The history of the Hessian state domain Frankenhausen

Recent research has shown that as early as the 9th century, Corvey estates amounting to four hooves were recorded in Frankenhausen. The fact that the village had a church and a cemetery shows that it was not just a small hamlet. By 1336 at the latest, the village of Frankenhausen was described as a "deserted settlement". Nevertheless, parts of the district continued to be used. Since the middle of the 17th century, the district has been owned by the landgraves and has been continuously farmed by tenants as an agricultural estate. At the beginning of the 19th century, arable farming was the main focus of the farm, ahead of sheep and dairy farming. After 1870, the number of dairy cows was increased considerably, so that the herd soon grew to 100 animals to supply the nearby town of Kassel with milk and fresh produce. Around the same time, the start of sugar beet cultivation represented a milestone in the transformation of production conditions. The intensification through beet and potato cultivation led to an increased demand for labor, so that by the end of the century the domain offered 30 people a permanent place to live and work in addition to around 40 seasonal workers.

the farm gained additional importance as a training farm in agriculture and home economics. Until the mid-1970s, when preferential milk production and the rearing of sheep and breeding sows were discontinued, the domain was a lively and versatile farm that was closely intertwined with the life of the region through its marketing structures. From this time onwards, the farm was managed as a livestock-free intensive farm by 3 workers with a focus on cereal seed production and sugar beet cultivation and was one of the top farms in the region in terms of yield. Most recently, winter wheat, winter barley, winter rye, sugar beet and occasionally oats were grown, with peak yields of over 100 dt/ha being achieved with winter wheat, for example. With the impoverishment of the crop rotation and the specialization of the farm, not only were structural elements and near-natural land use reduced, but also the social, economic and communicative connections to the surroundings of the domain were continuously diminished; the farm was no longer accessible to the public. In this state, the domain was taken over by the University of Kassel in July 1998.

In the research project on the economic and social history of Frankenhausen by the Department of Agricultural History (Prof. Troßbach, Faculty 11) and the Department of History (Prof. Wunder, Faculty 5), the history was intensively researched under many different aspects.