Owing to its location near the Bergstraße, a mild climate prevails in Birkenau, which can often be seen in what for Germany is a very early blossoming of almond trees.

In 1532 the town hall was built, and in 1771 the palace, Schloss Birkenau, of the Lords of Wambolt von Umstadt.

The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results: The community's arms might be described thus: Gules an uprooted birch tree overlaid with a wall anchor argent.

What the arms, whose charges can be partly traced in tithing seals and boundary stones back to the 16th century, mean is unclear.

The charge that the German blazon describes as a “wall anchor” (Maueranker) is not accepted as such by everyone, with some saying it could have been meant to be taken as a weaver's reel.

With a document from 22 July 1926, the interior minister of the People's State of Hesse granted the community the right to bear these arms.

DB Regio AG's Regionalbahn trains stop there hourly, and half-hourly during weekday peak times.