Weinheim (; pfl, Woinem) is a town with about 43,000 inhabitants in northwest

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 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 in the

Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region The Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region (german: Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar, ), often referred to as Rhein-Neckar-Triangle, is a polycentric metropolitan region located in south western Germany, between the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region to the North ...

, approximately north of

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 ...

and northeast of

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 ...

. Weinheim is known as the "Zwei-Burgen-Stadt", the "town of two castles", after two fortresses overlooking the town from the edge of the

Odenwald The Odenwald () is a low mountain range in the German states of Hesse, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Location The Odenwald is located between the Upper Rhine Plain with the Bergstraße and the ''Hessisches Ried'' (the northeastern section ...

in the east.

Geography

Weinheim is situated on the Bergstraße theme route on the western rim of the

. The old town lies in the valley, with the new part of town further to the west. The Market Square is filled with numerous cafes, as well as the old ''Rathaus'' (guildhall). Further to the south is the ''Schlossgarten'' (Palace Garden) and the ''Exotenwald'' (Exotic Forest), which contains species of trees imported from around the world, but mostly from North America and Japan.

History

Weinheim celebrated its 1250th anniversary in 2005. The earliest record of Weinheim dates back to 755 CE, when the name "Winenheim" was recorded in the

Lorsch codex The Lorsch Codex (Chronicon Laureshamense, Lorscher Codex, Codex Laureshamensis) is an important historical document created between about 1175 to 1195 AD in the Monastery of Saint Nazarius in Lorsch, Germany. The codex is handwritten in Carol ...

, the record book of

Lorsch Abbey Lorsch Abbey, otherwise the Imperial Abbey of Lorsch (german: Reichsabtei Lorsch; la, Laureshamense Monasterium or ''Laurissa''), is a former Imperial abbey in Lorsch, Germany, about east of Worms. It was one of the most renowned monasteries ...

. In 1000, Emperor

Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of ...

bestowed on Weinheim the right to hold markets, and in 1065 the right to mint and issue coins. A new town developed next to the old town from 1250. In 1308, the old town was transferred to 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 ...

. From 1368 the whole town belonged to the

, and since the end of the 14th century to the

''Oberamt'' district. With the transfer to

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

in 1803, Weinheim became the seat of its own ''

Amt Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...

'', which was unified with

Landkreis In all German states, except for the three city states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a '' Gemeinde'' (municipality) is the (official term in all but two states) or (official term in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia ...

in 1936. From 1938 onwards Weinheim belonged to Landkreis Mannheim until January 1, 1973, when the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis was formed. A Jewish community in Weinheim is first recorded in 1228. There were persecutions in Weinheim in 1298 (

Rintfleisch massacres 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 1348–49 ( Black Death persecutions). The Jews were expelled from Weinheim in 1391. The Weinheim Jewish community began to grow again in 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 ...

. There was a

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 ...

, a

beth midrash A ''beth midrash'' ( he, בית מדרש, or ''beis medrash'', ''beit midrash'', pl. ''batei midrash'' "House of Learning") is a hall dedicated for Torah study, often translated as a "study hall." It is distinct from a synagogue (''beth kness ...

, and a

mikveh Mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or (Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity. Most forms of ritual impurity can be purif ...

, and, in the 19th century, a school for boys and a teacher-training college. The synagogue was destroyed in 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 ...

(9–10 November 1938) and the last few Jews sent to

Gurs Gurs is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. History Gurs was the site of the Gurs internment camp. Nothing remains of the camp; after World War II, a forest was planted on the site where it stood. Geog ...

on 22 October 1940.

Local attractions

* Windeck Castle, originally built around 1100 to protect the

Lorsch Lorsch is a town in the Bergstraße district in Hessen, Germany, 60 km south of Frankfurt. Lorsch is well known for the Lorsch Abbey, which has been named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Geography Location Lorsch lies about 5 km wes ...

monastery; it was badly damaged in the Thirty Years' War and again by Louis XIV of France in the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

. *

Wachenburg The Wachenburg () is a castle on a hill overlooking Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous ...

Castle, built between 1907 and 1928 by

German Student Corps Corps (or Korps; "''das ~''" ('' n''), (''sg.''), (''pl.'')) are the oldest still-existing kind of ''Studentenverbindung'', Germany's traditional university corporations; their roots date back to the 15th century. The oldest corps still existi ...

fraternities; the annual convention of the

Weinheimer Senioren-Convent The Weinheimer Senioren-Convent (abbreviation: WSC) is the second oldest association of German Studentenverbindungen. It comprises roughly 60 German ''Corps'', all of which are based upon the principle of tolerance. The WSC had been founded in ...

is held at the Wachenburg. * The Market Square * The Schloss, home of the town council * Gerberbach Quarter, old haunt of the leather makers * Schlosspark * Waidsee Lido (), swimming beach on the Waidsee artificial lake *

Miramar (Weinheim) Miramar is a water park, salt-water spa and sauna complex opened in 1973 at the Waidsee Lake, Weinheim, Germany. , approximately 50% of the 650,000 annual visitors pay extra for the Sauna area. The catchment area for visitors covers a radius, in ...

thermal spa and sauna complex, next to the Waidsee lake *

Exotenwald Weinheim The Exotenwald Weinheim (about 60 hectares) is a forest arboretum located beside the Schlosspark in Weinheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is open daily without charge. The arboretum was established in 1871 by Christian Friedrich Gustav Freih ...

