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Heilbronn () is a
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn District. With over 126,000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. From the late Middle Ages, it developed into an important trading centre. At the beginning of the 19th century, Heilbronn became one of the centres of early industrialisation in Württemberg. Heilbronn's old town was completely destroyed during the air raid of 4 December 1944 and rebuilt in the 1950s. Today Heilbronn is the economic centre of the Heilbronn-Franken region. Heilbronn is known for its wine industry and is nicknamed ''Käthchenstadt'', after Heinrich von Kleist's '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn''.


Geography

Heilbronn is located in the northern corner of the
Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis near Schwenn ...
basin at the bottom of the Wartberg (308 m). It occupies both banks of the Neckar, and the highest spot inside city limits is the Schweinsberg with a height of 372 meters. Heilbronn is adjacent to
Swabian-Franconian Forest The Swabian-Franconian Forest (german: Schwäbisch-Fränkischen Waldberge, also ''Schwäbisch-Fränkischer Wald'') is a mainly forested, deeply incised upland region, 1,187 km² in area and up to , in the northeast of Baden-Württemberg. It fo ...
Nature Park and is surrounded by vineyards. Heilbronn and its surroundings are located in the northern part of the larger
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
metropolitan area. The city is the economic center of the Heilbronn-Franken region and is one of fourteen such cities in the Baden-Württemberg master plan of 2002. It also serves
Abstatt Abstatt () is a municipality in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Geography Abstatt is situated in the south of the district of Heilbronn at the Schozach river. Heilbronn is about to the northwest. Neighb ...
, Bad Rappenau, Bad Wimpfen, Beilstein,
Brackenheim Brackenheim () is a town in the ''Landkreis'' Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is southwest of Heilbronn. With of vineyards, it is the biggest grape-growing municipality of Württemberg. Geography Geographical positio ...
, Cleebronn, Eberstatt, Ellhofen, Eppingen, Flein, Gemmingen, Güglingen, Ilsfeld,
Ittlingen Ittlingen () is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History From 1355, Ittlingen was a possession of the . Their rule ended in 1806, when the Gemmingens' properties were mediatized to the Grand Duchy of Baden. I ...
,
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 ...
, Lauffen am Neckar,
Lehrensteinsfeld Lehrensteinsfeld 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 Euro ...
,
Leingarten Leingarten () is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 7 km west of Heilbronn. It was formed 1 January 1970, when the municipalities of Großgartach and Schluchtern merged. Geography Location Lein ...
, Löwenstein,
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 ...
, Neckarwestheim, Nordheim,
Obersulm Obersulm is a municipality in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, formed in the 1970s as a merger of the formerly independent municipalities Affaltrach, Eichelberg, Eschenau, Sülzbach, Weiler, and Willsbach. It is situated ...
, Pfaffenhofen, Schwaigern,
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 ...
, Talheim, Untergruppenbach, Weinsberg,
Wüstenrot Wüstenrot is a municipality in the Mainhardt Forest with about 6,800 inhabitants, more than half of them in small incorporated villages. The village is the birthplace of the Wüstenrot Bausparkasse (Wüstenrot Building Society). Geography ...
, and
Zaberfeld Zaberfeld () is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Geography Zaberfeld lies in the Zabergäu, in the southwestern corner of the Heilbronn district, at the head of the Zaber river. Neighboring communities Zabe ...
as a regional economic centre.


Neighboring communities

Heilbronn shares a border with the following cities and towns, all part of Heilbronn County and listed here clockwise from the North: Bad Wimpfen, Neckarsulm, Erlenbach, Weinsberg,
Lehrensteinsfeld Lehrensteinsfeld 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 Euro ...
, Untergruppenbach, Flein, Talheim, Lauffen am Neckar, Nordheim,
Leingarten Leingarten () is a town in the district of Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 7 km west of Heilbronn. It was formed 1 January 1970, when the municipalities of Großgartach and Schluchtern merged. Geography Location Lein ...
, Schwaigern,
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 Bad Rappenau.


