Niederaula
Encyclopedia
Niederaula is a market community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg
district in northeastern Hesse
, Germany
, 59 km south of Kassel
.
between the outliers of the Rhön
, the Vogelsberg
and the Knüll
gebirge (ranges). Within town limits, the rivers Aula, Jossa and Hattenbach all empty into the Fulda.
The nearest major towns or cities are Bad Hersfeld
, 10 km to the northeast, Alsfeld
, 24 km to the west and Fulda
, 29 km to the south.
and the town of Bad Hersfeld
, in the east on the community of Hauneck
, in the south on the community of Haunetal
(all in Hersfeld-Rotenburg) and the town of Schlitz (in the Vogelsbergkreis
) and in the west on the community of Breitenbach am Herzberg
(in Hersfeld-Rotenburg).
’s donations to the Hersfeld Abbey
. The outlying centre of Niederjossa held a 1,225-year jubilee celebration in the first week of August 2007.
On 14 September 2008, Thomas Rohrbach (independent) was elected with 54.29% of the vote.
might be described thus: Gules a fess wavy abased argent, above which an owl guardant of the second armed Or, in chief sinister a mullet of eight of the second.
The coat of arms was conferred on the community on 28 February 1978.
The owl comes from the name of the river Aula, pronounced similarly to the English
word "owl", although the German
word is Eule, pronounced ˈɔʏlɐ. The wavy fess stands for the four rivers that flow through Niederaula and the eight-pointed star stands for the community’s eight centres. The star was chosen because the Counts of Ziegenhain, who bore a star in their arms, were for centuries influential here.
in 2007.
, it found itself right in the middle of the newly reconstituted country. Several logistical service businesses have built central locations in Niederaula for the transfer of their transports.
Niederaula lies right at the Autobahn interchange
s known as the Kirchheim and Hattenbach Triangles – so-called because each is a three-way Autobahn junction – putting Autobahnen A 4 (Aachen
–Görlitz
), A 5
(Hattenbach–Basel
) and A 7 (Flensburg
–Füssen
) right nearby. The A 7 Kirchheim
interchange is 5 km away from Niederaula, and the Niederaula interchange 2 km away. Furthermore, Bundesstraße
62 runs through Niederaula, although because it parallels the Autobahnen, it has no further importance to long-distance travel, merely serving now as a bypass.
Not far from the community’s western edge runs the Hanover-Würzburg high-speed rail line, although trains do not stop here. Even at the small railway station on the Bad Hersfeld-Treysa and Niederaula-Alsfeld lines sees no more passenger service, and goods trains only run for operational reasons owing to a manual level crossing
. The nearest railway service is therefore to be had in the district seat of Bad Hersfeld
some 12 km away.
Buslines 322, 372 and 374 run to Bad Hersfeld, as does the shared taxi 371, which can be arranged by telephone. All these services are run by the Nordhessischer Verkehrsverbund (“North Hesse Transport Association”, NVV).
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...
, 59 km south 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 :...
.
Location
The community lies on 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....
between the 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...
, the Vogelsberg
Vogelsberg
Vogelsberg is a municipality in the Sömmerda district of Thuringia, Germany....
and the Knüll
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 (ranges). Within town limits, the rivers Aula, Jossa and Hattenbach all empty into the Fulda.
The nearest major towns or 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....
, 10 km to the northeast, 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...
, 24 km to the west and 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 :...
, 29 km to the south.
Neighbouring communities
Niederaula borders in the north on the community of KirchheimKirchheim, Hesse
Kirchheim is a community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany.-Location:The community lies on the south slope of the Knüllgebirge in the valley of the brook Ibra and the Aula, which empties into the Fulda near Niederaula...
and 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 east on the community of Hauneck
Hauneck
Hauneck is a community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germany.-Location:The town of Bad Hersfeld lies right nearby to the north. Some 35 km away lie Fulda to the south and Alsfeld to the west.The community stretches along the Haune...
, in the south on the community of Haunetal
Haunetal
Haunetal is a community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germany. Haunetal is the district’s southernmost municipality.-Location:...
(all in Hersfeld-Rotenburg) and the town of Schlitz (in the Vogelsbergkreis
Vogelsbergkreis
The Vogelsbergkreis is a Kreis in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Schwalm-Eder, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Fulda, Main-Kinzig, Wetteraukreis, Gießen and Marburg-Biedenkopf.-Geography:...
) and in the west 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:...
(in Hersfeld-Rotenburg).
Constituent communities
Niederaula’s eight Ortsteile are Niederaula, Mengshausen, Solms, Niederjossa (700 inhabitants), Hattenbach, Kleba, Kerspenhausen and Hilperhausen.History
In 779, Niederaula had its first documentary mention in connection with one of CharlemagneCharlemagne
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 donations to 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:...
. The outlying centre of Niederjossa held a 1,225-year jubilee celebration in the first week of August 2007.
