Eschwege (), the district seat of the
Werra-Meißner-Kreis
Werra-Meißner is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Göttingen, Eichsfeld, Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis, Wartburgkreis, district-free Eisenach, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, Kassel.
History
The di ...
, is a town in northeastern
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 ...
. In 1971, the town hosted the eleventh ''
Hessentag
The Hessentag (; en, Hesse Day) is an annual event, both fair and festival, organized by the German state of Hesse to represent the different regions of Hesse. The events are shown for a week to the visitors, with an emphasis on cultural displ ...
'' state festival.
Geography
Location
The town lies on a broad plain tract of the river
Werra
The Werra (), a river in central Germany, is the right-bank headwater of the Weser. "Weser" is a synonym in an old dialect of German. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After the Werra joins the river Fulda in the t ...
at the foot of the Leuchtberg (mountain) northwest of the Schlierbachswald (range) and east of the
Hoher Meißner
The Hoher Meißner is a mountain massif with a height of 753.6 m and is located in the '' Meißner-Kaufunger Wald'' nature park in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
The Hoher Meißner is densely forested and covers an area of 10 km by 5 km. ...
. The valley basin where the town is located includes a series of small lakes along the northern side of the river.
![Dietemann-in-Eschwege](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Dietemann-in-Eschwege.jpg)
The nearest city in Hesse is
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
(roughly 52 km to the northwest), and the nearest in
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
is
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
(roughly 55 km to the north). It lies more or less in the geographical centre of Germany.
Neighbouring communities
Eschwege borders in the north on the town of
Bad Sooden-Allendorf
Bad Sooden-Allendorf is a spa town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
The spa town of Bad Sooden-Allendorf lies in the Werra valley near the Hoher Meißner, right on the boundary with Thuringia, almost at Germany's ...
and the community of
Meinhard
Meinhard is a municipality in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
The community lies in the North Hesse Low Mountain Range landscape on the edge of the Werra valley, 3 km from the district seat of Eschwege.
Near ...
, in the east on the town of
Wanfried
Wanfried is a town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in northeasternmost Hesse, Germany. It is classified as a ''Landstadt'', a designation given in Germany to a municipality that is officially a town (''Stadt''), but whose population is below 5,000. It ...
(all three in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis), in the southeast on the town of
Treffurt
Treffurt () is a small town in the western region of the Wartburgkreis district which belongs to the federal state of Thuringia. The former municipality Ifta was merged into Treffurt in January 2019. The town lies near the Werra and is surrounded ...
(in
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
’s
Wartburgkreis
Wartburgkreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the west of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) the districts Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis, Gotha, Schmalkalden-Meiningen, and the districts Fulda, Hersfeld-Rotenburg and Wer ...
), in the south on the communities of
Weißenborn and
Wehretal
Wehretal is a municipality in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in northeastern Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Wehretal lies roughly 50 km southeast of the North Hesse city of Kassel. It is found between Eschwege in the north and Sontra in the s ...
, in the west on the community of
Meißner, and in the northwest on the community of
Berkatal
Berkatal is a municipality in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Berkatal lies in the Meißner-Kaufunger Wald Nature Park at the foot of the Hoher Meißner massif. The river Berka rises within community limits.
Neig ...
(all four in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis).
Constituent communities
Eschwege’s ''
Stadtteile'', besides the main town, also called Eschwege, are Albungen, Eltmannshausen, Niddawitzhausen, Niederdünzebach, Niederhone, Oberdünzebach and Oberhone.
History
![Kupferstich eschwege 1655](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Kupferstich_eschwege_1655.jpg)
In 974, ''Eskinivvach'' had its first documentary mention. This name stems from an old
Germanic language
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania and Southern Africa. The most widely spoken Germanic language, Engli ...
and means “Settlement near the
ash tree
''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of subtropical species are evergree ...
s at the water”. This origin is noteworthy for showing that the town arose before
Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
overran the area, which was some time between 500 and 700. As far back as
Merovingian
The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
times, a Frankish royal court arose here, which kept watch as a border defence over the
ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading, or inside a vehicle getting its wheels wet. A ford may occur naturally or be constructed. Fords may be impassable during high water. A low-water cr ...
on the Werra leading into Thuringia, and which still stood in the 10th and 11th centuries. At this time,
Saint Denis was still the foremost saint, having been the Merovingians’ main saint, to whom the church in the Old Town is consecrated.
