Kirchheim, Hesse
Encyclopedia
Kirchheim is a community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg
district in northeastern Hesse
, Germany
.
The community lies on the south slope of the Knüll
gebirge (range) in the valley of the brook Ibra and the Aula, which empties into the Fulda
near Niederaula
. The local mountain is the 636 m-high Eisenberg.
The nearest major towns and cities are Bad Hersfeld
(some 10 km to the east), Fulda
(some 34 km to the south) and Alsfeld
(some 24 km to the west). Kassel lies 54 km to the north.
, in the east on the town of Bad Hersfeld
, in the south on the community of Niederaula
, in the southwest on the community of Breitenbach am Herzberg
(all in Hersfeld-Rotenburg) and in the west on the community of Oberaula
(in the Schwalm-Eder-Kreis
).
is 637 mm. On average each year, Kirchheim has 21.7 “summer days” (in which the daily high reaches 25 °C or higher) and 107.2 “frost days” (in which the temperature dips down below 0 °C). The average yearly duration of sunshine is 1,410 hours.
Source: 1200 Jahre Kirchheim, see “Further reading”
About 810 , Kirchheim had its first documentary mention in the Breviarium Sancti Lulli (“Saint Lullus
’s Summary”), a tithe directory kept by the Hersfeld Abbey
, under the name Kyricheim.
Kirchheim was linked to the railway on 1 May 1906 when the Knüllwaldbahn (Bad Hersfeld–Treysa) was opened. From 1935, the community also had a link to the Autobahn network when the three-way junction of the A 7 (Flensburg
–Füssen
) and A 4 (Aachen
–Görlitz
) was built here.
In 1974, building work began on the Seepark Kirchheim between the outlying centres of Reimboldshausen and Kemmerode. The Ibra was dammed up here to form a 10 ha lake. Only a year later, district road (Kreisstraße
) 34 from Willingshain by way of the Eisenberg to Raboldshausen (outlying centre of Neuenstein
) was built. Once this link was in place, there followed in the same year the building of a mountain hotel, a holiday village (“Feriendorf am Eisenberg”) and a transmission tower
.
On 22 August 1977, the dam
at the Seepark Kirchheim burst and washed the railway tracks out near Kirchheim. This was Deutsche Bundesbahn’s
reason for abandoning the line.
* Before the Thirty Years' War
18 men, in 1673 only 8
** In 1585 there were 50 households.
*** In 1637 there were 14 households.
**** Before the Thirty Years' War there were 35 households. After the war, in 1650 there were 9 families and about 1745 there were 25 families. At the first census in 1830 the community had 211 inhabitants.
The community’s executive (Gemeindevorstand) is made up of eight members, with five seats allotted to the SPD and three to the CDU.
might be described thus: Vert two bendlets argent, the chief Or sapiné.
The German blazon refers to the parting as Tannenspitzenschnitt, or “firtree top cut”. The blazon also explains that the bendlets are a stylized representation of the Autobahn.
s of Kirchheim and Hattenbach, putting the Autobahnen A 4 (Aachen
–Görlitz
), A 5
(Hattenbach–Basel
) and A 7 (Flensburg
–Füssen
) right nearby. Through the community also runs Bundesstraße
454 from Kirchhain
to Niederaula
.
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 northeastern 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...
.
Location
Knüll
Knüllgebirge or Knüll is a small mountain range in Hesse, Germany. It is located in the Northern part of Hesse approximately 45 km South of Kassel, its highest peak is the Eisenberg having an altitude of 636 m. Its area has a rather low population density and is heavily forested...
gebirge (range) in the valley of the brook Ibra and the Aula, which empties into the Fulda
Fulda 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....
near Niederaula
Niederaula
Niederaula is a market community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, 59 km south of Kassel.-Location:The community lies on the Fulda between the outliers of the Rhön, the Vogelsberg and the Knüllgebirge...
. The local mountain is the 636 m-high Eisenberg.
The nearest major towns and cities are 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....
(some 10 km to the east), Fulda
Fulda
Fulda 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 :...
(some 34 km to the south) and Alsfeld
Alsfeld
Alsfeld is a town in the center of Hesse, somewhere in Germany. Large towns nearby are Bad Hersfeld about 33 km to the east, Fulda 36 km to the southeast, Gießen 47 km to the west and Marburg an der Lahn about 36 km to the northwest...
(some 24 km to the west). Kassel lies 54 km to the north.
Neighbouring communities
Kirchheim borders in the north on the community of NeuensteinNeuenstein, Hesse
Neuenstein is a community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany.- Location :The community lies in the Knüllgebirge in the drainage basin of the Geisbach, which rises here and only 10 km from here, in Bad Hersfeld, empties into the Fulda.- Neighbouring communities...
, in the east 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....
, in the south on the community of Niederaula
Niederaula
Niederaula is a market community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, 59 km south of Kassel.-Location:The community lies on the Fulda between the outliers of the Rhön, the Vogelsberg and the Knüllgebirge...
