Heilbronn () is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in northern
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, surrounded by
Heilbronn District
Landkreis Heilbronn () is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Neckar-Odenwald, Hohenlohe, Schwäbisch Hall, Rems-Murr, Ludwigsburg, Enz, Karlsruhe and Rhein-Nec ...
. With over 126,000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state.
From the late Middle Ages, it developed into an important trading centre. At the beginning of the 19th century, Heilbronn became one of the centres of early industrialisation in Württemberg. Heilbronn's old town was completely destroyed during the air raid of 4 December 1944 and rebuilt in the 1950s. Today Heilbronn is the economic centre of the
Heilbronn-Franken region.
Heilbronn is known for its wine industry and is nicknamed ''Käthchenstadt'', after
Heinrich von Kleist
Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'', ''The Broken Jug'', ''Amph ...
's ''
Das Käthchen von Heilbronn
' (''Katie of Heilbronn or The Trial by Fire'') (1807–1808) is a "great historical knightly play" (German: ') in five acts by the German playwright Heinrich von Kleist. The action of the drama takes place in Swabia during the Middle Ages.
Perf ...
''.
Geography
Heilbronn is located in the northern corner of the
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 Schwenn ...
basin at the bottom of the
Wartberg (308 m). It occupies both banks of the Neckar, and the highest spot inside city limits is the
Schweinsberg with a height of 372 meters. Heilbronn is adjacent to
Swabian-Franconian Forest Nature Park and is surrounded by vineyards.
![Neckar watershed closer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Neckar_watershed_closer.gif)
Heilbronn and its surroundings are located in the northern part of the larger
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
metropolitan area. The city is the economic center of the Heilbronn-Franken region and is one of fourteen such cities in the Baden-Württemberg master plan of 2002. It also serves
Abstatt,
Bad Rappenau
Bad Rappenau (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Rappene'') is a city municipality in the Heilbronn (district), district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated about northwest of Heilbronn.
Geography
...
,
Bad Wimpfen
Bad Wimpfen () is a historic spa town in the district of Heilbronn in the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany. It lies north of the city of Heilbronn, on the river Neckar.
Geography
Bad Wimpfen is located on the west bank of the River ...
,
Beilstein,
Brackenheim,
Cleebronn
Cleebronn () is a municipality in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.
Geography
Cleebronn is in the Zabergäu in the south of the district of Heilbronn, directly in the north of the Stromberg mountain with an e ...
,
Eberstatt,
Ellhofen
Ellhofen () is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe af ...
,
Eppingen
Eppingen () is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The town has the second-largest population in the district.
Eppingen lies in the Kraichgau, a hilly region in southwestern Germany, close to the conflu ...
,
Flein
Flein () is a municipality in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.
Geography
Flein is situated in the south of the district of Heilbronn and directly borders on to Heilbronn in the south.
Neighbouring municip ...
,
Gemmingen
Gemmingen (; South Franconian: ''Gemminge'') is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second m ...
,
Güglingen
Güglingen () is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated 18 km southwest of Heilbronn.
Geography
Güglingen is situated in a valley called Zabergäu in the southwest district of Heilbron ...
,
Ilsfeld
Ilsfeld is a municipality in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in Germany, on the outer edge of the Stuttgart Metropolitan Region. In addition to the village of Ilsfeld proper, it includes the formerly independent settlements of Aue ...
,
Ittlingen
Ittlingen () is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
History
From 1355, Ittlingen was a possession of the . Their rule ended in 1806, when the Gemmingens' properties were mediatized to the Grand Duchy of Baden. I ...
,
Kirchardt
Kirchardt () is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Geography
Kirchardt is in the north-west of Heilbronn and belongs to the outskirts of the Stuttgart Metropolitan Region. Starting in the north and proceeding ...
,
Lauffen am Neckar
Lauffen am Neckar () or simply Lauffen is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is on the river Neckar, southwest of Heilbronn. The town is famous as the birthplace of the poet Friedrich Hölderlin and for its qu ...
,
Lehrensteinsfeld
Lehrensteinsfeld is a municipality in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Euro ...
,
Leingarten
Leingarten () is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 7 km west of Heilbronn. It was formed 1 January 1970, when the municipalities of Großgartach and Schluchtern merged.
Geography
Location
Lein ...
,
Löwenstein
Löwenstein () is a city in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was first mentioned in 1123. The castle of Löwenstein served as a residence for the counts of Löwenstein-Wertheim. In 1634 the castle was destroyed by the ...
,
Massenbachhausen
Massenbachhausen is a municipality in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europ ...
,
Neckarwestheim
Neckarwestheim is a municipality with 3524 inhabitants in the Heilbronn district, Baden-Württemberg, in south-west Germany. It is located on the Neckar river and is well known as the location of a nuclear power station, the Neckarwestheim Nucle ...
,
Nordheim,
Obersulm,
Pfaffenhofen,
Schwaigern
Schwaigern () is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 12 km west of Heilbronn.
Geography
Neighbouring municipalities
The neighbouring towns and municipalities of Schwaigern (clockwise) are: Leing ...
,
Siegelsbach,
Talheim
Talheim () is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is commonly known for its wine, the tennis tournament Intersport Heilbronn Open, Heilbronn ...
,
Untergruppenbach
Untergruppenbach () is a municipality near Heilbronn, a city in the northern half of the German state of Baden-Württemberg.
There are a total of 7,600 inhabitants living in six villages that form the municipality of Untergruppenbach. Approxim ...
,
Weinsberg
Weinsberg (South Franconian: ''Weischberg'') is a town in the north of the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It was founded around 1200 and is situated in the Heilbronn district. The town has about 11,800 inhabitants. It is noted for its win ...
,
Wüstenrot
Wüstenrot is a municipality in the Mainhardt Forest with about 6,800 inhabitants, more than half of them in small incorporated villages. The village is the birthplace of the Wüstenrot Bausparkasse (Wüstenrot Building Society).
Geography
...
, and
Zaberfeld
Zaberfeld () is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
Geography
Zaberfeld lies in the Zabergäu, in the southwestern corner of the Heilbronn district, at the head of the Zaber river.
Neighboring communities
Zabe ...
as a regional economic centre.
Neighboring communities
Heilbronn shares a border with the following cities and towns, all part of
Heilbronn County and listed here clockwise from the North:
Bad Wimpfen
Bad Wimpfen () is a historic spa town in the district of Heilbronn in the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany. It lies north of the city of Heilbronn, on the river Neckar.
Geography
Bad Wimpfen is located on the west bank of the River ...
,
Neckarsulm
Neckarsulm () is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, near Heilbronn, and part of the district of Heilbronn. , Neckarsulm had 26,800 inhabitants. The name Neckarsulm derives from the city's location where the Neckar and Sulm rivers ...
,
Erlenbach,
Weinsberg
Weinsberg (South Franconian: ''Weischberg'') is a town in the north of the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It was founded around 1200 and is situated in the Heilbronn district. The town has about 11,800 inhabitants. It is noted for its win ...
,
Lehrensteinsfeld
Lehrensteinsfeld is a municipality in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Euro ...
,
Untergruppenbach
Untergruppenbach () is a municipality near Heilbronn, a city in the northern half of the German state of Baden-Württemberg.
There are a total of 7,600 inhabitants living in six villages that form the municipality of Untergruppenbach. Approxim ...
,
Flein
Flein () is a municipality in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.
Geography
Flein is situated in the south of the district of Heilbronn and directly borders on to Heilbronn in the south.
Neighbouring municip ...
,
Talheim
Talheim () is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is commonly known for its wine, the tennis tournament Intersport Heilbronn Open, Heilbronn ...
,
Lauffen am Neckar
Lauffen am Neckar () or simply Lauffen is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is on the river Neckar, southwest of Heilbronn. The town is famous as the birthplace of the poet Friedrich Hölderlin and for its qu ...
,
Nordheim,
Leingarten
Leingarten () is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 7 km west of Heilbronn. It was formed 1 January 1970, when the municipalities of Großgartach and Schluchtern merged.
