Lichtenfels, Hesse
Lichtenfels | |
---|---|
Location of Lichtenfels within Waldeck-Frankenberg district | |
Coordinates: 51°9′N 8°48′E / 51.150°N 8.800°E | |
Country | Germany |
State | Hesse |
Admin. region | Kassel |
District | Waldeck-Frankenberg |
Government | |
• Mayor (2019–25) | Henning Scheele[1] |
Area | |
• Total | 96.73 km2 (37.35 sq mi) |
Elevation | 410 m (1,350 ft) |
Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 4,133 |
• Density | 43/km2 (110/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 35104 |
Dialling codes | 05636 |
Vehicle registration | KB |
Website | Stadt Lichtenfels |
Lichtenfels is a small town in Waldeck-Frankenberg district in northwest Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Lichtenfels lies at the northeast foot of the
The municipal area, across which the town's outlying centres are broadly scattered, is crossed by the rivers Orke and Aar. In the northeast, it borders on the Itter Valley, in the east on the Eder Valley, beyond which rises the Kellerwald range, and in the south on the Nuhne Valley.
Extent of municipal area
With its area of nearly 100 km², almost 40% of which is wooded, Lichtenfels is among the largest and most wooded municipalities in the district.
Neighbouring communities
Lichtenfels borders in the north on the town of Korbach, in the east on the community of Vöhl, in the south on the town of Frankenberg (all in Waldeck-Frankenberg), and in the west on the towns of Hallenberg and Medebach (both in the Hochsauerlandkreis in North Rhine-Westphalia).
Constituent communities
The town of Lichtenfels was made up from six communities and two towns: Dalwigksthal, Fürstenberg, Goddelsheim, Immighausen, Münden, Neukirchen, Rhadern and Sachsenberg.
History
In 1971, as part of municipal reforms, the eight formerly independent municipalities joined together to form a new, greater municipality, choosing the name Lichtenfels after the castle, the oldest noble seat in Waldeck.
Dalwigksthal
For a long time after the Castle Lichtenfels was built high above the Orke about 800 years ago, almost nobody gave Dalwigksthal any thought. Lichtenfels's newest constituent community celebrated 150 years of existence in 2001. As a result of the Waldeck Law of 24 January 1851, the estates of Kampf, Sand and Lichtenfels as well as the settlements and mills found there were merged into the village of Dalwigksthal.
However, there is tell of a valley community in this place in the
The Archbishop of
Lichtenfels's smallest constituent community has roughly 200 inhabitants.
Goddelsheim
Goddelsheim with its roughly 1,450 inhabitants is the biggest of Lichtenfels's constituent communities. The village lies 70 km southwest of Kassel. It is about 25 km east to the Edersee (dam) by road. The district seat of Korbach is roughly 10 km away. In 1988, Goddelsheim celebrated the village's 1100th anniversary of documentary mention. From one of King Arnulf's documents from 888 comes the first mention of Goddelsheim, but presumably, its history goes much further back. Witness to this is the discovery of some forgotten graves in the area that date back much earlier than the 9th century.
Things have not always been as peaceful in Goddelsheim as they are today. For instance, in 1548 and 1627, the Electors of Cologne tried to introduce the
Of the formerly three noble estates in the village, the last was divided up in 1904. Nevertheless, agriculture still plays a rôle. Furthermore, there are shops, handicraft businesses, a bank and a savings bank. Many people who live in Goddelsheim do not actually work there, but commute to jobs in Korbach or Frankenberg. Eleven clubs offer a variety of leisure activities. Goddelsheim is not only the biggest constituent community but also the seat of the town's administration. It has a church kindergarten, a primary school and Lichtenfels's central school (Mittelpunktschule).
