Bad Rappenau (;

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 ...

: ''Rappene'') is a city municipality in the district of Heilbronn 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 ...

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 after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is situated about northwest 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 ...

Geography

Bad Rappenau is situated in the northeastern Kraichgau.

Neighbouring municipalities

Neighbouring towns and villages of Bad Rappenau are (clockwise from the east): Gundelsheim,

Offenau Offenau () is a town 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 Europe after Russia ...

and

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 ...

(all of the district of Heilbronn),

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

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 ...

(both of the district of Heilbronn), Sinsheim,

Neckarbischofsheim Neckarbischofsheim is a town in the district of Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 8 km northeast of Sinsheim, and 24 km southeast of Heidelberg. Mayors * 1949–1974: Albert Kumpf * 1974–1990: Günte ...

and Helmstadt-Bargen (all of the

Rhein-Neckar-Kreis The Rhein-Neckar-Kreis is a district in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The administrative headquarters are based in the city Heidelberg, which is a district-free city. As of 2019, the district is the most populous in Baden-Württe ...

), Hüffenhardt (

Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from east clockwise) Main-Tauber-Kreis, Hohenlohe-Kreis, Heilbronn, Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Odenwaldkreis (Hesse) and Landkre ...

Siegelsbach Siegelsbach is a town 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 Europe after Russi ...

(district of Heilbronn) and

Haßmersheim Haßmersheim is a municipality in the district of Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country i ...

(Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis). Bad Rappenau has combined with Kirchardt and Siegelsbach to form a joint association of administrations.

Structure

The municipality consists of the town itself and the villages ''Babstadt'', ''Bonfeld'', ''Fürfeld'', ''Grombach'', ''Heinsheim'', ''Obergimpern'', ''Treschklingen'', and ''Wollenberg''. Besides there are the hamlets ''Zimmerhof'', ''Kohlhof'', ''Maierhof'', ''Bartsmühle'', ''Kugelmühle'', and ''Sommersmühle''. The hamlets ''Oberbiegelhof'' and ''Unterbiegelhof'' belong to Babstadt; ''Eichhäuser Hof'', ''Obere Mühle'', and ''Untere Mühle'' belong to Bonfeld; ''Burg Ehrenberg'' belongs to Heinsheim; ''Eulenberg(er)hof'', ''Wagenbach'', ''Obere Mühle'', and ''Portland-Zementwerk'' belong to Obergimpern; and ''Neumühle'' belongs to Wollenberg. Gone resp. non-existent villages are ''Niuern'' and ''Speceshart'' on the communal land of Rappenau, ''Eichhausen'' on the communal land of Bonfeld, und ''Battenhausen'' on the communal land of Grombach.

History

Rappenau was first mentioned documentary in 1343. According to other sources the village was previously named as Rappenheim due to its founder Rappo who was not in connection with ministerials. Presumably the settlement began around the 8th century. In the Middle Ages there were three villages near Rappenau: the upper village, the older lower village, and the no-more existent village Speßhardt, besides several hamlets. Rappenau belonged to the Lords of Vaihingen and Württemberg until 1339, since 1344 it still only belonged to the Lords of Württemberg. The upper and lower village grew together to a united village, bordering at the Mühlbach in the south. Eberhard von Gemmingen had built a water castle in 1601. In Thirty Years' War the village burned down several times. By the

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 ...