Boroughs

The city is divided into nine boroughs:


History


Up to AD 1200

The oldest traces of humans in and around Heilbronn date back to the Old Stone Age (30,000 BC). The fertile Neckar floodplains in the Heilbronn basin aided early settlement by farmers and ranchers. The city limits of present-day Heilbronn contain many sites of Bronze Age finds. Later on, but still before AD, the
Celt The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...
s already mined here for salt from brine. Under Roman Emperor Domitian (AD 81–96) the Romans pushed east away from the Rhine and the outer boundary of the Roman Empire was set at the Neckar-Odenwald Limes. A
castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
in today's borough of Böckingen was part of that '' limes'', and nearby numerous Roman villas and plantations were built. Around AD 150, the Neckar-Odenwald Limes became obsolete when the boundary of the Roman Empire was moved approximately to the east, where it was subsequently fortified with the construction of the
Upper Germanic Limes The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes (german: Obergermanisch-Raetischer Limes), or ORL, is a 550-kilometre-long section of the former external frontier of the Roman Empire between the rivers Rhine and Danube. It runs from Rheinbrohl to Eining on the ...
complete with parapet and trenches. Around 260, the Romans surrendered the limes, and the
Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...
became rulers of the Neckar basin. Between the 4th and 7th centuries, the area became part of the Frankish Empire, and the first settlement was built in the general vicinity of the present center of town. In 741, Heilbronn is first mentioned in an official document of the
Diocese of Würzburg In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
as ''villa Helibrunna'' (together with a ''Michaelsbasilica''), and in 841, King Louis the German set up court here for a period of time. The name ''Heilbrunna'' (''healing well'') hints to a well that is located not far from the basilica. In 1050, a significant settlement of Jews is noted in official documents, and the Codex of the monastery in
Hirsau Hirsau (formerly ''Hirschau'') is a district of the town of Calw in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, located in the south-west portion of the country, about two miles north of Calw and about twenty-four miles west of Stuttgart. Town Hi ...
documented Heilbronn's right to hold market days and mint coins, mentioning its harbor and vineyards as well. The name of the city became a widespread Jewish surname in many varieties, see
Heilprin Heilprin ( he, היילפרין) is a Jewish surname with many variants. Origins Some people with the name derive it from the town of Heilbronn, Germany. "Heilbronn" means "healing well". Besides the numerous Heilbrons, Heilbronners, Heilpruns, ...
,
Halpern Halpern is a variation of the Jewish surname Heilprin and may refer to: * Baruch Halpern, Jewish studies * Benjamin Halpern, American marine biologist and ecologist * Carolyn Halpern, American psychologist * Charles Halpern, lawyer * Charna Hal ...
, and
Halperin Halperin (sometimes spelled as Halparin) is a variation of the Jewish surname Heilprin. Both forms are Southern Yiddish for Heilbrun, that is the German city Heilbronn. The name is sometimes transliterated into the Cyrillic alphabet as Galperin. I ...
.


1200–1500

In 1225, Heilbronn was incorporated into the Hohenstaufen Empire as ''oppidum Heilecbrunnen''. ''Oppidum'' signified a city fortified by parapet and trenches. Later during the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights obtained ownership of a large area south of Heilbronn which would remain owned by that order until German Mediatisation in 1805. Starting in 1268, the order built the ''Deutschhof'' there as one of its residences. The church building of the order that was located on the premises was modified and expanded several times: First in 1350 it was expanded (
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
), then it was remodeled in 1719 (
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
), and in 1977, it was consecrated as a cathedral. After the demise of the
Staufen Staufen refers to: *Hohenstaufen, a dynasty of German emperors *Staufen im Breisgau, a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany *Staufen, Aargau, in Switzerland *Staufen (protein), a protein found in the egg of ''Drosophila'' *Staufen, Austria The ...
dynasty, King Rudolf I returned city status to Heilbronn in 1281 and installed a regal advocate to rule the city. In addition to the advocate he put a council in place that was headed up by a mayor. Around 1300, the first city hall was erected in the market place and the Kilianskirche (built on the foundation of the Michaelsbasilica) was expanded. The Neckar privilege gave the city the right to modify the flow of the river in 1333, which meant it now had the right to construct dams, harbors and mills. Because of the infrastructure thus created, during the 14th century Heilbronn grew attractive to merchants and craftspeople, who now demanded the right to determine their own fate. In 1371,
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV ( cs, Karel IV.; german: Karl IV.; la, Carolus IV; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charle ...
, issued a new charter to the city. Now Heilbronn needed to answer only to the Emperor and as such was an Imperial Free City. Craftspeople and merchants were now represented in its council and the villages of Böckingen, Flein,
Frankenbach Frankenbach () is a borough of Heilbronn since 1974. It is situated in the North-West, about 4.5 kilometres as crow flies from the centre. left, View over Frankenbach Frankenbach was first mentioned in 766 and belonged to Heilbronn from the ear ...
and Neckargartach became part of Heilbronn's territory. As an Imperial Free City Heilbronn was threatened by the ambitious House of Württemberg. A relationship with the Holy Roman Emperor and a treaty with the Electorate of the Palatinate in effect from 1417 to 1622 strengthened Heilbronn's position and kept the House of Württemberg at bay. The political stability enjoyed by the city during the 15th century enabled it to expand, and many of its historic structures, such as the Kilianskirche (1455–60), trace their origins to that era.