![Werraansicht](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Werraansicht.jpg)
The first documentary mention is found in a document from Emperor
Otto II
Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (''der Rote''), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. ...
, in which he bequeathed the royal court and the settlement to his wife
Theophanu
Theophanu (; also ''Theophania'', ''Theophana'', or ''Theophano''; Medieval Greek ; AD 955 15 June 991) was empress of the Holy Roman Empire by marriage to Emperor Otto II, and regent of the Empire during the minority of their son, Emperor Ott ...
. Their daughter Sophia founded on the Cyriakusberg about 1000 a canonical foundation for women (in which women did not take vows, but nonetheless lived in a
convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
like environment) consecrated to Saint
Cyriacus
Cyriacus ( el, Ἅγιος Κυριακός, fl. 303 AD), sometimes Anglicized as Cyriac, according to Christian tradition, is a Christian martyr who was killed in the Diocletianic Persecution. He is one of twenty-seven saints, most of them mart ...
, which existed until the introduction of the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
into Hesse in 1527. All that is left of it now, though, is the ''Karlsturm'' (tower). Market rights were granted about 1188, and town rights followed by 1249. It was in this time that the groundwork was laid for the
cloth
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
- and
leather
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...
making that flourished on into modern times.
Beginning in 1264, as a result of the Thuringian-Hessian War of Succession, Eschwege belonged, under
Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse
Henry I of Hesse "the Child" (German: ''Heinrich das Kind'') (24 June 1244 – 21 December 1308) was the first Landgrave of Hesse. He was the son of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and Sophie of Thuringia.
Life
In 1247, as Heinrich Raspe, Landg ...
, to Hesse. On 12 May 1292, he offered King
Adolf of Germany
Adolf (c. 1255 – 2 July 1298) was the count of Nassau from about 1276 and the elected king of Germany from 1292 until his deposition by the prince-electors in 1298. He was never crowned by the pope, which would have secured him the imperial ...
the town of Eschwege as an Imperial
fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...
and was given it straight back along with the Imperial castle Boyneburg as an hereditary Imperial fief, thereby raising Henry to Imperial Prince, greatly strengthening his power in Hesse.
In 1385, Landgrave Balthasar of Thuringia moved to town and in 1386 he built a
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
. In 1433, the town passed back to the
Landgraviate of Hesse
The Landgraviate of Hesse (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen) was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed as a single entity from 1264 to 1567, when it was divided among the sons of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse.
History
In the early Mid ...
.
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (in English: "the Magnanimous"), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protestan ...
,
William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
William IV of Hesse-Kassel (24 June 153225 August 1592), also called ''William the Wise'', was the first Landgrave of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel). He was the founder of the oldest line, which survives to this day.
Life
Lan ...
and
Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
Maurice of Hesse-Kassel (german: Moritz; 25 May 1572 – 15 March 1632), also called Maurice the Learned or Moritz, was the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) in the Holy Roman Empire from 1592 to 1627.
Life
Maurice was born in Kassel a ...
expanded the castle into a palatial residence. From 1627 to 1632, this was Maurice's “old man’s seat” after he had
abdicated
Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...
, and from 1632 to 1655, Landgrave Frederick of Hesse-Eschwege, a sideline in the so-called ''Rotenburger Quart'' of the house of Hesse-Kassel, was resident here, although he did not actually live in the town until some time after 1646. In the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
, Eschwege was sacked and widely laid waste by fire in 1637 by Imperial Croats under General Johann von Götzen. After Frederick's death in 1655, his (part-)landgraviate passed to his brother Ernst of Hesse-Rheinfels. After 1731, his grandson, Christian of Hesse-Wanfried transferred the residence of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Wanfried to Eschwege. After the Hesse-Wanfried male line died out in 1755, the landgraviate passed to the Hesse-Rotenburg line. Once their male line also died out in 1834, the whole ''Quart'' passed back to the main house of Hesse-Kassel.
The town acquired in 1875 a
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
link when the line from
Bebra
Bebra () is a small town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany.
