Homberg is a small town in northern state of Hesse in central Germany with about 15,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Schwalm-Eder district. In 2008, the town hosted the 48th Hessentag state festival.
Homberg lies in the transitional zone between the West Hesse Depression, a sunken area dating from the Tertiary subera, and the Knüll (or Knüllgebirge), a low mountain range. The town itself stretches over several hills underlain mainly with basalt. The river Efze flows from the Knüll through Homberg, later emptying into the river Schwalm. There exist small coal deposits in the immediate area.
Homberg consists of the following communities:
Homberg was founded by the Hessian-Thuringian Landgraves and had its first documentary mention as a town in 1231. The place had indeed been settled earlier, but Homberg still celebrated its 775th anniversary as a town in 2006.
The town’s name comes from the Hohenburg, the castle above Homberg. The castle well, at 150 m deep is Germany’s third…