Malsfeld is a municipality in the Schwalm-Eder district in Hesse,
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 ...
, on the river
Fulda.
The community consists of the centres of Beiseförth, Dagobertshausen, Elfershausen, Mosheim, Malsfeld, Ostheim and Sipperhausen.
The community was once 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 ...
hub on the
Kassel–Bebra and
Treysa–Eschwege lines. It has an interchange on the
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 7.
Constituent communities
Beiseförth
Although it had its first documentary mention in 1348 as "Beysenvorte", the community is believed to date back to the 8th century. In 1603, "Beysenfort" became a
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 overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...
of Philip von Scholley.
Until about 1870,
shipping
Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...
on the river Fulda with
Kassel und
Hersfeld was as important a source of income as
linen weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...
and later
basketry.
Among the sights to see are the ''Schiffhaus'' ("Ship House") where the Beise empties into the Fulda, and the ''Korbmachermuseum'' ("Basket Maker's Museum").
Dagobertshausen
A legend holds that the name Dagobertshausen comes from
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
King
Dagobert I
Dagobert I ( la, Dagobertus; 605/603 – 19 January 639 AD) was the king of Austrasia (623–634), king of all the Franks (629–634), and king of Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dyna ...
, who beat the
Wends
Wends ( ang, Winedas ; non, Vindar; german: Wenden , ; da, vendere; sv, vender; pl, Wendowie, cz, Wendové) is a historical name for Slavs living near Germanic settlement areas. It refers not to a homogeneous people, but to various people ...
here in 631. Officially, though, the name has only been used since 1747, until which time the village had been known as "Dabelshusen", "Dageboldishus" or "Taboldshusen".
Dagobert I is also said to have endowed a
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
, on whose site now stands the "fortress church", built in the 12th or 13th century.
Elfershausen
Elfershausen had its first documentary mention in 1253 when the whole village was donated to the
Breitenau monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...
by the Count of
Felsberg Felsberg (german: rock hill, link=no) may refer to:
* Felsberg, Hessen, a town in Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, Hessen, Germany
* , a part of Überherrn, Landkreis Saarlouis, Saarland, Germany
* Felsberg (Odenwald), a mountain in the Odenwald hills, Landk ...
. After 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 ...
, the village passed into the Landgraves' ownership. Beginning in 1770, the "Domäne Elfershausen" even included parts of Dagobertshausen; it was finally dissolved only in 1971 when it was amalgamated with Malsfeld in what would turn out to be the beginning of the later "Greater Community of Malsfeld", which was formed as part of municipal reforms.
The ''Sälzerweg'', a commercial road between
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
and
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
runs north of Elfershausen. Elfershausen's inhabitants worked mainly in
agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
at one time.
Mosheim
The first mention of Mosheim (as "Mazheim") can be found in the ''Breviarium Lulli'' between 775 and 786. In the ''Codex Eberhardi'', Mosheim is mentioned as a donation to the Fulda monastery (between 802 and 817). Over time, the village's name has varied somewhat (1266 Masheim, 1376 Moßheym, 1428 Maßheim, 1597 Maaßheimb, 1600 Mosheimb). In 1324, Mosheim came under Hessian overlordship under Konrad von Hebel. Between 1219 and 1450, Mosheim had a local noble family. In 1194, Mosheim's church was mentioned as a chapel. A small church built about 1500 was partly destroyed in the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
, expanded in 1752, and remodelled in 1969
Ostheim
Ostheim had its first documentary mention between 1145 and 1159.
Basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
was once quarried here, and
brown coal
Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
was also
mined.
Sipperhausen
Sipperhausen lies between
Homberg and
Melsungen
Melsungen () is a small climatic spa town in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany. In 1987, the town hosted the 27th ''Hessentag'' state festival.
Geography
Melsungen lies on the river Fulda in the North Hesse Highlands. The str ...
. It had its first documentary mention in 943 as the abandoned village of "Swidburg", and then in 1142 as "Swipergehusen". The community also includes the settlement of Bubenrode, from 1377 a knight's manor of the Malsburg noble family.
Sightseeing
* ''Korbmachermuseum'' ("Basket Maker's Museum") in Beiseförth
Specialities
* Malsfeld
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
*
Meat and
sausage
A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders.
...
products from Dagobertshausen.
Partnerships
Malsfeld maintains partnerships with the following places:
* Bag,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
since 1996
*
Moyaux,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
since 1984
*
Unterschönau,
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 lar ...
since 1990
References
External links
MalsfeldDagobertshausen
{{Authority control
Schwalm-Eder-Kreis