Vöhl is a municipality 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 merging t ...

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

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 ...

, not far southwest of

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

Geography

Location

Vöhl lies in the northern part of the

Kellerwald The Kellerwald is a low mountain range reaching heights of up to 675 m in the western part of northern Hesse, Germany. Its assets include Germany's largest contiguous beech woodland and it contains Hesse's only national park, the Kellerwald-Edersee ...

-Edersee Nature Park on the

Edersee The Edersee, also known as the Ederstausee, is an reservoir in Waldeck-Frankenberg, Hesse, Germany with of storage space. It has the 2nd largest area (behind the Forggensee), and the 3rd largest volume (behind the Bleilochstausee and Rurstause ...

, a

man-made lake A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...

. It is located 40 kilometers southwest of

Neighbouring communities

Vöhl borders in the north on the town of

Korbach Korbach (pronunciation: ˈkoːɐˌbax), officially the Hanseatic City of Korbach (German language, German: Hansestadt Korbach), is the district seat of Waldeck-Frankenberg in northern Hesse, Germany. It is over a thousand years old and is located o ...

, in the east on the town of Waldeck and the community of

Edertal Edertal is a municipality in Waldeck-Frankenberg in northern Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Edertal lies roughly 30 km in a straight line southwest of Kassel. It is on the north and northwest edges of the Kellerwald range and stretches t ...

, in the south on the towns of

Frankenau Frankenau () is a small town in Waldeck-Frankenberg district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Frankenau lies in the Kellerwald range southwest of the Talgang (566 m-high mountain). It is found on the southern edge of the Kellerwald-Eder ...

and Frankenberg, and in the west on the town of Lichtenfels (all in Waldeck-Frankenberg).

Constituent communities

Vöhl consists of the following mostly quite small centres spread out northwestwards and southeastwards from the western end of the Edersee. *Asel – including Asel-Süd *Basdorf *Buchenberg *Dorfitter *Ederbringhausen *Harbshausen *Herzhausen *Kirchlotheim *Marienhagen *Niederorke *Obernburg *Oberorke *Schmittlotheim *Thalitter *Vöhl (administrative centre)

Asel

Asel is the only constituent community that lies on both sides of the man-made lake. It is thus divided into two parts: * Asel "proper" lies on a mountain north of the Edersee. * Asel-Süd lies on the northern slope of the Kellerwald, on the lake's south shore and right on the northern boundary of the Kellerwald-Edersee park. Furthermore, Asel, just like Bringhausen a short way to the east, lies in a "dead end", at least from a traffic engineering point of view, meaning that it can only be reached from the western end of the lake from Herzhausen through Harbshausen, as barely any roads run through the hardly developed northern part of the Kellerwald.

Basdorf

Basdorf lies on a mountain north of the Edersee. Part of it is a holiday village called Trappenhart, built above the village proper.

Dorfitter

Dorfitter lies next to the circuit city Korbach. There live about 900 inhabitants. Famous is the picture of the canvas in the church. It's the oldest in Hesse.

Marienhagen

Marienhagen is Vöhl's second biggest constituent community. Besides the lovely village heart built around the

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

church, there are also two "new town" areas. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, many Germans who had been driven from lost territories to the east – most of them were from the

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...

– were integrated into Marienhagen. The current (16 August 2005) population is just below 1000. Alongside the

gymnastic Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shoul ...

club founded by Fritz and Otto Lohof, Wilhelm Bauch, Karl Müller and others, there is a men's singing club, a women's choir, the volunteer

fire brigade A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

, a senior citizens' club, the pond association (''Teichgemeinschaft'') and the Club Saskatchewan 1972. In 1959, a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

was built, after a

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...

had already opened in 1926. By the late 1960s, a

ski-jumping Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final ...

arena and a

downhill skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping), w ...

run were inviting people to partake of winter sports.

Obernburg

Obernburg lies at the edge of the Kuhbach Valley on a hill. Its attractions include not only a little

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

church but also the ''Drachenhöhle'' ("Dragon's Cave"). From the cave, lying on the village's outskirts, a secret passage leads under the pulpit in the church. In earlier times, this was used as an escape route.

Waterways

* Eder *

Itter (river) Itter is a river of Hesse, Germany. It flows into the Edersee in Vöhl-Herzhausen. See also *List of rivers of Hesse A list of rivers of Hesse, Germany: A *Aar, tributary of the Dill *Aar, tributary of the Lahn *Aar, tributary of the Twiste ...

