| Type: | Gemeinde |
| Wehretal | |
| Image Coa: | Wappen Wehretal.svg |
| Coordinates: | 51.15°N 10°W |
| Image Plan: | Wehretal ESW.svg |
| State: | Hessen |
| Region: | Kassel |
| District: | Werra-Meißner-Kreis |
| Elevation: | 179 |
| Area: | 39.20 |
| Postal Code: | 37287 |
| Area Code: | 05658, 05651 |
| Licence: | ESW |
| Gemeindeschlüssel: | 06 6 36 014 |
| Divisions: | 5 districts |
| Website: | www.wehretal.de |
| Mayor: | Timo Friedrich[1] |
| Leader Term: | 2018 - 24 |
Wehretal is a municipality in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in northeastern Hesse, Germany.
Wehretal lies roughly 50 km southeast of the North Hesse city of Kassel. It is found between Eschwege in the north and Sontra in the south.
Towards the north, the community's area falls in the river Where's course – after which river the community is named – down to its mouth on the river Werra near Eschwege. In the east lies the Schlierbachswald and in the southeast lies the Ringgau (ranges). To the southwest, another range, the Stölzinger Gebirge, is to be found. To the west stands the Hoher Meißner.
Wehretal borders in the north on the town of Eschwege, in the east on the community of Weißenborn, in the south on the community of Ringgau and the town of Sontra, in the west on the town of Waldkappel and in the far northwest on the community of Meißner (all in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis).
Wehretal's five Ortsteile are Reichensachsen, Langenhain, Hoheneiche, Oetmannshausen and Vierbach.
In 1577, a deformed child who became widely known was born in Hoheneiche. The Renaissance artist Dietmar Merluan carved a wooden figurine of the child.
The community of Wehretal, containing 3 920 ha, came into being in 1971 and 1972 through the merger of the communities of Hoheneiche, Langenhain, Vierbach and Oetmannshausen into the administrative centre, the community of Reichensachsen. In the course of this municipal reform, the new, greater community adopted the name Wehretal. Unlike many other communities in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis, Wehretal's population is rising.
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 | 20.2 | 6 | 17.3 | 5 | |
| SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany | 49.4 | 16 | 45.2 | 14 | |
| FDP | Free Democratic Party | 6.8 | 2 | 6.2 | 2 | |
| FWG | Freie Wählergemeinschaft Wehretal | 23.5 | 7 | 31.2 | 10 | |
| Total | 100.0 | 31 | 100.0 | 31 | ||
| Voter turnout in % | 57.2 | 61.2 | ||||
Mayoral elections are held every six years. The most recent mayors were:[1]
The four French communities have been part of an intensely cultivated partnership arrangement with Wehretal on various levels, starting with Bellou-en-Houlme in 1992 with the other three joining in 1995.[2] They are all in the same department in Normandy.[2] The partnership with Gánt began in 2007.
For more than 50 years now, the Heimat- und Wichtelfest (roughly, “Homeland and Hobgoblin Festival”) has been held, usually on the third weekend in June. The high point of the five-day festivities, besides the dancing evening on Saturday evening in the festival tent at the sport ground, is the great festival parade on the Sunday. This has been made up for generations now by school classes and local clubs. Moreover, the festival parade is accompanied by several musical bands from Reichensachsen and surrounding places. All these bands keep playing after the parade in the festival tent before countless onlookers.
From Monday morning until late into the night, the traditional Frühschoppen is held in the tent. This word can mean “brunch” or “morning pint”, but in this case, it is a celebration in which the locals have breakfast and celebrate together.
This place in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis can be reached over Bundesstraßen 7 (Kassel-Eisenach), 27 (Göttingen-Bad Hersfeld) and 452 (Eschwege-Wehretal). Furthermore, there is a stop on the Hanover–Göttingen–Bebra–Frankfurt railway mainline.