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Gudensberg () is a small town in northern Hesse,
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 ...
. Since the municipal reform in 1974, the nearby villages of Deute, Dissen, Dorla, Gleichen, Maden and Obervorschütz have become parts of the municipality.


Geography

Gudensberg is situated in the district of
Schwalm-Eder-Kreis Schwalm-Eder-Kreis is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Kassel, Werra-Meißner, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Vogelsberg, Marburg-Biedenkopf, and Waldeck-Frankenberg. History In 1821 districts were created ...
,
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 ...
, at the southeasternmost edge of the Habichtswald Nature Park, about south 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 northeast of
Fritzlar Fritzlar () is a small town (pop. 15,000) in the 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. Thirty-eight meters (125& ...
. The town's municipal area borders to the north and northeast on
Edermünde Edermünde is a municipality in northern Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Edermünde lies in the north of the Schwalm-Eder district not far southwest of Kassel. This is where the river Eder empties into the river Fulda. The constituent commu ...
, to the east on constituent communities of
Felsberg Felsberg (german: rock hill, link=no) may refer to: * Felsberg, Hessen, a town in Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, Hessen, Germany * , a part of Überherrn, Landkreis Saarlouis, Saarland, Germany * Felsberg (Odenwald), a mountain in the Odenwald hills, Landk ...
which lie along the lower reaches of the river Eder. South and southeast of the river Ems lie further parts of Felsberg. To the south, southwest, and west are constituent communities of Fritzlar. To the northwest, Gudensberg's community of Gleichen abuts
Niedenstein Niedenstein () is a small town and an officially recognized climatic spa in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Niedenstein's main settlement lies to the southeast of the Habichtswald Nature Park, right on the ...
; in this direction, behind the Odenberg (elevation = ), rise the ''Langenberge'', (a low mountain range), that belong to the Habichtswald Nature Park.


History


Gudensberg

In the area around Gudensberg, many
prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
and early historic finds have shown that the area was inhabited by people now known as the
Chatti The Chatti (also Chatthi or Catti) were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser (''Visurgis''). They lived in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of that river and in the valle ...
. On the Lamsberg, finds from the
Rössen culture The Rössen culture or Roessen culture (german: Rössener Kultur) is a Central European culture of the middle Neolithic (4,600–4,300 BC). It is named after the necropolis of Rössen (part of Leuna, in the Saalekreis district, Saxony-Anhalt). Th ...
have been unearthed. In 1938, between the Odenberg and Gudensberg, a
Linear Pottery culture The Linear Pottery culture (LBK) is a major archaeological horizon of the European Neolithic period, flourishing . Derived from the German ''Linearbandkeramik'', it is also known as the Linear Band Ware, Linear Ware, Linear Ceramics or Inci ...
settlement from about 4000 BC and an
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
settlement were discovered. At the ''Kassler Kreuz'', a graveyard with cremated remains from about 1000 BC was discovered when a railway was built in 1899. In the 10th Century, the ''Hof Wodensberg'', a farm in Gudensberg, was run using three-field
crop rotation Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. It reduces reliance on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, and the probability of developing resistant ...
. Gudensberg itself had its first mention in documents in 1121. The town's name is presumably derived from an older form, Wotansberg, after the god
Wōdanaz Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, victory ...
, who was worshiped as the highest god by the Chatti in Old Germanic times. In the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
, a castle was built on the hill and was named the Obernburg. It was the seat of Hessian regional counts (''Gaugrafen''). From 1122 to 1247, Gudensberg belonged to the
Landgrave Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), a ...
s of
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 ...
, and the place experienced its heyday, with its first town wall built between 1170 and 1180, and its first mention as a town in 1254 with a town constitution at the turn of the 13th Century. With the partition of Thuringia, Gudensberg fell to the Landgraviate of Hesse, and in 1277,
Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...
was proclaimed the first Landgrave of Hesse on the Mader Heide (heath) near Gudensberg. In 1300, Landgrave Henry I moved his residence from Gudensberg to
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 Gudensberg lost its political and administrative importance. In 1324, however, Gudensberg was still being mentioned as the "Capital of Nyderlandt". In 1365, the
Hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
''Heiliger Geist'' (Holy Ghost Hospital) for
lepers Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...
was founded. In the many feuds between the
Archbishopric of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz (german: Kurfürstentum Mainz or ', la, Electoratus Moguntinus), 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 ...
and the Landgraviate of Hesse, Gudensberg was one of Hesse's main bases and repeatedly suffered damage as a result. In 1387, Gudensberg and the Wenigenburg (castle) —– but not the Obernburg —– were sacked by troops from Mainz. Fiery catastrophes befell the town a number of times. In 1587, the town was laid waste through carelessness. In 1640, during the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
, the town was sacked by Imperial troops; in this plundering, the philosopher and theologian Daniel Angelocrater lost all his belongings.
Tilly Tilly may refer to: Places France * Tilly, Eure, in the Eure ''département'' * Tilly, Indre, in the Indre ''département'' * Tilly, Yvelines, in the Yvelines ''département'' Elsewhere * Tilly, Belgium, a village in the municipality of Viller ...
convened a ''
Landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...
'' of Hessian towns in Gudensberg in 1626. In 1709, Landgrave Karl of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) organized excavations in the ''Mader Heide'' which brought to light remnants of Iron Age settlements. 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 ...
, the still partly preserved Obernburg was heavily damaged by bombardment in 1761 by
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
troops under John Manners's leadership. In 1806, French troops plundered and thoroughly destroyed what was left of the Obernburg. The town gates were torn down because they were a traffic hazard in 1823.


