Wetter is a small town in Hesse, Germany. The rather unusual designation Wetter stems from a time when the town belonged to the Prussian province of the same name, and nowadays is only used by the railway – even today, the railway station in town bears this name.
Geography
Wetter lies in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district on the western edge of the Burgwald, a low range of hills, in the Wetschaft valley and neighbouring places about 14 km north of Marburg.
North to south through the town's municipal area runs the Federal Highway B 252 from eastern Westphalia by way of Korbach and Frankenberg and on to Göttingen. To divert heavy traffic away from places in the Wetschaft valley, a bypass road is planned. The Burgwaldbahnrailway line connects the town with Marburg and Frankenberg. The Kurhessenbahn which runs the line means to reopen the extension between Frankenberg and Korbach.
History
Wetter was already being mentioned in documents in the 8th and 9th centuries; it was mentioned in one such document under the same name that it still has today in 1108, and the "Weistum of Wetter" was already displaying its town rights even as early as 1239.
Politics
Town council
As of municipal elections held on 26 March 2006, the seats on Wetter Town Council are apportioned thus:
Coat of arms
Wetter's civic coat of arms might be described thus: In Or on a three-knolled hill vert a fleur-de-lis twig vert with three blossoms argent flanked by two inescutcheons, dexter in azure the HessianLion rampant gules and argent sinister; sinister in gules the wheel of Mainz argent. The two inescutcheons hark back to the time when the Hessian Landgraves held sway, and to the Archbishops of Mainz.
Houses – The compact and picturesque townscape consists first and foremost of half-timbered houses with forward-facing gables, most of which have slate roofs or plasterwork. After several town fires, only a few buildings from before 1629 have still been preserved. Some houses exhibit Classicist doors.
Remains of the mediaeval town wall with two towers.
The houses at the following addresses are worth mentioning:
Markt 7 – Three-floor house with forward-facing gable and a corner oriel window. On the stone ground floor a pretty Renaissance portal, marked 1570.
Markt 9 – Three-floor house with forward-facing gable, presumably from the first third of the 16th century, second upper floor added about 1700.
Markt 14 – Baroque half-timbered building with ornamental carvings, presumably from the late 17th century.
Krämergasse 14 – House with side gables with carved infilling boards, dated 1671.
Krämergasse 10 – Two-floor half-timbered building, possibly from first quarter of the 16th century.
Regular events
Every seven years, the town holds its Grenzgangfest, recalling a time when patrolling the town's boundaries was necessary to prevent neighbourly encroachment. The next Grenzgangfest is in 2022.
