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Witzenhausen is a small town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in northeastern
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 Da ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
. It was granted town rights in 1225, and until 1974, it was a district seat. The
University of Kassel The University of Kassel (german: link=no, Universität Kassel) is a university founded in 1971 located in Kassel, Hessen, in central Germany. As of February 2022 it had about 25,000 students and about 3300 staff, including more than 300 profe ...
maintains a satellite campus in Witzenhausen at which is offered the ecological agricultural sciences programme, which is unique in the country. This also puts Witzenhausen among Germany's smallest university towns. Furthermore, a teaching institute ( DEULA) for environment and technology, agriculture, horticulture and landscaping. The town is also nationally known for the invention of the ''Biotonne'' – a biological refuse container – in 1983, and as an important cherry-growing area; it is said to be Europe's biggest self-contained cherry-growing area. Cherries are traditional in Witzenhausen, which has led to the yearly ''Kesperkirmes'', or “Cherry Fair” (''Kesper'' is a regional name for the cherry; the standard
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 ...
word is ''Kirsche''), at which a Cherry Queen (''Kirschenkönigin'') is chosen.


Geography


Location

Witzenhausen lies on the northeast slope of the
Kaufunger Wald The Kaufungen Forest (german: Kaufunger Wald) is a range of steep, wooded hills straddling the border between the states of Hesse and Lower Saxony in central Germany. It takes its name from the town Kaufungen. The hills lie in the fork of the R ...
, which is surrounded by the Meißner-Kaufunger Wald Nature Park. The town is found at the mouth of the Gelster, where it empties into the
Werra The Werra (), a river in central Germany, is the right-bank headwater of the Weser. "Weser" is a synonym in an old dialect of German. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After the Werra joins the river Fulda in the ...
some 30 km east 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 2 ...
, 16 km east-southeast of Hann. Münden, 25 km south of
Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
and 23 km northwest of
Eschwege Eschwege (), the district seat of the Werra-Meißner-Kreis, is a town in northeastern Hesse, Germany. In 1971, the town hosted the eleventh ''Hessentag'' state festival. Geography Location The town lies on a broad plain tract of the river Wer ...
.


Neighbouring communities

Witzenhausen borders in the north on the town of Hann. Münden, the communities of Rosdorf and
Friedland Friedland may refer to: Places Czech Republic * Frýdlant v Čechách (''Friedland im Isergebirge'') * Frýdlant nad Ostravicí (''Friedland an der Ostrawitza'') * Frýdlant nad Moravicí (''Friedland an der Mohra'') France * , street in P ...
(all three in Lower Saxony's
Göttingen district Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
), in the east on the communities of
Neu-Eichenberg Neu-Eichenberg is a municipality in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Neu-Eichenberg lies near the three-state common point shared by Hesse, Thuringia and Lower Saxony between Kassel (45 km) and Göttingen (12&n ...
(in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis), Bornhagen and Lindewerra (both in
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 ...
’s
Eichsfeld district Eichsfeld is a district in Thuringia, Germany, and part of the historical region of Eichsfeld. It is bounded by (from the east and clockwise) the districts of Nordhausen, Kyffhäuserkreis and Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis, and by the states of Hesse (dis ...
), in the south on the towns of
Bad Sooden-Allendorf Bad Sooden-Allendorf is a spa town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location The spa town of Bad Sooden-Allendorf lies in the Werra valley near the Hoher Meißner, right on the boundary with Thuringia, almost at Germany's ...
and Großalmerode and the
unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
of Gutsbezirk Kaufunger Wald (all three in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis) and in the west on the community of Staufenberg in Lower Saxony’s Göttingen district.


Constituent communities

Witzenhausen’s 16 '' Stadtteile'', besides the main town, also called Witzenhausen, are, on the Werra’s left bank: *Blickershausen (293 inhabitants), *Dohrenbach (657 inhabitants), *Ellingerode (344 inhabitants), *Ermschwerd (1189 inhabitants), *Hubenrode (191 inhabitants), *Hundelshausen (1365 inhabitants), *Kleinalmerode (925 inhabitants), *Roßbach (825 inhabitants), *Wendershausen (831 inhabitants) *Ziegenhagen (716 inhabitants), On the river’s right bank: *Albshausen (69 inhabitants), *Berlepsch-Ellerode-Hübenthal (132 inhabitants), *Gertenbach (947 inhabitants), *Neuseesen (97 inhabitants), *Unterrieden (914 inhabitants) * Werleshausen (503 inhabitants).


