Sontra, Hesse, Germany

🇩🇪 Sontra is a small town in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis in north-eastern Hesse, Germany.

The air spa of Sontra is known as Berg- und Hänselstadt, with Bergstadt referring to the time when there was bituminous shale mining (“mining” is Bergbau in German) in town, and Hänselstadt to the town's former membership in the Hanse. The town's area covers 111.29 km².

Geography: Location Sontra lies between Bad Hersfeld (some 30 km to the southwest), Kassel (some 45 km to the northwest) and Eisenach (some 35 km to the east), east of the Stölzinger Gebirge, north of the Richelsdorfer Gebirge and west of the Ringgau (ranges), and also 16 km south-west of Eschwege. Flowing through town are the river Sontra, which near Wehretal empties into the Wehre, and the river Ulfe, which empties into the Sontra near the outlying centre of Wichmannshausen.

Neighbouring communities Sontra borders in the north on the town of Waldkappel and the community of Wehretal, in the east on the communities of Ringgau and Herleshausen (all in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis), in the south-east on the community of Gerstungen (in Thuringia’s Wartburgkreis), in the south on the communities of Wildeck and Nentershausen and in the south-west on the community of Cornberg (all three in Hersfeld-Rotenburg).

Constituent communities Sontra’s 15 Ortsteile, besides the main town, also called Sontra, are Berneburg, Blankenbach, Breitau, Diemerode, Heyerode, Hornel, Krauthausen, Lindenau, Mitterode, Stadthosbach, [Thurnhosbach] de:Thurnhosbach, Ulfen, Weißenborn, Wichmannshausen and Wölfterode.

History In 775, Sontra’s outlying centre of Ulfen had its first documentary mention. In the 8th century, Sontra itself was also mentioned for the first time. In 1232, a Kunigunde de Suntraha was named, who on a visit to Saint Elizabeth’s grave in Marburg experienced healing. Town rights were granted Sontra in 1368.

There was bituminous shale mining in Sontra beginning no later than 1499, and it continued right through to the 1950s.

In the centre of Donnershag, which is part of Sontra, the settlement society known as Freiland-Freigeld was resident in the 1920s.

Buildings • Historic town core with Town Hall from 1668 • Boyneburg ruins owned by the family von Boyneburg near Wichmannshausen in the Ringgau range • Evangelical town church from 1488

Museums • Museum at the old Boyneburg Palace in the outlying centre of Wichmannshausen • Kleines Bergbau-Museum (bituminous shale mining) of Sontra • Steinmühlen-Museum in Sontra

Sport Popular sports are practised in town by TV Sontra 1861 e.V. in several departments. Further sports can be played at the leisure and adventure pool (outdoor swimming pool) with its giant waterslide, a miniature golf course and a skittles centre.

There are two shooting clubs in town, the Schützengilde Sontra and the Sportschützenverein 1958 Sontra e. V. On the Dornberg near Sontra, the Mittelhessischer Verein für Flugsport e.V. Sontra/Bebra (aerial sports) runs the Dornberg-Sontra gliding airfield.

SG Sontra 1919 e.V. is the resident football club and currently plays in the Kreisliga A.

Transport Through the town run Bundesstraßen 27 and 7. The Autobahn A 44 (Kassel–Eisenach), which will lead around the outlying centres, is either in planning or under construction.

There is a link to the A 4 (Aachen–Görlitz) at the Wommen/Sontra interchange.

A railway connection is to be had at Sontra railway station on the Bebra–Göttingen line.

State institutions In 1962, the Husarenkaserne (“Hussars’ Barracks”) was built. Stationed here was the Panzeraufklärungsbataillon 5 (“armoured reconnaissance battalion”). The property, which once had 780 service posts, was dissolved with effect from 30 June 2008.

Education In Sontra there are the Adam von Trott-Schule (comprehensive school), two primary schools and the Barbaraschule (school for help with learning).