1500–1700

Götz von Berlichingen spent three years in "knightly custody" in Heilbronn starting in 1519 and even spent a night in the tower of the bastion. That same year people first took note of the pub owner Jäcklein Rohrbach who with accomplices would later kill the executor of Böckingen. After he had spent some time in the
Hohenlohe Plains The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire which was divided between several branches. The Hohenlohes became imperial counts in 1450. The county was divided numerous time ...
and collected similarly minded characters around him, he returned to Heilbronn in April 1525 just as the
German Peasants' War The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt (german: Deutscher Bauernkrieg) was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It failed because of intense oppositio ...
was getting into full swing. On April 16 the peasants killed many of the nobles in Weinsberg and on April 18 the Heilbronn monastery of the Order of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel was attacked and ransacked. The city opened its gates in response to demands of the peasants and consequently more churches and municipal institutions were robbed the next day. For about a month Heilbronn remained under the control of rebellious peasants. And even though
Johann Lachmann Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...
, later a church reformer, had attempted to mediate, the peasants did not leave the city until one of their armies was defeated on May 12, 1525, in
Böblingen Böblingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Beblenga'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, seat of Böblingen (district), Böblingen District. Sindelfingen and Böblingen are Geographic contiguity, contiguous. History Böblingen was found ...
. Their leader Rohrbach was executed on May 21, 1525, in Neckargartach and his home town of Böckingen was partially burnt to the ground in punishment. In 1528, the replacement of the mayor by
Hans Riesser Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...
, a Protestant, brought on the previously delayed Reformation and through the efforts of Reformer Lachmann schools and healthcare were also reorganized. In 1529 the Kilianskirche (church tower of the Kilianskirche) was completed. It was the first important religious building of the Renaissance in Germany. The year 1530 brought about the acceptance of the
Augsburg Confession The Augsburg Confession, also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Protestant Re ...
by city council and residents and the ''Heilbronn Catechism'' of 1536 is the second oldest catechism in the Protestant Church. In 1538 Heilbronn joined the Schmalkaldic League but by 1546 squabbles between troops of the Schmalkaldic League and those of the Emperor Charles V escalated into battles that were won by the Emperor. As a result, Charles V spent Christmas 1546 in Heilbronn to attend the ensuing criminal proceedings. It is also Charles V who in 1522 changed the charter of the city and this charter survived almost unscathed until 1803. During the Thirty Years' War the city and surrounding villages suffered badly. After the
battle of Wimpfen The Battle of Wimpfen was a battle in the Palatinate campaign period of the Thirty Years' War on 6 May 1622 near Wimpfen. The combined forces of the Catholic League and the Spanish Empire under Marshal Tilly and Gonzalo de Córdoba defeated ...
in 1622, Neckargartach was burnt to the ground. In 1631 Heilbronn was occupied by imperial troops but the same year the Swedes succeeded in conquering the city. From 1644 through 1647, Heilbronn was again part of the Holy Roman Empire, but then French troops moved in and later those of the Electorate of the Palatinate. The city was not free of occupying forces until four years after the
Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...
of 1648. But already in the 1670s the city again became the stage for armed manoeuvres, until it was occupied by French troops in 1688. But while that occupation of the city only lasted several months, the French were only persuaded to leave the surrounding areas in 1693, after a large defensive army had been put into the field and fortifications had been erected.


