Hergershausen is the largest of the five villages in the municipality of Babenhausen in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg in southern Hesse.
Geographical location The town is located in the district of Darmstadt-Dieburg on the first foothills of the northern Odenwald, about 7 km northeast of Dieburg, on the Gersprenz, at an altitude of 130 m. The structure of the village with mostly gabled half-timbered houses from the 17th and 18th centuries is well preserved.
History Prehistory and early history
Bronze age Apart from bone finds, the first settlement of Hergershausen in the Bronze Age can be proven by a burial mound on the Haugsahl field, west of Hergershausen. The first finds of objects come from the time of the Urnfield culture (1200–800 BC). The Urnfield culture is characterized by the fact that the dead are not buried in burial mounds but burned in urns. The following ceramic objects were found in cremation graves:
5 kinked bowls, a cone neck mug, a shoulder mug, a broken cylinder neck, a 40.5 cm cylinder neck urn
A ring and two long bone fragments from the La Tène period were found near the water works in Hergershausen. Some of these items are on display in the Schloss Fechenbach Museum in Dieburg.
Roman period In Roman times, a Roman road ran through the district of Hergershausen, connecting the Roman fort in Dieburg with Seligenstadt. Finds were made in Roman urn graves on the roads towards Eppertshausen and Sickenhofen, as well as north of Hergershausen. The most important find, however, was the Hergershausen Priapus. A 25 cm tall terracotta statue standing on a pedestal, dressed in a tunic and holding a basket filled with fruit.
Middle Ages
First mention Hergershausen was first mentioned in 1260 as a result of an exchange of interest income. Abbot Rudolf from the monastery of St. Alban near Mainz exchanged the interest income of 2 shillings from Heregerishusen and Großostheim with the equivalent income of the "Jew Anselm with the beard of Mainz", which was closer to Mainz. The exchange was handled by the St. Peter and Alexander Abbey in Aschaffenburg. The document is authenticated with the seal of Abbot Rudolf. Mentions of this exchange can also be found in the necrology of the monastery (1267/68) and in the chamber interest register (1283).
Hergershausen's name The name Hergershausen probably derives from a house or other settlement site of a man named Herigar. According to the name, it is probably a Carolingian foundation (687–814 AD). In the period that followed, the place was mentioned in historical documents with changing place names (in brackets the year of the mention).
Heregerishusin (1260); Hergerishusin (1283); Hergershusin (1340); Hergirshusen (1355); Hergetshausen (1369); Hergershusen (1371); Hergirshusen (1388); Hirginshusen (1405); Herngeßhusen (1435); Hirgerßhußen (1467); Hergerßhausen (1545).
Medieval History
The village probably came into Hanau possession through the marriage of Adelheid of Münzenberg, daughter of Ulrich I of Münzenberg, to Reinhard I of Hanau, which took place before 1245 (the exact year is not known). It belonged to the Babenhausen office of the Lordship and later County of Hanau, then from 1456 to the County of Hanau-Lichtenberg. It also belonged to the Mark of Babenhausen.
One of the oldest surviving mentions of the village dates back to 1340, when Culmann and Hille Hartrad received a penny of one pound Heller of Hergershausen from Oswald, Johann and Hermann of Groschlag. Before discovering the new first mention in 1260, that mention was the first mention of Hergershausen. Even then, the place was probably given as a fief from the Count of Hanau to the of Groschlag family of Dieburg.
In 1368 the family of Groschlag exchanged rights with the Counts of Hanau. So they received the village court and the right to lodge.
1426 is the first document in which Count Reinhart II of Hanau hands over Hergershausen as a fief to the brothers Heinrich and Henne of Groschlag, with all its accessories (court, fields, meadows, pastures and subjects).
In 1438 the of Groschlag family pledged the fief of Hergershausen with all its accessories and other surrounding places to Count Johann III. and Philip I. of Katzenelnbogen. The Landgraviate of Hesse(-Darmstadt) were the heirs of the Counts of Katzenelnbogen.
The following years are always characterized by legal disputes between the Counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg and the Groschlags, who tried to use every opportunity to obtain more rights for their fief. In 1504, Oswald of Groschlag tried to break away from the rule of the Counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg and go under the electorate of Mainz. He wanted to seize the opportunity presented by the death of Philip II and the imperial ban on his son Philip III. revealed. The project remained after the reconciliation of Philip III. with the Emperor Maximilian Iunsuccessfully.
Early modern age
16th Century From 1510 to 1552 the residents of Hergershausen bought the Burgrecht in Frankfurt, which meant that in case of danger, the residents of Hergershausen and Sickenhofen could seek shelter behind the city walls of Frankfurt. It is unclear exactly why Frankfurt, which is so far away, was chosen. The Burgrecht was withdrawn from the residents of Hergershausen and Sickenhofen after 52 years because they no longer met their obligations, including the maintenance of the fortifications of Frankfurt.
In 1544, Count Philipp IV of Hanau-Lichtenberg officially converted to the Lutheran faith and in the same year commissioned Erasmus Alberus to convert the sub-county of Babenhausen and thus also Hergershausen. Some citizens of Hergershausen then went to the Protestant Church in Sickenhofen, since in Hergershausen there was only a branch church from the Catholic Church of Dieburg. One can therefore speak of a dichotomy of the denominations until about the year 1600.
