Allendorf (Eder) () is a municipality which situated in the north west of
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. The municipality is within the
Waldeck-Frankenberg
Waldeck-Frankenberg is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Höxter, Kassel, Schwalm-Eder, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Hochsauerland.
History
The district was created in 1972 by merging t ...
district in a rural region called the upper Eder Valley. The Burgwald range is located west of Allendorf while the Breite Struth hills are in Allendorf's east.
With regard to towns, Allendorf lies to the east of Frankenberg/Eder (12 km) and to the west of Battenberg (2.6 km) and
Biedenkopf
Biedenkopf () is a spa town in western Hesse, Germany with a population of 13,491 (2020).
Geography
Location
The town of Biedenkopf lies in the west of Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Ringed by mountains reaching up to above sea level – ...
(21 km). In the north of Allendorf are
Hallenberg
Hallenberg is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Geography
Hallenberg is situated approximately 15 km southeast of Winterberg and 35 km north of Marburg (in Hesse).
Neighbouring places
* Alle ...
(12 km),
Winterberg
Winterberg ( Westphalian: ''Winnenmerg'') is a town in the Hochsauerland district of North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany and a major winter sport resort of the Wintersport Arena Sauerland.
Geography
Winterberg is located in the middle of ...
(26 km), and
Korbach
Korbach (pronunciation: ˈkoːɐˌbax), officially the Hanseatic City of Korbach (German: Hansestadt Korbach), is the district seat of Waldeck-Frankenberg in northern Hesse, Germany. It is over a thousand years old and is located on the German Tim ...
(39 km). In its south is the university city
Marburg
Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...
(32 km).
Allendorf is internationally known because of the heating company Viessmann, which has its headquarters in Allendorf/Eder. Moreover, the FC Ederbergland - an amalgamation of the football divisions of the SV Allendorf and the TSV Battenberg - successfully plays in the Hessian regional league. Allendorf is also attractive to tourists because of its half-timbered houses and the surrounding idyllic landscape.
Geography
Neighbouring communities
Allendorf borders in the east on the town of Frankenberg, in the southeast on the community of
Burgwald
Burgwald is a municipality in Waldeck-Frankenberg in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Burgwald lies east of Battenberg and roughly 30 km north of the university town of Marburg. The community lies on the northwestern edge of the Burgwald ...
, and in the south and west on the town of Battenberg (all in Waldeck-Frankenberg). To its north is
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...
(
Bad Berleburg
Bad Berleburg (, earlier also Berleburg) is a town, in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of Germany's largest towns by land area. It is located approximately northeast of Siegen and northwest of ...
and
Hallenberg
Hallenberg is a town in the Hochsauerland district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
Geography
Hallenberg is situated approximately 15 km southeast of Winterberg and 35 km north of Marburg (in Hesse).
Neighbouring places
* Alle ...
).
Constituent communities
The municipality Allendorf/Eder consists of the following ''
Ortsbezirk
A ''Stadtbezirk'' (also called ''Ortsbezirk'' in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate) is an administrative division in Germany, which is part of a larger city. It is translated as "borough". In Germany, ''Stadtbezirke'' usually only exist in a metropo ...
Bromskirchen
Bromskirchen is a village and a former municipality in Waldeck-Frankenberg in Hesse, Germany. On 1 January 2023, it was merged into the municipality of Allendorf (Eder).Hersfeld. The community passed with the ''
Amt
Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...
'' of Battenberg first to the High Principality (''Oberfürstentum'') of Marburg in 1567, and then to
Hesse-Darmstadt
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse betwee ...
in 1623. In 1866, it became part of the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
n district of Battenberg, in 1932 the Frankenberg district, and in 1974 the Waldeck-Frankenberg district. Since Hesse's municipal reforms in 1971, Allendorf (Eder) with the outlying centres of Battenfeld, Rennertehausen, Haine and Osterfeld form a community on the broad Eder plains. On 1 January 2023, the former municipality
Bromskirchen
Bromskirchen is a village and a former municipality in Waldeck-Frankenberg in Hesse, Germany. On 1 January 2023, it was merged into the municipality of Allendorf (Eder).
SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been t ...
9 seats
* FDP 1 seat
*BLO 10 seats
Note: BLO is citizens' coalition.