Geography
Location
Lein ...
,
Schwaigern
Schwaigern () is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 12 km west of Heilbronn.
Geography
Neighbouring municipalities
The neighbouring towns and municipalities of Schwaigern (clockwise) are: Leing ...
,
Massenbachhausen
Massenbachhausen is a municipality in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europ ...
and
Bad Rappenau
Bad Rappenau (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Rappene'') is a city municipality in the Heilbronn (district), district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated about northwest of Heilbronn.
Geography
...
.
Boroughs
The city is divided into nine
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
In the Middle Ag ...
s:
History
Up to AD 1200
The oldest traces of humans in and around Heilbronn date back to the
Old Stone Age
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός '' palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
(30,000 BC). The fertile Neckar floodplains in the Heilbronn basin aided early settlement by farmers and ranchers. The city limits of present-day Heilbronn contain many sites of
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
finds. Later on, but still before AD, the
Celt
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
s already mined here for salt from brine.
Under
Roman Emperor Domitian
Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...
(AD 81–96) the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
pushed east away from the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
and the outer boundary of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
was set at the
Neckar-Odenwald Limes
The Neckar-Odenwald Limes (german: Neckar-Odenwald-Limes) is a collective term for two, very different early sections of the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes, a Roman defensive frontier line that may have been utilised during slightly different perio ...
. A
castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
in today's borough of Böckingen was part of that ''
limes
Limes may refer to:
* the plural form of lime (disambiguation)
* the Latin word for ''limit'' which refers to:
** Limes (Roman Empire)
(Latin, singular; plural: ) is a modern term used primarily for the Germanic border defence or delimiting ...
'', and nearby numerous Roman villas and plantations were built. Around AD 150, the Neckar-Odenwald Limes became obsolete when the boundary of the Roman Empire was moved approximately to the east, where it was subsequently fortified with the construction of the
Upper Germanic Limes
The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes (german: Obergermanisch-Raetischer Limes), or ORL, is a 550-kilometre-long section of the former external frontier of the Roman Empire between the rivers Rhine and Danube. It runs from Rheinbrohl to Eining on the ...
complete with
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...
and
trench
A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit).
In geology, trenches result from eros ...
es.
Around 260, the Romans surrendered the limes, and the
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 pres ...
became rulers of the Neckar basin. Between the 4th and 7th centuries, the area became part of the
Frankish Empire
Francia, also called the Kingdom of the Franks ( la, Regnum Francorum), Frankish Kingdom, Frankland or Frankish Empire ( la, Imperium Francorum), was the largest post-Roman barbarian kingdom in Western Europe. It was ruled by the Franks dur ...
, and the first settlement was built in the general vicinity of the present center of town.
In 741, Heilbronn is first mentioned in an official document of the
Diocese of Würzburg
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
as ''villa Helibrunna'' (together with a ''Michaelsbasilica''), and in 841, King
Louis the German
Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...
set up court here for a period of time. The name ''Heilbrunna'' (''healing well'') hints to a well that is located not far from the basilica. In 1050, a significant settlement of
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
is noted in official documents, and the Codex of the monastery in
Hirsau
Hirsau (formerly ''Hirschau'') is a district of the town of Calw in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, located in the south-west portion of the country, about two miles north of Calw and about twenty-four miles west of Stuttgart.
Town
Hi ...
documented Heilbronn's right to hold market days and mint coins, mentioning its harbor and vineyards as well. The name of the city became a widespread
Jewish surname
Jewish surnames are family names used by Jews and those of Jewish origin. Jewish surnames are thought to be of comparatively recent origin; the first known Jewish family names date to the Middle Ages, in the 10th and 11th centuries CE.
Jews have ...
in many varieties, see
Heilprin
Heilprin ( he, היילפרין) is a Jewish surname with many variants.
Origins
Some people with the name derive it from the town of Heilbronn, Germany. "Heilbronn" means "healing well".
Besides the numerous Heilbrons, Heilbronners, Heilpruns, ...
,
Halpern Halpern is a variation of the Jewish surname Heilprin and may refer to:
* Baruch Halpern, Jewish studies
* Benjamin Halpern, American marine biologist and ecologist
* Carolyn Halpern, American psychologist
* Charles Halpern, lawyer
* Charna Hal ...
, and
Halperin.
1200–1500
![DeutschHof HN](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/DeutschHof_HN.JPG)
In 1225, Heilbronn was incorporated into the
Hohenstaufen
The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...
Empire as ''oppidum Heilecbrunnen''. ''Oppidum'' signified a city fortified by
parapet
A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...
and
trench
A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit).
In geology, trenches result from eros ...
es. Later during the 13th century, the
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...
obtained ownership of a large area south of Heilbronn which would remain owned by that order until
German Mediatisation
German mediatisation (; german: deutsche Mediatisierung) was the major territorial restructuring that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany and the surrounding region by means of the mass mediatisation and secularisation of a large number ...
in 1805. Starting in 1268, the order built the ''Deutschhof'' there as one of its residences. The church building of the order that was located on the premises was modified and expanded several times: First in 1350 it was expanded (
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
), then it was remodeled in 1719 (
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
), and in 1977, it was consecrated as a cathedral.
After the demise of the
Staufen dynasty, King
Rudolf I
Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death.
Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which h ...
returned city status to Heilbronn in 1281 and installed a regal advocate to rule the city. In addition to the advocate he put a council in place that was headed up by a mayor. Around 1300, the first city hall was erected in the market place and the
Kilianskirche (built on the foundation of the Michaelsbasilica) was expanded. The Neckar privilege gave the city the right to modify the flow of the river in 1333, which meant it now had the right to construct dams, harbors and mills. Because of the infrastructure thus created, during the 14th century Heilbronn grew attractive to merchants and craftspeople, who now demanded the right to determine their own fate.
In 1371,
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV ( cs, Karel IV.; german: Karl IV.; la, Carolus IV; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charle ...
, issued a new charter to the city. Now Heilbronn needed to answer only to the Emperor and as such was an
Imperial Free City
In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
. Craftspeople and merchants were now represented in its council and the villages of Böckingen,
Flein
Flein () is a municipality in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.
Geography
Flein is situated in the south of the district of Heilbronn and directly borders on to Heilbronn in the south.
Neighbouring municip ...
,
Frankenbach
Frankenbach () is a borough of Heilbronn since 1974. It is situated in the North-West, about 4.5 kilometres as crow flies from the centre.
left, View over Frankenbach
Frankenbach was first mentioned in 766 and belonged to Heilbronn from the ear ...
and Neckargartach became part of Heilbronn's territory.
As an Imperial Free City Heilbronn was threatened by the ambitious
House of Württemberg
The House of Württemberg is a German dynasty and former royal family from Württemberg.
History County
The House probably originated in the vicinity of the Salian dynasty. Around 1080 the ancestors of modern Württemberg, which was then called ...
. A relationship with the Holy Roman Emperor and a treaty with the
Electorate of the Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
in effect from 1417 to 1622 strengthened Heilbronn's position and kept the House of Württemberg at bay. The political stability enjoyed by the city during the 15th century enabled it to expand, and many of its historic structures, such as the
Kilianskirche (1455–60), trace their origins to that era.
1500–1700
Götz von Berlichingen
Gottfried "Götz" von Berlichingen (1480 – 23 July 1562), also known as Götz of the Iron Hand, was a German (Franconian) Imperial Knight (''Reichsritter''), mercenary, and poet. He was born around 1480 into the noble family of Berliching ...
spent three years in "knightly custody" in Heilbronn starting in 1519 and even spent a night in the tower of the bastion. That same year people first took note of the pub owner
Jäcklein Rohrbach who with accomplices would later kill the executor of Böckingen. After he had spent some time in the
Hohenlohe Plains and collected similarly minded characters around him, he returned to Heilbronn in April 1525 just as the
German Peasants' War
The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt (german: Deutscher Bauernkrieg) was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It failed because of intense oppositio ...
was getting into full swing. On April 16 the peasants killed many of the nobles in Weinsberg and on April 18 the Heilbronn monastery of the
Order of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel was attacked and ransacked. The city opened its gates in response to demands of the peasants and consequently more churches and municipal institutions were robbed the next day. For about a month Heilbronn remained under the control of rebellious peasants. And even though
Johann Lachmann, later a church reformer, had attempted to mediate, the peasants did not leave the city until one of their armies was defeated on May 12, 1525, in
Böblingen
Böblingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Beblenga'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, seat of Böblingen (district), Böblingen District. Sindelfingen and Böblingen are Geographic contiguity, contiguous.
