Lahntal

The municipality of Lahntal (German pronunciation: [ˈlaːntaːl], lit. 'Lahn Valley') is found in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district in northwest Middle Hesse, Germany.

Lahntal
Municipality
Coat of arms
Location of Lahntal within Marburg-Biedenkopf district
Lahntal Show map of Germany Lahntal Show map of Hesse
Coordinates: 50°51′N 08°41′E
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Admin. region	Gießen
District	Marburg-Biedenkopf
Subdivisions	7 Ortsteile
Government
• Mayor (2022–28)	Carsten Laukel[1]
Area
• Total	40.5 km2 (15.6 sq mi)
Highest elevation	500 m (1,600 ft)
Lowest elevation	200 m (700 ft)
Population  (2023-12-31)[2]
• Total	6,991
• Density	170/km2 (450/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	35094
Dialling codes	06420 / 06423
Vehicle registration	MR
Website	www.lahntal.de

Geography

Lahntal lies on the upper Lahn about 83 km north of Frankfurt am Main and about 7 km northwest of Marburg. In the north, it borders on the town of Wetter, in the east on the municipality of Cölbe, in the south on Marburg, and in the west on the municipality of Dautphetal.

West of the municipality rises the 498 m-high Rimberg.

Constituent municipalities

• Brungershausen
• Caldern
• Göttingen
• Goßfelden
• Kernbach
• Sarnau
• Sterzhausen

Population

As of December 31 2022, Lahntal has a population of 7,102 of which 49.6% are male ad 50.4% are female. 91.5% of the total population are Germans (49.3% male and 50.7% female) and 8.5% are "not Germans" (52.4% male and 47.6% female)^[3]

Population of each village (as of 30 June 2022)^[4]

• Brungershausen: 91
• Caldern: 1.315
• Göttingen: 297
• Goßfelden: 2.360
• Kernbach: 218
• Sarnau: 997
• Sterzhausen: 2.339

Politics

Municipal representation

(last municipal election: 14 March 2021)^[5]

Parties and voter coalitions		Share in %	Seats
CDU	Christian Democratic Union	20.9	6
SPD	Social Democratic Party of Germany	34.9	11
Greens	Alliance '90/The Greens	18.2	6
BLL	Citizens' List Lahntal	26.0	8
total		100	31

Coat of arms

Lahntal's civic coat of arms might be described thus: In gules an inescutcheon showing the shield of the Teutonic Knights (in argent a cross sable), laid over a fess wavy argent; behind the inescutcheon tilted dexter and turned sinister an abbess's staff Or with velum argent; spangled with seven trefoils, three above the fess and four below.

The coat of arms was adopted as part of the municipal reform in Hesse, and the wavy fess represents the municipality's namesake river. The clovers represent the seven constituent municipalities within Lahntal's bounds; moreover, the abbess's staff stands for Caldern, where there was once a convent, and the Teutonic Knights' shield stands for Goßfelden, which lies south of the river Lahn.

Municipal partnerships

• Stara Kiszewa, Poland
• Sussargues, France

Lahntal has been partnered since 6 April 1986 with the municipality of Sussargues, which lies in the department of Hérault in southern France, right near Montpellier (about 17 km) and the Mediterranean Sea. Lahntal and Sussargues lie about 1 050 km apart.

Between the Polish municipality of Stara Kiszewa and Lahntal, a municipality partnership was ceremoniously sealed in Poland on 10 January 2005. The underwriting of the intercommunal deal in Lahntal took place on 26 May 2006. Stara Kiszewa has about 6,200 inhabitants in some 20 centres, some quite small, and is in the powiat of Kościerzyna, about 80 km south of Gdańsk and 80 km west of Malbork in the tourist region of Kashubia.

Culture and Sightseeing

Buildings

• Rimberg Tower near Caldern
• Defensive church tower in Sterzhausen from the 12th or 13th century.
• Old Lahn Bridge in Goßfelden
• Otto-Ubbelohde-Haus in Goßfelden

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Running west–east through the municipal area is the Federal Highway (Bundesstraße) B 62 coming from Biedenkopf and going on towards Cölbe and farther to Alsfeld. In Lahntal-Göttingen, the B 252 from Diemelstadt and Korbach to the north comes to an end.

The Obere Lahntalbahn, a single-track Deutsche Bahn unelectrified secondary railway line run by DB's Kurhessenbahn subsidiary, joins Marburg by way of Biedenkopf and Bad Laasphe with Erndtebrück. Stops on the line may be found at Sarnau (full station), Goßfelden, Sterzhausen and Caldern.

Tourism

The municipality of Lahntal belongs, along with parts of its environs to the Burgwald region, the Lahn tourism region and the Lahn-Dill Nature Park; it also lies on the Lahntal bicycle trail.

Established enterprises

• Lauf&Masche

Personalities

Sons and daughters of the town

• Otto Ubbelohde, drawer and painter
• Christean Wagner, Hessian politician
• Dr. Richard Munz, awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz on ribbon on 17 January 2003

Others associated with the municipality

• Brothers Grimm