Bad Orb
| Bad Orb | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Bad Orb seen from Molkenberg | ||
| ||
  Bad Orb | ||
Location of Bad Orb within Main-Kinzig-Kreis district  | ||
| Coordinates: 50°13′N 09°21′E / 50.217°N 9.350°ECoordinates: 50°13′N 09°21′E / 50.217°N 9.350°E | ||
| Country | Germany | |
| State | Hesse | |
| Admin. region | Darmstadt | |
| District | Main-Kinzig-Kreis | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Helga Uhl | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 47.78 km2 (18.45 sq mi) | |
| Population (2013-12-31)[1] | ||
| • Total | 9,395 | |
| • Density | 200/km2 (510/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) | |
| Postal codes | 63619 | |
| Dialling codes | 06052 | |
| Vehicle registration | MKK, GN, SLÜ | |
| Website | www.bad-orb.de | |
Bad Orb is a spa town in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 32 km east of Hanau, between the forested hills of the Spessart. Bad Orb has a population of over 9,000. Its economy is dominated by the health and tourism sectors.
Geography
Location
Bad Orb is located in the valley of the Orb, a tributary of the Kinzig. The town is surrounded by the wooded hills of the Spessart. The closest larger cities are Hanau, Aschaffenburg and Frankfurt to the southwest and Fulda to the northeast.
Neighboring communities
From the north, clockwise, Bad Orb borders on Wächtersbach, Bad Soden-Salmünster, the unincorporated area Gutsbezirk Spessart, Jossgrund and Biebergemünd.
History
The region was inhabited by Celts by c. 650 BC (see Alteburg (Biebergemünd)), but it is not known whether they were aware of the local salt deposits.
Bad Orb was first documented in 1059 AD and received its town privileges in 1244 AD - which included the minting of a coin, the Orber Hälbling (one half Pfennig). The remains of the town wall that still exist today also originate from this time.
The historic trading route (and modern day long-distance hiking trail) Eselsweg ("donkey trail") that runs to Großheubach in the district of Miltenberg from Schlüchtern passes Bad Orb. In the past, this route was used to transport salt to the Main River.
The extraction of salt from several salt springs formed the town. There were 11 Salinas (one of which has been renovated and preserved), sometimes called thorn houses or salt works, belonging in the decoction facility, in which brine dripped over a total length of 2,050 meters of blackthorn twigs in order to raise the salt concentration of the water before boiling. The production of "white gold" reached its high point in the 17th and 18th centuries.
After secularization Bad Orb, which had belonged to the Electorate of Mainz, eventually became a part of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1814. After the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Bad Orb became Prussian in 1867. In 1884, a children's medical facility was founded by the brothers Friedrich Hufnagel and Wilhelm Hufnagel - today known as the Spessart-Klinik. After 1900, brine began to be used as an alternative medicine. Bad Orb was named a nationally certified spa town in 1909. The remaining salina today is used for medical treatments, especially inhalation and relaxation.
From 1939 to 1945, Bad Orb was the site of a POW camp named Stalag IX-B located on the nearby hill Wegscheideküppel. The camp held Soviet, American, French, Italian and Serbian soldiers. Toward the end of the war the conditions at Stalag IX-B deteriorated precipitously, as a result of poor supply and scarcity of fuel. There is a monument to the Soviet dead located at a graveyard south of the former camp site.
Economy
Bad Ord is a spa town. Hospitals, rehabilitation and physical therapy facilities and medical doctors dominate. Next to the health sector, tourism is the most important industry.
Government
The mayor is Helga Uhl.
Town twinning
Attractions
Bad Orb features an old town with numerous half-timbered houses, surrounded by the extensive remains of the medieval town wall including towers and a gate house. Notable examples of architecture include the buildings in Hauptstraße, the Henkershaus, Alt-Orb, Goldenes Rad and Salzgrafenhaus. The old castle hosts a town museum.[2]
There are two churches: St. Martin is a Gothic hall church from the 14th century. It burned down in 1983, but was rebuilt in 1984-5. Martin-Luther-Kirche was built 1902-3 in Gothic revival style. It features two loaned bells from Silesia and East Prussia. The altar bible was a gift from Empress Augusta Victoria.[2]
The town offers many amenities to the spa guests, including the Saline and the Kurpark. The forests around Bad Orb sport a network of hiking and biking trails.
There is also the Spessart Wildpark, established in 1937.[3]
Infrastructure
Bad Orb is home to the Frankfurter Schullandheim Wegscheide, a summer camp for children founded in 1920 on the grounds of the former army training camp which served as a POW camp in World War II, and the "Spessart Clinic", a children's hospital founded in 1884.
Utilities
Like in other communities in the area, such as Biebergemünd, Flörsbachtal and Jossgrund, there is currently controversy over plans to build towering wind farms on the wooded peaks surrounding the town of Bad Orb. Environmentalists and many locals reject these plans due to the destruction of forests and animal habitats, possible health risks to residents, as well as threats to local property values and, in particular, to the tourism/spa business as a result of a declining attractiveness of the region to visitors and patients. It is also questioned whether local winds are strong and constant enough to allow economical operation of the wind farms.[4]
References
- ↑ "Die Bevölkerung der hessischen Gemeinden". Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt (in German). September 2014.
- 1 2 "Bad Orb - 950 Jahre (German)". Gemeinde Bad Orb. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ↑ "Spessart Wildpark (German)". Spessart Wildpark. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
- ↑ "Bad Orb ohne Windkraft (German)". Gegenwind Bad Orb e.V. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bad Orb. |
 |
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Bad Orb. |
|