County of Wertheim

Wertheim (East Franconian: ''Wärde'') is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg with a population of around 23,400. It is located on the confluence of the rivers Tauber and Main. Wertheim is best known for its landmark castle and medieval town centre.

Geography

Wertheim is the most northerly town in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Tauber and Main, on the Main's left bank. It borders on the Odenwald hills and the Spessart range to the north across the river Main. Wertheim is located in the Main-Tauber district.

Neighboring communities

The following towns and communities border on Wertheim, listed clockwise starting in the east:
Holzkirchen, Helmstadt and Neubrunn (all district Würzburg, Bavaria), Werbach and Külsheim (both Main-Tauber district), Neunkirchen ( district Miltenberg, Bavaria), Freudenberg (Main-Tauber district), Stadtprozelten and Faulbach (both Miltenberg district) and Hasloch, Kreuzwertheim and Triefenstein (all Main-Spessart district, Bavaria).

History

was founded between the 7th and 8th century. However, the first settlement was a town called on the right bank of the river Main. From the early 12th century onwards, a branch of the noble family of the Reginbodons called themselves after the town. After the family of the had built a castle on the left bank of the river Main, a settlement developed at the foot of this dominating structure that was called . It was mentioned for the first time in 779. In 1192, it was referred to as ' and in 1200 the town was referred to as an ' and in 1244 as a '.

Count of reigned from the year 1355 to 1373. In 1363 Emperor Charles IV granted him by degree the right to mint coins. The last Count of was Michael III. He married , the oldest daughter of Ludwig of Stolberg. Michael died without producing a male heir and consequently the county passed to of . In 1574, after the death of , the county passed on to his son-in-law Count of .

The town developed into the center of the County of Wertheim. The county was governed by the House of . In 1630, the house split into two lines: the older Protestant line and the Catholic line . The county existed until 1806 when it was divided as a consequence of the German mediatization ('). The area left of the Main river was given to the Grand Duchy of Baden, while the territories right of the Main were given to the Kingdom of Bavaria.

Established in 1406, the cemetery of the former Jewish community is one of the oldest in Germany. In use up until the 20th century, it is the oldest existing Jewish cemetery in .

For many years was home to Peden Barracks, a US Army installation. The US Army left Peden Barracks in the early 1990s as part of the post Cold War reorganization of US armed forces in Germany.

In 1938, was merged with into the newly created district '. From 1972 onwards, 15 communities were incorporated with . These 15 communities are: and . As of 1 January 1973 the ' was merged into the new . Due to the incorporation of surrounding communities, reached the 20,000 population mark in 1975. became a ' (district town) on 1 January 1976.

Demographics

¹ Census result

Arts and culture

Museums

* ' (glass museum)
* '

Events

Summer festival (') on the last three days of July, followed by a medieval festival at the castle followed by the ' (like ').

Buildings

' (castle) is the landmark of the town. Wertheim has a medieval town center with half-timbered houses and small streets. The Gothic ' was built in 1383 (today it is a Protestant parish church). Two clocks can be seen on the clock tower, one with an hour hand only, for the residents of the castle. The ', a Gothic chapel, was constructed after 1469. The ' ("Angels' well") from 1574 was built of the red sandstone typical of this area and derives its name from two little angels holding Wertheim's coat of arms.

Other sights include the with flood markings from 1595 onwards and the ' ("Blue house").

The outlying ''Stadtteil'' of Urphar features a medieval fortified church, .

Located not far from Wertheim in the Tauber valley is Bronnbach Abbey, or ', founded in 1150. The late- Romanesque and early-Gothic basilica was consecrated in 1222.

Economy

The glass manufacturing tradition in Wertheim and its surroundings dates back several centuries.

Governance

Mayors (')

* 1810–1827: Johann Christoph Schlundt
* 1827–1829: Christoph Michael Platz
* 1829–1832: Johann Georg Weimar
* 1832–1839: Johann Friedrich Bach
* 1839–1840: Christoph Wilhelm Müller
* 1840–1845: Johann Jakob von Runkel
* 1845–1852: Ludwig Haas
* 1852–1860: Johann Jakob von Runkel
* 1860–1866: Ludwig Haas
* 1866–1871: Philipp Frank
* 1871–1880: Lorenz Meyer
* 1880–1890: Philipp Amthauer
* 1890–1895: Philipp Mayer
* 1895–1905: Michael Müller
* 1905–1933: Hans Bardon
* 1933–1938: Friedrich Bender
* 1938–1943: Hans Mensler
* 1944–1945: Hermann Dürr
* 1945: Carl Roth
* 1945–1946: Michael Beck
* 1946: Otto Hoog
* 1946–1961: Carl Roth
* 1961–1981: Karl Josef Scheuermann
* 1981–2003: Stefan Gläser
* 2003–2019: Stefan Mikulicz
* 2019–present: Markus Herrera Torrez

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Wertheim, shows a parted shield the upper part in gold with a black eagle and below in blue three silver roses. The city flag is yellow-blue. The coat of arms is nearly unchanged in use since 1556. It is the coat of arms of the Counts of Wertheim. The meaning of the symbols is unknown.

Twin towns – sister cities

Wertheim is twinned with:
* Salon-de-Provence, France (1964)
* Godmanchester, England, United Kingdom (1981)
* Huntingdon, England, United Kingdom (1981)
* Szentendre, Hungary (1989)
* Csobánka, Hungary (1992)
* Gubbio, Italy (2006)

Notable people

* Philipp Buchner (1614–1669), composer
*Johann Philipp Förtsch (1652–1732), composer, statesman and doctor
*Matthew Klein (1911–1988), philosopher and ethicist, was born in Bettingen
*Gerd Langguth (1946–2013), political scientist
* Thomas Reis (born 1973), former professional football player, Bochum and Eintracht Frankfurt
* Henri-Joseph Rigel (1741–1799), composer
* Shimon Schwarzschild (born 1925), environmentalist, grew up in Wertheim until the age of 10
* Normann Stadler (born 1973), triathlete, winner of Ironman Hawaii 2004, 2006

References

External links

*

Tourist site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wertheim Am Main
Franconian Circle
Historic Jewish communities in Europe
Main-Tauber-Kreis
Baden
Populated places on the Main basin
Populated riverside places in Germany