Spangenberg
Encyclopedia
Geography
Spangenberg lies in the Schwalm-Eder district some 35 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 :...
, west of the Stölzinger Gebirge, a low mountain range. Spangenberg is the demographical centrepoint of Germany.
History
The town of Spangenberg had its first documentary mention in 1261, at about the time when the Treffurt family ruled Spangenberg.Historic sights
The town is known best of all for its Schloss Spangenberg, a castle built in 1253 and the town's landmark. Also worth seeing are the half-timberedTimber framing
Timber framing , or half-timbering, also called in North America "post-and-beam" construction, is the method of creating structures using heavy squared off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs . It is commonplace in large barns...
buildings in the Old Town and the remains of the town's old wall, several of whose towers are still standing.
In World War II, Spangenberg Castle was used as a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camp, Oflag IX-A/H
Oflag IX-A/H
Oflag IX-A/H was a German Prisoner of War camp at Spangenberg castle in Germany during the Second World WarIt was used from 1939 to 1945, and housed mainly British POWs but also some French Air Force personnel early in the war....
.
Coat of arms
Spangenberg's civic coat of 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...
is based on the town's oldest known seal from 1317. The object on the viewer's right (heraldically speaking, the left, as the shield is considered from the point of view of the bearer) side is a kind of fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
ized plant locally known as a Spange (also 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....
for "brooch" or "clip"), the town's namesake. The item on the viewer's left (heraldic right) is half of a wheel. Wheels are common in German civic heraldry, usually indicating some connection to the Archbishopric of Mainz, whose arms include wheels in honor of St. Willigis. The current colours – red and gold – have been in use since 1621.
Constituent communities
In alphabetical order, these are Bergheim, Bischofferode, Elbersdorf, Herlefeld, Kaltenbach, Landefeld, Metzebach, Mörshausen, Nausis, Pfieffe, Schnellrode, Vockerode-Dinkelberg and Weidelbach.Partnerships
Spangenberg maintains partnerships with the following places: TreffurtTreffurt
Treffurt is a town in the Wartburgkreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Werra, 19 km northwest of Eisenach, and 18 km southwest of Mühlhausen in the Naturpark Eichsfeld-Hainich-Werratal nature park. Treffurt is well known for its old beautiful villas and...
, 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....
since 1990 Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron
Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron
Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France.It is located on the island of Oléron.-Population:-References:*...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
since 1997 Pleszew
Pleszew
Pleszew is a town in Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship, about 90 km southeast of Poznań. It is the capital of Pleszew County...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
since 1997