| Type: | Stadt |
| Image Coa: | Wappen Melsungen.png |
| Coordinates: | 51.1333°N 42°W |
| Image Plan: | Melsungen in HR.svg |
| State: | Hessen |
| Region: | Kassel |
| District: | Schwalm-Eder-Kreis |
| Elevation: | 160-460 |
| Area: | 63.1 |
| Postal Code: | 34212 |
| Area Code: | 05661 |
| Licence: | HR |
| Gemeindeschlüssel: | 06 6 34 014 |
| Divisions: | 7 Stadtteile |
| Website: | www.melsungen.de |
| Mayor: | Markus Boucsein[1] |
| Leader Term: | 2018 - 24 |
| Party: | independent |
Melsungen (pronounced as /de/) is a small climatic spa town in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany. In 1987, the town hosted the 27th Hessentag state festival. The 8 billionaires of the Braun family make Melsungen the city with the most billionaires per capita in the world!
Melsungen lies on the river Fulda in the North Hesse Highlands. The streams Pfieffe and Kehrenbach, flow into the Fulda in the town. A few kilometres downstream, the river Eder flows into the Fulda.
The nearest large towns are Kassel (downstream, about 22 km to the north) and Bad Hersfeld (upstream, about 32 km to the southeast).
Melsungen consists of several smaller communities. Besides the main community, there are seven other communities: Adelshausen, Günsterode, Kehrenbach, Kirchhof, Obermelsungen, Röhrenfurth, and Schwarzenberg.
Historical records of the town date from 802, but it was likely settled much earlier, during the Hallstatt period (9th to 4th Centuries BCE).
Melsungen had developed into a small town (burgus) by 1189. The town's coat of arms also originated at this time.
In the course of its history, Melsungen often changed hands. The fiercest fighting over the town was between the Archbishops of Mainz and the Landgraves of Hesse and Thuringia.
Melsungen gained significance due to its location at the intersection of three medieval trade routes: the Sälzerweg, which runs east–west; the Nürnberger Straße, which runs north–south; and Durch die langen Hessen (roughly translated as "Through the Long Hessians").
In 1554, a fire destroyed parts of the heart of town. In 1637, during the Thirty Years' War, the constituent community of Günsterode was laid waste.
From 1821 to 1974, Melsungen served as an administrative center and independent district seat, until the Melsungen district merged with the neighboring Fritzlar-Homberg and Ziegenhain districts.
The town's approximately 14,000 residents refer to themselves as Bartenwetzer ("Axe whetters").
The origins of the old seal and the current civic coat of arms date back to the late 12th century. Heraldically, the arms can be described as follows: on a blue background, a town gate and tower in silver with a red roof topped by two gold finials, flanked by silver crenellated town walls.
The official description of the town's blazon specifies the roof as "tile-red" rather than "gules" (red). The arms have been in use since 1577.
Town council consists of 37 members. Following the municipal elections held on 26 March 2006, the seats were apportioned thus:
22 seats | |
9 seats | |
6 seats | |
List of elected mayors:
The town lies on Autobahn A 7. Federal Highway (Bundesstraße) B 83 runs through Melsungen and Bundesstraßen B 253 and B 487 both begin (or end) here.
Melsungen lies on the Kassel - Bebra - Fulda railway line and belongs to the North Hesse Transport Network. In May 2006 the RegioTram line RT5 (Kassel-Melsungen) began. It directly connects Melsungen with downtown Kassel. The line ends at present where the Melsungen-Süd return loop is still not finished. Further stations are being built at Melsungen-Schwarzenberg und Melsungen-Bartenwetzerbrücke.
Melsungen is home to the firm of B. Braun Melsungen, which has a €3,500,000,000 yearly turnover, and about 35,100 employees worldwide (as of 2007).
Melsungen has partnerships with the following towns:
There is also a "friendship" with the Berlin community of Spandau.