View source for Kemmern

{{about|the community in Bavaria|location in Latvia|Ķemeri}}.
{{Infobox German location
|image_coa            = DEU Kemmern COA.svg
|image_photo = Kemmern Luftbild-20211016-RM-154708.jpg
|image_caption = Aerial view of Kemmern
|coordinates       = {{coord|49|57|N|10|52|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan = Kemmern in BA.svg
|state        = Bayern
|region  = Oberfranken
|district         = Bamberg
|elevation              = 237
|area            = 8.27
|postal_code               = 96164
|area_code           = 09544
|licence               = BA
|Gemeindeschlüssel = 09 4 71 150
|website           = [http://www.kemmern.de/ www.kemmern.de]
|mayor             = Rüdiger Gerst<ref>[https://www.statistik.bayern.de/wahlen/kommunalwahlen/bgm/ Liste der ersten Bürgermeister/Oberbürgermeister in kreisangehörigen Gemeinden], [[Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik]], 15 July 2021.</ref>
|leader_term       = 2020&ndash;26
|party             = CSU
}}
[[Image:Kemmern mit Regenbogen 2006-06-01 klD.jpg|thumb|Rainbow over Kemmern]]
'''Kemmern''' is a community in the [[Upper Franconia]]n district of [[Bamberg (district)|Bamberg]] in [[Bavaria]], southern Germany.
==Geography==
The community of Kemmern is situated at an elevation of approximately 245 meters on the [[Main (river)|Main]] River, seven kilometers north of [[Bamberg]] at the foot of the Haßberge range. It belongs to the Upper Franconia-West region in the Upper Main Valley. Kemmern is nestled in an historic cultural landscape with a path system from the [[High Middle Ages]]. Many [[hiking]] and [[cycling]] paths connect Kemmern to places of interest to visitors (such as the Main Valley, the Haßberge, the Steigerwald [forest], the “[[Franconian Switzerland]]” and the world heritage city of Bamberg).
Although the community is not beset with heavy through traffic, the residential community of Kemmern is connected to the long-distance road network (''[[Bundesstraße]]n''  4 and 173).
The community has one of the traditional rural land units, known in [[German language|German]] as ''Gemarkungen'', also named Kemmern (it is traditional for a ''Gemarkung'' to be named after a town or village lying nearby).
==History==
Kemmern’s settlement history is very old and reaches far back into the first millennium BC, as shown by the origins of the ''Helenenkapelle'' ([[chapel]]) on the Semberg, which was a worshipping place as far back as [[Celts|Celtic]] times. In the [[Early Middle Ages]], the [[border]] between the [[Germanic peoples|Germanic-]] and [[Slavic peoples|Slavic-]]settled areas ran through what is now known as Kemmern. Bearing witness to the Germanic-[[Franks|Frankish]] presence are the Germanic townsites – now forsaken – of Dertheim and Schiring. The earlier ''Bürg'' may have had Slavic beginnings as an important refuge and worshipping place for the Main [[Wends]].
The first time that Kemmern was mentioned in writing was in a document from 26 October 1017 AD as ''Camerin'' in the Radenzgau (a county roughly corresponding to today’s Upper Franconia). In this document, Emperor [[Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor|Heinrich II]] acknowledges an exchange agreement whereby, along with [[Erlangen]] and [[Forchheim (Oberfranken)|Forchheim]] also, among other things, four fishermen at Kemmern were transferred by Bishop Heinrich of Würzburg to Bishop Eberhard of Bamberg.
