Waldkappel

Waldkappel is a small town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis district in northern Hesse, Germany.

Waldkappel
Town
Coat of arms
Location of Waldkappel within Werra-Meißner-Kreis district
Waldkappel
Waldkappel
Coordinates: 51°09′N 09°53′E
CountryGermany
StateHesse
Admin. regionKassel
DistrictWerra-Meißner-Kreis
Government
 • Mayor (2020–26) Frank Koch[1] (SPD)
Area
 • Total96.48 km2 (37.25 sq mi)
Elevation
257 m (843 ft)
Population
 (2020-12-31)[2]
 • Total4,228
 • Density44/km2 (110/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal codes
37284
Dialling codes05656
Vehicle registrationESW
Websitewww.waldkappel.de

Geography

Location

Waldkappel is located between Hessisch Lichtenau in the west and Eschwege in the east in the North Hesse Upland between the Meißner-Kaufunger Wald Nature Park neighbouring it to the north and the Stölzinger Gebirge (range) in the south, in the Wehre valley.

Neighbouring communities

Waldkappel borders in the north on the community of Meißner, in the east on the community of Wehretal, in the south on the town of Sontra (all three in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis), in the southwest on the community of Cornberg and the town of Rotenburg an der Fulda (both in Hersfeld-Rotenburg) and in the west on the towns of Spangenberg (in the Schwalm-Eder-Kreis) and Hessisch Lichtenau (in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis).

Constituent communities

Waldkappel consists of 15 districts (Ger.: Stadtteile), namely its administrative centre Waldkappel as well as Bischhausen, Burghofen, Eltmannsee, Friemen, Gehau, Harmuthsachsen, Hasselbach, Hetzerode, Kirchhosbach, Mäckelsdorf, Rechtebach, Rodebach, Schemmern and Stolzhausen.

History
Waldkappel – extract from the Topographia Hassiae by Matthäus Merian 1655

Waldkappel was first officially mentioned in 1226 and was granted town rights in 1414.

The town experienced its economic heyday in the Late Middle Ages from lying on the old trade road durch die langen Hessen, which ran from the Wetterau to Thuringia and on to Leipzig. Bearing witness to the town’s earlier, wealthier times is a Late Gothic church standing in the middle of the community.

The Thirty Years' War put an abrupt end to Waldkappel’s prosperity; the town could never again reach its former importance.

In the course of municipal reform, the communities of Waldkappel, Bischhausen, Burghofen, Friemen, Gehau, Kirchhosbach, Mäckelsdorf, Rechtebach, Rodebach and Schemmern from the former Eschwege district merged. They were joined by Harmuthsachsen and Hasselbach from the former Witzenhausen district, as well as by Stolzhausen from the Melsungen district. In 1974, the greater community reached its full extent with the amalgamation of Eltmannsee and Hetzerode.

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
CDU Christian Democratic Union of Germany 32.2 7 24.9 8
SPD Social Democratic Party of Germany 51.4 12 49.7 15
ÜWG Überparteiliche Wählergemeinschaft 11.9 3 18.6 6
GAL Grün-Alternative-Liste Waldkappel 4.5 1 – –
GREENS Bündnis 90/Die Grünen – – 6.8 2
Total 100.0 23 100.0 31
Voter turnout in % 58.1 63.4

Town partnerships

Economy and infrastructure

Transport

Through Waldkappel runs Bundesstraße 7. The Autobahn A 44 (Kassel–Eisenach) is under construction.

Famous people
  • Peter Griess (1829–1888), industrial chemist, born in Kirchhosbach
  • Christian Schütz (1526–1592), Evangelical theologian

References
  1. Direkt gewählte (Ober-) Bürgermeister/-innen der hessischen Städte und Gemeinden, accessed 7 July 2021.
  2. "Bevölkerung in Hessen am 31.12.2020 nach Gemeinden". Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt (in German). June 2021.
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