Friedewald, Hesse
Encyclopedia
Friedewald is a community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg
district in eastern Hesse
, Germany
, directly east of Bad Hersfeld
.
and the Werra
, and at the foot of the Dreienberg, which is among the northernmost outliers of the Rhön
.
and Wildeck
, in the east on the town of Heringen
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 Bad Hersfeld
and the community of Ludwigsau
(all in Hersfeld-Rotenburg).
was given over to the Landgraves of Hesse
. The castle is believed to have been built to watch over the trade road called Kurze Hessen, which ran from Frankfurt to Leipzig
.
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
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.
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.
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”.
–Görlitz
), interchange
33. Furthermore, Bundesstraße
62 runs through the community from Bad Hersfeld
to Bad Salzungen
.
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.
Hersfeld-Rotenburg
Hersfeld-Rotenburg is a Kreis in the east of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Werra-Meißner, Wartburgkreis, Fulda, Vogelsbergkreis, Schwalm-Eder.-History:...
district in eastern Hesse
Hesse
Hesse 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...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, directly east of Bad Hersfeld
Bad Hersfeld
The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld is the district seat of Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southeast of Kassel....
.
Location
The community lies in the boundary zone between the Kuppenrhön and the Seulingswald ranges. Friedewald lies on the watershed between the FuldaFulda River
The Fulda is a river in Hesse, Germany. It is one of two headstreams of the Weser . The Fulda is 218 km in length....
and the Werra
Werra
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....
, and at the foot of the Dreienberg, which is among the northernmost outliers of the Rhön
Rhön Mountains
The Rhön Mountains are a group of low mountains in central Germany, located around the border area where the states of Hesse, Bavaria and Thuringia come together. These mountains, which are at the extreme southeast end of the East Hesse Highlands , are partly a result of ancient volcanic activity...
.
Neighbouring communities
Friedewald borders in the north on the communities of RonshausenRonshausen
Ronshausen is a community and a Luftkurort in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany.-Location:The community lies in the valley of the Ulfe, which in Bebra empties into the Fulda...
and Wildeck
Wildeck
Wildeck is a community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany lying right at the boundary with Thuringia, 54 km southeast of Kassel.- Location :...
, in the east on the town of Heringen
Heringen
Heringen is a small town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germany lying right at the boundary with Thuringia.- Geography :- Location :...
and the community of Philippsthal
Philippsthal (Werra)
Philippsthal is a market community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germany, right at the boundary with Thuringia.-Location:Philippsthal lies between the outliers of the Rhön and the Thuringian Forest on the river Werra...
, in the southeast on the community of Hohenroda
Hohenroda
Hohenroda is a municipality in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germany lying right at the boundary with Thuringia.-Location:The municipality lies between the Rhön and the Thuringian Forest in the so-called Kuppenrhön...
, in the south on the community of Schenklengsfeld
Schenklengsfeld
Schenklengsfeld is a community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germany lying roughly 30 km northeast of Fulda and 60 km southeast of Kassel.-Location:...
and in the west on the town of Bad Hersfeld
Bad Hersfeld
The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld is the district seat of Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southeast of Kassel....
and the community of Ludwigsau
Ludwigsau
Ludwigsau is a community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany. With an area of 112 km² it is Hesse’s biggest community by land area.-Location:...
(all in Hersfeld-Rotenburg).
Constituent communities
Friedewald’s Ortsteile, 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 of the Hersfeld AbbeyHersfeld Abbey
Hersfeld Abbey was an important Benedictine imperial abbey in the town of Bad Hersfeld in Hesse , Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Geisa, Haune and Fulda.-History:...
was given over to the Landgraves of Hesse
Landgraviate of Hesse
The Landgraviate of Hesse was a Landgraviate of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed as a unity from 1264 to 1567, when it was divided between the sons of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse.-History:...
. The castle is believed to have been built to watch over the trade road called Kurze Hessen, which ran from Frankfurt to Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
.
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
- Notable people :*Christoph Cellarius, scholar, born 22 November 1638, died 4 June 1707 in Halle*Christian Karl August Ludwig von Massenbach, colonel, born 16 April 1758, died 21 November 1827 at Białokosz...
that provided for Landgrave Philipp I’s
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse
Philip I of Hesse, , nicknamed der Großmütige was a leading champion of the Protestant Reformation and one of the most important of the early Protestant rulers in Germany....
freedom from his Imperial imprisonment was signed here. The castle is still the community’s middle point and landmark.
Community council
The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:| Parties and voter communities | % 2006 |
Seats 2006 |
% 2001 |
Seats 2001 |
|
| CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany | 21.0 | 3 | 33.4 | 5 |
| 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... |
59.4 | 9 | 46.7 | 7 |
| OL | Offene Liste | 19.5 | 3 | – | – |
| BpF | Bürgerliste pro Friedewald e.V. | – | – | 17.5 | 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... |
– | – | 2.4 | 0 |
| Total | 100.0 | 15 | 100.0 | 15 | |
| Voter turnout in % | 58.4 | 74.1 | |||
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 Martin Gröll (independent) was elected on 2 February 2003 with 83.6% of the vote.Coat of arms
The community’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 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”.
Transport
The community lies on Autobahn A 4 (AachenAachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
–Görlitz
Görlitz
Görlitz is a town in Germany. It is the easternmost town in the country, located on the Lusatian Neisse River in the Bundesland of Saxony. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Görlitz until 1945. Historically, Görlitz was in the region of Upper Lusatia...
), interchange
Interchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
33. Furthermore, Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
62 runs through the community from Bad Hersfeld
Bad Hersfeld
The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld is the district seat of Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southeast of Kassel....
to Bad Salzungen
Bad Salzungen
Bad Salzungen is a town in Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wartburgkreis district. It is situated on the river Werra, 5 km east of Tiefenort and 20 km south of Eisenach. Near the town, there's a Bundeswehr barrack, the Werratal-Kaserne, which was built in 1972 for the GDR Army....
.
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
Schenker AG
Schenker AG is a German logistics company and a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, the German railway company. Within DB Logistics, the logistics branch of Deutsche Bahn, Schenker is responsible for land, sea, and air transport and contract logistics...
runs one of Europe’s most efficient such facilities, which for Schenker is of central importance, especially for general cargo shipped within Germany.
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 sandstoneSandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
of the Landgraves of Hesse from the 15th century, and the bailey from about 1600. - In the middle of the castle square stands a BaroqueBaroque architectureBaroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
three-tiered fountain - Hammundeseiche, an abandoned villageAbandoned villageAn abandoned village is a village that has, for some reason, been deserted. In many countries, and throughout history, thousands of villages were deserted for a variety of causes...
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 GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, 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
Sons and daughters of the town
- Karl Bernhard Hundeshagen (1810–1872), reformed theologian
- August SpiesAugust SpiesAugust Vincent Theodore Spies was an anarchist labor activist who was found guilty of conspiracy and hanged following a bomb attack on police at the Haymarket affair.-Background:...
b. 10 December 1855; d. 11 November 1887 in Chicago, hanged journalist.