Haunetal
Encyclopedia
Haunetal is a community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg
district in eastern Hesse
, Germany
. Haunetal is the district’s southernmost municipality.
”, between Bad Hersfeld
, some 13 km away, and Hünfeld
, some 14 km away. The community stretches along both sides of the lower Haune. Rising above the community is the 524 m-high Stoppelsberg.
, in the northeast on the community of Hauneck
(both in Hersfeld-Rotenburg), in the east on the community of Eiterfeld
, in the south on the community of Burghaun
(both in Fulda district
) and in the west on the town of Schlitz (in the Vogelsbergkreis
).
, Schletzenrod, Stärklos, Wehrda and Wetzlos.
divided the Imperial
forest of Ehringswald (Ehrenvirst) up between the Hersfeld Abbey
and the Fulda Abbey.
Some of today’s constituent communities were already governed together in the Middle Ages
under the lordship of Wehrda and later in the Amt of Neukirchen. Most of the places belonged to one of the two above-named monastic institutions, which had enfeoffed them to the Knights of Romrod, of Trubenbach (later Trümbach), of Otensassen and of Haune (later Hune). The last-named were the ones who built Hauneck Castle.
In 1886, the writer Heinrich Ruppel was born in Haunetal. In a barn in the constituent community of Neukirchen, towards the end of the Second World War, Konrad Zuse
’s computer
Z4 was sheltered.
Konrad Zuse founded Zuse KG in Neukirchen in 1949; in 1957 the company’s head office moved to Bad Hersfeld
.
The above-named constituent communities were merged by municipal reform in 1971 into the greater community of Haunetal. Since 16 May 1998, the community of Haunetal has had leave to style itself “Marktgemeinde” (“Market Community”)
The community’s executive (Gemeindevorstand) is made up of nine members, with four seats allotted to the SPD, four to the CDU and 1 to the FWG.
church in Neukirchen was built in Late Gothic
in 1515 on a lower structure that was partly Romanesque
. Worthy of note among the inner features are the carved winged
altar
from 1522 and the baptismal font
from 1588.
Above Neukirchen and Oberstoppel, on Haunetal’s local mountain, the Stoppelsberg, is found Hauneck Castle, whose building history reaches back to the 14th century. From even further into the past comes the Sinzigburg, a castle
west of the Stoppelsberg in the Haune valley. Not far away, likewise on the Stoppelsberg’s slopes is the natural monument called the Lange Steine (“Long Stones”).
Further buildings in the constituent community of Wehrda are the Gothic
fortified church with old rustic fresco
es, the Schloss Hohenwehrda (palatial castle built about 1900 by Prince von Kleidorff, today a Hermann Lietz
boarding school
), the Rotes Schloß (“Red Palace”, today owned by Baron Johannes von Campenhausen) and the Altwehrda (“Old Wehrda”) ruins (believed to have been the first fortified settlement in a fortified defensive tower, built by the Knights of Trumbach, later of Stein). Old Jewish
cemeteries
can be found in Wehrda and Rhina.
made of rye bread dough with variable topping.
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 eastern 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...
. Haunetal is the district’s southernmost municipality.
Location
Haunetal lies in the Vorderrhön, or the “Further RhönRhön 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...
”, between 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 13 km away, and Hünfeld
Hünfeld
Hünfeld is a town in the district of Fulda, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated 16 km northeast of Fulda.-Notable people:* Wilm Hosenfeld *Johann Leonhard Pfaff , bishop of Fulda* Konrad Zuse -Transport:...
, some 14 km away. The community stretches along both sides of the lower Haune. Rising above the community is the 524 m-high Stoppelsberg.
Neighbouring communities
Haunetal borders in the northwest on the community of NiederaulaNiederaula
Niederaula is a market community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in northeastern Hesse, Germany, 59 km south of Kassel.-Location:The community lies on the Fulda between the outliers of the Rhön, the Vogelsberg and the Knüllgebirge...
, in the northeast on the community of Hauneck
Hauneck
Hauneck is a community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germany.-Location:The town of Bad Hersfeld lies right nearby to the north. Some 35 km away lie Fulda to the south and Alsfeld to the west.The community stretches along the Haune...
(both in Hersfeld-Rotenburg), in the east on the community of Eiterfeld
Eiterfeld
Eiterfeld is a municipality in the district of Fulda, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated in the north of the district, 25 km north of Fulda.-External links:* * *...
, in the south on the community of Burghaun
Burghaun
Burghaun is a municipality in the district of Fulda in the state of Hesse in Germany.Burghaun itself is a small town with about 3,800 residents...
(both in Fulda district
Fulda (district)
Fulda is a Kreis in the north-east of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Wartburgkreis, Schmalkalden-Meiningen, Rhön-Grabfeld, Bad Kissingen, Main-Kinzig, Vogelsbergkreis.-History:...
) and in the west on the town of Schlitz (in the Vogelsbergkreis
Vogelsbergkreis
The Vogelsbergkreis is a Kreis in the middle of Hesse, Germany. Neighbouring districts are Schwalm-Eder, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Fulda, Main-Kinzig, Wetteraukreis, Gießen and Marburg-Biedenkopf.-Geography:...
).
