The town’s name comes from a royal hunting forest – the – which had its first documentary mention as early as the 9th century. It was a forest whose hunting rights were exclusively the Emperor’s. This forest stretched along the lower
Main from
Aschaffenburg to
Rüsselsheim and from
Vilbel to the Neunkircher Höhe (heights) in the
Odenwald. The oaktrees in many communities’
coats of arms in this area point to this origin. In the middle of this royal hunting forest in the 11th century rose Dreieichenhain, when the Lords of Hagen built a tower castle in 1075.
Buchschlag This community was founded in 1904 as a ('villa colony', a form of town planning once popular among the well-to-do in Germany) by the Frankfurt salesman Jakob Latscha in the wooded (a cadastral unit) of . The first mayor was Rudolf Bindung. By 1909, Buchschlag had grown 343 inhabitants. By the time it was merged with the other communities in 1977, the population had risen to 2,984. Buchschlag has largely managed to keep its character: many old
Art Nouveau villas in the middle of the community are still preserved today and collectively are under heritage protection. The newer parts of Buchschlag likewise consist of fully detached houses. There are only scattered
terraced houses and on the main street, Buchschlager Allee, a few blocks of flats.
Dreieichenhain In the 11th century, a tower castle (Burg Hayn) was built from which the Lords of Hagen, later Hagen-Münzenberg (1075–1255), administered the
Imperial hunting forest of Dreieich. The settlement beside the castle was first mentioned as a town on 23 September 1256 ( in
Latin, meaning 'citizens in Hagen'), allowing the town to celebrate 750 years of having town rights in 2006. The
Falkensteins, who inherited the land from the Hagen-Münzenberg family, died out in 1418, and the Counts of
Isenburg managed in time to acquire the lordship over Dreieichenhain. In 1549, the
Reformation was introduced into the town. In 1816, the Isenburg-Birstein of
Offenbach passed along with Dreieichenhain to Hesse. The placename Hain in der Dreieich was changed in 1840 to Dreieichenhain. In 1834 the town had 998 inhabitants, and at the time of the merger on 1 January 1977 about 8,000.
Götzenhain After the Falkenstein family had died out, Götzenhain found itself under the ownership of the County of Isenburg in 1418, and in the 16th century, the Reformation was introduced. Count Johann Philipp of
Isenburg-Birstein built the palatial castle Schloss Phillipseich in Götzenhain about 1715. The new estate was built as an archetypal Isenburg estate. Only in 1724 did Götzenhain become an independent parish. In 1816, Götzenhain passed together with the of Offenbach to Hesse. The
railway was opened in 1905 with a
railway station in Götzenhain. In 1834, the community had 705 inhabitants, and by 1977 this had grown to 4,696.
Offenthal In a
Langen boundary description, was mentioned about 834, making Offenthal the oldest settlement in the Dreieich area after Sprendlingen. The Counts of Isenburg owned Offenthal as of 1489. As an important building monument, the
Gothic church of Offenthal has been preserved. It was endowed about 1400 and thereby belongs among the Offenbach district’s oldest churches. After the Reformation’s introduction in 1528, the parish became
Lutheran. Beginning in 1596, attempts were made to introduce
Calvinism. In 1816, Offenthal became Hessian. In 1834 the community had 441 inhabitants, and by 1977 this had grown to 5.142. Offenthal lies on the (German
Timber Framing Road) and on the Hessian Apple Wine and Orchard Route. In the early 1990s arose the Borngarten and Tannenstumpf new development areas. The rural calm and the proximity to Frankfurt am Main saw to it that Offenthal grew quickly. Offenthal has a particularly wide choice of different clubs. The biggest clubs are the SUSGO, the FCO, the TTCO and the Offenthal Volunteer Fire Brigade (535 members as of 31 December 2007).
Sprendlingen In 880,
Louis the Younger documented a donation by his father through the church in to the in Frankfurt ("with appurtenances"). The Counts of Isenburg acquired in 1486 from the Falkenstein inheritance the lordship over Sprendlingen. In 1528 the Reformation was introduced and in 1816 Sprendlingen passed to Hesse. In 1871, the Buchschlag-Sprendlingen station on the railway was opened, as was the to
Ober-Roden in 1905. In 1834, Sprendlingen had 1,788 inhabitants, and by 1977 this had grown to 21,351. == Politics ==