Admin. region Darmstadt Elevation 357 m (1,171 ft) Area 75.24 km² Local time Saturday 11:57 AM Dialling code 06045 | Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) Population 7,585 (30 Jun 2009) Postal code 63688 Administrative region Darmstadt | |
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Weather 8°C, Wind E at 11 km/h, 57% Humidity | ||
Gedern is a town in the Wetteraukreis district in Hesse, Germany, and historically belongs to Oberhessen. It is located 38 kilometres (24 mi) northeast of Hanau at the foot of the Vogelsberg, once one of the largest inactive volcanoes in Europe.
Contents
- Map of Gedern Germany
- Neighboring towns
- Organization
- History
- Town council
- Mayor
- Coat of arms
- Partnerships
- Local companies
- Educational facilities
- Recreation
- Sons and daughters of the city
- References
Map of Gedern, Germany
Neighboring towns
Gedern is bordered by Schotten (Vogelsbergkreis) in the north, by Grebenhain (Vogelsbergkreis) in the northeast, by Birstein (Main-Kinzig-Kreis) in the east, by Kefenrod in the south, by Ortenberg in the southwest, and Hirzenhain in the west.
Organization
Gedern is divided into the districts of Gedern, Mittel-Seemen, Nieder-Seemen, Ober-Seemen, Steinberg, and Wenings.
History
Town council
The town council consists of the mayor, Stefan Betz (independent), and the aldermen Klaus Hein, Walter Lutz and Barbara Gundlach (CDU), Klaus Bechthold and Andreas Steder (SPD), Reinhold Landmann and Irmtraud Köhler (FWG) and Willi Herbst (Bürgerliste Gedern).
Mayor
The last election for mayor was held in 2015 in which Guido Kempel was elected to replace Klaus Bechthold (SPD) who retired for health reasons.
Coat of arms
The city coat of arms shows two trout on a red and silver striped background. These represent the copious amounts of fish that were caught in and around Gedern throughout its history. The silver stripes stand for the two creeks that run through Gedern "Mühlbach" and "Gänsbach".
Partnerships
Gedern is twinned with Columbia, Illinois, and Polanów, Poland, through the Sister Cities Program. The village of Wenings is also partnered with Nucourt, France. The sister city arrangement with Columbia roots in an initiative of some inhabitants of Columbia in 1990. During a genealogical research, they figured out that most of the 156 people who emigrated from Gedern in the 19th century, found a new home in the area of Columbia. In April 1992 the representatives of both cities signed a treaty of friendship during a visit of a Columbian delegation in Gedern. The official partnership ceremony was held in May 1993 in Columbia, Illinois.
Local companies
Measured by its size, Gedern was an important industrial hub during the 1980s in the industrially weak area around the Vogelsberg. There were several textile, wood, rubber, and metal refining factories. Today only a large metal-refining company is still active.
Today Gedern is economically unimportant. Retail, manual labor, and trade work that make up the core of the economic activities are done on a very small scale. The vast majority of the inhabitants of Gedern commute to other areas in the Rhein-Main and Gießen regions.