Biebergemünd

Biebergemünd
The southern part of the municipality, seen from the southwest The southern part of the municipality, seen from the southwest
Coat of arms
Biebergemünd
Location of Biebergemünd within Main-Kinzig-Kreis district
Coordinates:
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Admin. region	Darmstadt
District	Main-Kinzig-Kreis
Government
• Mayor	Manfred Weber
Area
• Total	78.55 km2 (30.33 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)
• Total	8,323
• Density	110/km2 (270/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	63599
Dialling codes	06050
Vehicle registration	MKK
Website	www.biebergemuend.de

Biebergemünd is a municipality in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hesse, Germany. It has a population of over 8,000 and lies in the wooded hills of the Spessart.

Etymology

The name derives from the stream Bieber, which flows (mündet) into the Kinzig at Wirtheim.

Geography

Biebergemünd is mostly located in the Hessian part of the Spessart at elevations between 140 and 250 metres above NHN. Around 70% of the municipal territory is covered by forest. In the north, the municipality extends into the valley of the Kinzig river.

The municipality's territory borders on the state of Bavaria in the south. The neighbouring communities are (from the north, clockwise): Wächtersbach, Bad Orb, Jossgrund, Flörsbachtal, de, de and de (three wooded gemeindefreie Gebiete, Bavaria), Kleinkahl (Bavaria), Linsengericht and Gelnhausen.

Biebergemünd has the following subdivisions (Ortsteile, population numbers for 2013):

• Bieber (2,228)
• Breitenborn/Lützel (400)
• Kassel (2,464)
• Lanzingen (632)
• Roßbach (755)
• Wirtheim (1,911).

File:Gemeinde Biebergemünd.PNG

A map of the constituent communities

History

The area is mentioned quite early in documentary sources: in 886 the settlement Hegersfeld (Wirtheim) makes an appearance, followed by Wirtheim and Kassel in a gift by Otto II in 976. Although Bieber is a very old settlement, it only appears in written documents in 1339 (as the seat of a court of the Archbishop of Mainz administered by the Counts of Rieneck). Originally a poor village of foresters, its fortunes improved with the establishment of mines (first mentioned in 1494). Silver, copper, lead and (later) cobalt and iron were mined in the area. The local mining industry peaked in the 18th century under the family von Cancrin. In 1925, the mines were closed.

In 1736, Bieber fell to the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt along with the County of Hanau.

The current municipality was created in the 1970s as part of the de in three steps: In 1970, Wirtheim and Kassel merged to become "Biebergemünd". In 1971, Bieber, Roßbach, Lanzingen, Breitenborn and Lützel merged to become "Bieber". Finally, in 1974 Biebergemünd and Bieber merged to become the Großgemeinde Biebergemünd.

Economy

Biebergemünd is located on the de, a marked scenic route for tourists.

The largest single private employer is de (founded in 1948), a manufacturer of workwear. Its number of employees has almost quadrupled from 300 ten years ago. Its annual turnover is in the "500 million to 1 billion euro" bracket.

Arts and culture

Points of interest

File:Burgbergkapelle.JPG

Burgbergkapelle St. Mauritius (Bieber)

The small Biebergrundmuseum in Bieber, opened in 2000, showed exhibits on local history. It closed on 3 May 2015, however. No date for reopening has yet been scheduled.

Two signposted hiking trails, part of the European project Europäische Kulturlandschaft Spessart which point out cultural highlights and explain the ways in which human habitation has changed the landscape, are located in the municipality. The first focuses on the mining history of the area. The second highlights the Celtic presence at Kassel (at the prehistoric settlement known today as Alteburg).

The Gothic parish church of Bieber was rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries and features a notable pulpit from 1797.

The Burgbergkapelle St. Mauritius (chapel) on the Burgberg near Bieber dates to the 14th and 15th centuries. The interior is Baroque. The chapel stands close to the remains of a circular rampart, likely built in prehistoric times.

Few traces remains of the historic mining activities near Bieber. The forest has covered the previously largely treeless hills around the Lochborn. Since in early modern times mines usually had ceiling heights of just 50 centimetres, children or people suffering from stunted growth were often used as miners ("dwarves"). Bieber is one of the towns that may have inspired the legends about "dwarves" which served as the source of the fairy tale of Snow White, as written down by the Brothers Grimm, who grew up in nearby Steinau an der Strasse. Thus Bieber marks the endpoint of the Schneewittchenweg hiking trail that crosses the Spessart from Lohr am Main.

In the south, Biebergemünd borders on the nature preserve of the de, a rare hanging bog, and the de, an artificial lake created for mining operations in the 18th century.

Government

The mayor of Biebergemünd is Manfred Weber.

Infrastructure

Transport

Wirtheim is located on the Bundesautobahn 66 between Hanau and Fulda. de crosses the municipality from northwest to southeast.

There is a railway stop at Wirtheim on the line connecting Hanau to Fulda. The narrow-gauge de from Gelnhausen to the former mining area at Lochborn (southeast of Bieber) was discontinued in 1951.

Utilities

There are highly controversial plans to build several large wind farms in the municipality. If implemented, a total of around 50 wind turbines of 200 metres height would be erected in prominent positions on hills around Biebergemünd. Environmentalists and many locals reject these plans due to the destruction of forests and animal habitats, possible health risks to residents and a threat to local property values and, in particular, to the tourism business as a result of a declining attractiveness of the region to visitors.

Education

Biebergemünd has four kindergartens, 3 Grundschulen and one Haupt- und Realschule (see Education in Germany).