Weimar is a municipality in the south of Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Gießen administrative region, Hesse, Germany. The municipality's administrative seat is the centre of Niederweimar. Geography The municipal area stretches south from Marburg in the Lahn valley and west with the Allna valley on into the Gladenbach Highland and comprises an area of about 47 km². Other than Marburg, the community also borders on Ebsdorfergrund to the east, on Fronhausen to the south, on Lohra to the southwest, and in the far west on the town of Gladenbach. History The name Weimar is believed to come from the Old Germanic word (holy, sanctified) and the Old High German word (lake, swamp or moor) put together. Allna had its first documentary mention as early as 807 and is thereby the earliest named centre in the community. Alongside this, however, Kehna, Oberweimar and Niederweimar, simply from their names, are said to be the oldest centres in the municipal area. The founding of the Martinskirche (church) in Oberweimar is assumed to have happened before Saint Boniface's time, namely about 600, in the time when Irish-Scottish monks were undertaking missionary work in the area. Over the last few years, as the gravel quarry at Niederweimar has been expanded, great Neolithic settlements have been found, which have since been kept in protective pits. Earlier divisions Before the current community was founded, the places within it belonged to court regions (Gerichtsbezirke) which also had administrative functions. Allna, Oberweimar, Weiershausen, Kehna, Nesselbrunn, Niederwalgern and Wolfshausen belonged to the Gericht Reizberg. The Reizberg court itself was built on a mountain lying near Oberweimar. Argenstein, Wenkbach and Roth were grouped into the Gericht Schenkisch Eigen of the Schenken (≈stewards) of Schweinsberg. Stedebach was under the Teutonic Knights' ownership while Niederweimar was a landgrave's personal court region (Eigengericht). Greater Weimar community At its founding on 1 January 1971, the community of Weimar consisted of Allna (half-timbered church), Niederweimar (Weimar Lake) and Oberweimar (Evangelical church). On 1 July 1972, after much drawn-out procedural business, Roth (renovated synagogue), Weiershausen and Wenkbach (Evangelical Wehrkirche – a church built to look like a fort – and Catholic church) joined the community. As a result of Hesse's municipal reforms on 1 July 1974, the community was enlarged by having Argenstein (mill), Kehna (court ensemble), Nesselbrunn, Niederwalgern (Wehrkirche), Stedebach and Wolfshausen added to it. Politics Municipal council The local elections on 6 March 2016 and formerly