Hessisch Lichtenau
Encyclopedia
Hessisch Lichtenau is a small town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis
in eastern Hesse
, Germany
. It was the 2006 host of the 46th Hessentag.
between the Kaufunger Wald in the north, the Hoher Meißner
(753.6 m above sea level
) in the east, the Stölzinger Gebirge with the Eisberg (583 m) in the southeast and the Söhre in the south. The main town lies on the river Losse.
and Großalmerode
, in the east on Meißner
and Waldkappel
, in the south on Spangenberg
, in the west on Söhrewald
and in the northwest on Helsa
.
Heading the town council is Franz-Josef Lewe.
In the constituent community of Fürstenhagen: Building complex of the Jérôme Henri Lenoir Foundation (former orphanages), Pestalozzi
memorial, Mausoleum
of the family Lenoir, lying on a hill at a pond (architect: Julius Eubell; built 1903), endowed in 1893 by George André Lenoir (1825–1909), J. H. Lenoir’s son and honorary citizen of Kassel. Also, the neighbouring agricultural operation originally belonged to the Lenoir Foundation.
In the constituent community of Reichenbach: Kirche der Deutschordensballei Hessen (“Church of the Teutonic Knights
’ Bailiwick of Hesse”), formerly the Reichenbach Monastery Church, the Teutonic Knights’ oldest establishment in Germany. West of Reichenbach are found the ruins of Reichenbach Castle on the 522 m-high Schlossberg.
line 4 (towards Mattenberg) runs directly into downtown Kassel every 30 minutes on weekdays and every 15 minutes at peak times. On Sundays, service is hourly.
Near the constituent community of Reichenbach is found the aviation beacon LAU on an international air corridor.
with a Gymnasium
upper level.
Werra-Meißner-Kreis
Werra-Meißner is a Kreis in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Göttingen, Eichsfeld, Unstrut-Hainich, Wartburgkreis, district-free Eisenach, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Schwalm-Eder, Kassel.-History:...
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...
. It was the 2006 host of the 46th Hessentag.
Location
Hessisch Lichtenau lies in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis 20 km southeast of KasselKassel
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 :...
between the Kaufunger Wald in the north, 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:...
(753.6 m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
) in the east, the Stölzinger Gebirge with the Eisberg (583 m) in the southeast and the Söhre in the south. The main town lies on the river Losse.
Neighbouring communities
Hessisch Lichtenau borders in the northeast on BerkatalBerkatal
-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:...
and 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...
, in the east on Meißner
Meißner, Hesse
Meißner is a community in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in Hesse, Germany.-Location:Meißner lies at the Krösselberg between the Hoher Meißner and the Werra valley in the Meißner-Kaufunger Wald Nature Park, some 40 km southeast of Kassel and 10 km west of Eschwege.-Neighbouring...
and Waldkappel
Waldkappel
Waldkappel is a small town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in northern Hesse, Germany.-Location:Waldkappel lies between Hessisch Lichtenau in the west and Eschwege in the east, where the town is found in the North Hesse Upland between the Meißner-Kaufunger Wald Nature Park neighbouring it to the north...
, in the south on Spangenberg
Spangenberg
- Geography :Spangenberg lies in the Schwalm-Eder district some 35 km southeast of Kassel, west of the Stölzinger Gebirge, a low mountain range. Spangenberg is the demographical centrepoint of Germany.- History :...
, in the west on Söhrewald
Söhrewald
Söhrewald is a municipality in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 13 kilometers southeast of Kassel.-References:...
and in the northwest on Helsa
Helsa
Helsa is a municipality and village in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. The municipality is situated in the Losse valley amongst the hills of the Kaufunger Wald, approx. 15 km east of Kassel.-Division of the municipality:...
.
