Bad Sooden-Allendorf
Encyclopedia
Location
The spa town of Bad Sooden-Allendorf lies in the WerraWerra
The Werra is a river in central Germany, the right-source river of the Weser. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After 293 km the Werra joins the river Fulda in the town of Hann. Münden, forming the Weser....
valley near the Hoher Meißner
Hoher Meißner
Hoher Meissner is a mountain massif with a height of 753.6 m and is located in the Meissner Kaufunger nature park in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:...
, right on the boundary with Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, almost at Germany’s geographical centre, 33 km east of Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
.
Neighbouring communities
Bad Sooden-Allendorf borders in the north on the communities of LindewerraLindewerra
Lindewerra is a Thuringian municipality in the district of Eichsfeld in Germany, in the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Haustein-Rusteberg. Before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 Lindewerra was one of the few villages in the German Democratic Republic that could be observed directly from the West...
, Wahlhausen
Wahlhausen
Wahlhausen is a Thuringian municipality in the district of Eichsfeld in Germany, in the Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Hanstein-Rusteberg....
and Asbach-Sickenberg
Asbach-Sickenberg
Asbach-Sickenberg is a Thuringian municipality in the district of Eichsfeld. As a result of the 1945 Wanfried agreement, formerly Hessian Asbach-Sickenberg became part of the Soviet occupation zone and the later German Democratic Republic....
, in the east on the communities of Wiesenfeld und Volkerode
Volkerode
Volkerode is a Thuringian municipality in the district of Eichsfeld in Germany.-References:...
(all in Thuringia’s Eichsfeld district
Eichsfeld (district)
Eichsfeld is a district in Thuringia, Germany, and part of the historical region of Eichsfeld. It is bounded by the districts of Nordhausen, Kyffhäuserkreis and Unstrut-Hainich, and by the states of Hesse and Lower Saxony .-History:In medieval times the Eichsfeld, which is larger than the...
), in the south on the community of Meinhard
Meinhard
Meinhard is a community in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in Hesse, Germany.-Location:The community lies in the North Hesse Low Mountain Range landscape on the edge of the Werra valley, 3 km from the district seat of Eschwege....
, the town of Eschwege
Eschwege
Eschwege , the district seat of the Werra-Meißner-Kreis, is a town in northeastern Hesse, Germany.- Location :The town lies on a broad plain tract of the river Werra at the foot of the Leuchtberg northwest of the Schlierbachswald and east of the Hoher Meißner...
and the community of Berkatal
Berkatal
-Location:Berkatal lies in the Meißner-Kaufunger Wald Nature Park at the foot of the Hoher Meißner massif. The river Berka rises within community limits.-Neighbouring communities:...
, in the west on the town of Großalmerode
Großalmerode
Großalmerode is a town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in Hesse, Germany.- Location :The small town, which has had town rights since 1775, lies 21 km east of Kassel in the Meißner-Kaufunger Wald Nature Park on the river Gelster...
and in the northwest on the town of Witzenhausen
Witzenhausen
Witzenhausen is a small town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in northeastern Hesse, Germany.It was granted town rights in 1225, and until 1974, it was a district seat....
(all in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis).
Constituent communities
Besides the main town, which is also called Bad Sooden-Allendorf, the town has nine other Stadtteile named Ahrenberg, Dudenrode, Ellershausen, Hilgershausen, Kammerbach, Kleinvach, Oberrieden, Orferode and Höfe-Weiden. The main town itself is divided into Sooden and Allendorf, the former of which is west of the railway tracks.History
The place has existed since at least the late 8th century. This is confirmed by one of the FrankishFranks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
king Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
’s donation documents, which historians have dated to some time between 776 and 779. With this document, Charlemagne transferred the saltsprings, the saltpans, the saltworkers, the market, the tribute and the toll of the settlement of Westera to the Fulda Abbey. The settlement’s name refers to its location on the western border with Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, which still runs through here today.
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, the Geleen and Count Isolani Croatian regiments attacked the town, whereby the town was burnt almost right down. Even the two churches and the town hall were destroyed. The council estate – built wholly out of stone – withstood the great town fire, and still remains preserved today as the town’s oldest building.
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
was extracted from brine
Brine
Brine is water, saturated or nearly saturated with salt .Brine is used to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, and meat, in a process known as brining . Brine is also commonly used to age Halloumi and Feta cheeses, or for pickling foodstuffs, as a means of preserving them...
at the saltworks by boiling. The brine was brought up from a deposit under the town. The breaking of the salt monopoly in the wake of annexation by Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
in 1866 led to a fall in price, which in turn led to the industry’s end. The last salt was produced in 1906.
Along with the downfall of the saltworks, however, came the discovery of the brine’s healing properties, and thus began the spa industry, with a bathhouse opening on 1 June 1881.
