Neukirchen (Knüll)
Encyclopedia
Constituent communities
The town is made up of a main town bearing the same name as the whole town, and the centres of AsterodeAsterode
Asterode is a municipal district of the town of Neukirchen in Schwalm-Eder-Kreis district in Hesse, Germany....
, Christerode, Hauptschwenda, Nausis, Wincherode, Riebelsdorf, Rückershausen and Seigertshausen.
History
Neukirchen had its first documentary mention in 1142 in a document from the HersfeldBad 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....
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...
. In 1351, Neukirchen was granted town rights. 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...
, the town was bedevilled by fires that repeatedly broke out. One catastrophe in 1533 destroyed three fourths of all the town's houses.
Town council
Town council is made up of 31 members.- CDUChristian 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...
12 seats - SPDSocial Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
12 seats - FDPFree 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...
3 seats - UBL (citizens' coalition) 2 seats
- FWG (citizens' coalition) 2 seats
(as of municipal elections held on 26 March 2006)
Museums
The Heimatmuseum ("Homeland Museum") has documents about the town's history, a complete school classroom and prehistoric collections.Nikolaikirche
This church's history is closely tied to the town's. The earliest known mention of Neukirchen is in a monastery document from 1142. It is assumed that a few years later, the choir at the Nikolaikirche was built. About 1350, the two-aisled symmetrical hall and the three lower floors of the tower were built onto the choir, as it was at this time that "Nuwenkirchen", as it was then called, was granted town rights. According to an inscription above the doorway of the south aisle, remodelling and expansion were undertaken in 1497 that led to the church being transformed into a three-aisled GothicGothic 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....
hall church with an irregular transept and an eight-sided choir area. Since the 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...
's introduction in Hesse in 1526, Evangelical
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
services have been held there.
The 36-m-high tower, the town's landmark, is built as a mighty military tower. The tower's roof is ringed with a walk with a tracery gallery from about 1500. At that same height, the tower watchman's old dwelling can be found. A fascinationg impression about the "tower family's" life awaits anyone who books a tower tour here. The climb up the 132 steps is made worthwhile by the outstanding view over Neukirchen and the Knüllgebirge. Since 2001, in the tower's parlour, civil "tower wedding ceremonies" have been performed. Information is available by calling 06694/80810.
Kirche Christerode
The Christerode Church's oldest parts have their roots in the Middle Ages. The church is a plain hall whose ceiling rests on a beam laid lengthwise on a mighty oaken column. Over the last few years, the building, threatened as it was by collapse, has been thoroughly renovated. The organOrgan (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
was built about 1912 by Peter Battenberg, an organ builder from Weißenborn, and in 2001 it was restored.
Kirche Hauptschwenda
Hauptschwenda lies at an elevation of 500 m, making it the highest parish in the church district of Ziegenhain. The place was mentioned in 1223 under the name "Eizicheswinden". Even then, there was a chapel. The place is likely even older. In 1506, Hauptschwenda was mentioned as a pilgrimagePilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...
place with its Annenquelle (spring, and now called Lindenborn) that could work wonders. The church was bigger before 1537 than the building that stands today. Worth seeing inside are some wall paintings from the 16th century that have been renovated over a long period of time and an organ from 2003.
Sport
Neukirchen became known nationwide for SC Neukirchen's First FootballFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
Team, who played for four years in the Regionalliga (football)
Regionalliga (football)
The Fußball-Regionalliga is the fourth tier of football in the German football league system. Until 1974, it was the second tier of the league system before being disbanded. The Regionalliga was then re-introduced as the third tier of the system in 1994...
, which still had four divisions at that time
Transport
Neukirchen lies on Federal Highway (Bundesstraße) B 454 (KirchhainKirchhain
Kirchhain is a town in Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:Kirchhain is located in the heart of the state of Hesse in Marburg-Biedenkopf County...
– Niederaula
Niederaula
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...
). The town also belongs to the North Hesse Transport Network.