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54-523: Seligenstadt is one of 13 towns and communities in the Offenbach district. The town lies on the river Main ’s left bank roughly 25 km southeast of Frankfurt am Main , directly neighbouring Bavaria . Seligenstadt borders in the north on the community of Hainburg , in the east on the community of Karlstein ( Aschaffenburg district in Bavaria), in the southeast on the community of Mainhausen , in

108-639: A Wallonian homeland here after the local population had been decimated by warfare, famine and the Plague . Names like Beike, Massoth, Bonifer, Dutine, Oger and Assian still bear witness to the earlier francophone settlers. According to a legend, the town's name has nothing to do with the transfer of the martyrs’ bones as related above, but rather with the above-mentioned Einhard, one of Charlemagne's advisers, with whose daughter, Emma (or Imma), Einhard ran away. He lived with her in Obermulinheim. The Emperor

162-640: A donation, he founded a Benedictine monastery here. Mentioned as an earlier owner is a Count Drogo. The bones of the martyrs Marcellinus and Peter , which had been stolen in Rome , were transferred from the basilica in Steinbach in the Odenwald to Obermühlheim, soon leading to a change in the community’s name from Obermühlheim to Seligenstadt ("town of the blessed ones" in German). About 830, building work began on

216-533: A richly decorated oriel, the house on Steinheimer Straße at the corner of Stadtmühlengasse (1697), Freihofplatz 3 (1567), the little house at Freihofstraße 4 and many others. The timber-frame neighbourhood along Rosengasse is called Klaa-Frankreich ( Frankreich means “France” in German ), for which there is a particular historical reason: After the Thirty Years' War , Abbot Leonhard Colchon settled people from

270-529: A rule. Newly minted salesmen then had to drink a whole litre of wine from the Geleitslöffel (“escort spoon”) without stopping to rest to earn entrance into the salesmen's association. Anyone who could not pass the so-called Nagelprobe (“nail test”) had to “treat” the merchants’ guild, and this specifically meant paying for the catering. This custom is, in moderated form, still today in Seligenstadt

324-638: A vital part of European " Corridor VII ", the inland waterway link from the North Sea to the Black Sea . In a historical and political sense, the Main line is referred to as the northern border of Southern Germany , with its predominantly Catholic population. The river roughly marked the southern border of the North German Federation , established in 1867 under Prussian leadership as

378-637: Is navigable for shipping from its mouth at the Rhine close to Mainz for 396 km (246 mi) to Bamberg . Since 1992, the Main has been connected to the Danube via the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and the highly regulated Altmühl river. The Main has been canalized with 34 large locks (300 × 12 m or 984 × 39 ft) to allow CEMT class V vessels (110 × 11.45 m or 360.9 × 37.6 ft) to navigate

432-526: Is said, yielded the town's name, from the word selig (“blessed”) and the word Stadt (“town”). This “quote” is still to be seen on the oriel at the so-called Einhardhaus (renovated in 1596) in Seligenstadt. The Seligenstädter Geleit (“Seligenstadt Escort”) is a custom that is unique in Germany from the Early Middle Ages , which has been preserved in altered form down to the present day. In

486-474: Is the Basilika St. Marcellinus und Petrus (also known colloquially as Einhard-Basilika ) with Saints Marcellinus's and Peter's relics. Today's structure is mostly Baroque , dating to a reconstruction on occasion of its 900th anniversary, but the nave of the original three-aisled church built by Einhard is still extant. The massive crossing tower is Baroque, but the two Romanesque revival towers flanking

540-707: The Landesgericht region of Darmstadt and the Oberlandesgericht region of Frankfurt am Main . Main (river) The Main ( German pronunciation: [ˈmaɪn] ) is the longest tributary of the Rhine . It rises as the White Main in the Fichtel Mountains of northeastern Bavaria and flows west through central Germany for 525 kilometres (326 mi) to meet

594-682: The Congress of Vienna divided his territories between the King of Bavaria , the Elector of Hesse , the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt and the Free City of Frankfurt . The modern Diocese of Mainz was founded in 1802, within the territory of France and in 1814 its jurisdiction was extended over the territory of Hesse-Darmstadt. Since then it has had two cardinals and via various concordats

