Spangenberg lies in the Schwalm-Eder district some 35 km (22 mi) southeast of Kassel, west of the Stölzinger Gebirge, a low mountain range.

[3] Spangenberg's civic coat of arms is based on the town's oldest known seal from 1317.

The object on the viewer's right (heraldically speaking, the left, as the shield is considered from the point of view of the bearer) side is a kind of fossilized plant locally known as a Spange (also German for "brooch" or "clip"), the town's namesake.

[4] In alphabetical order, these are Bergheim, Bischofferode, Elbersdorf, Herlefeld, Kaltenbach, Landefeld, Metzebach, Mörshausen, Nausis, Pfieffe, Schnellrode, Vockerode-Dinkelberg and Weidelbach.

Spangenberg maintains partnerships with the following places: Famous people