Wildeck
Encyclopedia
Wildeck is a community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg
district in northeastern Hesse
, Germany
lying right at the boundary with Thuringia
, 54 km southeast of Kassel
.
valley, in the Berka-Gerstunger-Becken (basin) with its small side basins, the Obersuhler Becken and the Kleinenseer Bucht. This basin is surrounded by heights. In the southwest lie the Seulingswald, in the south the outliers of the Vorderrhön
, in the east the outliers of the Thuringian Forest
and in the north the Richelsdorfer Gebirge (ranges), which belongs to the southern Werrabergland. The community lies partly in this last-named range.
The nearest major centres are Bad Hersfeld
(some 25 km to the southwest) and Eisenach
(some 25 km to the east). The lowest point in the community is In der Aue (“On the Floodplain”) near Obersuhl at 208 m above sea level
. The highest point is the Rotestock at 456 m above sea level.
(in Hersfeld-Rotenburg) and the town of Sontra (in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis
), in the east on the community of Gerstungen
, in the southeast on the town of Berka/Werra
, in the south on the communities of Dankmarshausen
and Großensee
(all four in Thuringia’s Wartburgkreis
) and the town of Heringen
, in the southwest on the community of Friedewald
and in the west on the community of Ronshausen
(all three in Hersfeld-Rotenburg).
was under the Fulda Abbey’s rule. The Amt seat lay at Wildeck Castle, which stood on the Schloßberg near Raßdorf.
In 1277, Richelsdorf had its first documentary mention when the Fulda Abbey temporarily relinquished the community to build a convent at St. Nicholas’s Monastery (Nikolaikloster) in Eisenach
, which was, however, never built. In 1325, the brothers Friedrich and Hermann von Colmatsch were enfeoffed with the Amt, in exchange for which today’s constituent communities of Eisenach and Hötzelsroda went to St. Nicholas’s Monastery. The fief passed in 1539 to the Landgraves of Hesse
. After the family von Colmatsch had died out in 1562, the community passed to Hesse.
The craggy state boundary in the south and east still bears witness to the disputes between the Landgraves of Hesse and Thuringia
and the Fulda Abbey, which lasted throughout the Middle Ages
and on into modern times.
Copper
mining in Wildeck was mentioned for the first time in 1460. At the Richelsdorf foundry, cobalt
was also mined beginning in 1708, which raised the foundry’s importance, as well as another’s in Iba (nowadays an outlying centre of Bebra
), causing the mining office of Sontra
to move to Richelsdorf.
From 1945 to 1990, the community found itself right near the Inner German border. The station in Hönebach, a component of Wildeck, served as West German border crossing for rail transport
. The crossing was open for train
s travelling between the Soviet Zone of occupation in Germany (till 1949, thereafter the East German Democratic Republic
, or West Berlin
and the American zone of occupation (till 1949) and thereafter the West German Federal Republic of Germany
. The traffic was subject to the Interzonal traffic
regulations, that between West Germany and West Berlin followed the special regulations of the Transit Agreement (1972)
.
on 23 November 2003 with 58.3% of the vote, thus succeeding Willi Müller (SPD) who had been elected on 9 November 1997, having stood unopposed.
–Görlitz
), at interchange
s 34 and 35. Furthermore, the community has at its disposal three halts (Obersuhl, Bosserode and Hönebach) on the Thüringer Bahn (railway) from Eisenach to Bebra.
There are also many hiking
trails, especially by way of the Blumenstein ruins around the Wildeck valley, by which one crosses the Bellers Estate. Quite a few forests can be visited on these hikes, leading by the Franzoseneiche (“Frenchman’s Oak”).
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...
lying right at the boundary with 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....
, 54 km southeast 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 partly in the middle WerraWerra
The Werra is a river in central Germany, the right-source river of the Weser. The Werra has its source near Eisfeld in southern Thuringia. After 293 km the Werra joins the river Fulda in the town of Hann. Münden, forming the Weser....
valley, in the Berka-Gerstunger-Becken (basin) with its small side basins, the Obersuhler Becken and the Kleinenseer Bucht. This basin is surrounded by heights. In the southwest lie the Seulingswald, in the south the outliers of the Vorderrhön
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...
, in the east the outliers of 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...
and in the north the Richelsdorfer Gebirge (ranges), which belongs to the southern Werrabergland. The community lies partly in this last-named range.