Geography Location
Bebra lies some south of Kassel on the Fulda. The town is easy to find on most maps thanks to its prominent location on the ''Fuldaknie'' ...
to Eschwege was built. Niederhone station (as of 1938, Eschwege-West) was the junction of two lines, the ''
Cannons railway
The ''Kanonenbahn'' (literally "Cannons Railway") is a former German military strategic railway between Berlin and Metz via Güsten, Wetzlar, Koblenz and Trier. Metz is in Alsace-Lorraine, which was annexed by Germany after the Franco-Prussian Wa ...
'' and the ''
Bebra–Göttingen line''.
![David-Ben-Gurion-Denkmal in Eschwege](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/David-Ben-Gurion-Denkmal_in_Eschwege.jpg)
After the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
ended in 1945, Eschwege belonged to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
Zone of Occupation. The US military administration set up a
displaced persons camp
A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for interna ...
to lodge Jewish citizens. This camp, in which up to 3,300 people lived at times, was dissolved in 1949.
Military history
Eschwege is also home to old barracks, formerly used by the German Army during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It was occupied by
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
troops for a short time after the war and is now a training center for the
German Federal Police
The Federal Police (''Bundespolizei'' or BPOL) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the German Federal Government, being subordinate to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (''Bundesministerium ...
.
Town’s historical names
At the time of founding, Eschwege was known as ''Eskiniwach'', meaning “Settlement near the ash trees at the water”.
Older people living in town and nearby also say ''Eschewei'' or ''Ischewei''. These names may stem from High German and come from Eschwege's original Germanic name.
Amalgamations
In 1936, Niederhone was amalgamated, and in 1973 in the course of municipal reform, the other six communities named above were also amalgamated.
Population development
(in each case at 31 December)
Religion
Churches
In Eschwege there are four
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
parishes in the main town and one each in the outlying centres of Albungen, Eltmannshausen, Niddawitzhausen, Niederdünzebach, Oberdünzebach, Niederhone and Oberhone. Furthermore, there are two
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
parishes in the main town (St. Elisabeth and Apostelkirche), a state church community (Bismarkstraße 7), an Evangelical Free Church parish (Baptists) and a
New Apostolic
The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a Christian church that split from the Catholic Apostolic Church during an 1863 schism in Hamburg, Germany.
The church has existed since 1863 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands. It came abo ...
parish, whose members attend services at the former
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
(Vor dem Berge 4). Today (as at 31 December 2006), 13,967 of the town's 22,574 inhabitants (61.87%) belong to the Evangelical Church and 3,403 (15.07%) belong to the Catholic Church.
The town's oldest church was built in the 10th century on the spot where now stands the ''Marktkirche'' (“Market Church”)
Jewish community
![Eschwege-former synagogue-now new apostolic church](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Eschwege-former_synagogue-now_new_apostolic_church.jpg)
Already by the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, there were
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
s living in Eschwege (first reference in 1301). In the
persecution
Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...
arising in the time of the
Black Death
The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...
, the Jewish community was wiped out. In 1457, a ''Judengasse'' (“Jews’ Lane”) was mentioned, and from 1507 comes mention of the ''vicus iudaicus''. The ''Judengasse'' lay in the town centre between ''Kohlenmarkt'' and ''Neuer Steinweg''. In 1580, 30 Jewish inhabitants were counted in town. By the mid 18th century, this had risen to 171 (4.9% of the whole population). The families earned their livelihood at first almost exclusively from livestock trading and goods trading (textiles). In the 19th century, however, many Jewish trading, business and industrial operations arose, which earned great importance to the town's economic life. Even in public life, the Jewish inhabitants readily took part. The community belonged to the
Lower Hesse
Lower Hesse is a historic designation for an area in northern Hesse, Germany.
The term Lower Hesse originated in the Middle Ages for the so-called "lower principality" of Hesse, which was separated until 1450 from the so-called "upper principalit ...
(Kassel) Rabbinate Region, although it had its own district rabbinate. The Jewish population peaked in 1885, when there were 549. As early as 1838, a synagogue had been dedicated. Its interior was utterly destroyed on
Kristallnacht
() or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...
(9 November 1938). Since 1954, the former synagogue has served as Eschwege's New Apostolic church.
After 1933, some of the Jewish community's members left Eschwege or emigrated as Jews were being stripped of their rights and subjected to reprisals. Four hundred and twenty-one left in 1933 alone, many of them for the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
(80). In 1941 and 1942, the last hundred or so Jewish residents were deported to the
death camps
Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...
.
