Hatzfeld (Eder) is a small town in
Waldeck-Frankenberg district in
Hesse,
Germany.
Geography
Location
Hatzfeld lies in west Hesse 25 km northwest of
Marburg and north of the Sackpfeife (674 m-high mountain) in the valley of the
Eder Eder may refer to:
People
* Eder (surname)
* Éder (given name), a Portuguese or Spanish given name
*Éder (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer Éder Citadin Martins
*Eder (footballer, born 1987), Portuguese footballer from Guinea-Bissau E ...
.
Neighbouring communities
Hatzfeld borders in the north and east on the town of
Battenberg
Battenberg or Battenburg may refer to:
Places
* Battenberg (Eder), a town in Hesse, Germany
* Battenberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
* Battenberg Hill, in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica
People
* Batten ...
(Waldeck-Frankenberg), in the south on the town of
Biedenkopf (
Marburg-Biedenkopf), and in the west on the town of
Bad Berleburg (
Siegen-Wittgenstein in
North Rhine-Westphalia).
Constituent communities
The town of Hatzfeld consists of the centres of Biebighausen, Eifa, Hatzfeld (main town), Holzhausen, Lindenhof and Reddighausen
History
Hatzfeld had its first documentary mention in 1138. In 1340, the community was granted town rights. After the Hatzfeld branch of the
House of Hatzfeld died out in 1570, half the town, and later the whole, passed to the County of Hesse. In 1866, Hatzfeld passed to
Prussia, and under Prussian law lost its town rights in 1885. After Prussia was dissolved, Hatzfeld once again became a town in 1950.
Reddighausen
Reddighausen, nowadays one of Hatzfeld's constituent communities, had its first documentary mention in 1278, at that time still under the name ''Redinchusen''. Already by 1840 Reddighausen had 474 inhabitants; nowadays (as of 2000) there are roughly 900.
Lindenhof
Lindenhof is a
hamlet and one of Hatzfeld's constituent communities. Its name, unlike what might be assumed, has nothing to do with
linden trees, even though there is a "namesake" tree growing in the community ("Linden" is ''Linde'' – plural, ''Linden'' – 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 ...
), but rather with linen (''Leinen''), which in earlier times was woven here. In 1993, Lindenhof celebrated 300 years of existence, even though various sources point to a greater age.
What is known is that in 1693, a Hatzfeld townsman named Eckhardt went into the lovely dale here and acquired a newly built agricultural estate. In 1712, there were already six households in Lindenhof. In 1892, the hamlet got its own schoolteacher, who taught in a private house. In 1895, there were 77 people living in Lindenhof. In 1939, Lindenhof got its own
school, which lasted until 1965 when its functions were transferred to a new central school in Hatzfeld.
By the beginning of the
First World War, 21 residential buildings had appeared in the dale, although some of them were in the separate hamlet of Hof Roda.
In 1991-1992, what is arguably Hesse's smallest
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 was consecrated in Lindenhof.
Photograph gallery
Image:Hatzfeld06.jpg, Hatzfeld summer 2006
Image:Hatzfeld062.jpg, View over Hatzfeld
Image:Ahlefeld06.jpg, View over the "Ahlefeld"
Image:Lindenhof.jpg, Lindenhof 2005
Image:Schule_Lindenhof.jpg, Old Lindenhof school ca. 1940
Image:Kirche in Lindenhof.jpg, Lindenhof Church
Politics
Town council
The town council's 23 seats are apportioned thus, in accordance with municipal elections held on 26 March 2006:
Note: The ''Bürgerlisten'' are "citizens' lists" rather than actual parties.
Coat of arms
The current civic
coat of arms was conferred in 1950, but the charges shown within it date back to the 14th century, from which time an old town seal is known. The arms show a town wall with a gateway flanked by towers. Also in the arms above the gateway is an inescutcheon showing the arms of the Lords (later also Counts and Princes) of Hatzfeld, who died out in 1570. The size and shape of the various charges in the arms have changed over the age
Town partnerships
Hatzfeld maintains partnership links with the following:
*
Cloyes-sur-le-Loir, ''département'' of
Eure-et-Loir,
France since 1979
Sport and leisure
Tourism plays an important rôle in Reddighausen, which is a state-recognized resort with a comprehensive network of
hiking trails. There is also a combination woodlore and bird-protection path in Hatzfeld (main town), and at the Sackpfeife are found a
winter sport centre, and also a summer
toboggan
A toboggan is a simple sled traditionally used by children. It is also a traditional form of transport used by the Innu and Cree of northern Canada.
In modern times, it is used on snow to carry one or more people (often children) down a hill o ...
run.
In Lindenhof is a wildfowl haven run by the ''
Naturschutzbund Deutschland'', a
non-governmental organization dedicated to
nature conservation
Nature conservation is the moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protecting biological diversity. A range of values unde ...
br>
Churches
*Evangelical-Lutheran Church
Literature
* H. Reimer: ''Historisches Ortslexikon für Kurhessen''; Marburg: Elwert, 1974; ; S.304
References
External links
ReddighausenVerein für Burg- und Heimat- geschichte Hatzfeld e.V.
*
{{Authority control
Waldeck-Frankenberg