Constituent communities
Hessisch Lichtenau’s Stadtteile are Friedrichsbrück, Fürstenhagen, Hausen, Hirschhagen, Hollstein, Hopfelde, Küchen, Quentel, Reichenbach, Retterode, Velmeden, Walburg and WickersrodeTown 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... |
53.7 | 20 | 51.6 | 19 |
| CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany | 31.6 | 12 | 29.3 | 11 |
| 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... |
2.0 | 1 | 3.2 | 1 |
| FWG | Freie Wählergemeinschaft Hessisch Lichtenau | 8.3 | 3 | 9.8 | 4 |
| ALH | Alternative Liste Heli | 4.4 | 1 | 6.2 | 2 |
| Total | 100.0 | 37 | 100.0 | 37 | |
| Voter turnout in % | 47.4 | 53.8 | |||
Heading the town council is Franz-Josef Lewe.
Mayor
Since February 2000, Jürgen Herwig (SPD) has been the directly elected, fulltime mayor. He was reëlected on 6 November 2005 with 64.4% of the vote, beating his opponent Michael Heußner (CDU).Buildings
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer who exemplified Romanticism in his approach....
memorial, Mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
of the family Lenoir, lying on a hill at a pond (architect: Julius Eubell; built 1903), endowed in 1893 by George André Lenoir (1825–1909), J. H. Lenoir’s son and honorary citizen of Kassel. Also, the neighbouring agricultural operation originally belonged to the Lenoir Foundation.
In the constituent community of Reichenbach: Kirche der Deutschordensballei Hessen (“Church of the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
’ Bailiwick of Hesse”), formerly the Reichenbach Monastery Church, the Teutonic Knights’ oldest establishment in Germany. West of Reichenbach are found the ruins of Reichenbach Castle on the 522 m-high Schlossberg.
Transport
TramTram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
line 4 (towards Mattenberg) runs directly into downtown Kassel every 30 minutes on weekdays and every 15 minutes at peak times. On Sundays, service is hourly.
Near the constituent community of Reichenbach is found the aviation beacon LAU on an international air corridor.
Established businesses
- Format Tresorbau GmbH & Co. KG, manufactures safeSafeA safe is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or damage. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face removable or hinged to form a door. The body and door may be cast from metal or formed out of plastic through blow molding...
s and suchlike; half its turnover is in safes for automated teller machineAutomated teller machineAn automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
s. - Vogt Foliendruck and its daughter company Card Factory make labels and cards, such as PaybackPayback (loyalty card)Payback is a loyalty card scheme launched in 2000 by Metro AG in Germany and has the largest market share. It had a turnover of 190 Million Euros in 2007...
cards. - Richter builds TransrapidTransrapidTransrapid is a German high-speed monorail train using magnetic levitation. Based on a patent from 1934, planning of the Transrapid system started in 1969. The test facility for the system in Emsland, Germany was completed in 1987...
parts in Hessisch Lichtenau. - Quambusch KG Handelsgesellschaft has its seat as a wholesaler in Hessisch Lichtenau since 1946 and does trade in the field of environmental protection, e.g. oil absorber and protective work garments as well as sports clothing.
- Klapp Cosmetics GmbH makes cosmetic products.
- Spedition Frölich is a transport business in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis.
- Wasserkaskaden.de produces waterfalls and garden articles.
- Seeger Engineering AG – energy and environmental technology
- Repa Maschinenbau und Verwaltungs GmbH
- Ballettschule Duhme-Bock has been in Hessisch Lichtenau since 1988.
Education
Schooling is to be had at Freiherr-vom-Stein-Schule, a comprehensive schoolComprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
with a Gymnasium
Gymnasium (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...
upper level.
Sons and daughters of the town
- Johann Feige (1482–1543), Chancellor of the Landgraviate of HesseLandgraviate of HesseThe 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:...
- Founders of the Fröhlich und Wolff heavy weaving mill: Richard Wolff and Salomon Fröhlich
- Konrad Schwalm (d. 2003), landscape painter and draughtsman, owner of the Malerwinkel Schwalm (a Timber framing|timber-frame house)
- Founder of the Rosenblath furniture factory and shop: Erich Rosenblath
- Heinrich Schäfer, Egyptologist
- Hermann Bente, Economist