Elz

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Elz is a municipality and a village in Hessen, Germany. It is part of the Landkreis Limburg-Weilburg. It is along the river Lahn. It has 8,088 inhabitants (2004).

Geography

The elevation is between 110m and 291m above sea level. Elz is in a valley called "Limburger Becken", which surrounds the town of Limburg. Elz is also in the valley of the "Elbbach", which flows into the river Lahn after passing Elz. The municipality of Elz borders the municipalities of Hundsangen, Hambach, Görgeshausen, Niedererbach, Obererbach and the towns of Hadamar and Limburg. The municipality of Elz consists of two villages: The village of Elz (7,743 inhabitants) and the village of Malmeneich (345 inhabitants). Average temperatures are 10.5 °C in Elz and 9.9 °C in Malmeneich. Though this sounds quite moderate, temperatures can vary between -20 °C in winter and 40 °C in summer. In an average year there are 600mm of rain in Elz and 720mm in Malmeneich.

History

Elz was first mentioned in a document from 933 AD, which does not exist any more. Political importance resulted from its position at the Hohe Straße, the former most important road between Frankfurt am Main and Cologne, which still exists and is now part of the "Bundesstraße 8", which can be translated with Interstate 8. Elz got the town privileges in 1442. Soon a wall around the town was constructed but knocked down later.

Politics

The council consists of 31 members. 19 members are from the Christian Democrats, seven are from the Social Democratic Party, four from the Free Voters' Community and one is from the Green Party. The mayor Horst Kaiser is a Christian Democrat and was elected in 2005 with 84.8% of all votes.

Economy and infrastructure

In Elz thaere are more than 600 businesses with much more than 2,000 jobs. The industrial area is at the B8 between Elz and Malmeneich.

Traffic

Elz is not only at the B8,which goes from the Dutch border to Passau, but also at the Autobahn 3, which connects Würzburg,Frankfurt am Main and Cologne.

Public institutions

In Elz there is a big outdoor swimming pool, two gyms, several sport and tennis fields and two old people's homes.

Education

There are three kindergartens, two primary schools and one "Haupt- und Realschule" (part of the German secondary education).

Famous people

- Theodor Blank (1905-1972), Bundesverteidigungsminister (Federal minister for defense) 1955-1956, Bundesminister für Arbeit und Sozialordnung (Federal minister for employment and social matters) 1957-1965

- Joseph Blank (1913-1994), Landesminister für Landesplanung, Wohnungsbau und öffentliche Arbeiten von Nordrhein-Westfalen (Minister for spatial planning, building and public works of North Rhine-Westphalia) 1962-1963