Seck is an
Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a
Verbandsgemeinde – in the
Westerwaldkreis in
Rhineland-Palatinate,
Germany.
Geography
Location
The community lies in the
Westerwald between
Siegen and
Limburg an der Lahn. Seck belongs to the
Verbandsgemeinde of Rennerod, a kind of collective municipality found only in Rhineland-Palatinate. Its seat is in the
like-named town.
History
Count Gebhard of the Niederlahngau (832–879) was the first known lord of that holding around Seck in the Middle Westerwald, from which he split the western part to endow his
monastery at
Gemünden. Count Gebhard’s grandson,
Rudolf I, Bishop of
Würzburg (892–908) consecrated a
church at Seck to Saint
Kilian. Seck had its first documentary mention on 27 May 1059 by King
Heinrich IV. In the time that followed, Seck acquired a court. Its great parish reached through
Rennerod and Lasterbach all the way to
Oberrod. Arnold I of Valancourt, Archbishop of
Trier documented in 1181 that the Seligenstatt Monastery in Seck had been donated to the Archmonastery of Trier (
Erzstift Trier). In 1215 it was the Maria Laach Abbey’s daughter monastery. In the mid 15th century, an end was put to monastery life. In 1468, excise from the Seck yearly market was raised. The Lords of Westerburg and Runkel held sway over the parish of Seck. Often, it was the object of disputes between these two houses and their sidelines. Prince Moritz Heinrich of Nassau-Hadamar had the
Secker Weiher (pond) built in 1672, and shortly thereafter also the
Schlösschen (little residential castle) at Seck, still known locally as the
Alte Burg (“Old Castle”). Along with the Principality of Nassau-Hadamar, Seck passed to the
Grand Duchy of Berg in 1806 and later to the
Duchy of Nassau. Administratively, Seck went to the
Amt of Rennerod. In 1866, Duke Adolf of Nassau lost his land to
Prussia. The administrative offices were dissolved, “
Stein” self-administration introduced, and
Landkreise (rural districts) formed. Seck ended up in the Oberwesterwaldkreis, whose seat was in
Marienberg, and then in 1855 in the newly formed Kreis Westerburg, which itself was merged in 1932 into a new Oberwesterwaldkreis with its seat in
Westerburg. In 1974, Seck became part of the
Verbandsgemeinde of Rennerod, but as an autonomous
Ortsgemeinde. The two Westerwald districts (Oberwesterwaldkreis and Unterwesterwaldkreis) were dissolved and merged into the Westerwaldkreis with its seat in
Montabaur.
Politics
Community council
The council is made up of 16 council members who were elected in a municipal election on 13 June 2004. They all belong to a
Wählergemeinschaft (“voters’ community”)
Regular events
- In July, the church consecration festival, the Secker Kirmes (kermis) with its market, is held.
- Also popular is the Secker Oktoberfest held every year.
- Each summer in August on the campground at Seck (Camping Park Weiherhof), the Weiherfest (“Pond Festival”) is held at the Secker-Weiher (pond), where both campers and people from the area gather as the summer winds down.
Economy and infrastructure
Transport
Right near the community runs
Bundesstraße 54, leading from
Limburg an der Lahn to
Siegen. The nearest
Autobahn interchange is
Limburg-Nord on the
A 3 (
Cologne–
Frankfurt), some 20 km away. The nearest
InterCityExpress stop is the
railway station at Montabaur on the
Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line.
External links