Immighausen
The place that is now Lichtenfels's constituent community of Immighausen first came to history's attention about 850 when Countess Ida transferred her goods near Ymminchusen to
Rhadern
With roughly 370 inhabitants, Rhadern is the smallest of Lichtenfels's constituent communities. Its first documentary mention came in 1473, though already about 830, history mentions something about a place called Ryadra. Over the ages, Rhadern has had a number of different names. About 1020 the village was called Radirinhusen, about 1125, Rotheren. In 1336 when Count Heinrich of Waldeck pledged, among other things, this village to Count Johann of Nassau as a
Neukirchen
Up the Nuhne at the boundary with Rengershausen was a village or farm called "Aweshausen" or "Auweshausen". The field names in the area, "Auf der Aue" and "Auf der Junkernaue" recall the former centre. In 1336, Count Heinrich IV of Waldeck pledged, among other things, the village of Nuwenkyrchen to Count Johann of Nassau as a dowry for his daughter (see also Rhadern above), which also gave Neukirchen its first documentary mention. Already by 1301, though, history records a Ditmar von Nuwenkyrchen, Juryman at Sachsenberg, proof that there had already been a settlement there for some time before the Count's daughter's wedding. In the disputes between the Electors of Cologne and Waldeck, which had begun in 1533, the Elector of Cologne claimed, among other properties, Neukirchen. By 1663, however, Cologne had forgone its claim to the village, thus also bringing an end to the Electors' attempts to reintroduce the Catholic faith into the community. Neukirchen was a branch of the parish of Münden and in the 18th century temporarily a parish in its own right. Today it belongs to the parish of Sachsenberg. The church with its rectangular nave was newly built in 1864 by the master mason Gülich from Sachsenberg where an older forerunner church had once stood which had to be torn down. How the church looked before the new building was put up is not known with any certainty, as there are no reliable indications. The first new church, which was the village's namesake (Neukirchen ≈ new church), must have been built sometime before 1336 – the time of Neukirchen's first documentary mention – but a more precise indication of its building date is not possible.
The first part of what is today Neukirchen arose as a scattered village – one with an irregular layout – and nowadays forms the upper village. It was purely a farming community, and by all indications arose from a lordly estate. By and by arose also the lower village as a thorpe, or
Münden
In 1028, Emperor Konrad acknowledged that the Abbot of
Today, Münden, lying between Dalwigksthal and Medebach in Westphalia, belongs to Lichtenfels as a constituent community. Earlier names for the village besides Gimundia were Gemundi (1120), Gimunden (1125), Munden (1298), Gemonden (1321), Gemunden (1336, 1473) and Dreckmünden (1679). The village lies about 1 500 m from North Rhine-Westphalia and is home to about 420 people.
Fürstenberg
Fürstenberg, once Waldeck's and Hesse's smallest town, was first mentioned as a town in 1254. Remains of the old town wall can still be seen in the historic town core. This little town in the Waldecker Land is wrapped in many stories and sagas. One of them is the Hedgehog Saga (Igelsage) which has also given the town the name "Igelstadt". It says that a hedgehog kept Count Heinrich of Waldeck from coming a cropper when his horse shied before it. To this day, the Igelfest (Hedgehog Festival) is still celebrated in Fürstenberg on the Monday before Whitsun.
Politics
Town council
This section needs to be updated.(June 2015) |
The town council's 23 seats are apportioned thus, in accordance with municipal elections held on 26 March 2006:
CDU |
8 seats |
SPD | 7 seats |
FDP | 4 seats |
WGL | 3 seats |
Unabhängig Pro Lichtenfels | 1 seat |
Note: The last two named are citizens' coalitions.
Culture and sightseeing
- Castle Lichtenfels
- Schloss Reckenberg (stately home)
- Schaaken Monastery ruins
Fürstenberg
- Village shop
- Nordic walking school
- "Nordic walking paradise"
- Nature study diorama
- Kneipp centre
Sachsenberg
- Village pond
References
- Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt. 5 September 2022.
- Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt. June 2023.
External links
- Lichtenfels
- Dalwigksthal
- Neukirchen
- Sachsenberg
- Lichtenfels at Curlie