Constituent community heads
*''Allendorf'': Strieder, Reinhold (BLA)
*''Battenfeld'': Gasse, Dietmar (CDU)
*''Rennertehausen'': Clemens, Erich
*''Haine'': Eckel, Günther
*''Osterfeld'': Lassek, Wolfgang (BLO)
Partnerships
Allendorf maintains partnership links with:
* Bonneval near
Chartres
Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, since 1981.
Sightseeing
* The Battenfeld Church is a Romanesque cross-shaped basilica from the 12th and 13th centuries within which are preserved two case bays in the nave and the crossing with groin vaults and a domelike vault in the quire.
* The Allendorf Old Church (''Alte Kirche Allendorf'') is from late
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
times and has a bulky quire tower whose flat spire ( tented on all sides with a short roof ridge) is set on the long sides with two bay windows, giving it an interesting profile. It was built in 1496.
* Rennertehausen Church is a
half-timbered
Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
church from 1609 with a loft and interesting pulpit.
* Haine Church is a half-timbered, opulently decorated church. It was built in 1676.
* The ''Altes Steinbackhaus'' ("Old Stone Bakehouse") is in Rennertehausen, at Im Wiesenhof 9.
* There are local history museums in outlying centres.
* The Stedefelsen ( crags), 200 m downstream from Rennertehausen's Eder
weir
A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
, are a
geological
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Eart ...
treasure from
Zechstein
The Zechstein (German either from ''mine stone'' or ''tough stone'') is a unit of sedimentary rock layers of Middle to Late Permian (Guadalupian to Lopingian) age located in the European Permian Basin which stretches from the east coast of Englan ...
times.
* The Historical Border between Hesse-Darmstadt and Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) runs through the municipal area from north to south. Many border stones – the oldest from 1650 – are preserved and looked after.
* There are many fine half-timbered houses in all centres.
Infrastructure
Educational Facilities
Allendorf's school has existed since 1965. Before it was renamed "Schule am Goldberg" it was called "Mittelpunktschule Allendorf." It normally accommodates a primary school and a Hauptschule. Lately, however, it has been reduced to being only a primary school because of demographic and educational changes. Its pupils come from Allendorf, Battenfeld, Bromskirchen, Haine, Osterfeld, and Rennertehausen.
Secondary schools can be found in Battenberg and Frankenberg. Battenberg's comprehensive school (Gesamtschule Battenberg) offers all three types of schools (Hauptschule, Realschule, and Gymnasium). It puts a special emphasis on media education. As it is newly refurbished, it is a well-equipped all-day school. Pupils who go to Gymnasium in Battenberg have to change to Frankenberg after their tenth grade in order to pass their A-levels. Frankenberg's
Edertalschule
The Edertalschule is a traditional Gymnasium in Frankenberg (Eder). It is located in the southwestern part of the district Waldeck-Frankenberg in Hesse, and is the only Gymnasium in the old district of Frankenberg. Despite the more rural loc ...
is a traditional Gymnasium with a special emphasis put on musical education. There is also a vocational college (Berufsfachschule) called "Hans-Viessmann-Schule" in Frankenberg.
Sports Grounds
Allendorf and its constituent communities offer a broad variety of well-equipped public sports grounds, which are regularly used by local clubs and schools. The largest sports ground is the stadium in Allendorf, which is called "Sportstadion im Ried." It is an arena type B and consists of 6 running tracks with Rekortan-surface, a sandpit for long jump, a high jump or pole vault pit, a lawn, and a shot put area. Unroofed standing terraces for approximately 6000 people can be found on the south-western side of the arena.
In addition to the football ground of the stadium, there are four separate football grounds and one artificial grass pitch, which reflects that almost every constituent community has its own football association and that FC Ederbergland regularly exercises on one of the football grounds in Allendorf's sports centre.
Apart from football grounds and athletics sports stadiums, there are also a boules pit, an ice rink which is used as a skateboard park in summer, an indoor
riding hall
A riding hall, indoor arena, indoor school (UK English), or indoor ring (US English) is a building (part of an equestrian facility) that is specially designed for indoor horse riding. Smaller, private buildings contain only space for riding, whi ...
surrounded by several outdoor riding arenas, an indoor tennis centre with three hard courts as well as four outdoor tennis courts. Three additional tennis courts can be found in Rennertehausen.
