Hechingen (
Swabian: ''Hächenga'') is a town in central
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
, Germany. It is situated about south of the state capital of
Stuttgart and north of
Lake Constance and the
Swiss border.
Geography
The town lies at the foot of the
Swabian Alps below
Hohenzollern Castle
Hohenzollern Castle (german: Burg Hohenzollern ) is the ancestral seat of the imperial House of Hohenzollern. The third of three hilltop castles built on the site, it is located atop Mount Hohenzollern, above and south of Hechingen, on the e ...
.
City districts
The city of Hechingen is subdivided into nine neighborhoods, and the downtown is separated into ''Oberstadt''/''Altstadt'' (Upper Town/Old Town) and ''Unterstadt'' (Lower Town).
Surrounding region
Other cities in the area include
Bodelshausen,
Mössingen,
Jungingen,
Bisingen,
Grosselfingen,
Rangendingen, and
Hirrlingen
Hirrlingen is a municipality in the district of Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Hirrlingen is located about 15 kilometers southwest from Tübingen
Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central B ...
.
History
Early history
Recent research shows that the
battle of Solicinium, fought in 368 between the invading
Alamanni
The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes
*
*
*
on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pr ...
and a
Roman army led by Emperor
Valentinian I
Valentinian I ( la, Valentinianus; 32117 November 375), sometimes called Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor, he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces. Vale ...
, probably took place in the northern part of what is today Hechingen and the lost city Solicinium was located where the Roman museum of Hechingen is located today.
Middle Ages
Hechingen is the ancestral home of the
Hohenzollern dynasty of princes,
electors, kings, and emperors, of
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...
,
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
, the
German Empire, and
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...
. In 1176 the
Counts of Hohenberg
The Counts of Hohenberg (or Margraves of Hohenberg) were an ancient Swabian dynasty in the southwest of the present-day Germany the state of Baden-Württemberg.
In the 13th century, the dynasty of Hohenberg was one of the most prominent lineag ...
separated from the Counts of Hohenzollern and seized several cities from the Hohenzollerns. In 1218 the
Burgraves of Nuremberg gained independence from them.
The city was founded in 1255 by the Counts of Hohenzollern as their new capital city. The Hohenzollerns had great land holdings near
Strasbourg and in the
Alb-Donau-Kreis during this time.
Hechingen was located on an Imperial highway which led from the middle
Neckar
The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis near Sc ...
south by way of
Rottweil to the upper
Rhine
The Rhine ; french: Rhin ; nl, Rijn ; wa, Rén ; li, Rien; rm, label=Sursilvan, Rein, rm, label=Sutsilvan and Surmiran, Ragn, rm, label=Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader and Puter, Rain; it, Reno ; gsw, Rhi(n), including in Alsatian dialect, Al ...
and the
Alpine passes. The Counts of Hohenzollern had financial problems and grew steadily weaker. In 1388, there was a siege, following which
Eberhard II, Duke of Württemberg gained feudal rights over the territory. The Counts of Hohenzollern became his vassals and opened the town and their castle to him.
After the town was destroyed by fire in 1401, the Count tried to attract new citizens by granting them rights and privileges. The town thus became the center of the county. The cost of rebuilding was so great that
Friedrich XII of Hohenzollern Friedrich may refer to:
Names
*Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich''
*Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich''
Other
*Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' ...
, known as ''der Öttinger'', sold his entire fortune to Württemberg in 1415. Even this was not enough to satisfy his creditors. The Imperial court in Rottweil condemned him. Although his cousins in
Brandenburg
Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...
attempted arbitration for him,
Henriette, Countess of Montbéliard
Henriette (1387 – 14 February 1444) was Sovereign Countess of Montbéliard from 1397 until 1444.
She was the daughter of Henry of Orbe (died 1396), and the heiress of her grandfather, Stephen, Count of Montbéliard. Her great-grandfather was H ...
, Duchess of Württemberg, took the castle in 1423 and destroyed it. After he was freed from prison, Friedrich undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. His brother,
Eitel Friedrich IV of Hohenzollern, also pledged his allegiance to Württemberg, turning over his inheritance if he did not have an heir. However, in 1433 at age 50, he had a son, Jos Niklaus, and by his death in 1439 he had regained half of their land.
His son, Count
Jos Niklaus of Hohenzollern
Jos is a city in the north central region of Nigeria. The city has a population of about 900,000 residents based on the 2006 census. Popularly called "J-Town", it is the administrative capital and largest city of Plateau State.
During Britis ...
was able to gain Imperial permission to rebuild the castle, as well as to nullify the agreement with Württemberg. Thus, the city of Hechingen remained in the hands of the Hohenzollerns. As a result, the city remained more provincial, and largely agricultural.
