Frankenthal (Pfalz) ( pfl, Frongedahl) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in southwestern

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 ...

, in the state of

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 ...

History

Frankenthal was first mentioned in 772. In 1119 an

Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...

monastery was built here, the ruins of which — known, after the founder, as the ''Erkenbertruine'' — still stand today in the town centre. In the second half of the 16th century, people from

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

, persecuted for their religious beliefs, settled in Frankenthal. They were industrious and artistic and brought economic prosperity to the town. Some of them were important carpet weavers, jewellers and artists whose ''Frankenthaler Malerschule'' ("Frankenthal school of painting") acquired some fame. In 1577 the settlement was raised to the status of a town by the Count Palatine Johann Casimir. In 1600 Frankenthal was converted to a fortress. In 1621 it was besieged by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

, and then successively occupied by troops of the opposing sides. Trade and industry were ruined and the town was not reconstructed until 1682. In 1689 the town was burnt to the ground by French troops in the

War of the Grand Alliance 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 Kingdom of France, France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by t ...

. The town did not fully recover from this for more than fifty years. However, in 1750, under the rule of the Elector (Kurfürst) Charles Theodore, Frankenthal was established as a centre of industry. Numerous factories were opened and mulberry trees were planted for

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the ...

production. In 1755 the famous

Frankenthal porcelain factory The Frankenthal Porcelain Factory (german: link=no, Porzellanmanufaktur Frankenthal) was one of the greatest porcelain manufacturers of Germany and operated in Frankenthal in the Rhineland-Palatinate between 1755 and 1799. From the start they ...

was opened, which remained in production until 1800. During this period, the town was also known in English as Frankendal. In 1797 the town came under French occupation during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

. It passed into the rule of

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

in 1816. The beginning of modern industrialisation is dated from 1859. In 1938 the

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

ish synagogue, built in 1884, was burnt to the ground during 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 fro ...

. In 1943 during a bombing raid the centre of the town was almost completely destroyed. In 1945, at the end of

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 ...

, its industries in ruins, it was occupied first by the

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...

and then by the French. From 1946 Frankenthal has been part of the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Today the town is again the site of some medium-sized industries.

Number of inhabitants

* 1850: 4,767 * 1900: 16,899 * 2000: around 50,000 * 2015: 48,363

Lord Mayors

Twin towns – sister cities

Frankenthal is twinned with: * Colombes, France (1958) *

Rosolini Rosolini ( scn, Rusalini) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily, southern Italy. It is about southeast of Palermo and about southwest of Syracuse. Rosolini was a town in feudal times, and was a settlement in ...

, Italy (2018) *

Sopot Sopot is a seaside resort city in Pomerelia on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000. It is located in Pomeranian Voivodeship, and has the status of the county, being the smallest ci ...

, Poland (1991) * Strausberg, Germany (1990) Since 1982, Frankenthal also cooperates with the community of Butamwa in

Nyarugenge Nyarugenge is a sector (''umurenge'') located in Nyarugenge District, Kigali Province, Rwanda. Location It is located in the southwest part of the city of Kigali. The coordinates of Nyarugenge Sector are:1°58'02.0"S, 30°03'20.0"E (Latitud ...

, Rwanda.

Notable people

Abraham Heidanus Abraham van Heyden or van Heiden ( la, Abraham Heidanus or '; 1597–1678) was a Dutch Calvinist minister and controversialist, sympathetic to Cartesianism. Life He was born in Frankenthal in the Palatinate, son of Gaspar van der Heiden the Younge ...

(1597–1678), a reformed theologian * Esther Moscherosch née Ackermann (1602–1632), wife of the statesman and baroque poet

Johann Michael Moscherosch Johann Michael Moscherosch (7 March 1601 – 4 April 1669), German statesman, satirist, and educator, was born at Willstätt, on the Upper Rhine near Strassburg. His bitterly brilliant but partisan writings graphically describe life in a G ...

Jacob Marrel Jacob Marrel (1613/1614 – 11 November 1681) was a German still life painter active in Utrecht (city), Utrecht during the Dutch Golden Age. Biography Jacob Marrel was born in Frankenthal. He moved with his family in 1624 to Frankfurt, where he ...

(1614–1681), still life painter * Johann Philipp Becker (1809–1886), revolutionary * Georg Vierling (1820–1901), composer (dedication of the '' Vierlingstrasse '') * Konrad Maurer (1823–1902), a Bavarian legal historian *

Julius von Michel Julius von Michel (5 July 1843 – 29 September 1911) was a German ophthalmologist born in Frankenthal. He studied at the Universities of University of Würzburg, Würzburg and University of Zurich, Zurich, and in 1866 served as a military ph ...