History
Böblingen was found ...
. Their leader Rohrbach was executed on May 21, 1525, in Neckargartach and his home town of Böckingen was partially burnt to the ground in punishment.
In 1528, the replacement of the mayor by
Hans Riesser
Hans may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People
* Hans (name), a masculine given name
* Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician
** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans
** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...
, a Protestant, brought on the previously delayed
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
and through the efforts of Reformer Lachmann schools and healthcare were also reorganized. In 1529 the
Kilianskirche (church tower of the Kilianskirche) was completed. It was the first important religious building of the
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 ideas ...
in Germany. The year 1530 brought about the acceptance of the
Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession, also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Protestant Re ...
by city council and residents and the ''Heilbronn Catechism'' of 1536 is the second oldest catechism in the Protestant Church. In 1538 Heilbronn joined the
Schmalkaldic League
The Schmalkaldic League (; ; or ) was a military alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century.
Although created for religious motives soon after the start of the Reformation, its members later came to ...
but by 1546 squabbles between troops of the Schmalkaldic League and those of the Emperor
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infan ...
escalated into battles that were won by the Emperor. As a result, Charles V spent Christmas 1546 in Heilbronn to attend the ensuing criminal proceedings. It is also Charles V who in 1522 changed the charter of the city and this charter survived almost unscathed until 1803.
![Heilbronn 1643 von Matthaeus Merian](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Heilbronn_1643_von_Matthaeus_Merian.jpg)
During the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
the city and surrounding villages suffered badly. After the
battle of Wimpfen
The Battle of Wimpfen was a battle in the Palatinate campaign period of the Thirty Years' War on 6 May 1622 near Wimpfen.
The combined forces of the Catholic League and the Spanish Empire under Marshal Tilly and Gonzalo de Córdoba defeated ...
in 1622, Neckargartach was burnt to the ground. In 1631 Heilbronn was occupied by imperial troops but the same year the Swedes succeeded in conquering the city. From 1644 through 1647, Heilbronn was again part of the Holy Roman Empire, but then French troops moved in and later those of the
Electorate of the Palatinate
The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...
. The city was not free of occupying forces until four years after 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 pea ...
of 1648. But already in the 1670s the city again became the stage for armed manoeuvres, until it was occupied by French troops in 1688. But while that occupation of the city only lasted several months, the French were only persuaded to leave the surrounding areas in 1693, after a large defensive army had been put into the field and fortifications had been erected.
1700–1900
![KäthchenHaus HN02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/K%C3%A4thchenHaus_HN02.JPG)
During the 18th century, archives suggest all members of the city council enjoyed some sort of formal education;
Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friendsh ...
and
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
came to visit; and elaborate buildings were being constructed in the
Rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
style.
On September 9, 1802, Heilbronn lost its status as an Imperial Free City when the troops of Duke
Friedrich I Frederick I may refer to:
* Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht.
* Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978)
* Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105)
* Frederick I, Count of Zolle ...
of
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...
arrived. The duke had conceded the left bank of the Rhine to France during the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
but had been compensated with areas on the right bank. This is how Heilbronn and other former Imperial Free Cities became part of Württemberg in 1803. Heilbronn became the seat of an ''Oberamt'' (district), and the four Imperial Free villages became separate communities within the district. In 1806 the Duchy of Württemberg became the
Kingdom of Württemberg
The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...
.
![Heilbronn Stadtplan 1858-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Heilbronn_Stadtplan_1858-2.jpg)
In 1815, Heilbronn again became a staging area for major armies ahead of the campaign against
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, and 10,000 troops paraded in front of Emperor
Franz of Austria and more than one hundred German princes and generals in the ''Theresienwiese''.
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.
The son of ...
met in Heilbronn with the
Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
* Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
Baroness
Juliane von
Krüdener, who talked him into founding the "
Holy Alliance
The Holy Alliance (german: Heilige Allianz; russian: Священный союз, ''Svyashchennyy soyuz''; also called the Grand Alliance) was a coalition linking the monarchist great powers of Austria, Prussia, and Russia. It was created after ...
".
Industrialization
Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
arrived in 1820. When the first train lines were placed in service in Württemberg, Heilbronn was at the end of the line of the northern branch that connected Heilbronn with
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
and further fueled industrialization.
For a while Heilbronn suffered from the upheavals of the
Baden Revolution
The Baden Revolution (german: Badische Revolution) of 1848/1849 was a regional uprising in the Grand Duchy of Baden which was part of the revolutionary unrest that gripped almost all of Central Europe at that time.
As part of the popular libera ...
that its civil guard participated in. During that time the 8th infantry regiment switched sides and joined the revolutionaries until it was subsequently disarmed and force-transferred out of the area.
In 1849, the
Hoerner Bank, one of the oldest still functioning banks in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, was founded in Heilbronn.
Heilbronn became part of 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 ...
in 1871 during the
unification of Germany
The unification of Germany (, ) was the process of building the modern German nation state with federalism, federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without multinational Austria), which commenced on 18 August 1866 with ad ...
.
In the 1860s the city's train tracks were extended to
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
via
Bad Wimpfen
Bad Wimpfen () is a historic spa town in the district of Heilbronn in the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany. It lies north of the city of Heilbronn, on the river Neckar.
Geography
Bad Wimpfen is located on the west bank of the River ...
, to
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg is ...
via
Osterburken
Osterburken () is a town in the Neckar-Odenwald district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 28 km southwest of Tauberbischofsheim, 50 km northeast of Heilbronn, 90 km east of Heidelberg, 60 km southwest of Würzb ...
, and to
Crailsheim
Crailsheim is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Incorporated in 1338, it lies east of Schwäbisch Hall and southwest of Ansbach in the Schwäbisch Hall district. The city's main attractions include two Evangelical churches, a ...
(and later on to
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
) via
Schwäbisch Hall
Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...
. In 1880, the
Kraichgau
The Kraichgau () is a hilly region in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Odenwald and the Neckar to the North, the Black Forest to the South, and the Upper Rhine Plain to the West. To the east, its boundary is c ...
line was completed and created an important connection towards
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
, and by the end of the 19th century, Heilbronn had become an important hub, second in Wuerttemburg to Stuttgart in industrial output.
The year 1892 brought a connection to the power plant in Lauffen; thus Heilbronn became the first city in the world to enjoy long-distance electric power.
1900–1945
![Heilbronn ca](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Heilbronn_ca._April_1945.jpg)
With the dissolution of monarchy in the
German Reich
German ''Reich'' (lit. German Realm, German Empire, from german: Deutsches Reich, ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty ...
as a result of World War I, Heilbronn became part of the
Free People's State of Württemberg
The Free People's State of Württemberg (german: Freier Volksstaat Württemberg) was a state in Württemberg, Germany, during the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany.
1918 revolution
With the German revolution near the end of World War I, the Ki ...
in 1918.
After almost a century of economic boom and growth of the local industry Heilbronn's citizenry included many labourers. The city came to be known as a "red hot spot"; numerous worker and sports clubs were begun. Already prior to World War I the
SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been t ...
cornered the majority of the vote and stayed that course during the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
. At his visit to the city on May 15, 1926,
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then ...
was clearly not welcome by everyone, and several people were injured when a man was mistaken for Hitler and attacked. Hitler himself was able to give his speech in the city's community center ''Harmonie'', but the SPD had the majority in Heilbronn over the
NSDAP
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
as late as the elections on March 5, 1933.
