Niedenstein

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Coordinates: 51°14′N 9°19′E

Niedenstein
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Administrative region	Kassel
District	Schwalm-Eder-Kreis
Population	5,661 (31/12/2004)
Area	30.61 km²
Population density	185 /km²
Elevation	337 m
Coordinates	51°14′ N 9°19′ E
Postal code	34305
Area code	05624
Licence plate code	HR
Mayor	Werner Lange (SPD)
Website	Stadt Niedenstein

Niedenstein is a small town and an officially recognized climatic spa in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany.

Contents 1 Geography 1.1 Location 1.2 Neighbouring communities 1.3 Constituent communities 2 History 3 Politics 3.1 Town council 3.2 Town partnership 4 Culture and sightseeing 4.1 Museums 4.2 Buildings 4.3 Natural monuments 5 Personalities 6 Reference 7 External links

[edit] Geography

[edit] Location

Niedenstein's main town lies in the southeast of the Habichtswald Nature Park right on the western slope of the Langenberge, a low mountain range reaching 557 m. The nearest city is Kassel, about 15 km to the northeast.

[edit] Neighbouring communities

In the north, Niedenstein abuts Schauenburg, in the east beyond the Langenberge on Baunatal and Edermünde and in the southeast by its constituent community of Metze on Gudensberg. In the south, the constituent community of Kirchberg, through which flows the river Ems, borders on Fritzlar, whose main town lies about 11 km away from Niedenstein. In the west, Niedenstein borders on Bad Emstal.

[edit] Constituent communities

The town has five centres. Besides the main town, also called Niedenstein, there are Ermetheis, Metze (about 1000 inhabitants), Kirchberg (about 900 inhabitants) and Wichdorf.

[edit] History

Niedenstein Castle had its first documentary mention in 1254.

[edit] Politics

[edit] Town council

Niedenstein's town council is made up of 23 members.

• SPD 11 seats
• CDU 5 seats
• FWG (citizens' coalition) 5 seats
• Greens 2 seats

(as of municipal elections held on 26 March 2006)

[edit] Town partnership

Niedenstein maintains a partnership with one place:

• St. Germer de Fly, France

It lies about 80 km northwest of Paris in Picardy.

[edit] Culture and sightseeing

[edit] Museums

Niedenstein is home to the Heimatmuseum Kirchberg ("Kirchberg Homeland Museum")

[edit] Buildings

• Evangelical Village Church
• Altenburg; a settlement built up on a basalt crag, once a pre-Germanic castle village that was forsaken even before the Christian Era, making its earlier identification with the Chatti's capital Mattium unfounded. There are many archaeological finds on show from the Altenburg at the Hessian State Museum in Kassel.

[edit] Natural monuments

• Niedensteiner Kopf (475 m above sea level)
• Tanz- und Gerichtslinde ("Dance and Court Linden", on the way out of town to the west)

[edit] Personalities

• Jürgen Schweinebraden, Freiherr von Wichmann-Eichhorn, gallery owner and publisher

[edit] Reference

This article is based on a translation of an article from the German Wikipedia.

[edit] External links

• Kirchberg's homepage
• Heimatmuseum Kirchberg