Fritzlar
Encyclopedia
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...
town (pop. 15,000) in the Schwalm-Eder
Schwalm-Eder-Kreis
Schwalm-Eder is a Kreis in the north of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Kassel, Werra-Meißner, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Vogelsbergkreis, Marburg-Biedenkopf, Waldeck-Frankenberg.-History:...
district in northern 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...
, 160 km (99.4 mi) north of Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, with a storied history. It can reasonably be argued that the town is the site where the Christianization of northern Germany (north and east of the Roman Limes
Limes
A limes was a border defense or delimiting system of Ancient Rome. It marked the boundaries of the Roman Empire.The Latin noun limes had a number of different meanings: a path or balk delimiting fields, a boundary line or marker, any road or path, any channel, such as a stream channel, or any...
) began and the birthplace of the German empire as a political entity.
The town has a medieval center ringed by a wall with numerous watch towers. Thirty-eight meters (125 ft) high, the Grauer Turm ("Grey Tower") is the highest remaining urban defense tower in Germany. The city hall, first documented in 1109, with a stone relief of St. Martin
Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
, the town's patron saint, is the oldest in Germany still in use for its original purpose. The Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
church of the old Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
is today the Protestant parish church, and the monastery's other buildings have been converted into a modern hospital. Many houses in the town center, notably around the market square, date from the 15th to 17th centuries and have been carefully maintained or restored. The town is dominated by the imposing Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
-Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
from the 12th-14th centuries.
Geography
Fritzlar lies in westhern Hesse on the north bank of the EderEder
The Eder is a 177 km long river in Germany, and a tributary of the Fulda River. It was first mentioned by the Roman historian Tacitus as the Adrana in the territory of the Chatti....
river, south of the Habichtswald
Habichtswald
For the town in Germany, see Habichtswald, Hesse.The Habichtswald is a small mountain range, covering some 35 km2 and rising to a height of 615 m, immediately west of the city of Kassel in northern Hesse in Germany....
mountains and north of the Kellerwald
Kellerwald
The Kellerwald is a low mountain range reaching heights of up to 675 m in the western part of northern Hesse, Germany.Its assets include Germany's largest contiguous beech woodland and it contains Hesse's only national park, the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park.- Geography :The Kellerwald lies in...
mountains. The surrounding area is characterized by fertile farmland and many, mostly wooded basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
peaks, many of which are topped by mediaeval castle
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
s or castle ruins. Examples of these can be found at Gudensberg
Gudensberg
Gudensberg is a small town in northern Hesse, Germany. Since municipal reform in 1974, the nearby villages of Deute, Dissen, Dorla, Gleichen, Maden and Obervorschütz have been parts of the municipality.-Geography:...
, Homberg
Homberg (Efze)
Homberg is a small town in northern state of Hesse in central Germany with about 15,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Schwalm-Eder district.-Geography:...
, Felsberg
Felsberg, Germany
- Geography :The landscape around Felsberg is marked by hills and small lakes, as well as the remains of gravel quarrying. As part of the West Hesse Basin, it lies in a sunken area formed by volcanic activity in the Tertiary subera. The change from partly basaltic hills to smooth river valleys is...
, Heiligenberg
Heiligenberg
Heiligenberg is a municipality and a village in the Bodensee district in Baden-Württemberg, about seven kilometres north of Salem, in Germany.-Location and climate:...
, Altenburg, Jesberg
Jesberg
-Location:Jesberg lies from 210 to 675 m high in the Gilsa river valley eastsoutheast of the Wüstegarten, which at 675 m above sea level is both the Kellerwald range's and the Schwalm-Eder district's highest peak...
, and Naumburg
Naumburg, Hesse
Naumburg is a town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km southwest of Kassel on the German Framework Road.-External links:*...
, among others.
Donar Oak and German Christianization
The cathedral stands on the site where the Anglo-SaxonAnglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
missionary Saint Boniface
Saint Boniface
Saint Boniface , the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid, Wynfrith, or Wynfryth in the kingdom of Wessex, probably at Crediton , was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He is the patron saint of Germany and the first archbishop of Mainz...
, apostle of the Germans, in 724 erected a chapel from the wood of an oak dedicated to Donar and sacred to the local German tribe, the Chatten/Chatti
Chatti
The Chatti were an ancient Germanic tribe whose homeland was near the upper Weser. They settled in central and northern Hesse and southern Lower Saxony, along the upper reaches of the Weser River and in the valleys and mountains of the Eder, Fulda and Weser River regions, a district approximately...
