Oberaula
Encyclopedia
Location
Oberaula lies in the Knüllgebirge, a low mountain range, in the Aula river valley and its neighbouring valleys.The nearest towns are 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....
(about 20 km to the east), Schwalmstadt
Schwalmstadt
Schwalmstadt is the largest town in the Schwalm-Eder district, in northern Hesse, Germany. It was established only in 1970 with the amalgamation of the towns of Treysa and Ziegenhain together with some outlying villages to form the town of Schwalmstadt.-Location:Schwalmstadt lies in the Schwalm...
(about 25 km to the west), and 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:...
(about 27 km to the north).
Constituent communities
The community consists of the six centres of Hausen, Friedigerode, Ibra, Oberaula (administrative seat), Olberode and Wahlshausen.History
Oberaula had its first mention in 856 as Ovilaha (roughly "the place in a moist river floodplainFloodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
" or "the place at the owl water"). The constituent community of Hausen was first mentioned in 1160. Quite early on, the Fulda Abbey had 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...
with a moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
in Hausen, upon whose remains the Barons of Dörnberg built their Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
stately home in 1674.
Amalgamations
As part of municipal reforms, the two communities of Oberaula and Hausen merged on 1 April 1972. On 1 January 1974 came the formation of the Greater Community of Oberaula with the amalgamation of the other above-named communities with Oberaula.Municipal council
The council is made up of 23 members. As of the last municipal elections held on 26 March 2006, the seats are apportioned thus:| SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany... |
: 11 seats |
| 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... |
: 12 seats |
The community executive consists of 7 members. Four of these seats are held by the CDU and three by the SPD.
The mayor Karl Heinz Vestweber (SPD) was elected on 30 November 2003 with a 73.7% share of the vote.
Coat of arms
Oberaula's 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...
might heraldically be described thus: Azure an owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
argent armed gules flanked by six mullets of six of the second and standing on a mount of three Or surmounted by a three-leafed oak sprig vert.
The blue background has its roots in a traditional story that mentions a blue flag. The owl stands for Oberaula and the six stars for the six constituent communities. The stars were chosen as the Counts of Ziegenhain, who held sway in the area for centuries, bore the star in their arms. The three-knolled hill – called a Dreiberg in German heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
– stands for the Knüllgebirge in which the community lies, and the oak sprig refers to the community's membership in the former Kurhessen-Waldeck Tourist Association.
Buildings
- Schloss HausenSchloss Hausen (Oberaula)Schloss Hausen is a German castle and stately home in Oberaula....
(stately home), from 1674 - Steinmühle ("Stone Mill", a still-working old watermillWatermillA watermill is a structure that uses a water wheel or turbine to drive a mechanical process such as flour, lumber or textile production, or metal shaping .- History :...
)
Transport
Oberaula 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 community belongs to the North Hesse Transport Network.
Through the railway stations at 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....
and Treysa, the community is connected to the railway network. The former Knüllwaldbahn railway between Bad Hersfeld and Treysa is out of service.
Sons and daughters of the community
- Wilhelm Caspar Ferdinand Freiherr von DörnbergWilhelm von DörnbergWilhelm Caspar Ferdinand Freiherr von Dörnberg was a German general. He was also known as 'Aufstandsdörnberg' or 'Uprising Dörnberg', for his part in the German campaign of the Napoleonic Wars...
(born 14 April 1768 in Schloss HausenSchloss Hausen (Oberaula)Schloss Hausen is a German castle and stately home in Oberaula....
, died 19 March 1850 in MünsterMünsterMünster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
) was a German generalGeneralA general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
and freedom fighter.
Sundry
Oberaula shares its name with nearby 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...
(Ober = "upper"; Nieder = "lower") in the neighbouring Hersfeld-Rotenburg
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.
External links
- Community's history
- http://www.bs-oberaula.deBurschenschaftBurschenschaftGerman Burschenschaften are a special type of Studentenverbindungen . Burschenschaften were founded in the 19th century as associations of university students inspired by liberal and nationalistic ideas.-History:-Beginnings 1815–c...
Oberaula]