Felsberg () is a town in the

Schwalm-Eder Schwalm-Eder is an electoral constituency ( German: ''Wahlkreis'') represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 169. It is loca ...

district about south of

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

Geography

The landscape around Felsberg is marked by hills and small lakes, as well as the remains of

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

ing. As part of the

West Hesse Depression The West Hesse Depression () is part of the West Hesse Highlands and Lowlands region in the north of the German state of Hesse. Like the East Hesse Depression, it is a series of separate depressions that form a natural corridor and have been an im ...

, it lies in a sunken area that was formed by

volcanic activity Volcanism, vulcanism, volcanicity, or volcanic activity is the phenomenon where solids, liquids, gases, and their mixtures erupt to the surface of a solid-surface astronomical body such as a planet or a moon. It is caused by the presence of a he ...

in the Tertiary sub-era. The change from partly

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

ic hills to smooth river valleys is striking. While the river valleys are covered by fluvial sediments, fertile

loess A loess (, ; from ) is a clastic rock, clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loesses or similar deposition (geology), deposits. A loess ...

beds can be found higher up. The river Eder flows through Felsberg's municipal area. Near Gensungen lies the Heiligenberg ("Holy Mountain") with the ruins of the Heiligenburg Castle.

Constituent communities

The town consists of 15 communities: Altenbrunslar, Altenburg, Beuern, Böddiger, Gensungen, Helmshausen, Hesserode, Heßlar, Hilgershausen, Lohre, Melgershausen, Neuenbrunslar, Niedervorschütz, Rhünda and Wolfershausen together with the historic Felsberg, to which the other, formerly independent communities were amalgamated on 1 January 1974.

History

There were settlers in the Felsberg region, as long ago as the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

, as witnessed by the find of the 12,000-year-old, so-called Rhünda Skull. In the 1st Century AD, the Felsberg area was inhabited by the

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

, a Germanic tribe. The only mention of the area from this time is a report by the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

about one of

Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was a Roman people, Roman general and politician most famously known for his campaigns against Arminius in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicu ...

's campaigns, when in the year 15 he destroyed Mattium (probably nowadays Maden), the Chatti's capital. In the 8th Century, the Felsberg region was part of the

Frankish Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lomba ...

, and this is when the town was first mentioned in documents. It was also at this time that

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

work was being carried out in the area by

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

, who in 723 felled

Thor's Oak Donar's Oak (also Thor's Oak or, via ''interpretatio romana'', Jove's Oak) was a sacred tree of the Germanic pagans located in an unclear location around what is now the region of Hesse, Germany. According to the 8th century ''Vita Bonifatii auct ...

near

Fritzlar Fritzlar () is a small town (pop. 15,000) in the Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, 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. high ...

, about west of Felsberg, thereby starting the

Christianization Christianization (or Christianisation) is a term for the specific type of change that occurs when someone or something has been or is being converted to Christianity. Christianization has, for the most part, spread through missions by individu ...

of the peoples of northern Germany. Within the town's municipal area lie the ruins of three

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

s; the Felsburg, the Altenburg, in the constituent community of the same name, and the Heiligenburg Castle, above the constituent community of Gensungen, on the river Eder's opposite bank. The town is thus sometimes known as the ''Drei-Burgen-Stadt'' ("Three-Castle Town"). The castles were built in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

for their strategic locations, during the

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

between the

Archbishopric of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...

and the

Landgraviate of Thuringia The Duchy of Thuringia was an eastern frontier march of the Merovingian dynasty, Merovingian kingdom of Austrasia, established about 631 by King Dagobert I after his troops had been defeated by the forces of the Samo, Slavic confederation of Samo ...

, or

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

. The Heiligenburg Castle belonged to Mainz. Both the Felsburg and the Altenburg, only apart, are distinguished by their

butter-churn tower A butter-churn tower () is a two-part defensive tower in which the upper section has a smaller width than the lower section. This design provides a ledge or fighting platform about half-way up that acts as a chemin de ronde whilst the narrower ...

s. The ''Salzstraße'' ("Salt Road") ran through Felsberg from the river

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 to ...

, where the

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

was mined, to the

Rhineland The Rhineland ( ; ; ; ) is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly Middle Rhine, its middle section. It is the main industrial heartland of Germany because of its many factories, and it has historic ties to the Holy ...