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648-547: The Einhard-Basilika , the current version of which is now the landmark of Seligenstadt. Einhard died in 840 and he and his partner, Imma, are buried in a chapel in the northern transept of the church. In 1028, a Roman Catholic synod was held, whose most important result was the introduction of ember days with their strict rules for fasting . In 1063, Emperor Heinrich IV confirmed to the Archbishop of Mainz

702-567: The Hanau -Groß-Umstadt Wiebelsbach (- Erbach ) railway line ( Odenwaldbahn ). Today's Mainfähre (“Main ferry”, formerly known as “Newe”) is an untethered car ferry and crosses the Main at Main kilometre 69.60. It has been running since 1971. Before this there had been two or three (the exact number cannot be confirmed) ferries linking the Hessian town of Seligenstadt with the Bavarian side of

756-814: The Holy Roman Empire between 780–782 and 1802. In Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae , the substitute for the Pope north of the Alps. Aside from Rome, the See of Mainz is the only other see referred to as a "Holy See", although this usage became rather less common. This archbishopric was a substantial ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. The ecclesiastical principality included lands near Mainz on both

810-606: The Red Main ( Roter Main ) and the White Main ( Weißer Main ). The Red Main originates in the Franconian Jura mountain range, 50 km (31 mi) in length, and runs through Creussen and Bayreuth . The White Main originates in the Fichtel Mountains ; it is 41 km (25 mi) long. In its upper and middle section, the Main runs through the valleys of the German Highlands. Its lower section crosses

864-471: The Rhine below Rüsselsheim , Hesse . The cities of Mainz and Wiesbaden are close to the confluence. The largest cities on the Main are Frankfurt am Main , Offenbach am Main and Würzburg . It is the longest river lying entirely in Germany (if the Weser - Werra are considered separate). The Main flows through the north and north-west of the state of Bavaria then across southern Hesse ; against

918-579: The Rotes Schloss ("Red Palace""), only the Main façade is still standing with double and triple arcades with arches of red sandstone. With a ground area of 47 m × 14 m, this rectangular Kaiserpfalz was among the smaller ones. Perhaps the Emperor used it as a weekend residence or a small hunting lodge. The first restoration work took place in 1938; restoration work on the south and west walls has been ongoing since 1996. From around

972-465: The 12th century and strengthened in the 15th, originally had four gatetowers and six bulwark towers. Of the town gates, only the Steinheimer Tor from 1603-1605 is preserved; of the bulwark towers, three are still standing. The Kaiserpfalz ’s Main façade was integrated into the town wall, to which also wall and ditch complexes belonged. The greater part of the town fortification was torn down in

1026-405: The 19th century. The town hall at the marketplace was renovated in 1823 and stands out architecturally as the only Neoclassical building with great arcades in amongst many timber-frame houses. Two arms stones with dragon’s heads were integrated into the building from the predecessor building, itself documented in 1539. The square tower goes back to the old parish church, which was torn down once

1080-570: The Breitenbach valley arose the early mediaeval settlement of Mulinheim superior , or Obermühlheim. Seligenstadt had its first documentary mention on 11 January 815 in a donation document, under its then current name of Obermühlheim . The town was founded by Charlemagne ’s biographer Einhard . After he had acquired the Frankish settlement of Obermulinheim from Louis the Pious in 815 as

1134-764: The Lower Main Lowlands ( Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin and northern Upper Rhine Plain ) to Wiesbaden , where it discharges into the Rhine . Major tributaries of the Main are the Regnitz , the Franconian Saale , the Tauber , and the Nidda . The name Main originates from Latin Moenis , Moenus or Menus . It is not related to the name of the city Mainz (Latin: Mogontiacum or Moguntiacum ). The Main

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1188-518: The Main – the communities of Kahl and Dettingen . It is run by the Seligenstadt Town Works and incurs great losses every year due to, among other things, the high administrative costs. It has therefore been discussed many times whether it might be a better idea to build a bridge across the Main (as was done at Mainflingen ) or indeed to replace the car ferry with a pedestrian and cyclist ferry. There has also been talk of privatizing

1242-688: The Middle Ages, bands of merchants with their wagons came from all points on the compass to the Frankfurt Trade Fair . Merchants from Augsburg and Nuremberg had to come through the Spessart or along the Main to their rest stop at Seligenstadt. The way was dangerous, as the rich merchants were very much a worthwhile target for highwaymen and robber knights. Therefore, the Staufer Emperor Friedrich II put

