Schöllkrippen () is a market municipality in the Aschaffenburg district in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia (Unterfranken) in Bavaria, Germany and seat of the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft (municipal association) of Schöllkrippen. It had a total population of around 4,300 in 2020, and experienced a decrease down to 4112 in 2023
Geography
Location
thumb|[[Village|Gemeindeteile]]
Schöllkrippen is the largest settlement of the Kahlgrund and lies on the river Kahl on the western edge of the Spessart (range). The main Ortsteil of Schöllkrippen lies at the foot of the Reuschberg.
Subdivisions
Schöllkrippen's Ortsteile are Schöllkrippen, and .
Schöllkrippen Ortsteil consists of the following Orte: , , , Röderhof, and Schöllkrippen proper.
Neighbouring municipalities
The neighbouring municipalities are from the north (clockwise): Westerngrund, Kleinkahl, (an unincorporated area), Sommerkahl, Blankenbach, Krombach and Geiselbach.
History
Schöllkrippen has long been the central settlement of the Upper Kahlgrund and a meeting point of roads at least since the Middle Ages. Old long distance trade routes such as the Birkenhainer Straße and the Eselsweg pass nearby.
What had in the past been considered a prehistoric Celtic circular rampart, the Alte Burg or Altenburg on the nearby Reuschberg, is now thought to date to medieval times.
Economy
Schöllkrippen's central location in the Kahlgrund has led the market municipality to grow into a local shopping hub since the mid-1990s. The many discount retailers serve not only customers from the Spessart from Wiesen through Heigenbrücken to Heinrichsthal, but also from the upper Kahlgrund from Geiselbach to Blankenbach and the middle Kahlgrund from Königshofen through Mömbris to Niedersteinbach along with Eichenberg, Rottenberg and Feldkahl.
After the carwash manufacturer WashTec withdrew from its Schöllkrippen location at the Augsburg-based mother company’s behest, the sprawling halls and plots of land on the Ernstkirchen Gemarkung (traditional rural cadastral area, this one lying on the way out of the municipality towards Blankenbach) lay empty for nearly three years. In mid-2006, the municipality managed to sell the Industriepark Ernstkirchen to various firms. Roughly two thirds of the area went to the firm Ferratec from Hösbach, who then housed their production equipment here. The rest was shared among four smaller firms as well as the market municipality of Schöllkrippen, which built a new building yard there.
In late 2004, Schöllkrippen was chosen as the most livable place in the Bavarian Lower Main (Bayerischer Untermain).
Governance
thumb|Town hall of the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft located in the former [[Schloss]]
The market municipality (') is the administrative seat of the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft of Schöllkrippen, which, besides Schöllkrippen, includes the municipalities of Blankenbach, Kleinkahl, Krombach, Sommerkahl, Westerngrund and Wiesen. Schöllkrippen has held the status of "market" since 1963.
<!--===Municipal council===-->
Town council
The council is made up of 16 council members, not counting the mayor.
{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" width="60%"
|- bgcolor="#eeeeee" align="center"
| || CSU || SPD || Grüne || FWG || Total
|- align="center"
| 2002 || 7 || 1 || 1 || 7 || 16 seats
|- align="center"
| 2008 || 7 || 0 || 2 || 7 || 16 seats
|}
(as at municipal election held on 2 March 2008)
Coat of arms
The municipality’s arms might be described thus: Per fess gules a wheel spoked of six argent, Or in base a mount of three vert issuant therefrom three morningstars sable, the dexter in bend, the middle in pale and the sinister in bend sinister.
The arms were designed sometime about 1950.
After the Counts of Rieneck died out in 1559, Schöllkrippen passed to the Archbishopric of Mainz, with which it stayed from 1670 to 1803. As early as 1670, the Bishops of Mainz held great parts of the area around Schöllkrippen. For this hegemony stands the six-spoked silver wheel – the Wheel of Mainz – on the red field. The tinctures gules and argent (red and silver) were Mainz’s colours. The three morningstars below the partition are taken from a seal of the Amt of Schöllkrippen, whose circumscription read “SIG. AMPT SCHÖLLKRIPPEN”. Although this does indeed mention the name Schöllkrippen, it was surely no municipal seal, but rather more likely a local official’s personal coat of arms. Strengthening this assumption are the letters M and W on each side of the arms, although any official in Schöllkrippen at that time with these initials is thus far unknown. Because the morningstars were such an unusual charge, they were chosen for the municipality’s new coat of arms, which has been borne since 1954.
Attractions
thumb|Lukaskapelle
The town centre features the medieval Lukaskapelle, a small fortified church (1449). The former Schloss nearby is now the seat of the local administration. Its original moat and curtain wall have been removed. The Sackhaus, which was used to store local taxes paid in goods, is today the largest half-timbered building in town. Its oldest part dates to 1473.
thumb|Early medieval stone tablet found in the church St. Katharina
The church St. Katharina in Ernstkirchen was mentioned first in 1184. In the 14th century, the original Romanesque church was reconstructed with a Gothic vaulted ceiling and an octagonal tower. Over the centuries, the church was redesigned several times in different styles (Baroque, Gothic Revical), but in 1958/67 the church was mostly returned to its early Gothic state (although the tower roof retains its Baroque onion shape). During this renovation, an early medieval stone tablet of unknown date was discovered, which indicates a very early ecclesial presence at this location. About one meter in height, stylistically, it has been linked to the Hiberno-Scottish mission. The tablet shows a Crux gemmate surrounded by other symbols that are hard to identify, including possible moon and sun symbols and a type of "checkers board". It likely was removed from a visible position in the church around the year 1300 and buried beneath the altar.