Miltenberg

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For the district, see Miltenberg (district).
Miltenberg
Coat of arms of Miltenberg
Coat of arms
Miltenberg is located in Germany
Miltenberg
Miltenberg
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Location of Miltenberg within Miltenberg district
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Country Germany
State Bavaria
Admin. region Unterfranken
District Miltenberg
Government
 • Mayor Helmut Demel (Liberale Miltenberger)
Area
 • Total 60.18 km2 (23.24 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)[1]
 • Total 9,197
 • Density 150/km2 (400/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 63897
Dialling codes 09371
Vehicle registration MIL
Website www.stadt-miltenberg.de

Miltenberg is a town in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia (Unterfranken) in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named district and has a population of over 9,000.

Geography

File:Blick auf Miltenberg.jpg
View from the Main of Miltenberg

Location

The old town lies on the Main’s left bank on the "left knee" of the Mainviereck ("Main Square") between the Spessart and Odenwald ranges. Since the Main riverbed in the Miltenberg area is relatively near the foot of the Odenwald, only a narrow strip of usable land is left, which in past centuries was time and again flooded by the Main. The historic centre, which stands on this land, often sustained considerable damage in these floods. Only in the 21st century efficient flood control measures, most of all a wall, have significantly reduced the adverse effects of these floods. Since about the beginning of the 20th century, after buying land from the neighbouring community of Großheubach, Miltenberg has been expanding on the right bank.

History

File:Miltenberg AltesRathaus Mildenburg 2003.jpg
Historic old town and Mildenburg

Even as far back as prehistoric and early historical times, people knew about the strategic importance of the bottleneck at the Main "knee" between the Odenwald and the Spessart, building mighty circular ramparts on the Greinberg above Miltenberg and on the Bürgstadter Berg (hills). About 155 AD, the Romans laid down the almost dead straight "Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes" on the Main. Near today’s Miltenberg, the Limes came up against the Main, which from here northwards formed the Roman Empire’s natural border with Germania. Remnants of two Roman castra can be found nearby, one between Miltenberg and Bürgstadt (Kastell Miltenberg-Ost) and the other between Miltenberg and Kleinheubach (Altstadtkastell).[2]

File:Altstadtkastellmiltenberg02.jpg
Computer reconstruction of the Roman Altstadtkastell.

Under the protection of the castle Mildenburg (built about 1200), the town of Miltenberg took hold. It had its first documentary mention in 1237. By about 1379, the two town towers, the Mainz Gate (Mainzer Tor) and the Würzburg Gate (Würzburger Tor) formed the eastern and western boundaries of today’s historic centre, which grew narrow and long between the river and the steep slope. Already by the Middle Ages, Miltenberg's red buntsandstein was highly sought-after, with products such as grindstones and columns being hewn in the surrounding woods. Even before 1319, the Spital St. Peter (hospital) was founded by Archbishop Peter of Aspelt.

File:Miltenberg De Merian Hassiae.jpg
Miltenberg – excerpt from the Topographia Hassiae by Matthäus Merian the Younger, 1655
File:HeuneSaeuleMainzHinweisPlatte.png
Inscription on the Heunensäule

Until 1803, Miltenberg belonged to Electoral Mainz. After securalization and the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss, Miltenberg passed to the Principality of Leiningen, with which it was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Baden in 1806. After having become part of the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1810, the town finally became part of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1816.

The so-called de (Heunensäulen) were made near Miltenberg. They are special bunter columns meant for Mainz Cathedral when it was built more than a thousand years ago. The master builder, however, decided that they were not needed, so they never became part of the cathedral. One of them now stands in Mainz’ cathedral square, a gift to the city on the occasion of the cathedral's 1,000th anniversary in 1975. An explanatory plaque has been attached to the column.

Miltenberg has a historic centre featuring many timber-frame houses. In 1912 and 1951, Miltenberg acquired lands on the Main’s right bank to expand the town.

The castle Mildenburg has been under the town’s ownership since 1979. In 2010/2011, the castle was renovated. It now houses a museum of icons and contemporary art (Museum.Burg.Miltenberg). The castle’s inner ward once held the Teutonenstein, a 5 m-tall sandstone column the inscription of which is still a puzzle to this day. The Teutonenstein is now in the Museum.Stadt.Miltenberg at the historic market square.

In 2006, the town made national headlines when parish priest Ulrich Boom rang the bells for 20 minutes during a rally of the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany, thereby disrupting the event.[3] Ulrich Boom later became Auxiliary Bishop.

Amalgamations

The following villages were amalgamated into Miltenberg:

  • 1 January 1971: Breitendiel
  • 1 January 1976: Mainbullau
  • 1 January 1976: Schippach (with Berndiel)
  • 1 January 1976: Wenschdorf (with Monbrunn)

Economy

Tourism is very important for the economy of Miltenberg. Visitors are mainly day trippers from the urban agglomerations in Hesse (Hanau, Offenbach am Main, Darmstadt, Frankfurt), but bunter sandstone, some small and medium enterprises and crafts and trade are also important.

Governance

Mayors

  • 1870-1905: Jakob Josef Schirmer
  • 1906-1924: Franz Breitenbach
  • 1925-1930: Roland Schmid
  • 1930-1933: Wilhelm Schwesinger
  • 1933-1935: Josef Funk
  • 1935-1945: Anton Burkart
  • 1945-1951: Oskar Sermersheim
  • 1952-1966: Anton Blatz
  • 1966-1978: Ludwig Büttner
  • 1978-1990: Anton Vogel
  • 1990-2014: Joachim Bieber
  • since 2014: Helmut Demel

Town council

The council is made up of 21 council members with seats apportioned thus:

  • CSU 7 seats
  • SPD 3 seats
  • B.90/Die Grünen together with ödp 2 seats
  • Liberale Miltenberger 6 seats
  • Miltenberger Wahlgemeinschaft e.V. MWG 2 seats
  • Freie Wähler 1 seat

(as of the municipal election held in March 2014)

Town twinning

Miltenberg currently has two twin towns:

Sponsorship

In 1960, the sponsorship for the Sudeten Germans driven out of the town of Duchcov was undertaken, which eventually resulted in the town-twinning.

