Frielendorf is a municipality in the Schwalm-Eder district, 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 ...

Geography

Location

The state-recognized climatic spa (''Luftkurort'') of Frielendorf lies 9 km southwest of Homberg on the edge of the Knüllgebirge (a low mountain range).

Constituent communities

Along with the main centre, which bears the same name as the whole municipality, the following centres are also part of Frielendorf:

Politics

Municipal council

Municipal council is made up of 31 members. * CDU 8 seats *

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been t ...

16 seats *FWGF (citizens' coalition) 7 seats (as of municipal elections held on 26 March 2006)

Mayor

Thorsten Vaupel is Frielendorf's mayor.

Coat of arms

Frielendorf's civic

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 ...

might heraldically be described thus: In gules a crenellated tower argent with two small arrow slits, on a three-knolled hill vert, flanked by two rye stalks Or, before the tower a bill hook sable.

Town partnership

The community of Frielendorf maintains a partnership with one other place: * Kleinschmalkalden,

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 ...

Culture and sightseeing

Museums

*In the museum shop with its exhibit about the Frielendorf

coalmine Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...

, one can learn about the community's history and about

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 ...

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

in and around the village. *The Verna Village Museum has exhibits relating to home décor, chattels and hand tools.

Buildings

*In Spieskappel stands the Kirche St. Johannes (St. John's Church), consecrated in 1255 and originally belonging to the Premonstratensian church estate of Cappel. The church is usually called the ''Klosterkirche'' ("monastery church"). The church's organ was built in Hersfeld organ builder Johannes Schlottmann's workshop. *The ''Spießturm'' is a mediaeval

watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

that can be found on the road between Spieskappel and Obergrenzebach. The tower stands at a spot where, in 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 ...

, there was a crossroads of important trade roads; it was also at the border of Upper and

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 ...

. Hessian ''

Landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non ...

e'' (diets) were held here.

Parks

The Silbersee holiday camp lies east of Frielendorf on the lake of the same name.

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Frielendorf lies on Federal Highway (''Bundesstraße'') B 254 (Homberg – Fulda). The Neuental interchange on Autobahn A 49 ( Kassel – Fritzlar –

Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approxima ...

) is about 11 km away. The community belongs to the North Hesse Transport Network. The nearest

railway station 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 prep ...

s are Wabern, Schwalmstadt-Treysa and Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe.

References

External links

FrielendorfTodenhausenObergrenzebach
{{Authority control Schwalm-Eder-Kreis