Further sports grounds are a gymnasium belonging to the local school, two bowling facilities in Allendorf and Haine with two bowling alleys each, three indoor shooting ranges and one outdoor shooting stand. Finally, one can also consider the airport as a sports ground since it is regularly used by the aviation sport association.
Community Halls
Municipal authorities and administration are housed in the community centre in Allendorf. Moreover, each village belonging to Allendorf has its own community hall which is used for community meetings, private parties, sports and cultural events. The community halls in Haine and the community centre in Allendorf are equipped with two skittle alleys, which can be rented.
Transport
Streets
Near Allendorf two major roads, B 236 and B 253, meet. The B236 runs along a north–south axis connecting Allendorf with
Winterberg
Winterberg ( Westphalian: ''Winnenmerg'') is a town in the Hochsauerland district of North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany and a major winter sport resort of the Wintersport Arena Sauerland.
Geography
Winterberg is located in the middle of ...
and
Marburg
Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...
. The well-developed B253 connects Allendorf with Frankenberg,
Korbach
Korbach (pronunciation: ˈkoːɐˌbax), officially the Hanseatic City of Korbach (German: Hansestadt Korbach), is the district seat of Waldeck-Frankenberg in northern Hesse, Germany. It is over a thousand years old and is located on the German Tim ...
, and
Biedenkopf
Biedenkopf () is a spa town in western Hesse, Germany with a population of 13,491 (2020).
Geography
Location
The town of Biedenkopf lies in the west of Marburg-Biedenkopf district. Ringed by mountains reaching up to above sea level – ...
. To reach the nearest autobahn, which is the A45 near
Dillenburg
Dillenburg, officially Oranienstadt Dillenburg, is a town in Hesse's Gießen (region), Gießen region in Germany. The town was formerly the seat of the old Dillkreis district, which is now part of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis.
The town lies on the German-N ...
, it takes approximately one hour (50,4 km). The B3, a two-laned major road that is connected with the autobahn network, can be reached in approximately half an hour after 25,9 km near Marburg.
In addition to these long distances to clearways, the traffic situation is impaired by frequent radar controls and speed limits on B236 between Münchhausen and Marburg as well as sloping and winding roads on B253 when passing the Sackpfeife.
Railways
Allendorf is associated with the railway network and has its own railway station. Since 14 November 1966 passenger service on the local railway between Winterberg and Frankenberg has been discontinued. The track was largely converted into a walking and bicycle trail. On 30 May 1981, the railway line Frankenberg –
Bad Berleburg
Bad Berleburg (, earlier also Berleburg) is a town, in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of Germany's largest towns by land area. It is located approximately northeast of Siegen and northwest of ...
was likewise closed for passenger service. The track is now used only for goods transport. Today, Allendorf is not served by trains any more. The nearest railway stations on the railway line Marburg – Frankenberg are Münchhausen, Birkenbringhausen and Frankenberg.
Airports
Allendorf has a small airport (
Allendorf Airport
Allendorf Airport (german: Flugplatz Allendorf) is a public airport located north of Allendorf (Eder) in Hesse, Germany, run by the energy company Viessmann.
The airport was upgraded in 2005 at a cost of €10 million. The runway was lengthened ...
), which is run by the heating company
Viessmann
The Viessmann Group is a German manufacturer of heating and refrigeration systems headquartered in Allendorf (Eder), Germany. With 22 production companies in 12 countries, distribution companies and representative offices in 74 countries and 120 ...
and shared with the local aviation sports club. The paved runway is 1240m long and illuminated at night. There are no scheduled or charter flights. Frankfurt Main Airport, Paderborn Airport and Düsseldorf Airport are the nearest airports with regular passenger flights.
*Sportverein 1924 Allendorf (Eder) e. V.
*SV 1923 Rennertehausen e.V.
*SG Battenfeld e.V.
*TSV Haine e.V.
*Türkgüçü Allendorf
*
FC Ederbergland
FC Ederbergland is a German association football club from the city of Battenberg, Hesse. The club was formed through the merger of predecessor sides ''TSV Battenberg'' and ''SV Allendorf/Eder''.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Vereinslexikon. Kassel: AGO ...