In 1546, Landgrave Philipp I of Hesse-Darmstadt renounced the liens of Hergershausen and Sickenhofen for 2,500 guilders, so that the of Groschlag family were again full owners of their fiefdom.
In 1547, the catholic Philipp of Groschlag started an attempt to get himself and his fief, including Hergershausen and Sickenhofen, from the protestant count and feudal lord Philip IV of Hanau-Lichtenberg with the help of a charter of freedom bearing the seal of Emperor Charles V solve. In 1551, Emperor Charles V appealed to the Imperial Chamber Court to clarify the matter. The matter was settled in 1554 with a settlement between Philip IV of Hanau-Lichtenberg and Philip of Groschlag, who died in 1564.
17th century During the Thirty Years' War, the of Groschlag family exploited the turmoil of the war to gain more rights. In 1631, Johann Philipp of Groschlag demanded corvee services from the citizens of Hergershausen and Sickenhofen, who, however, collectively refused. A common citizen of Hergershausen Michael Kratz was regarded as the ringleader and was held in custody at the Court of the Groschlag family in Dieburg for 10 days. However, a Hanau-Lichtenberg official made it absolutely clear that this action had taken place without the count's consent and is therefore not legal.
From August to October 1631, files show that the villages of Hergershausen and Sickenhofen provided 10 imperial horsemen and the imperial troops of Lieutenant Colonel von Meuen and Colonel Ennet with food and housed them.
In 1632 the troops of Count of Isenburg, who was allied with the Swedes, expelled the imperial troops from the Mark of Babenhausen.
1635 began the hardest time for the citizens of Hergershausen. In mid-February, a company of Swedes with 60 horsemen billeted in Babenhausen. On February 25, 1635, the city was besieged by Count Philipp of Mansfeld. The siege was unsuccessful. A last assault took place on March 28, 1635, but this was repulsed by the Swedes. Count Philipp von Mansfeld then withdrew with losses of 350 men, but before he had the Konfurt mill set on fire, which resulted in famine in the city. The siege of Babenhausen is significant for Hergershausen, as many citizens from the surrounding villages sought protection behind the city walls in Babenhausen. A list from the Babenhausen office is available from September 1635, in which 18 surviving citizens of Hergershausen are named.
From 1636 the entire office of Babenhausen, including Hergershausen, was under the Electorate of Mainz. The elector and at the same time archbishop of Mainz attempted to permanently include the office of Babenhausen in his dominions and thereby create a land connection between the electoral possession of Dieburg and the electoral second residence Aschaffenburg. After long negotiations, however, the soldiers of Mainz left Babenhausen again in 1647 and Babenhausen once again belonged to the County of Hanau-Lichtenberg.
In 1647 a French regiment passed through Hergershausen and stole the last bell of the Hergershausen church that was hanging over the chancel.
After the end of the Thirty Years' War in 1648, large parts of the Mark Babenhausen had been devastated and had to be rebuilt. There was a lack of cash, food and livestock. The region recovered only slowly. It was only after the first half of the 18th century that the fortunes and population were likely to have matched those before the war. Due to Count Friedrich Casimir von Hanau-Lichtenberg, Babenhausen lost its status as a residence of the Count, which further promoted the slower development of the region.
In 1688, a contract between Philipp Reinhard of Hanau- Münzenberg and Johann Philipp Ernst Baron of Groschlag made it clear that Groschlag's rights only extended to the southern side of the Gersprenz.
In 1698, with reference to the 1688 treaty, the Gersprenz was defined as the northern border between the Babenhausen district and the Groschlag fiefdom of Hergershausen and Sickenhofen.
Modern times
18th century In 1706, Russian troops passed through Hergershausen, driven out of Saxony by Swedes.
In 1709, Johann Philipp Ernst Baron of Groschlag signed a contract with the residents of Hergershausen and Sickenhofen regarding the annual taxes to be paid and the compulsory services to be performed. This contract made it clear that the Groschlag family no longer saw themselves exclusively as feudal tenants, but almost as owners of the villages, since they had the right to levy taxes, a fundamental right of the state, which the Counts of Hanau- Münzenberg would actually be entitled to. In 1772, Friedrich Karl Baron of Groschlag self-confidently called himself Lord of Hergershausen.
In 1711/12 the new building of the evangelical church, which is still used today, was consecrated.
After the death of the last Hanau count, Johann Reinhard III. in 1736, Landgrave Friedrich I of Hesse-Kassel inherited the county of Hanau- Münzenberg based on an inheritance contract from 1643. Due to the intestate succession, the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg fell to the son of Johann Reinhard III's only daughter, Landgrave Ludwig IX. of Hesse-Darmstadt. The affiliation of the Babenhausen district and its villages to Hanau-Münzenberg or Hanau-Lichtenberg was disputed between the two heirs, which led to decades of inheritance disputes between the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel.
During the War of the Austrian Succession from 1740 to 1748, the area of Hergershausen was repeatedly traversed by Austrian and French troops. These had to be supplied with food, sometimes manual and harness work was also required.
During the Seven Years' War from 1756 to 1763, French troops also had to be provided with food by the inhabitants of the villages.