Renaissance and Reformation
In 1567, the county was divided in three and became the counties of
Hohenzollern-Hechingen
Hohenzollern-Hechingen was a small principality in southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to the Swabian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty.
History
The County of Hohenzollern-Hechingen was created in 1576, upon the partition of the Cou ...
,
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, and
Hohenzollern-Haigerloch. (The latter was rejoined to Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in 1634.) Hechingen became the residence of the counts of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. Their territory, which consisted of Hechingen and 26 villages, did not change substantially until the 19th century.
Eitel Friedrich IV (1576–1605) made Hechingen a center of art, music, and
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...
architecture. Many buildings built during his reign are still to be seen today: the convent church
St. Luzen
ST, St, or St. may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Stanza, in poetry
* Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band
* Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise
* Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...
, the hospital, and the lower tower — the latter being the last remnant of the city defences. The Renaissance palace that he built, the Friedrichsburg, was removed at the beginning of the 19th century and replaced by the
New Castle.
During the Reformation, Hechingen remained Catholic, but was still affected by the
30 Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
. In 1625,
Imperial troops reached Hechingen, and the prince (elevated from a count in 1623) bore the cost of supporting them. This burden, along with plundering by the soldiers and several poor harvests, caused great suffering and many deaths in the city.
In 1632, the Swedish army attacked, and the following year the entire force entered the city. The castle remained in the hands of the Hohenzollerns, and the troops marched on to
Sigmaringen
Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district.
Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen, ...
, which fell into the hands of
Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg (1614–1674) in 1633. Finally, on 5 July 1633, the city yielded to the Württembergs, and the castle was besieged. The siege lasted nine months, the castle receiving food from the local farmers through underground passages and bartering for it with precious objects from the castle.
On 3 April 1634, the castle surrendered to the Württembergs, whose soldiers plundered everything they could get their hands on, even draft animals farmers needed to plow their fields.
A short time later, Imperial troops reached the city and forced the Württemberg troops to withdraw; however, weakened by the long war they could not enforce the peace. The Plague broke out in 1635, which decimated the already weakened population. That year the castle fell into the hands of
Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (1573–1651), who held it until 1637, when Hohenzollern rule was restored.
The troops of
Bernard of Saxe-Weimar, who was allied with the French, plundered the city completely in 1638 in 12 days. The residents were reduced to eating nettles and snails, having already eaten the cats and dogs.
In 1639, the city was again occupied by the Bavarians until 1650. Although the
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pe ...
was signed in 1648, the troops remained two years longer because the outstanding taxes had not been paid.
Enlightenment
The architecture of the city was greatly influenced by the architect
Pierre Michel d'Ixnard
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
, who was a predecessor of
Classicism in southern Germany.
Nineteenth century
The princes of Hohenzollern maintained good relations with
Napoleon, and the last reigning prince,
Constantine, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen
, spouse =
, issue =
, house = Hohenzollern-Hechingen
, father = Friedrich Hermann Otto, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen
, mother = Princess Pauline of Courland
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Schloss ...
married
Eugénie de Beauharnais
Eugénie Hortense Auguste Napoléone, known as Eugénie de Beauharnais, princess of Leuchtenberg (22 December 1808 – 1 September 1847) was a Franco-German princess. She was the second daughter of Eugène de Beauharnais and Princess Augusta ...
.
The first large palace in the city was Friedrichsburg. The construction of a new palace—
Neues Schloss—to replace it was started in 1818, but it was never properly finished because of the financial constraints of Prince
Frederik. Neues Schloss is currently the headquarters of the Zollernalb Savings Bank.
Starting in 1826, Constantine and Eugénie made Hechingen into a cultural center in southern Germany. They had famous guests, including Eugénie's cousin, the future
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...
,
Hector Berlioz, and
Franz Liszt.
After the
Revolution of 1848, Constantine retired from public life, and his county passed into the control of the Protestant kingdom of
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
in 1850. Hohenzollern-Hechingen was then incorporated into the district of
Sigmaringen
Sigmaringen ( Swabian: ''Semmerenga'') is a town in southern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Situated on the upper Danube, it is the capital of the Sigmaringen district.
Sigmaringen is renowned for its castle, Schloss Sigmaringen, ...
, which became the capital. In that same year,
Friedrich August Stüler began the restoration of the castle.
By 1850, Hechingen had started to industrialize, primarily with Jewish enterprises. By 1871 the city had become one of the most important economic centres in the region, with textiles and machine shops among the major industries.
Twentieth century
In 1925, Hechingen became the capital of a new ''Landkreis''.
Much of the architecture of the city was destroyed or damaged during World War II by
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...
attempts to build air raid shelters in public buildings. The town hall was so damaged that it had to be destroyed. To protect them from further destruction, many industries, including
DEHOMAG, a predecessor of
IBM, were relocated to Hechingen from damaged areas of Germany, such as
Berlin
Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
. Parts of the
Kaiser Wilhelm Society, notably its Institute for Physics, were also relocated there.
