Niedenstein
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Niedenstein () is a small town and an officially recognized climatic spa in the Schwalm-Eder 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 ...
.


Geography


Location

Niedenstein's main settlement lies to the southeast of the Habichtswald Nature Park, right on the western slope of the Langenberge, a low mountain range reaching 557 m. The nearest city is
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 ...
, about 15 km to the northeast. Niedenstein ist circled by several mountains. Schwengeberg (55m) and the Niedensteiner Kopf (475 m) with the Hessenturm, the Sengelsberg (448 m) and the Wartberg (306 m).


Neighbouring communities

In the north, Niedenstein abuts Schauenburg, in the east beyond the Langenberge it adjoins
Baunatal Baunatal (, ) is a town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is a comparatively young town which arose from fusion of the formerly independent municipalities ''Altenbauna'', ''Altenritte'', ''Großenritte'', ''Guntershausen'', ''Hertin ...
and
Edermünde Edermünde (, ) is a municipality in northern Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Edermünde lies in the north of the Schwalm-Eder district not far southwest of Kassel. This is where the river Eder empties into the river Fulda. The constituent co ...
, and in the southeast its constituent community of Metze on
Gudensberg Gudensberg () is a small town in northern Hesse, Germany. Since the municipal reform in 1974, the nearby villages of Deute, Dissen, Dorla, Gleichen, Maden and Obervorschütz have become parts of the municipality. Geography Gudensberg is situated ...
. In the south, the constituent community of Kirchberg, through which flows the river
Ems Ems or EMS may refer to: Places and rivers * Domat/Ems, a Swiss municipality in the canton of Grisons * Ems (river) (Eems), a river in northwestern Germany and northeastern Netherlands that discharges in the Dollart Bay * Ems (Eder), a river o ...
, borders on
Fritzlar Fritzlar () is a small town (pop. 15,000) in the Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history. The town has a medieval center ringed by a wall with numerous watch towers. high ...
, whose main town lies about 11 km away from Niedenstein. In the west, Niedenstein borders on Bad Emstal.


Constituent communities

The town has five centres. Besides the main town, also called Niedenstein, there are Ermetheis, Metze (about 1000 inhabitants), Kirchberg (about 900 inhabitants) and Wichdorf.


History

The area around Niedenstein has been settled in early years. Therefore, archeological excavations have found relics from the
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
area. Niedenstein Castle had its first documentary mentioned in 1254 as Konrad II. von Elben held the castle for Duchess Sophie von Brabant against the troops of archbishop Gerhard von Dhaun from Mainz. The castle had been pillaged and destroyed in 1387 by the troops of archbishop Adolf I. from Mainz. The castle had been rebuilt only partially and been given up and destroyed completely in 1631. There are no remains of the original castle left to be seen. It was Konrad von Elben, ordered by Duchess Sophie, who had built the new city in 1259 on his own land in the area of Wichdorf. This newly founded settlement was called Niedenstein ("Nydensteyne"). In 1584, the city counted 87 households with approx. 400 inhabitants. In 1578 Duke Wilhelm IV. gave the right to hold market twice a year to Niedenstein. The thirty-year war nearly brought total destruction to Niedenstein. In 1631, Croatian riding troops under general Tilly conquered the city, pillaged it and burned it down. More than a third of all buildings burned down and the castle was completely destroyed. At the end of the war in 1648, only four people were left, living in Niedenstein. 14 of the buildings were still standing. In the short living Napoleonic kingdom of Westphalen (1807 - 1813), Niedenstein was the smallest city. The city experienced a very late growth in population. Until 1939, there were only 630 people living there, by the end of 2020 there were 5392 people living in Niedenestein.


Politics


Town council

Niedenstein's town council is made up of 23 members. * SPD 11 seats * CDU 5 seats *FWG (citizens' coalition) 5 seats * Greens 2 seats (as of municipal elections held on 26 March 2006)


Town partnership

Niedenstein maintains a partnership with one place: * Saint-Germer-de-Fly,
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 ...
It lies about 80 km northwest of
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
in
Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...
.


Culture and sightseeing


Museums

Niedenstein is home to the ''Heimatmuseum Kirchberg'' ("Kirchberg Homeland Museum")


Buildings

*
Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
Village Church * Altenburg; a settlement built up on a
basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
crag Crag may refer to: * Crag (climbing), a cliff or group of cliffs, in any location, which is or may be suitable for climbing * Crag (dice game), a dice game played with three dice * Crag, Arizona, US * Crag, West Virginia, US * Crag and tail, a ...
, once a pre-Germanic castle village that was forsaken even before the
Christian Era The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used when designating years in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means "in the year of the Lord" but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", tak ...
, making its earlier identification with the
Chatti The Chatti (also Chatthi or Catti) were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser (''Visurgis'') river. They lived in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of that river and in ...
's capital Mattium unfounded. There are many
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
finds on show from the Altenburg at the Hessian State Museum in Kassel.


Natural monuments

* Niedensteiner Kopf (475 m above sea level) * ''Tanz- und Gerichtslinde'' ("Dance and Court Linden", on the way out of town to the west)


Personalities

* Jürgen Schweinebraden, Freiherr von Wichmann-Eichhorn, gallery owner and publisher


References


External links


Kirchberg's homepage

Heimatmuseum Kirchberg
{{Authority control Schwalm-Eder-Kreis