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{{short description|City in Hesse, Germany}}
{{About|the city in Germany}}
{{Infobox German place
|type               = City
|image_coa          = Wappen Fulda.svg
|coordinates        = {{coord|50|33|3|N|9|40|31|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|image_plan         = Fulda in FD.svg
|state              = Hesse
|region             = Kassel
|district           = Fulda
|elevation          = 261
|area               = 104.05
|Gemeindeschlüssel  = 06631009
|postal_code        = 36001–36043
|area_code          = 0661
|licence            = FD
|website            = [https://www.fulda.de/ www.fulda.de]
|mayor              = Dr. Heiko Wingenfeld<ref>{{cite web|url=https://statistik.hessen.de/sites/statistik.hessen.de/files/2022-10/direktwahlen_09_2022_10102022.xlsx|title=Ergebnisse der letzten Direktwahl aller hessischen Landkreise und Gemeinden|language=de|date=5 September 2022|publisher=[[Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt]]|format=XLS}}</ref>
|leader_term        = 2021&ndash;27
|Bürgermeistertitel = Oberbürgermeister
|party              = CDU
|year               = 744
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
  | total_width            = 300
  | border                 = infobox
  | perrow                 = 1/2/2
  | caption_align          = center
  | image1                 = Flug -Nordholz-Hammelburg 2015 by-RaBoe 1053 - Fulda Innenstadt.jpg
  | caption1               = Aerial view
  | image2                 = Kathedrale Fulda-6385.jpg
  | caption2               = [[Fulda Cathedral]]
  | image3                 = Fulda, Schlossgarten, 2019-10 CN-08.jpg
  | caption3               = City palace
  | image4                 = MK56776 Michaelskirche (Fulda) .jpg
  | caption4               = [[St. Michael's Church, Fulda|St. Michael's Church]]
  | image5                 = Altes Rathaus Fulda 2.jpg
  | caption5               = Old City Hall
  }}
}}
'''Fulda''' ({{IPA|de|ˈfʊlda|-|De-Fulda.ogg}}; historically in English called Fuld) is a city in [[Hesse]], [[Federal Republic of Germany|Germany]], on the [[Fulda (river)|river Fulda]] and is the administrative seat of the [[Fulda (district)|Fulda district]] (''Kreis''). In 1990 the city hosted the 30th [[Hessentag]] state festival.

==History==
===Middle Ages===
{{Main|Princely Abbey of Fulda}}
{{More citations needed section|date=December 2022}}[[File:Fulda heertor.jpg|The army gate, built around 1150, on the city side of the city palace, from which you walked past the abbot's castle out of the city to get to the Via Regia|thumb]]
In 744 [[Saint Sturm]], a disciple of [[Saint Boniface]], founded the [[Benedictine]] [[monastery of Fulda]] as one of Boniface's outposts in the reorganization of the church in [[Carolingian Empire|Germany]].<ref>"The Monastery of Fulda". ''The Catholic World, A Monthly Magazine of General Literature and Science'', (1878). 28 (165). 301-309.</ref> The initial grant for the abbey was signed by [[Carloman (mayor of the palace)|Carloman]], [[Mayor of the Palace]] in [[Austrasia]] (in office 741–47), the son of [[Charles Martel]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=yW-GfElbafQC&pg=PA90 Frassetto, Michael. ''Encyclopedia of Barbarian Europe: Society in Transformation'', ABC-CLIO, 2003]</ref> The support of the Mayors of the Palace, and later of the early Pippinid and [[Carolingian]] rulers, was important to Boniface's success. Fulda also received support from many of the leading families of the Carolingian world. Sturm, abbot from 747 until 779, was most likely related to the [[Agilolfings|Agilolfing]] dukes of [[Bavaria]].

Fulda also received large and constant donations from the Etichonids, a leading family in [[Alsace]], and from the [[Conradines]], predecessors of the [[Salian]] [[Holy Roman Emperor]]s. Under Sturm, the donations Fulda received from these and other important families helped in the establishment of daughter-houses near Fulda. In 751, Boniface and his disciple and successor [[Lullus]] obtained an exemption for Fulda, having it placed directly under the [[Papal See]] and making it independent of interference by bishops or worldly princes. The monastery school became a renowned center of learning.<ref name="RM-13">Hraban Maur in ''Monumenta Germaniae Historica Poetaes Latini Aevi Carolingi''II, poem 13.</ref>
[[File:St Boniface - Baptising-Martyrdom - Sacramentary of Fulda - 11Century.jpg|thumb|St Boniface [[baptizing]] and undergoing [[martyr]]dom{{snd}}from the Sacramentary of Fulda]]

After his martyrdom by the [[Frisians|Frisian]]s in 754, the relics of Saint Boniface were brought back to Fulda. Because of the stature this afforded the monastery, the donations increased, and Fulda could establish daughter-houses further away, for example in [[Hamelin]]. Meanwhile, Saint [[Lullus]], successor of Boniface as [[archbishop of Mainz]], tried to absorb the abbey into his archbishopric, but failed.

