Bad Wildungen: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 38 - 72 Isabel
 Hotel Isabel is in the spa town of Bad Wildungen, just 1 km from the Old Town. It offers free Wi-Fi, free parking, and bright rooms with cable TV.
A … MoreEUR 49 - 152 Maritim Badehotel Bad Wildungen
 This 4-star hotel in the spa town of Bad Wildungen offers elegant rooms and excellent wellness facilities amid the beautiful green landscapes of Europ… MoreEUR 29 - 59 Villa Goldbach
 This historic villa offers free Wi-Fi, free private parking and free hot drinks. Villa Goldbach lies on the main spa promenade in the centre of Bad Wi… MoreEUR 32 - 85 Hotel Wildunger Hof
 The Hotel Wildunger Hof is located opposite the spa gardens, just a short stroll from the health resort and the resort head quarters in Bad Wildungen.… MoreEUR 29 - 82 Hotel Café Schwarze
 Set amid beautiful green landscapes in the spa town of Bad Wildungen, this charming hotel offers comfortable accommodation, a delightful café and a r… MoreEUR 82 - 160 Göbel`s Hotel Quellenhof
 Located in Bad Wildungen, the historical town of Northern Hesse, this hotel offers comfortable rooms and attentive service.
Our new and dream-like sp… MoreEUR 33 - 66 Gästehaus Sanssouci
 This family-run guest house enjoys a tranquil location just outside the Hessian spa town of Bad Wildungen, a 5-minute walk away from the spa centre an… MoreEUR 35 - 76 Hotel Birkenstern
 This traditional, privately run hotel invites into its bright, welcoming rooms. Centrally located in the town of Bad Wildungen, it lies between the s… MoreEUR 40 - 80 Fennels Aktivhotel
 Situated amid the beautiful scenery of Europe´s largest spa gardens, this charming guesthouse awaits you with an intimate atmosphere.
Your rela… More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bad Wildungen: Guide
Bad Wildungen is a state-run spa and a small town in Waldeck-Frankenberg district in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Location
Bad Wildungen lies in the eastern foothills of the reservoir lying only about 10 km northwest (in a straight line) of the main town of Bad Wildungen. The river Urff flows through the southwest constituent communities of Hundsdorf, Armsfeld and Bergfreiheit.
The nearest large towns are Kassel (about 35 km; northeast), Marburg (about 60 km; southwest) and Korbach (about 28 km; northwest).
Neighbouring communities
Bad Wildungen borders in the north on the community of Edertal (Waldeck-Frankenberg), in the east on the town of Fritzlar, in the southeast on the town of Bad Zwesten (both in the Schwalm-Eder-Kreis), in the south on the community of Haina, and in the west on the town of Frankenau (both in Waldeck-Frankenberg).
Constituent communities
Besides the main town, which bears the same name as the whole, the town of Bad Wildungen consists of the centres of Albertshausen, Armsfeld, Bergfreiheit, Braunau, Frebershausen, Hüddingen, Hundsdorf, Mandern, Odershausen, Reinhardshausen and Wega.
History
Bad Wildungen's first documentary mention came about 800 from the Hersfeld Monastery's goods directory under the name "villa Wildungun". This place lay in the Wilde Valley, east of today's main town. About 1200, a Waldeck). In 1358, the two Wildungen towns were mentioned.
In 1906, the town of Nieder-Wildungen was given the new name Bad Wildungen. In 1940, Bad Wildungen was given the title of "Preußisches Staatsbad" ("Prussian State Bath")
Witch trials
In the time when alleged witches were persecuted, 78 people in Bad Wildungen fell victim to witch trials. At the time, Wildungen had 1200 inhabitants. The persecution came in waves of trials: 1532, 1629 to 1631 and 1650 to 1664.
1532 First witch trial against Gertraud Muck
1630 Maria Rörig steadfastly withstood torture from September 1630 to May 1631: "Dear God received her in prison, to Him she would remain faithful, she is innocent like Jesus Christ." Count Christian ordered her release.
The town executive consists of the mayor and ten town councillors. Four of these seats are held by the CDU, three by the SPD and one each by the FDP, the FWG and the Greens.
