Aura im Sinngrund

Geography

Location

The community lies some 20 km northwest of Gemünden am Main in the valley of the Aura river in the Spessart Nature Park (Naturpark Spessart). The community's northern limit forms Bavaria's boundary with Hesse.

History

In 1059, Aura had its first documentary mention in a document conferring rights in the royal hunting forest on the Fulda Abbey. In 1803 most of the former Prince-Bishopric of Würzburg Amt was made part of Prince Primate von Dalberg's newly formed Principality of Aschaffenburg. In 1808 it became a condominium of the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Electorate of Hesse-Kassel, falling entirely to Bavaria in 1814. In the course of administrative reform in Bavaria, the current community came into being with the Gemeindeedikt (“Municipal Edict”) of 1818.

Demographics

| graph-pos = right | 1970|1134 | 1987|1104 | 2002|1085 | 2003|1074 | 2005|1073 | 2007|1047 | 2015|1010 | 2020|961

The current population is around 1,000.

Economy

Municipal taxes in 1999 amounted to €407,000 (converted), of which net business taxes amounted to €13,000.

Governance

Since March 2008 Wolfgang Blum (SPD/UAB) has been the mayor. He replaced Walter Sachs (CDU).

Coat of arms

The community's arms might be described thus: Quartered, first dancetty of three gules and argent, second barry of eight Or and of the first, third bendy of five of the first and third, fourth of the second a fess of the third paly wavy of three of the first.

Four historic coats of arms are marshalled on this escutcheon, each one representing a former overlord. The arms once borne by the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg appear on the dexter (armsbearer's right, viewer's left) side in chief (that is, in the upper row). Next to this are the arms of the Counts of Rieneck. On the dexter side in base (lower row) are those once borne by the Barons of Hutten, and beside this those borne by the Barons of Thüngen.

Arts and culture

Buildings

The community's appearance is dominated by the Catholic Kuratienkirche zu den Sieben Schmerzen Mariens (Church of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows).

The former castle (Schloss, originally a hunting lodge for the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg) nowadays houses Aura's primary school.

The former parish church St. Erasmus (13th century, Gothic) now serves as cemetery chapel.

See also: list of protected monuments in Aura (German)

References

References

1. [https://www.statistik.bayern.de/wahlen/kommunalwahlen/bgm/ Liste der ersten Bürgermeister/Oberbürgermeister in kreisangehörigen Gemeinden], [[Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik]], 15 July 2021.
2. Historisches Gemeindeverzeichnis, S. 56, 95; Richter, p. 204f; Winkopps Zeitschrift, p. 389-394
3. [https://archive.today/20130212145629/http://www.vgem-burgsinn.de/sites/gensite.asp?SID=cms180920081728516663171&Art=135 Geschichte der Gemeinde Aura im Sinngrund - Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Burgsinn]
4. [https://www.statistikdaten.bayern.de/genesis/online?operation=previous&levelindex=1&step=1&titel=Ergebnis&levelid=1627474959740&acceptscookies=false#abreadcrumb Ergebnis 12411-001], Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik
5. [https://archive.today/20120919083802/http://www.vgem-burgsinn.de/sites/gensite.asp?SID=cms210320091729264540368&Art=26 Arms as described at community’s official website]
6. (1972). "Grieben Reiseführer, Band 137: Spessart (German)". Grieben Verlag, München.