Between 790 and 819 the community rebuilt the main abbey church to more fittingly house the [[relic]]s. They based their new [[basilica]] on the original 4th-century (since demolished) [[Old St. Peter's Basilica]] in Rome, using the [[transept]] and [[crypt]] plan of that great [[pilgrimage]] church to frame their own saint as the "[[Apostle of the Germans]]".

The crypt of the original abbey church still holds those relics, but the church itself has been subsumed into a [[Baroque]] renovation. A small, 9th-century chapel remains standing within walking distance of the church, as do the foundations of a later women's abbey. [[Rabanus Maurus]] served as abbot at Fulda from 822 to 842.<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911|wstitle=Hrabanus Maurus Magnentius|volume=13|page=842|inline=1}}</ref> Fulda Abbey owned such works as the ''Res Gestae'' by the fourth-century Roman historian [[Ammianus Marcellinus]] and the [[Codex Fuldensis]], as well as works by [[Cicero]], [[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], [[Bede]] and [[Sulpicius Severus]].

===Counter-Reformation===
[[File:Braun Fulda UBHD.jpg|thumb|Fulda in the 16th century]]
Prince-abbot [[Balthasar von Dernbach]] adopted a policy of [[Counter-Reformation]]. In 1571 he called in the [[Jesuits]] to found a school and college. He insisted the members of the chapter should return to a [[Monasticism|monastic]] form of life. Whereas his predecessors had tolerated [[Protestantism]], resulting in most of the citizenry of Fulda and a large portion of the principality's countryside professing [[Lutheranism]], Balthasar ordered his subjects either to return to the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic faith]] or leave his territories.<ref name="counterreform1">Otto Schaffrath. ''Fürstabt Balthasar von Dermbach und seine Zeit. Studien zur Geschichte der Gegenreformation in Fulda'' (= ''Veröffentlichung des Fuldaer Geschichtsvereins''. Bd. 44, {{ZDB|517272-x}}). Parzeller, Fulda 1967, mit umfangreicher Literaturübersicht.{{in lang|de}}</ref> He also ordered the [[Fulda witch trials]], in which hundreds of people, including a number of crypto-Protestants were arrested on charges of witchcraft alongside others.<ref>Stuart Clark, William Monter, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=t1SFPods4DkC&dq=witch+trials+fulda&pg=PA27 Witchcraft and Magic in Europe, Volume 4: The Period of the Witch Trials]''</ref>

===18th and 19th centuries===

The foundation of the abbey of Fulda and its territory originated with an Imperial grant and the sovereign [[principality]] therefore was subject only to the [[List of German monarchs|German emperor]]. Fulda became a bishopric in 1752 and the [[prince-abbot]]s were given the additional title of [[prince-bishop]]. The prince-abbots (and later prince-bishops) ruled Fulda and the surrounding region until the [[bishopric]] was forcibly dissolved by [[Napoleon I]] in 1802.

The city went through a baroque building campaign in the 18th century, resulting in the current "Baroque City" status. This included a remodeling of [[Fulda Cathedral]] (1704–12)<ref>L. Pfaff: ''Der Dom zu Fulda.'', publ. J. L. Ath, 1855, p.19</ref> and of the ''Stadtschloss'' (Fulda Castle-Palace, 1707–12) by [[Johann Dientzenhofer]]. The city parish church, St Blasius, was built between 1771 and 1785. In 1764 a [[porcelain]] factory was started in Fulda under Prince-Bishop, Prince-Abbot [[Heinrich von Bibra]], but in 1789, shortly after his death, it was closed down by his successor, Prince-Bishop, Prince-Abbot Adalbert von Harstall.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Maggetti |first1=Marino |last2=Serneels |first2=Vincent |last3=Stasch |first3=Georg |date=2015-06-01 |title=Composition and technology of 18th century high magnesia faïences from Fulda |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352409X14000303 |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports |volume=2 |pages=40–50 |doi=10.1016/j.jasrep.2014.12.004 |bibcode=2015JArSR...2...40M |issn=2352-409X|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The city was given to [[William I of the Netherlands|Prince William Frederick of Orange-Nassau]] (the later King [[William I of the Netherlands]]) in 1803 (as part of the short-lived [[Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda]]) and was annexed to the [[Grand Duchy of Berg]] in 1806 and in 1809 to the [[Principality of Frankfurt]]. After the [[Congress of Vienna]] of 1814–15, most of the territory went to the [[Electorate of Hesse]], which the [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] annexed in 1866.<ref>{{AmCyc|wstitle=Fulda|inline=1}}
</ref>

