Hatzfeld

Hatzfeld (Eder) is a small town in Waldeck-Frankenberg district in Hesse, Germany.

This article is about the town in Germany. For the town in Romania, see Jimbolia. For the German noble family, see House of Hatzfeld.
Hatzfeld
Coat of arms
Location of Hatzfeld within Waldeck-Frankenberg district
BattenbergAllendorfRosenthalFrankenbergLichtenfelsWaldeck
Hatzfeld
Hatzfeld
Coordinates: 51°0′N 8°33′E
CountryGermany
StateHesse
Admin. regionKassel
DistrictWaldeck-Frankenberg
Subdivisions6 Stadtbezirke
Government
 • MayorUwe Ermisch (SPD)
Area
 • Total58.51 km2 (22.59 sq mi)
Highest elevation
430 m (1,410 ft)
Lowest elevation
330 m (1,080 ft)
Population
 (2019-12-31)[1]
 • Total2,940
 • Density50/km2 (130/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
35116
Dialling codes06467
Vehicle registrationKB
Websitewww.hatzfeld-eder.de

Geography

Location

Hatzfeld lies in west Hesse 25 km northwest of Marburg and north of the Sackpfeife (674 m-high mountain) in the valley of the Eder.

Neighbouring communities

Hatzfeld borders in the north and east on the town of Battenberg (Waldeck-Frankenberg), in the south on the town of Biedenkopf (Marburg-Biedenkopf), and in the west on the town of Bad Berleburg (Siegen-Wittgenstein in North Rhine-Westphalia).

Constituent communities

The town of Hatzfeld consists of the centres of Biebighausen, Eifa, Hatzfeld (main town), Holzhausen, Lindenhof and Reddighausen

History

Hatzfeld had its first documentary mention in 1138. In 1340, the community was granted town rights. After the Hatzfeld branch of the House of Hatzfeld died out in 1570, half the town, and later the whole, passed to the County of Hesse. In 1866, Hatzfeld passed to Prussia, and under Prussian law lost its town rights in 1885. After Prussia was dissolved, Hatzfeld once again became a town in 1950.

Reddighausen

Reddighausen, nowadays one of Hatzfeld's constituent communities, had its first documentary mention in 1278, at that time still under the name Redinchusen. Already by 1840 Reddighausen had 474 inhabitants; nowadays (as of 2000) there are roughly 900.

Lindenhof

Lindenhof is a hamlet and one of Hatzfeld's constituent communities. Its name, unlike what might be assumed, has nothing to do with linden trees, even though there is a "namesake" tree growing in the community ("Linden" is Linde – plural, Linden – in German), but rather with linen (Leinen), which in earlier times was woven here. In 1993, Lindenhof celebrated 300 years of existence, even though various sources point to a greater age.

What is known is that in 1693, a Hatzfeld townsman named Eckhardt went into the lovely dale here and acquired a newly built agricultural estate. In 1712, there were already six households in Lindenhof. In 1892, the hamlet got its own schoolteacher, who taught in a private house. In 1895, there were 77 people living in Lindenhof. In 1939, Lindenhof got its own school, which lasted until 1965 when its functions were transferred to a new central school in Hatzfeld.

By the beginning of the First World War, 21 residential buildings had appeared in the dale, although some of them were in the separate hamlet of Hof Roda.

In 1991-1992, what is arguably Hesse's smallest half-timbered church was consecrated in Lindenhof.

  • Hatzfeld summer 2006
  • View over Hatzfeld
  • View over the "Ahlefeld"
  • Lindenhof 2005
  • Old Lindenhof school ca. 1940
  • Lindenhof Church

Politics

Town council

The town council's 23 seats are apportioned thus, in accordance with municipal elections held on 26 March 2006:

Bürgerliste Reddighausen6 seats
SPD4 seats
CDU3 seats
Bürgerliste Holzhausen3 seats
Bürgerliste Hatzfeld3 seats
Bürgerliste Eifa2 seats
FDP2 seats

Note: The Bürgerlisten are "citizens' lists" rather than actual parties.

Coat of arms

The current civic coat of arms was conferred in 1950, but the charges shown within it date back to the 14th century, from which time an old town seal is known. The arms show a town wall with a gateway flanked by towers. Also in the arms above the gateway is an inescutcheon showing the arms of the Lords (later also Counts and Princes) of Hatzfeld, who died out in 1570. The size and shape of the various charges in the arms have changed over the ages.

Town partnerships

Hatzfeld maintains partnership links with the following:

Sport and leisure

Tourism plays an important rôle in Reddighausen, which is a state-recognized resort with a comprehensive network of hiking trails. There is also a combination woodlore and bird-protection path in Hatzfeld (main town), and at the Sackpfeife are found a winter sport centre, and also a summer toboggan run.

In Lindenhof is a wildfowl haven run by the Naturschutzbund Deutschland, a non-governmental organization dedicated to nature conservation.

Churches
  • Evangelical-Lutheran Church

Literature
  • H. Reimer: Historisches Ortslexikon für Kurhessen; Marburg: Elwert, 1974; ISBN 3-7708-0509-7; S.304

References
  1. "Bevölkerungsstand am 31.12.2019". Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt (in German). July 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.