, in the southwest on the community of Breitenbach am Herzberg
Breitenbach am Herzberg
Breitenbach am Herzberg is a community in southwesternmost Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germany.-Location:...
(all in Hersfeld-Rotenburg) and in the west on the community of Oberaula
Oberaula
-Location:Oberaula lies in the Knüllgebirge, a low mountain range, in the Aula river valley and its neighbouring valleys.The nearest towns are Bad Hersfeld , Schwalmstadt , and Homberg .-Constituent communities:The community consists of the six centres of Hausen, Friedigerode, Ibra, Oberaula...
(in the Schwalm-Eder-Kreis
Schwalm-Eder-Kreis
Schwalm-Eder is a Kreis in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Kassel, Werra-Meißner, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Vogelsbergkreis, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Waldeck-Frankenberg.-History:...
).
Constituent communities
Kirchheim’s Ortsteile, besides the main centre, also called Kirchheim, are Allendorf, Frielingen, Gersdorf, Gershausen, Goßmannsrode, Heddersdorf, Kemmerode, Reckerode, Reimboldshausen, Rotterterode and Willingshain.Climate
The mean yearly air temperature is 7.4 °C and the average precipitationPrecipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
is 637 mm. On average each year, Kirchheim has 21.7 “summer days” (in which the daily high reaches 25 °C or higher) and 107.2 “frost days” (in which the temperature dips down below 0 °C). The average yearly duration of sunshine is 1,410 hours.
Source: 1200 Jahre Kirchheim, see “Further reading”
History
Lullus
Saint Lullus was the first permanent archbishop of Mainz, succeeding Saint Boniface, and first abbot of the Benedictine Hersfeld Abbey.-Monk to archbishop:...
’s Summary”), a tithe directory kept by the Hersfeld Abbey
Hersfeld 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:...
, under the name Kyricheim.
Kirchheim was linked to the railway on 1 May 1906 when the Knüllwaldbahn (Bad Hersfeld–Treysa) was opened. From 1935, the community also had a link to the Autobahn network when the three-way junction of the A 7 (Flensburg
Flensburg
Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
–Füssen
Füssen
Füssen is a town in Bavaria, Germany, in the district of Ostallgäu situated from the Austrian border. It is located on the banks of the Lech river. The River Lech flows into the Forggensee...
) and A 4 (Aachen
Aachen
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...
) was built here.
In 1974, building work began on the Seepark Kirchheim between the outlying centres of Reimboldshausen and Kemmerode. The Ibra was dammed up here to form a 10 ha lake. Only a year later, district road (Kreisstraße
Kreisstraße
A Kreisstraße is a class of road in Germany. It carries traffic between the towns and villages within a Kreis or district or between two neighbouring districts. In terms of importance, the Kreisstraße ranks below a Landesstraße , but above a Gemeindestraße or "local road"...
) 34 from Willingshain by way of the Eisenberg to Raboldshausen (outlying centre of Neuenstein
Neuenstein, Hesse
Neuenstein is a community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany.- Location :The community lies in the Knüllgebirge in the drainage basin of the Geisbach, which rises here and only 10 km from here, in Bad Hersfeld, empties into the Fulda.- Neighbouring communities...
) was built. Once this link was in place, there followed in the same year the building of a mountain hotel, a holiday village (“Feriendorf am Eisenberg”) and a transmission tower
Radio masts and towers
Radio masts and towers are, typically, tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. They are among the tallest man-made structures...
.
On 22 August 1977, the dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
at the Seepark Kirchheim burst and washed the railway tracks out near Kirchheim. This was Deutsche Bundesbahn’s
Deutsche Bahn
Deutsche Bahn AG is the German national railway company, a private joint stock company . Headquartered in Berlin, it came into existence in 1994 as the successor to the former state railways of Germany, the Deutsche Bundesbahn of West Germany and the Deutsche Reichsbahn of East Germany...
reason for abandoning the line.