Still today, the time of saltmaking is remembered with the Brunnenfest (“Well Festival”) held yearly at Whitsun
Whitsun
Whitsun is the name used in the UK for the Christian festival of Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's disciples...
, when salt is extracted from brine by boiling in an historically authentic process to demonstrate how salt was produced. In a salt museum, the salt is then sold; presented there, as well, is the history of saltmaking.
Modernization
At the turn of the millennium, the graduation towerGraduation tower
A graduation tower is a structure used in the production of salt which removes water from a saline solution by evaporation, increasing its concentration of mineral salts. The tower consists of a wooden wall-like frame stuffed with bundles of brushwood which have to be changed about every 5 to 10...
was dismantled and completely rebuilt. In late 2005, a new bathhouse with a big sauna
Sauna
A sauna is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary facilities....
area was finished, to lure privately paying guests to town. In April 2007, a new event hall for conventions and concerts was opened. Even the street layout was changed. Since that time there has been no more direct link between Sooden-Nord and Sooden-Süd. Traffic must turn off and take the bypass road through the industrial area. Furthermore, the railway station is currently reduced to two tracks and is being modernized with the goal of establishing a direct link to Sooden. Through these measures the town hopes to work against the downturn in the spa operations by making the bathhouse and spa area easier to reach and making it into a pedestrian precinct.
Town council
The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:| Parties and voter communities | % 2006 |
Seats 2006 |
% 2001 |
Seats 2001 |
|
| SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
41.8 | 13 | 38.8 | 12 |
| CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany | 36.8 | 11 | 32.7 | 10 |
| GREENS | Bündnis 90/Die Grünen | 9.1 | 3 | 9.5 | 3 |
| FWG | Freie Wählergemeinschaft | 7.6 | 2 | 10.0 | 3 |
| FDP | Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party (Germany) The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government... |
4.7 | 2 | 5.9 | 2 |
| REP | The Republicans | – | – | 3.1 | 1 |
| Total | 100 | 31 | 100 | 31 | |
| Voter turnout in % | 53.9 | 55.4 | |||
Mayors
The town’s mayor is Ronald Gundlach (SPD). Before his move to town hall, he worked as a teacher in the Rhenanus-Schule’s RealschuleRealschule
The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
branch. With his time in office coming to an end, he is not standing for reëlection. Standing as candidates in the upcoming mayoral contest on 2 November 2008 are Thomas Giese (SPD) and Frank Hix (CDU). The deadline for announcing candidacies was on 28 August 2008.
Coat of arms
The town’s armsCoat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
might be described thus: Gules a town wall embattled with gate tower and four towers within, the whole argent with roofs azure, in the gateway arch a saltpan hook and a Berlaff (wooden spoon for hastening brine evaporation) in saltire Or.
The arms were approved by the State Archive in 1931.
Town partnerships
Bad Sooden-Allendorf maintains partnership arrangements with these towns: LandivisiauLandivisiau
Landivisiau is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-International relations:It is twinned with Bideford in the southwest of the United Kingdom.-Population:...
, Finistère
Finistère
Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
since 1974 Bad Frankenhausen
Bad Frankenhausen
Bad Frankenhausen is a spa town in the German state of Thuringia. It is located at the southern slope of the Kyffhäuser mountain range, on an artificial arm of the Wipper river, a tributary of the Saale. Because of the nearby Kyffhäuser monument dedicated to Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, it is...
, Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
since 1990
Museums
- Schifflersgrund Border Museum
- This museum stands right on the former “death strip” between East and West GermanyWest GermanyWest Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, although nowadays it is only the boundary between HesseHesseHesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
and ThuringiaThuringiaThe Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
. It houses, besides old border installations and a range of old military vehicles and helicopterHelicopterA helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s, a visual and detailed history of the Inner German Border.
Buildings
- “Well Before the Gate”
- This became the subject of a well known German folksong Am Brunnen vor dem Tore. The well with the linden tree – also mentioned in the song – is still preserved, and the gate was rebuilt in 1997.
- Graduation tower
- Ths is one of Germany’s last graduation towers, having been thoroughly overhauled in the last ten years, and is a popular recreation spot.
- Werratal-Therme (“Werra Valley Bathhouse”)
- This is a bathhouse with brine, sauna and outdoor area. The graduation tower can be reached from here without leaving the bathhouse area.