(ancestors of the Hessians). A year earlier, in 723, Boniface (then still known under his original name "Winfrid"), had cut down the Donar Oak, one of the most important sacred sites of the Germans, to prove the superiority of the Christian God over Thor and the Germanic deities. According to Boniface's first biographer, his contemporary Saint Willibald, Boniface started to chop the oak down, when suddenly a great wind, as if by miracle, blew the ancient oak over.
Boniface established the first bishopric in Germany outside the boundaries of the old Roman Empire on a hill (Büraburg
Büraburg
Büraburg is a prominent hill with historic significance, overlooking the Eder river near the town of Fritzlar in northern Hesse .In 723 AD the Anglo-Saxon missionary Winfrid – later called St...
) across the Eder
Eder
The Eder is a 177 km long river in Germany, and a tributary of the Fulda River. It was first mentioned by the Roman historian Tacitus as the Adrana in the territory of the Chatti....
river, but after the death of Witta
Witta of Büraburg
See Witta, son of Wecta for the mythological Jutish chieftain.Witta of Büraburg was one of the early Anglo-Saxon missionaries in Hesse and Thuringia in central Germany, disciple and companion of Saints Boniface and Lullus...
, its first and only bishop, in 747 the bishopric was incorporated into the diocese (later archdiocese) of Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
by Lullus
Lullus
Saint Lullus was the first permanent archbishop of Mainz, succeeding Saint Boniface, and first abbot of the Benedictine Hersfeld Abbey.-Monk to archbishop:...
, the disciple and successor of Boniface as archbishop of Mainz. The Benedictine monastery founded by Boniface in Fritzlar in 724 gained prominence as a center of religious and worldly learning under its first abbot, Saint Wigbert
Wigbert
Saint Wigbert, born in Wessex around 670, was an Anglo-Saxon Benedictine monk from the monastery of Glastonbury and a missionary and disciple of Saint Boniface who traveled with the latter in Frisia and northern and central Germany to convert the local tribes to Christianity...
, who built the original stone basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
of 732 on the site of Boniface's wooden chapel. In 782 emperor Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
granted it imperial protection and substantial territory, and this triggered the rapid development of the town. The monastery was converted into a college
Collegiate church
In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...
of secular canons (Chorherrenstift) in 1005, its members no longer living in monastic union and simplicity, but maintaining their own, and generally rather well-to-do, households. Several imposing stone residences (Curias) built by wealthy canons during the 14th century survive to this day in the old part of the town. The canons' college was dissolved only in 1803.
Birthplace of the German Empire
Located at the crossroads of several important trade routes and site of an imperial residence since CharlemagneCharlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
, Fritzlar was a frequent site of royal visits and of assemblies and synods of the German princes and church leaders during the early Middle Ages. Undoubtedly the most important of these was the Reichstag
Reichstag (Holy Roman Empire)
The Imperial Diet was the Diet, or general assembly, of the Imperial Estates of the Holy Roman Empire.During the period of the Empire, which lasted formally until 1806, the Diet was not a parliament in today's sense; instead, it was an assembly of the various estates of the realm...
of 919 when Henry I ("Henry the Fowler"), duke of Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, was elected King of the Germans to succeed Charlemagne's Frankish successors on the throne of what had become known as the East Frankish Empire. This event marked the end of bitter rivalry between the two large German tribes of the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
and the Saxons
Saxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
and the beginning of the German Empire that lasted until the Napoleonic wars. King Conrad I of Germany
Conrad I of Germany
Conrad I , called the Younger, was Duke of Franconia from 906 and King of Germany from 911 to 918, the only king of the Conradine dynasty...
, duke of Franconia, had died in December 918 without a son and urged his brother, margrave Eberhard
Eberhard
Eberhard or Everard or Everardo is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar.-First name:*Eberhard of Friuli , Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire*Eberhard of Béthune , Flemish grammarian....
, who was to succeed him as Duke of Franconia, to nominate Henry as king, although they had been at odds with each other from 912 to 915 over the title to lands in 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....
. Conrad's choice was respected by the Reichstag of 919, where Henry was proclaimed king by the leaders of the Franks and Saxons. Burchard I, Duke of Swabia
Burchard I, Duke of Swabia
Burchard I was the duke of Alamannia from 909 to his death and margrave of Rhaetia, as well as count in the Thurgau and Baar. Born between 855 and 860, he was the son of Adalbert II, count in the Thurgau. He himself married Liutgard of Saxony.By 900, Burchard was already the most powerful man in...
quickly swore allegiance as well, but Duke Arnulf
Arnulf
Arnulf , a Germanic name common in the Middle Ages and rare at present, may refer to:*Arnulf of Metz, saint *Arnulf of Eynesbury, saint*Arnulf of Carinthia...
of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
did not submit to Henry until the latter advanced with an army into Bavaria in 921.