The nearest major centres 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 25 km to the southwest) and 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:...
(some 25 km to the east). The lowest point in the community is In der Aue (“On the Floodplain”) near Obersuhl at 208 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...
. The highest point is the Rotestock at 456 m above sea level.
Constituent communities
The community’s five Ortsteile are Obersuhl, Bosserode, Hönebach, Richelsdorf and Raßdorf.Neighbouring communities
Wildeck borders in the north on the community of NentershausenNentershausen
Nentershausen is a community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany.- Location :The community lies in the mountains in eastern Hesse, where it finds itself in the centre of the Richelsdorfer Gebirge between the Fulda to the west and the Werra to the east...
(in Hersfeld-Rotenburg) and the town of Sontra (in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis
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 the east on the community of Gerstungen
Gerstungen
Gerstungen is a municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany.-History:Between 1945 and 1990 Gerstungen served as East German inner German border crossing on the Thuringian Railway...
, in the southeast on the town of Berka/Werra
Berka/Werra
Berka/Werra is a town in the Wartburgkreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Werra, 19 km west of Eisenach.-References:...
, in the south on the communities of Dankmarshausen
Dankmarshausen
Dankmarshausen is a municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany....
and Großensee
Großensee, Thuringia
Großensee is a municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany....
(all four in Thuringia’s 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...
) and the town of Heringen
Heringen
Heringen is a small town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germany lying right at the boundary with Thuringia.- Geography :- Location :...
, in the southwest on the community of Friedewald
Friedewald, Hesse
Friedewald is a community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germany, directly east of Bad Hersfeld.-Location:The community lies in the boundary zone between the Kuppenrhön and the Seulingswald ranges...
and in the west on the community of Ronshausen
Ronshausen
Ronshausen is a community and a Luftkurort in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany.-Location:The community lies in the valley of the Ulfe, which in Bebra empties into the Fulda...
(all three in Hersfeld-Rotenburg).
History
The community’s name stems from the Amt of Wildeck, to which some of today’s constituent communities belonged, and which in the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
was under the Fulda Abbey’s rule. The Amt seat lay at Wildeck Castle, which stood on the Schloßberg near Raßdorf.
In 1277, Richelsdorf had its first documentary mention when the Fulda Abbey temporarily relinquished the community to build a convent at St. Nicholas’s Monastery (Nikolaikloster) in 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 was, however, never built. In 1325, the brothers Friedrich and Hermann von Colmatsch were enfeoffed with the Amt, in exchange for which today’s constituent communities of Eisenach and Hötzelsroda went to St. Nicholas’s Monastery. The fief passed in 1539 to the Landgraves of Hesse
Landgraviate of Hesse
The 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:...
. After the family von Colmatsch had died out in 1562, the community passed to Hesse.
The craggy state boundary in the south and east still bears witness to the disputes between the Landgraves of Hesse 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....
and the Fulda Abbey, which lasted throughout the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and on into modern times.
Copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
mining in Wildeck was mentioned for the first time in 1460. At the Richelsdorf foundry, cobalt
Cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element with symbol Co and atomic number 27. It is found naturally only in chemically combined form. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silver-gray metal....
was also mined beginning in 1708, which raised the foundry’s importance, as well as another’s in Iba (nowadays an outlying centre of Bebra
Bebra
Bebra is a small town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany.-Location:Bebra lies some 45 km south of Kassel on the Fulda. The town is easy to find on most maps thanks to its prominent location on the Fuldaknie...
), causing the mining office 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...
to move to Richelsdorf.
From 1945 to 1990, the community found itself right near the Inner German border. The station in Hönebach, a component of Wildeck, served as West German border crossing for rail transport
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
. The crossing was open for train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
s travelling between the Soviet Zone of occupation in Germany (till 1949, thereafter the East German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
, or West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
and the American zone of occupation (till 1949) and thereafter the West German Federal Republic of Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. The traffic was subject to the Interzonal traffic
Interzonal traffic
The term inter-zonal traffic was used to describe the cross-border traffic between the four designated garrison zones in Germany between 1945 and 1973 that were created in 1945 by the victors of the Second World War.- History :...
regulations, that between West Germany and West Berlin followed the special regulations of the Transit Agreement (1972)
Transit Agreement (1972)
The Transit Agreement of 26 May 1972 arranged access to and from West Berlin from West Germany and secured the right of West Berliners to visit East Berlin and East Germany also secured the rights of GDR citizens to visit the FRG, but only in cases of family emergency.-References:*...