Constituent communities
Haunetal’s Ortsteile are Hermannspiegel, Holzheim, Kruspis, Mauers, Meisenbach, Müsenbach, Neukirchen, Oberstoppel, Unterstoppel, Odensachsen, RhinaRhina, Hesse
Rhina is a village in eastern Hesse, Germany, belonging to the Haunetal municipality within the district of Hersfeld-Rotenburg. In 2004, the population of Rhina consisted of 509 residents.-History:...
, Schletzenrod, Stärklos, Wehrda and Wetzlos.
History
The constituent communities of Odensachsen and Rhina had their first documentary mention on 1003 when Emperor Heinrich IIHenry II, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry II , also referred to as Saint Henry, Obl.S.B., was the fifth and last Holy Roman Emperor of the Ottonian dynasty, from his coronation in Rome in 1014 until his death a decade later. He was crowned King of the Germans in 1002 and King of Italy in 1004...
divided the Imperial
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
forest of Ehringswald (Ehrenvirst) up between the Hersfeld Abbey
Hersfeld Abbey
Hersfeld Abbey was an important Benedictine imperial abbey in the town of Bad Hersfeld in Hesse , Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Geisa, Haune and Fulda.-History:...
and the Fulda Abbey.
Some of today’s constituent communities were already governed together in 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...
under the lordship of Wehrda and later in the Amt of Neukirchen. Most of the places belonged to one of the two above-named monastic institutions, which had enfeoffed them to the Knights of Romrod, of Trubenbach (later Trümbach), of Otensassen and of Haune (later Hune). The last-named were the ones who built Hauneck Castle.
In 1886, the writer Heinrich Ruppel was born in Haunetal. In a barn in the constituent community of Neukirchen, towards the end of the Second World War, Konrad Zuse
Konrad Zuse
Konrad Zuse was a German civil engineer and computer pioneer. His greatest achievement was the world's first functional program-controlled Turing-complete computer, the Z3, which became operational in May 1941....
’s computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
Z4 was sheltered.
Konrad Zuse founded Zuse KG in Neukirchen in 1949; in 1957 the company’s head office moved to 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....
.
The above-named constituent communities were merged by municipal reform in 1971 into the greater community of Haunetal. Since 16 May 1998, the community of Haunetal has had leave to style itself “Marktgemeinde” (“Market Community”)
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 | 42.4 | 10 | 40.3 | 9 |
| 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... |
49.2 | 11 | 47.2 | 11 |
| 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... |
2.0 | 0 | – | – |
| FWG | Freie Wählergemeinschaft Haunetal | 6.4 | 2 | 9.3 | 2 |
| GREENS | Bündnis 90/Die Grünen | – | – | 3.3 | 1 |
| Total | 100.0 | 23 | 100.0 | 23 | |
| Voter turnout in % | 63.0 | 70.5 | |||
The community’s executive (Gemeindevorstand) is made up of nine members, with four seats allotted to the SPD, four to the CDU and 1 to the FWG.
Mayor
Mayor Hein-Peter Möller (SPD) was reëlected on 29 April 2007 with 73.1% of the vote. His opponent from the CDU, Dirk Handwerk, got 26.9%. Voter turnout was 67.0%.Buildings
The EvangelicalEvangelical Church in Germany
The 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 in Neukirchen was built in Late 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....
in 1515 on a lower structure that was partly 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,...
. Worthy of note among the inner features are the carved winged
Polyptych
A 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"...
altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
from 1522 and the baptismal font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
from 1588.
Above Neukirchen and Oberstoppel, on Haunetal’s local mountain, the Stoppelsberg, is found Hauneck Castle, whose building history reaches back to the 14th century. From even further into the past comes the Sinzigburg, a 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...
west of the Stoppelsberg in the Haune valley. Not far away, likewise on the Stoppelsberg’s slopes is the natural monument called the Lange Steine (“Long Stones”).
Further buildings in the constituent community of Wehrda are 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....
fortified church with old rustic fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es, the Schloss Hohenwehrda (palatial castle built about 1900 by Prince von Kleidorff, today a Hermann Lietz
Hermann Lietz
Hermann Lietz was a German educational progressive and theologian who founded the German Landerziehungsheime für Jungen. Basing his schools on the model of the English Abbotsholme School, he emphasized sports and crafts along with modern languages and science while deemphasizing rote learning and...
boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
), the Rotes Schloß (“Red Palace”, today owned by Baron Johannes von Campenhausen) and the Altwehrda (“Old Wehrda”) ruins (believed to have been the first fortified settlement in a fortified defensive tower, built by the Knights of Trumbach, later of Stein). Old Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
cemeteries
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
can be found in Wehrda and Rhina.
Culinary specialities
One culinary speciality from the Haune valley is Ploatz, a hearty sheet cakeSheet cake
A sheet cake is a cake baked in a large, flat rectangular pan such as a sheet pan or a jelly roll pan. These single-layer cakes are almost always frosted, and may be decorated on the flat surface on the top...
made of rye bread dough with variable topping.
Sons and daughters of the town
- Friedrich Christian Delius, writer
- Heinrich Ruppel, writer
- Konrad ZuseKonrad ZuseKonrad Zuse was a German civil engineer and computer pioneer. His greatest achievement was the world's first functional program-controlled Turing-complete computer, the Z3, which became operational in May 1941....
, computer pioneer
Further reading
- Harald Neuber Haunetaler Geschichte, with an entry by Friedrich Krauser, Haunetal 1992, Publisher: Gemeindevorstand der Gemeinde Haunetal