Bad Karlshafen (German: [baːt kaʁlsˈhaːfn̩] ) is a baroque, thermal salt spa town in the district of Kassel, in Hesse, Germany. It has 2300 inhabitants in the main ward of Bad Karlshafen, and a further 1900 in the medieval village of Helmarshausen. It is situated at the confluence of the Diemel and Weser rivers, 15 km south of Höxter, and 37 km north of Kassel.
Bad Karlshafen | |
|---|---|
 Bad Karlshafen | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Bad Karlshafen within Kassel district  | |
  Bad Karlshafen  Bad Karlshafen | |
| Coordinates: 51°38′N 09°27′E / 51.633°N 9.450°E | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Hesse |
| Admin. region | Kassel |
| District | Kassel |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2023–29) | Marcus Dittrich[1] (Ind.) |
| Area | |
• Total | 14.85 km2 (5.73 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 151 m (495 ft) |
| Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 3,695 |
| • Density | 250/km2 (640/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 34385 |
| Dialling codes | 05672 |
| Vehicle registration | KS |
| Website | www.bad-karlshafen.de |
History
editThe town was founded in 1699 by French Huguenots fleeing persecution in France. Though initially named Sieburg, the town was later named after Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, who granted them refuge. The German Huguenot Museum located here contains a picture archive, library, and family histories of the Huguenots in Germany. Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, had ambitious plans for town-planning and developing new water trade channels in the region; including a 'haven' in Karlshafen. Together with his engineer and architect Friedrich Conradi he developed plans for a Landgrave-Carl-Canal in order to avoid customs duty at Hannoversch Münden, but these were never finalised. Plans for Bad Karlshafen, however, were partially completed in a baroque style by architect Paul du Ry in 1717 and the town was renamed as Carlshaven.
Between 1685 and 1750, hundreds of Waldensians from Northern Italian ethnic enclaves hailing from the Piedmont Valleys in the Kingdom of Savoy-Piedmont-Sardinia existed in Carlshaven. Following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in France in 1685, the Kingdom of Savoy-Piedmont-Sardinia followed suit along with their ally and banished it's Waldensian population, during which time, many of these diasporic Northern Italians existed in "ghettoized" ethnic enclaves in Hesse Cassel.
Since 1977 Karlshafen has spa status, which is when it received the title 'Bad'.
Mayor
editUlrich Otto was elected in 2005 with 62,94 % of the votes, he was reelected in 2011 with 78,32 % of the votes.
Leisure and health
editBad Karlshafen is a spa town (Bad = spa), which offers a modern health centre, the Weser Therme, based on a thermal salt spring, and in 1986 a graduation tower was established.
Transport
edit- Bad Karlshafen railway station offers services between Ottbergen and Göttingen, at roughly a 2 hourly frequency, with bicycle space.
- Bus services also operate in the area.
Sons and daughters of the town
edit- Hermann Suchier (1848-1914), linguist
- Georg Zülch (1870-1942), lawyer and politician ( DNVP)
- Günter Frankenberg, (born 1945), lawyer
- Wilhelm Hubweges (1905-1971), sculptor and painter
- Andreas Thiele (born 1980), actor
- Sebastian Schachten (born 1984), football player
References
edit- ^ "Ergebnisse der jeweils letzten Direktwahl von Landrätinnen und Landräte sowie (Ober-)Bürgermeisterinnen und (Ober-)Bürgermeister in Hessen" (XLS) (in German). Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt. 21 May 2024.
- ^ "Bevölkerung in Hessen am 31.12.2022 nach Gemeinden" (XLS) (in German). Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt. June 2023.
