Wartenberg, Hesse
Encyclopedia
Location
The community lies in the eastern Vogelsberg MountainsVogelsberg Mountains
The Vogelsberg Mountains are a group duct of ancient volcanic activity and are separated from the Rhön Mountains by the Fulda River and its valley....
. Through the community flows the river Lauter, which empties into the Altefeld in Bad Salzschlirf
Bad Salzschlirf
Bad Salzschlirf is a municipality in the district of Fulda, in Hesse, Germany....
, itself a tributary to the Schlitz.
Neighbouring communities
Wartenberg borders in the north on the town of SchlitzSchlitz (Hesse)
-Location:The town of Schlitz lies at the outlet of the small river Schlitz on the Fulda.-Neighbouring communities:Schlitz borders in the north on the communities of Breitenbach and Niederaula , in the east on the communities of Haunetal and Burghaun and the town of Hünfeld , in the southeast on...
, in the east on the communities of Bad Salzschlirf
Bad Salzschlirf
Bad Salzschlirf is a municipality in the district of Fulda, in Hesse, Germany....
and Großenlüder
Großenlüder
Großenlüder is a municipality in the district of Fulda, in Hesse, Germany....
(both in Fulda
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:...
district), in the south on the town of Herbstein
Herbstein
-Location:The spa town of Herbstein lies on the eastern slope of the Vogelsberg Mountains.-Neighbouring communities:Herbstein borders in the north on the community of Lautertal and the community of Wartenberg, in the east on the communities of Großenlüder and Hosenfeld , in the south on the...
, and in the west on the town of Lauterbach
Lauterbach, Hesse
Lauterbach is a town in the Vogelsbergkreis district of the federal state of Hesse in central Germany.-History:Lauterbach was founded between 400 and 800 AD. In 812 the town was mentioned for the first time in a document of the church in Schlitz. In the Middle Ages, Lauterbach belonged to the...
.
Constituent communities
The community consists of the centres of Angersbach (2,738 inhabitants) and Landenhausen (1,406 inhabitants).History
Wartenberg came into being as part of municipal reforms in 1972, when the two aforesaid places were merged into a new municipality.Angersbach
Angersbach had its first documentary mention in 812. On 20 September of that year, a church in SchlitzSchlitz (Hesse)
-Location:The town of Schlitz lies at the outlet of the small river Schlitz on the Fulda.-Neighbouring communities:Schlitz borders in the north on the communities of Breitenbach and Niederaula , in the east on the communities of Haunetal and Burghaun and the town of Hünfeld , in the southeast on...
was consecrated in Angersbach by the Archbishop 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...
and the Abbot Baugulf from Fulda
Fulda
Fulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district .- Early Middle Ages :...
.
Landenhausen
The first settlers had a chief, whose job it was to defend the settler generation from danger. It therefore stands to reason that 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...
or fortified building must have stood near the village. In the meadowlands below the village, called "Im Burggipfel" or "Am Burggipfel", sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
foundations may be found, still stuck in the ground. Local inhabitants reported having dug these up in the countryside, and gave accounts of having seen foundations. Some digging unearthed sandstone walls, about 40 cm thick, and it was realized that they once had enclosed a yard of about 40 m². Furthermore, some sandstone slabs were identified, which had once marked a forecourt, as was a gateway arch, near which were found horseshoe
Horseshoe
A horseshoe, is a fabricated product, normally made of metal, although sometimes made partially or wholly of modern synthetic materials, designed to protect a horse's hoof from wear and tear. Shoes are attached on the palmar surface of the hooves, usually nailed through the insensitive hoof wall...
s and horses' bones. The entrance to the castle must have faced towards the village. The Riedesel
Riedesel
Riedesel is a German family name that began to appear in legal documents in the early 13th century. They were of the knightly class, though not all had the official status of Ritter or knight. Its exact geographical and temporal origins are uncertain. However, all of the early references are from...
Archive yields the information that the ruins, still recognizable in the 18th century as a Schultheiß
Schultheiß
In medieval Germany, the Schultheiß was the head of a municipality , a Vogt or an executive official of the ruler.As official it was...
's "dilapidated stately home", were cleared away. It seems likely that it was a castle 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...
, the more so as the surrounding area of meadowland is still crossed by several streams, and as some places are boggy moorland
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
. However, documentary evidence for this castle is very scanty.
Lords of Landenhausen and of Angersbach
The first mention of the noble family of Angersbach goes back to the year 812 when Baron Friedrich von Angersbach donated commodities to the monastery of Fulda. A document from the year 1114 yields the names Heinrich von Landenhausen and Herold von Landenhausen, the latter being the former's son. In the 12th century there was therefore still a noble family called von Landenhausen. Moreover, the same document's naming of Friedrich von Angersbach strongly suggests that the Lords of Landenhausen and of Angersbach were quite close. Given the lack of any further documentary evidence that could shed light on the von Landenhausens' lives, it is assumed that, either through marriageMarriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
or inheritance
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
, they were merged into the von Angersbachs.
Also to be found in Fulda monastic documents, dated 1114, is a donation by both lordly houses to the 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...
of Fulda. The document mentions both families in connection with this donation. To quote therefrom, it says: "a certain faithful person by the name of Heinrich von Landenhausen", or in the original Latin, "quidam fidelis homo nomine Heinricus de Lantenhusen". The use of the word homo here is a key point, as this was used in these documents generally only for people of high standing or nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
. It is assumed that Heinrich von Landenhausen was descended from the first nobleman in the line, Lando, who is said to be Landenhausen's founder and namesake. It is furthermore assumed that the von Landenhausens' seat was the former castle believed to have once stood in the meadowlands outside town.
Politics
The municipal council is made up of 23 members. As of the last municipal elections held on 26 March 2006, 10 seats are held by the FWGW, a citizens' coalition, 8 are held by the SPDSocial Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
, and 5 are held by the 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...
.
The municipal executive consists of 7 members. Three seats are held by the FWGW, 2 by the SPD, 1 by the CDU, and 1 by an independent.
Buildings
- Wartenberg castle ruins, from HohenstaufenHohenstaufenThe House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings in the High Middle Ages, lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufens also became Kings of Sicily...
times (locally also known as "Wartebach") - Wartenberg-Oval
Transport
Both Wartenberg's centres of Landenhausen and Angersbach lie on Federal Highway (Bundesstraße) B 254 running from AlsfeldAlsfeld
Alsfeld is a town in the center of Hesse, somewhere in Germany. Large towns nearby are Bad Hersfeld about 33 km to the east, Fulda 36 km to the southeast, Gießen 47 km to the west and Marburg an der Lahn about 36 km to the northwest...
to Fulda
Fulda
Fulda is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district .- Early Middle Ages :...
, while Angersbach also has a station on the Gießen
Gießen
Gießen, also spelt Giessen is a town in the German federal state of Hesse, capital of both the district of Gießen and the administrative region of Gießen...
- Fulda railway line.
Literature
- Pfr. Wilfried Hilbrig: "Landenhausen in zwölf Jahrhunderten", Hohhausmuseum und Hohhausbibliothek (1981), ISSN 0455-4000