Bad Hersfeld

Bad Hersfeld is a 29,944 inhabitants spa town by the river Fulda in the northeastern part of Hesse, Germany, not far from Thuringia. The town is know because of its festival and for having the abbey ruins, that are said to be Europe's biggest Romanesque church ruin.

 

 

 

How do I arrive to Bad Hersfeld?

  Bad Hersfeld isn't bad connected with other cities in Hesse and other states.

• Train: there are often trains to other destinations within Hesse like Bebra (aprox. 10 minutes), Fulda (aprox. 30 minutes), Melsungen (aprox. 35 minutes), Kassel (aprox. 1 hour), Alsfeld (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes), Hanau (aprox. 1 hour 20 minutes) or Frankfurt am Main (aprox. 1 hour 40 minutes). There are also trains to destinations in other federal states such Eisenach (aprox. 1 hour 20 minutes) in Thuringia. 
• Bus: there are buses to many cities in Hesse and neighbouring states.
• Car: having a car many destinations can be reached easily in Hesse such as Bebra (aprox. 20 minutes), Rottenburg an der Fulda (aprox. 25 minutes), Melsungen (aprox. 40 minutes), Alsfeld (aprox. 40 minutes), Fulda (aprox. 45 minutes), Kassel (aprox. 50 minutes), Gießen (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes), Marburg (aprox. 1 hour 15 minutes), Hanau (aprox. 1 hour 25 minutes) or Frankfurt am Main (aprox. 1 hour 40 minutes).

History

The history of Bad Hersfeld began with St. Sturm (established a monastic settlement but later evacuated it to Fulda) and with Lullus, who reestablished Hersfeld Abbey in 769. Hersfeld was first mentioned as a town in 1170, at the time in which Hersfeld Abbey's greatest importance in Imperial politics. Beginning in 1373, the Landgraviate of Hesse acquired influence over the town through defensive alliances. Martin Luther visited the monastery on his way back from the Diet of Worms (1521) and about two years later, the town and the territory of the abbey was mostly Protestant. Great parts of the town and the abbey passed to Hesse due to the German Peasants' War in 1525 and in the Peace of Westphalia (1648), the Imperial Abbey was awarded to the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel. During the Seven Years' War the French army used the former abbey church as a supply and food depot, burnt by them in 1761. The town was almost destroyed by Napoleonic occupation troops in 1807 and in 1821, Hersfeld became the seat of its district in the Electorate of Hesse. The development into a spa town began when the Lullusbrunnen was tapped in 1904. In 1935 barracks was built in the outskirts of Hersfeld by the Wehrmacht, destroyed in 1945 and taken by the United States Army.

What can I visit in Bad Hersfeld?

  Bad Hersfeld has a beautiful Alstadt, many nice buildings that are worth to have a look, like many half-timbered buildings

These are Bad Hersfeld's main attractions:

• Ruins of Hersfeld Abbey (10-17 Tue-Sun from Mar to Oct; 10-16 Tue-Sun from Nov to Feb; 5€/ 3€  adults/ reduced): remains of a former Romanesque monastery, first founded by St. Sturmius in 736 and destroyed in the Seven Years' War (1761), that are considered one of the largest Romanesque basilicas north of the Alps and now the largest Romanesque church ruin in the world. The complex has also the oldest dated bell in Germany, Lullusglocke, and it's home of the festival Bad Hersfeld Festival (July-August).
• Bad Hersfeld Town Museum (16-21 from Jul to Aug; 10-12 and 15-17 Tue-Sat, 11-17 Sun from Sep to Jun; ): museum located in the only surviving wing of the former abbey. It speaks about the history of the abbey and the town, having temporary exhibitions too.
• Konrad Duden Museum (15-17 Sun): small museum focused in Kornad Duden, a high school teacher who became a philologist that founded the well-known German language dictionary Duden (similar to Noah Webster in the United States) and taught in Bad Hersfeld.
  
• Bad Hersfeld Lutheran Church: Gothic three-aisled church first built in 1060 and rebuilt in the 15th century. The exterior has remained almost unchanged since then and it's quite highlighted by its tower. The interior was significantly changed by Calvinist iconoclasts and by at least two major fires. 
• Town Hall of Bad Hersfeld: town hall first built in Gothic style in 1371 that suffered a reconstruction in Weser Renaissance style in 1607. It's located in the square Am Treppchen, a beautiful place with its Fachwerkhau and the fountain Lullusbrunnen.
• Bad Hersfeld Kurpark: relaxing spa park that is also the largest park in the town. It has a perennial garden was modeled on a Baroque garden that was located here in the mid-18th century
  
• Robert-Heil Tower: tower built by the Prussian court baker Robert Heil (who was native of Bad Hersfeld) that provides beautiful views of the town and Fulda valley.
• Eichhof Palace: Schloss built by the abbots of the Hersfeld Abbey. Initially wasa single-storey Gothic moated castle. but in the 16th century, the palace was expanded into a palace in the Renaissance style, becoming the abbots' summer residence. Since 2010 it's a branch of the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology.
  

