Melsungen (German pronunciation: [ˈmɛlzʊŋən]) is a small climatic spa in the Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany. In 1987, the town hosted the 27th Hessentag state festival.
Melsungen lies on the river Fulda in the North Hesse Highland. The brooks Pfieffe and Kehrenbach flow into the Fulda here. A few kilometres downstream, the river Eder also empties into the Fulda.
The nearest large towns are Kassel (downstream, about 22 km to the north) and Bad Hersfeld (upstream, about 32 km to the southeast).
Melsungen comprises several smaller communities. In addition the main community, which is also called Melsungen, there are seven quarters named Adelshausen, Günsterode, Kehrenbach, Kirchhof, Obermelsungen, Röhrenfurth and Schwarzenberg.
Historical record of the town dates from 802, but it was likely settled much earlier, during the Hallstatt period (9th to 4th centuries BCE).
Melsungen had developed into a small town (burgus) by 1189. The town’s coat of arms also originated at…