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Witzenhausen city (Germany)

Stadt Witzenhausen, Werra-Meißner-Kreis, district Kassel, Hesse

5:2 image by Jörg Majewski, 10 Oct 2006
flag adopted unknown

Witzenhausen city

See also:

County and Municipal Flags (Hesse / Hessen, Germany)
Hesse (Hessen, Germany)
Germany

Witzenhausen city

The municipality of Witzenhausen (18, 658 inhabitants) is located on the river Werra, in the Land of Hessen,between Kassel (40km) and Göttingen (25 km). The municipality is made of the historical city of Witzenhausen and neighbouring villages such as Blickershausen, Dohrenbach, Ellingerode, Ermschwerd, Gertenbach, Hubenrode, Hundelshausen, Rossbach, Unterrieden, Wendershausen and Ziegenhagen. Witzenhausen was located very close to the border with the German Democratic Republic and was one the main entrance points to Western Germany in 1989.

I saw the municipal flag of Witzenhausen in September 2004, hoisted vertically from a crossbar. The flag can also be seen on the website of the Cherry Festival,
hoisted in the French partner-city of Fougerolles. The flag is vertically divided blue-white with the municipal coat of arms shifted to the top of the flag, which makes it similar to the municipal flag of Kassel. The municipal coat of arms of Witzenhausen can be seen on several buildings in the city, including the city hall. It shows on a blue field a fortification with one central tower and two lateral, smaller towers; the towers are white, with black masonry and openings. The two lateral towers are topped with an acorn-like red roof, itself topped with a yellow sphere. The entrance of the main tower is opened on the field with a yellow portcullis and a yellow letter W. According to Stadler [staxx], the oldest known seal of Witzenhausen, dated 1247, shows a city wall and three church towers. The gate and the letter W were added in the 16th century, although later seals and images were sometimes based on the early design. The coat of arms of Witzenhausen was formally adopted in 1966.
Ivan Sache, 11 Dec 2004

In 1974 Witzenhausen was incorporated into the Werra-Meißner-Kreis (Meißner being the name of the forested heights on the southwestern slopes of the Werra).
Stefan Schwoon, 12 Dec 2004

"Westlich der Werra" (west of the Werra) was a GDR term for the Federal Republic of Germany aka West Germany, a place held in abhorrence of course.
My first taste of the GDR border was very peaceful. A pillar painted in the national colours bearing a metal plaque with the state emblem was situated way in front of the Iron Curtain (this was in the Rhön region, not far from the GDR village of Frankenheim). You could walk around this pillar, be in the GDR illegaly, and live to tell the tale.
Interestingly, a local picture post card had this plaque coloured in (caption: "Over there, too, is Germany!") whereas the real article was rather dull and lustreless.
Jan Mertens, 11 Dec 2004

Witzenhausen, town
inhabitants 16,069
Werra-Meißner [Werra-Meissner] county
district Kassel, state Hesse
flag adopted unknown
Jörg Majewski, 10 Oct 2006