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Our town |
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Archeologists have found out that people were living on
the valley of the river Dill as far as the Stone Age. It
is difficult to define the age of today’s Herborn. The
remains of former sentry towers and thick stony walls
are still surrounding the town. |
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O.Medvedev.
“Herborn. The River Dill in winter”. |
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“Herborn
Province” was first mentioned in the chronicles in
1048. It was ruled by a Frankish and later by a German
king. From 1200 to 1866 Herborn and its surroundings
were the property of counts, princes and at last dukes
of Nassau. In 1251 the province was granted the rights
of the town. Counts Nassau built a nice and solid castle
on one of the hills that surrounded the town. An
evangelist seminary is located in the castle today.
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O.Medvedev.
“Herborn. The view of the castle of Nassau”. |
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the early and late Middle Ages Herborn was a town in
which trade was developing and crafts were flourishing.
Herborn was famous for its woolen cloth and woolen socks.
They were sold through the trade fair in Frankfurt and
reached even Brabant in the Netherlands.
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O.Medvedev.
“Herborn. A
street to the station”.
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During
the 15 century “craft” guilds came into being. These
were brotherhoods of different kinds of merchants and
skillful workers that controlled the economy of the town.
In the early 18 century three factories of paper were
built on the river Dill. Herborn paper was sold even in
Hamburg and Bremen.
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O.Medvedev.
“Herborn. A Street leading to the station”. |
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In 1862 a railway between Giessen and Cologne was built.
It stimulated the growth of ironworks in Herborn and
provoked the upswing of leather, dye, furniture industry
and brewing. Nowadays Herborn contributes to a common
economy through metal and electronics industry.
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O.Medvedev.
“Herborn. The main square”.
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One of the handicrafts that preserved its traditions to
this day is the handicraft of a backer.
Backers founded their guild in 1511. Today you
can taste the specialties of Herborn backers that have
hundred-year-old traditions: “Herborner Schlumpenwecke”
and “Herborner Fastenbrezel”. The last is famous for
its keeping quality. In 1846 the emigrants from Herborn
took a lot of fasting pretzels on the ship as provision
during their long journey to Texas.
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O.Medvedev.
“Spring in Herborn”. |
All
small towns have quite similar history of the
development of trades. Herborn is famous for its High
School that was functioning in Herborn from 1584 to
1814. It was one of the main educational places in the
Europe of the Reformation. According to a teaching
personal it resembled a university. However Keiser would
not grant such a privilege to a reformative foundation.
High School was closely connected with England and
Scotland, with Huguenots academies in France, with high
schools in Switzerland, the Netherlands and Hungary.
There were 4 classical faculties and the language of
teaching was Latin.
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O.Medvedev. “Herborn. High School”. |
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Traditionally the theological faculty is carried further
on by an evangelist seminary. After the closing of High
School it has been replaced to the castle of Nassau.
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O.Medvedev.
“Herborn. The Castle of Nassau in winter”. |
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Herborn is a nice old town in West Germany. It is
gracefully surrounded by hills, overgrown with dense
forests. Today Herborn and its outskirts had about 22
000 residents.
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O.Medvedev.
“Herborn covered with snow”.
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The
characteristic feature of the architecture of Herborn is
timber-framed houses.
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O.Medvedev.
“A gloomy day in Herborn”. |
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O.Medvedev.
“Herborn. The Town Hall”.
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Their central facades are decorated with often plentiful
renaissance and baroque ornamental patterns. It
demonstrates the richness of the owners of these houses.
It is remarkable that many houses were built as
semi-detached houses. It means that two separate houses
had one common roof. Such style of architecture was
necessary because there were numerous of mediaeval
handicraftsmen that wanted to sell their goods on the
streets and marketplaces of Herborn.
Some
streets and squares have now old mediaeval names in
accordance with the goods that the handicraftsmen sold
there:
Buttermarkt (butter market),
Schuhmarkt (shoe market),
Holzmarkt(timber market), Kornmarket (cereals market).
The
main sights of Herborn are the castle, the Town Hall as
well as the streets surrounding them. The Town Hall
acquired its present appearance in 1630.
During the 17 century it was decorated with the coats of
arms of majors and councils of Herborn and with the
signs of guilds and trade corporations.
The
Town Hall has served as a conference venue of the court,
the council und the guilds. There were a cereals
elevator, the main scales of the town, a wine cellar and
an arsenal. There was also kept equipment for the
extinguishing of fire in the town. Nowadays the Town
Hall is the seat of the municipality of the town.
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The main festivities in Herborn are “Kirmes” and “Martinimarkt”.
“Kirmes” is celebrated during the last week of August.
A festival procession goes through the town.
Merry-go-round, live music, drinks and snacks give
pleasure to the young and the old on this day.
“Martinimarkt’ has been celebrated since 1465.
It is a two-day market that begins on November 11. The
streets and squares of the town turn into a lively
marketplace.
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| O.Medvedev.
“The outskirts of Herborn”. |
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