Bad Sooden-Allendorf

Bad Sooden-Allendorfis aspa townin theWerra-Meißner-KreisinHesse,Germany.
The spa town of Bad Sooden-Allendorf lies in theWerravalley near theHoher Meißner, right on the boundary withThuringia, almost at Germany's geographical centre, 33 km east ofKassel.
Bad Sooden-Allendorf borders in the north on the communities ofLindewerra,WahlhausenandAsbach-Sickenberg, in the east on the communities ofWiesenfeldundVolkerode(all in Thuringia'sEichsfeld district), in the south on the community ofMeinhard, the town ofEschwegeand the community ofBerkatal, in the west on the town ofGroßalmerodeand in the northwest on the town ofWitzenhausen(all in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis).
Besides the main town, which is also called Bad Sooden-Allendorf, the town has nine otherStadtteilenamed Ahrenberg, Dudenrode, Ellershausen, Hilgershausen, Kammerbach, Kleinvach,Oberrieden, Orferode and Höfe-Weiden. The main town itself is divided into Sooden and Allendorf, the former of which is west of therailwaytracks.
The place has existed since at least the late 8th century. This is confirmed by one of theFrankishkingCharlemagne’s donation documents, which historians have dated to some time between 776 and 779. With this document, Charlemagne transferred the saltsprings, the saltpans, the saltworkers, the market, the tribute and the toll of the settlement ofWesterato theFulda Abbey. The settlement’s name refers to its location on the western border withThuringia, which still runs through here today.
In April 1637, during theThirty Years' War, the Geleen and Count Isolani Croatian regiments attacked the town, whereby the town was burnt almost right down. Even the two churches and the town hall were destroyed. The council estate – built wholly out of stone – withstood the great town fire, and still remains preserved today as the town’s oldest building.
For more than a thousand years, until the late 19th century,saltwas extracted frombrineat thesaltworksby boiling. The brine was brought up from a deposit under the town. The breaking of the salt monopoly in the wake of annexation byPrussiain 1866 led to a fall in price, which in turn led to the industry’s end. The last salt was produced in 1906.
Along with the downfall of the saltworks, however, came the discovery of the brine’s healing properties, and thus began the spa industry, with a bathhouse opening on 1 June 1881.
Still today, the time of saltmaking is remembered with theBrunnenfest(“Well Festival”) held yearly atWhitsun, when salt is extracted from brine by boiling in an historically authentic process to demonstrate how salt was produced. In a salt museum, the salt is then sold; presented there, as well, is the history of saltmaking.
At the turn of the millennium, thegraduation towerwas dismantled and completely rebuilt. In late 2005, a new bathhouse with a bigsaunaarea was finished, to lure privately paying guests to town. In April 2007, a new event hall for conventions and concerts was opened. Even the street layout was changed. Since that time there has been no more direct link between Sooden-Nord and Sooden-Süd. Traffic must turn off and take the bypass road through the industrial area. Furthermore, therailway stationis currently reduced to two tracks and is being modernized with the goal of establishing a direct link to Sooden. Through these measures the town hopes to work against the downturn in the spa operations by making the bathhouse and spa area easier to reach and making it into apedestrian precinct.
The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:
The town's mayor is Frank Hix (Party of CDU). He won the mayoral contest on 2 November 2008 between him and Thomas Giese (Party of SPD).
List of former mayors of Allendorf (up to the union with Sooden in 1929) and of Bad Sooden-Allendorf (from 1929):
The following list shows the names of the families of the 19th century - since about 1400 - the owner, almost "tenant" in the Mayor's Office in Allendort (it does not claim to be exhaustive, sorted alphabetically with no annual figures). They were the patricians, the City Council:
Brandt, Breul, Casselmann, Cörper/Corper, Deichmann, Diede, Dietz, Dörr, Eschstruht, Frohn, Gaule, Gehrung, Gille, Grau, Grebe, Grunewald, Gundlach, Haas, von Haagen, Hupfeld, Hüter, Iring, von Jossa, Isenhuth, Kirchmeyer, Klinkerfuß, Königsee, Kraft, Kröschell, Lappe, Lutemann, Marold, Mattenberg, Meinhard, Jost Motz (um 1620), Müller, Neuenroth, Niedenstein, Geißler Praesendt (um 1585), Prediger, Quentel, Ruland, Saame, Schaffnicht, Heinrich Schaub (um 1440), Schmidt, Schnödde, Stephan, Storm, Thaurer, Tholde, Thorey, Valentin, Vielmeder, Vietor, Wagner, Weber, Wehr, Wissenbach, Wolff
Bad Sooden-Allendorf maintains partnership arrangements with these towns:
Bad Sooden-Allendorf is nationally known for theErntedank- und Heimatfest(roughly “Thanksgiving and Homeland Festival”), which is celebrated each year through the third weekend in August (Friday to Tuesday). Above all, it is popular for its many traditions, having been celebrated for more than a hundred years with the same programme. The highlights are:
Every year in the week afterEaster, the traditionalMärchenwoche(“Fairytale Week”) is held in Bad Sooden-Allendorf. Many events such as “fairytale evenings” and theatrical productions bringfairy talesinto the world, framed by daily appearances by fairytale characters in the spa park. At the focus standsFrau Holle, who is said to have lived on the nearbyHoher Meißnerand to have daily shaken the featherbeds out in the historicSöder Tor(“Sooden Gate”)
Spanish friccois a traditional stew dish of Bad Sooden-Allendorf.
Bad Sooden-Allendorf offers with theprimary schoolAm Brunnen vor dem Tore(classes 1 to 4) and theRhenanusschule(classes 5 to 13) a full range of education without changing location or daily travel, something that can no longer be taken for granted in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis. Integrated into theRhenanusschuleis a sportGymnasiumwith adjoiningboarding school, which once produced famous sportsmen.
With a location of theBernd-Blindow-Schulen, the town has for some years also been auniversity town.