Heigenbrücken is a municipality in the Aschaffenburg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia (Unterfranken) in Bavaria, Germany, and seat of the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft (municipal association) of Heigenbrücken. It has a population of around 2,200.
Geography
Location
Heigenbrücken lies in the Bavarian Lower Main (Bayerischer Untermain) in the middle of the Spessart (range).
Constituent municipalities
thumb|Jakobsthal
Heigenbrücken has one outlying Gemeindeteile, Jakobsthal, located about 5 km away from the main town.
History
In 1477, Heigenbrücken had its first documentary mention as Heygerbruch. During Secularization/Mediatization, Heigenbrücken, along with the Archbishopric of Mainz, passed to the newly formed Principality of Aschaffenburg, with which it passed in 1814 (by this time it had become a department of the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt) to the Kingdom of Bavaria. In the course of administrative reform in Bavaria, the current municipality came into being with the Gemeindeedikt ("Municipal Edict") of 1818.
Heigenbrücken lies on an old road leading through the Spessart between Würzburg and Aschaffenburg.
Demographics
The municipal area had 2,330 inhabitants in 1970, 2,332 in 1987 and 2,499 in 2000.
thumb|Catholic parish church St. Wendelin, Heigenbrücken
Religion
- Catholic: 1,961
- Evangelical: 255
- other: 376
<small>(as at 1 January 2005)</small>
Economy
The municipal tax revenue in 1999 amounted to €935,000.
Agriculture and forestry
According to official statistics, there were 20 workers on the social welfare contribution rolls working in agriculture and forestry in 1998. In producing businesses this was 59, and in trade and transport 11. In other areas, 97 workers on the social welfare contribution rolls are employed, and 782 such workers work from home. There is one processing business. Three businesses are in construction, and furthermore, in 1999, there were no agricultural operations.
Arts and culture
Museum
A privately run small motorcycle museum Moppedscheune shows motorcycles and accessories from the 1930s to the 1970s.
Governance
Municipal council
The council is made up of 15 council members, counting the mayor.
{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="60%"
|- bgcolor="#eeeeee" align="center"
| || CSU || SPD || Freie Wähler Heigenbrücken-Jakobsthal || Total
|- align="center"
| 2008 || 6 || 6 || 3 || 15 seats
|}
(as at municipal election held on 2 March 2008)
Mayor
The mayor is Jochen Drechsler, elected in 2020.
In addition to the Falkenbergtunnel (approximately 2600 m, making it the longest tunnel in the group), there is the Hirschbergtunnel (525 m, north tunnel, 375 m, south tunnel) Metzbergtunnel (629 m), Haintunnel (745 m). The new tunnels feature a number of new safety features including a powerful fire suppression system. Trains have been allowed to double their speed through the new tunnels from the previous speed limit of 70 km/h (43 mph) to 140 km/h (87 mph). Pushing operations for freight trains ceased when the new tunnels went into service.
All tracks and railway infrastructure leading to the closed Schwarzkopftunnel have been removed and the tunnel itself will be filled in. The tunnel exit with two carved lions is a protected monument and will be preserved.