Friedewald is a municipality in

Hersfeld-Rotenburg Hersfeld-Rotenburg is a ''Kreis'' (Districts of Germany, district) in the east of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Werra-Meißner, Wartburgkreis, Fulda (district), Fulda, Vogelsbergkreis, Schwalm-Eder. History In 1821, districts were crea ...

district in eastern

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 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, directly east of

Bad Hersfeld The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld (''Bad'' is "spa" in German; the Old High German name of the city was ''Herolfisfeld'') is the district seat of the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southeast ...

Geography

Location

The community lies in the boundary zone between the Kuppen Rhön and Seulingswald ranges. Friedewald lies on the watershed between the

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

and 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 to ...

, and at the foot of the Dreienberg, which is among the northernmost outliers of the Rhön.

Neighbouring communities

Friedewald borders in the north on the communities of Ronshausen and

Wildeck Wildeck is a municipality in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany lying right at the boundary with Thuringia, 54 km southeast of Kassel. Geography Location The community lies partly in the middle Werra valley, in t ...

, in the east on the town of

Heringen Heringen (Werra) () is a small town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germany lying right at the boundary with Thuringia. Geography Location The nearest major towns and cities are Bad Hersfeld (28 km to the west), Eisena ...

and the community of Philippsthal, in the southeast on the community of Hohenroda, in the south on the community of Schenklengsfeld and in the west on the town of

and the community of

Ludwigsau Ludwigsau is a municipality in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany. With an area of 112 km² it is Hesse's biggest community by land area. Geography Location The community lies on the Fulda in the triangle defined by t ...

(all in Hersfeld-Rotenburg).

Constituent communities

Friedewald's ''

Ortsteil A village is a human settlement or Residential community, community, larger than a hamlet (place), hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located ...

e'', besides the main centre, also called Friedewald, are Lautenhausen, Hillartshausen and Motzfeld.

History

The '' Amt'' of Friedewald (with market rights and jurisdiction) had its first documentary mention in 1392, as did the community itself in 1430. An abbot's castle stood here as early as 1312, which as a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

of the

Hersfeld Abbey Hersfeld Abbey was an important Benedictine imperial abbey in the town of Bad Hersfeld in Hesse (formerly in Hesse-Nassau), Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Geisa, Haune and Fulda. The ruins are now a medieval festival venue. History ...

was given over to the

Landgraves of Hesse The Landgraviate of Hesse () was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed as a single entity from 1264 to 1567, when it was divided among the sons of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. History In the early ...

. The castle is believed to have been built to watch over the trade road called ''Kurze Hessen'', which ran from

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. In 1472, this castle was torn down and Landgrave Heinrich III had a moated castle built here by his building master Hans Jakob von Ettlingen, which served the Landgraves during their hunting stays. Friedewald Castle with its four corner towers was destroyed in 1762. On 5 October 1551, the treaty between France and the Princes of

Schmalkalden Schmalkalden () is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in the southwest of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest at the Schmalkalde river, a tributary to the Werra. , the town had a popul ...

that provided for Landgrave Philipp I's freedom from his Imperial imprisonment was signed here. The castle is still the community's middle point and landmark.

Politics

Community council

The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results: The community's executive (''Gemeindevorstand'') is made up of five members, with one seat allotted to the SPD, two to the CDU and 1 each to the Bürgerliste-pro-Friedewald and the independent mayor.

Mayor

The mayor Dirk Noll (SPD) was elected in October 2018.

Coat of arms

The community's

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

might be described thus: Gules a wall and tower embattled argent therein a three-tiered fountain sable, the chief four oakleaves each with an acorn argent. The German blazon refers to the wall and tower as a “castle silhouette with crenellations”.

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

The community lies on

Autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

A 4 (

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

–

Görlitz Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...

), interchange 33. Furthermore, ''

Bundesstraße ''Bundesstraße'' (, ), 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'' are labelled with re ...

'' 62 runs through the community from

Bad Salzungen Bad Salzungen () is a town in Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wartburgkreis district. Geography Location Bad Salzungen is situated on the river Werra, east of Tiefenort and south of Eisenach. Divisions In July 2018 the form ...

Established businesses

In early 2009, Hermes Logistik Gruppe will bring its newest main goods handling base into service, with an area of 100 000 m² and a building with 18 000 m². Moreover, Schenker Deutschland AG runs one of Europe's most efficient such facilities, which for Schenker is of central importance, especially for general cargo shipped within Germany.

Culture and sightseeing

Museums

* ''Heimatmuseum Friedewald'' (local history) in the south stables at the castle bailey

Buildings

* Ruins of the moated castle of Friedewald with four defensive towers built out of Friedewald

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

of the Landgraves of Hesse from the 15th century, and the bailey from about 1600. * In the middle of the castle square stands a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

three-tiered fountain * Hammundeseiche, an

abandoned village An abandoned village is a village that has, for some reason, been deserted. In many countries, and throughout history, thousands of villages have been deserted for a variety of causes. Abandonment of villages is often related to epidemic, ...

since 1312, where church walls, a village pond, the village well and the “Fat Oak” (an old village oaktree) can still be seen. The “Fat Oak”, known as the ''Dicke Eiche'', the ''Hammundeseiche'' or the ''Nadelöhr'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, had its first documentary mention in 1579 in which it was described as a hollow oak. Crawling through it was believed to have healing powers. The fallen tree was replaced, presumably in the late 16th century, with a gatelike stone. * Tower ruins of the ''Gisslingskirche'' (church) * Ruins of the ''Walterskirche'' (church) in the abandoned village of Waldradeberg * Ruins of a watchtower at the Dreienburg castle ruins

Famous people

Sons and daughters of the town

* Karl Bernhard Hundeshagen (1810–1872), reformed theologian * August Spies b. 10 December 1855; d. 11 November 1887 in Chicago, hanged journalist.

References

External links

Museum Friedewald

Community’s official webpage
{{Authority control Hersfeld-Rotenburg