Wendershausen (Witzenhausen)

Wendershausen City of Witzenhausen Coordinates: 51 ° 19 ′ 0 ″  N , 9 ° 53 ′ 0 ″  E
Height :	138 m above sea level NHN
Area :	4.83 km²
Residents :	675  (Dec 2015)
Population density :	140 inhabitants / km²
Incorporation :	1st October 1971
Postal code :	37215
Area code :	05542
Wendershausen

Wendershausen is a district of Witzenhausen in the Werra-Meißner district in northern Hesse .

history

Wendershausen can be counted among the oldest settlements in the lower Werra valley. Settlements near fish-rich waters or streams were preferred by settlers.

The first written mention of the place dates from 1271. This document, a coincidental document, is evidence that the place already existed at that time. The content of the document was a sale of three Hufen Landes in Welbach by the Lords of Rieden to the Mariengarten monastery .

Places with the ending -hausen can be assigned to the early Carolingian period, around the eighth century. The beginning of the settlement is probably much earlier. There is some evidence that the residents built their homes in the vicinity of the church. Wendershausen was often a commercial object between noble and ecclesiastical landlords. The place name was changed many times in the past. He moved from Wengenhusenn via Wengershusen, Wengirshusen, Wendershusen and Wengershausen to Wendershausen. What the place name was derived from cannot be explained unequivocally.

The Wendershäuser are also known regionally as knee horns ( stag beetles ). There is a legend about the origin of this name: On the south-eastern outskirts of Wendershausen there is the field name "Der Eichhof". Old documents show that an oak grove once stood here. If you moved on the old trade route between Wendershausen and Ludwigstein in bygone times, you came through this oak grove. In the summer months, when there were still many, stag beetles populated the oak trees to soak up the sap that had escaped on the leaves. Because of the many stag beetles on the oak trees, these trees looked more dark than green. It is therefore obvious that as a result of this sight the place was called Kniephornshusen and the residents were called Kniephörner. The stag beetles do not harm the trees, they are considered useful animals.

On October 1, 1971, Wendershausen was incorporated into the city of Witzenhausen.

Ludwigstein Castle

Ludwigstein Castle , built in 1415 and now used as a youth hostel , is located on a protruding mountain head above the village . The castle was originally built as the headquarters of the Office Witzenhausen and next as a border fortification for the possession of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mainz located Eichsfeld with the Castle Hanstein Landgraf Ludwig I of Hessen built. On April 28, 1416, Hans von Dörnberg was appointed the first official at Ludwigstein Castle. This was the beginning of the Ludwigstein office . In 1627 the office of Ludwigstein as part of the " Rotenburger Quart " was left by Moritz von Hessen-Kassel to his second wife Juliane von Nassau-Dillenburg and her descendants as part of the division of the Hessian possessions. When in 1664 the Ludwigsburg office was merged with the Witzenhausen district office, the castle lost its status as the official seat and seat of administration and court. The castle was now inhabited by agricultural tenants until they, too, moved their seat, now known as the domain administration, to Wendershausen in 1830. After the branch line was extinguished, the properties fell back to the main building in Hessen-Kassel in 1834 . In 1882, after various changes of use, the castle was released from maintenance obligations as expendable.

population

Population development

Wendershausen: Population from 1834 to 1970
year				Residents
1834			375
1840			376
1846			368
1852			359
1858			354
1864			349
1871			353
1875			345
1885			330
1895			385
1905			418
1910			425
1925			414
1939			424
1946			614
1950			611
1956			591
1961			589
1967			554
1970			570
Data source: Historical municipality register for Hesse: The population of the municipalities from 1834 to 1967. Wiesbaden: Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt, 1968. Other sources:

Religious affiliation

 Source: Historical local dictionary

• 1885:	329 Protestant (= 99.70%), one Catholic (= 0.30%) residents
• 1961:	538 Protestant (= 91.34%), 46 Catholic (= 7.81%)

Attractions

Village church

Ludwigstein Castle

To the west of the village is the late medieval Ludwigstein Castle , which has been used as a youth castle since 1920.

church

A church for Wendershausen can be assumed in 1295 at the latest, when a plebanus (priest) is mentioned in a document. Half a century later, the church itself and the churchyard are also mentioned in writing. During the Thirty Years' War the church burned down to the ground, the current church building was rebuilt in 1739/40.

Double castle view

The Ludwigstein and the ruins of Hanstein Castle can be seen at the Zweurgenblick in the Werra valley near the western end of the village .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Wendershausen, Werra-Meißner district. Historical local dictionary for Hessen. (As of September 17, 2014). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
2. ↑ Wendershausen district on the website of the city of Witzenhausen, accessed in October 2018.
3. ^ Federal Statistical Office (ed.): Historical municipality directory for the Federal Republic of Germany. Name, border and key number changes in municipalities, counties and administrative districts from May 27, 1970 to December 31, 1982 . W. Kohlhammer GmbH, Stuttgart and Mainz 1983, ISBN 3-17-003263-1 , p. 410 .

Web links

Commons : Wendershausen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Wendershausen district on the website of the city of Witzenhausen.
• Wendershausen, Werra-Meißner district. Historical local dictionary for Hessen. In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
• Literature about Wendershausen in the Hessian Bibliography