Ruins of Hersfeld Abbey

Façade of the Town Hall of Bad Hersfeld

Rotenburg an der Fulda

Around Bad Hersfeld there are plenty of places to visit, particulary in the way to Kassel. One of the closest to Bad Hersfeld is Bebra (13,934 inhabitants), a town that is an important railway junction that has a beautiful town hall and many Fachwerkhäus. Besides that the main landmarks in town are Auferstehungskirche (a Lutheran church built in the 17th century) and Bebra Water Tower (a Klönne type tower completed in 1910 used to supply the railways with service water). The following town is Rotenburg an der Fulda (14,555 inhabitants), with its pretty half-timbered old town, that is a very nice place to get lost and discover. Its main sightseeing points in town are Rotenburg Palace (Schloss first built by Landgrave Ludwig II of Niederhessen in 1470, rebuilt in Renaissance style in 1570 that today houses a training center for the Hessian financial administration), Jakobikirche (late-Gothic Lutheran church that has an organ from 1682) and Rotenburg Jewish Museum,

Spangenberg Palace

a small museum that teaches about six centuries of Jewish life in Rotenburg and the surrounding area. Continuing the way to Kassel, in the town of Morschen (3,214 inhabitants), it can be visited Haydau Monastery, a former Cistercian convent built in the early 14th century that was converted in the 17th century into a stately home for a Landgrave. Today the building is used for meetings and conventions. From Morschen the visitor can to to Spangenberg (6,046 inhabitants), a town with a nice half-timbered Alstadt, the remains of its fortifications and its landmark, Spangenberg Palace. This Schloss was originally a Gothic building built by Lord Hermann of Treffurt in 1235 that has been used as a castle, fortress and hunting lodge by the Hessian landgraves, prison, forestry school and is now a hotel and restaurant. Another possibility is going to Melsungen (13,689 inhabitans), a spa town by river Fulda with an impressing Fachwerkstadt (compact area featuring half-timbered houses in the Old Town).

Marktplatz and Melsungen Town Hall

The highlights of this area are Melsungen Town Hall (half-timbered house built in the 1560s), Melsungen Palace (16th century Schloss built by Landgrave Philip I in late Weser Renaissance style that was used as a hunting lodge), Eulenturm and the bridges Bartenwetzerbrücke and Zweipfenningsbrücke. The main churches in town are Melsungen Lutheran Church (9-17; free), a Gothic church from 1420 that is one of the oldest buildings in the town, and St. Georg Hospital Chapel, chapel that was first mentioned in 1303. In case of wanting to know more context about the history of this cute town the visitor can go to Melsungen History Museum (15-17 Sat-Sun; 1€/ 0.50€  adults/ reduced) to get that information.

 

Marktplatz, Weinhaus and Alsfeld Town Hall

Driving 33 km southwest there's Alsfeld (16,037 inhabitants), a town by Schwalm river in the center of Hesse. The town keeps many of its traditional houses (in fact, there are more than 400 half-timbered houses from seven centuries). In the square Markplatz there's the landmark of the town, Alsfeld Town Hall, a 16th century late-Gothic Rathaus that is one of the most important German half-timbered town halls, a combination of stone architecture and timber construction. Next to it is located the Weinhaus, a stone building from 1538 that used to store and serve wine (today is the seat of the town and the tourist center). Other of the most interesting houses in town are Stumpfhaus, Bücking-Haus and the Renaissance style Hochzeitshaus. Walpurgiskirche (13th century Lutheran church that has rich interior decoration and a cute bell tower) and Alsfeld Monastery (Augustinian monastery founded in the 13th century whose only remaining part is the Gothic church, the Lutheran church used in winter) are the main religious buildings in town. To learn more about the town and the surrounding district and area it can be visited Alsfeld Regional Museum (11-13 and 14-16 Thu-Sun) and to learn more about local fairy tale it can be visited Märchenhaus (10:30-12:30 and 14-17 Sat, 14-17 Sun; 3€/ 2€  adults/ reduced), having historical dolls' houses from the mid-19th century.

Where can I eat in Bad Hersfeld?

The traditional dish in Bad Hersfeld is the Lumpen und Flöhe (dish with potatoes, white cabbage and bacon). The city has nice places to eat such as News Cafe (Linggplatz 17), the restaurant Zum Stern (Linggplatz 11) or the restaurant of Hotel am Kurpark (Am Kurpark 19-21).

Posted in: Europe,Germany,Hesse