After 1945, a
displaced persons camp
A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for interna ...
to lodge Jewish death camp survivors was set up under the supervision of the
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was an international relief agency, largely dominated by the United States but representing 44 nations. Founded in November 1943, it was dissolved in September 1948. it became part o ...
and lasted a few years. Almost all the camp dwellers emigrated to
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
once that state had been founded. The Jews left in Eschwege were in the long run too few in number to be able to form a community.
Politics
Town council
The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:
Social Democrats and the FDP work together on town council.
Executive
The town's executive (''Magistrat'') is made up of two full-time members (Mayor Alexander Heppe
DUand treasurer Reiner Brill) and seven other councillors, of whom 3 are from the SPD, 2 from the CDU and one each from the FDP and the FWG.
Mayor
The current mayor is Alexander Heppe (CDU), who was elected mayor after winning 65.63% of the votes on 14 March 2021, increasing his majority over the candidate from the SPD.
Coat of arms
The town's
arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
might be described thus: Gules a castle embattled with two towers with peaked roofs argent, between the towers an ash twig with three pinnate leaves vert.
The town of Eschwege has passed a bylaw governing the use of the coat of arms.
Town partnerships
*
Saint-Mandé
Saint-Mandé () is a high-end Communes of France, commune of the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. It is one of the sm ...
,
Val-de-Marne
Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a pop ...
,
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 1989
*
Mühlhausen
Mühlhausen () is a city in the north-west of Thuringia, Germany, north of Niederdorla, the country's geographical centre, north-west of Erfurt, east of Kassel and south-east of Göttingen.
Mühlhausen was first mentioned in 967 and bec ...
,
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
since 1989
*
Regen
Regen ( Northern Bavarian: ''Reng'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and the district town of the district of Regen.
Geography
Regen is situated on the great Regen River, located in the Bavarian Forest.
Divisions
Originally the town consisted o ...
,
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
since 1997; town friendship since 1967
Moreover, there are sponsorship arrangements with the German Navy's supply ship ''Werra'', the ''Eschwege'' of the Bundespolizei See and the Lufthansa aircraft D-ACPH, which has been christened ''Eschwege''.
Culture and sightseeing
Museums
* Stadtmuseum Eschwege (town museum)
* Eschweger Zinnfiguren- und Miniaturenkabinett (tin figures and miniatures cabinet)
* “Freunde der Eisenbahn” (railway museum)
* ''Heimatmuseum'' in the scenic Old Town, has a marketplace surrounded by
timber-frame
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 ...
houses.
Buildings
![Eschwege - Houses on the river Werra](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Eschwege_-_Houses_on_the_river_Werra.jpg)
Eschwege still has a
mediaeval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
town core with rows of
timber-frame
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 ...
houses. Moreover, the following buildings are worth seeing:
* Neustädter Kirche St. Katharina (church)
* Marktkirche St. Dionys (market church)
* Eschwege Landgraves’ Palace (''Schloss Eschwege''), since 1821 seat of the district administration (1386 built as a castle, expanded into a palace in 16th and 17th centuries), with
Frau Holle
"Frau Holle" ( ; also known as "Mother Holle", "Mother Hulda" or "Old Mother Frost") is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in ''Children's and Household Tales'' in 1812 (KHM 24). It is of Aarne-Thompson type 480.
Frau Holle (als ...
well built in 1930 showing on its outside reliefs of important scenes from the fairytale with the same name and with Dietemann tower, containing the Dietemann, the figure of a man with a horn, the symbol of the Eschweger, which is located in the castle tower and appears every hour to blow its horn. Also scenic are the views along the river Werra.
* ''Hochzeitshaus'' (“Wedding House”, a municipal community centre from 1578)
* Schulberg (Cyriakusberg, mountain) with the ''Karlsturm'' (tower, last remnant of a “women’s foundation” built in the 11th century)
* ''Nikolaiturm'' (former church tower from 1455)
* ''Bismarckturm'' (tower) on the Leuchtberg (from 1903)
* ''Dünzerbacher Torturm'' (tower) is one of the last remainings of the city's former fortification. The current version of this tower dates from the 17th century and was also used as a prison
* ''Schäferhalle'' (Pavilion on the west slope of the Leuchtberg)
* Former
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
, today a
New Apostolic
The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a Christian church that split from the Catholic Apostolic Church during an 1863 schism in Hamburg, Germany.
