Melsungen () is a small climatic spa town in the
Schwalm-Eder
Schwalm-Eder is an electoral constituency (German: ''Wahlkreis'') represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 170. It is locate ...
district in northern 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 ...
. In 1987, the town hosted the 27th ''
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 disp ...
'' state festival.
Geography
Melsungen lies on the river
Fulda in the North
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...
Highlands. The streams
Pfieffe and
Kehrenbach, flow into the Fulda in the town. A few kilometres downstream, the river
Eder confluences into the Fulda.
Location
The nearest large towns are
Kassel (downstream, about 22 km to the north) and
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 southe ...
(upstream, about 32 km to the southeast).
Constituent communities
Melsungen comprises several smaller communities. In addition to the main community, which is also called Melsungen, there are seven communities named Adelshausen, Günsterode, Kehrenbach, Kirchhof, Obermelsungen, Röhrenfurth and Schwarzenberg.
History
Historical records of the town date from 802, but it was likely settled much earlier, during the
Hallstatt period
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European culture of Late Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallstatt C, Hallstatt D) from the 8th to 6th centuries B ...
(9th to 4th Centuries
BCE
Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
).
Middle Ages
Melsungen had developed into a small town (burgus) by 1189. The town's
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
also originated at this time.
In the course of its history, Melsungen often changed hands. The fiercest fighting over the town was between the
Archbishops of
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
and the
Landgrave
Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' (" margrave"), ...
s of Hesse and
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 ...
.
Melsungen achieved its importance from its location at the crossroads of three mediaeval trade routes, the ''Sälzerweg'', running east–west; the ''Nürnberger Straße'', running north–south; and ''Durch die langen Hessen'' (roughly translated "Through the Long Hesse").
Modern Age
![Melsungen-Bartenwetzer-1-Bubo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Melsungen-Bartenwetzer-1-Bubo.JPG)
In 1554, a fire destroyed parts of the heart of town. In 1637, during 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 ...
, the constituent community of Günsterode was laid waste.
From 1821 to 1974, Melsungen was an administrative centre and an independent district seat, until the Melsungen district was combined with the neighbouring Fritzlar-Homberg and Ziegenhain districts.
The town's 14,000 or so inhabitants call themselves ''Bartenwetzer'' ("Axe whetters").
Coat of arms
The old seal and today's civic coat of arms have their roots in the late 12th century. Heraldically, the arms might be described thus: In azure a town gate and tower argent – with roof gules surmounted by two finials or – flanked by crenellated town walls argent.
The town's official blazon describes the roof as "tile-red" – not truly "gules" (''i.e.'' red). The arms can be traced back to 1577.
Politics
Town council consists of 37 members. Following the municipal elections held on 26 March 2006, the seats were apportioned thus:
The town executive consists of six councillors and the mayor. Four of these seats are held by the SPD, and one seat each by the CDU and FDP.
List of elected mayors:
*1998–2004: Karl-Heinz Dietzel (SPD)
*2004–2013: Dieter Runzheimer (SPD)
*2013–incumbent: Markus Boucsein
Places of interest
![Melsungen Zweipfennigbruecke](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Melsungen_Zweipfennigbruecke.jpg)
* ''Fachwerkstadt'' (compact area featuring
half-timbered houses
Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timber ...
in the Old Town)
* Town Hall (from 1556), with Axe Whetter in the tower
* ''Schloss'' (stately home built between 1550 and 1557 by
Landgrave Philip) with garden
* Marketplace
* ''Bartenwetzerbrücke'' ("Axe Whetters' Bridge" built between 1595 and 1596)
*
Gothic town church (built between 1415 and 1425)
* ''Hospitalskapelle St. Georg'' ("St George's Hospital Chapel")
* Eulenturm ("Owl Tower"; a preserved tower from the old town wall)
* ''Zweipfenningsbrücke'' ("Twopenny Bridge" from 1890)
* Stirling-Bau (B. Braun Melsungen AG's Pfieffewiesen Works)
Sport
*
MT Melsungen
MT Melsungen is a German handball team from Melsungen, Germany, that plays in the Handball-Bundesliga.
