Borken, Hesse

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Borken
Coat of arms Location
Coat of arms of Borken
Borken, Hesse (Germany)
Borken, Hesse
Administration
Country Flag of Germany Germany
State Hesse
Admin. region Kassel
District Schwalm-Eder-Kreis
Town subdivisions 14 Stadtteile
Mayor Bernd Heßler (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area 82.3 km² (31.8 sq mi)
Elevation 205 m  (673 ft)
Population 13,388  (31/12/2006)
 - Density 163 /km² (421 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate HR
Postal code 34582
Area code 05682
Website www.borken-hessen.de

Coordinates: 51°02′00″N 09°16′00″E / 51.033333, 9.266667

Borken is a small town with about 13,000 inhabitants in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany.

The town is a former centre for brown coal mining and coal-fired electrical generation in Hesse. The coalmine, unlike those in other regions, also had underground workings. After a major disaster – namely a coal dust explosion – the mine was shut down on 1 June 1988.

Since that time, the former coalpits have been redeveloped into recreation areas with lakes, nature areas – some actually protected by law – and sporting grounds. Among these areas are der Borkener See (Borken Lake) with its nature reserve, der Singliser See (Singlis Lake) with windsurfing, and die Stockelache ("Stagnant Puddle"), used as a bathing lake.

One particular attraction in Borken is the Hessian Brown Coal Mining Museum (Hessisches Braunkohle Bergbaumuseum) which displays the town's coalmining tradition. Since 2003, an open-air museum, where visitors may learn about "coal and energy", has also been open. The museum is also affiliated with a nature conservation information centre for the Borkener See.

Borken's best known landmark is its watertower.

Contents

[edit] Mining in Borken and its consequences

[edit] Borken brown coal mining area

In the Borken region in the 20th century, the most important brown coal deposit in Hesse was mined and used at a thermal power plant to generate electricity. With the end of the coal stocks, the Stolzenbach mine disaster in 1988 and the Borken Power Plant shutdown on 15 March 1991, this epoch in the region's history, which had lastingly shaped the economy, the landscape and the people, came to an end. Since then, the brown coal mining area has found itself the subject of a restructuring process by a service company.

In the 21st century, the "Borkener Seenland" ("Borken Lakeland") and the Hessian Brown Coal Mining Museum turned the landmarks and the legacy, as well as the coalmining and power plant era into a leisure and museum area.

[edit] Borkener Seenland

The "Stockelache Nature Bathing Lake", the Singlis surfing lake and the Borkener See nature reserve use the old coalmining lands for tourism with a broad choice of activities ranging from bathing, swimming and diving to beach volleyball, windsurfing and Aqua-Golf, to recreation, hiking, and nature watching.

[edit] Hessian Brown Coal Mining Museum

The Hessian Brown Coal Mining Museum, founded in 1992, presents under the theme of "Discover industrial culture – experience landscape change" many exhibits from coalmining and electrical generation, whose workings are demonstrated for visitors. These exhibits include the underground and above-ground mining of the raw material, brown coal, its use, and the conversion of the former mining lands as the centrepiece.

The visitor may choose from among four museum areas:

  • In the 3.5 ha experience-oriented "Coal & Energy" theme park, rattling excavators, humming turbines and smoking power station kettles show how coal was mined from the pits, and how it was used for energy.
  • A reconstructed gallery displays the miners' work and everyday lives, and shows through original equipment the change in mining procedures.
  • A permanent exhibition presents the 400-year history of Hessian brown coal mining.
  • The "Borkener See" nature conservation information centre explains how "second-hand" landscapes are fashioned from former strip mining areas.

The visitors' mine and the "mining history" exhibit are housed in Borken's oldest building, "Am Amtsgericht" – built in 1473 – in the Old Town. The "Coal & Energy" theme park and the adjoining "Borkener See" nature conservation information centre are found Am Freilichtmuseum ("At the Open-Air Museum") before the town's gates.

