Volkmarsen is a small town 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 merg ...

district in northern

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 ...

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 betwee ...

. It is home to 6840 residents.

Geography

Location

Volkmarsen lies on the northern edge of the ''Waldecker Tafel'' (Waldecker Shield (geology)) where it flattens out into the Diemel Valley, some 28 km northwest 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 ...

and 7 km northeast of

Bad Arolsen Bad Arolsen (, until 1997 Arolsen, ''Bad'' being the German name for ''Spa'') is a small town in northern Hesse, Germany, in Waldeck-Frankenberg district. From 1655 until 1918 it served as the residence town of the Princes of Waldeck-Pyrmont and ...

Neighbouring communities

Volkmarsen borders in the north on the town of

Warburg Warburg (; Westphalian: ''Warberich'' or ''Warborg'') is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, central Germany on the river Diemel near the three-state point shared by Hessen, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is in Höxter di ...

(

Höxter Höxter () is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the left bank of the river Weser, 52 km north of Kassel in the centre of the Weser Uplands. The main town's population is around 15,000, and with outlying centres, about 30,0 ...

district in

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

), in the east on the community of Breuna and the town of

Wolfhagen Wolfhagen () is a town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 12 km southeast of Bad Arolsen, and 23 km west of Kassel on the German Timber-Frame Road. In 1992, the town hosted the 32nd Hessentag state festival. ...

(both in

district), in the south and west on the town of

and in the northwest on the town of

Diemelstadt Diemelstadt is a small town in Waldeck-Frankenberg district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Diemelstadt lies in a small "bay" of Hesse that thrusts into, and is surrounded on three sides by, North Rhine-Westphalia. The River Diemel, the to ...

(both in Waldeck-Frankenberg).

Constituent communities

Besides the main town, which bears the same name as the whole, the town of Volkmarsen consists of the centres of Ehringen, Herbsen, Hörle, Külte and Lütersheim.

History

Volkmarsen's first documentary mention came in 1155. In a safe-conduct from

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

in 1233, Volkmarsen was first described as a town. On 24 February 2020, a car drove into a crowd at a

carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival t ...

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...

Politics

Town council

The town council's 31 seats are apportioned thus, in accordance with municipal elections held in 2006: Note: FWG is a citizens' coalition. *Elections in March 2016: *CDU = 12 seats *SPD = 8 seats *FDP = 1 seats *FW = 5 seats *AfD = 3 seats *Unabhängige (Independents) = 2 20170526 Town-Hall-Volkmarsen

Coat of arms

Volkmarsen's oldest seal dates from 1272. Like the current

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 ...

, it shows two men, but sitting on a bench, the Count of Everstein and the Abbot of

Corvey The Princely Abbey of Corvey (german: link=no, Fürststift Corvey or Fürstabtei Corvey) is a former Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastical principality now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was one of the half-dozen self-ruling '' princel ...

, the town's two overlords at the time. Another seal from the mid 14th century shows the now familiar church with two windows with religious figures in each one, believed to have been the Archbishop of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

and once again the Abbot of Corvey, reflecting the new ruling arrangement over the town. The two figures in the arms nowadays, however, are

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

(holding the key) and

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

(holding the sword). This became the arms in the 19th century.

Town partnerships

Volkmarsen maintains partnership links with the following: *

Buttelstedt Buttelstedt is a town and a former municipality in the Weimarer Land district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 11 km north of Weimar. Since 1 January 2019, it is part of the municipality Am Ettersberg. History Within the German Emp ...

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

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

*The castle Kugelsburg, built about 1200, destroyed in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...

. *Catholic Church St. Mary (built 1260) *Lutheran Church (built 1845-1848) *Memorial Wall at the Jewish Cemetery *St. Elisabeth-Hospital

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Volkmarsen 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' ...

A44

Dortmund Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...

–

and on the Warburg-Sarnau railway and offers hourly connections to

Established businesses

* Henkelmann - genuine Waldeck

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. ...

specialities * Phönix Armaturen-Werke Bregel GmbH * Semtek - lighting, show technology, set-up rental * Wellmass - Mobile Wellness, Ayurveda and Massage. * Volkmarsen

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 ...

Personalities

Sons and daughters of the city

* Katja Eichinger (* 1971), journalist and author, widow of

Bernd Eichinger Bernd Eichinger (; 11 April 194924 January 2011) was a German film producer, director, and screenwriter. Life and career Eichinger was born in Neuburg an der Donau. He attended the University of Television and Film Munich in the 1970s and bou ...

Other personalities associated with the city

Hans Schäfer Hans Schäfer (19 October 1927 – 7 November 2017) was a German footballer who played as an outside left. Career Schäfer was born in Zollstock, Cologne. He played for 1. FC Köln between 1948 and 1965, and for the West Germany national team, e ...

(* 1927), World champion 1954 in Bern, played a season 1947/48 with the VfR Volkmarsen

References

External links

*
Herbsen

Lütersheim

Volkmarsen fire brigade Holocaust Memorial Project for Volkmarsen
* {{Authority control Waldeck-Frankenberg