Richard Drauz, who had been born into a respected Heilbronn family, became Heilbronn's NSDAP
Kreisleiter
''Kreisleiter'' (; "District Leader") was a Nazi Party political rank and title which existed as a political rank between 1930 and 1945 and as a Nazi Party title from as early as 1928. The position of ''Kreisleiter'' was first formed to provide ...
(District Leader) in 1932. He was also elected to the
Reichstag from 1933 on and pushed hard for the ''
Gleichschaltung
The Nazi term () or "coordination" was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party successively established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all aspects of German society and societies occupied b ...
'' of the Heilbronn clubs and press in
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
.
On July 28, 1935, the port was opened in a canal off the Neckar, and 1936 saw the
Autobahn
The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...
between Heilbronn and Stuttgart completed. Economy and infrastructure were booming in Württemberg, and Heilbronn was at the logistic centre of it all. As the result of a district reform on October 1, 1938, Heilbronn became the seat of the newly created
Heilbronn County and regained independent city status. At the same time the previously independent communities of Böckingen, Sontheim, and Neckargartach were annexed, and with 72,000 residents Heilbronn then was the second largest city in Württemberg. The port turned into an important transfer station on the Neckar and one of the ten largest interior ports in the country.
On November 10, 1938, the Heilbronn
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
was destroyed during the
Kristallnacht
() or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (german: Novemberpogrome, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) paramilitary and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from ...
. Soon thereafter the
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish community was all but eliminated.
Starting in 1942 during World War II, the salt mines in and around Heilbronn were used to store art and artifacts from Germany, France, and Italy. Similarly, important producers of the war industry were moved into the
mine shafts. The expansion of the shafts was undertaken by labour brigades of the
concentration camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
branches in Kochendorf and Neckargartach. From Heilbronn all the way to
Neckarelz
Neckarelz is a suburb of Mosbach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Geography
Neckarelz is in northern Baden-Württemberg, between the Odenwald and Kraichgau, at the confluence of the Neckar and Elz rivers. On the other side of the Neckar, are t ...
numerous subterraneous complexes, some of them gigantic, were constructed; on November 20, 1942, the Heilbronn Bureau of Labour had 8,000 forced labourers registered in its district.
In 1940
allied air raids began, and the city and its surrounding area were hit about 20 times with minor damage. On September 10, 1944, a raid by the allies targeted the city specifically, in particular the Böckingen train transfer station. As a result of 1,168 bombs dropped that day, 281 residents died. The city was carpet-bombed from the southern quarter all the way to the
Kilianskirche in the center of town. The church was burnt out.
After a
ten-day battle, with the allies advancing over the strategically important
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 Schwenn ...
crossings, the war ended for the destroyed city, and it was occupied by the U.S. Army on April 12, 1945. Local NSDAP leader
Richard Drauz became a fugitive because of executions of American prisoners of war he had ordered in March 1945. He was eventually arrested, tried, and hanged by the Allies in
Landsberg on December 4, 1946.
Second Half of the 20th Century
![StadtTheater HN01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/StadtTheater_HN01.JPG)
After the war, Emil Beutinger, mayor until 1933, returned to office and began the formidable task of reconstruction that was subsequently continued by his successors
Paul Metz and Paul Meyle. Milestones were the rededication of historic city hall in 1953 and the reopening of the community centre, ''Harmonie''. Heilbronn was part of
Württemberg-Baden
Württemberg-Baden was a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It was created in 1945 by the United States occupation forces, after the previous states of Baden and Württemberg had been split up between the US and French occupation zones. I ...
until 1952, after which it became part 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 ...
.
After 1951, US troops were permanently stationed in Heilbronn. They used barracks built prior to World War II and added some structures of their own.
The opening of the Autobahn
A 6 from Heilbronn to
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
in 1968 was an important economic event. When the
A 81 to
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg is ...
and the
A 6 to
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
was completed in 1974 and 1979, respectively, Heilbronn became an important logistical centre in southern Germany. As a result, many large companies opened offices in Heilbronn.
When Klingenberg became part of Heilbronn on January 1, 1970, the city's population exceeded 100,000 for the first time; thus Heilbronn attained "major city" (''Großstadt'') status. During the last district reform in the 1970s, Kirchhausen, Biberach, Frankenbach and Horkheim were incorporated into Heilbronn, and the city was reconfirmed as independent city and seat of Heilbronn County. It was also declared seat of the newly formed Franken region, now Heilbronn-Franken.
Also during the 1970s, the centre of the city was transformed into a
pedestrian zone
Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...
and the rededication of the city theatre in 1982 closed one of the largest holes left in the inner city from World War II.
Pursuant to the
NATO Double-Track Decision
The NATO Double-Track Decision was the decision by NATO from December 12, 1979 to offer the Warsaw Pact a mutual limitation of medium-range ballistic missiles and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. It was combined with a threat by NATO to d ...
of 1979,
Pershing II
The Pershing II Weapon System was a solid-fuel rocket, solid-fueled multistage rocket, two-stage medium-range ballistic missile designed and built by Martin Marietta to replace the Pershing 1a Field Artillery Missile System as the United States ...
intermediate-range
nuclear missiles
Nuclear weapons delivery is the technology and systems used to place a nuclear weapon at the position of detonation, on or near its target. Several methods have been developed to carry out this task.
''Strategic'' nuclear weapons are used primari ...
were stationed just uphill of Heilbronn in the Waldheide. This made Heilbronn the only major city in Germany with atomic missiles inside its city limits — a fact that became front-page news during the missile accident on January 11, 1985. After the
INF Treaty
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty, formally the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles; / ДРСМ ...
was signed in 1987, the missiles were removed.
In the 1980s, Heilbronn hosted ''Heimatttage'' and ''Landesgartenschau'' staged by the State of Baden-Württemberg.
21st Century
![Stadtausstellung BuGa Heilbronn1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Stadtausstellung_BuGa_Heilbronn1.jpg)
In 1998, Heilbronn was connected to the S-Bahn net with Karlsruhe. This further transformed the city centre, and an extension of the S-Bahn towards
Öhringen
Öhringen (East Franconian: ''Ähringe'') is the largest town in Hohenlohe (district) in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in southwest Germany, near Heilbronn. Öhringen is on the railline to Schwäbisch Hall and Crailsheim.
With a population o ...
opened on December 10, 2005, marking the completion of the east–west axis of the Baden-Wuerttemburg regional transportation system. In 2013, the north–south axis to Neckarsulm was opened.
Heilbronn won the European competition "Entente Florale 2000" on September 9, 2000, in Broughshane, Northern Ireland, and in 2005–06 the city became the first
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
children's city in Germany.
Late in 2005, Heilbronn was chosen to host the
Bundesgartenschau in 2019. More than 2.3 million visitors came to the garden and city exhibition in 2019, which took place on a former commercial site of about 40 hectares located directly north of the main station. Now a part of the site is being developed into a new Urban district called Neckarbogen, where up to 3,500 people will live and 1,000 people will work in the future. The first buildings of the green and family-friendly quarter have been highly acclaimed and already received several awards.
Other major new buildings in the city area in recent years include two Neckar bridges, the two shopping centres Stadtgalerie and Klosterhof, the experimenta Science Center and the Bildungscampus.
In 2021, the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg decides to locate its new innovation park artificial intelligence in Heilbronn.
Religion
![Heilbronn Kilianskirche 20050828](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Heilbronn_Kilianskirche_20050828.jpg)
Ever since the
Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
under
Chlodwig
Louis is the French form of the Old Frankish given name Chlodowig and one of two English forms, the other being Lewis ().
Etymology
The name Louis (through the intermediate form Clovis) derives from the Frankish name ᚺᛚᛟᛞᛟᚹᛁᚷ ...
settled in the Neckar region around 500 the area has been predominantly
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
and when Heilbronn was first mentioned in an official document in 741 Christian Michaelsbasilica, present day's
Kilianskirche, was mentioned along with the city. The
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...
constructed its church from the 13th century and both churches were continually expanded. They were joined later by other churches and cloisters in the city.