Amalgamations
Within the framework of municipal reform, the villages of Allendorf, Frielingen, Gershausen, Goßmannsrode, Kemmerode and Reimboldshausen merged themselves into Kirchheim with effect from 1 February 1971. With effect from 31 December 1971, Rotterterode followed. The other four villages were amalgamated by law on 1 August 1972.Population development
| Allendorf * |
Frielingen ** |
Gersdorf | Gershausen | Goßmannsrode *** |
Heddersdorf | Kemmerode | Kirchheim | Reckerode **** |
Reimboldsh. | Rotterterode | Willingshain | Totals (after amalgamation) |
|
| Households | |||||||||||||
| 1610 | - | - | 29 | 23 | - | 19 | 14 | 75 | 35 | 5 | 6 | 33 | - |
| 1747 | 18 | 38 | 39 | 19 | 26 | 19 | 15 | 81 | 25 | 6 | 12 | 52 | - |
| Inhabitants | |||||||||||||
| 1834 | 150 | 391 | 211 | 166 | 165 | 192 | 105 | 734 | 217 | 92 | 132 | 329 | - |
| 1840 | 154 | 413 | 234 | 164 | 182 | 168 | 92 | 733 | 113 | 93 | 134 | 361 | - |
| 1846 | 173 | 430 | 214 | 192 | 194 | 170 | 93 | 730 | 245 | 101 | 157 | 358 | - |
| 1852 | 186 | 390 | 204 | 192 | 200 | 172 | 100 | 759 | 229 | 95 | 171 | 353 | - |
| 1858 | 186 | 345 | 174 | 184 | 178 | 165 | 91 | 694 | 267 | 90 | 149 | 335 | - |
| 1864 | 179 | 356 | 179 | 190 | 167 | 157 | 106 | 686 | 246 | 106 | 145 | 247 | - |
| 1871 | 166 | 344 | 188 | 182 | 152 | 151 | 89 | 616 | 219 | 78 | 140 | 273 | - |
| 1875 | 164 | 327 | 186 | 177 | 137 | 139 | 81 | 582 | 219 | 67 | 144 | 268 | - |
| 1885 | 175 | 296 | 165 | 163 | 140 | 141 | 89 | 547 | 220 | 79 | 132 | 259 | - |
| 1895 | 178 | 299 | 181 | 169 | 144 | 150 | 77 | 548 | 223 | 65 | 123 | 242 | - |
| 1905 | 170 | 333 | 208 | 197 | 146 | 188 | 79 | 549 | 222 | 70 | 117 | 249 | - |
| 1910 | 152 | 333 | 194 | 187 | 137 | 197 | 82 | 569 | 222 | 73 | 120 | 268 | - |
| 1925 | 188 | 365 | 194 | 190 | 138 | 192 | 101 | 604 | 232 | 70 | 114 | 273 | - |
| 1939 | 163 | 348 | 195 | 184 | 146 | 205 | 74 | 705 | 204 | 80 | 99 | 249 | - |
| 1946 | 244 | 530 | 351 | 288 | 185 | 294 | 136 | 1,091 | 309 | 120 | 120 | 376 | - |
| 1950 | 252 | 533 | 304 | 287 | 196 | 292 | 133 | 1,126 | 338 | 115 | 144 | 353 | - |
| 1956 | 217 | 448 | 259 | 226 | 173 | 235 | 100 | 1,018 | 245 | 87 | 117 | 296 | - |
| 1961 | 193 | 389 | 224 | 199 | 164 | 226 | 98 | 1,085 | 230 | 66 | 87 | 276 | - |
| 1967 | 153 | 383 | 211 | 223 | 137 | 203 | 86 | 1,445 | 207 | 71 | 82 | 243 | - |
| 1970 | 148 | 416 | 191 | 227 | 144 | 224 | 76 | 1,544 | 224 | 75 | 84 | 243 | - |
| 1982 | 178 | 419 | 186 | 293 | 156 | 229 | 72 | 1,864 | 209 | 104 | 96 | 267 | 4,073 |
| 2004 | 146 | 406 | 161 | 332 | 153 | 217 | 65 | 1,920 | 164 | 77 | 81 | 253 | 3,975 |
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....
18 men, in 1673 only 8
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 | 43.7 | 10 | 46.6 | 11 |
| 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... |
56.3 | 13 | 53.4 | 12 |
| Total | 100.0 | 23 | 100.0 | 23 | |
| Voter turnout in % | 59.0 | 61.7 | |||
The community’s executive (Gemeindevorstand) is made up of eight members, with five seats allotted to the SPD and three to the CDU.
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: Vert two bendlets argent, the chief Or sapiné.
The German blazon refers to the parting as Tannenspitzenschnitt, or “firtree top cut”. The blazon also explains that the bendlets are a stylized representation of the Autobahn.
Transport
The community lies right at the three-way Autobahn interchangeInterchange (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...
s of Kirchheim and Hattenbach, putting the Autobahnen A 4 (Aachen
Aachen
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...
), A 5
Bundesautobahn 5
is a 445 km long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the Hattenbach triangle intersection is a 445 km (277 mi) long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the Hattenbach triangle intersection is a 445 km (277 mi) long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the...
(Hattenbach–Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
) and A 7 (Flensburg
Flensburg
Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
–Füssen
Füssen
Füssen is a town in Bavaria, Germany, in the district of Ostallgäu situated from the Austrian border. It is located on the banks of the Lech river. The River Lech flows into the Forggensee...
) right nearby. Through the community also runs Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
454 from Kirchhain
Kirchhain
Kirchhain is a town in Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:Kirchhain is located in the heart of the state of Hesse in Marburg-Biedenkopf County...
to Niederaula
Niederaula
Niederaula is a market community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, 59 km south of Kassel.-Location:The community lies on the Fulda between the outliers of the Rhön, the Vogelsberg and the Knüllgebirge...
.
Further reading
- Gemeindevorstand Kirchheim (publisher): 1200 Jahre Kirchheim. Bad Hersfeld 1983