Amalgamations
In 1970, the communities of Niederaula and Mengshausen merged into a greater community. In 1972, the communities of Kleba, Hattenbach, Niederjossa, Solms and Kerspenhausen with its outlying centres of Roßbach and Hilperhausen also joined.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 | 33.5 | 10 | 31.5 | 10 |
| 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... |
63.1 | 20 | 66.1 | 20 |
| GREENS | Bündnis 90/Die Grünen | 3.4 | 1 | 2.4 | 1 |
| Total | 100.0 | 31 | 100.0 | 31 | |
| Voter turnout in % | 55.6 | 64.8 | |||
Mayors
The mayor Helmut Opfer (SPD) was elected on 22 September 2002 with 88.0% of the vote.On 14 September 2008, Thomas Rohrbach (independent) was elected with 54.29% 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 fess wavy abased argent, above which an owl guardant of the second armed Or, in chief sinister a mullet of eight of the second.
The coat of arms was conferred on the community on 28 February 1978.
The owl comes from the name of the river Aula, pronounced similarly to the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
word "owl", although the German
German language
German 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....
word is Eule, pronounced ˈɔʏlɐ. The wavy fess stands for the four rivers that flow through Niederaula and the eight-pointed star stands for the community’s eight centres. The star was chosen because the Counts of Ziegenhain, who bore a star in their arms, were for centuries influential here.
Sport
The skat club Aulataler Asse – the second word means “Aces” – won the International Skat Players Association cup final in partnership with the club Alter Markt from BorkenBorken
Borken is the name of three places in Germany:*Borken, North Rhine-Westphalia*Borken , in North Rhine-Westphalia*Borken, HesseBorken or b0rken can also be internet slang for "broken," often referring to a computer program or a feature of a program that is not working as expected...
in 2007.
Economy and infrastructure
Given its geographical location and its favourable transport connections, Niederaula has developed itself into a “logistical centre”, as at the time of German reunificationGerman reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
, it found itself right in the middle of the newly reconstituted country. Several logistical service businesses have built central locations in Niederaula for the transfer of their transports.
Transport
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...
s known as the Kirchheim and Hattenbach Triangles – so-called because each is a three-way Autobahn junction – putting 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. The A 7 Kirchheim
Kirchheim, Hesse
Kirchheim is a community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany.-Location:The community lies on the south slope of the Knüllgebirge in the valley of the brook Ibra and the Aula, which empties into the Fulda near Niederaula...
interchange is 5 km away from Niederaula, and the Niederaula interchange 2 km away. Furthermore, Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße
Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...
62 runs through Niederaula, although because it parallels the Autobahnen, it has no further importance to long-distance travel, merely serving now as a bypass.
Not far from the community’s western edge runs the Hanover-Würzburg high-speed rail line, although trains do not stop here. Even at the small railway station on the Bad Hersfeld-Treysa and Niederaula-Alsfeld lines sees no more passenger service, and goods trains only run for operational reasons owing to a manual level crossing
Level crossing
A level crossing occurs where a railway line is intersected by a road or path onone level, without recourse to a bridge or tunnel. It is a type of at-grade intersection. The term also applies when a light rail line with separate right-of-way or reserved track crosses a road in the same fashion...
. The nearest railway service is therefore to be had in the district seat 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....
some 12 km away.
Buslines 322, 372 and 374 run to Bad Hersfeld, as does the shared taxi 371, which can be arranged by telephone. All these services are run by the Nordhessischer Verkehrsverbund (“North Hesse Transport Association”, NVV).
Established businesses
- Deutsche PostDeutsche PostDeutsche Post AG, operating under the trade name Deutsche Post DHL, is the world's largest logistics group. With its headquarters in Bonn, the corporation has 467,088 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide and generated revenue of € 51.48 billion in 2010...
international postal distribution centre - TNT Innight GmbH & Co. KGTNT N.V.TNT N.V., more commonly known as TNT, is an international express and mail delivery services company with headquarters in Hoofddorp, Netherlands. In the Netherlands, TNT operates the national postal service under the name TNT Post. The group also offers postal services in eight other European...
hub and location - UPSUnited Parcel ServiceUnited Parcel Service, Inc. , typically referred to by the acronym UPS, is a package delivery company. Headquartered in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States, UPS delivers more than 15 million packages a day to 6.1 million customers in more than 220 countries and territories around the...
distribution centre - General Overnight sorting centre
- Logit Services GmbH distribution centre
- System Alliance GmbH (piece goods) head office
- Gies GmbH & Co. Kunststoffwerk KG (plastic container manufacturer)
- Rotpunkt Dr. Anso Zimmermann GmbH (vacuum flaskVacuum flaskA vacuum flask is an insulating storage vessel which keeps its contents hotter or cooler than its surroundings. Invented by Sir James Dewar in 1892, the vacuum flask consists of two flasks, placed one within the other and joined at the neck...
manufacturer) - Julius Zange GmbH & Co.KG brickworks and specialized builders