History

In 1898, the ''Deutsche Kolonialschule für Landwirtschaft, Handel und Gewerbe'' (“German Colonial School for Agriculture, Trade and Industry”, also called the ''Tropenschule'', or “Tropical School”) was founded to train people in agriculture for resettlement in Germany's colonies. The successor institution forms today a satellite campus of the
University of Kassel The University of Kassel (german: link=no, Universität Kassel) is a university founded in 1971 located in Kassel, Hessen, in central Germany. As of February 2022 it had about 25,000 students and about 3300 staff, including more than 300 profe ...
, and includes a greenhouse complex dedicated to tropical crops (the
Gewächshaus für tropische Nutzpflanzen The Gewächshaus für tropische Nutzpflanzen is a botanical garden specializing in tropical crops, maintained by the University of Kassel. It is located in greenhouses at Steinstraße 19, Witzenhausen, Hesse, Germany, and open several aftern ...
).


Main sights


Buildings

* Historic town centre with various important
timber-frame 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 ...
houses: ** Grau’sches Haus ** Rotes Haus ** Steinernes Haus ** Sommermann’sches Haus ** Meinhard-Wedekind’sches Haus ** Persch’sches Haus * Liebfrauenkirche (church) * Historic Town Hall * Erlöserkirche (church) * Diebesturm (“Thief’s Tower”), Eulenturm (“Owls’ Tower”) and parts of the old town wall * Former
Williamite A Williamite was a follower of King William III of England (r. 1689–1702) who deposed King James II and VII in the Glorious Revolution. William, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, replaced James with the support of English Whigs. One ...
monastery, part of the Colonial School and today part of the
University of Kassel The University of Kassel (german: link=no, Universität Kassel) is a university founded in 1971 located in Kassel, Hessen, in central Germany. As of February 2022 it had about 25,000 students and about 3300 staff, including more than 300 profe ...
* Gelsterhof Estate, the former Colonial School's farm * Burg Ludwigstein (castle)


Museums

* Völkerkundliches Museum (ethnology) * Greenhouse for domesticated tropical plants


Parks

* Town park with swan pond (former firefighting pond)


Politics


Town council

The municipal election held on 27 March 2011 yielded the following results: At first, the current council was ruled by a CDU-Green-FWG coalition, but this was dissolved in September 2007.


Mayors

*1945-1948:
Eduard Platner Eduard Model Accessories is a Czech manufacturer of plastic models and finescale model accessories. Formed in 1989 in the city of Most, Eduard began in a rented cellar as a manufacturer of photoetched brass model components. Following the s ...
( CDU) *1987-2005: Günter Engel ( SPD) *2005-2018: Angela Fischer (CDU) *2018- : Daniel Herz (independent)


Events

* ''Witzenhäuser Woche'', partly in conjunction with German Queens’ Day (''Deutscher Königinnentag''), every 3 years (in 2007 more than 200 guest queens, princesses and kings). * ''Kesperkirmes'', the “cherry fair” in the Old Town with election of the Cherry Queen and German cherry pip spitting championship. * Cherry Man (Triathlon) * ''Erntedank- und Heimatfest'' (“Harvest and Homeland Festival “), 20–25 August 2008, this year with Jürgen Drews as the star guest on Sunday in the festival tent at Joseph Pott Platz * In 2006 Witzenhausen was the starting point for the third stage of the Deutschland Tour * Christmas market


Economy and infrastructure

Witzenhausen suffers – like the whole Werra-Meißner-Kreis and a great part of North Hesse – from extremely high unemployment and its attendant loss of younger people to migration. In Witzenhausen-Unterrieden, the last producer of chewing tobacco in Germany is still in business. An important employer in Witzenhausen is, with 430 employees all together, the corporation Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA). In Witzenhausen the SCA produces raw paper for corrugated cardboard for manufacturing packagings (SCA Packaging Containerboard) and hygiene products such as toilet paper (SCA Hygiene Products). Another important employer is the district and town hospital in Witzenhausen. Witzenhausen is domicile of
Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen The or GEH is a German national association for the conservation of historic and endangered domestic animal breeds. History The GEH was founded on 5 December 1981 in the Rottal, in Lower Bavaria in southern Germany. It has about 2100 memb ...
(GEH, the society for the conservation of old and endangered livestock breeds).Website of GEH
fetch 4th of Juli 2020


