Söhrewald Archives ⋆ The Passenger

March 31, 2020March 31, 2020

Autobahn

German motorways are known throughout the world as you can drive on them as fast as you want. Whether this makes sense and how often you can really go fast (because of speed limits and massive construction works) are other discussions. A common myth is also that the Autobahn is a legacy of Adolf Hitler – in fact the motorways were planned before his time and his regime only accelerated the construction works. On the other hand, his war also stopped the construction of different parts of the motorway network – a good example is the Strecke 78 which should have connected Kassel to Eisenach and Erfurt. A road that doesn’t exist even today.

January 3, 2020April 14, 2022

Söhre

The Söhre is a far-spread mountain range with beautiful forests close to Kassel, Germany. At its centre, a municipality called Söhrewald can be found but the Söhre also reaches into municipalities like Lohfelden, Guxhagen, Fuldabrück, Helsa, Kaufungen or Hessisch Lichtenau. It is an area beloved for nice hiking tracks and different routes like the Märchenlandweg or the Kassel-Steig guide you through it. The Söhre is closely linked to Kassel as brown coal was found there and transported via the Söhrebahn to the city. This created many villages along the track that today people live at that commute to Kassel.

January 3, 2020January 6, 2020

Söhrebahn

The Söhrebahn was a railway leading from the city quarter Bettenhausen of Kassel, Germany, to the forest behind the village Wellerode (passing Eisenhammer, Lohfelden and Vollmarshausen). It was built in normal width (1435 mm), more than 10 kilometres long and opened in 1912. Within the Söhre brown coal had been found and it was transported from there to Kassel – but also other companies along the track started to use it and connecting tracks where built. The railway track was also used to transport persons and its existence connected the Söhre closely to Kassel. Many villages along the way grew and people used the trains to commute to the city.