Melsungen () is a small climatic spa town in the

Schwalm-Eder Schwalm-Eder is an electoral constituency ( German: ''Wahlkreis'') represented in the Bundestag. It elects one member via first-past-the-post voting. Under the current constituency numbering system, it is designated as constituency 169. It is loca ...

district in northern Hesse,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In 1987, the town hosted the 27th ''

Hessentag The Hessentag (; ) is an annual event, both fair and festival, organized by the German state of Hesse to represent the different regions of Hesse. The events are shown for a week to the visitors, with an emphasis on cultural displays and exhibi ...

'' state festival.

Geography

Melsungen lies on the river

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

in the North

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

Highlands. The streams Pfieffe and Kehrenbach, flow into the Fulda in the town. A few kilometres downstream, the river Eder flows into the Fulda.

Location

The nearest large towns are

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

(downstream, about 22 km to the north) and

Bad Hersfeld The festival and spa town of Bad Hersfeld (''Bad'' is "spa" in German; the Old High German name of the city was ''Herolfisfeld'') is the district seat of the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, roughly 50 km southeast ...

(upstream, about 32 km to the southeast).

Constituent communities

Melsungen consists of several smaller communities. Besides the main community, there are seven other communities: Adelshausen, Günsterode, Kehrenbach, Kirchhof, Obermelsungen, Röhrenfurth, and Schwarzenberg.

History

Historical records of the town date from 802, but it was likely settled much earlier, during the

Hallstatt period The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallstatt C, Hallstatt D) from the 8th to ...

(9th to 4th Centuries

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the o ...

Middle Ages

Melsungen had developed into a small town (burgus) by 1189. The town's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

also originated at this time. In the course of its history, Melsungen often changed hands. The fiercest fighting over the town was between the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

s of

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

and the

Landgrave Landgrave (, , , ; , ', ', ', ', ') was a rank of nobility used in the Holy Roman Empire, and its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), and ' ("count palatine") are of roughly equal rank, subordinate to ' ("duke"), and su ...

s of Hesse and

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

. Melsungen gained significance due to its location at the intersection of three medieval trade routes: the Sälzerweg, which runs east–west; the Nürnberger Straße, which runs north–south; and Durch die langen Hessen (roughly translated as "Through the Long Hessians").

Modern Age

In 1554, a fire destroyed parts of the heart of town. In 1637, during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, the constituent community of Günsterode was laid waste. From 1821 to 1974, Melsungen served as an administrative center and independent district seat, until the Melsungen district merged with the neighboring Fritzlar-Homberg and Ziegenhain districts. The town's approximately 14,000 residents refer to themselves as Bartenwetzer ("Axe whetters").

Coat of arms

The origins of the old seal and the current civic coat of arms date back to the late 12th century. Heraldically, the arms can be described as follows: on a blue background, a town gate and tower in silver with a red roof topped by two gold finials, flanked by silver crenellated town walls. The official description of the town's blazon specifies the roof as "tile-red" rather than "gules" (red). The arms have been in use since 1577.

Politics

Town council consists of 37 members. Following the municipal elections held on 26 March 2006, the seats were apportioned thus: The town executive consists of six councillors and the mayor. Four of these seats are held by the SPD, and one seat each by the CDU and FDP. List of elected mayors: *1998–2004: Karl-Heinz Dietzel (SPD) *2004–2013: Dieter Runzheimer (SPD) *2013–incumbent: Markus Boucsein

Places of interest

* ''Fachwerkstadt'' (compact area featuring

half-timbered houses Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden pegs. If the struc ...

in the Old Town) * Town Hall (from 1556), with Axe Whetter in the tower * ''Schloss'' (stately home built between 1550 and 1557 by Landgrave Philip) with garden * Marketplace * ''Bartenwetzerbrücke'' ("Axe Whetters' Bridge" built between 1595 and 1596) *

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

town church (built between 1415 and 1425) * ''Hospitalskapelle St. Georg'' ("St George's Hospital Chapel") * Eulenturm ("Owl Tower"; a preserved tower from the old town wall) * ''Zweipfenningsbrücke'' ("Twopenny Bridge" from 1890) * Stirling-Bau (B. Braun Melsungen AG's Pfieffewiesen Works)

Sport

MT Melsungen MT Melsungen is a German handball team from Melsungen, Germany, that plays in the Handball-Bundesliga. History From 1992 to 2005, the team played in the 2. Handball-Bundesliga and finished third twice (in 1997/98 and 2003/2004). In the 20 ...