.
Amalgamations
Within the framework of municipal reform, the new community of Wildeck came into being on 31 December 1971 through the merger of the above-named communities.Population development
Data apply to community limits in each year named, and are in each case for 31 December| Year | 1971 | 1979 | 1984 | 1989 | 1994 | 1996 | 2001 | 2002 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inhabitants | 6314 | 5729 | 5809 | 5877 | 6095 | 6092 | 6046 | 6003 | 5247 | 5198 | 5136 |
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 | 27.5 | 9 | 25.1 | 8 |
| 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... |
49.0 | 15 | 56.8 | 17 |
| 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... |
4.0 | 1 | 2.5 | 1 |
| FWG | Freie Wählergemeinschaft | 19.5 | 6 | 15.6 | 5 |
| Total | 100.0 | 31 | 100.0 | 31 | |
| Voter turnout in % | 62.1 | 69.1 | |||
Mayors
Mayor Jürgen Grau (independent) was elected in a runoffTwo-round system
The two-round system is a voting system used to elect a single winner where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate...
on 23 November 2003 with 58.3% of the vote, thus succeeding Willi Müller (SPD) who had been elected on 9 November 1997, having stood unopposed.
Transport
The community lies on Autobahn A 4 (AachenAachen
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...
), at interchange
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 34 and 35. Furthermore, the community has at its disposal three halts (Obersuhl, Bosserode and Hönebach) on the Thüringer Bahn (railway) from Eisenach to Bebra.
Established businesses
- alsecco Bauchemische Produkte GmbH & Co KG – construction chemistry products, and a successor business to the Richelsdorfer foundry
- Betten Malsch GmbH – a leading German maker of medical care beds
Buildings
- Rustic BaroqueBaroque architectureBaroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
church in Richelsdorf - Bosserode EvangelicalEvangelical Church in GermanyThe Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of 22 Lutheran, Unified and Reformed Protestant regional church bodies in Germany. The EKD is not a church in a theological understanding because of the denominational differences. However, the member churches share full pulpit and altar...
church with winged altarPolyptychA polyptych generally refers to a painting which is divided into sections, or panels. The terminology that follows is in relevance to the number of panels integrated into a particular piece of work: "diptych" describes a two-part work of art; "triptych" describes a three-part work; "tetraptych"...
and pietà - Ruins of the Blumenstein hunting palace
- Remains of the palace’s parklands with pond and obeliskObeliskAn obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
Nature
- Rhäden nature and bird conservation area with information centre in Obersuhl
There are also many hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
trails, especially by way of the Blumenstein ruins around the Wildeck valley, by which one crosses the Bellers Estate. Quite a few forests can be visited on these hikes, leading by the Franzoseneiche (“Frenchman’s Oak”).
Sons and daughters of the town
- The VolksmusikVolksmusikVolksmusik is the common umbrella designation of a number of related styles of traditional music from the Alpine regions of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and South Tyrol...
group Wildecker Herzbuben - Werner Heckmann, trumpet soloist at the Staatstheater StuttgartStaatstheater StuttgartThe Staatstheater Stuttgart ' is an opera house in Stuttgart, Germany. It is also known locally as the Grosses Haus, having been the larger of two theatres of the former Königliche Hoftheater....
and member of German BrassGerman BrassGerman Brass is a brass ensemble, founded 1974 as Brass Quintet by Enrique Crespo, named "Deutsches Blechbläserquintett – Solobläser deutscher Spitzenorchester"... - Margrit KlingerMargrit KlingerMargrit Klinger is a retired West German middle distance runner who specialized in the 800 metres.Her personal best time in 800 metres is 1:57.22 minutes, achieved at the 1982 European Championships in Athens...
, German athlete (having won among other things a bronze medal at the 1982 European Championships in Athletics1982 European Championships in AthleticsThe 13th European Athletics Championships were held from 6 September to 12 September 1982 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, Greece.-Track:1974 |1978 |1982 |1986 |1990 |-Field:1974 |1978 |1982 |1986 |1990 |-Track:1974 |1978 |1982 |1986 |...
in AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
)