1700–1900

During the 18th century, archives suggest all members of the city council enjoyed some sort of formal education;
Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friendsh ...
and Goethe came to visit; and elaborate buildings were being constructed in the Rococo style. On September 9, 1802, Heilbronn lost its status as an Imperial Free City when the troops of Duke
Friedrich I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zolle ...
of Württemberg arrived. The duke had conceded the left bank of the Rhine to France during the French Revolutionary Wars but had been compensated with areas on the right bank. This is how Heilbronn and other former Imperial Free Cities became part of Württemberg in 1803. Heilbronn became the seat of an ''Oberamt'' (district), and the four Imperial Free villages became separate communities within the district. In 1806 the Duchy of Württemberg became the Kingdom of Württemberg. In 1815, Heilbronn again became a staging area for major armies ahead of the campaign against
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, and 10,000 troops paraded in front of Emperor Franz of Austria and more than one hundred German princes and generals in the ''Theresienwiese''.
Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
Alexander I of Russia met in Heilbronn with the
Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
Baroness Juliane von Krüdener, who talked him into founding the " Holy Alliance".
Industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...
arrived in 1820. When the first train lines were placed in service in Württemberg, Heilbronn was at the end of the line of the northern branch that connected Heilbronn with
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
and further fueled industrialization. For a while Heilbronn suffered from the upheavals of the Baden Revolution that its civil guard participated in. During that time the 8th infantry regiment switched sides and joined the revolutionaries until it was subsequently disarmed and force-transferred out of the area. In 1849, the
Hoerner Bank Hoerner Bank AG is a German private bank founded in 1849 and based in Heilbronn (Baden-Württemberg). In addition to asset management and private banking its specialty is the handling of international estate matters. In 2021, the bank was name ...
, one of the oldest still functioning banks in Germany, was founded in Heilbronn. Heilbronn became part of the
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
in 1871 during the unification of Germany. In the 1860s the city's train tracks were extended to Heidelberg via Bad Wimpfen, to Würzburg via Osterburken, and to Crailsheim (and later on to Nuremberg) via
Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...
. In 1880, the Kraichgau line was completed and created an important connection towards Karlsruhe, and by the end of the 19th century, Heilbronn had become an important hub, second in Wuerttemburg to Stuttgart in industrial output. The year 1892 brought a connection to the power plant in Lauffen; thus Heilbronn became the first city in the world to enjoy long-distance electric power.


