Stadtallendorf

Stadtallendorf

Coat of arms
Stadtallendorf

Coordinates: 50°50′N 09°01′E / 50.833°N 9.017°ECoordinates: 50°50′N 09°01′E / 50.833°N 9.017°E
Country Germany
State Hesse
Admin. region Gießen
District Marburg-Biedenkopf
Government
 • Mayor Christian Somogyi (SPD)
Area
 • Total 78.29 km2 (30.23 sq mi)
Population (2013-12-31)[1]
 • Total 20,763
 • Density 270/km2 (690/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 35260
Dialling codes 06428
Vehicle registration MR
Website www.stadtallendorf.de

Stadtallendorf is a town in the county of Marburg-Biedenkopf, Hesse, Germany. It lies about 18 km (11 miles) east of Marburg. In 2010, the town hosted the 50th Hessentag state festival.

Geography

Location

Under the German system of Naturräume, Stadtallendorf lies in the West Hesse Depression Zone (westhessische Senkenzone) which is divided into basins and ridges. With respect to these, the town lies on the Upper Hesse Ridge which separates the Amöneburg Basin in the west from the Schwalmbecken (another basin) in the east. On this ridge may also be found the Neustädter Sattel ("Neustadt Saddle"), abutted by the town's northeast edge. This upland is part of the divide between the Rhine and Weser watersheds.

Neighbouring communities

Stadtallendorf borders in the north on the town of Rauschenberg (Marburg-Biedenkopf) and the community of Gilserberg (Schwalm-Eder-Kreis), in the east on the town of Neustadt, in the southeast on the town of Kirtorf, in the south on the town of Homberg (Ohm) (both in the Vogelsbergkreis), and in the west on the towns of Amöneburg and Kirchhain (both in Marburg-Biedenkopf).

Constituent communities (Ortsteile)

History

Stadtallendorf was given city rights in 1960; it had been known until then simply as Allendorf.

During World War II, Stadtallendorf was a secret munitions centre. The armament firms WASAG AG and DAG produced munitions and explosives in two separate large facilities located in the woods nearby. At the time, it was one of the largest of all munitions production centres in Europe. The Munition centre continued throughout the war without being detected by the Allies.[2] Labor was provided by both German and foreign forced laborers, including prisoners of war and concentration camp inmates, housed in about a dozen camps in the surrounding area.

The 6 square kilometre premises where the wartime arms works were built were said to be one of Germany's biggest contaminated former industrial sites, in parts with high concentrations of chemical contaminants on residential properties. Since 1991, the premises have undergone a far-reaching cleanup; in March 2006, the job was officially declared done. According to information from the Hesse Environment Ministry, the cleanup cost € 167 million. 154 tonnes of contaminants were dug out of the ground, 697 tonnes were dug out of a dump, and 3 tonnes of TNT – still capable of exploding – were unearthed.

Politics

Town council

As of the last municipal elections held on 27 March 2011, town council seats are apportioned thus:

Parties and voting blocks %
2011		 Seats
2011		 %
2006		 Seats
2006
CDU Christian Democratic Union 45.1 17 47.4 18
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany 32.9 12 32.4 12
GRÜNE Alliance '90/The Greens 10.2 4 – –
FDP Free Democratic Party 6.3 2 – –
REP The Republicans 5.6 2 7.1 3
AGS Association for municipal politics – – 6.7 2
BB-F.D.P. Local block - F.D.P. – – 6.4 2
Total 100 37 100 37
Voter turnout in % 41.6 41.9

Coat of arms

Stadtallendorf's civic coat of arms might be described thus: In azure, dexter a bear rampant sinister Or armed gules and langued Or, sinister a lion rampant striped per fess nine times in gules and argent (the Lion of Hesse), langued gules and armed Or, both holding a six-spoked wheel argent (the Wheel of Mainz).

The Hessian lion and the Wheel of Mainz stand for the town's old allegiances. Until secularization, Stadtallendorf belonged to the Archbishopric of Mainz, and thereafter to Hesse. The bear is a reference to an old name for the town, Allendorf im Bärenschießen, once used to distinguish the town from other places called Allendorf, and now needless thanks to the town's newer name. The arms have been kept even as other communities have been amalgamated with the old Allendorf as part of Hesse's municipal reforms.

Town partnerships

Stadtallendorf maintains partnerships with the following towns:

Transport

Stadtallendorf station is served at hourly intervals by the Mittelhessen-Express (SE 30).

Economy

The town is economically successful, as large factories such as Ferrero oHG mbH (confectionery), Fritz Winter GmbH & Co. KG (engine foundry), Hoppe AG (grip manufacturing), and others have chosen to build here. The town's transport connections are by road to the Federal Highways (Bundesstraßen) B 454 and B 62, and by rail to the railway station on the Main-Weser line. An extension to Bundesautobahn 49 is currently being discussed, but there have been ecological questions about the wisdom of such an undertaking: the Herrenwald (masters' woods) is home to the Great Crested Newt, which is on the list of protected species.

In an area of 78.3 km² live approx. 21,600 inhabitants, 16,900 of those in the main centre, whose population is about 25% foreign.

Population

(in each case as of 31 December)

Pictures of Stadtallendorf and its outlying centres

References

  1. ↑ "Die Bevölkerung der hessischen Gemeinden". Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt (in German). September 2014.
  2. ↑ This, however, contradicts the statement by former French political prisoner and Nazi slave labourer Agnes Humbert in her book Resistance (Dutch version, p. 239, footnote:"After my liberation, I heard that the camp of Allendorf was totally evacuated and destroyed by air-bombardments. A former female guard whom I interrogated, assured me that there were no gas-chambers nor ovens there, but she admitted that the (nazi-)administration was horrible in all respects." note by drs. Carles Wolterman, Amstelveen, the Netherlands)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stadtallendorf.