Around 1050 an important Jewish community was mentioned that had settled in what became known as the ''Judengasse'' (''Lohtorstraße''). In 1298, 143 Jews were killed during the
Rintfleisch-Pogrom
The Rintfleisch or Rindfleisch movement was a series of massacres against Jews in 1298. The event, in later terminology a pogrom, was the first large-scale persecution in Germany since the First Crusade.
History
It occurred in the Franconian regio ...
and in 1350 Jews suffered attacks again during a European
epidemic
An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time.
Epidemics ...
of the
Bubonic plague
Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...
. The city's constitution required the council to include Jews, but already in the middle of the 15th century Jews were the target of vigilantes again until they were evicted from the city in 1490 with the blessings of Emperor
Frederick III.
It is worth noting that the common Jewish name Halpern, and many variants such as Alpert, derive from the name of this city Heilbronn, and the early Jewish community there.
While Heilbronn was part of the
Diocese of Würzburg
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
, the independent villages of Böckingen, Neckargartach and Frankenbach were attached to the
Diocese of Worms
The Prince-Bishopric of Worms, was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Located on both banks of the Rhine around Worms just north of the union of that river with the Neckar, it was largely surrounded by the Electorate of the ...
. From 1514 on the Heilbronn native Johann Lachmann was caretaker of the parish in St. Kilian, in 1521 he became its preacher, in 1524 he converted to
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
and proceeded to teach and lead the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
in Heilbronn against the wishes of both dioceses. After the
Protestant reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
of Heilbronn was complete the city remained Lutheran for centuries and the council and citizens accepted the
Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession, also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Protestant Re ...
without dissent. Catholics were no longer welcome, Jews were prohibited from settling in Heilbronn, and the city took part in the
Protestation at Speyer
On April 19, 1529, six princes and representatives of 14 Imperial Free Cities petitioned the Imperial Diet at Speyer against an imperial ban of Martin Luther, as well as the proscription of his works and teachings, and called for the unhindered ...
on April 19, 1529 (the Protestation was the origin of the terms Protestant and Protestantism).
The
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment or the Enlightenment; german: Aufklärung, "Enlightenment"; it, L'Illuminismo, "Enlightenment"; pl, Oświecenie, "Enlightenment"; pt, Iluminismo, "Enlightenment"; es, La Ilustración, "Enlightenment" was an intel ...
brought Heilbronn freedom of religion. From 1803 Jews were again permitted to settle in the city, Catholics also began to move back in and by the 1860s Jews were granted equal rights as Heilbronn citizens.
After the city became part of Württemberg in 1803 it also became seat of a deaconry and the
Prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...
or regional bishop of the Protestant State Church in Württemberg. To this day Protestants are in the majority in Heilbronn. The Catholic parishes belong to the Deacony Heilbronn and are part of the
Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart
The Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg, '' Bu ...
.
Around 1920 first groups of "Serious Bible Students" (now:
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
) formed. Their small community suffered from oppression during the
Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and many of its members died in
concentration camps
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
. Similarly, the Jewish community had to watch as its colossal
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
went up in flames and its 350 members were subsequently all but extinguished. Jehovah's Witnesses built a first meeting room in Heilbronn in 1953 and many more have been added since then.
![Heilbronn Rathausuhr 20050828](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Heilbronn_Rathausuhr_20050828.jpg)
Since the 1970s, after guest workers and immigrants from
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic or
Russian-Orthodox countries settled here, these faiths are practiced by a growing part of the population and numerous mosques have been created since the 1990s in the city and county of Heilbronn.
District reform
Over the years, the following, formerly independent towns or communities, have been annexed to Heilbronn:
Demographics
Figures reflect city limits at the time and are estimates (until 1870) or
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
data (¹), or official extensions thereof, counting only primary residences.
![Rathaus HN](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Rathaus_HN.JPG)
¹ Census data
Government
In connection with the district reform in the 1970s, municipal laws of Baden-Württemberg were amended to introduce borough councils for certain boroughs. Residents of such boroughs elect their borough council at each municipal election and the borough council must be consulted on all matters of significance to the respective borough. The Borough President also presides over the Borough Council. In Heilbronn the boroughs of Biberach, Böckingen, Frankenbach, Horkheim, Kirchhausen, Klingenberg, Neckargartach, and Sontheim have borough councils.
City council
After the municipal elections of May 26, 2019 the city council of Heilbronn was made up of 40 seats. One member changed form Pro Heilbronn to AfD, Therefore, the members belong to political parties as follows:
Mayor
At first Heilbronn was governed by a regal advocate and an executor. Later, the city had two mayors but ever since the city was made part of Württemberg it has had just one mayor at a time.
Representatives from Heilbronn
The city of Heilbronn together with the northern municipalities of Heilbronn County makes up the electoral District 268 for national elections of representatives to the
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons ...
.
![NaturHistMuseum HN01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/NaturHistMuseum_HN01.JPG)
For State elections to the
Landtag of Baden-Württemberg
The Landtag of Baden-Württemberg is the diet of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It convenes in Stuttgart and currently consists of 154 members of five political parties. The majority before the 2021 election was a coalition of the All ...
Heilbronn makes up an electoral district (District 18) together with Erlenbach. Before the 2006 elections, it was an electoral district all by itself.
Coat of arms
Heilbronn's
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
features a black eagle with red tongue and claws on golden background. The eagle is protected by a red, silver and blue shield. The city flag is red, white and blue.
The oldest seal of the city dates back to 1265. The eagle is the symbol for the imperial freedom enjoyed by Heilbronn until it was
annexed
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
by the
Grand Duchy
A grand duchy is a sovereign state, country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess.
Relatively rare until the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the term was oft ...
(and later Kingdom) of
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...
. While it is established that it appeared for the first time with shield in 1556 to distinguish it from other versions of eagles, the origin of the colors of the shield has yet to be determined. The colors also appeared in reverse order in 1556, 1581 and 1681 and there have been other variations of colour as well, such as white rather than golden background.
Interesting is the fact that Heilbronn sports three colours in its flag. Newly dedicated municipal flags in
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 ...
only use two colours. According to State municipal laws, Heilbronn's flag was grandfathered as it had been in use prior to 1935.
Main sights
Buildings
![Heilbronn Handkran 20050828](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Heilbronn_Handkran_20050828.jpg)
* Historic manual crane
* ''Bollwerksturm''
* ''Deutschhof''
* Steam power plant
* Community centre "Harmonie"
* Court and ''Fleischhaus''
* ''Götzenturm''
* ''Hafenmarktturm'' (port market tower)
* ''Haus Zehender'' at the market place
* ''Käthchenhaus'' at the market place
* City Hall with historic astronomic clock
* ''Schießhaus''
* ''
Trappenseeschlösschen''
* ''Weinvilla''
Churches
* ''
Kilianskirche'' (Protestant): The tower from the early
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 ideas ...
is the
logo
A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wordma ...
of the city. The
high altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganis ...
by
Hans Seyffer
Hans Seyffer, also known as ''Hans Seyfer'' or ''Hans of Heilbronn'' (c.1460–1509), was a stone sculptor and wood carver of the late Gothic style.
Biography
Seyffer was born in Sinsheim. Little else is known about his life. He lived an ...
was completed in 1498.
* ''Deutschordensmünster St.-Peter-und-Paul'' (Catholic)
* ''Nikolaikirche'' (Protestant)
Museums
* Museum of Natural History
* City Galery ''Deutschhof''
* Museum of archeology
* ''
Kleist-Archiv Sembdner''
* South-German Train Museum Heilbronn
Other sights
* Old cemetery (created in 1530, a park since 1882)
* Viewing tower on the Wartberg hill provides a nice view of Heilbronn and the neighboring area.
* ''Ehrenfriedhof'' for the victims of the air raid on December 4, 1944
* ''Fleinertorbrunnen''
*
Robert Mayer Memorial in the market place
*
Bismarck Memorial
* ''Siebenröhrenbrunnen''
*
Trappensee
Culture
Language
Heilbronn is located near the border between the
Swabian and the
South Franconian
South Franconian (german: Südfränkisch) or South Rhine Franconian (german: Südrheinfränkisch) is an Upper German dialect which is spoken in the northernmost part of Baden-Württemberg in Germany, around Karlsruhe, Mosbach and Heilbronn. Lik ...
dialects
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
of the German language.