The church has existed since 1863 in Germany and since 1897 in the Netherlands. It came abo ...
church
* Hospital chapel
* Monastery, seat of the Eschwege monastery brewery
* ''Hexenkeller'' (“Witches’ Cellar”)
Parks
* Palace garden
* Botanical garden
* ''Sophiengarten''
* Leuchtbergpark (with paths in and around the Greater and Lesser Leuchtberg)
* Werratalsee (lake, a local recreation area between Eschwege and Schwebda)
Sport
On the Werratalsee lies a rowing regatta course, unique in Hesse, with six lanes and a length of 1 500 m. It was expanded in 2008 to 2 000 m, giving it international dimensions, allowing the Eschwege rowing club to soon stage international competitions. Already for some years, the Hesse rowing championships have been being held here.
There is also sailing on the Werratalsee. The Werrertalsee und Segelclub WSSC 1969 Eschwege e.V. yearly organizes spring and autumn regattas. During the season, guests are welcome at the marina.
A further sporting event is the “WerraMan” Triathlon, staged by the town since 2004. The contest is held each year on the first weekend in September. The “WerraMan” and all other watersport events are supported by the local
DLRG
The German Life Saving Association (german: Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft or DLRG) is a relief organization for life saving in Germany. The DLRG is the largest voluntary lifesaving organization in the world.
With around 560,000 membe ...
group Eschwege-Wanfried e. V.
The riding facility right near the Werratalsee is year after year the showplace for North Hesse Championships in
show jumping
Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...
and
dressage
Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...
.
Football is played in Eschwege in the clubs SV 07 Eschwege (Landesliga), FC Eschwege 1988 e.V (Kreisliga B2) and FFV Palm Strikers Eschwege (Kreisliga C2).
The Eschwege Gymnastic and Sport Club unites nine departments under one roof. It offers, among others, team handball, table tennis, gymnastics, swimming and athletics. Since 2005 there has also been a cycling sport department, making it the district's biggest sport club.
The town's biggest tennis club is TC Eschwege e.V. Its men's 50 and women's 50 teams play in the ''Gruppenliga'' (fifth highest class in Germany). The web page is www.tceschwege.de.
Regular events
Eschwege is the home of a famous four-day music and drinking festival called the ''Johannisfest'', which attracts several thousand visitors and is said to be the best showcase of the quaint town besides the Open Flair, the largest music festival in the region.
* Weekly market at the ''Obermarkt'' (“Upper Market”) every Wednesday and Saturday morning
* ''Johannisfest'', traditionally on the first Sunday in July, but if summer holidays in Hesse begin in June, held on the last Sunday before they begin. Friday: town festival with traditional ''Kränzewickeln'' (“wreath winding”); Saturday: ''Maienzug'' (parade) of Eschwege school classes; Sunday: festival parade of Eschwege school classes with the ''Dietemann'' (a local mascot); Monday: festival conclusion and lantern sendoff by the Eschwege Rowing Club, fireworks.
* Open Flair Festival (so called, even in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
) usually on the second weekend in August, is a 3-day concert/festival featuring several famous international and German bands and performers
* Pub festival in the inner town with live music in spring and autumn
* Brewery festival (Eschwege monastery brewery)
* ''Wurschtfest'' in Eschwege in September (sausage festival)
* ''Eschweger Puppen-Festtage'' (dolls), first weekend in November
* Eschwege Automobile Exhibition in the inner town in May
* ''Hüttenzauber'', impressive before-Christmas event at the marketplace
* Christmas market at the marketplace/''Obermarkt'' (“Upper Market”)
* Eschwege Spring festival
* Eschwege shooting festival, first weekend in September
* Fritz Jordan memorial rowing; late September on the Werra
* WerraMan - Eschwege popular triathlon (400 m swimming, 23 km cycling and 5 km walking), late August/early September
Economy and infrastructure
Transport
![Eschwege-West-Bahnhof-Juni07](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Eschwege-West-Bahnhof-Juni07.jpg)
Through the town run ''
Bundesstraße
''Bundesstraße'' (German for "federal highway"), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.
Germany
Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km.
German ''Bundesstraßen'' ...
n'' 27, 249 and 452. Furthermore, Eschwege lies on the
Regionalbahn line R7 (
Göttingen
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
–Eschwege–
Bebra
Bebra () is a small town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany.
