Welda is a village and constituent community ''(stadtteil)'' of the town of Warburg, in the district of

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 ...

in the east of the

federal state A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Welda has historically been known by the names of Wellede, Welde and Kerkwellede. Welda has an area of 9.22 km² and a population of 863.Stadt Warburg: ''Die Warburger Stadtteile''
(Accessed 2009-07-31)

Geography

The village of Welda is the southernmost point of Kreis Höxter (within the administrative region of

Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of t ...

) near North Rhine-Westphalia's border with the

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 ...

district of the federal state of

Hessen 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 Darms ...

. It lies between the towns of Warburg and

Volkmarsen Volkmarsen is a small town in Waldeck-Frankenberg district in northern Hesse, Germany. It is home to 6840 residents. Geography Location Volkmarsen lies on the northern edge of the ''Waldecker Tafel'' (Waldecker Shield (geology)) where it flatten ...

on a line between the cities of

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

(40 km) and Kassel (35 km). It adjoins the Warburg communities of Calenberg, Germete and Wormeln. Welda lies in the valley of the river Twiste which runs north into the river

Diemel The Diemel is a river in Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a left tributary of the Weser. Route The source of the Diemel is near Willingen, in Sauerland. The Diemel flows generally northeast through the towns Marsberg, Warburg, an ...

History

The land around Welda, once a border village between

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

, Waldeck and

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 Dar ...

, has yielded forth archaeological evidence of a Celtic presence. In 1856 Welda was visited by Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm, who went on to become the "Ninety-Nine-Day Emperor", Kaiser Friedrich III. He presented the church with a Communion

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. R ...

. In

World War II 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 opposing ...

Welda was liberated by U.S. forces in April 1945. In the fields east of the railway station there was an American internment camp holding up to 80,000 German prisoners of war. Welda was in the

British zone of occupation Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France ...

from 1945, then from 1949, following the political division of occupied Germany, Welda became part of the

Federal Republic of West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

until German reunification in 1990.

Places of interest

* The Roman Catholic Church dedicated to

Saint Kilian Kilian, also spelled Cillian or Killian (or alternatively ga, Cillín; la, Kilianus), was an Irish missionary bishop and the Apostle of Franconia (Franconia is nowadays the northern part of Bavaria), where he began his labours in the latter h ...

was founded in 1220. * Schloss Welda was built between 1734 and 1736 by the architect

Justus Wehmer Justus Wehmer (ca.1690 - 1750) was a German master builder of the Baroque era. He was the architect of the ( subsequently largely destroyed) eighteenth century Hildesheim Cathedral and surrounding buildings. He was also responsible for the de ...

who was also the architect of

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the L ...

cathedral and of Schloss Vinsebeck; the architectural history and construction of the two houses are closely linked together. The Kassel baroque sculptor and artist Johann Georg Kotschau was also involved. The historic baroque park and landscape garden of Schloss Welda was created from 1738 to 1758 by the landscape architect Carl Hatzel.Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe: Schlosspark Welda
/ref> The garden includes an

orangery An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very lar ...

which was built from 1756 to 1763. In the north part of the garden is a baroque wall that is partly fallen down. The access road from the south has an avenue of lime trees which leads to a carriage turn in front of the Schloss. Today the house is used as a registry office, for wedding receptions, and for concerts. * The oldest existing village house (a timber-frame building) was built in 1747. * The old mill houses a museum of village life. * The Iron Way, an old iron ore route, now a hiking and cycling trail.

Transport

In 1890, a section of the railway line from Warburg to

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 ...

opened with a station in the village. The railway line was closed in 1982 and converted in 1989 into a bicycle lane (R 51), part of an inter-regional cycle network. The station building was sold and is now used as a private residence. Welda's nearest links to the national rail network are located in Warburg and Volkmarsen. The autobahn

A44 A44 may refer to : * A44 road (Great Britain), a road connecting Oxford, England and Aberystwyth, Wales * A44 motorway (Germany), a road connecting Aachen at the German-Belgian border and Kassel * A44 motorway (Netherlands), a motorway in the Nethe ...

(E331) from Dortmund to Kassel runs to the north-west of Welda. The closest regional airports are KSF Kassel-Calden (27 km) and PAD Paderborn-Lippstadt (46 km).

References

External links