The small town, which has had town rights since 1775, lies 21 km east of Kassel in the Meißner-Kaufunger Wald Nature Park on the river Gelster. Here the constituent community of Laudenbach can also be found, in the Kaufunger Wald between the Steinberg or Bilstein in the northwest and the Hirschberg in the southwest. Not far to the southeast stands the highest mountain in northeast Hesse, the Hoher Meißner.
Großalmerode’s Teilorte are Weißenbach, Trubenhausen, Uengsterode, Rommerode, Laudenbach and Epterode. Also within town limits are Bransrode, Gut Giesenhagen and Faulbach, although these are not outlying centres, but rather officially parts of the main town.
History
In 1386, today’s Großalmerode had its first documentary mention as Almerode. Town rights, though, only came in 1775. Ceramics manufacture in mediaeval Großalmerode was very advanced. The products were exported worldwide for their high resistance to heat. At a gathering of the ChristianGemeinschaftsbewegung in 1907 there were ecstatic phenomena, the condemnation of which led to a rift between the Gemeinschaftsbewegung and the Pentecostal movement in 1909, through the so-called Berlin Declaration.
The town’s arms might be described thus: Argent a mound vert, thereon three crucibles gules, one on top of the others, between two piles of Üller azure. Üller which are made of Almerode clay, like the crucibles, are somewhat like marbles, but often much bigger.
With regard to sport, Großalmerode is well known for the 58 km-long mountain biketrail running across the Kaufunger Wald. Each year, with a few variations on the course, the so-called Bilstein Bike Marathon is held here, which draws mountain bikers from all over Germany and the Benelux countries to town. On the Schwarzenberg lies the TC Großalmerode tennis complex, with four courts. Furthermore, the active members of the Turngemeinde 1863 Großalmerode e.V. and the FC Großalmerode 1920 Bezirksoberliga footballers have made names for themselves in past years. Between the main town and the outlying centre of Epterode lies the Männerspielplatz, where unusual sporting activities are on offer, such as digger driving, jeep driving and quad driving.
Economy and infrastructure
Transport
Through the main town runs Bundesstraße 451, which leads to Bundesstraße 7 near Helsa and Bundesstraße 27 near Witzenhausen. The railway line from Walburg to the Großalmerode Ost end-of-line station was opened on 15 December 1915. Passenger service was ended on 2 June 1973. After conversion, the trains ran farther along the Gelstertalbahn to Witzenhausen Süd and Eichenberg. There was one other railway line that branched off at Velmeden from this line; it led to the Großalmerode West end-of-line station.
Heinrich Pforr was a painter. He was born on 26 October 1880 in Laudenbach. A street in Laudenbach has been named after him, on which his house still stands today.
The poet Wilhelm Speck is an honorary citizen of the town and Wilhelm-Speck-Platz was named after him.