1900–1945

With the dissolution of monarchy in the German Reich as a result of World War I, Heilbronn became part of the Free People's State of Württemberg in 1918. After almost a century of economic boom and growth of the local industry Heilbronn's citizenry included many labourers. The city came to be known as a "red hot spot"; numerous worker and sports clubs were begun. Already prior to World War I the
SPD The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...
cornered the majority of the vote and stayed that course during the Weimar Republic. At his visit to the city on May 15, 1926, Hitler was clearly not welcome by everyone, and several people were injured when a man was mistaken for Hitler and attacked. Hitler himself was able to give his speech in the city's community center ''Harmonie'', but the SPD had the majority in Heilbronn over the NSDAP as late as the elections on March 5, 1933.
Richard Drauz Richard Drauz (; 2 April 1894 – 4 December 1946) was a Nazi German politician and ''Kreisleiter'' of Heilbronn, Germany. He was also a member of the '' Reichstag'' from 1933 until the collapse of Nazi Germany after the end of World War II in ...
, who had been born into a respected Heilbronn family, became Heilbronn's NSDAP
Kreisleiter ''Kreisleiter'' (; "District Leader") was a Nazi Party political rank and title which existed as a political rank between 1930 and 1945 and as a Nazi Party title from as early as 1928. The position of ''Kreisleiter'' was first formed to provide ...
(District Leader) in 1932. He was also elected to the Reichstag from 1933 on and pushed hard for the ''
Gleichschaltung The Nazi term () or "coordination" was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party successively established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all aspects of German society and societies occupied b ...
'' of the Heilbronn clubs and press in Nazi Germany. On July 28, 1935, the port was opened in a canal off the Neckar, and 1936 saw the Autobahn between Heilbronn and Stuttgart completed. Economy and infrastructure were booming in Württemberg, and Heilbronn was at the logistic centre of it all. As the result of a district reform on October 1, 1938, Heilbronn became the seat of the newly created Heilbronn County and regained independent city status. At the same time the previously independent communities of Böckingen, Sontheim, and Neckargartach were annexed, and with 72,000 residents Heilbronn then was the second largest city in Württemberg. The port turned into an important transfer station on the Neckar and one of the ten largest interior ports in the country. On November 10, 1938, the Heilbronn
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 ...
was destroyed during the Kristallnacht. Soon thereafter the Jewish community was all but eliminated. Starting in 1942 during World War II, the salt mines in and around Heilbronn were used to store art and artifacts from Germany, France, and Italy. Similarly, important producers of the war industry were moved into the
mine shafts Shaft mining or shaft sinking is the action of excavating a mine shaft from the top down, where there is initially no access to the bottom. Shallow shafts, typically sunk for civil engineering projects, differ greatly in execution method from ...
. The expansion of the shafts was undertaken by labour brigades of the concentration camp branches in Kochendorf and Neckargartach. From Heilbronn all the way to
Neckarelz Neckarelz is a suburb of Mosbach in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Geography Neckarelz is in northern Baden-Württemberg, between the Odenwald and Kraichgau, at the confluence of the Neckar and Elz rivers. On the other side of the Neckar, are t ...
numerous subterraneous complexes, some of them gigantic, were constructed; on November 20, 1942, the Heilbronn Bureau of Labour had 8,000 forced labourers registered in its district. In 1940 allied air raids began, and the city and its surrounding area were hit about 20 times with minor damage. On September 10, 1944, a raid by the allies targeted the city specifically, in particular the Böckingen train transfer station. As a result of 1,168 bombs dropped that day, 281 residents died. The city was carpet-bombed from the southern quarter all the way to the Kilianskirche in the center of town. The church was burnt out. After a ten-day battle, with the allies advancing over the strategically important
Neckar The Neckar () is a river in Germany, mainly flowing through the southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg, with a short section through Hesse. The Neckar is a major right tributary of the Rhine. Rising in the Schwarzwald-Baar-Kreis near Schwenn ...
crossings, the war ended for the destroyed city, and it was occupied by the U.S. Army on April 12, 1945. Local NSDAP leader
Richard Drauz Richard Drauz (; 2 April 1894 – 4 December 1946) was a Nazi German politician and ''Kreisleiter'' of Heilbronn, Germany. He was also a member of the '' Reichstag'' from 1933 until the collapse of Nazi Germany after the end of World War II in ...
became a fugitive because of executions of American prisoners of war he had ordered in March 1945. He was eventually arrested, tried, and hanged by the Allies in Landsberg on December 4, 1946.


