Großheubach

Großheubach
Großheubach, seen from Engelberg Großheubach, seen from Engelberg
Coat of arms
Großheubach
Location of Großheubach within Miltenberg district 250px
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Unterfranken
District	Miltenberg
Government
• Mayor	Günther Oettinger (CSU)
Area
• Total	19.00 km2 (7.34 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)
• Total	5,139
• Density	270/km2 (700/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	63920
Dialling codes	09371
Vehicle registration	MIL
Website	www.grossheubach.de

Großheubach (or Grossheubach) is a market community in the Miltenberg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia (Unterfranken) in Bavaria, Germany.

Geography

Location

Großheubach lies on the right bank of the Main. The community is located on the slopes of the Mittelgebirge Spessart. The highest point in the municipal area is the 439 m-high Ospisrain. Großheubach is located on the Fränkischer Rotwein Wanderweg ("Franconian Red Wine Hiking Trail"). Across the Main lie the hills of the Odenwald.

Subdivisions

The hamlets of Klotzenhof and Roßhof are part of the municipality Großheubach.

History

Earlier names for Großheubach are Heidebah and Grotzenheidbach. Großheubach derives from the Heubach which flows into the Main here. The area was first settled about 1000 BC, as witnessed by urnfields and graves. About 900, Großheubach had its first documentary mention. About 1200, the place was held by the Lords of Klingenberg, the Lords of Bickenbach and the Teutonic Knights. About 1300, the community’s first chapel was built on the Rulesberg (hill), now known as the Engelberg. From 1483, Großheubach belonged to the Archbishopric of Mainz, and did so until 1803. In 1612, the historic town hall was built.

In 1816, Großheubach became Bavarian. In 1828, Kloster Engelberg was taken over by the Franciscans. In 1896, the old town church was expanded and today’s parish church thereby came into being.

Government

Community council

The council is made up of 20 council members with seats apportioned thus:

• CSU 9 seats
• SPD 7 seats
• PWG 4 seats

Coat of arms

The community’s arms might be described thus: Per pale, argent a saltire pattée sable and gules a wheel spoked of six of the first.

The black saltire (X-shaped cross) comes from a village court seal from 1654 and refers to the hegemony once exercised by the Teutonic Knights (although their coat of arms showed an upright cross). The Wheel of Mainz and the tinctures argent and gules (silver and red) refer to the community’s later feudal overlord, the Archbishopric of Mainz, which held Großheubach until the end of the Old Empire in 1803.

The arms have been borne since 1956.

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

Saint Peter’s parish church

In 1247, the church had its first priest, and in 1519, it acquired its first bell. In 1609, a massive fortress church was built in the Romanesque style with defensive towers, parapets and battlements. Between 1895 and 1897, the church underwent remodelling, giving it its current appearance. In 1949, the church acquired four bells. On 1 August 1958, the churchtower was destroyed in a storm. In 1987, the church was renovated.

Historic town hall

File:Großheubach - Historisches Rathaus - Seite.jpg

Historic town hall of Großheubach

This was built in 1611 and 1612 by master builder Otto Oswald Heppeler in Old Franconian timber-frame style. The house served as a seat for a lower official of the Amt of Prozelten. The ground floor was used as a prison. Functioning as the house’s owners were Johann Schweikhard von Kronberg, Archbishop of Mainz and Elector, and Caspar Herr zu Eltz, Electoral Mainz Großhofmeister, councilman and Amtmann at Prozelten.

Abendanz’sches Haus

The Abendanz’sches Haus is a timber-frame house in Großheubach core built around 1600. Over the centuries, several conversions to the building were undertaken. After the restorations done between 1987 and 1990, the timber framing was exposed and the original façade was reconstructed. The house served as a dwelling for, among others, the wine merchant Johann Simon Abendanz and the last abbot of the Amorbach Abbey.

Engelberg Abbey

The Franciscan Kloster Engelberg with its well-known pilgrimage church was founded about 1300. The building, built in 1630 for the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, was on King Ludwig I’s orders turned over to the Bavarian Franciscans, who still run the abbey today. The Engelberg, the hill on which the monastery stands, which is 250 m above sea level, can be reached over the 612 so-called Engelstaffeln (roughly, "Angel's Steps") made out of bunter.

Hunnenstein

Once considered a possible heathen cult site, the natural sandstone known as Hunnenstein or Heunenschüssel, is found on a hill ridge near Engelberg Abbey, close to the Eselsweg.

Notable people

Sons and daughters of the town

• Guido Kratschmer (b. 10 January 1953), Decathlete and Olympic medallist

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• Municipal website