Conrad himself had risen to the position of duke of Franconia only after defeating the rival Babenberg
Babenberg
Originally from Bamberg in Franconia, now northern Bavaria, an apparent branch of the Babenbergs or Babenberger went on to rule Austria as counts of the march and dukes from 976–1248, before the rise of the house of Habsburg.-One or two families:...
counts in a battle near Fritzlar in 906, in which his father, Conrad, Duke of Thuringia
Conrad, Duke of Thuringia
Conrad , called the Old or the Elder, was the Duke of Thuringia from 892 until his death. He was the namesake of the Conradiner family and son of Udo of Neustria. His mother was a daughter of Conrad I of Logenahe . He was the count of the Oberlahngau , Hessengau , Gotzfeldgau , Wetterau , and...
the Elder, was killed.
Developments during the Middle Ages
In 1079 Fritzlar ceased to be a crown possession when it was gifted to the archbishop of MainzMainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
by Emperor Henry IV
Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV was King of the Romans from 1056 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 until his forced abdication in 1105. He was the third emperor of the Salian dynasty and one of the most powerful and important figures of the 11th century...
in the aftermath of his submission to the Pope at Canossa
Canossa
Canossa is a comune and castle town in Emilia-Romagna, famous as the site where Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV did penance in 1077, standing three days bare-headed in the snow, in order to reverse his excommunication by Pope Gregory VII...
. It thus became a pivotal pillar in the long-lasting feuds between Mainz and the landgraves of 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 Hesse for territorial supremacy in northern Hesse.
Located in the border area between Frankish and Saxon territories and, following Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
's Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, a Roman Catholic enclave owned by the Archbishop of Mainz in the midst of Protestant Hesse, the town was frequently embattled, by Saxons and Franks, by Protestant and Catholic princes, and repeatedly sacked and rebuilt.
The first major devastation occurred in 774, during Charlemagne's Saxon Wars
Saxon Wars
The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the more than thirty years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer, to 804, when the last rebellion of disaffected tribesmen was crushed. In all, eighteen battles were fought in what is now northwestern Germany...
. While the king was in Italy, the Saxons invaded Hesse and besieged Büraburg, where the population of Fritzlar had sought refuge. Failing to take the fortress, the Saxons destroyed Fritzlar, but not St. Wigbert's stone basilica. This gave rise to the legend that two angels had appeared to chase away the invaders and protect the church.
The next happened in 1079. Emperor Henry IV, who frequently resided in Fritzlar, was faced with an insurrection led by the pretender king Rudolf of Swabia (Rudolf of Rheinfelden), who had been supported by the Pope. Having submitted to the Pope at Canossa
Canossa
Canossa is a comune and castle town in Emilia-Romagna, famous as the site where Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV did penance in 1077, standing three days bare-headed in the snow, in order to reverse his excommunication by Pope Gregory VII...
in 1077, Henry had gone to Fritzlar. A papal legate was not able to arrange an end to the dispute, and in early 1079 an army of Saxons, partisans of Rudolf, attacked Henry in Fritzlar. He fled, and town and church were sacked and destroyed.
Between about 1085 and 1118, a new and larger basilica was built at the site of St. Wigbert's church. It was the site of the imperial synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
of 1118 at which the papal interdict
Interdict (Roman Catholic Church)
In Roman Catholic canon law, an interdict is an ecclesiastical censure that excludes from certain rites of the Church individuals or groups, who nonetheless do not cease to be members of the Church.-Distinctions in canon law:...
of Henry V
Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry V was King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor , the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. Henry's reign coincided with the final phase of the great Investiture Controversy, which had pitted pope against emperor...
, who again had opposed the pope on the matter of investiture
Investiture
Investiture, from the Latin is a rather general term for the formal installation of an incumbent...
of bishops, was announced and ratified and where Saint Norbert of Xanten
Norbert of Xanten
Saint Norbert of Xanten was a Christian saint and founder of the Norbertine or Premonstratensian order of canons regular.- Life and work :...