Bad Wildungen's earliest known town seal was quite different, dating from 1258 and showing the Count of Thuringia – then the local overlord – astride a steed and kitted out as a knight. The current charge, which is the star of Waldeck, is first known to have appeared in 1262. Some later seals also show a woman in the foot of the shield. The arms appeared with or without the woman over the centuries. In the 18th century, the colours were reversed – the arms were originally "In Or an eight-pointed star sable" – to distinguish the town's arms from Waldeck's.
Interested visitors should also have a look at the "Living Museum" in Odershausen, the Lapidarium (mineral display in Schloss Friedrichstein's basement vault) and the "Galerie am Kump" in Albertshausen.
There is a weekly country market in Bad Wildungen. Furthermore, there is a regularly held jazz festival in June, and mid-July brings Kram- und Viehmarkt – a fair with household goods and cattle markets. December is the time for a Christmas market. In September, there is either a samba festival or a flower parade.
Also, the Bilstein Cliffs near Reizenhagen tempt climbers. Bad Wildungen's local mountain, the 518 m-high Homberg, affords the visitor an outstanding panoramic view.
Das Paradies ("The Paradise") near Albertshausen is not simply called this; hikers will also find this unique forest towards Gellershausen and Kleinern to be something of a paradisiacal treasure.
The 167 km-long Kellerwaldsteig, awarded with the distinction of one of Germany's three finest hiking trails, begins and ends in Bad Wildungen.
In the former Hutewald (forest used for grazing) of Halloh in Albertshausen is a centuries-old beech forest.
football (soccer)|football and handball associations.
As is true more or less throughout northern Hesse, the so-called "Ahle Worscht" is an ever popular dish. The name is Hessian dialect for alte Wurst – "old sausage".
is, however, slowly developing itself into an educational centre. The Holzfachschule, the clinics' nursing schools, the Bringmann Academy, the Bildungszentrum Handel und Dienstleistungen e.V. (Handel Education Centre and Services) and the Berufsakademie Nordhessen (North Hesse Professional Academy) support this endeavour.
The regional daily newspapers are the Waldeckische Landeszeitung and the ''Waldeckische
Wildungen is a therapeutic spa with springs that bring forth water containing iron,
magnesium and carbonic acid ("sparkling" or "carbonated").
In Bad Wildungen, alongside several primary schools are a school for students with learning
through the Hans-Viessmann-Schule.
The Berufsakademie Bad Wildungen offers the choice of a dual course of study alternating
Renate Blume (born 3 May 1944 in Bad Wildungen), German actress
The Wildunger Kurmuseum lists the town's many doctors, some of whom have become world-famous.
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikipedia article "Bad Wildungen". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
1575 - 1578 Persecution of "witches"
1629 Onset of a period of unheard-of persecution: 29 victims up to 1632.
1650 - 1664 a further 38 victims
1656 Trial against Susanne Weber (Maria Rörig's daughter): "Her husband asks that the trial be sped up owing to the costs." Amalgamations
The neighbouring communities of Alt-Wildungen, Reitzenhagen and Reinhardshausen were amalgamated in 1940. As part of municipal reform, the same was done in 1971 with Albertshausen, Armsfeld, Bergfreiheit, Braunau, Frebershausen, Hüddingen, Hundsdorf, Mandern, Odershausen and Wega. Politics
Town council
The town council's 38 seats are apportioned thus, in accordance with municipal elections held on 26 March 2006:
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Note: FWG is a citizens' coalition. Mayors
At the mayoral election in 2006, the FDP's Volker Zimmermann was elected Bad Wildungen's new mayor with a 58% share of the vote in a run-off. He takes over as mayor from his predecessor Reinhard Grieneisen (CDU) on 1 September 2006. Coat of arms
Bad Wildungen's civic coat of arms might heraldically be described thus: In sable an eight-pointed star Or. Town partnerships
Bad Wildungen maintains partnership links with the following:
Saffron Walden, Essex, United Kingdom since 1986,
Yichun, Heilongjiang|Yichun, Heilongjiang, People's Republic of China|China since 1988
Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, département of Savoie in France since 1990. Culture and sightseeing
Museums