History
From 1992 to 2005, the team played in the 2. Handball-Bundesliga and finished third twice (in 1997/98 and 2003/2004). In the 2004 ...
(handball)
* Melsunger Fußballverein 08 (football)
Culture
Regular events
* Melsunger Weinfest (wine festival)
* Melsunger Kabarett-Wettbewerb (cabaret contest)
* Bad Liebenstein-Stafette (yearly relay)
Culinary specialities
* ''
Ahle Wurst
The Ahle Wurst (or Aahle Worscht) is a hard pork sausage made in northern Hesse, Germany. Its name is a dialectal form of ''alte Wurst'' – "old sausage".
Depending on the shape it is also called "Stracke" if elongated or "Runde" if round.
Ahle ...
'' (or ''Aahle Worscht''), a kind of Hessian hard
pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...
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.
...
. Its name is a dialectal form of ''alte Wurst'' – "old sausage".
Transportation
The town lies on
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. Federal Highway (''Bundesstraße'') B 83 runs through Melsungen and ''Bundesstraßen'' B 253 and B 487 both begin (or end) here.
Melsungen lies on the
Kassel—
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 ''Fuldakni ...
—
Fulda railway line and belongs to the North Hesse Transport Network. In May 2006 the
RegioTram
The Bogotá suburban rail ('' Spanish: Tren de cercanías de Bogotá''), also known as RegioTram, is a transportation project to create a mass and rapid transport system to connect Bogotá with surrounding cities. The railways of the former Bogot ...
line RT5 (Kassel-Melsungen) began. It directly connects Melsungen with downtown Kassel. The line ends at present where the Melsungen-Süd return loop is still not finished. Further stations are being built at Melsungen-Schwarzenberg und Melsungen-Bartenwetzerbrücke.
Economy
Melsungen is home to the firm of
B. Braun Melsungen, which has a €3,500,000,000 yearly turnover, and about 35,100 employees worldwide (as of 2007).
Notable people
*
Johannes Rhenanus (c.1528 in Melsungen–1589) salinist, theologian, alchemist, printer and author.
*
Arnold Grimme (1868–1958) veterinarian and naturalist, district veterinarian in Melsungen (1895–1910)
*
Reinhard Selten
Reinhard Justus Reginald Selten (; 5 October 1930 – 23 August 2016) was a German economist, who won the 1994 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (shared with John Harsanyi and John Nash). He is also well known for his work in boun ...
(1930–2016)
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
winner in
Economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...
for his contribution to
game theory
*
Alwin Wagner
Alwin Josef Wagner (born 11 August 1950 in Melsungen, Hessen) is a West German discus thrower and weight lifter, who was affiliated with ''University Sportclub Mainz'' (USC Mainz).
He finished sixth at the 1984 Summer Olympics. In Germany he i ...
(born 1950 in Melsungen) discus thrower and weight lifter, competed in
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...
*
Christof Lauer
Christof Lauer (born 25 May 1953) is a German jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist, born in Melsungen, Germany, perhaps most well known in Europe where he has done projects with various musicians, such as Palle Danielsson, Carla Bley, (born 1953 in Melsungen) jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist
Twin towns
Melsungen has partnerships with the following towns:
*
Dreux,
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 1966
*
Evesham,
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, since 1982
*
Todi
Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction.
I ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, since 1985–86
*
Koudougou
Koudougou is a city in Burkina Faso's Boulkiemdé Province. It is located west of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. With a population of 160,239 (2019) it is the third most populous city in Burkina Faso after Ouagadougou and Bobo Dio ...
,
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to ...
, since 1990
*
Bad Liebenstein,
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
There is also a "friendship" with the
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
community of
Spandau
Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smallest borough by population, but the fourth largest by land ...
.
References
External links
Official websiteSchwarzenbergObermelsungenRöhrenfurthTimber-framed photos of Melsungen*
{{Authority control
Schwalm-Eder-Kreis