Fulda

I was born in Fulda and spent my childhood and adolescence here. Although I have not actually spent a lot of time there, the Fulda region has remained my home.

The city of Fulda is in East Hesse on the river of the same name between the Rhoen and Vogelsberg mountains. Fulda has a population of around 70,000 and is known throughout the region for its secondary schools and high schools as well as its university of applied sciences and theological college. After the opening of the border in 1989, the Fulda region experienced an economic boom.

St Boniface is regarded as the founder of Fulda Abbey in 722 and spread Christianity as the "Apostle of the Germans". Sturmius, a follower of Boniface, founded a Benedictine monastery at a ford of the river Fulda in 744, which became a place of pilgrimage and a centre of science until the 17th century. Important personalities were Prince-Abbot Adolph von Dalberg (1678-1737), who attempted to bring the Jesuits and Benedictines closer together, and Prince-Bishop Heinrich von Bibra (1711-1788), who rebuilt the town after the Seven Years' War, including a school system, and stood for religious freedom. After the diocese was dissolved by Napoleon, the principality passed to Hesse-Kassel in 1815 and was annexed by Prussia in 1866.

The centre of Fulda is a self-contained baroque district with historic buildings. These include the cathedral (1704-1712) with the Boniface tomb, the adjacent St Michael's Chapel (9th century), the bishop's palace (1707-1712, today the city administration) and the orangery (1728) with the Flora monument. The Franciscan monastery Frauenberg (1760) is located north of the city centre. The Hessian State Library with its large collection of books, some of which are from the monastery, is also important.

The Fulda region is characterised by the Fulda valley, wooded low mountain landscapes and the "Hessian Rhoen Nature Park". The largest factories specialise in the manufacture of textiles and clothing as well as car tyre production but are suffering from a sharp decline. Fulda is a banking and financial centre.