Witzenhausen is a small town in the

Werra-Meißner-Kreis Werra-Meißner is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Göttingen, Eichsfeld, Unstrut-Hainich-Kreis, Wartburgkreis, district-free Eisenach, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, Kassel. History The di ...

in northeastern

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 ...

. 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 prof ...

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 Deula ( ''deuḷa'') is an architectural element in a Hindu temple in the Kalinga architecture style of the Odishan temples in Eastern India. Sometimes the whole temple is also referred to as ''Deula''. The word "deula" in Odia language means a ...

) 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 Rive ...

, 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 t ...

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 2020 ...

, 16 km east-southeast of

Hann. Münden Hann. Münden (short for Hannoversch Münden) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. Münden lies in the district of Göttingen (district), Göttingen at the confluence of the Fulda River, Fulda and Werra rivers, which join to form the Weser. It ha ...

, 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

, the communities of

Rosdorf Rosdorf is a municipality in the district of Göttingen, in Lower Saxony, Germany. approx. 4 km southwest of Göttingen. Mayors Sören Steinberg (SPD) was elected the new mayor in May 2014, and re-elected in 2021. He is the successor of Har ...

and Friedland (all three in Lower Saxony's Göttingen district), 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 Bornhagen is a municipality in the district of Eichsfeld in Thuringia, Germany, located at the foot of the ruins of Hanstein Castle. The town district Rimbach is positioned directly south of the castle citadel at an elevation of 370 m. Bor ...

and

Lindewerra Lindewerra is a municipality in the district of Eichsfeld in Thuringia, Germany. It is part of the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Hanstein-Rusteberg. Before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 Lindewerra was one of the few villages in the German Democra ...

(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 larg ...

’s Eichsfeld district), 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 Großalmerode (or ''Grossalmerode'') is a town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location The small town, which has had town rights since 1775, lies 21 km east of Kassel in the Meißner-Kaufunger Wald Nature Park ...

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 Werleshausen is a village in the northern part of Hesse, Germany. First recorded mention was in 876. Since 1972 it belongs to the town of Witzenhausen. Location The village of Werleshausen lies in the Werra valley near the Hoher Meißner, right o ...

(503 inhabitants).

History

Hundelshausen - Kirchstrasse - panoramio

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

, and includes a greenhouse complex dedicated to tropical crops (the Gewächshaus für tropische Nutzpflanzen).

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

* 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 ( CDU) *1987-2005: Günter Engel (

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 ...

) *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 The Deutschland Tour (English: ''Tour of Germany'' and sometimes ''Deutschland-Rundfahrt'' in German) is the most important multi-stage road bicycle race in Germany. Initially the race was held in May/June, but from 2005 until 2008 it was moved to ...

* 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 Svenska Cellulosa AB (SCA, English: ''Swedish Cellulose Ltd.'') is a Swedish forest industry company with headquarters in Sundsvall. SCA is the largest private forest owner in Europe. It owns 2.6 million hectares of forest in northern Swed ...

(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 mem ...

(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 ''Bundesstraßen'' ...

n'' 27 (

–

), 80 (

– Heiligenstadt) and 451 (

Helsa Helsa is a municipality and village in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. The municipality is situated in the Losse valley amongst the hills of the Kaufunger Wald, approx. 15 km east of Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel un ...

–Witzenhausen), the town is linked to the greater road network. In Hedemünden, 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 Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...

–

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 cast ...

). Near Friedland is an interchange on the A 38 towards Halle. 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 vernacu ...

(''Deutsche Fachwerkstraße'') and the German Fairy Tale Route (''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 tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

, Witzenhausen Nord, on the Eichenberg–

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,

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 i ...

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 –

. 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 e ...

) * Gelstertalschule Hundelshausen (

) * Grundschule Witzenhausen (

) * 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 res ...

) * Berufliche Schulen des Werra-Meißner-Kreises (vocational schools) *

* 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) *

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 (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 Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig (; 29 December 1816 – 23 April 1895) was a German physician and physiologist. His work as both a researcher and teacher had a major influence on the understanding, methods and apparatus used in almost all branche ...

, (1816-1895), German physiologist * Hermann von Christen, (1841-1919), Member of the Reichstag *

Edward Schröder Edward Schröder (18 May 1858 – 9 February 1942) was a Germanist and mediaevalist who was a professor at the University of Göttingen and published editions of numerous texts. Life and career Born in Witzenhausen and educated in Kassel, Sch ...

(1858-1942), a Germanist mediavist *

Theodor Neubauer Dr. Theodor Neubauer (12 December 1890, Ermschwerd – 5 February 1945, Brandenburg an der Havel) was a German communist politician, educator, essayist, historian and anti-Nazi resistance fighter. Biography Early life Neubauer was born in th ...

(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, (1939-1999), German constitutional judge * Bodo Abel (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 Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...

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 le ...

for, among others, 1. FSV Mainz 05,

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 Diether H. Haenicke (May 19, 1935 – February 15, 2009) was president of Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan from 1985 to 1998, and again (as interim president) from 2006 to 2007. A large building on campus, Haenicke Hall, is name ...

, President of

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

* Aidan "A-Danöwitz McMahonowitz" Murphy, Irishman and Krypto-Jew

Town partnerships

Witzenhausen is twinned with: * Saint-Vallier,

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 1975 *

Vignola Vignola (Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese: ; Bolognese dialect, 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 mechani ...

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 re ...

, 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 continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, 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-weath ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

, 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

. 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, Canada (between the comprehensive school and the secondary school there) *

Turlock Turlock is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. Its estimated 2019 population of 73,631 made it the second-largest city in Stanislaus County after Modesto. History Founded on December 22, 1871, by prominent grain farmer Jo ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

(between the vocational Gymnasium and Turlock High School)

References

External links

Kirschenland, tourist information about Witzenhausen

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