Ronshausen is a municipality and a ''Luftkurort'' (“air spa”) in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Da ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Geography

Location

The community lies in the valley of the Ulfe, which in

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. The town is easy to find on most maps thanks to its prominent location on the ''Fuldaknie'' ...

empties into the

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

. It lies in the Seulingswald and the

Richelsdorf Hills The Richelsdorf Hills (german: Richelsdorfer Gebirge) is the name given to a landscape in the German Central Uplands. The terrain is up to high and forms a landscape characterised by mining (copper shale Copper is a chemical element with th ...

(ranges). The nearest major towns are

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 south ...

(some 15 km to the southwest), Rotenburg (some 12 km to the northwest) and

Eisenach Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, sit ...

(some 35 km to the east).

Neighbouring communities

Ronshausen borders in the northwest on the town of

(outlying centre of Weiterode), in the northeast on the community of Nentershausen, in the east on the community of Wildeck, in the south Friedewald and in the west on the community of Ludwigsau (all in Hersfeld-Rotenburg).

Constituent communities

Ronshausen has only one outlying ''

Ortsteil A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

'', Machtlos.

History

In 1061, Ronshausen had its first documentary mention as ''Runteshuson'' in a donation document to the

Fulda Abbey The Abbey of Fulda (German ''Kloster Fulda'', Latin ''Abbatia Fuldensis''), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda (''Fürstabtei Fulda'') and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (''Fürstbistum Fulda''), was a Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastic ...

. The outlying centre of Machtlos had its first documentary mention as ''villa Mechtolves'' in 1329. The name Mechtolves meant “the mighty wolf” From 1359, a toll station was set up at Ronshausen, which exacted road tolls for the Ulfestraße (road) until 1834. As early as 1386, Ronshausen belonged to the

Landgraves of Hesse The Landgraviate of Hesse (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen) was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed as a single entity from 1264 to 1567, when it was divided among the sons of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. History In the early Mi ...

. In the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...

from 1618 to 1648 and the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754– ...

from 1756 to 1763, the community was abandoned several times, but already by 1780, there was a mention of Ronshausen as a big village of 468 inhabitants. Until the mid 19th century, the community was characterized by

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

pursuits. Only when the Bebra-Eisenach

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

was built did this change.

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

has played a rôle since the mid 20th century. The community of Machtlos was amalgamated with Ronshausen in 1972 as part of municipal reform.

Politics

Community council

The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results: The community's executive (''Gemeindevorstand'') is made up of five members, with four seats allotted to the SPD and one to the CDU.

Mayor

Mayor Friedhold Zilch (SPD) was once again elected on 30 October 2005 with 62.7% of the vote.

Town partnerships

Genas Genas () is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.Commune de Genas (692 ...

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

since 1976 * Frauensee,

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

since 1990

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

* 800-year-old fortress church with rustic Baroque paintings

Culinary specialities

At a local butcher shop is made a local speciality called the Januar-Stracke, a kind of aged pork

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. ...

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Ronshausen has a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

on the Thüringer Bahn from Eisenach to Bebra.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Hersfeld-Rotenburg