The Borken power plant building, which still stands today is protected as a monument. It was built in 1922-1923 by the famous industrial architects Werner Issel and Walter Klingenberg.

[edit] Town partnerships

[edit] Coat of arms

Borken's civic coat of arms might heraldically be described thus: In argent a lion rampant gules, armed Or and langued gules, within, a six-pointed star argent.

The arms were granted in their present form in 1951 after a series of different arms that all featured the lion, the oldest known of which dates from the late 14th century. Later, the lion in the town's arms was the red-and-silver-striped Lion of Hesse (which also appears in Hesse's arms and a great number of civic arms throughout Hesse). Other arms showed a red or blue lion. The star is a mediaeval symbol used by the Counts of Ziegenhain who held sway in the area in the early Middle Ages.[1]

[edit] Constituent communities

[edit] Arnsbach

Arnsbach has about 600 inhabitants. It lies near the Stockelache bathing lake. On the northeastern foot of the Altenburg (castle) lies the early settlement of Blankenhain. East of Arnsbach was the first brown coal strip mine in the Borken area.

[edit] Borken (main town)

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[edit] Dillich

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[edit] Freudenthal

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[edit] Gombeth

Gombeth had its first documentary mention in 857 as "Gumbetta die Marka". Once an independent community, it has now been amalgamated with Borken. Gombeth is surrounded on all sides by brown coal mines, being found to the south, towards Singlis (nowadays the windsurfing lake), and towards Borken. The pit east of Gombeth was filled in by PreussenElektra as part of the renaturation programme.

[edit] Großenenglis

The formerly independent community of Großenenglis has been since its amalgamation with Borken in 1974 with its population then of 1,190 the northernmost and largest by land area (988 ha) of Borken's constituent communities.

[edit] History

Großenenglis's first documentary mention came in 775 under the name "Angelgise" in the Breviarium sancti Lulli, the Hersfeld Abbey Goods Directory. In 1125, the village was known as "Engilgis", and in 1225 as "Engilgis major", thereby distinguishing it from the neighbouring village of Kleinenglis.

In 1951, a southern neighbourhood, with 34 households, had to make way for the "Altenburg II" brown coal mine. A new settlement was built in the upper village.

With a celebratory programme from 31 May to 4 June 2000, and the publication of a book, the town marked the 1,225th anniversary of its first documentary mention.

In Großenenglis, the theologian Marianne Hartung, née Pisch, was born and grew up. Her main work, "Angst und Schuld in Tiefenpsychologie und Theologie " ("Fear and Guilt in Depth Psychology and Theology"), came out in 1979.

[edit] Historic buildings

  • Church tower "Warte auf der Landwehr" (built 1431)
  • Amtshaus (Sternstraße, built 1686)
  • Rittergut Handt (stately house, built 1505 - 1515)
  • Rittergut Kalbsburg (about 2 km north of town) with "Hohenenglis" tower and villa (built 1911 - 1913)

[edit] Haarhausen

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[edit] Kerstenhausen

Kerstenhausen
Kerstenhausen

Kerstenhausen has about 600 inhabitants. It owes its first documentary mention not to any systematic historic record, but to a document from the year 1044, in which it is named as Christinehysen. The document, issued in Gandersheim can today be found in the State Archive in Lucerne. In 1344, the Margarethenkirche (St. Margaret's Church), which belonged to the village, had its first documentary mention. Kleinkerstenhausen lay to one side of the road that today runs between Arnsbach and Kerstenhausen. Through the course of the centuries, Kleinkerstenhausen shrank into a single yard, and in 1578, it had its last documentary mention, at least as a living community. The Margarethenkirche fell into ruins.

[edit] Kleinenglis

Kleinenglis has about 1300 inhabitants, and over the years it has become Borken's biggest community.

[edit] Sightseeing

A memorial of significance to the nation's history is the Kaiserkreuz ("Emperor's Cross"). Here on 5 June 1400, Duke Friedrich of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel was murdered. The inscription on the cross itself, written in Gothic minuscule, has never been interpreted beyond doubt, despite many attempts over the ages.

