| Type: | Stadt |
| Großalmerode | |
| Image Coa: | Wappen Grossalmerode.png |
| Coordinates: | 51.2575°N 9.7844°W |
| Image Plan: | Großalmerode ESW.svg |
| State: | Hesse |
| Region: | Kassel |
| District: | Werra-Meißner-Kreis |
| Elevation: | 421 - 643 |
| Area: | 37.62 |
| Postal Code: | 37247 |
| Area Code: | 05604 |
| Licence: | ESW |
| Gemeindeschlüssel: | 06 6 36 004 |
| Website: | www.grossalmerode.de |
| Mayor: | Finn Thomsen[1] |
| Leader Term: | 2023 - 29 |
Großalmerode (or Grossalmerode) is a town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in Hesse, Germany.
The small town, which has had town rights since 1775, lies 21 km east of Kassel in the Meißner-Kaufunger Wald Nature Park on the river Gelster. Here the constituent community of Laudenbach can also be found, in the Kaufunger Wald (range) between the Steinberg or Bilstein in the northwest and the Hirschberg in the southwest. Not far to the southeast stands the highest mountain in northeast Hesse, the Hoher Meißner.
These are Witzenhausen, Hessisch Lichtenau, Helsa, Bad Sooden-Allendorf and Berkatal.
Großalmerode’s Ortsteile are Weißenbach, Trubenhausen, Uengsterode, Rommerode, Laudenbach and Epterode. Also within town limits are Bransrode, Gut Giesenhagen and Faulbach, although these are not outlying centres, but rather officially parts of the main town.
In 1386, today’s Großalmerode had its first documentary mention as Almerode. Town rights, though, only came in 1775.
Ceramics manufacture in mediaeval Großalmerode was very advanced. The products (Hessian crucible) were exported worldwide for their high resistance to heat (1 100 to 1 200 °C).[2] [3]
At a gathering of the Christian Gemeinschaftsbewegung (“Fellowship Movement”) in 1907 there were ecstatic phenomena, the condemnation of which led to a rift between the Gemeinschaftsbewegung and the Pentecostal movement in 1909, through the so-called Berlin Declaration.
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 | 25.5 | 8 | 28.7 | 9 | |
| SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany | 60.2 | 19 | 62.6 | 19 | |
| WG | Wählergemeinschaft Großalmerode | 14.3 | 4 | 8.6 | 3 | |
| Total | 100.0 | 31 | 100.0 | 31 | ||
| Voter turnout in % | 48.9 | 53.5 | ||||
From 2000 to 2017, Andreas Nickel (SPD) has been the town’s mayor. In 2017 Finn Thomsen was elected mayor.
The town’s arms might be described thus: Argent a mound vert, thereon three crucibles gules, one on top of the others, between two piles of Üller azure.
Üller which are made of Almerode clay, like the crucibles, are somewhat like marbles, but often much bigger.
Royston, Hertfordshire, England, United KingdomWith regard to sport, Großalmerode is well known for the 58 km-long mountain bike trail running across the Kaufunger Wald. Each year, with a few variations on the course, the so-called Bilstein Bike Marathon is held here, which draws mountain bikers from all over Germany and the Benelux countries to town. On the Schwarzenberg lies the TC Großalmerode tennis complex, with four courts.
Furthermore, the active members of the Turngemeinde 1863 Großalmerode e.V. (gymnastics club) and the FC Großalmerode 1920 Bezirksoberliga footballers have made names for themselves in past years. Between the main town and the outlying centre of Epterode lies the Männerspielplatz (“men’s playground”), where unusual sporting activities are on offer, such as digger driving, jeep driving and quad driving.
Through the main town runs Bundesstraße 451, which leads to Bundesstraße 7 near Helsa and Bundesstraße 27 near Witzenhausen.
The railway line from Walburg to the Großalmerode Ost end-of-line station was opened on 15 December 1915. Passenger service was ended on 2 June 1973. After conversion, the trains ran farther along the Gelstertalbahn to Witzenhausen Süd and Eichenberg.
There was one other railway line that branched off at Velmeden from this line; it led to the Großalmerode West end-of-line station.