Mörfelden-Walldorf

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mörfelden-Walldorf


Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Administrative region	Darmstadt
District	Groß-Gerau
Population	33,441 (2004)
Area	44.16 km²
Population density	757 /km²
Elevation	100 m
Coordinates	50°0′ N 8°35′ E
Postal code	64546
Area code	06105
Licence plate code	GG
Mayor	Bernhard Brehl
Website	moerfelden-walldorf.de

The title of this article contains the character ö. Where it is unavailable or not desired, the name may be represented as Moerfelden-Walldorf.

Mörfelden-Walldorf is a town in the Groß-Gerau district, lying in the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Region in Hesse, Germany.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Politics
- 3.1 Coat of arms
4 Sightseeing
- 4.1 Festivals
- 4.2 Museums
5 See also
6 Reference
7 External links

[edit] Geography

[edit] Location

Mörfelden-Walldorf lies in the triangle formed by the South Hessian cities of Frankfurt am Main, Darmstadt and Wiesbaden, near Frankfurt International Airport.

[edit] Neighbouring communities

Mörfelden-Walldorf borders in the north on the district-free city of Frankfurt am Main and the town of Neu-Isenburg (Offenbach district), in the east on the town of Langen and the community of Egelsbach (both in Offenbach district), in the south on the community of Erzhausen, the town of Weiterstadt (both in Darmstadt-Dieburg) and the community of Büttelborn, and in the west on the town of Groß-Gerau, the community of Nauheim and the town of Rüsselsheim.

[edit] Constituent communities

As its name suggests, Mörfelden-Walldorf consists of two constituent communities named Mörfelden and Walldorf. There would have been a third one, called Guntheim, which once lay in what is now Mörfelden-Walldorf's municipal area, but it was forsaken in 1647.

[edit] History

Mörfelden was first mentioned in the "Lorscher Reichsurbar" of 830 to 850 under the name "Mersenualt". The church was mentioned as early as 1304 as being the "Parish Church with branch at the Gundhof". During the Middle Ages, the surrounding forests belonged to the Dreieich Royal Hunting Woods (Wildbann Dreieich), which maintained one of its 30 woods in Mörfelden. In 1600, Mörfelden passed to Hesse-Darmstadt. In the 19th century, the village developed itself into a workers' community. It was raised to town in 1972.

Walldorf was founded in 1699 as "Waldenserkolonie am Gundhof", was given the name Walldorf in 1715 and was raised to town in 1962.

From about 1935 to 1944, there was a concentration camp in Walldorf into which were brought 1,700 Jewish girls and women from Hungary to work at runway and taxiway expansion and repair at Frankfurt Airport. This chapter in the town's history had lain forgotten until 1972 when three interested youths rediscovered it. Since then, a film called Rollbahn has dealt with the theme.

The town of Mörfelden-Walldorf came into being on 1 January 1977 through the merger of the until then independent towns of Mörfelden and Walldorf in the face of pressure from Frankfurt to amalgamate with that city.

Guntheim is the third community in Mörfelden-Walldorf's history. It lay in Walldorf's northeast. It had its first documentary mention in 1307 under the name villa Guntheim. There was also a Gunthof nearby, but the Gunthof (always with the definite article) came to be part of Guntheim in the 15th century through division of inheritance. The village ceased to be a population centre in 1647

Guntheim was established in Merovingian times (481 – 560) as a Frankish military colony at the junction of some old Roman roads in the forest.

Nowadays, Mörfelden is famous in the province for their octoberfest celebrations which begin October 23 and conclude October 29. This week long festival is renowned for its 1/2 kilometer derby, each 20 meters there is a drink station where the contestant needs to finish a pint of local beer before he can continue with the race.

[edit] Politics

Traditionally strong in Mörfelden-Walldorf for many years have been the so-called workers' parties. Before 1933, both the then independent communities were KPD strongholds. For a long time, the Nazis could not gain a foothold in Mörfelden.

At the municipal elections held on 26 March 2006, the SPD remained the strongest party despite notable losses. The overall winner was the DKP, which has been represented on town council here since the 1970s.

Mörfelden-Walldorf's council is made up of 45 councillors, with seats apportioned thus, in accordance with municipal elections held on 26 March 2006:

Party	Share 2006	Share 2001	Change	Seats 2006	Seats 2001	Change
SPD	38.6%	43.7%	-5.1%	18	20	-2
CDU	28.4%	26.8%	+1.6%	13	12	+1
Greens	16.3%	16.4%	-0.1%	7	7	0
DKP/LL	11.6%	8.3%	+3.3%	5	4	+1
FDP	5.0%	4.8%	+0.2%	2	2	0

The mayor is the SPD politician Bernhard Brehl.

[edit] Coat of arms

Mörfelden-Walldorf's civic coat of arms might heraldically be described thus: In gules an oak tree with six leaves and three acorns argent, thereover per saltire two flails Or, entwined about which, ends downturned, a horseshoe sable.

The town's current arms are a composite of Mörfelden's and Walldorf's old arms from the time before they were united.[1]

Both Mörfelden's and Walldorf's arms had an oak tree as one of the charges, the former having a red oak on a silver shield and the latter the reverse. Furthermore, Mörfelden's arms had the black horseshoe over the oak whereas Walldorf's had the crossed golden flails.

Walldorf only began using arms in the early 19th century, at which time the mayor's chain of office bore a shield with the oak, the flails and the letter W. Much the same composition was officially adopted as the village's arms in 1927, but without the W. The oak is said to stand for the forests, especially the Dreieich Hunting Woods, and the flails are said to symbolize agriculture.[2]

Mörfelden's armorial history is somewhat longer. A seal from 1612 (but dating from the previous century) has more or less the same composition, with the oak and the horseshoe. Likewise, the oak stands for the Dreieich Hunting Woods. The horseshoe is apparently an older village symbol. The arms were adopted in 1900, although this was not made official until 1926.[3]

There also seems to have been a compromise as to the number of leaves borne by the oak. Mörfelden's arms had five and Walldorf's had eight, whereas Mörfelden-Walldorf's have six.

[edit] Sightseeing

Half-timbered houses in Mörfelden

Fountain and more half-timbered houses

Evangelical church in Mörfelden

Historic inn "Goldener Apfel"

Walldorf: Gundhof
Mörfelden: Dalles
Mörfelden: Watertower

[edit] Festivals

Merfeller Kerb (church fair on St. Gallus's Day – 16 October)
Walldorfer Kerb (church fair)
Historienfest am Gundhof (history fair)
Latwejefest
Jazzfest
Faschingsdisco "Rummel im Dschungel"
Altstadtfest (Old Town Festival – not regular)
„Rund um die Kersch“ (Kirche) (Evangelical parish festival)
Vatertag im Dreiklang (Stadium festival of Mörfelden SKV sport and cultural association)
Grillfest am Dalles des Kegelclubs Olympia Mörfelden
Anglerfest Walldorf
Hüttenfest der Angler Mörfelden
Gickelfest Walldorf
Hinkelfest Mörfelden
Weinfest (wine festival)

Gottesdienste in der Hüttenkirche

[edit] Museums

Mörfelder Heimatmuseum
Walldorfer Heimatmuseum

(both local history museums)

[edit] See also

Waldensians

[edit] Reference

This article is based on a translation of an article from the German Wikipedia.

[edit] External links

Towns and municipalities in Groß-Gerau district

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../m/%C3%B6/r/M%C3%B6rfelden-Walldorf_9dca.html"

Category: Towns in Hesse