Geography Location
Bebra lies some south of Kassel on the Fulda. The town is easy to find on most maps thanks to its prominent location on the ''Fuldaknie'' ...
–
Bad Hersfeld
The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld (''Bad'' is "spa" in German; the Old High German name of the city was ''Herolfisfeld'') is the district seat of the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southeast ...
–
Fulda
Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a town in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the town hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival.
History ...
) and belongs to the ''Nordhessischer Verkehrsverbund'' (“North Hesse Transport Association”, NVV). The nearby
Autobahn
The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...
A 44 (
Kassel
Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...
–
Eisenach
Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...
) is currently under construction.
At the timetable change on 13 December 2009, the ''Nordhessischer Verkehrsverbund'' (''North Hesse Transport Association'') added a service between Eschwege West and Eschwege town on its own infrastructure, which it had brought back into service and modernised. The old line, part of
a closed section of the
Kanonenbahn, was joined to the
Göttingen–Bebra line north and south of Eschwege West station. This meant that Eschwege West station was bypassed and it was closed for scheduled passenger services. A new station was opened at Eschwege-Niederhone. A two-storey car park and a central bus station was opened at Eschwege town station.
Eschwege town station received in 2013 the European Rail Award as ''Small station of the Year''.
Established businesses
In the field of machine building, the firms Präwema Antriebstechnik GmbH (machine tools), Pacoma GmbH (hydraulic cylinders), Baumer Thalheim GmbH & Co. KG (
rotary encoder
A rotary encoder, also called a shaft encoder, is an electro-mechanical device that converts the angular position or motion of a shaft or axle to analog or digital output signals.
There are two main types of rotary encoder: absolute and increme ...
s) and Georg Sahm GmbH & Co. KG (dishwashers and high-performance winders for the textile industry) are active.
Working in the field of household and system technology is the firm
Stiebel Eltron
Stiebel Eltron is a company based in Holzminden, Germany, that manufactures central heating products such as heat pumps. The UK office was set up on the Wirral Peninsula in 2008.
The company dates back to 1924 in Berlin, when Dr. Theodor Stiebe ...
GmbH & Co.KG (Eschwege works), and Friedola Gebr. Holzapfel GmbH manufactures leisure articles and table and floor coverings.
The ''Eschweger Klosterbrauerei GmbH'' (Eschwege monastery brewery) is a long established firm, having been brewing in town since the early 19th century. It regularly earns medals from the
German Agricultural Society The German Agricultural Society (''Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft''), commonly known as DLG, is an international non-profit organisation for agricultural industry in Germany. DLG was founded in 1885 by Max Eyth, has over 23,000 members as of ...
for its beers.
Media
In Eschwege appear the ''Werra-Rundschau'' and the ''Marktspiegel''. The local radio Rundfunk Meißner has been broadcasting from here since 1997.
Public institutions
Besides the customary institutions in a district seat, and those mentioned under “Culture and sightseeing”, there are a town library and the “espada” leisure pool.
Education
In Eschwege there are two
comprehensive school
A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is res ...
s, Anne-Frank-Schule and Brüder-Grimm-Schule, as well as two grammar schools, the
Gymnasium Friedrich-Wilhelm-Schule (lower school) and the ''Oberstufengymnasium'' (upper school with Sixth Form).
The town council operates three
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
s, the Alexander-von-Humboldt-Schule, the Geschwister-Scholl-Schule and the Struthschule. The school for pupils with learning difficulties is called the Pestalozzischule.
Moreover, there are the ''Berufliche Schulen des Werra-Meißner-Kreises'' (district vocational schools) and the private school ''Freie Waldorfschule Werra-Meißner''.
Further training and continuing education institutions are the Bundespolizei (German Federal Police) basic and advanced training centre ''Mitte'', the
community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...
and the family training centre.
Notable people
Sons and daughters of the town
*
Gerhard W Goetze (1930–2007), atomic physicist and inventor of SEC tube on Apollo 11 lunar camera
*
Rolf Hochhuth
Rolf Hochhuth (; 1 April 1931 – 13 May 2020) was a German author and playwright, best known for his 1963 drama ''The Deputy'', which insinuates Pope Pius XII's indifference to Hitler's extermination of the Jews, and he remained a controversial ...