, a forest

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

Schau- und Sichtungsgarten Hermannshof The Schau- und Sichtungsgarten Hermannshof (2.2 hectares), also known as the Hermannshof Weinheim, is a botanical garden at Babostraße 5, Weinheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is open daily in the summer and weekdays in the winter, and admiss ...

, a

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

Museum

Weinheim's town museum occupies what used to be the local headquarters of the

Teutonic Order 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 ...

and holds exhibits about Weinheim and its surroundings:

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

from the prehistoric through to the

Merovingian dynasty The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

, the highlight of which is the Nächstenbach bronze hoard of 76 objects from the

late 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 ...

; displays documenting the Medieval and modern social history of the town and works from contemporary artists.

Events

*February: High-jump Gala, with world class high-jumpers *March: the ''Sommertagszug'', a festival celebrating the coming of summer. *May/June (near

Ascension Day The Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus Christ, also called Ascension Day, Ascension Thursday, or sometimes Holy Thursday, commemorates the Christian belief of the bodily Ascension of Jesus into heaven. It is one of the ecumenical (i.e., shared b ...

): day of the

s *June–August: Weinheim's summer of culture *June: ''Scheuerfest'' (barn party) in Ritschweier *July: the Weinheim road race *May–September: Kerwes in Rippenweier, Sulzbach, Lützelsachsen, Oberflockenbach und Hohensachsen *August (second weekend thereof): Weinheim's Kerwe (Friday to Monday) *September (first Friday-Sunday): Weinheimer UKW-Tagung, a three-day international

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...

meeting held annually since 1956 *October: ''Bergsträßer Winzerfest'' (lit. "mountain-road vintner festival") in Lützelsachsen

Local businesses

*Beltz Verlag *

Freudenberg Group The Freudenberg Group is a German family-owned diversified group of companies whose products include housewares and cleaning products, automobile parts, textiles, building materials, and telecommunications. Its headquarters are in Weinheim, Bade ...

* Schlegel und Partner GmbH *Kukident GmbH, Reckitt Benckiser AG *Naturin *OAGIS *T-Systems ITS GmbH *

Wiley-VCH Wiley-VCH is a German publisher owned by John Wiley & Sons. It was founded in 1921 as Verlag Chemie (meaning "Chemistry Press": VCH stands for ''Verlag Chemie'') by two German learned societies. Later, it was merged into the German Chemical Socie ...

publishers *3 Glocken *Weinheimer Nachrichten *Druckhaus Diesbach *

SAP SE Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a sepa ...

*Domaniecki Carpetence *DLCON

Transport

Trains

Weinheim has two main train stations on the

Main-Neckar Railway The Main-Neckar Railway (german: Main-Neckar–Eisenbahn, MNE) is a main line railway west of the Odenwald in the Upper Rhine Plain of Germany that connects Frankfurt am Main to Heidelberg via Darmstadt, Bensheim and Weinheim. It was opened in 1 ...

, these being

Weinheim (Bergstraße) station Weinheim (; pfl, Woinem) is a town with about 43,000 inhabitants in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region, approximately north of Heidelberg and northeast of Mannheim. Weinheim is known as the "Zwei ...

(served by Regional and long-distance IC trains) and Lützelsachsen (served by Regional trains). These provide connections to Frankfurt, Hamburg and other destinations within Germany. * Deutsche Bahn * Rhein-Neckar Verkeh
VRN , Startseite
Weinheim is also served by the OEG tramway, which is used daily by people who use this to commute to the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg.

Air

The closest airports to Weinheim are: *

Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres ...

Baden Airpark Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport (German: ''Flughafen Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden'') is the international airport of Karlsruhe, the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, and also serves the spa town of Baden-Baden. It is the stat ...

Twin towns – sister cities

Weinheim is twinned with: *

Anet Anet () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of north-central France. It lies 14 km north-northeast of Dreux between the rivers Eure and Vesgre, the latter flowing into the former some 4 km no ...

, France *

Cavaillon Cavaillon (; Provençal: ''Cavalhon'') is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France.

, France *

Eisleben Eisleben is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is famous as both the hometown of the influential theologian Martin Luther and the place where he died; hence, its official name is Lutherstadt Eisleben. First mentioned in the late 10th century, E ...

, Germany *

Imola Imola (; rgn, Jômla or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical re ...

