Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's official name is ''Bad Homburg v.d.Höhe'', which distinguishes it from other places named Homburg. The town has become best known for its mineral springs and spa (hence the prefix ''Bad'', meaning "bath"), and for its casino. Bad Homburg was one of the wealthiest towns in Germany (while the Hochtaunuskreis itself and the

Landkreis Starnberg Starnberg () is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the southern part of Bavaria, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from the north clockwise) Fürstenfeldbruck, Munich, Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, Weilheim-Schongau and Landsberg. Starnberg district ...

in Bavaria regularly vie for the title of the wealthiest district in Germany). the town used the marketing slogan ''Champagnerluft und Tradition'' (Champagne air and tradition).

History

Medieval origins

Local tradition holds that Bad Homburg's documented history began with the mention of the ''Villa Tidenheim'' in the Lorsch codex, associated with the year 782. This ''Villa Tidenheim'' was equated with the historic city center, which is called Dietigheim. The local historian Rüdiger Kurth has questioned this traditional story based on his study of written sources and local factors. In 2002, Kurth initiated

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

excavations by the University of Frankfurt, managed by Professor Joachim Henning. The excavations showed no evidence of settlement between the beginning of the

Christian Era The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...

and the 13th century. It seems that the historical record in the Eberbach chronicles (''Eberbacher Zeugenreihe'') which mentions Wortwin (or Ortwin) von Hohenberch as Homburg's founder about 1180 is the first solid evidence of the town's existence. White Tower Bad Homburg Germany

As early as 1962, in an excavation under the Hirschgang wing of Bad Homburg Castle, two burnt layers were discovered, which the archaeologist

Günther Binding Günther Binding (born 6 March 1936) is a German art historian and retired professor of art history and urban conservation at the University of Cologne. Life Born in Koblenz, Binding, brother of the later sculptor Wolfgang Binding and uncle ...

interpreted as evidence of two former castles having occupied the site in succession and burnt down. Further digs by the University of Frankfurt at Bad Homburg Castle in April 2006, again initiated by Kurth and managed by Prof. Henning, revealed only a single burnt layer, from a

half-timbered Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

building, possibly a castle with towers, which was dated from ceramic finds to the 12th or 13th century. Most likely this building had an association with Wortwin's "castle". A further cultural layer from an even earlier time may lie beneath these remains. Investigations using carbon-14 dating and micromorphological analysis will show whether the dating can be made more precise. Homberg acquired market rights about 1330, but the document granting these rights is said to have been lost. The town's name, "Homburg", is derived from the ''Hohenberg'' Castle. The suffix "vor der Höhe" was probably first recorded in a document of 1399. The designation ''Bad'' was conferred in 1912. The first landgrave of Hessen-Homburg was Friedrich I of Hessen-Homburg. Friedrich II (1680–1708) attained fame as Prince of Homburg. In 1866, as a result of the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

, Homburg became Prussian territory.

Spa town and imperial residence

With the beginning of the spa industry in the town in the mid-19th century, Homburg became an internationally famous spa town. Bad Homburg was favoured particularly by Russian nobility. The spa industry began with the discovery of the ''Elisabethenbrunnen'' ("Princess Elizabeth's spring") in 1834. The first spa building and the first casino in Homburg were built in 1841–1842 by the brothers

François François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King ...

(1806–1877) and Louis Blanc (1806–1852), who later owned the

Monte Carlo Casino The Monte Carlo Casino, officially named Casino de Monte-Carlo, is a gambling and entertainment complex located in Monaco. It includes a casino, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and the office of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. The Casino de Monte-Carlo i ...