In the centuries that followed up until [[Secularization]] in 1803, Kemmern remained an ''Obleidorf'' (from Mediaeval Latin ''oblaia'', an old term for things donated to spiritual institutions or [[Monastery|monasteries]]; ''Dorf'' is “village” in [[German language|German]]) of the Bamberg Cathedral Chapter, but it nevertheless had at its disposal quite early on a definite measure of autonomy. So Kemmern could deal with its local business under a regulation, the village charter, which required no lordly sanction. For its protection, Kemmern had at its disposal a water-filled [[moat]] and three gatehouses. In the [[German Peasants' War]] in 1525, Kemmerners actively fought on the rebels’ sides. In the winter of  1631-1632, Kemmern was beset by [[Sweden|Swedish]] troops. How much suffering the [[Thirty Years' War]] brought Kemmern can be seen in what had happened by 1638 in the cathedral chapter households, of which there were 68, and of which only 26 were still occupied by this time.
In the [[Seven Years' War]] from 1756 to 1763, Kemmern lay many times under quartering by various Imperial troops as well as under [[Prussia]]n invasions and quartering, since the Prince-Bishop of Bamberg had chosen to side with [[Austria]].
With the ''[[Reichsdeputationshauptschluss]]'' of 1803, the community passed to [[Bavaria]]. In the course of administrative reform in Bavaria, today’s community came into being under the ''Gemeindeedikt'' (“Community Edict”) of 1818. For the 2,600 or so people who lived here then, Kemmern had at its disposal important institutions for basic services.
Kemmern has been an autonomous parish since 1710. Between 1978 and 1980, the [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic]] parish of St. Peter and Paul was expanded.
In these same years, [[flood]]water control measures were undertaken. Because Kemmern lies on the Main, flooding is an ongoing threat. There were major events of this nature in February 1909 and December 1967 which showed how serious the problem could be. However, an excavation designed to forestall flooding was built between 1978 and 1980 to safeguard the community from this natural hazard.
Since 1995, the community core has been undergoing an overhaul as part of a programme to promote municipal building. The community has been receiving help from both the state and the [[European Union]] for this.
===Population development===
Within municipal limits, 1,923 inhabitants were counted in 1970, 2,188 in 1987 and 2,565 in 2000. On 31 December 2005 it was 2,659 and on 31 December 2006 it was 2,592.
===Religion===
* [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic]]: 2230
* Evangelical [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]]: 263
* Other: 166
==Politics==
{{update section|date=July 2021}}
Municipal council consists of the directly elected mayor and 14 councillors (9 [[Christian Social Union of Bavaria|CSU]], 5 [[UBB (political party)|UBB]], 1 [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]]). The mayor is Dipl.-Pol. Rüdiger Gerst M.&nbsp;A. (CSU). In 2002 he succeeded Alois Förtsch (CSU).
Kemmern is an autonomous unified community without any other ''[[Ortsteil]]e''.
In 1999, municipal tax revenue, converted to [[euro]]s, amounted to €1,530,000 of which business taxes (net) amounted to €89,247.
Household income in 2007 amounted to €4,000,000.
==Economy and infrastructure==
The current municipal tax collection rates amount to:
*Basic tax A: 300%
*Basic tax B: 300%
*Business tax: 310%<!--I have queried these figures elsewhere and am assured they are plausible. They apparently relate to an ancient, outdated system of reckoning.-->
===Economy===
According to official statistics, there were 65 workers on the social welfare contribution rolls working in producing businesses in 1998, and in trade and [[transport]] 33. In other areas, 50 workers on the social welfare contribution rolls were employed, and 949 such workers worked from home. In processing businesses there was one business, and in construction two. Furthermore, in 1999, there were 19 agricultural operations with a working area of 219&nbsp;ha, of which 171&nbsp;ha was cropland.
===Education===
In 2007, the following institutions existed in Kemmern:
*100 [[kindergarten]] places with 79 children (''Katholischer Kindergarten St. Maria'')
*[[Primary school]] with 9 teachers and 117 pupils
*Municipal [[library]] ''St. Peter und Paul'' at the town hall
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Further reading==
Konrad Schrott: ''Kemmern. Ortsgeschichte eines ehemaligen bambergisch-domkapitelischen Obleidorfes''. Kemmern 1986
==External links==
* [http://www.kemmern.de/ Community’s website]
{{Cities and towns in Bamberg (district)}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Bamberg (district)]]