Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

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 ...

. It is a university town (since 1990), a long-standing cultural centre, and a market and shopping town, surrounded by vineyards and wine-growing villages of the

Palatinate wine region Palatinate (german: Pfalz) is a German wine-growing region (''Weinbaugebiet'') in the area of Bad Dürkheim, Neustadt an der Weinstraße, and Landau in Rhineland-Palatinate. Before 1993, it was known as Rhine Palatinate (''Rheinpfalz''). With un ...

. Landau lies east of the Palatinate forest, on the

German Wine Route The German Wine RouteScheunemann J., Stewart J., Walker N. and Williams C. (2011), ''Back Roads Germany'', Dorling Kindersley, London. . or Wine Road (german: Deutsche Weinstraße) is the oldest of Germany's tourist wine routes. Located in th ...

. It contains the districts (''Ortsteile'') of Arzheim, Dammheim, Godramstein, Mörlheim, Mörzheim, Nussdorf, Queichheim, and Wollmesheim.

History

Landau was first mentioned as a settlement in 1106. It was in the possession of the counts of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Landeck, whose arms, differenced by an escutcheon of the Imperial eagle, served as the arms of Landau until 1955. The town was granted a charter in 1274 by 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 ...

, who declared the town a

Free Imperial Town 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 ...

in 1291; nevertheless Prince-Bishop Emich of

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...

, a major landowner in the district, seized the town in 1324. The town did not regain its ancient rights until 1511 from Maximilian I. An Augustinian monastery was founded in 1276. LASB K Hellwig 1040

After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, control of Landau was ceded to France, although with certain ill-defined reservations. Landau was later part of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

from 1680 to 1815, during which it was one of the '' Décapole'', the ten free cities of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, and received its modern fortifications by

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ver ...

's military architect Vauban in 1688–99, making the little town (its 1789 population was approximately 5,000) one of Europe's strongest citadels. In the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

it had four sieges. After the siege of 1702 lost by the French, an Imperial garrison was installed in Landau. In a subsequent siege from 13 October to 15 November 1703 the French regained the town, following their victory in the Battle of Speyerbach. A third siege, begun on 12 September 1704 by Louis, Margrave of Baden-Baden, ended on 23 November 1704 with a French defeat. During this siege King Joseph I arrived at Landau coming from Vienna in a newly developed convertible carriage. This carriage would become very popular and became named the

landau Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990) ...

in English, or Landauer in German. The French recaptured Landau once more in a final siege which lasted from 6 June to 20 August 1713 by Marshal General Villars. Landau was part of

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

department between 1789 and 1815. After

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 ...

's Hundred Days following his escape from Elba, Landau, which had remained French, was granted to the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German ...

in 1815 and became the capital of one of the thirteen ''Bezirksämter'' (counties) of the Bavarian Rheinkreis, later renamed Pfalz. In 1840 famous political cartoonist

Thomas Nast Thomas Nast (; ; September 26, 1840December 7, 1902) was a German-born American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist often considered to be the "Father of the American Cartoon". He was a critic of Democratic Representative "Boss" Tweed and ...

was born in Landau. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Landau was an important barracks town for the French occupation.

Main sights

Landau's large main square (''Rathausplatz'') is dominated by the town hall (''Rathaus'') and the market hall (''Altes Kaufhaus''). In the 19th century, the former fortifications gave way to a ring road that encircles the old town centre, from which the old industrial buildings have been excluded. A convention hall, the ''Festhalle'', was built in Art Nouveau style, 1905–07 on a rise overlooking the town park and facing the modernist ''Bundesamt'', the regional government building. The Protestant

Collegiate Church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by ...

( Stiftskirche) in Landau in der Pfalz is one of the oldest buildings in the town. With the construction of the church started in the 14th century, was completed in the mid-16th century. The zoo is located close to the center of Landau alongside the historical fortifications. Animals are held in natural enclosures. The zoo contains numerous exotic species such as tigers and cheetahs, but also seals, penguins, kangaroos and flamingos and many more.

Economy

Wine-making continues to be an important industry of Landau.

Culture

The "

," a luxury open carriage with a pair of folding tops, was invented in the town during the

. A frequent Ashkenazi surname originates in this town. Probably its most famous bearer was

Yechezkel Landau Yechezkel ben Yehuda HaLevi Landau (8 October 1713 – 29 April 1793) was an influential authority in halakha (Jewish law). He is best known for the work ''Noda Biyhudah'' (נודע ביהודה), by which title he is also known. Biography Land ...

, an 18th-century

talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

ist and halakhist and the chief rabbi of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Landau in der Pfalz is twinned with: * Haguenau, France *

Ribeauvillé Ribeauvillé (; Alsatian: ''Rappschwihr''; ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It was a sub-prefecture of the department until 2015. Its inhabitants are called ''Ribeauvillois''. Geography The ...

, France * Ruhango, Rwanda

Notable people

* Jan Boner (1463–1523), German-Polish merchant and banker * Johann Caspar Bagnato (1696–1757), German-Italian architect * Johann Christoph Wendland (1755–1828), botanist *

Johann Birnbaum Johann Birnbaum, later Johannes von Birnbaum (born 6 January 1763, Queichheim, now Landau in der Pfalz - 20 May 1832, Zweibrücken) was a jurist in the Electorate of the Palatinate and a president of the ''" Court of Appeal" (Appellationsgeric ...