. In 1090, Felsberg was mentioned in a Mainz document under the name ''Velisberc'', and again under the same name in 1209 in a good's directory from the Petrus Estate in Fritzlar. Felsberg's first documentary mention as a town came in 1286. The historic town core was once surrounded by an 830m-long town wall, only parts of which are preserved today. A house of

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular in the Catholic Chur ...

canonesses, the Eppenberg Priory, was established here in about 1217, on the Eppenberg in Gensungen. This was dissolved in 1438, and rebuilt as a

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians (), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has its own rule, called th ...

monastery, Eppenberg Charterhouse, which was secularised in 1527. In 1526, Felsberg became

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

under Philip the Magnanimous, after a resolution by the Homberg Synod. The

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

brought widespread destruction to Felsberg. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Felsberg was heavily damaged by aerial bombardment and the destruction of the Edertal Dam.

Politics

The town council has 37 members. The last two municipal elections gave the following results: , - ! ! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", 2006 ! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", 2011 , - ! Parties ! Votes % ! Seats ! Votes % ! Seats , - , style="text-align:left;" , Social Democratic Party (SPD) , 53.9 , 20 , 50.3 , 19 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 23.8 , 9 , 21.6 , 8 , - , style="text-align:left;" ,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

, 6.4 , 2 , 14.5 , 5 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Free Democratic Party (FDP) , 5.7 , 2 , 4.9 , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Free Voters (FWG) , 5.0 , 2 , 4.4 , 2 , - , style="text-align:left;" , Die Freien Bürger (DFB) , 5.2 , 2 , 4.4 , 1 , - ! style="text-align:left;" , Total ! style="text-align:right;" , 100 ! style="text-align:right;" , 37 ! style="text-align:right;" , 100 ! style="text-align:right;" , 37 The town executive (''Magistrat'') consists of 14 councillors and the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

. Of those, 8 seats are held by the

SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( , SPD ) is a social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together wi ...

, 3 by the CDU and one seat each by the

, the FDP and the FWG. The last three elected

s were: Klaus Stiegel was mayor of Felsberg for 24 years.

Coat of arms

The town'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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

has been known since 1570, when it was displayed at the Schloss Rotenburg (a stately home in

Rotenburg an der Fulda Rotenburg an der Fulda (, ; officially ''Rotenburg a.d. Fulda'') is a town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, in central Germany, situated, as the name says, on the river Fulda (river), Fulda. Geography Location The town ...

, built by Landgrave Ludwig II in 1540). It was also published in the ''Hessisches Wappenbuch'' ("Hessian Arms Book") by Wilhelm Wessel in 1633. Heraldically, the arms might be described thus: Party per pale gules and argent, thereover a bend sinister vert, therein three trefoils argent.

Town partnerships

Felsberg is twinned with the following towns: * Vernouillet,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Cheddar Cheddar most often refers to either: *Cheddar cheese *Cheddar, Somerset, the village after which Cheddar cheese is named Cheddar may also refer to: Places * Cheddar, Ontario, Canada and Kannada * Cheddar Yeo, a river which flows through Cheddar ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

It also has friendship agreements with these places: * Felsberg, a constituent community of

Überherrn Überherrn () is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated along the river Bist on the border with France, approx. southwest of Saarlouis, and west of Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ...

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

* Felsberg, Graubünden,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Dingelstädt Dingelstädt () is a town in the district of Eichsfeld (district), Eichsfeld in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the upper course of the river Unstrut, south of Leinefelde-Worbis and northwest of Mühlhausen. The former municipalities Helm ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

Personalities

* Benjamin Bramer (1588–1652), artist, architect, builder, geodesist, mathematician *

Egbert Hayessen Egbert Hayessen (28 December 1913 – 15 August 1944) was a German resistance fighter in the struggle against Adolf Hitler, and a major in the army. Born in Eisleben, Hayessen grew up on the Hessian state domain of Mittelhof near Felsberg-Gens ...

, (1913–1944), resistance fighter against the

Third Reich Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictat ...

Harold Goldsmith Harold David Goldsmith (born Hans Goldschmidt), known as Hal (July 20, 1930 – March 13, 2004) was an American Olympic foil and epee fencer. Early and personal life Goldsmith was born in Gensungen, Felsberg, Hessen, Germany, and was Jew ...

, born Hans Goldschmidt (1930–2004), American Olympic foil and épée fencer *

Günter Böttcher Günter Böttcher (24 July 1954 – 4 October 2012) was a West German handball player who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics. In 1976 he was a part of the West German team which finished fourth in the Olympic tournament. He played in all six ...

(1954–2012), German handball player, coach and university lecturer

References

External links

{{Authority control Schwalm-Eder-Kreis