dump, and 3 tonnes of TNT – still capable of exploding – were unearthed. Steinlager Allendorf Steinlager Allendorf was a primitive American prison near the University of Marburg. where Nazi Germany general and staff officers (more than 200) such as Franz Halder and Heinz Guderian and scientists such as Wilhelm Schaefer were interrogated after World War II. Politics Mayors Since 2012: Christian Somogyi (SPD) Town council As of the last municipal elections held on 27 March 2011, town council seats are apportioned thus: Coat of arms Stadtallendorf's civic coat of arms might be described thus: In azure, dexter a bear rampant sinister Or armed gules and langued Or, sinister a lion rampant striped per fess nine times in gules and argent (the Lion of Hesse), langued gules and armed Or, both holding a six-spoked wheel argent (the Wheel of Mainz). The Hessian lion and the Wheel of Mainz stand for the town's old allegiances. Until secularization, Stadtallendorf belonged to the Archbishopric of Mainz, and thereafter to Hesse. The bear is a reference to an old name for the town, Allendorf im Bärenschießen, once used to distinguish the town from other places called Allendorf, and now needless thanks to the town's newer name. The arms have been kept even as other communities have been amalgamated with the old Allendorf as part of Hesse's municipal reforms. Town partnerships Stadtallendorf maintains partnerships with the following towns: St Ives, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom since 1989 Coswig, Saxony-Anhalt since 1993 Transport Stadtallendorf station is served at hourly intervals by the Mittelhessen-Express (SE 30). Economy The town is economically successful, as large factories such as Ferrero oHG mbH (confectionery), Fritz Winter GmbH & Co. KG (engine foundry), Hoppe AG (lock manufacturing), and others have chosen to build here. The town's transport connections are by road to the Federal Highways (Bundesstraßen) B 454 and B 62, and by rail to the railway station on the Main-Weser line. An extension to Bundesautobahn 49 is currently being discussed, but there have been ecological questions about the wisdom of such an undertaking: the Herrenwald (masters' woods) is home to the Great Crested Newt, which is on the list of protected species. In an area of 78.3 km² live approx. 21,600 inhabitants, 16,900 of those in the main centre, whose population is about 25% foreign. Population (in each case as of 31 December) 1998 – 21,587 1999 – 21,643 2000 – 21,656