Hünfelden is a municipality in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany. Hünfelden lies on the Hühnerstraße, an historic part of Bundesstraße 417.

Geography

Location

Hünfelden lies in the Taunus north of Wiesbaden, 9 km southeast of Limburg an der Lahn.

Neighbouring communities

Hünfelden borders in the north on the town of Limburg and the community of Brechen, in the east on the community of Selters and the town of Bad Camberg (all in Limburg-Weilburg), in the south on the communities of Hünstetten and Aarbergen (both in Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis), and in the west on the Verbandsgemeinden (a kind of collective municipality) of Aar-Einrich and Diez (both in Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate).

Constituent communities

The community consists of seven Ortsteile, each formerly autonomous, listed here with population figures as at 1 January 2008.

History

The community of Hünfelden came into being within the framework of administrative reform in Hesse on 1 October 1971 through the voluntary merger of the then autonomous communities of Dauborn, Heringen, Kirberg, Mensfelden, Nauheim, Neesbach and Ohren. The name “Hünfelden” was chosen then because of the great number of cromlechs – Hünengräber in German – from Hallstatt times around the centres of Heringen and Ohren. At the time of founding, the community’s population was 6,952. Among Hünfelden’s constituent communities, Mensfelden can claim the earliest documentary mention, which came in 775. Dauborn, Heringen and the now long-vanished village of Bubenheim, which lay in the area of today’s Kirberg, followed in 790 in the Prüm Abbey’s golden book. Through Hünfelden’s current municipal area ran the Via Publica as well as the Hühnerstraße (roads). In 1355, a castle was built in Kirberg. In 1235, the Cistercian convent of Gnadenthal was founded, which in 1590 was furnished with a great Abbess’s house. After the Reformation, the site became Nassau stately domain. Since 1969, the Christian community “Jesusbruderschaft” (“Jesus Brotherhood”) has existed there.

Politics

Community council

The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

Museums

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Hünfelden has developed itself into a popular residential community, as it has at its disposal good transport connections with Wiesbaden and Limburg an der Lahn (Bundesstraße 417) as well as with the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Region over A 3 (Cologne–Frankfurt) through the Limburg-Süd and Bad Camberg interchanges. At the same time, though, it has kept a very quiet and rural character.

Education

The Freiherr-vom-Stein-Schule is a primary school, Hauptschule and Realschule with a Gymnasium branch.

Public institutions

Famous people