Weinheim(German:[ˈvaɪnhaɪm];Palatine German:Woinem) is a town with about 43,000 inhabitants in northwestBaden-Württemberg,Germany.It is in theRhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region,approximately 15 km (9 mi) north ofHeidelbergand 10 km (6 mi) northeast ofMannheim.Weinheim is known as the "Zwei-Burgen-Stadt", the "town of two castles", after two fortresses overlooking the town from the edge of theOdenwaldin the east.
Weinheim | |
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 Panorama of Weinheim from the south-east | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
Location of Weinheim within Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district  | |
  Weinheim  Weinheim | |
| Coordinates:49°33′N08°40′E/ 49.550°N 8.667°E | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Baden-Württemberg |
| Admin. region | Karlsruhe |
| District | Rhein-Neckar-Kreis |
| Subdivisions | Town centre and 10 quarters |
| Government | |
| •Lord mayor(2018–26) | Manuel Just[1](Ind.) |
| Area | |
• Total | 58.11 km2(22.44 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 135 m (443 ft) |
| Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 45,275 |
| • Density | 780/km2(2,000/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00(CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00(CEST) |
| Postal codes | 69469 |
| Dialling codes | 06201 |
| Vehicle registration | HD |
| Website | www.weinheim.de |
Geography
editWeinheim is situated on theBergstraßetheme route on the western rim of theOdenwald.The old town lies in the valley, with the new part of town further to the west. The Market Square is filled with numerous cafes, as well as the oldRathaus(guildhall). Further to the south is theSchlossgarten(Palace Garden) and theExotenwald(Exotic Forest), which contains species of trees imported from around the world, but mostly from North America and Japan.
History
editWeinheim celebrated its 1250th anniversary in 2005.
The earliest record of Weinheim dates back to 755 CE, when the name "Winenheim" was recorded in theLorsch codex,the record book ofLorsch Abbey.
In 1000, EmperorOtto IIIbestowed on Weinheim the right to hold markets, and in 1065 the right to mint and issue coins. A new town developed next to the old town from 1250. In 1308, the old town was transferred to theElectorate of the Palatinate.From 1368 the whole town belonged to theElectorate of the Palatinate,and since the end of the 14th century to theHeidelbergOberamtdistrict. With the transfer toBadenin 1803, Weinheim became the seat of its ownAmt,which was unified withLandkreisMannheimin 1936. From 1938 onwards Weinheim belonged to Landkreis Mannheim until January 1, 1973, when the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis was formed.
A Jewish community in Weinheim is first recorded in 1228. There were persecutions in Weinheim in 1298 (Rintfleisch massacres) and 1348–49 (Black Death persecutions). The Jews were expelled from Weinheim in 1391. The Weinheim Jewish community began to grow again in theThirty Years' War.There was asynagogue,abeth midrash,and amikveh,and, in the 19th century, a school for boys and a teacher-training college. The synagogue was destroyed in theKristallnacht(9–10 November 1938) and the last few Jews sent toGurson 22 October 1940.[3]
Local attractions
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- Windeck Castle,originally built around 1100 to protect theLorschmonastery; it was badly damaged in the Thirty Years' War and again by Louis XIV of France in theNine Years' War.
- WachenburgCastle, built between 1907 and 1928 byGerman Student Corpsfraternities; the annual convention of theWeinheimer Senioren-Conventis held at the Wachenburg.
- The Market Square
- The Schloss, home of the town council
- Gerberbach Quarter, old haunt of the leather makers
- Schlosspark
- Waidsee Lido (Strandbad Waidsee), swimming beach on the Waidsee artificial lake
- Miramar (Weinheim)thermal spa and sauna complex, next to the Waidsee lake
- Exotenwald Weinheim,a forestarboretum
- Schau- und Sichtungsgarten Hermannshof,abotanical garden
Museum
editWeinheim's town museum occupies what used to be the local headquarters of theTeutonic Orderand holds exhibits about Weinheim and its surroundings:archaeologyfrom the prehistoric through to theMerovingian dynasty,the highlight of which is the Nächstenbach bronze hoard of 76 objects from thelate Bronze Age;displays documenting the Medieval and modern social history of the town and works from contemporary artists.
Events
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- February: High-jump Gala, with world class high-jumpers
- March: theSommertagszug,a festival celebrating the coming of summer.
- May/June (nearAscension Day): day of theWeinheimer Senioren-Convents
- June–August: Weinheim's summer of culture
- June:Scheuerfest(barn party) in Ritschweier
- July: the Weinheim road race
- May–September:Kerwesin Rippenweier, Sulzbach, Lützelsachsen, Oberflockenbach und Hohensachsen
- August (second weekend thereof): Weinheim's Kerwe (Friday to Monday)
- September (first Friday-Sunday): Weinheimer UKW-Tagung, a three-day internationalamateur radiomeeting held annually since 1956[4]
- October:Bergsträßer Winzerfest(lit. "mountain-road vintner festival" ) in Lützelsachsen
Local businesses
edit- Beltz Verlag
- Freudenberg Group
- Schlegel und Partner GmbH
- Kukident GmbH, Reckitt Benckiser AG
- Naturin
- OAGIS
- T-Systems ITS GmbH
- Wiley-VCHpublishers
- 3 Glocken
- Weinheimer Nachrichten
- Druckhaus Diesbach
- SAP SE
- Domaniecki Carpetence
- DLCON
Transport
editTrains
editWeinheim has two main train stations on theMain-Neckar Railway,these beingWeinheim (Bergstraße) station(served by Regional and long-distance IC trains) and Lützelsachsen (served by Regional trains). These provide connections to Frankfurt, Hamburg and other destinations within Germany.
