Gengenbach (; gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Gängäbach) is a town in the district of Ortenau,

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 ...

, and a popular tourist destination on the western edge of 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 ...

, with about 11,000 inhabitants. Gengenbach is well known for its traditional Alemannic "fasnacht", ("Fasend"), a kind of historically influenced celebration of carnival, where tradition is followed, from wearing costumes with carved wooden masks to clapping with a "Ratsche" (a traditional-classic wooden "sound-producing" toy). Gengenbach also boasts a picturesque, traditional, medieval town centre ("Altstadt"). The traditional town Gengenbach is the proud owner of the world's biggest

advent calendar An Advent calendar is used to count the days of Advent in anticipation of Christmas. Since the date of the First Sunday of Advent varies, falling between November 27 and December 3 inclusive, many reusable Advent calendars made of paper or wood ...

. The 24 windows of the 18th century town hall represent the 24 "windows" of an Advent calendar. The town also hosts a department of

The Graduate School of Offenburg University of Applied Sciences The Graduate School of the University of Applied Sciences Offenburg is a public university located in the town of Offenburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The Graduate School offers four international Master's degree programs with focus ranging fro ...

, part of the

University of Applied Sciences Offenburg The University of Applied Sciences Offenburg, with its head office in Offenburg and a branch in Gengenbach, is a German university owned by the state of Baden-Württemberg. It is one of the most important educational institutions in the southern ...

. The nearest cities in the region are

Offenburg Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the administrative capital ...

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the Rhine, the border with Fra ...

and Strasbourg/

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Gengenbach is twinned with the town of

Obernai Obernai ( Alsatian: ''Owernah''; german: Oberehnheim) commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It lies on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains. Obernai is a rapidly growing city, its number of inhabitants hav ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. In the 2005 film version of ''

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka. The story was originall ...

'', Gengenbach was inaccurately referred to as

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

, the place where the character Augustus Gloop becomes the first finder of Wonka's Golden ticket.

History

Gengenbach was founded in the 13th century and was an

Imperial Free City In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...

from 1360 until the

Treaty of Lunéville The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary doma ...

in 1801. During the closing stages of the 1672-1678 Franco-Dutch War in July 1678, it was the site of a French victory over the Imperialists; it was badly damaged in 1689 by retreating French forces in the 1688-1697

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 ...

. File:Gengenbach 3.jpg, File:Niggelturm.jpg File:Gengenbach4.jpg

Culture and landmarks

Stadtkirche Sankt Marien Gengenbach - panoramio

Gengenbach is the start point of

Gengenbach–Alpirsbach Black Forest Trail The Gengenbach–Alpirsbach Black Forest Trail (german: Schwarzwald-Querweg Gengenbach–Alpirsbach) is a long distance path through the Central Black Forest in Germany. The 51-kilometre-long east-west route is sponsored and maintained by the Bl ...

and situated at the Kinzigtäler Jakobusweg (a pilgrim route) as well as the Kandelhöhenweg (a hiking path), passing by many landmarks. Furthermore, the city is located at the German Fachwerkstraße. The town was the location of

Gengenbach Abbey Gengenbach Abbey (german: Kloster Gengenbach) was a Benedictine monastery in Gengenbach in the district of Ortenau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was an Imperial Abbey from the late Carolingian period to 1803. History It was founded by Saint Pi ...

, founded in the 8th century; its associated church, the Stadtkirche Sankt Marien, was rebuilt after 1689 and contains a number of 18th century frescoes.

Museums

* Flößerei- und Verkehrsmuseum * Museum Haus Löwenberg * Narrenmuseum im Niggelturm * Kunst- und Paramentenmuseum im Mutterhaus der Franziskanerinnen * Wehrgeschichtliches Museum im Kinzigtor

Sons and daughters of the town

Hermann Maas Hermann Ludwig Maas (; 5 August 1877 – 27 September 1970) was a Protestant minister, a doctor of theology and named one of the ''Righteous Among the Nations'',Yad Vashem: "Hermann Maas"' a title given by the Israeli organization for study an ...

(1877-1970), evangelical pastor *

Frieder Burda Frieder Burda (29 April 1936 – 14 July 2019, in Baden-Baden) was a German art collector and Honorary Citizen of Baden-Baden. Life Born on 29 April 1936 in Gengenbach, Burda was the second son of publisher Franz Burda and his wife Aenne Burda ( ...

(1936-2019), publisher and art collector *

Otto Lohmüller Otto Lohmüller (born 4 February 1943 in Gengenbach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany) is a German figurative painter, sculptor and book illustrator. His art typically features images of early adolescent males, both clothed and nude, although in his ...

(born 1943), painter, sculptor and author of scout adventure books

Further regular events

*Every year the city hall of Gengenbach is transformed in the world's largest "Advent calendar house" *On the third September weekend the wine festival takes place – every year * The "Martinimarkt" is a funfair which takes place in November – for two days

References

{{Authority control Ortenaukreis Free imperial cities Baden