de

Coordinates: 49°31′18″N 09°19′24″E / 49.52167, 9.32333

Buchen is a town in Germany Neckar-Odenwald district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Odenwald forest, 23 km northeast of Mosbach.

[edit] History

In Roman times, a wall known as the Limes was built in the area as a fortification. Many stretches of this wall are still visible today.

The town is first mentioned as Buchheim in the records of the convent at Lorsch. The first owners were the monks of the abbey at Amorbach. When the abbey falls to the Bishop of Würzburg, Buchen goes with it.

In 1280, the town was given the rights of a city.

In 1303/1309, Buchen is sold to the Archbishop of Mainz, who rules there for 500 years. Because it took part in the Bauernkrieg, Buch lost many of its rights.

In the bubonic plague epidemic of the 14th century, about 1300 citizens of Buch were killed.

In 1717, lightening stuck the church, and half the town burned to the ground.

In 1803, with the dissolution of the lands of the bishopric of Mainz, the town fell to the new princes of Leiningen in Baden.

However, the citizens of Buchen participated in the Revolution of 1848, burning the records of the Leiningen rent offices. Despite the failure of the revolution, the citizens retained some of the rights they had fought for.

From 1971 to 1975, 13 surrounding towns were incorporated into Buchen.

[edit] References