Elz, Hesse

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Elz
Coat of arms Location
Coat of arms of Elz
Elz, Hesse (Germany)
Elz, Hesse
Administration
Country Flag of Germany Germany
State Hesse
Admin. region Gießen
District Limburg-Weilburg
Mayor Horst Kaiser (CDU)
Basic statistics
Area 16.86 km² (6.5 sq mi)
Elevation 130 m  (427 ft)
Population 7,980  (31/12/2006)
 - Density 473 /km² (1,226 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate LM
Postal code 65604
Area code 06431
Website www.elz.de
Location of Elz within Limburg-Weilburg district
Map

Coordinates: 50°25′00″N 8°2′00″E / 50.416667, 8.033333

Elz is a municipality and a village in Hesse, Germany. It is part of the Limburg-Weilburg district. It lies along the river Lahn. It has 8,088 inhabitants (2004).

Contents

[edit] Geography

The elevation is between 110m and 291m above sea level. Elz lies in a valley called "Limburger Becken", which surrounds the town of Limburg. Elz lies also in the valley of the "Elbbach", which flows into the river Lahn after passing Elz. The municipality of Elz borders the municipalities of Hundsangen, Hambach, Görgeshausen, Niedererbach, Obererbach and the towns of Hadamar (Niederhadamar) and Limburg.

The municipality of Elz consists of two villages: The village of Elz (7,743 inhabitants) and the village of Malmeneich (345 inhabitants). Average temperatures are 10.5°C in Elz and 9.9°C in Malmeneich. Though this sounds quite moderate, temperatures can vary between -20°C in winter and 40°C in summer. In an average year there are 600mm of rain in Elz and 720mm in Malmeneich.

[edit] History

Elz was first mentioned in a document from 933 AD, which doesn't exist any more. Political importance resulted from its position at the Hohe Straße, the former most important road between Frankfurt and Cologne, which still exists and is now part of the "Bundesstraße 8", which can be translated with Interstate 8. Elz got the town privileges in 1442. Soon a wall around the town was constructed but knocked down later.

[edit] Politics

The council consists of 31 members. 19 members are from the Christian Democrats, seven are from the Social Democratic Party, four from the Free Voters' Community and one is from the Green Party. The mayor Horst Kaiser is a Christian Democrat and was elected in 2005 with 84.8% of all votes.

[edit] Economy and infrastructure

In Elz there are more than 600 businesses with much more than 2,000 jobs. The industrial area lies at the B8 between Elz and Malmeneich.

[edit] Transportation

Elz is served by the B8, which goes from the Dutch border to Passau, and by the Autobahn 3, which connects Würzburg, Frankfurt and Cologne.

[edit] Public institutions

In Elz there is a big outdoor swimming pool, two gyms, several sport and tennis fields and two old people's homes.

[edit] Education

There are three kindergartens, two primary schools and one "Haupt- und Realschule" (part of the German secondary education).

[edit] Famous people