. In 1860, the town was connected with Frankfurt by a railway line. In 1888, Homburg became known throughout the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

because Kaiser Wilhelm II made its castle his imperial summer residence. He later financed the building of the Church of the Redeemer (Erlöserkirche) nearby. The emperor's mother also lived there for several years. Edward VII of the United Kingdom was often a guest; it was he who introduced the Homburg hat and turned-up trousers. Edward took fasting cures at Homburg 32 times. The Bad Homburger Golf Club in the ''Röderweisen'' in Dornholzhausen – now part of Bad Homburg – is Germany's oldest golf club. It had its beginnings in the Bad Homburg spa park, where the old clubhouse and even playable parts of the old golf course can still be found. Not far away stands the Russian Chapel, properly called All Saints' Church, an Eastern Orthodox church whose cornerstone was laid by the Russian imperial couple on 16 October 1896, although they did not attend the church's consecration almost three years later. King

Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร� ...

of Siam (Thailand) sent a garden pavilion in gratitude for a successful cure. It was erected in 1914. Horex was a well known German motorcycle brand of the "Horex—Fahrzeugbau AG", founded in 1923 in Bad Homburg by Fritz Kleemann.

Jewish history

In 1335, permission was given by Emperor Louis IV to Gottfried von Eppstein to settle 10 Jews in each of the localities of Eppstein, Homburg, and Steinheim; it is uncertain, however, whether any Jews settled in Homburg at that time. Evidence for the existence of a permanent Jewish settlement in Homburg is found only at the beginning of the 16th century. Until 1600 it consisted of 2 or 3 families, and by 1632 these had increased to 16. The first

Jewish cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( he, בית עלמין ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' ...

was purchased in the 17th century. The community continued to grow so rapidly that in 1703 the landgrave Frederick II of Hesse decided on the construction of a special Judengasse (Jewish quarter). A synagogue, built in 1731, was replaced by a new one in 1867. The Jewish community of Homburg was originally part of the jurisdiction of the rabbinate of Friedberg but began to appoint its own rabbis in the 19th century. A Hebrew printing house was located in Homburg by Seligmann ben Hirz Reis from 1710 until 1713, when he relocated to

Offenbach am Main Offenbach am Main () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Hesse, Germany, on the left bank of the river Main (river), Main. It borders Frankfurt and is part of the Frankfurt urban area and the larger Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Aut ...

. Among other items, he published

Jacob ibn Ḥabib Jacob ben Solomon ibn Habib (Hebrew: יעקב בן שלמה אבן חביב) (alternative transliteration: Yaakov ben Shlomo ibn Habib) (c. 1460 – 1516) was a rabbi and talmudist, best known as the author of ''Ein Yaakov'', a compilation of all t ...

's '' Ein Ya'akov'' (1712). Hebrew printing was resumed there in 1724 by Samson ben Salman Hanau but lack of capital limited his output. The press was acquired in 1736 by Aaron ben Ẓevi Dessau whose publications included the '' Shulhan Arukh ( Ḥoshen Mishpat)'' with commentary (1742). The press was sold in 1748 and transferred in 1749 to Roedelheim. At the beginning of the 20th century, the spa of Homburg became a meeting place of

Russian-Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...

intellectuals. The Jewish population numbered 604 (7.14% of the total population) in 1865, declining to 379 in 1910 (2.64%), and 300 in 1933. Of the 74 Jews who remained on 17 May 1939, 42 were deported in 1942/1943 to Concentration Camps, never to return.

Modern age

While the spa business experienced a long-term decrease after the two world wars, the town gained importance by becoming the site for headquarters of various authorities and administrative bodies. By autumn 1946, the military government had already ordered the founding of bizonal authorities. Bad Homburg was chosen as the seat of the financial administrative centre. On 23 July 1947, the Bizone Economic Council instituted the "Special Money and Credit Centre" here in preparation for currency reform. The centre was managed by

Ludwig Erhard Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and chancellor of West Germany from 1963 until 1966. He is known for leading the West German postwar economic ...