* Orke (river) * Asel (brook) * lake near Kirchlotheim

History

Archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

finds have established that there has been continuous habitation in the area since the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

. In the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

, the border between the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

and

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 ...

tribal homelands ran through what is now Vöhl, as still witnessed by the ''Sprachgrenze'', or

language border A language border or language boundary is the line separating two language areas. The term is generally meant to imply a lack of mutual intelligibility between the two languages. If two adjacent languages or dialects are mutually intelligible, no ...

, running east to west between

Central German Central German or Middle German (german: mitteldeutsche Dialekte, mitteldeutsche Mundarten, Mitteldeutsch) is a group of High German dialects spoken from the Rhineland in the west to the former eastern territories of Germany. Central German di ...

and

Low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle L ...

astride which the community sits. Vöhl's municipal area is roughly coëxtensive with the old lordly domain of Itter, which in the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended ...

developed in the former Ittergau. After the Lords of Itter died out, the area was split between the Landgraviate of Hesse and the Electorate 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 (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

. After meanwhile being pledged to the Counts of Waldeck and the Wolff von Gudensberg family, the Itter domain became part of Hesse for good in 1589. Disputed as it was between

Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the Lan ...

(or Hesse-Cassel) and

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse betwee ...

, in 1650, it passed once and for all to the latter and formed an enclave inside Waldeck territory. In 1821, as part of administrative reform, the Itter domain became the district of Vöhl, until in 1866 it passed to

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

and was united with Frankenberg district in 1886.

Basdorf

About Basdorf's founding and the time thereafter up until the village's first documentary mention in 1206, nothing is clear. It seems likely that, owing to soil and water factors, Basdorf was an early settlement centre here in the tribal marches between the

Chatti The Chatti (also Chatthi or Catti) were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser (''Visurgis''). They lived in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of that river and in the valle ...

and the

Cherusci The Cherusci were a Germanic tribe that inhabited parts of the plains and forests of northwestern Germany in the area of the Weser River and present-day Hanover during the first centuries BC and AD. Roman sources reported they considered themsel ...

. Together with the other places in the Ittergau it would hence have held an important place with regards to through traffic and north-south trade. Since the deaconate of Vöhl fell under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Mainz, it is assumed that the area around nearby

Fritzlar Fritzlar () is a small town (pop. 15,000) in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history. The town has a medieval center ringed by a wall with numerous watch towers. Thirty-eight meters (125& ...

, or rather the

Büraburg The Büraburg was a prominent hill castle with historic significance, on the Büraberg hill overlooking the Eder river near the town of Fritzlar in northern Hesse (Germany). Only foundation walls remain, and a church dedicated to St. Brigida. ...

, was

Christianized Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...

or his followers before

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

's years-long

Saxon Wars The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the thirty-three years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer, to 804, when the last rebellion of tribesmen was defeated. In all, 18 campaigns were fought ...

, into which the local border region was drawn. Documents surviving today show how Basdorf grew from a village of free farmers bit by bit into an estate of the Werbe Monastery and into a small part of the Berich Monastery. Furthermore, the documents show how the Ittergau, to which Basdorf belonged, many times became the object of its stronger neighbours' disputes. In 1810 came the ''Kampf den Maikäfern'' – the "Struggle against the

Cockchafer The cockchafer, colloquially called Maybug, Maybeetle, or doodlebug, is the name given to any of the European beetles of the genus ''Melolontha'', in the family Scarabaeidae. Once abundant throughout Europe and a major pest in the periodical ye ...

s" – and its larvae, the white grubs. One leaflet sent throughout the village declared that every farmer was to decrease this pest as much as he could, sparing no effort to that end. It furthermore suggested feeding the dead cockchafers to

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

s and

geese A goose (plural, : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family (biology), family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser (bird), Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (the black geese). Some o ...