(handball) * Melsunger Fußballverein 08 (football)

Culture

Regular events

* Melsunger Weinfest (wine festival) * Melsunger Kabarett-Wettbewerb (cabaret contest) * Bad Liebenstein-Stafette (yearly relay)

Culinary specialities

* ''

Ahle Wurst The Ahle Wurst (Ahle Wurscht or Ahle Worscht, also in some areas Rote Wurst - ''red sausage'') is a hard pork sausage made in northern Hesse, Germany. Its name is a dialectal form of ''alte Wurst'' – "old sausage". Ahle Wurst has protected geogra ...

'' (or ''Aahle Worscht''), a kind of Hessian hard

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs, may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

. Its name is a dialectal form of ''alte Wurst'' – "old sausage".

Transportation

The town lies on

Autobahn The (; German , ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. Much of t ...

A 7. Federal Highway (''Bundesstraße'') B 83 runs through Melsungen and ''Bundesstraßen'' B 253 and B 487 both begin (or end) here. Melsungen lies on the

—

Bebra Bebra () is a small town in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Bebra lies some south of Kassel on the Fulda River, Fulda. The town is easy to find on most maps thanks to its prominent location on the ' ...

—

railway line and belongs to the North Hesse Transport Network. In May 2006 the RegioTram line RT5 (Kassel-Melsungen) began. It directly connects Melsungen with downtown Kassel. The line ends at present where the Melsungen-Süd return loop is still not finished. Further stations are being built at Melsungen-Schwarzenberg und Melsungen-Bartenwetzerbrücke.

Economy

Melsungen is home to the firm of B. Braun Melsungen, which has a €3,500,000,000 yearly turnover, and about 35,100 employees worldwide (as of 2007).

Notable people

Johannes Rhenanus Johannes Rhenanus (about 1528 in Melsungen – April 29, 1589, in Bad Sooden-Allendorf, Allendorf in den Sooden, actually ''Johann Rheinlandt'') was a German Salt evaporation pond, salinist, theologian, Alchemy, alchemist, Printer (publishing ...

(c.1528 in Melsungen–1589) salinist, theologian, alchemist, printer and author. *

Arnold Grimme Arnold Grimme (28 November 1868, in Bückeburg – 1 November 1958, in Kassel) was a German veterinarian and naturalist, known for his botanical investigations of northern Hesse. He attended the veterinary school in Hanover, and later studied bot ...

(1868–1958) veterinarian and naturalist, district veterinarian in Melsungen (1895–1910) *

Reinhard Selten Reinhard Justus Reginald Selten (; 5 October 1930 – 23 August 2016) was a German economics, economist, who won the 1994 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (shared with John Harsanyi and John Forbes Nash, John Nash). He is also well ...

(1930–2016)

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

winner in

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

for his contribution to

game theory Game theory is the study of mathematical models of strategic interactions. It has applications in many fields of social science, and is used extensively in economics, logic, systems science and computer science. Initially, game theory addressed ...

Alwin Wagner Alwin Josef Wagner (born 11 August 1950 in Melsungen, Hessen) is a West Germany, West German discus thrower and weight lifter, who was affiliated with ''University Sportclub Mainz'' (USC Mainz). He finished sixth at the 1984 Summer Olympics. In ...

(born 1950 in Melsungen) discus thrower and weight lifter, competed in

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

Christof Lauer Christof Lauer (born 25 May 1953) is a German jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist, born in Melsungen, Germany, perhaps most well known in Europe where he has done projects with various musicians, such as Palle Danielsson, Carla Bley,

(born 1953 in Melsungen) jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist * Anna Maria Braun CEO of the billion-dollar company B. Braun

Twin towns

Melsungen has partnerships with the following towns: *

Dreux Dreux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise (river), Blaise, a tributary of the Eure (river), Eure, about 35 km north of Cha ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, since 1966 *

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, England, Worceste ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, since 1982 *

Todi Todi (; ''Tuder'' in antiquity) is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant view ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, since 1985–86 *

Koudougou Koudougou () is a city in Burkina Faso's Boulkiemdé Province. It is located west of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. With a population of 160,239 (2019), it is the List of cities in Burkina Faso, third most populous city in Burkina F ...

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

, since 1990 *

Bad Liebenstein Bad Liebenstein is a municipality and spa town in Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany. Geography Location Bad Liebenstein is situated 25 km north of Meiningen, and 18 km south of Eisenach. It is located in the ''Mittelgebirge'' ...

, since 1990 There is also a "friendship" with the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

community of

Spandau Spandau () is the westernmost of the 12 boroughs of Berlin, boroughs () of Berlin, situated at the confluence (geography), confluence of the Havel and Spree (river), Spree rivers and extending along the western bank of the Havel. It is the smalle ...

References

External links

Official website

Schwarzenberg

Obermelsungen

Röhrenfurth

Timber-framed photos of Melsungen
{{Authority control Schwalm-Eder-Kreis