Wiesloch
Wiesloch | |
|---|---|
 Town hall | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Wiesloch within Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district  | |
  Wiesloch  Wiesloch | |
| Coordinates:49°17′39″N08°41′54″E/ 49.29417°N 8.69833°E | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Baden-Württemberg |
| Admin. region | Karlsruhe |
| District | Rhein-Neckar-Kreis |
| Subdivisions | Kernstadt, 4 Stadtteile |
| Government | |
| •Lord mayor(2023–31) | Dirk Elkemann[1](Ind.) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 30.262 km2(11.684 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 130 m (430 ft) |
| Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
| • Total | 27,049 |
| • Density | 890/km2(2,300/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00(CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00(CEST) |
| Postal codes | 69168 |
| Dialling codes | 06222 |
| Vehicle registration | HD |
| Website | www.wiesloch.de |
Wiesloch(German:[ˈviːslɔx],locally[ˈvɪslɔx];South Franconian:Wissloch) is a town in northernBaden-Württemberg,Germany. It is situated 13 kilometres south ofHeidelberg.AfterWeinheim,SinsheimandLeimen,it is the fourth largest town in theRhein-Neckar-Kreis.It sharesWiesloch-Walldorf stationwith its neighbouring townWalldorf.Also in the vicinity of Wiesloch areDielheim,Malsch (bei Wiesloch),Mühlhausen,RauenbergandSankt Leon-Rot.
Wiesloch's population grew to more than 20,000 when the administration of the area was reorganised in the 1970s. Wiesloch became aGroße Kreisstadton 1 January 1973, when Altwiesloch, Baiertal, Frauenweiler and Schatthausen were amalgamated with Wiesloch to form the present municipality.
History
[edit]The settlement that is now Wiesloch town centre originated during the expansion of silver mining in the vicinity in the 10th century.[3]
Fossil site
[edit]The fossil remains of the oldesthummingbirdfound to date,Eurotrochilus inexpectatus,were found in a clay pit at Frauenweiler. This bird lived during the EarlyOligocene(30mya), when the area had a humid, subtropical climate similar to the northernCaribbeantoday.[4]
Emperor Henry IV
[edit]In 1077,Emperor Henry IVlocked more than 100 of his enemies in the early church atWizinloch(as the place was then known) on the site of the presentProtestantchurch (Stadtkirche) and burnt the building down.[5]
Battles
[edit]
There were three battles near Wiesloch, theBattle of Mingolsheimon 27 April 1622 (during theThirty Years' War), the1632 Battle of Wieslochon 16 August 1632, (during the same war) and the1799 Battle of Wieslochon 3 December 1799 (during theWar of the Second Coalition).
Wiesloch was attacked on 28 January 1689 by French troops underEzéchiel du Mas, Comte de Mélac,during theNine Years' War,and was almost completely burnt down and destroyed.
Bertha Benz
[edit]The city pharmacy in Wiesloch was the first "filling station"in the world, becauseBertha Benzstopped there on 5 August 1888, on the first long distance car trip, to refill the tank of herautomobile,which her husbandKarl Benzhad invented. She was supplied withligroinby theapothecaryWilli Ockel.
In 2008, theBertha Benz Memorial Routewas officially designated an industrial heritage route, following Bertha Benz's route on the world's first long-distance journey by automobile. It is a 194 km signposted circuit fromMannheimviaHeidelbergand Wiesloch toPforzheimin theBlack Forest,and back.