Theater
The Heilbronn municipal theatre on Berliner Platz was built between 1979 and 1982 and continues the tradition of the municipal theatre that was once located there. Together with the adjacent Logentheater of the Theaterforum K3, completed in 2001, the Salon 3 and the BOXX the Heilbronn Theatre offers drama, musical and opera performances.
The Theaterschiff Heilbronn, located on the Neckar river, also offers changing performances.
The young theatre label Tacheles and Tarantismus has created a place of encounter and dialogue with the theatre laboratory STILBRUCH. The programme includes in-house productions and own play developments, workshops with students, readings, performance pieces, concerts, open-stage formats and party series.
Museum
The Heilbronn's municipal museum in the Deutschhof shows its art and sculpture collections as well as exhibits on the history of the city, archaeology and the history of the earth. The municipal art collection focuses on works by regional artists, including 18th and 19th century painters such as Heinrich Friedrich Füger and Carl Doerr as well as 20th century artists such as Heinrich Altherr and Hal Busse. There is also a special collection of small sculptures and bozzetti by international sculptors such as Wilhelm Lehmbruck and Henry Moore. The archaeology collection is in the tradition of the earlier municipal collection of ground finds founded by Alfred Schliz (1849-1915) and largely destroyed during the Second World War. Friedrich von Alberti (1795-1878), who gave the name Triassic to the sequence of Buntsandstein, Muschelkalk and Keuper, was particularly responsible for research into the history of the earth in and around Heilbronn.
The Deutschhof is also home to Haus der Stadtgeschichte (House of City History), which hosts a permanent exhibition on the city's history by the Heilbronn City Archive. Admission to the permanent exhibitions of the municipal museums and the city archives is free, and the exhibition rooms are structurally connected. The municipal museums also run the Vogelmann Art Gallery together with the Heilbronn Art Association.
The Kunsthalle Vogelmann is a municipal exhibition hall in Heilbronn and focusses on modern art. The Kunsthalle was built in 2009/2010 as an extension of the municipal concert and congress center Harmonie.
The most important art associations in the city are the Kunstverein Heilbronn, which has existed with two new foundations since 1879 and has held more than 400 events since 1956, and the Künstlerbund, Heilbronn.
The Literaturhaus Heilbronn has opened in 2020. It is located in the Trappenseeschlösschen, a striking baroque building in the middle of a lake in the east of the city. With readings by contemporary authors, lectures, discussions, workshops and conferences as well as smaller temporary exhibitions, the Literaturhaus Heilbronn offers a variety of formats on the subject of literature and reading. Associated to the Literaturhaus is the Kleist Archiv Semdner, an archive and study center on the famous German author
Heinrich von Kleist
Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'', ''The Broken Jug'', ''Amph ...
.
In 2009, Experimenta, the largest science centre in southern Germany, opened in the Hagenbucher, a former storage building. The exhibition was expanded by 2019 with a new building, designed by Sauerbruch Hutton, an architecture practice based in Berlin, Germany.
Music
The Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn (WKO), founded in 1960 by Jörg Faerber, is one of the best known German chamber orchestras.
Since 2015 the Classic Open Air Festival takes place in the city centre. With free admission and in the open air, orchestras and music groups from Heilbronn present themselves with a varied concert program.
The Heilbronn municipal music school is housed in the K3 theatre forum.
Th
jazz club Cave 61 founded in 1961, is a nationally known organizer of jazz concerts with jazz groups from all over the world. Its venue is an old theatre.
Other cultural venues
The city of Heilbronn supports various cultural projects, including th
art and cultural workhouse Zigarrean
Kommunales Kinoin the Kulturkeller in the Gewerkschaftshaus as well as the free cultural cente
Maschinenfabrik which started in 2021 in an old factory.
Events
In February the citizens of Heilbronn and the surrounding area have an opportunity to enjoy themselves at the Pferdemarkt. In May the Trollinger marathon takes place. The Heilbronner Volksfest on the Theresienwiese is the largest festival of its kind in Heilbronn. Each year it begins on the last Friday in July and ends on the second Monday in August. In September, people enjoy themselves at the Heilbronner Weindorf, in October at the Hafenmarkt and in November and December at the Weihnachtsmarkt, a Christmas market.
Sport
FC Heilbronn
FC Heilbronn () was a German association football club based in Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg formed in 2003 out of a merger between VfR Heilbronn () and Heilbronner SpVgg.
In 2012 the club merged with the football department of Union Böckin ...
is a football club based in Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg formed only recently – in 2003 – out of a merger between two former clubs with the elder dating back to 1896 and playing a five-year stint in the
Regionalliga Süd (II) /
2nd Bundesliga Süd from 1969 to 1975.
Heilbronn hosts an annual tennis tournament
Heilbronn Open (se
Heilbronn Open website which is part of the
ATP Challenger tour
The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments. The Challenger Tour events are the second-highest tier of tennis competition, behind the ATP T ...
.
Heilbronn is also the hometown of ice hockey team Heilbronner Falken (Heilbronn Falcons). The team currently plays in the second German ice hockey league. The Eisbären Heilbronn (Heilbronn polar bears) is the second ice hockey team, which is playing in the regional league South-West in Baden-Württemberg.
The „Red Devils“ Heilbronn is a wrestling team, which is part of the national wrestling leagu
The city's 6
sport clubs offer a wide range of different sporting activities and have around 30,000 members.
Economy and infrastructure
Viticulture
Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...
has a long tradition in Heilbronn and is an important part of its economy to this day. Its 514
ha, two thirds of it growing red grapes, is the third largest vineyard in
Württemberg's vine-growing region after
Brackenheim and
Lauffen am Neckar
Lauffen am Neckar () or simply Lauffen is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is on the river Neckar, southwest of Heilbronn. The town is famous as the birthplace of the poet Friedrich Hölderlin and for its qu ...
. In 1888, the
vintner
A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes:
*Cooperating with viticulturists
*Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to deter ...
s of the Heilbronn area combined and formed the ''Weingärtnergesellschaft Heilbronn'', a cooperative. In 1933, that cooperative then merged with the competing cooperative ''Winzergenossenschaft Heilbronn'' that had formed in 1919 and that cooperative again merged with the Vintner cooperatives of
Erlenbach and
Weinsberg
Weinsberg (South Franconian: ''Weischberg'') is a town in the north of the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It was founded around 1200 and is situated in the Heilbronn district. The town has about 11,800 inhabitants. It is noted for its win ...
to form the ''Genossenschaftskellerei Heilbronn-Erlenbach-Weinsberg'' with seat just outside the city limits in Erlenbach. In addition to the cooperative, numerous independent vintners are also located here.
South of the steam power plant is located the
conveyor tower of the ''Südwestdeutsche Salzwerke AG'' (SWS). The SWS runs a
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
mine in the Heilbronn area. That mine was connected through a tunnel with the now shut-down (since 1994) salt mine ''Kochendorf'' in
Bad Friedrichshall
Bad Friedrichshall () is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is situated at the confluences of the Jagst and of the Kocher into the Neckar, some north of Heilbronn. Bad Friedrichshall arose by the ...
. Extraction had extended the Heilbronn mine far to the west so that in 2004 a new shaft, ''Konradsberg'', was added — probably the last mining shaft that was constructed in all of Germany.
Infrastructure
![Heilbronn Bahnhofsvorplatz Stadtbahn01 2002-09-08](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Heilbronn_Bahnhofsvorplatz_Stadtbahn01_2002-09-08.jpg)
The city of Heilbronn is readily accessible by road courtesy of the
Weinsberg Intersection just to the northeast of the city, the intersection of the
Autobahn
The (; German plural ) is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is (abbreviated ''BAB''), which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'. ...
