Philippsthal (Werra)

Philippsthal
Coat of arms
Philippsthal
Location of Philippsthal (Werra) within Hersfeld-Rotenburg district
Coordinates: 50°51′N 10°00′E / 50.850°N 10.000°E / 50.850; 10.000Coordinates: 50°51′N 10°00′E / 50.850°N 10.000°E / 50.850; 10.000
Country	Germany
State	Hesse
Admin. region	Kassel
District	Hersfeld-Rotenburg
Government
• Mayor	Ralf Orth (SPD)
Area
• Total	21.31 km2 (8.23 sq mi)
Elevation	315 m (1,033 ft)
Population (2015-12-31)
• Total	4,156
• Density	200/km2 (510/sq mi)
Time zone	CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes	36269
Dialling codes	06620
Vehicle registration	HEF
Website	www.philippsthal.de

Philippsthal (Werra) is a market community in Hersfeld-Rotenburg district in eastern Hesse, Germany, right at the boundary with Thuringia.

Philippsthal lies between the outliers of the Rhön and the Thuringian Forest (ranges) on the river Werra. The river Ulster empties into the Werra between the main centre and the outlying centre of Röhrigshof.

The nearest major towns are Bad Hersfeld (some 25 km to the west) and Eisenach (some 29 km to the northeast).

Philippsthal borders in the north on the town of Heringen (in Hersfeld-Rotenburg), in the east on the town of Vacha, in the south on the communities of Unterbreizbach (both in the Wartburgkreis in Thuringia) and Hohenroda and in the west on the community of Friedewald (both in Hersfeld-Rotenburg).

The community’s Ortsteile are Gethsemane, Harnrode, Heimboldshausen, Philippsthal, Röhrigshof and Unterneurode. All these places were merged into a new greater community of Philippsthal (Werra) within the framework of municipal reform on 1 August 1972. The title “market community” (Marktgemeinde) was granted the community on 30 May 2001.

In 1191, Philippsthal had its first documentary mention in a Schutzbrief (“protection letter”) from Pope Celestine III to the Hersfeld Abbey. In this year, the Abbey founded a Benedictine convent and named it after the living knightly family von Cruceburg, after whom the growing community of Kreuzburg was then also named.

The convent was destroyed in the German Peasants' War in 1525 and forsaken by the nuns in 1568. All that is still preserved is the former convent church from the 12th century. On the spot where the convent stood, Landgrave Philipp of Hesse-Philippsthal (b. 14 December 1655, d. 18 June 1721) had a palatial residence built in 1685, which he named Schloss Philippsthal. By the late 18th century, this had become the local placename.