Ländchen

This article is about the historic region in Hesse, Germany. For the morainic landforms in Brandenburg, see Ländchen (Havelland).

The Ländchen is an historic area east of Wiesbaden, Germany. It consisted of the ten villages Breckenheim, Delkenheim, Diedenbergen, Igstadt, Langenhain, Massenheim, Medenbach, Nordenstadt, Wallau, and Wildsachsen, as well as Domäne Mechtildshausen. For three centuries, it was a Hessian owned territory between the Countship of Nassau in the west and the territory of the Archbishopric of Mainz in the east. It should not be confused with the Blue Ländchen at Nastätten.

Breckenheim, Delkenheim, Igstadt, Medenbach, and Nordenstadt are now boroughs of Wiesbaden. Domäne Mechtildshausen is also part of the borough of Wiesbaden-Erbenheim. Diedenbergen, Langenhain, Wallau, and Wildsachsen are now boroughs of Hofheim am Taunus. Massenheim is a borough of Hochheim am Main. The Ländchen gives its name to a railway line, the Ländchesbahn, which traverses its territory.

History

Territory of Eppstein in 1607, shown in a map by Wilhelm Dilich

The Ländchen was sold by Count Gottfried IX (X) of Eppstein-Münzenberg in 1492 to the Landgrave William III "The Younger" of Hesse.[1] In 1526, Landgrave Philipp I "the Magnanimous" led the population to Protestantism. Until the 20th century, the Ländchen was a purely Protestant territory. Thus, the census of December 1, 1910 counted only 248 Catholics and 133 Jews among its 7818 inhabitants.

In the Thirty Years War, the population fell to just 400 citizens in 1630. By 1821, the population was up to 4805.

As a result of the Secularization of 1803, the Ländchen, as well as the adjacent territories of the Archbishopric of Mainz, were given to the Principality of Nassau-Usingen (which would become part of the Duchy of Nassau in 1806).[2]

References

  1. ↑ Staatsarchiv Marburg Kopiar 14, Nr. 5, Bl. 12-21v und Staatsarchiv Marburg Kopiar 21, Nr. 34 Bl. 153-176v. (lgr.online.uni-marburg.de)
  2. ↑ P. Wagner: Die Bildung des Herzogtums Nassau und das nassauische Fürstenhaus. In: Karl Jacobi (Hrsg.): Nassauisches Heimatbuch. Gebrüder Petmecky, Wiesbaden 1913.

Source

Coordinates: 50°5′N 8°22′E / 50.083°N 8.367°E / 50.083; 8.367

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, October 03, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.