Gemünden () is a town in

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 mergin ...

district in

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Geography

Location

Gemünden lies roughly 22 km northeast of

Marburg Marburg (; ) is a college town, university town in the States of Germany, German federal state () of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf Districts of Germany, district (). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has ...

on the edge of the Burgwald range to the west and near the Kellerwald range rising to the northeast. The river Wohra crosses the town.

Neighbouring communities

Gemünden borders in the north on the community of Haina (Waldeck-Frankenberg), in the east on the community of Gilserberg (

Schwalm-Eder-Kreis Schwalm-Eder-Kreis is a ''Kreis'' (Districts of Germany, district) in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Kassel (district), Kassel, Werra-Meißner, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Vogelsbergkreis, Vogelsberg, Marburg-Biedenkopf, and Wald ...

), in the south on the community of Wohratal ( Marburg-Biedenkopf) and in the west on the town of Rosenthal (Waldeck-Frankenberg).

Constituent communities

The town consists of the centres of Ellnrode, Gemünden (Wohra), Grüsen, Herbelhausen, Lehnhausen, Schiffelbach and Sehlen.

History

Gemünden was formed out of seven villages: Holzbach, Giebelingsbach, Burghardshausen, Ernstdorf, Steigershausen, Osterbach and Katzbach The town's first documentary mentions come from the years 750 to 780, under the name ''Zegemunde''. The second documentary mention came in 1223. In 1253, Gemünden is first mentioned as a town. At this time, Gemünden belonged to the Counts of Ziegenhain. This historical fact is even seen in the town's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

, showing a black bird in a white field with red claws, a goat's head (''Ziege'' is German for goat) and a six-pointed star under each wing. In 1450, Gemünden passed to Hesse after the Ziegenhain line had died out. In the 16th century, the town had great wealth. In 1523, a great

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

was built, in 1541, the

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

was built, in 1564, a town hall was built on the marketplace, and in 1587, the first aqueduct was built using wooden ducts. The war years in the 17th and 18th centuries not only destroyed Gemünden's emerging cultural life, but also exacted heavy sacrifices. The Plague claimed two thirds of the town's population. The

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

and the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

asked the utmost of the townsfolk in terms of billeting and financial performance. From 1909 to 1914, the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

was built, the aqueduct special purpose association (''Wasserleitungszweckverband'') was founded (Gemünden got a new, modern

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Th ...

) and a new school in Gemünden came into being. In 1972, passenger transport on the railway was discontinued. In the winter of 1980-1981 came the discontinuation of goods services as well, and furthermore, the tracks were torn up.

Jewish history and presence

Records of a Jewish community in Gemünden date back to 1571. Throughout the centuries, Gemünden had a lively Jewish community numbering about 70 persons until their deportation to concentration camps at 1941/1942. The Synagogue of Gemünden was destroyed and burned in the Crystal Night at 1938 and soon afterwards was demolished.

Politics

Town council

The town council's 23 seats are apportioned thus, in accordance with municipal elections held on 26 March 2006: Note: ''Bürgerliste'' is a "citizens' list" rather than an actual party. Elections in March 2016 *CDU: 9 seats *SPD: 5 seats *B.L.:9 seats

Coat of arms

Gemünden's civic

might heraldically be described thus: In argent a goat-headed spreadeagle sable armed and langued gules, under each wing a six-pointed star Or. The goat-headed spreadeagle is a common heraldic charge in civic heraldry in the Ziegenhains' former domain (see also Neukirchen's, Schwalmstadt's and Schwarzenborn's coats of arms; indeed, there is even another place in Hesse called Gemünden with a similar charge in its arms), and was taken from the Counts' arms. In 1261 there appeared a seal showing this composition surmounted by a city gate. This last charge was removed in the 14th century and since then, the town's arms have hardly changed. The stars may symbolize St. Mary's Monastery, another former local ruler in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. The stars have changed position several times over the ages, and the colours have changed – the creature was not always "armed and langued gules" (did not always have red claws and tongue) – but as they stand now, the arms match the oldest known seal.

Town partnerships

* Elsbethen,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

* Illiers-Combray,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Sons and Daughters

*Konrad Dieterich (1575-1639), Protestant theologian *Daniel Schleyermacher (1697-1765), Zionite in Wuppertal *Adam Selbert (1893-1965), official, politician and journalist * The theologian and Entrepreneur Family Scheibler

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gemunden Wohra Waldeck-Frankenberg