1296-664: The Seligenstadt fools ( Narren ) call themselves “Schlumber” and their town “Schlumberland”. Each year, a Carnival Prince and Princess are chosen, as are two children to be the Child Prince and Princess. Besides the Rosenmontag parade, there is a Kinderfaschingsumzug (“Children’s Carnival Parade”) each year on the Sunday. Seligenstadt has its own Autobahn interchange on the A ;3 . Seligenstadt railway station lies on

1350-511: The accession of St. Boniface to the see in 747. Boniface was previously an archbishop, but the honor did not immediately devolve upon the see itself until his successor Lullus. In 1802, Mainz lost its archiepiscopal character. In the secularizations that accompanied the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss (" German mediatization ") of 1803, the seat of the elector, Karl Theodor von Dalberg , was moved to Regensburg , and

1404-502: The archbishopric, and their power struggles occasionally moved the citizens of Mainz to revolt. The lands of the elector lay around the city of Mainz on both banks of the Rhine ; their area reached 3200 sq. miles by the end of the Empire. The last elector was Karl Theodor von Dalberg , who lost his temporal power when the archbishopric was secularized in 1803. The Archbishop of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince in

1458-569: The building was heavily modified over the centuries, this is nonetheless one of the largest basilicas with a basic Carolingean structure north of the Alps. Nothing remains of the original Benedictine abbey built in the 9th century. The oldest extant buildings of Kloster Seligenstadt date from the 11th century. The most prominent are from the Baroque period, including the library and the Prälatur with its Kaisersaal (emperor's hall). The abbey

1512-526: The electorate lost its left bank territories to France , its right bank areas along the Main below Frankfurt to Hesse-Darmstadt and the Nassau princes, and Eichsfeld and Erfurt to Prussia . Dalberg retained the Aschaffenburg area however, and when the Holy Roman Empire finally came to an end in 1806, this became the core of Dalberg's new Grand Duchy of Frankfurt . Dalberg resigned in 1813 and in 1815

1566-461: The empire in 1806. The origin of the title dates back to 747, when the city of Mainz was made the seat of an archbishop, and a succession of able and ambitious prelates made the district under their rule a strong and vigorous state. Among these men were important figures in the history of Germany such as Hatto I , Adalbert of Mainz , Siegfried III , Peter of Aspelt and Albert of Brandenburg . There were several violent contests between rivals for

1620-501: The ferry to reduce costs. It is one of twelve ferries still crossing the Main today. As early as the 9th century there was a link in place across the Main, as the monastery at Seligenstadt held the rights to ferry persons and goods to the Main's far side. For money or kind, these rights were passed on, out of which arose something called Fährgerechtigkeit (“ferry justice”). This Fährgerechtigkeit remained mostly for many years in one family's ownership and could be further bequeathed. When

1674-591: The highlight of the Geleitsfest (“Escort Festival”), which is held every four years. The town of Seligenstadt is widely known for its Carnival parade, which snakes its way, traditionally on Rosenmontag ( Shrove Monday ), through the historic inner town and the neighbouring parts of town. There is proof that this Rosenmontag parade has existed since 1859. Nowadays the parade has more than a hundred elaborately built attractions, drawing an average of forty thousand interested visitors from near and far. At Carnival time,

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1728-604: The latter it demarcates a third state, Baden-Württemberg , east and west of Wertheim am Main , the northernmost town of that state. The upper end of its basin opposes that of the Danube where the watershed is recognised by natural biologists, sea salinity studies (and hydrology science more broadly) as the European Watershed . The Main begins near Kulmbach in Franconia at the joining of its two headstreams,

1782-487: The lawfulness of his ownership of the abbey. Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa held court in Seligenstadt in 1188. During his reign the community acquired town rights (around 1175). A royal court (or Kaiserpfalz ) was built on the banks of the Main during the reign of the Staufer family, however it is not certain whether this occurred under Barbarossa or one of his successors, possibly Friedrich II . Until 1309, Seligenstadt