, founder of the order of the Premonstratensian
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
s (Norbertines) and later archbishop of Magdeburg, successfully defended himself against charges of heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
. At the same synod, prince-bishop Otto of Bamberg
Otto of Bamberg
Saint Otto of Bamberg was a medieval German bishop and missionary who, as papal legate, converted much of Pomerania to Christianity.-Life:Otto was born into a noble family in Mistelbach, Franconia...
was suspended for having remained loyal to Henry V during his quarrels with the papacy.
This second basilica was radically reconstructed between 1180 and 1200, essentially in the form in which it is still found today, although a number of smaller additions and alterations have been made throughout the centuries since then. During the same period, from 1184 to 1196, the town was fortified by the construction of the first wall around its periphery.
The next devastating blow was the sack of the town by 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....
n landgrave Conrad in 1232, when much of the population was killed and the town plundered. Mainz responded by immediately rebuilding and further fortifying the town, adding numerous towers to the walls and building seven watch towers and fortified refuges on strategic hills in the surrounding countryside.
In the early 13th century, the Franciscans (Friars Minor) established a monastery in the town. They obtained permission to build their church and quarters directly up against the town wall, thereby obliterating the watch walk on the inside of the wall that was crucial for quickly moving defenders from one part of the wall to another. In exchange they had to agree to defend their part of the town's fortification in the event of a siege. The Franciscans were forced to leave when the Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
was introduced in 1522. Following the Counterreformation, Jesuits moved in during 1615, followed by the return of the Franciscans in 1619. The monastery was dissolved in 1811. Its splendid Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
church, completed in 1244, today serves as the parish church for the town's Protestant Christians who purchased it in 1817/1824.
The Thirty Year War (1618–1648) inflicted serious damage on Fritzlar and the neighboring villages, culminating with an outbreak of the black plague. The town's population dropped from about 2000 to merely 600, and it took 200 years before the inhabitants again numbered 2000. During the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
(1756–1763) the town was occupied by French troops and parts of its fortifications were destroyed, along with the vineyards on the steep slope above the Eder river.
In the early 18th century, the order of Ursuline
Ursulines
The Ursulines are a Roman Catholic religious order for women founded at Brescia, Italy, by Saint Angela de Merici in November 1535, primarily for the education of girls and the care of the sick and needy. Their patron saint is Saint Ursula.-History:St Angela de Merici spent 17 years leading a...
nuns established a nunnery and school for girls.
Modern age
Prince-Bishop
A Prince-Bishop is a bishop who is a territorial Prince of the Church on account of one or more secular principalities, usually pre-existent titles of nobility held concurrently with their inherent clerical office...
in Germany were abolished
German Mediatisation
The German Mediatisation was the series of mediatisations and secularisations that occurred in Germany between 1795 and 1814, during the latter part of the era of the French Revolution and then the Napoleonic Era....
, Fritzlar was incorporated, together with Naumburg, as the nominal Principality of Fritzlar into the Electorate
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
(principality) of Hesse-Kassel
Hesse-Kassel
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel or Hesse-Cassel was a state in the Holy Roman Empire under Imperial immediacy that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1567 upon the death of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. His eldest son William IV inherited the northern half and the...
(Kurhessen or Hesse-Cassel). In 1821 it became the administrative center of the district (Kreis) Fritzlar. Hesse-Kassel in turn was annexed by Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
in 1866, following the Austro-Prussian War
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War was a war fought in 1866 between the German Confederation under the leadership of the Austrian Empire and its German allies on one side and the Kingdom of Prussia with its German allies and Italy on the...
in which the Elector
Prince-elector
The Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
had sided with Austria. In 1932 the district was merged with the neighboring district of Homberg
Homberg (Efze)
Homberg is a small town in northern state of Hesse in central Germany with about 15,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Schwalm-Eder district.-Geography:...
to form the district of Fritzlar-Homberg.
In 1974, the three districts of Fritzlar-Homberg, Melsungen
Melsungen
Melsungen is a small climatic spa in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany.-Geography:Melsungen lies on the river Fulda in the North Hesse Highland. The brooks Pfieffe and Kehrenbach flow into the Fulda here...
and Ziegenhain
Ziegenhain
Ziegenhain is a municipality in the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany....
were combined into the new district Schwalm-Eder, with its administrative seat in Homberg (Efze)
Homberg (Efze)
Homberg is a small town in northern state of Hesse in central Germany with about 15,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Schwalm-Eder district.-Geography:...
.
