Wabern, Hesse

Wabern
Coat of arms
Wabern
Location of Wabern within Schwalm-Eder-Kreis district
Coordinates: 51°06′N 09°20′E / 51.100°N 9.333°E / 51.100; 9.333Coordinates: 51°06′N 09°20′E / 51.100°N 9.333°E / 51.100; 9.333
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Admin. region	Kassel
District	Schwalm-Eder-Kreis
Government
• Mayor	Günter Jung (SPD)
Area
• Total	51.4 km2 (19.8 sq mi)
Elevation	166 m (545 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	7,326
• Density	140/km2 (370/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	34590
Dialling codes	05683
Vehicle registration	HR
Website	www.wabern.de

Wabern is a community in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany. It lies on the Main-Weser Railway between Kassel and Frankfurt. From Wabern, the Edersee Railway runs to Bad Wildungen.

The main centre of Wabern lies on the Eder and Schwalm floodplain, a few kilometres south of where the Schwalm empties into the Eder.

The community of Wabern consists of ten centres, the main centre, bearing the same name as the whole municipality, and the nine outlying villages of Hebel, Rockshausen, Falkenberg, Udenborn, Unshausen, Uttershausen, Zennern, Niedermöllrich and Harle.

For a long time, Wabern was an important railway hub, where the Sauerland Line to Brilon branched off the Frankfurt-Kassel-Hanover mainline. Today the branchline ends at Bad Wildungen.

A big sugar factory processes the sugar beets in the autumn. These are grown over a wide area around the community.

In June 2015 Claus Steinmetz (SPD) was elected mayor with 60,7 % of the votes.

The local stately home, Landgrave Karl von Hesse's Jagd- und Lustschloss Wabern (roughly "Wabern Hunting and Delight Palace"), was built in 1701, mainly so that the Landgrave could practise falconry in the nearby Reiherwald (forest). In 1770 some remodelling work was done under the well known Baroque architect Simon Louis du Ry. The Schloss nowadays houses a youth centre.

The Evangelical Church was likewise built in the 18th century. It has a Rococo organ worth seeing.