A 81 from
Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg is ...
to
Gottmadingen
Gottmadingen is a municipality in the district of Konstanz, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, situated on the Swiss border, 5 km southwest of Singen, and 12 km east of Schaffhausen.
A first mention of Gottmadingen was in 965. Until the ...
and the
A 6 from
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...
to
Waidhaus
Waidhaus is a municipality in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria, Germany. It lies near the border with the Czech Republic, and near the major border crossing between Bavaria and the Czech Republic, where the Bavarian A6 meets t ...
. In addition to the Autobahns the city is connected via the
Bundesstraße
''Bundesstraße'' (German for "federal highway"), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.
Germany
Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km.
German ''Bundesstraßen'' ...
n
B 27 from
Blankenburg Blankenburg may refer to:
Places
* Blankenburg am Harz, a German town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt
* Blankenburg Castle (Harz), the castle in Blankenburg am Harz (see above)
* Bad Blankenburg, a German town in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt dis ...
to
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...
,
B 39 from
Frankenstein (Palatine) to
Mainhardt
Mainhardt is a municipality in the district of Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
See also
* Mainhardt Forest
The Mainhardt Forest is a hill range up to {{GeoQuelle, DE, BFN-Karten in the counties of Schwäbisch Hall and Heil ...
and
B 293 from
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
to Heilbronn that both run through the city itself.
Heilbronn is also a forerunner of
right turn on red
A turn on red is a principle of law permitting vehicles at a traffic light showing a red signal to turn into the direction of traffic nearer to them (almost always after a complete stop, depending on the jurisdiction) when the way is clear, ...
in Germany and 65 "Green arrow" signs have been installed at appropriate intersections since 1996.
Although
Heilbronn Hauptbahnhof
Heilbronn Hauptbahnhof () is the main passenger railway station in Heilbronn in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.
Description
Heilbronn Hauptbahnhof is located about 1 km west of the inner city of Heilbronn and the Old Neckar on a 1 ...
(central station) does not benefit from the
Deutsche Bahn long-distance service, the city is well connected by train. The
Franconia Railway
The Franconia Railway (german: Frankenbahn) is a railway line in the north of the German state of Baden-Württemberg and the Bavarian province of Lower Franconia that links Stuttgart and Würzburg. Its name comes from the fact that the majority o ...
(''Frankenbahn'') connects
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
and Würzburg, the
Neckar Valley Railway
The Neckar Valley Railway, or Neckar Valley Main Line (german: Neckartalbahn) is a railway line from Heidelberg via Eberbach and Mosbach to Bad Friedrichshall-Jagstfeld in southwestern Germany. Today it is administered by the Verkehrsverbund Rhei ...
and
Elsenz Valley Railway
The Elsenz Valley Railway (''Elsenztalbahn'') or Neckargemünd–Bad Friedrichshall railway is an electrified, partly double-tracked main line in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, running from Heidelberg via Sinsheim to Bad Friedrichshall, t ...
run from Heilbronn to Heidelberg and
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
, and the
Hohenlohe Railway
The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire which was divided between several branches. The Hohenlohes became imperial counts in 1450. The county was divided numerous time ...
accommodates travel to
Schwäbisch Hall
Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...
via
Öhringen
Öhringen (East Franconian: ''Ähringe'') is the largest town in Hohenlohe (district) in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in southwest Germany, near Heilbronn. Öhringen is on the railline to Schwäbisch Hall and Crailsheim.
With a population o ...
.
The
Heilbronn
Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. With over 126,000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state.
From the late Mid ...
and
Karlsruhe Stadtbahn
The Karlsruhe Stadtbahn is a German tram-train system combining tram lines in the city of Karlsruhe with railway lines in the surrounding countryside, serving the entire region of the middle upper Rhine valley and creating connections to neighbou ...
s provide a connection all the way to
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
on the
Kraichgau Railway
The Kraichgau Railway (german: Kraichgaubahn ) is a 64.8 km long railway line in the region of Kraichgau in northwestern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It runs from Karlsruhe via Bretten and Eppingen to Heilbronn and was buil ...
's tracks. Currently the S 4 takes travellers from Karlsruhe through the central train station past the centre of town all the way to the Öhringen borough of Cappel (since December 11, 2005). Because of massive delays in the construction of the S-Bahn tracks through Heilbronn's city limits and with the modernization
![Heilbronn Kanalhafen 20050905](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Heilbronn_Kanalhafen_20050905.jpg)
and electrification of the existing tracks from Heilbronn to Öhringen meant that the new section's official opening needed to be postponed several times. In the future, additional S-Bahn lines are planned to
Neckarsulm
Neckarsulm () is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, near Heilbronn, and part of the district of Heilbronn. , Neckarsulm had 26,800 inhabitants. The name Neckarsulm derives from the city's location where the Neckar and Sulm rivers ...
,
Lauffen am Neckar
Lauffen am Neckar () or simply Lauffen is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is on the river Neckar, southwest of Heilbronn. The town is famous as the birthplace of the poet Friedrich Hölderlin and for its qu ...
and
Zaberfeld
Zaberfeld () is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
Geography
Zaberfeld lies in the Zabergäu, in the southwestern corner of the Heilbronn district, at the head of the Zaber river.
Neighboring communities
Zabe ...
. As well a these new lines, additional stops will also be built in the inner city of Heilbronn. In 2014 the S-Bahn line to Neckarsulm was established.
Whilst the original ''
Straßenbahn'' of Heilbronn, nicknamed the ''Spatzenschaukel'' (German for "sparrows' swing"), was discontinued on April 1, 1955, the city used electrically powered
trolley bus
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
es until 1960. Today,
public transportation
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
is provided by the S-Bahn that runs through Heilbronn similar to the
Karlsruhe model
The Karlsruhe model is a tram-train system which consists of tram/ light rail trains and commuter/ regional rail trains running on the same set of tracks, generally between or outside of urban areas. It was initially developed and implemented ...
and this is complemented by buses run by the ''Stadtwerke Heilbronn (Verkehrsbetriebe)'' and several other enterprises. All now belong to the ''Heilbronner Verkehrsverbund''.
![Heilbronn EnBW 20050905](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Heilbronn_EnBW_20050905.jpg)
The canal port on the Neckar is one of the ten largest German interior
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
s.
Power plant
In the industrial part of Heilbronn EnBW AG runs a large powerplant that is powered by coal. Its two chimneys (250 m tall) and cooling tower (140 m tall) are visible from afar, see
Heilbronn Power Station
Transport
The public light rail system with the lines S4, S41 and S42 (
Heilbronn Stadtbahn) is run by the
Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft. The local bus system is run by the Stadtwerke Heilbronn (municipal utilities of Heilbronn). There are also various regional bus lines to the Zabergäu area, the Schozach/Bottwartal area, the Kraichgau area and the Kochertal area. These are run by OVR (a part of the
Transdev
Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a French-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020.
History
The group was formed by the merger of V ...
group) and Regiobus Stuttgart (a part of
DB Regio
DB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates regional and commuter train services in Germany. DB Regio AG, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. It is a 100% subsidiary of the Deutsche Bahn Group and there part of the DB Regio bus ...
).
Media
Heilbronn is home to one of the studios of
Südwestrundfunk
Südwestrundfunk (SWR; ''Southwest Broadcasting'') is a regional public broadcasting corporation serving the southwest of Germany , specifically the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The corporation has main offices ...
(SWR). From here regional programmes like ''Frankenradio'' are broadcast on SWR4 Baden-Württemberg. The ''
Heilbronner Stimme'' is a daily newspaper published in the city and the advertisers ''Neckar Express'', ''echo am Mittwoch'' and ''echo am Sonntag'' are available weekly free of charge. Heilbronners also peruse the monthly city magazines ''Freizeit Journal'' and ''Moritz''.
Public service
Several courts are located in Heilbronn, two belonging to the Stuttgart court district, a specialty court hearing labour issues, and a family court whose district includes the city of Heilbronn and the counties of
Heilbronn
Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. With over 126,000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state.
From the late Mid ...
,
Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg (; Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg district with about 88,000 inhabitants. It is ...