, with a warning that these birds should also get plenty of water, as cockchafers tended to make them very thirsty. Swine, too, enjoyed cockchafers, according to the leaflet. In 1875, Basdorf's children were given a new

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...

when a dismantled house was bought over in Asel and reassembled in Basdorf as a place for teaching the village's children. In 1878, the village bought a new hand-driven fire pump. In 1879, the men's singing club was founded by Johann Christian Bangert, whose thirst for adventure once led him on a 120-day sailing voyage to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, and whose homesickness 20 years later led him back to Basdorf. Basdorf farmers became milk suppliers to the Höringhausen

Dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

in 1885, and in 1892, Basdorf became an independent parish with a branch in Oberwerba. In 1900, the postal coach connection came to an end. In 1919,

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

and

running water Tap water (also known as faucet water, running water, or municipal water) is water supplied through a tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used for drinking, ...

came to the village. In 1920, the streets were lit and a threshing community was founded. The Basdorf Gymnastic and Sport Club was founded in 1922. In 1934, the volunteer fire brigade was founded. In 1946, Basdorf took in 165 refugees from former German territories out of which they had been driven, thereby giving the school a reason to hire a further teacher in 1948. Between 1952 and 1986, Basdorf was connected to the sewer system. In 1960, the Basdorf Gymnastic and Sport Club was brought back to life as a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and sport club. In 1964, school ended in Basdorf when all school functions were transferred to Vöhl (main town). In the 1972 contest ''"Unser Dorf"'' ("Our Village"), Basdorf was deemed to be Hesse's second prettiest village. Basdorf became part of Vöhl in 1974. In 2006 Basdorf celebrated 800 years of existence with a weeklong festival.

Amalgamations

On 1 February 1971, the communities of Dorfitter, Herzhausen and Thalitter merged into the community of Ittertal, and Vöhl formed with Asel and Basdorf a new community. On 1 January 1972, the community of Hessenstein was formed out of Buchenberg, Ederbringhausen, Harbshausen, Kirchlotheim, Niederorke, Oberorke and Schmittlotheim. The communities of Marienhagen and Obernburg for the time being remained independent. On 1 January 1974, the communities of Hessenstein, Marienhagen, Obernburg, Ittertal and Vöhl merged into the greater community of Vöhl. The administrative seat is in the original village of Vöhl.

Politics

Municipal council

Vöhl's council is made up of 31 councillors, with seats apportioned thus, in accordance with municipal elections held on 26 March 2006: Note: FWG and ''BI-Grüne Liste'' are citizens' coalitions.

Coat of arms

Vöhl's civic

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 latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

might heraldically be described thus: In argent a hill vert upon which a castle gules with tower dexter, the whole with roof azure, before the castle an inescutcheon in which in azure a lion rampant party per fess, above argent, below gules, crowned Or, armed argent and langued gules. These arms were bestowed upon the community on 17 August 1977 with the Hessian Interior Minister's approval.

Partnerships

* Mouchard, ''département'' of Jura,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, since 1986 *

Basdorf Basdorf is a village to the north of Berlin, in the German federal state of Brandenburg. Until 2003, when it merged into Wandlitz Wandlitz is a municipality in the district of Barnim, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 25 km north ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

, since 1990

Culture and sightseeing

* Maize labyrinth at the Edersee *

* Schloss Waldeck (nearby stately home) * The neighbouring Kellerwald * Hof Lauterbach * Itterburg (castle ruins) * Gerichtslinde ("Court Linden") with memorial * Church in the middle of Basdorf *

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 ...

buildings in Basdorf

Personalities

George III, Landgrave of Hesse-Itter Landgrave George III of Hesse-Itter (29 September 1632 in Darmstadt – 19 July 1676 in Hof Lauterbach, now part of Vöhl) was the second son of Landgrave George II of Hesse-Darmstadt and his wife Sophia Eleonore of Saxony (1609–1671). Since he ...

(1632-1676), Landgraf of Hesse-Darmstadt-Itter * Friedrich Karl Henkel (1848-1930), industrialist, founder of the

Henkel Group Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, commonly known as Henkel, is a German multinational chemical and consumer goods company headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. It is active in both the consumer and industrial sectors. Founded in 1876, the DAX company is ...

Sophie Wolff-Fritz Sophie Wolff-Fritz (15 July 1858 – 1938) was a German composer, singer and teacher. She was born in Vohl and studied singing in Darmstadt under Luise Muller, and later under Femy Schnyder. Woff-Fritz taught in a nursery school and at the Ki ...

(1858-1938), composer * Jan Jansen (born 1945), Dutch cyclist, born in Basdorf *

Felicitas Woll Felicitas Woll (born 20 January 1980) is a German actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the television series '' Berlin, Berlin'' (2002–2005) and the television film ''Dresden'' (2006). Biography Felicitas Woll grew up in Harbs ...

(born 1980), actress

References

External links

HomepageCommunity works with nursing home and Biblical resortVöhl's former synagogue on the EderseeAselBasdorfMaize labyrinth at the Edersee
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vohl Waldeck-Frankenberg