Weil am Rhein (
High Alemannic
High Alemannic is a dialect of Alemannic German spoken in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg and in Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Language area
The High Alemannic dialects are spoken in Liechtenstein and in most of German-speaking S ...
: ''Wiil am Rhii'') is a German town and commune. It is on the east bank of the River
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
, and extends to the point at which the Swiss, French and German borders meet. It is the most southwesterly town in Germany and a suburb of the Swiss city
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
. Weil am Rhein is part of the "trinationale Agglomeration Basel" with about 830,000 inhabitants.
Geography
Weil am Rhein is located at in the district of
Lörrach
Lörrach () is a town in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss borders. It is the capital of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. It is the home of a number of large employers, including t ...
in the
Federal State
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...
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 ...
. The city limits border France to the west and Switzerland to the south including the
triple border of the three countries. Locally, Weil is situated in the region referred to as
Markgräflerland
Markgräflerland () is a region in the southwest of Germany, in the south of the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg, located between the Breisgau in the north and the Black Forest in the east; adjacent to west with France and in the south ...
.
The city's location on the Rhine and proximity to the
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
give it a
continental climate
Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...
, particularly suited to
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, ...
.
Karte Weil am Rhein.png, Map of Weil am Rhein
History
The town is first documented in the year 786 as ''Willa'', a name which is thought to be of
Roman
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 letter ...
origin.
The
duc de Villars
Claude Louis Hector de Villars, Prince de Martigues, Marquis then Duc de Villars, Vicomte de Melun (, 8 May 1653 – 17 June 1734) was a French military commander and an illustrious general of Louis XIV of France. He was one of only six Marshals ...
crossed the Rhine here in October 1702 to fight the
Battle of Friedlingen
The Battle of Friedlingen was fought in 1702 between France and the Holy Roman Empire. The Imperial forces were led by Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden, while the French were led by Claude Louis Hector de Villars. The French were victori ...
during 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 ...
. Weil was severely damaged as a result of the conflict.
Agriculture dominated local industry until the 19th century, when the city began to grow, aided by its favourable transport connections. A railway marshalling yard linking Weil am Rhein to
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
was built in 1913. Swiss textile factories were established in the Friedlingen quarter. 1934 saw the construction of a harbour on the Rhine.
After the Second World War the population again grew rapidly due to the influx of
refugees and
stateless person
Stateless may refer to:
Society
* Anarchism, a political philosophy opposed to the institution of the state
* Stateless communism, which Karl Marx predicted would be the final phase of communism
* Stateless nation, a group of people without ...
s. Between 1971 and 1975 the communities of Ötlingen, Haltingen and Märkt were incorporated and Weil am Rhein became a substantial town.
Since 2014, line 8 of the
Basel tram system has extended across the border from Switzerland to terminate in Weil am Rhein.
Mergers
The former municipalities were merged into Weil am Rhein:
* 1 December 1971:
Ötlingen
* 1 January 1975:
Haltingen
Weil am Rhein (High Alemannic: ''Wiil am Rhii'') is a German town and commune. It is on the east bank of the River Rhine, and extends to the point at which the Swiss, French and German borders meet. It is the most southwesterly town in Germany an ...
and
Märkt
;Coat of arms of the former municipalities
File:Wappen-Haltingen.png, Haltingen
File:Wappen Maerkt.png, Märkt
File:Wappen-Oetlingen.png, Ötlingen
Twin towns – sister cities
Weil am Rhein is
twinned with:
*
Bognor Regis
Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns i ...
, United Kingdom
*
Huningue, France
*
Trebbin
Trebbin (; Polish ''Trzebin''Thomas Kantzow "Pomerania", tom 1, Szczecin 2005, ) is a town in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Nuthe, 14 km north of Luckenwalde, and 36 km southwest of Be ...
, Germany
Tourism and leisure
![Vitra Design Museum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/Vitra_Design_Museum.JPG)
* The premises of the furniture maker
Vitra, featuring buildings by architects such as
Frank Gehry,
Zaha Hadid
Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ar, زها حديد ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-British architect, artist and designer, recognised as a major figure in architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centu ...
and
Tadao Ando, are an attraction for architecture fans. The premises also include the
Vitra Design Museum
The Vitra Design Museum is a privately owned museum for design in Weil am Rhein, Germany.
Former Vitra CEO, and son of Vitra founders Willi and Erika Fehlbaum, Rolf Fehlbaum founded the museum in 1989 as an independent private foundation. The ...
.
* The ''Laguna'' water park
* Landesgartenschau Baden-Württemberg 1999, "Grün 99"
Notable people
*
Enjott Schneider
Enjott Schneider (born Norbert Jürgen Schneider 25 May 1950 in Weil am Rhein) is a German businessman, composer, musicologist, and music educator. He is best known as the chairman of the board of the German collecting society GEMA.
As a compo ...
(born 1950), composer and writer
*
Patrik Köbele
Patrik Köbele (born 1962 in Weil am Rhein) is a German politician and leader of the German Communist Party (DKP).
Between 1989 and 1994, Köbele was leader of the Sozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterjugend (SDAJ), the DKP's youth organization. Betw ...
(born 1962), politician, President of the German Communist Party (DKP)
*
Christian Streich
Christian Streich (; born 11 June 1965) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Bundesliga club SC Freiburg. On 29 December 2011, he was named manager following the release of Marcus Sorg. Because of hi ...
(born 1965), football player and manager
Associated with Weil am Rhein
*
Erwin Bowien (1899–1972), painter and writer
[Erwin Bowien: Das Schöne Spiel zwischen Geist und Welt, mein Malerleben. U-Form Verlag, Solingen, 1995; ISBN 3-88234-101-7]
*
Hubert Schardin Hubert Hermann Reinhold Schardin (17 June 1902 Plassow – 27 September 1965 in Freiburg im Breisgau) was a German ballistics expert, engineer and academic who studied in the field of high-speed photography and cinematography.
He also was the dir ...
(1902–1965), physicist, lived in Weil am Rhein
*
Artimus Pyle
Thomas Delmer "Artimus" Pyle (born July 15, 1948) is an American musician who played drums with the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1974 to 1977 and from 1987 to 1991. He and his bandmates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam ...
(born 1948),
Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer, traces his ancestry to Weil am Rhein throug
Claus Koger(1572–1630)
*
Martin Beneke
Martin Beneke (born 1966) is a German physicist.
Biography
Beneke studied Physics, Mathematics and Philosophy at the University of Konstanz, University of Cambridge and University of Heidelberg. In 1993 he received his doctorate at the Technical ...
(born 1966), physicist, completed his schooling at the Kant-Gymnasium in Weil am Rhein
References
External links
Official site
Vitra Design Museum
Laguna water park
Weil am Rhein: pictures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weil Am Rhein
Towns in Baden-Württemberg
Lörrach (district)
France–Germany border crossings
Germany–Switzerland border crossings
Populated places on the Rhine
Baden