Media


Print

* ''Witzenhäuser Allgemeine'' (''Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine'') * ''Markt Spiegel'' * ''Witzenhüsser'' * ''Extra Tipp''


Wireless

* RundFunk Meißner


Transport

Over ''
Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' ( German for "federal highway"), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraße ...
n'' 27 (
Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
Eschwege Eschwege (), the district seat of the Werra-Meißner-Kreis, is a town in northeastern Hesse, Germany. In 1971, the town hosted the eleventh ''Hessentag'' state festival. Geography Location The town lies on a broad plain tract of the river Wer ...
), 80 ( Hann. MündenHeiligenstadt) and 451 ( Helsa–Witzenhausen), the town is linked to the greater road network. In
Hedemünden Hedemünden is part of the city Hann. Münden in southern Lower Saxony. Until 1930, it was an independent municipality. About 1500 people live in the village. Location Hedemünden lies on the lower part of the river Werra. This river starts ...
, some 10 km away, is 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 ( Flensburg
Füssen Füssen is a town in Bavaria, Germany, in the district of Ostallgäu, situated one kilometre from the Austrian border. The town is known for violin manufacturing and as the closest transportation hub for the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau c ...
). Near
Friedland Friedland may refer to: Places Czech Republic * Frýdlant v Čechách (''Friedland im Isergebirge'') * Frýdlant nad Ostravicí (''Friedland an der Ostrawitza'') * Frýdlant nad Moravicí (''Friedland an der Mohra'') France * , street in P ...
is an interchange on the A 38 towards
Halle Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt ** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany ** Hall ...
. Moreover, Witzenhausen is on the two tourist routes: the
German Timber-Frame Road The German Timber-Frame Road (German: ''Deutsche Fachwerkstraße'') is a German tourist route leading from the river Elbe in the north to the Black Forest and Lake Constance in the south. Numerous cities and towns each with examples of the vernac ...
(''Deutsche Fachwerkstraße'') and the
German Fairy Tale Route The German Fairy Tale RouteThis is the official name used on the website - se''Portrait'' However, many English sources also call it the "German Fairy Tale Road". (german: Deutsche Märchenstraße) is a tourist attraction in Germany originally esta ...
(''Deutsche Märchenstraße''). Witzenhausen has a
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 Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...
, Witzenhausen Nord, on the Eichenberg
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 2 ...
section of the Halle-Kassel Railway. It is located above the town on the north slope of the Werra valley and is served by trains to Kassel,
Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...
,
Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits ...
and Halle. The former Witzenhausen Süd station stood southeast of the inner town and has been closed, like the whole of the Gelster Valley Railway between Eichenberg and – Großalmerode. The outlying centre of Gertenbach has a further stop on the Halle-Kassel railway


Education

* Grundschule Gertenbach (
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
) * Gelstertalschule Hundelshausen (
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
) * Grundschule Witzenhausen (
primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
) * Steintorschule (school for help with learning) * Johannisbergschule Witzenhausen (
comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is r ...
) * Berufliche Schulen des Werra-Meißner-Kreises (vocational schools) *
University of Kassel The University of Kassel (german: link=no, Universität Kassel) is a university founded in 1971 located in Kassel, Hessen, in central Germany. As of February 2022 it had about 25,000 students and about 3300 staff, including more than 300 profe ...
* Medienzentrum Witzenhausen (media centre) * Bildstelle des Werra-Meißner-Kreises (training centre) * Deutsches Institut für tropische und subtropische Landwirtschaft GmbH (DITSL, “German Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture”) * IBZW Internationales Bildungszentrum Witzenhausen GmbH (training centre) * DEULA Lehranstalt für angewandte Technik GmbH *
Folk high school Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule ...
* GNE Witzenhausen