(1763–1832), jurist *

Jacques-Louis Copia Jacques-Louis Copia, a French engraver, was born at Landau in 1764. He went to Paris, and among other plates executed a charming little portrait of Queen Marie Antoinette, after Piauger, which is very rare. He also engraved a head of Marat, terr ...

(1764–1799), German-French engraver * Charles-Frédéric Soehnée (1789–1878), German-French painter * Heinrich Jakob Fried (1802–1870), painter * François Fleischbein (1804–1878), painter * Franz Joseph Lauth (1822–1895), egyptologist *

Michel Bréal Michel Jules Alfred Bréal (; 26 March 183225 November 1915), French philologist, was born at Landau in Rhenish Palatinate. He is often identified as a founder of modern semantics. Life and career Michel Bréal was born at Landau in Germany ...

(1832–1915), German-French philologist *

Ludwig Levy Ludwig Levy (18 April 1854 – 30 November 1907) was a German Jewish architect of the Historicist school. He designed a number of synagogues, amongst which was the huge Neue Synagoge in Strasbourg, as well as official buildings such as the minis ...

(1854–1907), architect * Jakob Ritter von Danner (1865–1942), general * Ludwig Maria Hugo (1871–1935), Roman Catholic bishop in Mainz * Heinrich Kaspar Schmid (1874–1953), composer *

Helmuth Theodor Bossert Helmuth Theodor Bossert (September 11, 1889 – February 5, 1961) was a German art historian, philologist and archaeologist. He is best-known for his excavations of the Hittite fortress city at Karatepe, Turkey, and the discovery of bilingual insc ...

(1880–1961), art historian, philologist and archaeologist *

Ludwig Kohl-Larsen Ludwig Kohl-Larsen (born ''Ludwig Kohl''; 5 April 1884 in Landau in der Pfalz – 12 November 1969 in Bodensee) was a German physician, amateur anthropologist, and explorer. Biography In 1911, he traveled as ship's doctor with Wilhelm Filchne ...

(1884–1969), physician *

Ferdinand Jodl Ferdinand Alfred Friedrich Jodl (28 November 1896 – 9 June 1956) was a German general during World War II who commanded the Mountain Corps Norway during the Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive. He was the younger brother of Alfred Jodl, Chief of the ...

(1896–1956), general *

Ernst Maisel __NOTOC__ Generalleutnant Ernst Maisel (16 September 1896 – 16 December 1978) was a general in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. As a Generalmajor he was Chief of the Office Group for Officers' Education and Welfare of the Army ...

(1896–1978), general *

(1840–1902), American caricaturist and editorial cartoonist * Gustav Harteneck (1892–1984), general * Lil Picard (1899–1994), German-American cabaret actress * Richard Rudolf Klein (1921–2011), composer, musician and teacher *

Friedrich Wetter Friedrich Wetter (born 20 February 1928) is a German cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Germany, from 1982 to 2007. He was Bishop of Speyer from 1968 to 1982. He has been a cardinal since 1985. Early l ...

(born 1928), Roman Catholic bishop in Munich *

Fritz Strack Fritz Strack (born February 6, 1950) is a German social psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of Würzburg. Strack is a member of Germany's National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize for psychology ...

(born 1950), psychologist * Albrecht Hornbach (born 1953), businessman *

Volker Zotz Volker Helmut Manfred Zotz (born 28 October 1956) is an eminent Austrian philosopher, religious studies scholar, Buddhologist and a prolific author. Early life The Zotz family originated in Tyrol and spread to Germany. Volker Zotz was born in ...

(born 1956), German-Austrian philosopher and writer * Éric de Moulins-Beaufort (born 1962), French prelate of the Roman Catholic Church * Anne Lünenbürger (born 1964), operatic soprano * Charlotte Seither (born 1965), composer and pianist * Christine Schneider (born 1972), politician (CDU) * Bas Kast (born 1973), science writer * Bernd Metz (born 1979), artist *

Kris Menace Kris Menace (born Christoph Hoeffel) is a German electronic musician and music producer. History Christophe Hoeffel began to work as a producer and writer in the mid-1990s for different projects and started using the pseudonym "Kris Menace" in 2 ...

(born 1980), electronic musician * Benjamin Auer (born 1981), footballer * Marlene Zapf (born 1990), handball player *

Michael Schultz Michael Schultz (born November 10, 1938) is an American director and producer of theater, film and television. Life and career Schultz was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of an African-American mother Katherine Frances Leslie (1917-1995) ...

(born 1993), footballer * Ricarda Lobe (born 1994), hurdler *

Jan May Jan May (born 11 June 1995 in Landau) is a German male track cyclist, representing Germany at international competitions. He won the bronze medal at the 2016 UEC European Track Championships The 2016 UEC European Track Championships is the s ...

(born 1995), cyclist * Niklas Hoffmann (born 1997), footballer

References

External links

*
Official website

Pictures
{{Authority control Free imperial cities Palatinate Forest South Palatinate Anterior Palatinate Palatinate (region) Vauban fortifications