  The Heisenberg model, a quantum mechanical analogue of the Ising model, has a
large ground state degeneracy, due to the symmetry generated by the total spin.
This symmetry is also responsible for degeneracies in the rest of the spectrum.
We discuss the global structure of the spectrum of Heisenberg models with
arbitrary couplings, using group theoretical methods. The Hilbert space breaks
up in blocks characterized by the quantum numbers of the total spin, $S$ and
$M$, and each block is shown to constitute the representation space of an
explicitly given irreducible representation of the symmetric group $S_N$,
consisting of permutations of the $N$ spins in the system.
  In the second part of the paper we consider, as a concrete application, the
model where each spin is coupled to all the other spins with equal strength.
Its partition function is written as a single integral, elucidating its
$N$-dependence. This provides a useful framework for studying finite size
effects. We give explicit results for the heat capacity, revealing interesting
behavior just around the phase transition.