Famous people

*
Burkhardt von Berlepsch Burchard (and all variant spellings) may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Burchard (name), Burchard and all related spellings as a given name and surname * Burckhardt, or (de) Bourcard, a family of the Basel patriciate * Burchard-Bélaváry family, an ...
(1619-1691), lawyer and administrative officer *
Johann Jacob Schweppe Johann Jacob Schweppe (, ) (16 March 1740 – 18 November 1821) was a German-Swiss watchmaker and amateur scientist who developed the first practical process to manufacture bottled carbonated mineral water, based on a process discovered by Joseph ...
, (1740-1821), German watchmaker and silversmith, inventor of the trademark
Schweppes Schweppes (, ) is a beverage brand that originated in the Republic of Geneva; it is made, bottled and distributed worldwide by multiple international conglomerates, depending on licensing and region, that manufacture and sell soft drinks. Schwep ...
* Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig, (1816-1895), German physiologist *
Hermann von Christen Hermann or Herrmann may refer to: * Hermann (name), list of people with this name * Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language * Éditions Hermann, French publisher * Hermann, M ...
, (1841-1919), Member of the Reichstag * Edward Schröder (1858-1942), a Germanist mediavist * Theodor Neubauer (1890-1945), German sociologist,
educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...
, parliamentarian and Resistance fighter against National Socialism * Heinz Bonatz (born 1897), German naval officer *
Helga Seibert Helga Seibert (7 January 1939 – 12 April 1999) was a German judge. She was a judge in the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. She was born in Witzenhausen, and died in Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the ca ...
, (1939-1999), German constitutional judge *
Bodo Abel Bodo Abel (* 18.January 1948) is a German Professor at the University of Hamburg in Business Administration, focused on“International Marketing”. He was till 2013 the program director of the international master program „MiBA – Master of ...
(born 1948), economist * Stefan Markolf (born 1984), first
deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...
German professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
for, among others,
1. FSV Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05 () or simply Mainz (), is a German sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. 1. FSV Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top ...
,
Wuppertaler SV Borussia Wuppertaler SV is a German association football club located in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia. The city was founded in 1929 out of the union of a number of smaller towns including Elberfeld, Barmen, Vohwinkel, Cronenberg and Ronsdorf – e ...
* Diether Haenicke, President of
Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the tr ...
* Aidan "A-Danöwitz McMahonowitz" Murphy, Irishman and Krypto-Jew


Town partnerships

Witzenhausen is
twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...
with: * Saint-Vallier,
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 ar ...
, since 1975 *
Vignola Vignola ( Modenese: ; Bolognese: ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Modena (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. Its economy is based on agriculture, especially fruit farming, but there are also mechanical industries and service companies. The ci ...
,
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 1995 *
Filton Filton is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, north of Bristol. Along with nearby Patchway and Bradley Stoke, Filton forms part of the Bristol urban area and has become an overflow settlement for the city. Filton Church d ...
,
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 1978 *
Kayunga Kayunga is a town in the Central Region of Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative, and commercial center of Kayunga District. Location Kayunga is approximately northeast of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city, on an all-we ...
,
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The south ...
, since 2001 Since 1979, Filton, St. Vallier and Witzenhausen have had a three-way partnership. Between Witzenhausen and Filton, and between Witzenhausen and St. Vallier, there are regular student exchanges with the local
comprehensive school A comprehensive school typically describes a secondary school for pupils aged approximately 11–18, that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude, in contrast to a selective school system where admission is r ...
. The partnership between Witzenhausen and St. Vallier came about by accident. St. Vallier's mayor's last name at the time was Witzenhausen, and when, on a visit to Germany, he spotted this name on a road sign, he drove to the town. Out of his visit sprang the partnership, which has lasted to this day. Furthermore, there have been school exchanges between Witzenhausen and these two places since 2002: *
100 Mile House 100 Mile House is a district municipality located in the South Cariboo region of central British Columbia, Canada. History 100 Mile House was originally known as Bridge Creek House, named after the creek running through the area. Its origins ...
, Canada (between the comprehensive school and the secondary school there) * Turlock, USA (between the vocational Gymnasium and
Turlock High School Turlock High School (THS) is a comprehensive high school located in Turlock, in the heart of the northern San Joaquin Valley in the U.S. state of California. It is a 40+ acre campus, in the midst of a long established residential neighborhood, c ...
)


References


External links


Kirschenland, tourist information about Witzenhausen

Town’s official webpage
{{Authority control Werra-Meißner-Kreis