Location

The community of Ringgau lies in the like-named low mountain range some 11 km (as the crow flies

As the crow flies

"As the crow flies" or beelining is an idiom for the shortest route between two points; the geodesic distance.An example is the great-circle distance between Key West and Pensacola, at either end of the U.S...

) south 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...

 between 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:...

 and the Thuringian Forest

Thuringian Forest

The Thuringian Forest running northwest to southeast, forms a continuous stretch of ancient rounded mountains posing ample difficulties in transit routing save through a few navigable passes in the southern reaches of the German state of Thuringia. It is about long and wide...

.

Neighbouring communities

Ringgau borders in the north on the communities of Wehretal

Wehretal

Wehretal is a community in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in northeastern Hesse, Germany.-Location:Wehretal lies roughly 50 km southeast of the North Hesse city of Kassel...

 und Weißenborn

Weißenborn, Hesse

Weißenborn is a community in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in Hesse, Germany.-Location:Weißenborn lies in the North Hesse Uplands some 8 km southeast of Eschwege and abuts a section of the boundary with Thuringia. It is found in the Schlierbachswald, onto which borders the Ringgau not far south...

 (both in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis), in the east on the 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....

n community of Ifta

Ifta

Ifta is a municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany....

 (Wartburgkreis

Wartburgkreis

Wartburgkreis is a Kreis in the west of Thuringia, Germany. Neighboring districts are the districts Unstrut-Hainich, Gotha, Schmalkalden-Meiningen, and the districts Fulda, Hersfeld-Rotenburg and Werra-Meißner in Hesse...

), in the south on the community of Herleshausen

Herleshausen

-Location:Herleshausen lies north of a section of the boundary with Thuringia in the thickly wooded area between the Ringgau and the Thuringian Forest with the Thuringian Forest Nature Park in the southeast...

 and in the west on the town of Sontra

Sontra

Sontra is a small town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in northeastern Hesse, Germany.The air spa of Sontra is known as Berg- und Hänselstadt, with Bergstadt referring to the time when there was bituminous shale mining in town, and Hänselstadt to the town’s former membership in the Hanse...

 (both in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis).

Constituent communities

The community’s Ortsteile are Datterode, Grandenborn, Lüderbach, Netra (administrative seat), Renda, Rittmannshausen and Röhrda.

History

Until the 13th century the area was Thuringian, but then changed hands several times in the Thuringian-Hessian War of Succession between Hesse and Thuringia before it ended up in Hesse’s hands permanently in 1436. The Boyneburg right nearby drew both emperors and kings as an Imperial castle, along with whom came many a knight and trooper over these fields. Not least of all, the road through the Netra valley afforded an important connection from 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...

 to Frankfurt

Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...

, and was well known by the name of die langen Hessen.

Founding of the community

On 31 December 1971, the communities of Netra, Grandenborn, Lüderbach, Renda and Rittmannshausen merged into the greater community of Ringgau. Datterode and Röhrda, which had merged to form the greater community of Netratal in 1972, were integrated into Ringgau at the beginning of 1974.

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	23.3	5	23.5	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...	42.8	10	47.2	11
ÜWG	Überparteiliche Wählergemeinschaft	33.9	8	29.4	7
Total		100.0	23	100.0	23
Voter turnout in %		65.2		73.4

Mayors

• 1974–1995 Herbert Grüneberg
• 1995–2006 Helmut Jakob
• 2006–     Klaus Fissmann

Coat of arms

The community’s arms

Coat 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: A bend wavy argent, above gules an oak twig with three acorns and two leaves Or, below azure three ears of grain on one stem of the last.

The German blazon does not mention what kind of grain the latter charge

Charge (heraldry)

In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...

 represents.

The coat of arms was approved on 17 May 1977 by the Hessian Interior Minister.

Museums

• Boyneburg- und Heimatstube des Heimatverein Datterode e. V. (Boyneburg castle and local history)

Buildings

• Moat
  Moat
  A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
  
  ed palace in the constituent community of Netra
• Boyneburg castle
  Castle
  A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
  
   ruins
• Berliner Turm, lookout tower above Datterode
• Acht-Mühlen-Brunnen (“Eight-Mill Spring”) and the eight mills (Röhrda)
• Watchtower of the former Observation Post India near Lüderbach
• Abandoned church near Harmutshausen (Datterode)
• Schloss Lüderbach (Lüderbach)
• Memorial (Datterode)
• Schloss Röhrda (Röhrda)

Regular events

On Ascension Day, a folk festival with church service by the minister from Datterode and the traditional giving of bread by the Lords of Boyneburg take place at the Boyneburg (castle, now in ruins).

In Datterode 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...

, an outdoor team handball

Team handball

Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...

 tournament has been held since 1992 by SG Datterode/Röhrda, in which more than 100 teams from across the country, of both sexes and all age groups, take part.

In all other constituent communities, a yearly tent kermis is staged.

Transport

Through Bundesstraße

Bundesstraße

Bundesstraße , abbreviated B, is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.-Germany:...

7 (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 :...

–Eisenach

Eisenach

Eisenach is a city in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated between the northern foothills of the Thuringian Forest and the Hainich National Park. Its population in 2006 was 43,626.-History:...

), which runs right through the community, Ringgau is linked to the highway network.