Alsfeld
| Alsfeld | ||
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 Alsfeld
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Location of Alsfeld within Vogelsbergkreis district
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| Coordinates: 50°45′04″N 09°16′16″E / 50.75111°N 9.27111°ECoordinates: 50°45′04″N 09°16′16″E / 50.75111°N 9.27111°E | ||
| Country | Germany | |
| State | Hesse | |
| Admin. region | Gießen | |
| District | Vogelsbergkreis | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Stephan Paule (CDU) | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 129.69 km2 (50.07 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 260-290 m (−690 ft) | |
| Population (2015-12-31) | ||
| • Total | 16,142 | |
| • Density | 120/km2 (320/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2) | |
| Postal codes | 36304 | |
| Dialling codes | 06631 | |
| Vehicle registration | VB | |
| Website | www.alsfeld.de | |
Alsfeld (German pronunciation: [ˈalsfɛlt]) is a town in the center of Hesse, in Germany. Large towns nearby are Bad Hersfeld about 33 kilometres (21 miles) to the east, Fulda 36 kilometres (22 miles) to the southeast, Gießen 47 kilometres (29 miles) to the west and Marburg an der Lahn about 36 kilometres (22 miles) to the northwest. Alsfeld is located on the upper part of the Schwalm in the northern Vogelsberg and just to the south of the Knüll mountains at the western edge of the Alsfeld basin. In 1961, the town hosted the first Hessentag state festival, in 1985 the 25th.
Alsfeld borders on the following towns, listed here clockwise starting in the north: Willingshausen, Schrecksbach, Ottrau (all Schwalm-Eder district), Breitenbach (Hersfeld-Rotenburg district) and Grebenau, Schwalmtal, Romrod, Kirtorf and Antrifttal (all Vogelsbergkreis).
In addition to Alsfeld (proper) the town includes the following boroughs: Altenburg, Angenrod, Berfa, Billertshausen, Eifa, Elbenrod, Eudorf, Fischbach, Hattendorf, Heidelbach, Leusel, Liederbach, Lingelbach, Münch-Leusel, Reibertenrod and Schwabenrod.
Alsfeld was first mentioned in an official document in 1069. Excavations in the Walpurgiskirche have discovered that a Roman church existed here already in the 9th and 10th centuries. It is therefore estimated that the town was founded in Carolingian times. Between 1180 and 1190 the Counts of Thuringia built a castle along the historic trading route of the Kurze Hessen. That location favored the development of Alsfeld and it was subsequently documented as a town as early as 1222.
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