===20th century===
From 1938 to 1943 Fulda was the location of a Nazi [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] camp for [[Romani people]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tenhumbergreinhard.de/1933-1945-lager-1/1933-1945-lager-f/fulda.html|title=Fulda|access-date=30 October 2021|language=de}}</ref>

Fulda lends its name to the [[Fulda Gap]], a traditional east–west invasion route used by Napoleon I and others. During the [[Cold War]] it was presumed to be an invasion route for any conventional war between [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)|NATO]] and [[Soviet Armed Forces|Soviet forces]]. Downs Barracks in Fulda was the headquarters of the American [[14th Armored Cavalry Regiment]], later replaced by the [[11th Armored Cavalry Regiment]]. The cavalry had as many as 3,000 soldiers from the end of [[World War II]] until 1993. Not all those soldiers were in Fulda proper but scattered over observation posts and in the cities of [[Bad Kissingen]] and [[Bad Hersfeld]]. The strategic importance of this region, along the border between East and West Germany, led to a large [[United States Army|United States]] and Soviet military presence.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of the U.S. Army|editor1-first=Jerold E.|editor1-last=Brown|year=2001 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|location=Westport, CT|isbn=9780313293221|pages=209–10|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ygqNt3ra-vYC&pg=PA209}}</ref>

==Politics==

Fulda has traditionally been a conservative Catholic city, with the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Fulda]] being based in the city cathedral. During the time of the [[German Empire]] and [[Weimar Republic]], the city was a stronghold for the [[Centre Party (Germany)|Centre Party]]. After the end of World War II, in addition to all mayors, Fulda's constituency seats have been safe seats for [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|CDU]] in both the [[Landtag of Hesse]] (District X 1946–1950, District 14 1950–1983, Fulda I since 1983) and [[Bundestag]] ([[Fulda (electoral district)|Fulda electoral district]]). The CDU has never received less than 42.4 percent of the vote in communal elections since 1946.

'''Oberbürgermeister (Lord mayor) Department I''' (head and personnel administration, finance, committee work, culture, business development, city marketing, investments)
*Cuno Raabe (CDU): 1946–1956
*[[Alfred Dregger]] (CDU): 1956–1970
*Dr. Wolfgang Hamberger (CDU): 1970–1998
*Dr. Alois Rhiel (CDU): 1998–2003
*Gerhard Möller (CDU): 2003–2015
*Heiko Wingenfeld (CDU): 2015–

'''Department II''' (public security and order, family, youth, schools, sports, social affairs, seniors)
*Karl Ehser: 1934–1945
*Karl Schmitt: 1946–1948
*Heinrich Gellings: 1948–1969
*Dr. Wolfgang Hamberger: 1969–1970
*Dr. Tilman Pünder: 1971–1980
*Lutz von Pufendorf: 1981–1984
*Dr. Alois Rhiel: 1984–1989
*Josef H. Mayer: 1990–1995
*Oda Scheibelhuber: 1995–1999
*Bernd Woide: 1999–2003
*Dr. Wolfgang Dippel: 2004–2014 
*Dag Wehner (CDU): 2014–
'''Landtag''' (state parliament)

* Cuno Raabe (CDU): 1946–1962, elected in 1946, 1950, 1954 and 1958
* Alfred Dregger (CDU): 1962–1972, elected in 1962, 1966 and 1970, resigned to accept Bundestag mandate
* Winfried Rippert (CDU): 1972–1999, appointed in 1972, elected in 1974, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1991 and 1995
* Walter Arnold (CDU): 1999–2004 and again 2009–2018, elected in 1999, 2003; resigned in 2004; elected in 2009 and 2013
* Margarete Ziegler-Raschdorf (CDU): 2004–2009, appointed in 2004, elected in 2008
* Thomas Hering (CDU): 2018–, elected in 2018