. After the Federal Republic of Germany—- West Germany—- was founded with its capital in Bonn, the Federal Debt Administration (''Bundesschuldenverwaltung''), the Office for Security Adjustment (''Amt für Wertpapierbereinigung'') and the Federal Equalization Office (''Bundesausgleichsamt'') stayed in Bad Homburg. In the 20th century, Bad Homburg became a favourite residential area among the upper classes. On 30 November 1989,

Alfred Herrhausen Alfred Herrhausen (30 January 1930 in Essen – 30 November 1989 in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe) was a German banker and the Chairman of Deutsche Bank, who was assassinated in 1989. He was a member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group a ...

, the manager of Deutsche Bank, was killed and his driver was injured by a car bomb in Bad Homburg. It is alleged that this was an attack by the Red Army Faction, though this has never been proven.

Mayors

*Karl Tettenborn — 1892–1901 *Ernst Ritter von Marx — 1901–1905 *Konrad Maß — 1905–1907 *Walter Lübke DVP 1907–1924 *Georg Eberlein DVP 1924–1933 *Richard Hardt NSDAP 1933–1934 *Erich Meusel NSDAP 1933–1945 *Georg Eberlein FDP, 1945–1948 *Karl Horn CDU, 1948–1962 *Armin Klein CDU, 1962–1980 *Wolfgang Assmann CDU, 1980–1998 *Reinhard Wolters CDU, 1998–2003 (his election was subsequently declared invalid; Wolters was thus never officially mayor. His official acts were not invalidated, however.) *Ursula Jungherr CDU, 2003–2009 *Michael Korwisi Bündnis '90/Grüne, 2009–2015 *Alexander Hetjes CDU, from 18 September 2015

Coat of arms

Bad Homburg's civic coat of arms was granted in 1903 but is said to date from the 15th century on the basis of seals known from that time, although they show a saltire rather than the two adzes seen today (the saltire might be two unclear adzes). The reason for the adzes in the arms is not known; it is possibly dialectal canting. The colours, with silver adzes in a blue field, have been in use at least since 1621.

Schools

Kaiserin-Friedrich-Gymnasium The Kaiserin-Friedrich-Gymnasium (abbreviation: ''KFG''; Empress Frederick Gymnasium) is a secondary school in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Hesse, Germany. History The school was founded in 1550 as a private Latin school and is one of the oldest s ...

* Humboldtschule * Gesamtschule am Gluckenstein * Maria-Ward-Schule * Feldbergschule (branch Bad Homburg)

Sport

Baseball club Bad Homburg Hornets play in Germany's

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

, having competed in the country's first division until 2018. The Bad Homburg Open is a WTA 250 tennis tournament held in the town in honour of its long legacy of playing and developing the sport. The inaugural Bad Homburg Open was held in 2021 and played on grass at the TC Bad Homburg. German player Angelique Kerber won the event.

Notable people

early times

* Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (1633–1708), successful and experienced general, eponymous hero of The Prince of Homburg * Friedrich Ludwig Abresch (1699–1782), Dutch philologist * Isaac von Sinclair (1775–1815), writer, diplomat and friend of the poet Friedrich Hölderlin * Ferdinand, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (1783–1866), nobleman, last landgrave of Hesse-Homburg * Princess Maria Anna of Hesse-Homburg (1785–1846), noblewoman, acted as the first lady of Prussia from 1810 to 1840

19th c.

* Károly Lotz (1833–1904), German-Hungarian painter * Louis Jacobi (1836–1910), architect and archaeologist, notable for his dig in

Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...

in 1889 *

Karl Wilhelm von Meister Karl Wilhelm von Meister (3 February 1863 – 14 February 1935) was a German politician and diplomat. Life and career Meister was born as the eldest son of Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Meister, one of the co-founders of Hoechst AG, and his wife Marie ...