Deute

Deute's first mention in documents goes back to 1314. A house dating from 1665 is still standing today. In the 18th Century, there was a working
brown coal Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...
mine in Deute.


Dissen

Dissen's first mention in documents goes back to 1061.


Dorla

Dorla, which lies on the Ems, had its first mention in documents in 1040. The village church was consecrated in 1718.


Maden

At the time when the
Chatti The Chatti (also Chatthi or Catti) were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser (''Visurgis''). They lived in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of that river and in the valle ...
lived in the area, Maden was a main town, and at the Mader Stein they held their things. Maden's first mention as ''Mathanon in pago Hassorum'' comes from about 800 in the ''Bresiarium Lulli'', making Maden one of Hesse's oldest villages (at least by the measure of documentary mention) and in 2000 it celebrated 1225 years of existence. In 1046, Maden was mentioned as ''Madanum'', in 1061 as ''Madena'' and in 1295 as ''major Maden''. Emperor
Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Francia, East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the olde ...
, the Great, awarded Maden to the Archbishop of Mainz. Count Werner IV of Maden founded the Benedictine Monastery of Breitenau near
Guxhagen Guxhagen is a municipality in Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany. Geography Guxhagen lies about 15 km south of Kassel between the Habichtswald Nature Park and the Meißner-Kaufunger Wald Nature Park on the river Fulda. It n ...
in 1113. After Werner's death in 1121, rule and ownership rights passed to Count
Giso IV Giso IV, Count of Gudensberg ( – 12 March 1122) was a German nobleman. He was a Count in the Upper Lahngau and from 1121, he was Count of Gudensberg in Lower Hesse and Imperial Standard Bearer. During his lifetime, the Gisones dynasty re ...
from the ''Burg Hollende''. Lower jurisdiction was held as of the 14th Century by ''Alb. Lugelin'', ''Gerlach von Linne'' and the ''von Holzsadel'' family. Maden was the Seat of the County of Hesse. In 1325 it was called: "County and state court of Hesse, that one calls the court of Maden". The Wodanstein in Maden was first mentioned in 1408. Between Maden and Gudensberg lies the historically important ''Mader Heide'' (heath).


Obervorschütz

The find of a stone axe in the area bears witness to a very early culture settling in the Obervorschütz area about 3000 BC. A late-Roman era metalwork find was a Roman belt mount bearing Germanic imagery indicating a skilled artisan in the area. However, the village's first documentary mention, under the name ''Burrisuzze'', did not come until 1074. It was later mentioned in 1275 as ''villa superior Vorskutheund'' and in 1357 as ''Obirm Vorschütz''.


Politics


Town Council

The Town Council consists of 31 representatives:


Culture and sightseeing


Buildings

Above the town, on the Schlossberg, lie the ruins of the old
castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
, the Obernburg. On a
saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...
below the Obernburg, a tower that was part of the town's old defences still stands. From the high hill there is an outstanding view across the heath, to the Mader Stein, to the Nenkel and to the Odenberg (and other mountains). Various historic buildings are to be found in the town core, mostly
half-timbered 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, among them the old ''Amtshaus'' with its
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
porch, the rectory from 1642, the ''Renthof'' built in 1643, and the town's oldest building, the ''Ackerbürgerhaus'', built in 1596. The
Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
church ''St. Margarete'' is a
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
structure from the 14th century, with additions and renovations in the 15th and 16th centuries. On Kasseler Straße, at the corner of Fritzlarer Straße, is the Hospital of the Holy Ghost, founded in 1365 for lepers, but renovated many times up until the 18th Century. The
Classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
town hall dates from 1839. Also in the Old Town is the Old Cemetery with historic gravestones from the 18th and 19th Centuries. Of interest is a
horse hoof A horse hoof is the lower extremity of each leg of a horse, the part that makes contact with the ground and carries the weight of the animal. It is both hard and flexible. It is a complex structure surrounding the distal phalanx of the 3rd digit ...
print on a stone in the churchyard wall. It is said that
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
's horse made this mark when it stamped on this stone in the now-abandoned village of Karlskirchen, after his rider had just fought a battle there. The legend has it that the horse created the
Glisborn The Glisborn, or Glißborn, is a small, short () stream that rises from a spring of the same name. The spring is located close to the Odenberg hill near Gudensberg in the northern Hessian district of Schwalm-Eder-Kreis. The spring is connected wi ...
in doing so, or though previous legends exist as well.