Coat of arms

The town’s arms might be described thus: Quartered, first and fourth squares are gules with a wheel of six spokes in argent, second and third squares are argent with the letter M in gules.

Miltenberg belonged from its founding in the 13th century until the Old Empire’s downfall in 1803 to Electoral Mainz which is the origin of the Wheel of Mainz. The M first appeared in a seal from the early 16th century that also included Saint Martin, as had earlier seals. The current arms are based on those that were once seen on the now vanished Schindtor, a town gate.[4]

Arts and culture

Hotel Zum Riesen

Main sights

  • Historic town centre with the Schnatterloch, the historic market square which served as a location for some scenes of the film The Spessart Inn (1958). Nearby are the Hotel Zum Riesen (one of Germany’s oldest inns, if not the oldest) and the old town hall
  • Mildenburg (the local castle) with the "Museum.Burg.Miltenberg"
  • Town museum "Museum.Stadt.Miltenberg"
  • Mainz Gate (Mainzer Tor)
  • Würzburg Gate (Würzburger Tor)
  • The Laurentiuskapelle ("Saint Lawrence’s chapel") near the Mainz Gate with its abutting graveyard from about the 14th century.

Tourism

Miltenberg lies on the Fränkischer Rotwein Wanderweg ("Franconian Red Wine Hiking Trail"), which was established in 1990, and leads from Großwallstadt through Miltenberg to Bürgstadt.

A new concept was introduced with the Route der Industriekultur Rhein-Main (“Rhine-Main Industrial Culture Route”), which covers the 160 km between Miltenberg and Bingen. Industrial buildings in this area provide the visitors with the opportunity to learn about the industrial heritage in a regional context[5] 700 buildings have already been scientifically catalogued, including Miltenberg’s old railway station.

Gallery

  • St Jakobus Miltenberg.jpg

    Church St. Jakobus

  • Miltenberg östl. Tor.jpg

    The Würzburg Gate east of the town center

  • Miltenberg Schnatterloch.jpg

    Schnatterlochtor

  • MIL141026-001.jpg

    Market square Miltenberg

  • MIL141026-002.jpg

    Market square Miltenberg

  • MIL141026-010.jpg

    Mainstreet Miltenberg

Regular events

  • On the first weekend in July, the Town Festival (Stadtfest) is held.
  • In late July, the Mildenburger Theatertage (“Theatre Days”) take place.
  • Beginning on the last weekend in August and for ten days, the Michaelismesse ("St Michael's Fair"), the biggest fair on the Bavarian Lower Main (Bayerischer Untermain), is held (despite the similarity in names, it is not Michaelmas, which falls on 29 September, a month later).

Infrastructure

Transport

Miltenberg lies on the railway line from Aschaffenburg to Wertheim (Main Valley Railway). Moreover, the de (Seckach-Miltenberg Railway; Madonnenlandbahn) branches off here towards Seckach. There are hourly connections to Aschaffenburg by day. In 1977, Deutsche Bundesbahn closed the terminus station right near the town (de (Miltenberg Hauptbahnhof)) and replaced it with de (Bahnhof Miltenberg), a through station on the other side of the river.

Miltenberg is linked to the urban agglomerations in Hesse, where many inhabitants work. In 2008, the town bypass, which had been discussed and planned for more than 25 years was completed. The construction costs, a sum of €55,000,000, were for the first time ever in Bavaria financed by a public-private partnership scheme.

Education

In Miltenberg various kinds of schools are represented:

Notable people

Honorary citizens

  • de (Wilhelm Klingenstein; Wolf Klingenstein) (b. 24 May 1833; d. 27 February 1916), he later changed his first name to Wilhelm or William, born in Miltenberg, tobacconist and importer of tobacco products in London, conferred 3 April 1911: Klingenstein's substantial donations enabled among others the funding of the new synagoge in Miltenberg [6]
  • de (Johann Jakob von Hauck) (b. 22 December 1861; d. 23 January 1943), Archbishop of Bamberg, conferred 2 May 1921: His birth town recognized von Hauck’s services to the Diocese of Würzburg, in which Miltenberg lies, by making him an honorary citizen.
  • de (Matthias Ehrenfried) (b. 3 August 1871; d. 30 May 1948), Bishop of Würzburg, conferred 19 April 1927: Ehrenfried was honoured for building an episcopal boys’ seminary, “Kilianeum” in Miltenberg.[7]

Sons and daughters of the town

People linked with the town

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Bernhard Oswald, Das Limes-Kastell Miltenberg-Altstadt, Plexus-Verlag Amorbach 2009, ISBN 978-3-937996-18-9 computer graphics by Dominic Stefani and Martin Goebel
  3. ↑ Der Glöckner vom Untermain. Tagesspiegel, 27 November 2006
  4. ↑ Description and explanation of Miltenberg’s arms
  5. ↑ Neue Wege zur alten Industriekultur. Frankfurter Rundschau on 27 Nov. 2006
  6. ↑ W. O. Keller, 775 Jahre Stadt Miltenberg 1237-2012. Beiträge zur Stadtgeschichte, Miltenberg 2012, ISBN 978-3-87707-864-8
  7. ↑ Source: Karlheinz Spielmann: Ehrenbürger und Ehrungen in der Bundesrepublik. 1965

External links


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