A further cultural monument is the St. Michael Kirche (church) on Hundsburgstraße with its late Gothic wall paintings from the 15th to 16th century.

[edit] Lendorf

Lendorf has about 400 inhabitants.

[edit] Nassenerfurth

Nassenerfurth is a small livable village with good infrastructure. Nassenerfurth had its first documentary mention in 1040. There is a Wasserschloss (stately home with a moat) as well as a church from the 15th century. The population is about 630.

[edit] Pfaffenhausen

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[edit] Singlis

Singlis has about 880 inhabitants.

[edit] History

Where the river Gilsbach, coming from Pfaffenhausen, empties into the Schwalm lies Singlis, an ancient settlement whose roots reach back to the early Stone Age. Singlis's first documentary mention came, as did Großenenglis's, in 775 in the Breviarium sancti Lulli. In the centuries that followed, the noble family of von Züschen did especially well, amassing quite a bit of wealth. In 1265, the family sold their holdings in Singlis together with everything on the lands, including the mill and the court in Singlis and Nordwig to the monastery at Haina. The monastery built their new domain with about 55 morgen of land into one of its most important farms. As a result of the Reformation and the monastery's consequent dissolution, its farm in Singlis, along with its income, was assigned to the University of Marburg. The farm was put in a landgravial reeve's care and was called the Universitäts-Vogtei Singlis ("Singlis University Reeveship"). In the middle of the 19th century, the farm was sold and later, the parts were sold off to various farmers in Singlis. The village belonged in 1578 to the Amt of Borken and at the time had about 52 households. After the general drop in population in this part of the world due to the Thirty Years' War, it was not until the early 19th century that the population once again reached its former level. Today, Singlis has 909 inhabitants. The church's current location was presumably the centre of settlement in the early Middle Ages. The land there is roughly 2 m higher than that around it, keeping it well above most floodwater. A church was first mentioned in 1265 when the von Züschens sold the monastery their landholdings. The church that stands today was built between 1700 and 1710 as a simple hall and has since been thoroughly renovated several times, the latest work having been done in 1971. Since then, the bell tower has stood to the north next to the church. Singlis has been since the Reformation the seat of a parish and has an affiliated church in Lendorf.

Singlis's Schwalmmühle – Mill on the Schwalm – was first mentioned in 1266. At that time it lay right on the Schwalm, that is to say, right where the river Gilsbach joins it today. Only in 1508 was a millstream dug and the mill moved to the place where it still stands now. From that time until 1977, the mill was owned by the Wagner and Nöll families. In 1807, the writer Ernst Koch was born in Singlis. PreussenElektra, as the new owner, shut the mill down, at least as a grist mill, but to this day they still use it to generate electricity, which is fed into the grid. The 503-hectare rural area was also affected by brown coal strip mining from 1960 to 1972. The former strip mine with the name "Singlis" lay just west of the village and is nowadays a 70-hectare pond.

[edit] Stolzenbach

Stolzenbach has 123 inhabitants. The Stolzenbach Pit mined brown coal beginning in 1956. On 1 June 1988, 51 miners were killed in a coal dust explosion there. The now abandoned coal pit is an important site for palaeontological finds, notably of the turtle species Palaeoemys hessiaca and Borkenia oschkinisi, the former named after Hesse, and the latter after Borken.

[edit] Trockenerfurth

Trockenerfurth has 967 inhabitants (as of March 2004).

[edit] Sons of the town

  • Wilhelm Christoph Friedrich Arnold (1826-1883), cultural historian
  • Hans Wittich (1911-1984), mathematician
  • Ernst Koch (1807-1858), writer and jurist
  • Johann von Geyso (1593-1661), general

[edit] Others connected with the town

  • Karl von Schönhals (1788-1857), Austrian general

[edit] Schools

[edit] References

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

[edit] External links

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Towns and municipalities in the district of Schwalm-Eder
Schwalm-Eder district's coat of arms