Natural monuments

Dissen's most notable landmark is a
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 ...
knoll, the Scharfenstein, which attracts a lot of climbers because of the difficult and varied climbs available. There is also a
gallery grave A gallery grave is a form of megalithic tomb built primarily during the Neolithic Age in Europe in which the main gallery of the tomb is entered without first passing through an antechamber or hallway. There are at least four major types of galler ...
. Less notable, but legendary, is the
Glisborn The Glisborn, or Glißborn, is a small, short () stream that rises from a spring of the same name. The spring is located close to the Odenberg hill near Gudensberg in the northern Hessian district of Schwalm-Eder-Kreis. The spring is connected wi ...
(or sometimes called ''Glißborn''), a
spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...
north of the Scharfenstein that was a holy place to the
Chatti The Chatti (also Chatthi or Catti) were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser (''Visurgis''). They lived in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of that river and in the valle ...
, who believed it had healing powers, and that it was of godly origins. In the Gudensberg Town Forest lies the Lautarius Grave, an archaeological site from the
New Stone Age The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
, built by the
Wartberg culture The Wartberg culture (german: Wartbergkultur), sometimes: Wartberg group (''Wartberggruppe'') or Collared bottle culture (''Kragenflaschenkultur'') is a prehistoric culture from 3,600 -2,800 BC of the later Central European Neolithic. It is named ...
. Scenic mountaintops near Gudensberg include the Mader Stein at the edge of the Maden Heath (Mader Heide), the Odenberg, the Nenkel and the Wartberg.


Economy and infrastructure


Transport

Gudensberg lies on Autobahn A 49. An express busline joins Gudensberg with
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
Fritzlar Fritzlar () is a small town (pop. 15,000) in the 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. Thirty-eight meters (125& ...
, and at times with
Bad Wildungen Bad Wildungen is a state-run spa and a small town in Waldeck-Frankenberg district in Hesse, Germany. It is located on the German Timber-Frame Road. Geography Location Bad Wildungen lies in the eastern foothills of the Kellerwald range in the so ...
and Frankenberg.


''Grifte-Gudensberger Kleinbahn''

The ''Kleinbahn'' was a "small"
railway 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 ...
, small in the operational sense; the track was
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
and the trains full-sized. Work on it began in 1898, and the long line, with four stations was opened on 15 July 1899. The service ran as follows: * Grifte, 0.00 km * Haldorf, 2.58 km * Dissen, 4.25 km * Gudensberg, 7.72 km Passenger services on the line were terminated on 31 December 1954. Thereafter, only a packaging machine manufacturer from Gudensberg used the line to ship his wares, and even then only weekly. The tracks were removed in 1980, and the railway embankment is nowadays used as a cycling and hiking path.


Established businesses

Dupon Biscuits, GTS Stanztechnik, Weber Netze, DPD Lager 34, Stolle.


Education

The town has three
kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...
s, two
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 ...
s (one of which is in Obervorschütz), one
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 ...
with a school
observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...
, a special school and a media centre.


Sons and daughters of the town

* Matthias Beller, chemist * Matthias Botthof, IFBB Pro * Regiane Da Silva, IFBB Pro * Hugo Brunner, librarian and historian * Daniel Angelocrater, theologian * Ulrich Sonnemann, philosopher * Conrad Mel, theologian and
pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...
* Helmut Reitze, journalist * Thomas Freudenstein, footballer * Otto Kastl, footballer * Heinrich Reuter (1905–1984), painter * Bernd Siebert (politician), politician and Member of the German Bundestag and Landtag of Hesse


Literature

* Eduard Brauns: ''Wander- und Reiseführer durch Nordhessen und Waldeck'', A. Bernecker Verlag, Melsungen 1971, S.303. * Eckhart G. Franz: ''Chronik von Hessen.'' Chronik-Verlag, Dortmund 1991. .


References


External links


Gudensberg

Regional portal for Gudensberg Edermünde Niedenstein

Gudensberg school observatory

Fire brigades
{{Authority control Chatti Schwalm-Eder-Kreis