the village came 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 1806. After discovering a brine 175m below earth surface in 1822, there were big efforts to use the brine as a remedy. However, Baden had no interests in creating a bath in the first time. So there was founded a community to create the ''Sophienbad'' (named after grand duchess Sophie von Baden) on May 15, 1834. Soon it turned out that the bath was unable to be financed, so it had to be closed. In 1845 the brine bath was opened, further increasing its capacity. In 1862 and 1882 a steam bath and brine inhalations were added. In 1887 the children's spa rooms were opened. In 1912 Prof. Dr. Oskar Vulpius opened a sanatorium containing 120 beds to treat bone, joint, and gland sufferings. Meanwhile, a new brine bath was built and opened in 1903. In 1921 there were around 84,500 overnight stays. The recognition of being a spa town goes back to a decree of 1930 by the ministry of Baden. Since then the municipality took the name ''Bad Rappenau''. After World War II cure bustle increased heavily. In 1952 it has been the seventh biggest spa town in Baden. In the 1970s there were four special clinics hosting around 600,000 overnight stays. Due to the administration reform of 1936 Bad Rappenau turned into the district of Sinsheim. On April 1, 1950, the village Zimmerhof has been incorporated into the municipality. From 1971 to 1973 eight further municipalities had been incorporated into Bad Rappenau. Due to the district reform of January 1, 1973, Bad Rappenau turned into the district of Heilbronn. This district belongs to the administrative district of Stuttgart, so a municipality previously belonging to Baden is now administrated by Württemberg. Also in 1973 the municipality got town rights. On January 1, 2003, Bad Rappenau became a ''

Große Kreisstadt ''Große Kreisstadt'' (, "major district town") is a term in the municipal law ('' Gemeindeordnung'') of several German states. In some federal states the term is used as a special legal status for a district-affiliated town—as distinct from an ...

''.

Religions

The area of Bad Rappenau previously belonged to the

Bishopric 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 ...

. In 1530 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 ...

has been introduced. After the transition to Baden in 1806, the municipality got a member of the Protestant Church of Baden. In 1887, the foundation stone of the new town church of Bad Rappenau was laid. Previously the parish belonged to the church district of Sinsheim, changing to the one of Bad Rappenau-Sinsheim in 1975. On January 1, 2005, there was a fusion with the church district of Sinsheim to the church district Kraichgau. In other villages of Bad Rappenau there are also different parishes belonging to the Protestant Parish of Baden. Only the parishes of Bonfeld and Fürfeld belong to the Protestant Parish of Württemberg, since these villages belonged to Württemberg in former times. In the 19th century there were also Catholics moving to Bad Rappenau. Formerly they got cared by the neighbouring parish of Siegelsbach. In 1896 own services within the water castle took place. In 1929 the ''Herz-Jesu-Kirche'' was built, getting expanded in 1954. Since its foundation it belonged to the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Freiburg The Archdiocese of Freiburg im Breisgau (Latin ''Archidioecesis Friburgensis'') is a Roman Catholic diocese in Baden-Württemberg comprising the former states of Baden and Hohenzollern. The Archdiocese of Freiburg is led by an archbishop, who als ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

Kraichgau). Jews are proved since the 16th century, although the municipality was not settled by them generally and the parish was quite poor and small. In 1802 there were five families living there, in 1825 there were six ones. In 1816 a new building failed financially. Later in 1843 a small one was able to be built. In 1881 a Jewish graveyard has been created along the road to Siegelsbach. The parish grew to 80 persons by 1875, but afterwards decreased heavily due to migration and emigration. In 1900 there were 46 Jews, in 1933 just ten. The parish broke up in 1937. During the pogrom in 1938 a shop window of a Jewish shop got destroyed. Four of the last five Jews living in Bad Rappenau were killed.

Incorporations

Following communal lands and villages had been introduced into Bad Rappenau. As far as not given otherwise they belonged to the district of Sinsheim until 1972. All of them came to the district of Heilbronn according to the district reform on January 1, 1973. * April 1, 1950: Zimmerhof * April 1, 1952: Zimmerhöferfeld * January 1, 1971: Babstadt, Treschklingen * January 1, 1972: Obergimpern, Wollenberg * March 1, 1972: Heinsheim (district of Mosbach) * January 1, 1973: Fürfeld (district of Heilbronn), Grombach * November 1, 1973: Bonfeld (district of Heilbronn)

Development of population

¹ results of censuses

Politics

District council

Following the municipal election of 25 May 2014, the district council of Bad Rappenau has 34 seats. The election result is as follows: * In 2009, together with the FDP

Mayor

In the past the local lord appointed a bailiff (''vogt'') to administer the village of Rappenau. Later the Grand Duchy of Baden established a mayor to head the municipal administration assisted by a council. Being a ''

'' since 1 January 2003, the mayor has the title ''Oberbürgermeister''. His deputy is called the ''Bürgermeister''. ''Bürgermeister'' and ''Oberbürgermeister''

Arms and flag

Blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

: In gold on a blue sign a jumping black horse. The town colours are black and yellow. The seal of Rappenau (1820) shows in blue two golden beams. The arms and flag were given by the ministry of the interior on September 26, 1957.