Much that there is to know about the region lies waiting to be discovered in the Kurmuseum ("Spa Museum"), the Heimatmuseum (local history museum), the Museum for Military and Hunting History of the Kassel State Museums (Museum für Militär und Jagdgeschichte der Staatlichen Museen Kassel) at Schloss Friedrichstein (a stately home – see below) and the museum at the former mining office and Bertsch visitors' mine. Theatre
Theatric productions are performed at the Kurhaus Bad Wildungen (Bad Wildungen Spa House). Music
Music can be experienced, among other ways, by attending a chamber concert at Schloss Friedrichstein, or going to the Wildungen Music Workshop (Wildunger Musik-Werkstatt), a generation-spanning choir. Furthermore, European classical music|classical, jazz, samba and Folk music|folk concerts or festivals regularly take place at the Kurhaus and the Schloss. Other events
In 2006, the third Hessian State Garden Show takes place in the town. Buildings
Above Bad Wildungen stands a Baroque stately home, Schloss Friedrichstein, which was planned by Count Josias II in 1660 and completed between 1707 and 1714 by Prince Friedrich Anton Ulrich zu Waldeck. In the centre stands a late Gothic architecture|Gothic Evangelical Church in Germany|Evangelical town church from the 14th century. Inside is a winged altar by Konrad von Soest (with Germany's oldest depiction of eyeglasses). Furthermore, standing in the town centre and along the Brunnenallee are many villas from the founders' times. In the Fürstenhof, a Baroque building like a stately home, part of the town clinic is housed. Parks
= Europe's biggest spa park =
In the late 1990s, the Bad Wildungen spa park was connected by a "green bridge" – not natural but made to seem so – to the Reinhardshausen spa park, making one large park now regarded, at 50 ha, as Europe's biggest spa park. Natural monuments
In the Helenental foothills are found the Odershausen dwarf beeches.
The municipal area's highest mountain, however, is the Wüstegarten (675 m above sea level), lying near Bergfreiheit, one of Bad Wildungen's outlying communities. It is disputed as to whether the peak is actually in Bad Wildungen, as the latest survey suggests that it is a few metres outside town limits. Sport
In Bad Wildungen are to sport clubs, the VFL Bad Wildungen (VFL = Verein für Leibesübungen – club for bodily exercise) and the TV Friedrichstein (TV = Turnverein – gymnastic club). Both clubs have established Culinary specialities
One Waldeck speciality is Schepperlinge, a kind of potato pancake, traditionally served in Bad Wildungen with bacon, onions and black coffee. Economy and infrastructure
The town's main field of economic activity is the spa and tourism business. Bad Wildungen
Transport
Through the municipal area run the Federal Highways (Bundesstraßen) B 485 and B 253, which afford a connection to the Autobahn Bundesautobahn 49|A 49. Bad Wildungen can be
reached by regional Railway|rail services, terminating at Sackbahnhof Bad Wildungen (Railway station|station), from Kassel and Wabern. A bus service was set up in Bad Wildungen a few years ago.
Media
Allgemeine, a local edition of the Hessisch-Niedersächsische-Allgemeine''. Spa
The times when visitors would "partake of the waters" are somewhat bygone now. More at the fore of medical rehabilitation nowadays are orthopaedics, psychosomatic illness treatment, internal medicine, rheumatology, neurology, oncology and urology. Institutions for Gerontology|gerontological care (retirement homes, nursing homes) are also important services.
The yearly number of overnight stays in Bad Wildungen is roughly 1.4 million (2002), making Bad
Wildungen second only to Frankfurt among Hessian towns and cities with the most overnight
stays. Education
difficulties (Veit-Weinberg-Schule), a Hauptschule-Realschule (Ense-Schule) and a
Gymnasium (school)|Gymnasium (Gustav-Stresemann-Gymnasium). Vocational education is done
between theoretical and practical phases. Among the subjects offered are computer science
and tourism.
Personalities
Sons and daughters of the town
Jan Eric Blumenstiel, (born 15 August 1825 in Bad Wildungen), poet whose descriptions of nature brought Bad Wildungen lastingly to the fore.
Wilhelm Dilich (but possibly born in Wabern), engraver Other persons connected with the town
Trude Hoppe-Arendt (born 1905 in Berlin, died 2001 in Bad Wildungen), German painter
Philipp Nicolai (born 1556 in Bad Arolsen|Bad Arolsen-Mengeringhausen, died 26
October 1608 in Hamburg), songwriter and Lutheran court chaplain in Alt-Wildungen.
Master of the Netz Altar Triptych, Gothic painter
Christoph Scheibler, philosopher and theologian Reference
External links