Karlstein am Main

Karlstein am Main
Municipality
Old town hall in Dettingen
Coat of arms
Location of Karlstein am Main within Aschaffenburg district
Karlstein am Main Karlstein am Main
Coordinates:50°2′56″N9°1′6″E
Country	Germany
State	Bavaria
Admin. region	Lower Franconia
District	Aschaffenburg
Subdivisions	2Ortsteile
Government
•Mayor(2023–29)	Peter Kreß
Area
• Total	12.68 km2(4.90 sq mi)
Elevation	110 m (360 ft)
Population (2023-12-31)
• Total	8,125
• Density	640/km2(1,700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00(CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00(CEST)
Postal codes	63791
Dialling codes	06188
Vehicle registration	AB
Website	karlstein.de

Karlstein am Main(officiallyKarlstein a. Main) is a municipality in theAschaffenburg districtin theRegierungsbezirkofLower Franconia(Unterfranken) inBavaria,Germany.It is the westernmost settlement in Bavaria. Karlstein'sOrtsteile(constituent villages) are Dettingen and Großwelzheim, the former being notable as the site of theBattle of Dettingenduring the War of the Austrian Succession. In the 20th century, the town was the site of the, now decommissioned,Großwelzheim Nuclear Power Plant.

Geography

Location

Constituent communities

Karlstein am Main lies on the RiverMain,and on the railway betweenFrankfurt am MainandAschaffenburg,16 km northwest of Aschaffenburg.

Constituent communities

Karlstein'sOrtsteileare Dettingen and Großwelzheim.

History

Prehistory

The placename Dettingen suggests anAlamannicsettlement (3rd to 14th century), and the placename Großwelzheim aFrankishone.

First mentions

Großwelzheim had its first documentary mention in a donation document fromLorsch Abbeyin 772. Then, the village was calledWalinesheim.The placename has the—heimending that was typical for places founded in Frankish times. The name comes from a count namedWalahwho held sway in the Maingau.

Dettingen had its first documentary mention in a donation document fromEmperor Otto II.

Battle of Dettingen

Main article:Battle of Dettingen

George IIat the Battle of Dettingen

During theWar of the Austrian Successiona battle took place in the Karlstein area on 27 June 1743, known as the Battle of Dettingen. The so-called "Pragmatic Army",made up of 35,000 Britons, Hanoverians and Austrians found itself fighting a 23,000 strongFrencharmy. The Pragmatic Army overcame the French, thus giving rise to the legend of the "Wandering Englishman", which has been handed down in Dettingen to this day. The Battle of Dettingen marked the last time a British monarch, KingGeorge II,personally led his troops into battle.George Frideric Handelwrote theDettingen Te Deumin honour of the British victory, which was first performed on 27 November 1743 – exactly five months after the battle began – in George II's presence.

Amalgamation

In the course of municipal reform in Bavaria came the merger of the two communities of Dettingen and Großwelzheim on 1 July 1975. In a vote, the new community's citizens decided on the name Karlstein, which had cropped up as early as some time about 1000 in a description of the Aschaffenburg Forest Region, and was also the name given an old community limit stone between Dettingen and Großwelzheim.

Etymology

The nameKarlsteinsupposedly, according to a traditional anecdote, goes back toCharlemagne(who is calledKarl der GroßeinGerman). Charlemagne reportedly often stayed inSeligenstadt,right across the river, and was much given to hunting in theSpessart.To reach there, he would cross theMainin his ship to the place then still known asTettingen.The stone at the landing, or even the limit stone betweenTettingenandWalinesheim,then came to be known as Karlstein.

Politics

Community council

The council is made up of 20 council members, not counting the mayor.

	CSU	SPD	GREENS	FDP	Total
2008	13	5	1	1	20 seats

(as at municipal election held on 2 March 2008)

Coat of arms

The community'sarmsmight be described thus: Party per fess wavy, azure the Cross of Dettingen argent, argent an atom symbol with three orbits of the first and a nucleus gules.

The wavy parting refers to the community's location on the Main, which is also part of the community's name. Since the community was formed out of the two former communities of Dettingen and Großwelzheim in 1975, the arms displaychargesfrom each former community's arms. The uniquely shaped cross above the parting is the so-called Cross of Dettingen (orDettinger KreuzinGerman). It comes from Late Gothic times and is found inSaint Hippolytus'sChurch (Kirche St. Hippolyt) in the constituent community of Dettingen. The atom symbol below the parting is taken from the arms formerly borne by the community of Großwelzheim. Within community limits, Germany's firstnuclear powerstation was built, although it was only experimental. In 1960, it began feeding electricity into the power grid. The reactor was shut down in 1985, and by the end of 2008, it had been fully removed.

The arms have been borne since 13 October 1977.

Economy

Nuclear power stations

On 13 November 1960, theKahl Nuclear Power Plant,which despite the name is wholly within Karlstein's limits, came into service. The neighbouring community ofKahl am Mainmerely stood godfather at the christening.On 25 November 1985, after running for 25 years, the power station was shut down. In 1988 the first dismantling work began, ending by late 2008.

TheGroßwelzheim hot steam reactorwas in the same area; it was fully dismantled by 1998.

External links

• Community’s official webpage(in German)