'''Bundestag''' (federal parliament)

* [[Anton Sabel]] (CDU): 1949–1957, elected in 1949 and 1953
* [[Hermann Götz (politician)|Hermann Götz]] (CDU): 1957–1976, elected in 1957, 1961, 1965, 1969 and 1972
* Alfred Dregger (CDU): 1976–1998, elected in 1976, 1980, 1983, 1987, 1990 and 1994
* [[Martin Hohmann]] (CDU): 1998–2005, elected in 1998 and 2002; expelled from CDU in 2003 for anti-Semitic remarks
* [[Michael Brand (politician)|Michael Brand]] (CDU): 2005-, elected in 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2021 and 2025

<small>'''Source:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fulda.de/rathaus-politik/stadtpolitik/magistrat/oberbuergermeister|title=Oberbürgermeister|publisher=City of Fulda|language=de|access-date=29 November 2023}}</ref>'''</small>

Between 1927 and 1974, Fulda was a district-free city (Kreisfreie Stadt). Since 1974, it has been included in the eponymous district as a city with special status (Stadt mit Sonderstatus), a distinction it shares with six other Hessian cities, meaning that it takes on tasks more usually performed by the district.

==Transport==
[[File:Fulda Bahnhof 2.jpg|thumb|Main railway station]]
[[Fulda station]] is a transport hub and interchange point between local and long-distance traffic of the [[Rail transport in Germany|German railway network]], and is classified by [[Deutsche Bahn]] as a [[German railway station categories|category{{nbsp}}2 station]].<ref>{{DBCatsURL}}</ref> It is on the [[Hanover–Würzburg high-speed railway]]; the [[North–South railway|North–South line]] (''Nord-Süd-Strecke''), comprising the [[Bebra–Fulda railway|Bebra–Fulda line]] north of Fulda, and the [[Kinzig Valley Railway (Hesse)|Kinzig Valley Railway]] and [[Fulda–Main Railway]] to the south; the [[Vogelsberg Railway]], which connects to the hills of the [[Vogelsberg Mountains|Vogelsberg]] in the west; and the [[Fulda–Gersfeld Railway]] (Rhön Railway) to [[Gersfeld]] in the [[Rhön Mountains]] to the east.

Fulda is on the [[Bundesautobahn 7]] (BAB 7). [[Bundesautobahn 66]] starts at the interchange with the BAB 7, heading south towards [[Frankfurt]]. Fulda is also on the [[Bundesstraße 27]].

The city doesn't have an airport. The nearest airport is [[Frankfurt Airport]]; it is located {{convert|114|km|0|abbr=on}} south west of Fulda.

==Twin towns – sister cities==

{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Germany}}

Fulda is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Partnerstädte|url=https://www.fulda.de/rathaus-politik/partnerstaedte-patenschaften/partnerstaedte.html|website=fulda.de|publisher=Fulda|language=de|access-date=2019-11-30}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Como]], Italy (1960)
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Arles]], France (1964)
*{{flagicon|RUS}} [[Sergiyev Posad]], Russia (1991)
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Wilmington, Delaware]], United States (1997)
*{{flagicon|CZE}} [[Litoměřice]], Czech Republic (2001)
*{{flagicon|NED}} [[Dokkum]], Netherlands (2013)
{{div col end}}

==Notable people==
===Pre-1800===
[[File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-P003647, Anton Storch.jpg|thumb|210px|Anton Storch]]
*[[Adam of Fulda]] ({{circa|1445–1505}}), composer and music theorist
*Adam Krafft (1493–1558), Protestant church reformer
*[[Justus Menius]] (1499–1558), theologian
*[[Franz Kaspar Lieblein]] (1744–1810), botanist
*[[Heinrich von Bibra]] [[Prince-Bishop]], [[Prince-Abbot]] and [[Princely Abbey of Fulda|of Fulda]] from 1759 to 1788

===1801–1850===
[[File:Braun 1909.jpg|thumb|150px|Ferdinand Braun]]
*[[Georg von Adelmann]] (1811–1888), physician and surgeon
*[[Otto Bähr]] (1817–1895), lawyer and politician
*[[Hugo Staehle]] (1826–1848), composer
*[[Ferdinand Braun]] (1850–1918), physicist, electrical engineer and Nobel laureate in physics

