Niedenstein

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Niedenstein
Coat of arms Location
Coat of arms of Niedenstein
Niedenstein (Germany)
Niedenstein
Administration
Country Flag of Germany Germany
State Hesse
Admin. region Kassel
District Schwalm-Eder-Kreis
Town subdivisions 5 Ortsteile
Mayor Werner Lange (SPD)
Basic statistics
Area 30.61 km² (11.8 sq mi)
Elevation 337 m  (1106 ft)
Population 5,545  (31/12/2006)
 - Density 181 /km² (469 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate HR
Postal code 34305
Area codes 05624 / 05603
Website www.niedenstein.de

Coordinates: 51°14′00″N 09°19′00″E / 51.233333, 9.316667

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

Contents

[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:

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] References

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

[edit] External links