Hessisch Lichtenau

Hessisch Lichtenau

Coat of arms
Hessisch Lichtenau

Coordinates: 51°12′N 9°43′E / 51.200°N 9.717°E / 51.200; 9.717Coordinates: 51°12′N 9°43′E / 51.200°N 9.717°E / 51.200; 9.717
Country Germany
State Hesse
Admin. region Kassel
District Werra-Meißner-Kreis
Government
 • Mayor Jürgen Herwig (SPD)
Area
 • Total 105.87 km2 (40.88 sq mi)
Population (2015-12-31)[1]
 • Total 12,100
 • Density 110/km2 (300/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 37230–37235
Dialling codes 05602
Vehicle registration ESW
Website www.hessisch-lichtenau.de

Hessisch Lichtenau is a small town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in eastern Hesse, Germany. In 2006, the town hosted the 46th Hessentag state festival.

Geography

Location

Hessisch Lichtenau lies in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis 20 km southeast of Kassel between the Kaufunger Wald in the north, the Hoher Meißner (753.6 m above sea level) in the east, the Stölzinger Gebirge with the Eisberg (583 m) in the southeast and the Söhre in the south. The main town lies on the river Losse.

Neighbouring communities

Hessisch Lichtenau borders in the northeast on Berkatal and Großalmerode, in the east on Meißner and Waldkappel, in the south on Spangenberg, in the west on Söhrewald and in the northwest on Helsa.

Constituent communities

Hessisch Lichtenau’s Stadtteile are Friedrichsbrück, Fürstenhagen, Hausen, Hirschhagen, Hollstein, Hopfelde, Küchen, Quentel, Reichenbach, Retterode, Velmeden, Walburg and Wickersrode

Stone with Hessisch Lichtenau’s coat of arms

Politics

Town council

The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:

Parties and voter communities %
2006		 Seats
2006		 %
2001		 Seats
2001
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany 53.7 20 51.6 19
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany 31.6 12 29.3 11
FDP Free Democratic Party 2.0 1 3.2 1
FWG Freie Wählergemeinschaft Hessisch Lichtenau 8.3 3 9.8 4
ALH Alternative Liste Heli 4.4 1 6.2 2
Total 100.0 37 100.0 37
Voter turnout in % 47.4 53.8

Heading the town council is Franz-Josef Lewe.

Mayor

Since February 2000, Jürgen Herwig (SPD) has been the directly elected, full-time mayor. He was reëlected on 6 November 2005 with 64.4% of the vote, beating his opponent Michael Heußner (CDU).

Culture and sightseeing

Buildings

Building complex of the Jérôme Henri Lenoir Foundation (former orphanages)

In the constituent community of Fürstenhagen: Building complex of the Jérôme Henri Lenoir Foundation (former orphanages), Pestalozzi memorial, Mausoleum of the family Lenoir, lying on a hill at a pond (architect: Julius Eubell; built 1903), endowed in 1893 by George André Lenoir (1825–1909), J. H. Lenoir’s son and honorary citizen of Kassel. Also, the neighbouring agricultural operation originally belonged to the Lenoir Foundation.

In the constituent community of Reichenbach: Kirche der Deutschordensballei Hessen (“Church of the Teutonic Knights’ Bailiwick of Hesse”), formerly the Reichenbach Monastery Church, the Teutonic Knights’ oldest establishment in Germany. West of Reichenbach are found the ruins of Reichenbach Castle on the 522 m-high Schlossberg.

Sport and leisure

Natural monuments

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Tram line 4 (towards Mattenberg) runs directly into downtown Kassel every 30 minutes on weekdays and every 15 minutes at peak times. On Sundays, service is hourly.

Near the constituent community of Reichenbach is found the aviation beacon LAU on an international air corridor.

Established businesses

Education

Schooling is to be had at Freiherr-vom-Stein-Schule, a comprehensive school with a Gymnasium upper level.

Famous people

Sons and daughters of the town

References

  1. ↑ "Bevölkerung der hessischen Gemeinden". Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt (in German). August 2016.
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