Schlitz, Hesse


Schlitz is a small town in the Vogelsbergkreis in eastern Hesse, Germany.

Geography

Location

The town of Schlitz lies at the outlet of the small river Schlitz on the Fulda.

Neighbouring communities

Schlitz borders in the north on the communities of Breitenbach and Niederaula, in the east on the communities of Haunetal and Burghaun and the town of Hünfeld, in the southeast on the city of Fulda, in the south on the communities of Großenlüder and Bad Salzschlirf, in the southwest on the community of Wartenberg, and in the west on the town of Lauterbach.

Constituent communities

Schlitz is divided into the following communities: Bernshausen, Fraurombach, Hartershausen, Hemmen, Hutzdorf, Nieder-Stoll, Ober-Wegfurth, Pfordt, Queck, Rimbach, Sandlofs, Schlitz, Üllershausen, Ützhausen, Unter-Schwarz, Unter-Wegfurth and Willofs.

History

The name Schlitz had its first documentary mention in 812. Schlitz is known throughout Hesse for the town's five castles and is also called the Romantische Burgenstadt Schlitz.
One peculiarity about the town is its so-called Burgenring, or Castle Ring, with the town built on a hill with its accumulated castles, towers, lords' houses, the town church and many half-timbered houses presenting a well preserved, compact, historic Old Town. For the Castle Ring's splendour and the town's outstanding location, Schlitz was sometimes called in earlier times the "Hessian Rothenburg ob der Tauber"
The Lords of Schlitz had built up their mastery in an autonomous fief from the Fulda Abbey. As of 1404 they were calling themselves Schlitz von Görtz. After the Reformation came in 1563, and as a result of the Thirty Years' War, however, they broke away from Fulda. In 1677, they became Imperial Barons and, in 1726, Imperial Counts. In 1806, the area passed to Hesse-Darmstadt.
Schlitz was granted town rights in the early 15th century.
Since 1951, the Fluß-Station Schlitz has been in Schlitz. This working group from the Max Planck Institute for Limnology is researching the ecology of the tiny Breitenbach stream in the neighbouring Breitecke Nature Preserve. The Breitenbach, through many studies and publications, is one of the world's best researched and documented streams. In 2006, this research station, with the current scientific leader's retirement, is to be closed by the Max Planck Society.

Politics

Local council

Elections were held in March 2016:
The council has 31 members:
Schlitz's civic coat of arms might heraldically be described thus: In argent a fess sable, within, an inescutcheon, in argent bendlets sinister embattled three points each sable.
The oldest town seal dates only from the 17th century. The current arms were conferred in 1919. The embattled bendlets in the inescutcheon stand for the town's castles.

Twinned towns

Transport

Schlitz can be reached by long-distance travel by Autobahn A 7. Nearby lie the towns of Fulda and Lauterbach.

Public institutions

Educational institutions

Schlitz is home to the Hessische Akademie für musisch-kulturelle Bildung GmbH, the state music academy, at Hallenburg Castle.

Regular events

Sons and daughters of the town

The fictional town of Schewenborn, where the plot of the 1983 novel The Last Children of Schewenborn takes place is modeled on Schlitz, as specifically stated by the writer Gudrun Pausewang, herself an inhabitant of the town.