,
Schwäbisch Hall
Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...
,
Hohenlohe
The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire which was divided between several branches. The Hohenlohes became imperial counts in 1450. The county was divided numerous time ...
and
Main-Tauber
Main-Tauber-Kreis is a Districts of Germany, ''Landkreis'' (district) in the northeast of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from northwest clockwise) Miltenberg (district), Miltenberg, Main-Spessart, Würzburg (district), Wü ...
.
The city is also the seat of the Prelature of Heilbronn and of the church district of Heilbronn (of the Protestant State Church as well as of the Heilbronn Deacony of the
Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart
The Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg, '' Bu ...
).
Education
Heilbronn offers a wide range of higher education institutions developing very dynamically. In 2020, 9054 people were studying in Heilbronn, almost 60 percent more than ten years ago. On 1 February 2020 the Ministry of the Interior of Baden-Württemberg awarded the city of Heilbronn the designation of University City.
Heilbronn is the seat of the main campus of the ''
Hochschule Heilbronn'', founded in 1961 as a public engineering school. Since 1971 the school was known as the ''Fachhochschule Heilbronn'' (Heilbronn University) and has operated a secondary campus in
Künzelsau
Künzelsau (; East Franconian: ''Kinzelse'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, in south central Germany. It is the capital of the Hohenlohe district. It is located on the river Kocher, 19 km (12 mi) north of Schwäbisch Hall, and 37& ...
since 1988. Starting with the fall semester on September 1, 2005, the
Fachhochschule
A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts ...
was awarded the status of a
Hochschule
' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...
. In 2009 a third campus in Schwäbisch Hall was established.
![Bildungscampus Heilbronn (4)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Bildungscampus_Heilbronn_%284%29.jpg)
Today the business faculties of the Hochschule Heilbronn reside at th
Bildungscampus of the Dieter Schwarz Foundationin the heart of Heilbronn along with th
Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Heilbronn(DHBW Heilbronn), th
Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University - Center for Advanced Studies(DHBW CAS) as well as th
Campus Heilbronn of the Technical University of Munichand other educational establishments and scientific institutions.
42 Heilbronn a full-time tuition-free coding school, was established in 2021 nearby the Bildungscampus
As far as general education is concerned, Heilbronn operates five college-track highschools or
gymnasiums (''Elly-Heuss-Knapp-Gymnasium'', ''Justinus-Kerner-Gymnasium'', ''Mönchsee-Gymnasium'', ''Robert-Mayer-Gymnasium'' and ''Theodor-Heuss-Gymnasium''), four non-college-track highschools or ''Realschulen'' (''Dammrealschule'', ''Helene-Lange-Realschule'', ''Heinrich-von-Kleist-Realschule'' in Böckingen and ''Mörike-Realschule''). There are also six special-education schools run by the city ''Wilhelm-Hofmann-Förderschule'', ''Pestalozzi-Förderschule'', and ''Paul-Meyle-Schule'' for the mentally and physically impaired, two special-education schools run by Heilbronn County (''Gebrüder-Grimm-Schule'' for the speech impaired and ''Hermann-Herzog-Schule'' for the seeing impaired), and the ''Lindenparkschule'', which is run by the state of Baden-Württemberg for the hearing and speech impaired. The latter also includes a boarding school and consultation centre.
City primary schools are the ''Damm-Grundschule'', ''Deutschorden-Grundschule Kirchhausen'', ''Grundschule Horkheim'', ''Grundschule Klingenberg'', ''Grünewaldschule Grundschule Böckingen'', ''Reinöhlschule Grundschule Böckingen'', ''Silcherschule Grundschule'' and ''Uhlandschule Grundschule Sontheim''. Grammar and middle schools (some include vocational training programs) are ''Albrecht-Dürer-Schule Neckargartach'', ''Elly-Heuss-Knapp-Schule Böckingen'', ''Fritz-Ulrich-Schule Böckingen'', ''Gerhart-Hauptmann-Schule'', ''Grund- und Hauptschule mit Werkrealschule Biberach'', ''Grund- und Hauptschule mit Werkrealschule Frankenbach'', ''Ludwig-Pfau-Schule'', ''Rosenauschule'', ''Staufenbergschule Sontheim'', ''Wartbergschule'' and ''Wilhelm-Hauff-Schule''.
The ''Gustav-von-Schmoller-Schule'' and the ''Technische Schulzentrum Heilbronn'' consisting of the ''Johann-Jakob-Widmann-Schule'' and the ''Wilhelm-Maybach-Schule'' are professional training schools run by the city. The county runs the ''Andreas-Schneider-Schule'' and ''Christiane-Herzog-Schule'', and in the fall of 2005 the ''Peter-Bruckmann-Schule'' was added to the already operating professional training schools.
Finally, the following private schools round out the education options offered in Heilbronn:
* The ''Abendrealschule Heilbronn e.V.'' allows students with middle school diplomas to achieve the first in a series of steps to gain college entrance prerequisites on a part-time basis after work. It is part of a structured program commonly referred to as the
Alternate Path to Higher Education.
* Academy for Communication sciences
* ''Alice-Salomon-Schule''
* ''Altenpflegeschule Heilbronn''
* ''Berufskolleg für Grafik Heilbronn''
* ''Freie Waldorfschule Heilbronn''
* ''Internationaler Bund e. V. Bildungszentrum Heilbronn''
* ''Katholisches Freies Bildungszentrum St. Kilian Heilbronn'' with grammar, middle, and college-track as well as non-college-track highschools
* ''Kolping-Bildungszentrum Heilbronn''
Crime
A female police officer,
Michéle Kiesewetter, was in 2007 fatally shot in Heilbronn, an event that gave its name to the so-called
Phantom of Heilbronn
The Phantom of Heilbronn, often alternatively referred to as the "Woman Without a Face", was a hypothesized unknown female serial killer whose existence was inferred from DNA evidence found at numerous crime scenes in Austria, France and Germany f ...
an elusive serial killer hunted by German police for several years. The "Phantom" was in March 2009 revealed not be a serial killer, but the result of procedural errors by the German police.
In 2011 the police discovered that Kiesewetter was murdered by
National Socialist Underground
The National Socialist Underground (german: link=no, Nationalsozialistischer Untergrund, ), or NSU (), was a far-right German neo-Nazi terrorist group which was uncovered in November 2011. The NSU is mostly associated with Uwe Mundlos, Uwe Böh ...
terrorists.
Twin towns – sister cities
Heilbronn is
twinned with:
*
Béziers
Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hos ...
, France (1965)
*
Solothurn
Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the Capital (political), capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the n ...
, Switzerland (1981)
*
Stockport
Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here.
Most of the town is within ...
, England (1982)
*
Frankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...
, Germany (1988)
*
Słubice
Słubice is a border town in the Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. Located on the Oder river, it lies directly opposite the city of Frankfurt (Oder) in Germany, which it was a part of as ''Dammvorstadt'' until 1945. As of 2019, the town ha ...
, Poland (1998)
*
Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...
, Russia (2019)
Notable people
Gallery
Footnotes
References
Sources
* (Publications from the archives of the city of Heilbronn; 36)
* Published so far are Vols. I–VII (741 to 1957) and X (1970 to 1974)
* Keyser, Erich (ed.) (1962). ''Württembergisches Städtebuch''. In: ''Deutsches Städtebuch. Handbuch städtischer Geschichte''. Vol. 4,2. Stuttgart:
Kohlhammer Verlag
W. Kohlhammer Verlag GmbH, or Kohlhammer Verlag, is a German publishing house headquartered in Stuttgart.
History
Kohlhammer Verlag was founded in Stuttgart on 30 April 1866 by . Kohlhammer had taken over the businesses of his late father-in-law ...
.
*
*
*
External links
*
Official website of the City of HeilbronnHochschule Heilbronn (Heilbronn University)Bildungscampus Heilbronn (Education and Science Campus)
{{Authority control
Stuttgart (region)
Free imperial cities
Swabian Circle
Swabian League
Württemberg
Former states and territories of Baden-Württemberg
Holocaust locations in Germany