(1863–1935), German politician and diplomat * Heinrich Jacobi (1866–1946), architect and archaeologist of the Roman Empire, son of Louis Jacobi * Fritz von Loßberg (1868–1942), colonel, and later general, of WW1, a strategic defence planner *

Ludwig von Salm-Hoogstraeten Count Ludwig von Salm-Hoogstraeten (; hu, Salm Lajos ; 24 February 1885 – 23 July 1944), nicknamed "Ludi", was an Austrian tennis player of the pre-Open Era. He competed in the men's outdoor singles event at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He rea ...

(1885–1944), controversial Austrian tennis player, competed in the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

* Rudolf von Eschwege (1895–1917), a fighter pilot in WW1, operating on the

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of German ...

* Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1888–1970), Nobel Prize-winning author (1966 together with Nelly Sachs)

20th c.

Walter Eckhardt Walter Eckhardt (March 23, 1906 in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Hesse-Nassau – January 1, 1994) was a German politician, who represented the All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights (GB/BHE) and subsequently the Christian ...

(1906–1994), lawyer and local, national and Euro politician * Tilly Lauenstein (1916–2002), stage and film actress * Heinz Schmidt (1920–1943), German Luftwaffe officer *

Judith Hemmendinger Judith Hemmendinger (born October 2, 1923) is a German-born Israeli researcher and author specializing in child survivors of the Holocaust. During World War II, she was a social worker and refugee counselor for the Œuvre de secours aux enfants ( ...

(born 1923), German-born Israeli researcher and author specializing in child survivors of The Holocaust * Johanna Quandt (1926–2015), very wealthy business woman, major shareholder of BMW * Wolfgang Strödter (1948–2021), field hockey player and

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

winner *

Georg Schramm Georg Schramm (born 11 March 1949) is a German Kabarett artist. He was a host of the Kabarett shows '' Scheibenwischer'' and ''Neues aus der Anstalt''. Biography Schramm was born in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe. His father was a member of the Soc ...

(born 1949), psychologist and Kabarett artist * Lorenz Jäger (born 1951), sociologist and journalist * Reinhard Genzel (born 1952), astrophysicist, co-director of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, a professor at LMU and an emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy". * Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel (born 1955), parson and director of action ''Brot für die Welt'' (Bread for the World) * Keegan Gerhard (born 1960), award-winning pastry chef, former host of the Food Network series Food Network Challenge * Olaf Velte (born 1960), writer *

Susanne Klatten Susanne Hanna Ursula Klatten ('' née'' Quandt, born 28 April 1962) is a German billionaire heiress, the daughter of Herbert and Johanna Quandt. As of January 2022, her net worth was estimated at US$23.4 billion, and the richest woman in Germ ...

(born 1962), daughter of Johanna Quandt, BMW heiress, one of the richest women of Germany * Martin Schneider (born 1964), comedian *

Stefan Quandt Stefan Quandt (born 9 May 1966) is a German billionaire heir, engineer and industrialist. As of October 2021, his net worth is estimated at US$23.2 billion and ranked at number 89 on Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Early life Quandt was born in B ...

(born 1966), billionaire BMW heir, engineer and industrialist. * Stella Deetjen (born 1970), founder and chair person of Back to Life e.V., a charitable organisation providing development assistance and emergency relief in Nepal *

Marc Erwin Babej Marc Erwin Babej (born 30 March 1970) is a German–American photographic artist and writer. His elaborately staged works focus on subject matter in history and social science. Life and career Babej was raised in Bad Homburg, West Germany and ...

(born 1970), artist *

Roland Böer Roland Böer (6 December 1970) is a German conductor with a focus on opera. He has worked at leading European opera houses, including the Oper Frankfurt where he began as répétiteur in 1996, was Kapellmeister from 2002 to 2008, and has often ...

(born 1970), conductor and festival manager

Twin towns – sister cities

Bad Homburg vor der Höhe is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Cabourg, France * Chur, Switzerland * Dubrovnik, Croatia *

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, England, United Kingdom * Mariánské Lázně, Czech Republic * Mayrhofen, Austria * Mondorf-les-Bains, Luxembourg * Petergof, Russia * Terracina, Italy a.