===1851–1900===

*[[Adalbert Ricken]] (1851–1921), mycologist and priest
*[[Ludwig Hupfeld]] (1864–1949), instrument maker and industrialist
*[[Wilhelm Heye]] (1869–1947), officer
*Clara Harnack (1877–1962), painter, teacher and mother of the resistance fighters [[Arvid Harnack|Arvid]] and [[Falk Harnack]]
*[[Angela Zigahl]] (1885–1955), politician
*[[Anton Storch]] (1892–1975), politician
*[[Wilm Hosenfeld]] (1895–1952), officer and [[Righteous Among the Nations]]
*[[Paul Deichmann]] (1898–1981), officer of the Luftwaffe
*[[Max Stern (businessman)|Max Stern]] (1898–1982), businessman, investor and philanthropist

===1901–1950===

*[[Karl Storch]] (1913–1992), athlete (hammer thrower)
*[[Wilhelm Balthasar]] (1914–1941), Luftwaffe military aviator and wing commander during [[Spanish Civil War]] and [[WWII]] 
*[[Martin Hohmann]] (born 1948), politician (CDU, now AfD)
*[[Winfried Michel]] (born 1948), composer, recorder player and music publisher

===1951–present===

*[[Markus Oestreich]] (born 1963), racing driver
*[[Immanuel Bloch]] (born 1972), physicist
*[[Tobias Sammet]] (born 1977), musician
*[[Sebastian Kehl]] (born 1980), football player
*[[Patrik Sinkewitz]] (born 1980), professional cyclist
*[[Tobias Wolf]] (born 1988), football player
*[[Thorsten Hohmann]] (born 1979), pool player
*[[Damien Haas]] (born 1990), internet personality and voice actor
*[[Jamal Musiala]] (born 2003), football player

==Gallery==

<gallery class="center" widths="150" heights="150">
File:Fulda, Schlossgarten, 2019-10 CN-08.jpg|City palace garden
File:Kathedrale Fulda-6385.jpg|[[Fulda Cathedral]]
File:Fulda-Bonifatiusstatue.png|Statue of Saint Boniface (1830) in Fulda
File:Ansicht des Bonifatiusplatzes mit Bonifatiusdenkmal und Hauptwache in Fulda 1850.jpg|Fulda in 1850
File:Fulda-Stadtschloss.png|Entrance of the Stadtschloss (City Palace)
File:Altes Rathaus Fulda 2.jpg|Old City Hall
File:Orangerie Fulda 029a.jpg|Orangerie
File:Frauenberg Fulda Gästehaus.JPG|Kloster Frauenberg (Fulda), a [[Franciscan]] monastery
File:St.-Michaelskirche-2284.jpg|[[St. Michael's Church, Fulda|St. Michael's Church]]
File:Fulda - Adelspalais im Barockviertel.jpg|Baroque Adelspalais
File:FULDA Alte Universitaet.JPG|Old [[University of Fulda]]: ''Adolphs-Universität Fulda'', today the Adolf von Dalberg School
File:Fulda countryside.jpg|Looking east toward Fulda over the rich farmlands
File:Weser watershed 3.png|[[Weser]] river watershed, showing [[Fulda (river)|Fulda river]] and the city of Fulda
File:Fulda, Paulustor, 2019-10 CN-02.jpg|St. Paul's Gate, viewed from the south
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Fulda Cathedral]]
* [[Fulda Gap]]

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==

{{commons category}}
{{wikivoyage}}
*[https://www.fulda.de/ Official website]
*[http://www.360-fulda.de 360degree virtual tour through downtown Fulda] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004142649/http://www.360-fulda.de/ |date=2018-10-04 }}
*[http://www.museum-fulda.de Vonderau Museum Fulda]
*[http://www.hs-fulda.de Hochschule Fulda (University of Applied Science)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20181004002937/https://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/kristallnacht/video.asp?WT.mc_id=wiki Holocaust survivor testimony of the Kristallnacht pogrom in Fulda] on the [[Yad Vashem]] website

{{Towns and municipalities in Fulda district}}<!--cat sort position-->
{{Authority control}}<!--cat sort position-->

[[Category:Fulda| ]]
[[Category:Fulda (district)|.]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 8th century]]
[[Category:8th-century establishments in Germany]]
[[Category:744 establishments]]
[[Category:12th-century establishments in the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Carolingian architecture]]
[[Category:Cities in Hesse]]
[[Category:Counter-Reformation]]
[[Category:Historic Jewish communities]]