Melsungen


Melsungen is a small climatic spa town in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany. In 1987, the town hosted the 27th Hessentag state festival.

Geography

Melsungen lies on the river Fulda in the North Hesse Highlands. The streams Pfieffe and Kehrenbach, flow into the Fulda in the town. A few kilometres downstream, the river Eder flows into the Fulda.

Location

The nearest large towns are Kassel and Bad Hersfeld.

Constituent communities

Melsungen consists of several smaller communities. Besides the main community, there are seven other communities: Adelshausen, Günsterode, Kehrenbach, Kirchhof, Obermelsungen, Röhrenfurth, and Schwarzenberg.

History

Historical records of the town date from 802, but it was likely settled much earlier, during the Hallstatt period.

Middle Ages

Melsungen had developed into a small town by 1189. The town's coat of arms also originated at this time.
In the course of its history, Melsungen often changed hands. The fiercest fighting over the town was between the Archbishops of Mainz and the Landgraves of Hesse and Thuringia.
Melsungen gained significance due to its location at the intersection of three medieval trade routes: the Sälzerweg, which runs east–west; the Nürnberger Straße, which runs north–south; and Durch die langen Hessen.

Modern Age

In 1554, a fire destroyed parts of the heart of town. In 1637, during the Thirty Years' War, the constituent community of Günsterode was laid waste.
From 1821 to 1974, Melsungen served as an administrative center and independent district seat, until the Melsungen district merged with the neighboring Fritzlar-Homberg and Ziegenhain districts.
The town's approximately 14,000 residents refer to themselves as Bartenwetzer.

Coat of arms

The origins of the old seal and the current civic coat of arms date back to the late 12th century. Heraldically, the arms can be described as follows: on a blue background, a town gate and tower in silver with a red roof topped by two gold finials, flanked by silver crenellated town walls.
The official description of the town's blazon specifies the roof as "tile-red" rather than "gules". The arms have been in use since 1577.

Politics

Town council consists of 37 members. Following the municipal elections held on 14 March 2021, the seats were apportioned thus:
The town executive consists of six councilors and the mayor. Three of these seats are held by the SPD, and one each by FDP, CDU, GRÜNE & FWG each.
List of elected mayors:
  • 1998–2004: Karl-Heinz Dietzel
  • 2004–2013: Dieter Runzheimer
  • 2013–2025: Markus Boucsein
  • 2025–incumbent: Timo Riedemann

    Places of interest

  • Fachwerkstadt
  • Town Hall, with Axe Whetter in the tower
  • Schloss with garden
  • Marketplace
  • Bartenwetzerbrücke
  • Gothic town church
  • Hospitalskapelle St. Georg
  • Eulenturm
  • Zweipfenningsbrücke
  • Stirling-Bau

    Sport

  • MT Melsungen
  • Melsunger Fußballverein 08

    Culture

Regular events

  • Melsunger Weinfest
  • Melsunger Kabarett-Wettbewerb
  • Bad Liebenstein-Stafette

    Culinary specialities

  • Ahle Wurst, a kind of Hessian hard pork sausage. Its name is a dialectal form of alte Wurst – "old sausage".

    Transportation

The town lies on Autobahn A 7. Federal Highway B 83 runs through Melsungen and Bundesstraßen B 253 and B 487 both begin here.
Melsungen lies on the Kassel—Bebra—Fulda railway line and belongs to the North Hesse Transport Network. In May 2006 the RegioTram line RT5 began. It directly connects Melsungen with downtown Kassel. The line ends at present where the Melsungen-Süd return loop is still not finished. Further stations are being built at Melsungen-Schwarzenberg und Melsungen-Bartenwetzerbrücke.

Economy

Melsungen is home to the firm of B. Braun Melsungen, which has a €3,500,000,000 yearly turnover, and about 35,100 employees worldwide.

Notable people

Melsungen has partnerships with the following towns:
There is also a "friendship" with the Berlin community of Spandau.