1836-846: The left and right banks of the Rhine , as well as territory along the Main above Frankfurt (including the district of Aschaffenburg ), the Eichsfeld region in Lower Saxony and Thuringia, and the territory around Erfurt in Thuringia . The archbishop was also, traditionally, one of the Imperial Prince-Electors , the Arch-chancellor of Germany , and presiding officer of the electoral college technically from 1251 and permanently from 1263 until 1803. The see

1890-464: The marketplace and in rows along the nearby streets (particularly Steinheimer Straße, Kleine Fischergasse, Große Fischergasse, Kleine Maingasse, Große Maingasse and Freihofstraße). Examples at the marketplace are the Alte Schmiede (“Old Smithy”, no. 13, now a restaurant), nos. 7 and 10, the historic apothecary with the apothecary's emblem with a mortar, the so-called Einhard-Haus from 1596 with

1944-482: The merchants under Imperial protection with a Geleitsbrief , a kind of safe-conduct, in 1240. Every affected fiefholder thereafter was obliged to afford those passing through their lands armed escort for a fee. Near Seligenstadt the escort troops were changed. Electoral Mainz escort troops handed their charges to Frankfurt troops. From this time comes the Hänselbrauch , a custom among salesmen that actually became

1998-623: The monastery was dissolved in 1803, the Fährgerechtigkeit passed to the Grand Duchy of Hesse . In 1868, the town of Seligenstadt took over all rights and privileges for the Main crossing from the ferrymen of the time. The town then leased the ferrying rights to the highest bidder. Only after the Second World War did the town take the ferry over again. Seligenstadt has at its disposal an Amtsgericht , which belongs to

2052-609: The partnership with the Dutch community of Heel , which had existed since 1972, was ended by the community of Maasgouw , into which the former communities of Heel, Maasbracht and Thorn were amalgamated on 1 January 2007. The partnership with Heel went back to the partnership between the formerly self-administering community of Klein-Welzheim, now part of Seligenstadt, and the Dutch community of Wessem, which belonged to Heel then. Seligenstadt's most prominent landmark and historic building

2106-796: The predecessor of the German Empire . The river course also corresponds with the Speyer line isogloss between Central and Upper German dialects, sometimes mocked as Weißwurstäquator . The Main-Radweg is a major German bicycle path alongside the river. Approximately 600 kilometres long (370 mi), it is the first long-distance instance awarded 5 stars by the General German Bicycle Club ( ADFC ) in 2008. It starts from Creußen or Bischofsgrün and ends in Mainz . Archbishop of Mainz The Elector of Mainz

2160-661: The river is rather narrow on many of the upper reaches, navigation with larger vessels and push convoys requires great skill. The largest cities along the Main are Frankfurt am Main , Offenbach am Main and Würzburg . The Main also passes the following towns: Burgkunstadt , Lichtenfels , Bad Staffelstein , Eltmann , Haßfurt , Schweinfurt , Volkach , Kitzingen , Marktbreit , Ochsenfurt , Karlstadt , Gemünden , Lohr , Marktheidenfeld , Wertheim , Miltenberg , Obernburg , Erlenbach/Main , Aschaffenburg , Seligenstadt , Hainburg , Hanau , Hattersheim , Flörsheim , and Rüsselsheim . The river has gained enormous importance as

2214-520: The same time comes the so-called Romanisches Haus built in massive stone with great arcades on the ground floor. On the first floor are double arcades with middle column and arch and a blind arcade under the crow-stepped gable. In 1187, the building was the Vogtei and in 1188 the showplace for Barbarossa's court, which he held there that year. It was restored in 1984, and in the 21st century, cultural events take place here. The town fortification, built in

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2268-542: The south on the town of Babenhausen ( Darmstadt-Dieburg ) and in the west on the town of Rodgau . Seligenstadt's Stadtteile are Seligenstadt, Klein-Welzheim and Froschhausen. Seligenstadt is located in the Hanau-Seligenstadt Basin , a Cenozoic subsidence basin between the local highlands of Spessart and Odenwald . Quaternary fluvial deposits of the river Main overlying Pliocene , lignite bearing sequences and Miocene sands and marls form

