Hünstetten

Hünstetten is a municipality in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany.

Hünstetten
Municipality
Coat of arms
Location of Hünstetten within Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district
Hünstetten Hünstetten
Coordinates: 50°13′N 08°10′E
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Admin. region	Darmstadt
District	Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis
Government
• Mayor (2018–24)	Jan Kraus
Area
• Total	50.56 km2 (19.52 sq mi)
Elevation	360 m (1,180 ft)
Population  (2022-12-31)
• Total	10,496
• Density	210/km2 (540/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes	65510
Dialling codes	06126, 06128, 06438
Vehicle registration	RÜD, SWA
Website	www.gemeinde-huenstetten.de

Neighbouring communities

Hünstetten borders in the north on the community of Hünfelden, in the northeast on the town of Bad Camberg (both in Limburg-Weilburg), in the east on the town of Idstein, in the south on the town of Taunusstein and in the west on the communities of Hohenstein and Aarbergen (all in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis).

Constituent communities

Hünstetten is made up of the following Ortsteile:

	Constituent community	Inhabitants
	Bechtheim	937
	Beuerbach	1,176
	Görsroth	1,248
	Kesselbach	778
	Ketternschwalbach	489
	Limbach	751
	Oberlibbach	619
	Strinz-Trinitatis	1,026
	Wallbach (Taunus)	1,068
	Wallrabenstein	2,126

Total: 10,218

The population figures are based on data for 31 December 2007.

History

In the course of municipal reform in Hesse, the community of Hünstetten came into being on 1 January 1972 through the merger of the communities of Beuerbach, Kesselbach, Ketternschwalbach, Limbach, Strinz-Trinitatis and Wallbach. On 1 July 1972, they were joined by Oberlibbach, and then Bechtheim, Görsroth and Wallrabenstein on 1 January 1977, giving Hünstetten its current shape.

Politics

Community council

The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:

Parties and voter communities		% 2006	Seats 2006	% 2001	Seats 2001
CDU	Christian Democratic Union of Germany	35.5	10	31.4	10
SPD	Social Democratic Party of Germany	50.7	14	56.6	17
independent			3
GREENS	Bündnis 90/Die Grünen	10.4	3	9.4	3
FDP	Free Democratic Party	3.4	1	2.6	1
Total		100.0	31	100.0	31
Voter turnout in %		58.1		59.8

Coat of arms

The community’s arms might be described thus: Or a side sinister and dexter and a fess joining them between the fess point and the honour point, the whole gules with the fess between ten dolmens azure, four of which in chief.

The German blazon says that the dolmens (called Doppel-T-Kopfschäfte, although it is explained that they are meant to be dolmens) should be blue, despite their silvery appearance here.

The coat of arms was approved in December 1979 by the State Archive in Darmstadt, and was given its form by Bad Nauheim heraldic artist Heinz Ritt after the community’s guidelines. The ten dolmens symbolize the ten formerly self-administering communities, and the sides (stripes down each side) and the fess (horizontal stripe) form a red uppercase H, the new (in 1972) greater community’s initial letter. The H’s crossbar also stands for the Hühnerstraße (road), which splits the community into four constituent communities on one side and six on the other.

Town partnerships

• Neukirchen am Großvenediger, Salzburg, Austria since 1976

Economy and infrastructure

The community was once rural, and agriculture still plays a rôle in Hünstetten’s livelihood today. All in all, though, it changed over the latter half of the 20th century into a residential community. There are some 800 jobs in town, meaning that the overwhelming majority of the workforce earns its livelihood outside the community, with the good road links ensuring that this means mainly in the Frankfurt Rhine Main Region.

Growth against the trend

Hünstetten benefits from the excellent traffic connection and the public infrastructure. Additionally, the cost of construction and property is fairly low, which helps the community to have more than 10,000 residents. The current demographic forecast indicates the highest growth rate for Hünstetten until 2030. An important reason for that development is the high quality of school, public education, and caring institutions for children and teens. To be able to combine both, family and work, is another argument for a lot of young families to live in Hünstetten. The biggest growth in the areas of community and economy development are in Görsroth, Kesselbach and Oberlibbach, which are three of the ten subtowns (Ortsteile) of Hünstetten. In the planning and extension of the community projects, Hünstetten puts main focus and attention on the life quality of the residents. A comfortable life for elder people enables one senior residence and one institution of assisted living. Both institutions are located in Wallbach, one of the ten subtown of Hünstetten where the town hall is also located. Additionally, Hünstetten offers: shopping, doctors, banking, offices and commercial space. Since 2010, all subtowns of Hünstetten are equipped with fiberglass internet. With this step Hünstetten removed a growth barrier.

Education

The richest community in percentage in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis is Hünstetten. It has two kindergartens and three child care center. Also, Hünstetten offers two elementary schools, which are located in Wallrabenstein and Görsroth. Both schools, the "Rabenschule" and the "Panoramaschule", received from the state Hessen the certificate "all day school" - included child care offering. Furthermore, Hünstetten has an integrated school, which combines middle school and high school. Last but not least, Hünstetten has a well-known music school.

Transport

The community is well linked to the long-distance road network through the Bad Camberg (4 km away) and Idstein (8 km away) interchanges on the A 3. Furthermore, Bundesstraße 417 runs through the greater community. Wiesbaden lies 22 km away, Mainz 26 km and Frankfurt 50 km.

Education

• IGS Wallrabenstein (integrated comprehensive school) in Wallrabenstein
• Rabenschule (primary school) in Wallrabenstein
• Panoramaschule (primary school) in Görsroth