Weinbach
Weinbach is a community in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany. Geography. Location. Weinbach lies on the Lahn and the Weil between Wetzlar and Limburg an der Lahn. Neighbouring communities. Weinbach borders in the north on the town of Weilburg, in the east on the community of Weilmünster, and in the west on the community of Villmar and the town of Runkel (all in Limburg-Weilburg). Constituent communities. Weinbach is made up of eight "Ortsteile". The main centre is also called Weinbach, and the outlying centres are Blessenbach, Edelsberg, Elkerhausen, Freienfels, Fürfurt, Gräveneck and Kleinweinbach. History. Fürfurt was mentioned  in a document from sometime between 1148 and 1154, thus making it the first part of the community to have its first documentary mention. Elkerhausen’s first documentary mention came in 1191. The knightly family who lived there was heavily involved in a feud in the 14th century with the landlord, the Archbishop of Trier. The "Elkerhauser Wasserburg" (a moated castle) was destroyed in 1352. About 1500, there arose a stronghouse out of which a new castle grew. Edelsberg had its first documentary mention in 1246, Blessenbach in 1267 and Weinbach in 1344. Freienfels Castle was built about 1300, presumably  by the Diez family’s Weilnau branch. In 1327 it had its first documentary mention. Gräveneck Castle was built in 1395 by a knightly order under Nassau’s leadership to guard against the Knights of Elkerhausen. Today’s Evangelical church in Weinbach arose in 1728; the forerunner church’s Early Gothic quire was incorporated into this newer church. The history of the greater community of Weinbach began in 1970 when the formerly self-administering communities of Weinbach, Blessenbach, Freienfels and Gräveneck amalgamated in the course of municipal restructuring in Hesse. In 1974, the communities of Elkerhausen, Fürfurt and Edelsberg were  also merged into the greater community. Politics. The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results: Town partnerships. Weinbach has maintained a partnership arrangement with the Polish community of Debrzno, roughly 150 km southwest of Gdańsk in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, since 1992. Since 2005, another partnership has existed with the Czech community of Blatno, which lies roughly 50 km south of Chemnitz, right at the Reitzenhain border crossing above the town of Chomutov. Economy and infrastructure. Transport. Weinbach is linked to the long-distance road network by "Bundesstraße" 456. On the "Lahntalbahn" (railway) are stations in the  centres of Gräveneck and Fürfurt. Until 1969, the centre of Freienfels was also linked to the rail network by the now abandoned "Weiltalbahn". Education. Weinbach has one primary school (Karl-Schapper-Schule).