Today, Fritzlar is a service and market center for the surrounding area, with schools, hospital, and a sizeable military garrison with airfield
Fritzlar Air Base
Fritzlar Air Base is a military air field of the German Army Aviation Corps. It is located near the town of Fritzlar in northern Hesse, Germany...
which is the homebase of the Luftbewegliche Brigade 1 (1st Air Mobile Brigade) and the Kampfhubschrauberregiment 36 Kurhessen (Attack Helicopter Regiment 36) of the German Army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
.
Politics
Town council consists of 37 councillors. As of the last municipal election held on 26 March 2006, the seats are apportioned thus:| CDU Christian Democratic Union (Germany) The Christian Democratic Union of Germany is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Germany. It is regarded as on the centre-right of the German political spectrum... |
: 18 seats |
| SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
: 13 seats |
| FWG (citizens' coalition) | : 3 seats |
| Greens Alliance '90/The Greens Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir... |
: 2 seats |
| FDP 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... |
: 1 seat |
The town executive (Magistrat) consists of 10 members and the mayor. Three seats are held by the SPD, 4 by the CDU, and one seat each by the FWG, the FDP and the Greens.
Mayor Karl-Wilhelm Lange (CDU) was reelected on 26 March 2006 with a 65.8% share of the vote. The independent candidate Hans Mertens got 34.2% of the vote.
Coat of arms
The 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...
shows two red wheels joined by a cross of the same colour and the whole set from upper left to lower right (or upper right to lower left, heraldically speaking) on a silver background. As such, it bears a keen likeness to Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
's civic coat of arms, simply having the colours reversed but showing the same "Double Wheel of Mainz", and this recalls the centuries-long allegiance that Fritzlar owed the Archbishopric of Mainz.
Town partnerships
Burnham-on-Sea and HighbridgeBurnham-on-Sea and Highbridge
Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge is a civil parish in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, England. It has a population of 18,922 . The parish contains the towns Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge....
(civil parish), Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Casina
Casina
For other meanings see Casina .Casina is a comune in the Province of Reggio Emilia in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 70 km west of Bologna and about 25 km southwest of Reggio Emilia...
, Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Middleton
Middleton, Wisconsin
Middleton is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. It is a western suburb of the state capital, Madison but it was actually founded before Madison. It got its name from Middletown, Connecticut; the "w" being dropped was due to a paper work error made by long time historian Edward Kromrey...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Notable residents
- Hermann of FritzlarHermann of FritzlarHermann of Fritzlar was a medieval German mystic and author of a collection of legends, the Buch von der Heiligen Leben , also known as Das Heiligenleben , which was written between 1343 and 1349....
(† after 1349), medieval German mystic - Saint Wigbert(born in Wessex 670, buried 747 in Fritzlar), disciple of Saint BonifaceSaint BonifaceSaint Boniface , the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid, Wynfrith, or Wynfryth in the kingdom of Wessex, probably at Crediton , was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He is the patron saint of Germany and the first archbishop of Mainz...
- Herbort of FritzlarHerbort of FritzlarHerbort von Fritzlar was a cleric and writer. He wrote the German-language epic Song of Troy, comprising 18,458 verses in Middle High German, probably around 1190 to 1200....
(probably around 1190), cleric and writer - Witta of BüraburgWitta of BüraburgSee Witta, son of Wecta for the mythological Jutish chieftain.Witta of Büraburg was one of the early Anglo-Saxon missionaries in Hesse and Thuringia in central Germany, disciple and companion of Saints Boniface and Lullus...
(* around 700, † after 760), 741–747 bishop of BüraburgBüraburgBüraburg is a prominent hill with historic significance, overlooking the Eder river near the town of Fritzlar in northern Hesse .In 723 AD the Anglo-Saxon missionary Winfrid – later called St... - Felix of Fritzlar († around 790), missionary and martyr
- Ignazio FiorilloIgnazio FiorilloIgnazio Fiorillo was an Italian composer. He is known as an author of opera seria, often composed to the libretti of Pietro Metastasio.- Biography :Fiorillo was born in Naples, Italy...
(* 1715 in Naples, † 1787 in Fritzlar), composerOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance... - Bettina von ArnimBettina von ArnimBettina von Arnim , born Elisabeth Catharina Ludovica Magdalena Brentano, was a German writer and novelist....
(* 1785, † 1859), writer, 1794–1797 pupil in UrsulinesUrsulinesThe Ursulines are a Roman Catholic religious order for women founded at Brescia, Italy, by Saint Angela de Merici in November 1535, primarily for the education of girls and the care of the sick and needy. Their patron saint is Saint Ursula.-History:St Angela de Merici spent 17 years leading a...
School Fritzlar