Niddatal (, ) is a town in the Wetteraukreis district in Hesse, Germany. It is located on the river Nidda, 6 km southeast of Friedberg and 22 km northeast of Frankfurt am Main.
The town is divided into four districts: Assenheim, Ilbenstadt, Kaichen, Bönstadt.
History
Assenheim
Assenheim was first mentioned as a township in 1139. Assenheim Castle existed between the years 1170 – 1780. Its ruins are still visible today.Stadt Niddatal. Niddatal.de. Retrieved on 5 January 2014.
Ilbenstadt
Ilbenstadt's first mention as an Eluistat was in 818. At the time, Ilbenstadt consisted of two cloisters.Stadt Niddatal. Niddatal.de. Retrieved on 5 January 2014. Its Church St. Maria, Petrus und Paulus was elevated to Basilica Minor status in 1929 by Pope Pius XI.
Kaichen
Kaichen was founded by a Anshelmus de Cochene in 1231.Stadt Niddatal. Niddatal.de. Retrieved on 5 January 2014. Around 1400, Kaichen's first church was built and rebuilt in 1737 and a baptismal font was added. One of the most popular places in Kaichen is the Gericht zu Kaichen which was a court able to declare to a death penalty.
Bönstadt
Bönstadt first was the property of the counts of Falkenstein, and later of Isenburg-Büdingen, which made Bönstadt belong to Assenheim castle. Documentary, in former times Bönstadt had meant Benstad in 1184. In 1970, the townships of Assenheim, Ilbenstadt, Bönstadt and Kaichen merged to form modern-day Niddatal.Stadt Niddatal . Niddatal.de. Retrieved on 5 January 2014. As of January 2009, the town's population stands at 9,360.Stadt Niddatal . Niddatal.de. Retrieved on 5 January 2014. The area is characterised by agricultural activities, but in its former past, trade played a fundamental role in the local economy.
Politics
Local elections in Niddatal have yielded the following results:
Parties %2016 Seats2016 %2011 Seats2011 %2006 Seats2006 %2001 Seats2001CDUChristian Democratic Union of Germany30,1939,71242,31339,912SPDSocial Democratic Party of Germany44,61435,51137,11235,911 GRÜNE Alliance 90/The Greens8,6315,557,228,53FWGFreie Wählergemeinschaft Niddatal (Free Voters Niddatal)——7,729,1315,75 FDP Free Democratic Party (Germany)11,531,614,31——LINKEThe Left (Germany)5,22——————Total100,031100,031100,031100,031Turnout in %56,949,047,256,6
Sights
Ilbenstadt
Basilica Maria St. Petrus und Paulus was donated by St. Gottfried von Cappenberg in 1123. St. Cappenberg was interred there in 1127 and Pope Pius XI elevated the Church to Basilica Minor status in 1929. Due to secularization in 1803, its cloister was abrogated. After World War II, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz repurchased the cloister from the state Hesse.
Today the church is a landmark of Ilbenstadt which is also visible because of the eternalisation on town emblem. Regionally, the church is also known as (cathedral of Wetterau)
References