In April 1945, American troops of the
Manhattan Project's
Alsos Mission's ''
Operation Big'' entered Hechingen in pursuit of men, materiel, and facilities related to the
German nuclear energy project
The Uranverein ( en, "Uranium Club") or Uranprojekt ( en, "Uranium Project") was the name given to the project in Germany to research nuclear technology, including nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors, during World War II. It went through s ...
.
[Beck, Alfred M, et al, ''United States Army in World War II: The Technical Services – The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Germany'', 198]
Chapter 24, ''Into the Heart of Germany''
/ref> There they seized a large atomic research laboratory and experimental nuclear reactor.[Atomic Heritage Foundatio]
The Alsos Mission
/ref> Many of the physicists captured there were later interned in England in Operation Epsilon and tried in German war crimes tribunals over the following years.[
The city became part of the French occupation zone, and the military governor of the city was Colonel Courtois.
The ''Landkreis'' became part of Württemberg-Hohenzollern in 1947 until the creation of the state of ]Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
in 1952. In 1973, it was incorporated into the Zollernalbkreis, with Balingen as the capital.
Economy
The city of Hechingen has been an important economic center for the region for over a century. People from Mössingen, Sonnenbühl, Albstadt, and the Swabian Alps came to work. After the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, IBM, BMW, and HP applied for building permits, which the city government denied. IBM and HP later built facilities in Sindelfingen- Böblingen.
Notable enterprises which have plants in Hechingen are Gambro, ELCO, the Hohenzollerische Landesbahn, and Sternenbäck. The city has a big industrial park in the north, which is divided into three areas: ''Lotzenäcker'', ''Etzental'', and ''Nasswasen''. Three other industrial areas can be found in Hechingen: ''Reinetal'', ''In den Seelenäckern'' and ''Auf der Bins''.
Politics
The incumbent mayor of Hechingen is Philipp Hahn ( CDU). Former mayors of Hechingen include:
Twin towns – sister cities
Hechingen 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:
* Joué-lès-Tours, France (1973)
* Hódmezővásárhely
Hódmezővásárhely (; also known by other alternative names) is a city with county rights in southeast Hungary, on the Great Hungarian Plain, at the meeting point of the Békés-Csanádi Ridge and the clay grassland surrounding the river Tisz ...
, Hungary (1994)
Since 1990, Hechingen also has friendly relations with Limbach-Oberfrohna, Germany.
Notable people
* Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730–1797), American general
*Karoline Kaulla
Karoline (Hebrew: Chaile) Kaulla née Raphael, known foremost as 'Madame Kaulla' or '"Kiefe" Auerbacher' (1739, in Buchau am Federsee – 18 March 1809, in Hechingen), was a German banker. She was one of the most famous Court Jews of her time, an ...
(1739–1809), Court Jew
* Samuel Ullman (1840–1924), poet
*Elsa Einstein
Elsa Einstein (18 January 1876 – 20 December 1936) was the second wife and cousin of Albert Einstein. Their mothers were sisters, thus making them maternal first cousins. Further, their fathers were first cousins, making the couple paternal se ...
(1876–1936), cousin and wife of Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...
* Wilhelm von Preussen (1882–1951), last German Crown Prince
* Paul Levi (1883–1930), communist leader
*Otto Nerz
Otto Nerz (21 October 1892 – 18 April 1949) was a German footballer player and manager and the first head coach of the Germany national team between 1923 and 1936.
Nerz was born in Hechingen, Province of Hohenzollern, son of a rope shop ...
(1892–1949), football player and manager and sports administrator
*Friedrich Kessler
Friedrich "Fritz" Kessler (August 25, 1901 – January 21, 1998) was an American law professor who taught at Yale Law School (1935–1938, 1947–1970), University of Chicago Law School, and University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He w ...
(1901–1998), law professor
* Wolfgang Abendroth (1906–1985), socialist jurist and political scientist
* Otto Baum (1911–1988), Knights Cross holder
* Georg Braun (1918–1995), Grand Prix motorcycle road racer
* Markus Wolf (1923–2006), spymaster
* Klaus Kinkel (1936–2019), vice chancellor of Germany
* Guenter Neumann (born 1958), professor for plant physiology at the University of Hohenheim
*Franziska Maichle
Franziska Maichle (born 1992 in Hechingen) is a German singer.
Life and work
Franziska ("Franzi") Maichle became famous through the German talent show ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'' in 2009 and the dating game show ''Der Bachelor'', whi ...
(born 1992), singer and TV show participant
References
External links
Hechingen – Hohenzollern – Jewish Encyclopedia
{{Authority control
Historic Jewish communities
Burial sites of the House of Hohenzollern-Hechingen