Höhr-Grenzhausen

Höhr-Grenzhausen

Coat of arms
Höhr-Grenzhausen
Location of Höhr-Grenzhausen within Westerwaldkreis district
Coordinates: 50°26′06″N 7°40′16″E / 50.43500°N 7.67111°E / 50.43500; 7.67111Coordinates: 50°26′06″N 7°40′16″E / 50.43500°N 7.67111°E / 50.43500; 7.67111
Country Germany
State Rhineland-Palatinate
District Westerwaldkreis
Municipal assoc. Höhr-Grenzhausen
Government
  Mayor Michael Thiesen
Area
  Total 15.87 km2 (6.13 sq mi)
Elevation 250 m (820 ft)
Population (2017-12-31)[1]
  Total 9,353
  Density 590/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 56203
Dialling codes 02624
Vehicle registration WW
Website www.hoehr-grenzhausen.de

Höhr-Grenzhausen is a town in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a centre for the ceramic industry in the Kannenbäckerland with a professional college for ceramics, another for ceramic form, and many others, hence the nickname Kannenbäckerstadt (roughly, “Jug Baking Town”).

Together with the communities of Hillscheid, Hilgert and Kammerforst it has formed the Verbandsgemeinde of Höhr-Grenzhausen – a kind of collective municipality – since 1971.

Geography

Location

Höhr-Grenzhausen lies roughly 10 km west of Montabaur, and 10 km northeast of Koblenz.

Politics

Town council

CDUSPDFWGFDPGrüneTotal
200410561224 seats

(as of municipal election on 13 June 2004)

Town partnerships

Höhr-Grenzhausen maintains partnerships with these towns:

Culture and sightseeing

Museums

In the town are found the Westerwald Ceramics Museum (Keramikmuseum Westerwald) and a museum of the town’s history.

Buildings

Sport

Höhr-Grenzhausen’s outlying centre of Grenzau is home to the TTC Zugbrücke Grenzau, a table tennis club involved in Bundesliga play. Likewise, the Rhineland-Palatinate table tennis Olympic base is found here.

Economy and infrastructure

Economy

RASTAL GmbH & Co. KG, which is a business established in Höhr-Grenzhausen, is one of Europe’s biggest manufacturers of decorated drinking vessels, especially beer glasses.

Typical everyday Westerwald pottery

Since the 1500s, the area has been one of the most productive salt-glazed pottery centers in Europe. In the mid 16th century, potters from Raeren in Belgium migrated into the Westerwald, bringing with them some of their moulds. This type of pottery was taken to the New World and was found in the early Chesapeake settlements.

Gray Westerwald pottery is easily recognized with its curling blue flourishes, often in simple floral and leaf patterns. It is still molded by hand and fired in wood-burning kilns throughout the area. The town-wall is decorated all along its full length with huge ceramic pots made by various potters of the area. The International Ceramics Market & Museum Festival is held the first weekend in June, featuring around 150 exhibitors from all over Europe, including Spain, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Poland and Hungary.[2][3][4]

Notable people

See also

References

  1. Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz "Bevölkerungsstand 2017 - Gemeindeebene" Check |url= value (help). Statistisches Landesamt Rheinland-Pfalz (in German). 2018.
  2. Kolbert, Elizabeth (1984-04-22). "The Salty Secret of German Pottery". New York Times.
  3. "European Cities Join Forces to Attract Ceramics Enthusiasts". New York Times. 2014-10-23.
  4. Smith, Beth (1991-01-03). "A Westerwald History". Stein Collectors International.

Further reading

  • Fries, Heribert (1993) (in German), Kurrimurri : Erinnerungen an die Kannenbäcker in Höhr-Grenzhausen, Höhr-Grenzhausen: Stadt Höhr-Grenzhausen, ISBN 3-9801311-3-0 
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