Twin towns – sister cities

Bad Rappenau is twinned with: *

Contrexéville Contrexéville () is a commune of north-eastern France, in the Vosges département. Inhabitants are called ''Contrexévillois''. The mineral springs of Contrexéville have been known locally for many years, but became generally known only toward ...

, France (1982) * Llandrindod Wells, Wales, United Kingdom (2001)

Culture and sights

Museums

Since 1989 Bad Rappenau has a museum showing the history of brine and bathing in the town.

Notable buildings

File:BadRappenauWasserschloss.jpg, the castle File:Rappenau-marktbrunnen.jpg, fountain File:Rappenau-kulturhaus-web1.jpg, culture centre File:Rappenau-rathaus-skulpturen.jpg, sculptures Next to the parish church there is the old town hall built in 1841 being the first one. Nearby the old town hall there is a fountain of 1928 having the inscription: ''Ruhe ist des Bürgers erste Pflicht - Im Wein liegt Wahrheit, im Wasser liegt Klarheit.'' - ''"The first citizen's duty is silence - In wine there is truth, in water there is clearness."'' In the town there is some old half-timbering, e. g. the ''Dominikanerhof''. The station is a building of

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...

in times of rail construction. File:Rappenau-dominikanerhof-web.jpg, ''Dominikanerhof'' File:Bad Rappenau Bahnhof 20070327.jpg, station File:Rappenau-hauffschule-web.jpg, school house of 1906 File:Rappenau-rathausbrunnen.jpg, old fountain of 1928 On the urban cemetery lies Georg Christian Heinrich Rosentritt who discovered salt occurrences in 1822. There is also a war memorial. File:Bad-rappenau-kriegerdenkmal1934-b.JPG, war memorial of 1934 File:Rappenau-vulpiusklinik.jpg, ''Vulpiusklinik'', hospital File:Rappenau-schulzentr-anbau.jpg, school centre File:Rappenau-altesrathaus.jpg, old town hall

Parks

Bad Rappenau has several parks at its disposal: the ''Schlosspark'' in the west around of the water castle and the ''Salinengarten'' including ''Hohenstadter Grund'' and ''Kurpark'' in the east. From April 25 to October 5, 2008, the

Landesgartenschau A ''Regional Garden Show'' (''Landesgartenschau'') is an exhibition on horticulture that takes place on a regular basis in several German and Austrian states. In Germany, a state horticultural show at the state level is the smaller counterpart to t ...

took place in Bad Rappenau. One of the main attractions was the

graduation tower A graduation tower (occasionally referred to as a thorn house) is a structure used in the production of salt which removes water from a saline solution by evaporation, increasing its concentration of mineral salts. The tower consists of a wood ...

. The three parks have been connected and upgraded by this event."Die 22. Landesgartenschau in Baden-Württemberg ist zu Ende aber Vieles bleibt"
article at Bad Rappenau's web site File:Rappenau-saline2.jpg, trafo station File:Rappenau-monopteros.jpg, Monopteros File:Rappenau-saline6.jpg, derrick File:Rappenau-saline3.jpg, honour monument File:Rappenau-salinenkuh-tretrad.jpg, ''Tretrad'' File:Rappenau-kurpark2008.jpg, graduation tower File:Rappenau-kurhaus.jpg, ''Neues Kurhaus'' File:Rappenau-treppenturm.jpg, tower in the spa park File:Rappenau-kurpark.jpg, lake nearby File:Rappenau-kurmittelhaus.jpg, ''Kurmittelhaus'' File:Rappenau-saline4.jpg, salt-works building

