The core town lies on both banks of the Diemel and in the confluence area of the Glinde, where the Diemeltal widens after emerging from its narrow valley downstream to a broader floodplain. Niedermarsberg, formerly Horhusen, owes its development to the favorable traffic situation in the Diemeltal at the crossing of the long-distance road pair Frankfurt-Paderborn as well as Cologne-Kassel. Trade and handicraft formed the basis of a flourishing development. Marsberg was also part of the Westphalian Hanseatic League. The prosperity of Marsberg was characterized by glass production and copper mining, which is more than a thousand years old. Today Marsberg is a destination and transit point for popular hiking trails such as the European long-distance hiking trail North Sea-Lake Constance and the Sauerland-Waldroute or the Diemelradroute.