The Minnesinger von Wissenlo
[edit]TheCodex Manesseincludes four sophisticatedMiddle High Germanlyricsin thetageliedgenre ascribed to theMinnesinger von Wissenlo(meaning "minnesangpoet from Wiesloch ").[6][7]The identity of the Minnesinger von Wissenlo is not known, but the poet is conjectured to be Heinrich Swendinger von Wissenloch, who lived in the second half of the 13th century.[8]An illustration titledvon Wissenloin the Codex Manesse shows a lady, a child, and a knight, and includes anescutcheonwhich does not match that of the Von Wissenloch family.[9]
There are two statues of the Minnesinger von Wissenlo in Wiesloch town centre: one, by Hatto Zeidler from 1978, is in the square by the united Protestant church (Stadtkirche) and shows the poet playing the lyre;[10]the other, an equestrian statue on a tall column, is part of a group by Karel Fron that was erected in the market square near the town hall in 1988.[11]
Geography
[edit]Wiesloch is situated partly on the southern foothills of theOdenwald,partly in theRhineValley, and partly in theKraichgau. Five brooks flow through Wiesloch: theLeimbach,theGauangelbach,theWaldangelbach,the Ochsenbach, and the Maisbach.
Economy
[edit]MLP AG,a large German broker ofpersonal financeservices, is headquartered at Wiesloch. Wiesloch also hosts the world's largest printing press manufacturing site, operated byHeidelberger Druckmaschinen.[12]Other large companies in the close vicinity areHeidelbergCement,the centralcool storewarehouses for theREWE Groupsupermarket chain, and the global headquarters ofSAP SE.
"MetropolPark Wiesloch-Walldorf" is the brand name for the commercial and industrialbusiness parksurrounding Wiesloch-Walldorf railway station.
Leisure
[edit]The open-airLeimbach ParkandWiesloch Feldbahn and Industrial Museumare in the region surrounding the joint railway station.
Twin towns – sister cities
[edit]
Amarante,Portugal
Fontenay-aux-Roses,France
Sturgis,United States
Ząbkowice Śląskie,Poland
Notable people
[edit]- Karl Hermann Zahn(1865–1940), botanist, studiedhawkweed
- Werner Zahn(1890–1971), bobsledder
- Erich Schelling(1904–1986), architect, worked inKarlsruhe
- Rudolf Wild(1904–1995), businessman, foundedWILD,a food company
- Alfred Schön(born 1962), football manager and former player who played over 330 games.
- Klaus Weese(born 1967), freestyle skier
References
[edit]- ^Oberbürgermeisterwahl Wiesloch 2023,Staatsanzeiger. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
- ^"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.
- ^Ludwig H. Hildebrandt:Mittelalterliche Urkunden über Wiesloch und Walldorf,Ubstadt-Weiher 2001, p 110(in German)
- ^World's oldest hummingbirds
- ^Ludwig H. Hildebrandt:Mittelalterliche Urkunden über Wiesloch und Walldorf,Ubstadt-Weiher 2001, p 114, no. W20(in German)
- ^Nu wol ûf, ritter, ez ist tac! – Die Tagelieder des von Wissenlobooklet accompanying a music CD (same title) by FreiburgerSpielleyt,distributed by Verlag der Spielleute. (The booklet includes full texts of the four known lyrics by Von Wissenlo)(in German)
- ^Carl von Kraus:Deutsche Liederdichter des 13. Jahrhunderts,Part I Text, pp 593ff, and Part II Commentary, pp 644ff, Tübingen 1978(in German)
- ^der Minnesänger von Wissenloon the official civic site for Wiesloch(in German)
- ^Karl Zangemeister:Die Wappen, Helmzierden und Standarten der Grossen Heidelberger Liederhandschrift (Manesse-Codex),p. 18, Görlitz 1892; available to download from Heidelberg University Library athttp://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/Zangemeister1892(in German)
- ^Article about the statue, with photograph, on the official civic site for Wiesloch(in German)
- ^Article about the group, with photographs, on the official civic site for Wiesloch(in German)
- ^Heidelberger Druckmaschinen annual report 2006/2007, p. F-5Archived11 July 2011 at theWayback Machine
- ^"Wieslochs Partnerstädte".wiesloch.de(in German). Wiesloch.Retrieved17 February2021.
External links
[edit]- Official website of the city of Wiesloch
- Wiesloch – Industrial Center of the Heidelberg Area South(WebCite archive)
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