, Italy *

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and many ...

, Israel *

Varces-Allières-et-Risset Varces-Allières-et-Risset (; frp, Varse-Aliéres-et-Riosèc) is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France. It is part of the Grenoble urban unit (agglomeration).Hauptwohnsitz In German-speaking countries, Hauptwohnsitz ( en, Main domicile) denotes the primary place of residence. In Germany and Austria, the concept of Hauptwohnsitz has special legal ramifications, primarily involving tax. In Austria the Hauptwohnsitz

). ¹ These are taken from a Volkszählungsergebnis.

Notable people

* Friedrich Rauch (1786–1829), colonel who fought and died in Argentina *

Heinrich Hübsch Heinrich Hübsch (9 February 1795 – 3 April 1863) was a German architect. After studies in Heidelberg (1813–15) and at Friedrich Weinbrenner's school of architecture in Karlsruhe (1815–17) he traveled extensively in Greece and Italy ( ...

(1795–1863), head of public works *Karl Seidenadel (1829–1894), translator of Greek works *Philipp Bickel (1829–1914), baptist theologian and publisher *Friedrich August Bender (1847–1926), chemist and entrepreneur *Wilhelm Platz (1866–1929), factory owner and author * Richard Freudenberg (1892–1975), politician (FDP) *

Erwin Linder Erwin Linder (1903–1968) was a German stage, film and television actor.Meyer p.76 Selected filmography * ''Only One Night'' (1950) * '' Klettermaxe'' (1952) * '' Dreaming Lips'' (1953) * '' Wedding in Transit'' (1953) * '' Don't Forget Love'' ...

(1903–1968), actor and voice actor *

Heidi Mohr Heidi Mohr (29 May 1967 – 7 February 2019) was a German footballer who played as a forward. She was renowned for her speed and her ability to shoot with both feet. In 1999 she was voted Europe's Footballer of the Century. Club career Mohr pl ...

(born 1967), footballer * Ralf Sonn (born 1967), high jumper * Markus Kuhn (born 1986), NFL player

Worked in the town

Ingrid Noll Ingrid Noll (married name Ingrid Gullatz, born 29 September 1935 in Shanghai) is a German thriller writer. She has written several novels, including ''Head Count'' (''Die Häupter meiner Lieben''), ''Hell Hath No Fury'' (''Der Hahn ist tot'') ...

(born 1935), writer (e.g. "Die Apothekerin"), lived in Weinheim *Karl Friedrich Bender (1806–1869), theologian, teacher, principal of the ''Erziehungsanstalt für Knaben'' (boys' school)

Honorary citizens

The town of Weinheim has made the following people honorary citizens (''Ehrenbürger''): *1894: Carl Johann Freudenberg, ''Geheimer Kommerzienrat'' (royal economist) *1904: Erhard Bissinger,

Consul general A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

*1913: Aute Bode, chief engineer and the architect behind the

*1918: Hermann Ernst Freudenberg, ''Geheimer Kommerzienrat'' (royal economist) *1922: Georg Friedrich Vogler, vice-mayor *1923: Adam Karrillon, doctor and author *1928:

Emil Hartmann Emil Hartmann (1 February 1836, Denmark – 18 July 1898, Copenhagen, Denmark) was a Danish composer of the romantic period, fourth generation of composers in the Danish Hartmann musical family. Early life and education Hartmann was born o ...

, construction engineer *1928: Prof. Arthur Wienkoop, Architect *1933:

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fro ...

, German PresidentFor those made honorary citizens in 1933, see Heinz Keller: ''Weinheim 1933-1945 − Zeitskizzen.'' in: Stadt Weinheim (Hrsg.): ''Die Stadt Weinheim zwischen 1933 und 1945.'' (= ''Weinheimer Geschichtsblatt Nr. 38''), Weinheim 2000, , S. 13f. *1940: Georg Peter Nickel, agriculturist *1949: Richard Freudenberg, factory owner *1953: Hans Freudenberg, factory owner *1954:

Sepp Herberger Josef "Sepp" Herberger (28 March 1897 – 28 April 1977) was a German football player and manager. He is most famous for being the manager of the West German national team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup final, a match later dubbed '' The Mir ...

, sports trainer, trainer of the German

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

winning side of 1954 *1962: Wilhelm Brück, Lord Mayor *1986: Theo Gießelmann, Lord Mayor *2004: Dieter Freudenberg, factory owner *2004: Wolfgang Daffinger, mayor, representative in the

Landtag A Landtag (State Diet) is generally the legislative assembly or parliament of a federated state or other subnational self-governing entity in German-speaking nations. It is usually a unicameral assembly exercising legislative competence in non- ...

*2005: Uwe Kleefoot, Lord Mayor

References

External links

{{Authority control Towns in Baden-Württemberg Rhein-Neckar-Kreis Baden