(1931–2020), writer and playwright
*
Margarete Kahn
Margarethe Kahn (known as Grete Kahn, also Margarete Kahn, born 27 August 1880, missing after deportation to Piaski, Poland on 28 March 1942) was a German mathematician and Holocaust victim. She was among the first women to obtain a doctorate ...
(1880–1942), mathematician
*
Aliza Olmert
Aliza Olmert ( he, עליזה אולמרט; née Richter; born 1946) is an Israeli artist, photographer, author and social worker. She is married to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Biography
Aliza Olmert was born in a displaced ...
(born 1946), writer, wife of former Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert (; he, אֶהוּד אוֹלְמֶרְט, ; born 30 September 1945) is an Israeli politician and lawyer. He served as the 12th Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009 and before that as a cabinet minister from 1988 to 1992 and ...
*
Markus Schulz Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to:
* Marcus (name), a masculine given name
* Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name
Places
* Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44
* Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl ...
(born 1975),
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from the British new-age music scene and the early 1990s German techno and hardcore scenes.
Trance music is characterized by a tempo generally lying between 135–150 beats per minute ( ...
DJ and
producer
*
Wolfram Spyra
Wolfram Spyra (born 12 December 1964) is a German composer of ambient music.
Spyra was born in Eschwege. He began his career in the early 1990s constructing 'soundscapes' and installations around Germany. He has collaborated with a wide range o ...
(born 1964), sound artist and composer
*
Duane Washington
Duane Eddy Washington Sr. (born August 31, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Early life
Washington is a graduate of Parkview Arts and Science Magnet High School.
...
Sr (born 1964), American professional basketball player
*
Eduard Weiter
Eduard Weiter (18 July 1889 – 2 May 1945) was a German bureaucrat who became a Schutzstaffel Obersturmbannführer and concentration camp commandant during World War II.
Early life
The son of a horsewhip maker, Weiter worked as a book salesman ...
(1889–1945), last regular camp commander of
Dachau concentration camp
,
, commandant = List of commandants
, known for =
, location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany
, built by = Germany
, operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS)
, original use = Political prison
, construction ...
*
Paul Westheim (1886–1963), art critic, editor of the magazine "Kunstblatt"
* Markus “Zimbl” Zimmer (1964–2006), singer and bassist of the music group
The Bates __NOTOC__
The Bates were a German punk band, founded in Eschwege, federal state of Hessen, in 1987. The name referred to the character Norman Bates from Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film, '' Psycho''.
The Bates were mainly known for their cover ver ...
People associated with the town
*
Heinz Fromm
Heinz Fromm (born 10 July 1948 in Frieda) is a German civil servant, who served as President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution from 2000 to 2012. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.
Biography
Afte ...
(born 1948), from 2000–2012 president of the Federal office for Constitutional Protection, until his Abitur lived in Eschwege
* Julius Hackethal (1921–1997), surgeon and book author, 1946–1950 attending and chief physician at Eschwege district hospital
* Ruth Hammeran (1922–2007), grammar school teacher and lyricist
* Eitel Oskar Höhne (1922–1998), member of the Hesse Landtag 1950–1970; ''Landrat'' of Eschwege district and the Werra-Meißner-Kreis 1961–1988; Chairman of the Hessian Broadcasting Administration Council for many years, born in Dresden
*
Hartmut Holzapfel (born 1944), Hesse education minister 1991–1999, born in Ringgau-Röhrda, until
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
in Eschwege
* Dietrich Meister (1927–2014), member of the Hesse Landtag 1970–1991
* Lothar Quanz (born 1949), Hesse politician (SPD) and First Vice-President of the Hesse Landtag, worked for years as a teacher at the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Schule in Eschwege
* Erika Wagner (1933–2011), member of the Hesse Landtag 1978–1995; vice-president 1991–1995), born in Wanfried
*
Marco Weißhaupt
Marco Weißhaupt (born 24 June 1972) is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, bre ...
(born 1972), footballer, played from 2009 to 2010 at the
SV 07 Eschwege
See also
*
Eschwege displaced persons camp
References
External links
Information about Eschwege’s Jewish history and synagogue
Eschwege Displaced Persons CampTown’s official webpage
*
Webpage of the St. Elisabeth parish
Reference of the city webpage to the Apostelkirche parish
{{Authority control
Werra-Meißner-Kreis
Holocaust locations in Germany