# Nistertal

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**Nistertal** is an *Ortsgemeinde* – a community belonging to a *[Verbandsgemeinde](/source/Verbandsgemeinde)* – in the [Westerwaldkreis](/source/Westerwaldkreis) in [Rhineland-Palatinate](/source/Rhineland-Palatinate), [Germany](/source/Germany).

## Geography

### Location

The community lies in the [Westerwald](/source/Westerwald) between [Limburg](/source/Limburg_an_der_Lahn) and [Siegen](/source/Siegen). Nistertal belongs to the [*Verbandsgemeinde* of Bad Marienberg](/source/Bad_Marienberg_(Verbandsgemeinde)), a kind of collective municipality. Its seat is in the [like-named town](/source/Bad_Marienberg).

### Constituent communities

Nistertal's *[Ortsteile](/source/Ortsteil)* are Büdingen and Erbach.

## History

In 1274, Büdingen had its first documentary mention. Erbach's first documentary mention followed in 1353.

### Amalgamations

The community of Nistertal came into being in 1969 in the course of administrative reform through the merger of the communities of Büdingen and Erbach. For centuries before this, the Große Nister, flowing between the two places, marked not only a political boundary, but a [dialectal](/source/Dialect) and religious one, too.

## Politics

### Municipal council

The municipal council is made up of 16 council members drawn from two voting communities (*Wählergemeinschaften*) who were elected in a [majority vote](/source/Plurality_voting_system) in a municipal election on 13 June 2004.

### Coat of arms

The two uppermost [charges](/source/Charge_(heraldry)) in the community's [arms](/source/Coat_of_arms) stand for the two constituent communities of Büdingen and Erbach. The [hexagon](/source/Hexagon) and the miner's [hammers](/source/Hammer) symbolize the rich [basalt](/source/Basalt) deposits and their exploitation as the community's characteristic industry and livelihood. The [alder](/source/Alder) twig refers to the *Ortsteil* name Erbach (from *Erlenbach* – *Erle* being [German](/source/German_language) for “alder”). The wavy parting per pale represents the community's location on the Nister, with Büdingen on the left and Erbach on the right. The bridge that fills out the shield's lower portion is a symbol of the Erbach Bridge as well as the roadbridge between the two constituent communities. The [tinctures](/source/Tincture_(heraldry)) gold and blue were those borne by the [Duchy of Nassau](/source/Duchy_of_Nassau). They refer to the community's centuries-long territorial allegiance to that state.

## Culture and sightseeing

### Buildings

The [railway bridge](/source/Railway_bridge) near Erbach across the river Nister was at the time of its completion in 1911 Germany's biggest [concrete](/source/Concrete) bridge. With a length of some 300 m and a height of almost 40 m, at the time still without [steel](/source/Steel) armouring, it was held to be a technological wonder. After the Erbach-[Bad Marienberg (Westerwald)](/source/Bad_Marienberg_(Westerwald))-[Fehl-Ritzhausen](/source/Fehl-Ritzhausen) [railway](/source/Railway) line was shut down in 1971, the bridge was preserved as a technological building monument.

Also worthy of mention is the *Wasserbrücke* (“Waterbridge”). At this bridge, water is borne across the tracks of the Nistertal-Bad Marienberg railway line.

## Economy and infrastructure

North of the community runs *[Bundesstraße](/source/Bundesstra%C3%9Fe)* 414, leading from [Driedorf](/source/Driedorf)-Hohenroth to [Hachenburg](/source/Hachenburg). The nearest [Autobahn](/source/Autobahn) [interchanges](/source/Interchange_(road)) are *[Montabaur](/source/Montabaur)* on the [A 3](/source/Bundesautobahn_3) ([Cologne](/source/Cologne)–[Frankfurt](/source/Frankfurt_am_Main)), some 25 km away, and *[Haiger](/source/Haiger)/[Burbach](/source/Burbach_(Siegerland))* on the [A 45](/source/Bundesautobahn_45) ([Dortmund](/source/Dortmund)–[Hanau](/source/Hanau)), some 27 km away. [Nistertal-Bad Marienberg station](/source/Nistertal-Bad_Marienberg_station) lies on the [Oberwesterwaldbahn](/source/Oberwesterwaldbahn) [railway](/source/Railway) to Limburg and Au (Sieg). From there, the cities of [Cologne](/source/Cologne), [Koblenz](/source/Koblenz), [Frankfurt am Main](/source/Frankfurt_am_Main) and [Wiesbaden](/source/Wiesbaden) may be reached directly. The nearest [InterCityExpress](/source/InterCityExpress) stop is the [railway station](/source/Railway_station) at Montabaur on the [Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line](/source/Cologne-Frankfurt_high-speed_rail_line).

## References

1. [Direktwahlen 2019, Westerwaldkreis](https://www.wahlen.rlp.de/de/kw/wahlen/kd/gebiete/1430000000000.html), Landeswahlleiter Rheinland-Pfalz, accessed 9 August 2021.

## External links

- [Nistertal](http://www.nistertal-westerwald.de/) (in German)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nistertal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nistertal) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nistertal?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.