- Deutsche Bahn
- Rhein-Neckar VerkehrVRN | Startseite
Weinheim is also served by theOEGtramway, which is used daily by people who use this to commute to the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg.
Air
editThe closest airports to Weinheim are:
Twin towns – sister cities
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Population
editThese are the population figures for particular years. There are drawn from guesses, 'Volkszählungsergebnisse(semi-official figures, demarcated by a ¹) and official statistics based on place of residence (Hauptwohnsitz).
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¹ These are taken from a Volkszählungsergebnis.
Notable people
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- Federico Rauch(1786–1829), colonel who fought and died in Argentina
- Heinrich Hübsch(1795–1863), a German architect, head of public works in Karlsruhe
- Philipp Bickel, (DE Wiki)(1829–1914), baptist theologian and publisher
- Valentine Dell(1829-1885), newspaper editor, publisher, politician andU.S. marshalinArkansas.
- August Bender, (DE Wiki)(1847–1926), chemist and entrepreneur
- Wilhelm Platz, (DE Wiki)(1866–1929), author and factory owner
- Richard Freudenberg(1892–1975), politician (FDP)
- Erwin Linder(1903–1968), a German stage, film and TV actor.
- Hartmut K. Lichtenthaler(born 1934), botanist, plant physiologist and university professor.
- Werner Andreas Albert(1935–2019), an Australian conductor.
- Valentino Bellucci(1975–2021), an Italian philosopher, sociologist, poet, painter and essayist.
Sport
edit- Heidi Mohr(born 1967), footballer, played 104 games forGermany women
- Ralf Sonn(born 1967), high jumper
- Sven Barth(born 1980), racing driver
- Stefan Zinnow(born 1980), a former footballer who played 276 games
Worked in the town
edit- Karl Friedrich Bender, (DE Wiki)(1806–1869), theologian, teacher, principal of theErziehungsanstalt für Knaben(boys' school)
- Ingrid Noll(born 1935), a German thriller writer, (e.g.Die Apothekerin), lived in Weinheim
- Markus Kuhn(born 1986), NFL player
Honorary citizens
editThe town of Weinheim has made the following people honorary citizens (Ehrenbürger):
- 1894: Carl Johann Freudenberg,Geheimer Kommerzienrat(royal economist)
- 1904: Erhard Bissinger,Consul general
- 1913: Aute Bode, chief engineer and the architect behind theWachenburg
- 1918: Hermann Ernst Freudenberg,Geheimer Kommerzienrat(royal economist)
- 1922: Georg Friedrich Vogler, vice-mayor
- 1923:Adam Karrillon,doctor and author
- 1928:Emil Hartmann,construction engineer
- 1928: Prof. Arthur Wienkoop, Architect
- 1933:Paul von Hindenburg,German President[6]
- 1940: Georg Peter Nickel, agriculturist
- 1949: Richard Freudenberg, factory owner
- 1953: Hans Freudenberg, factory owner
- 1954:Sepp Herberger,sports trainer, trainer of the GermanWorld Cupwinning side of 1954
- 1962: Wilhelm Brück, Lord Mayor
- 1986: Theo Gießelmann, Lord Mayor
- 2004: Dieter Freudenberg, factory owner
- 2004: Wolfgang Daffinger, mayor, representative in theLandtag
- 2005: Uwe Kleefoot, Lord Mayor
References
edit- ^Aktuelle Wahlergebnisse,Staatsanzeiger, accessed 14 September 2021.
- ^"Bevölkerung nach Nationalität und Geschlecht am 31. Dezember 2022"[Population by nationality and sex as of December 31, 2022](CSV)(in German).Statistisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg.June 2023.
- ^"Die Synagoge in Weinheim (Rhein-Neckar-Kreis)".Alemannia-judaica.de.Retrieved29 December2019.
- ^"Historisches « FACW e.V."
- ^"Städtepartnerschaften".weinheim.de(in German). Weinheim.Retrieved2021-02-17.
- ^For those made honorary citizens in 1933, see Heinz Keller:Weinheim 1933-1945 − Zeitskizzen.in: Stadt Weinheim (Hrsg.):(in German)Die Stadt Weinheim zwischen 1933 und 1945.(=Weinheimer Geschichtsblatt Nr. 38), Weinheim 2000,ISBN3-923652-12-7,S. 13f.
External links
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