Regular events

Since 1977 and 1978 there is the ''Straßenfest'' respectively ''Stadtfest''; also a spring festival takes place. Since the 1980s and 1990s there are different festivals in other parts of the town, e. g. the ''Herbstfest'' and the ''Schlosshoffest'' in Grombach, the ''Fischerfest'' in Heinsheim, the ''Schlossfest'' in Obergimpern, the ''Kelterfest'' in Wollenberg and the ''Martinimarkt'' in Zimmerhof. Also there is the lightning festival taking more than 10,000 visitors to Bad Rappenau and having big success. An open-air festival also takes place.

Economy and infrastructure

Traffic

Bad Rappenau has a direct motorway point along the A 6 (Mannheim–Heilbronn). There is also the Bundesstraße B 39.

Bad Rappenau station Bad Rappenau station is the station of Bad Rappenau, a spa town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located at kilometre 27.9 on the Elsenz Valley Railway (''Elsenztalbahn'') or Neckargemünd–Bad Friedrichshall railway and is classi ...

is situated at the

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 ...

running from Bad Friedrichshall 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 ...

. Public transport is managed by

Heilbronner Hohenloher Haller Nahverkehr The ( or ) is a regional transport cooperative that coordinates tickets and fares among all transport operators in the metropolitan area of Heilbronn in Germany. Besides the city of Heilbronn, the H3NV area encompasses the districts of Heilbronn ...

Local businesses

Some of the biggest businesses are: *''Kulimare Italian Restaurant''. *''Mondi Bad Rappenau GmbH'', producer of packaging *''ZIMA Apparate GmbH'', producer of filter instruments *''Stahl Plast Kunststoffe GmbH & Co.'' *''Losberger Intertent GmbH'', building constructor *''EOS KSI Inkasso Deutschland GmbH'', demand and credit management *''Kraichgau-Klinik Bad Rappenau GmbH & Co.KG'', rehabilitation centre of oncology *''Vulpius Klinik GmbH'', orthopaedic hospital *''Kurklinik Bad Rappenau GmbH'', management and business of hospitals *''Häffner Bräu'', brewery and restaurant *"Vesalius Klinik GmbH" psychosomatic hospital.

Media

The ''Kraichgau Stimme'', part of the ''Heilbronner Stimme'' and the paper ''Bad Rappenauer Bote / Eppinger Nachrichten'', part of the ''Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung'') inform about happenings in Bad Rappenau.

Public institutions

In Bad Rappenau there is a notary's office.

Education

Bad Rappenau has a Realschule (''Wilhelm-Hauff-Realschule''), a Förderschule (''Albert-Schweitzer-Schule''), a

Hauptschule A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...

with Werkrealschule and a

Grundschule Education in Germany is primarily the responsibility of individual German States of Germany, states (), with the federal government playing a minor role. Optional Kindergarten, Kindergarden (nursery school) education is provided for all child ...

each in Bonfeld, Fürfeld, Grombach, Heinsheim, Obergimpern, Zimmerhof and a further one (''Theodor-Heuss-Schule'') responsible for Babstadt and Treschklingen. The urban library has more than 20,000 media at its disposal.

Notable people

* Carl Egler (1896–1982), in Karlsruhe, German sculptor *

Eberhard von Gemmingen German Jesuit Eberhard von Gemmingen (born 4 April 1936) is the head of the editorial board of the German Vatican Radio. Life When he was three years old, his parents settled in Württemberg. His mother had been educated by jesuits, while his f ...

(born 1936), head of the editorial office of Vatican Radio * Klaus Zapf (1952–2014), entrepreneur, founder of ''Zapf Removals''

References

External links

*
Das Bad im Blütenmeer
Website of the ''Landesgartenschau 2008'' in Bad Rappenau {{Authority control Heilbronn (district) Spa towns in Germany Holocaust locations in Germany Populated places on the Neckar basin Populated riverside places in Germany