- Diebesturm (“Thief’s Tower”)
- Historic timber-frameTimber framingTimber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
Old Town
Regular events
- Street festival in the Old Town (Friday), midwayMidway (fair)A midway at a fair is the location where amusement rides, entertainment and fast food booths are concentrated....
on the festival square (Saturday to Tuesday) - Torchlight procession followed by a military tattooMilitary tattooThe original meaning of military tattoo is a military drum performance, but nowadays it sometimes means army displays more generally.It dates from the 17th century when the British Army was fighting in the Low Countries...
and the festival of lights (“Werra in Flames”) - Triolett dance, a round danceRound danceThere are two distinct dance categories called round dance. The specific dances belonging to the first of these categories are often considered to be ethnic, folk or country dances...
with two threesomes - Spanisch Fricco – food
- Great festival parade on Sunday
- Rich decoration of the town with garlands and harvest crowns made of grain
Every year in the week after Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
, the traditional Märchenwoche (“Fairytale Week”) is held in Bad Sooden-Allendorf. Many events such as “fairytale evenings” and theatrical productions bring fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
s into the world, framed by daily appearances by fairytale characters in the spa park. At the focus stands Frau Holle
Mother Hulda
Mother Hulda is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and first published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. It was originally known as Frau Holle and is tale number 24.- Synopsis :...
, who is said to have lived on the nearby Hoher Meißner
Hoher Meißner
Hoher Meissner is a mountain massif with a height of 753.6 m and is located in the Meissner Kaufunger nature park in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:...
and to have daily shaken the featherbeds out in the historic Söder Tor (“Sooden Gate”)
Transport
- Bad Sooden-Allendorf is linked to the Autobahn network by BundesstraßeBundesstraßeBundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
27 (WitzenhausenWitzenhausenWitzenhausen is a small town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in northeastern Hesse, Germany.It was granted town rights in 1225, and until 1974, it was a district seat....
–EschwegeEschwegeEschwege , the district seat of the Werra-Meißner-Kreis, is a town in northeastern Hesse, Germany.- Location :The town lies on a broad plain tract of the river Werra at the foot of the Leuchtberg northwest of the Schlierbachswald and east of the Hoher Meißner...
). - The central railway station lies on the north-south GöttingenGöttingenGöttingen is a university town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Göttingen. The Leine river runs through the town. In 2006 the population was 129,686.-General information:...
–BebraBebraBebra is a small town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany.-Location:Bebra lies some 45 km south of Kassel on the Fulda. The town is easy to find on most maps thanks to its prominent location on the Fuldaknie...
–FuldaFuldaFulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district .- Early Middle Ages :...
line. - There is a town busBusA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
system. - The nearest airportAirportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
is Kassel Calden AirportKassel Calden AirportKassel Calden Airport located west of Calden, lies , as the crow flies, northwest of the German city of Kassel. Built on farmland, ASL lying NNE of the Hoher Dörnberg, the airport was opened on 11 July 1970. The airport has a single asphalt runway, 04/22 , which is . There is a parallel grass...
. - The Werra is not usable by big ships. Canoe traffic is, however, quite lively.
- A recreational vehicleRecreational vehicleRecreational vehicle or RV is, in North America, the usual term for a Motor vehicle or trailer equipped with living space and amenities found in a home.-Features:...
park in the Old Town and near the Werra attracts caravans. - There are also hikingHikingHiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
and cyclingCyclingCycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
paths.
Media
- The Witzenhäuser Allgemeine, a local edition of the Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine, appears as a daily newspaperNewspaperA newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
. - Moreover, the MB-Media-Verlag (publisher), which through the Ippen Group likewise belongs to Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine, publishes two weekly newspapers named Marktspiegel and Extra-Tip, which do not, however, give themselves over to quite as many regional issues as many other tabloids.
- Publication of the BSA-Kurier, an advertising paper for the local Kurpark-Hotel, whose fliers in the end were also acquired by Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine, has been suspended. Club reports and cultural announcements were found in this paper.
- A Stadtblättchen is published by Verlag Linus-Wittich for a few subscribing customers.
- Furthermore, the local radio station Rundfunk Meißner (RFM), named after the nearby mountain, Hoher Meißner, can be picked up in town.
Education
Bad Sooden-Allendorf offers with the primary school Am Brunnen vor dem Tore (classes 1 to 4) and the Rhenanusschule (classes 5 to 13) a full range of education without changing location or daily travel, something that can no longer be taken for granted in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis. Integrated into the Rhenanusschule is a sport GymnasiumGymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
with adjoining boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
, which once produced famous sportsmen.
With a location of the Bernd-Blindow-Schulen, the town has for some years also been a university town.
Famous people
- Burkard Waldis, humanistic poet
- Wilhelm Speck, poet
- Johannes Rhenanus, EvangelicalEvangelical Church in GermanyThe Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
clergyman and writer - Wilhelm MüllerWilhelm MüllerWilhelm Müller was a German lyric poet.-Life:Wilhelm Müller was born at Dessau, the son of a tailor. He was educated at the gymnasium of his native town and at the university of Berlin, where he devoted himself to philological and historical studies...
, romantic poet, wrote here among other things the beginning of the song Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust. - Eberhardt Eichner, superintendent