(1843–1911), ophthalmologist *

Richard Reverdy Richard Ritter von Reverdy (29 January 1851 in Frankenthal – 31 May 1915 in Munich) was an expert for the government business in civil engineering. At first, he was in the Bavarian government's planning and building department and joined the Heil ...

(1851–1915), civil engineer * Karl Wendling (1857–1918), pianist and music pedagogue *

Karl Perron Karl Perron, born Karl Pergamenter and also known as Carl Perron, (3 June 1858 – 15 July 1928) was a German bass-baritone. A Kammersänger of the Dresden State Opera, he created leading roles in three operas by Richard Strauss – Jochanaan i ...

(1858–1928), opera singer *

Franz Nissl Franz Alexander Nissl (9 September 1860, in Frankenthal – 11 August 1919, in Munich) was a German psychiatrist and medical researcher. He was a noted neuropathologist. Early life Nissl was born in Frankenthal to Theodor Nissl and Maria Haas. ...

(1860–1919), neurologist and psychiatrist * August von Parseval (1861–1942), designer of airships (dedication of the Parsevalplatz) * Hermann Wilker (1874–1941), rower *

Karl Gentner Karl Friedrich Gentner (23 May 1876 – 13 September 1922) was a German operatic tenor. Life Gentner was born in Frankenthal as the son of the mechanic Karl Gentner (1845-1900) and his wife Luise ''née'' Messinger (1851-1930) in Frankent ...

(1876–1922), operatic tenor * Oskar Perron (1880–1975), mathematician * Ludwig Marum (1882–1934), lawyer and politician, victims of the Holocaust *

Arnold Fanck Arnold Fanck (6 March 1889 – 28 September 1974) was a German film director and pioneer of the mountain film genre. He is best known for the extraordinary alpine footage he captured in such films as '' The Holy Mountain'' (1926), '' The White He ...

(1889–1974), director and pioneer of the mountain film *

Paul Martini Paul Lloyd Martini (born November 2, 1960 in Weston, Ontario) is a Canadian former pair skater. With partner Barbara Underhill, he is the 1979–1983 Canadian national champion, the 1984 World champion, and the 1978 World Junior champion. They ...

(1889–1964), medical doctor * Carl Neubronner (1892–1961), politician *

Georg Gehring Georg Gehring (14 November 1903 in Frankenthal – 31 October 1943 in Dnipro) was a German wrestler who competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics, in the 1932 Summer Olympics, and in the 1936 Summer Olympics. He was killed in action during World Wa ...

(1903–1943), wrestler * Karl Huber (1904–1965), politician and trade unionist * Josef Frank (1906–1971), politician (SPD) *

Werner Knab Werner Knab (1908–1945) was a German SS-''Sturmbannführer'' (major). He served at the German legation in Norway from 1939, and then as head of Gestapo in Norway from 1940 to 1942, during the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. Among others, he ...

(1908–1945), jurist and SS leader *

Hans Carste Hans Friedrich August Carste (5 September 1909 in Frankenthal – 11 May 1971 in Bad Wiessee) was a German composer and conductor. He arrived in Berlin in 1931 after working in Vienna and Breslau. He composed film music and as well as songs ...

(1909–1971), composer and conductor * Adolf Metzner (1910–1978), Leichtathlet * Rudi Fischer (1925–2012), Football goalkeeper *

Michael Werner (publisher) Michael Werner (born 1965 in Frankenthal, Germany) is a publisher of Pennsylvania German publications and writer of Pennsylvania German articles, prose and poetry. He is the founder and publisher of the only existing Pennsylvania German newspaper, ...

(born 1965), founder of the Pennsylvania German newspaper

Hiwwe wie Driwwe , which means "Hither like thither" (compare german: Hüben wie Drüben), is the title of the only existing Pennsylvania German-language newspaper. Publication Since 1997, the publication is distributed twice a year. More than 100 Pennsylvani ...

* Tobias Eckmeier (born 1995), vlogger and Instagram personality known as EXSL95 * Frauke Schäfer, operatic soprano

Family name

The family name "Frankenthal" is attested among people scattered in many countries - especially among

s - and indicates an ultimate origin of the family in the town, though it might be centuries old and leaving no memory other than the name.

Gallery

File:Frankenthal Klosterruine.jpg, Ruins of the monastery File:Frankenthal Kirchen.jpg, The two churches in the centre File:Frankenthal Wormser Tor Sueden.jpg, Wormser Tor File:Frankenthal Zufahrt Suedwest.jpg, Outskirts File:Dankaerts-Historis-9363.tif, Fortress Franckenthal

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . * * {{Authority control Anterior Palatinate Palatinate (region)