2322-573: The subsurface of the town. Sometime about AD 100, during the reign of Roman Emperor Trajan , a cohort castrum was built on what is now Seligenstadt's marketplace and parts of its old town. Since the 16th century, this castrum has been referred to by the name Selgum . The 500 legionaries and auxiliary forces stationed there belonged to the Legio XXII Primigenia (or Roman 22nd Legion), based in Mogontiacum ( Mainz ). The cohort

2376-488: The total length of the river. The 16 locks in the adjacent Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and the Danube itself are of the same dimensions. There are 34 weirs and locks along the 380 km navigable portion of the Main, from the confluence with the Regnitz near Bamberg, to the Rhine. Most of the weirs or dams along the Main also have turbines for power generation. Tributaries from source to mouth: Left Right Around Frankfurt are several large inland ports. Because

2430-407: The town destruction and burning in return for the townsmen's tribute. As he went forth with his army, though, the occupation troops who had been left behind plundered the town and the abbey anyway. In 1685, the abbey and convent buildings were newly built. Through the secularization of Electoral Mainz in 1803, the Amt of Seligenstadt passed to the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt and the abbey

2484-482: The town parish took over the Einhard-Basilika in 1812 after the dissolution of the Benedictine abbey. Seligenstadt has a great number of historic buildings and timber-frame houses from the 17th and 18th centuries, some of which are listed buildings. This is why the town is also on one of the nine routes of the Deutsche Fachwerkstraße (German Timber Frame Road) ( Rhine - Main - Odenwald route). Most of these two- and three-floor timber-frame houses are to be found at

2538-468: The western main entry only date to 1868. The interior is also dominated by Baroque features, such as the main altar, several altars in the transepts, the pulpit and the wrought-iron choir screen which replaced the medieval rood screen . The silver shrine containing the relics is today exhibited behind the choir screen. Above hangs a Romanesque crucifix. Since 1925 the church has borne the honorary title of minor basilica , bestowed by Pope Pius XI . Although

2592-399: Was a freie Reichsstadt . At that point, it came to the Archbishop of Mainz who remained the town's ruler until 1803. In 1527, Archbishop Albert of Mainz brought in a new town order whereby the Seligenstadt townsmen's rights were sharply limited. During the Thirty Years' War , a Swedish commissary administered the abbey on King Gustav II Adolf's behalf. The Swedish king had spared

2646-410: Was dissolved in 1803. It has been fully restored, including the Baroque garden which combined a herb and vegetable garden with a formal park. A museum was opened in the abbey, showing exhibits on the history of the town and the abbey. Dating to the reign of the Staufer emperors Friedrich Barbarossa or Friedrich II (12th-13th century), of the Palatium ( Kaiserpfalz ) on the Main's banks, also known as

2700-445: Was dissolved. In 1832, the Landratsbezirk of Seligenstadt was merged into the Offenbach district and in 1882 the Hanau -Seligenstadt- Eberbach railway opened. In 1977 in the course of municipal reform in Hesse, the neighbouring communities of Froschhausen and Klein-Welzheim were merged into Seligenstadt. The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results: The town council has four boards: In March 2008,

2754-431: Was established in ancient Roman times , in the city of Mainz , which had been a Roman provincial capital called Moguntiacum, but the office really came to prominence upon its elevation to an archdiocese in 780/82. The first bishops before the 4th century have legendary names, beginning with Crescens . The first verifiable Bishop of Mainz was Martinus in 343. The ecclesiastical and secular importance of Mainz dates from

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2808-411: Was known by the name Cohors I Civium Romanorum equitata and was responsible for security along the stretch of the Limes Germanicus running along the Main. With the fall of the Limes as a result of raids by the Alamanni in about AD 260, the castrum was abandoned, and the Romans withdrew farther behind the Rhine line. On the former castrum's rubble and on what is now the monastery area in a section of

2862-414: Was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire . As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz , the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages . The Archbishop-Elector was president of the electoral college, archchancellor of the empire, and the Primate of Germany as the papal legate north of the Alps, until the dissolution of

2916-405: Was passing through the town one night and entered the inn, in which his daughter was working. She served him pancakes, and the Emperor recognized their incomparable flavour. Charlemagne, realizing that he had found his runaway daughter then supposedly said “ Selig sei die Stadt genannt, da ich meine Tochter Emma wiederfand ” (“Blessed be called the town, as I found my daughter Emma again.”), which, it

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