Second Half of the 20th Century

After the war, Emil Beutinger, mayor until 1933, returned to office and began the formidable task of reconstruction that was subsequently continued by his successors
Paul Metz Paul Metz (17 November 1892 – 8 September 1975) was a Danish field hockey player who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Ol ...
and Paul Meyle. Milestones were the rededication of historic city hall in 1953 and the reopening of the community centre, ''Harmonie''. Heilbronn was part of Württemberg-Baden until 1952, after which it became part of Baden-Württemberg. After 1951, US troops were permanently stationed in Heilbronn. They used barracks built prior to World War II and added some structures of their own. The opening of the Autobahn A 6 from Heilbronn to Mannheim in 1968 was an important economic event. When the A 81 to Würzburg and the A 6 to Nuremberg was completed in 1974 and 1979, respectively, Heilbronn became an important logistical centre in southern Germany. As a result, many large companies opened offices in Heilbronn. When Klingenberg became part of Heilbronn on January 1, 1970, the city's population exceeded 100,000 for the first time; thus Heilbronn attained "major city" (''Großstadt'') status. During the last district reform in the 1970s, Kirchhausen, Biberach, Frankenbach and Horkheim were incorporated into Heilbronn, and the city was reconfirmed as independent city and seat of Heilbronn County. It was also declared seat of the newly formed Franken region, now Heilbronn-Franken. Also during the 1970s, the centre of the city was transformed into a pedestrian zone and the rededication of the city theatre in 1982 closed one of the largest holes left in the inner city from World War II. Pursuant to the NATO Double-Track Decision of 1979,
Pershing II The Pershing II Weapon System was a solid-fuel rocket, solid-fueled multistage rocket, two-stage medium-range ballistic missile designed and built by Martin Marietta to replace the Pershing 1a Field Artillery Missile System as the United States ...
intermediate-range nuclear missiles were stationed just uphill of Heilbronn in the Waldheide. This made Heilbronn the only major city in Germany with atomic missiles inside its city limits — a fact that became front-page news during the missile accident on January 11, 1985. After the INF Treaty was signed in 1987, the missiles were removed. In the 1980s, Heilbronn hosted ''Heimatttage'' and ''Landesgartenschau'' staged by the State of Baden-Württemberg.


21st Century

In 1998, Heilbronn was connected to the S-Bahn net with Karlsruhe. This further transformed the city centre, and an extension of the S-Bahn towards Öhringen opened on December 10, 2005, marking the completion of the east–west axis of the Baden-Wuerttemburg regional transportation system. In 2013, the north–south axis to Neckarsulm was opened. Heilbronn won the European competition "Entente Florale 2000" on September 9, 2000, in Broughshane, Northern Ireland, and in 2005–06 the city became the first UNICEF children's city in Germany. Late in 2005, Heilbronn was chosen to host the
Bundesgartenschau The Bundesgartenschau BUGA is a biennial federal horticulture show in Germany. It also covers topics like landscaping. Taking place in different cities, the location changes in a two-year cycle. BUGA cities *1951 – Hannover *1953 – Hamburg ...
in 2019. More than 2.3 million visitors came to the garden and city exhibition in 2019, which took place on a former commercial site of about 40 hectares located directly north of the main station. Now a part of the site is being developed into a new Urban district called Neckarbogen, where up to 3,500 people will live and 1,000 people will work in the future. The first buildings of the green and family-friendly quarter have been highly acclaimed and already received several awards. Other major new buildings in the city area in recent years include two Neckar bridges, the two shopping centres Stadtgalerie and Klosterhof, the experimenta Science Center and the Bildungscampus. In 2021, the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg decides to locate its new innovation park artificial intelligence in Heilbronn.


Religion

Ever since the Franks under Chlodwig settled in the Neckar region around 500 the area has been predominantly
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
and when Heilbronn was first mentioned in an official document in 741 Christian Michaelsbasilica, present day's Kilianskirche, was mentioned along with the city. The Teutonic Knights constructed its church from the 13th century and both churches were continually expanded. They were joined later by other churches and cloisters in the city. Around 1050 an important Jewish community was mentioned that had settled in what became known as the ''Judengasse'' (''Lohtorstraße''). In 1298, 143 Jews were killed during the
Rintfleisch-Pogrom 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 in 1350 Jews suffered attacks again during a European epidemic of the
Bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...
. The city's constitution required the council to include Jews, but already in the middle of the 15th century Jews were the target of vigilantes again until they were evicted from the city in 1490 with the blessings of Emperor Frederick III. It is worth noting that the common Jewish name Halpern, and many variants such as Alpert, derive from the name of this city Heilbronn, and the early Jewish community there. While Heilbronn was part of the
Diocese of Würzburg In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
, the independent villages of Böckingen, Neckargartach and Frankenbach were attached to the Diocese of Worms. From 1514 on the Heilbronn native Johann Lachmann was caretaker of the parish in St. Kilian, in 1521 he became its preacher, in 1524 he converted to Lutheranism and proceeded to teach and lead the Reformation in Heilbronn against the wishes of both dioceses. After the Protestant reformation of Heilbronn was complete the city remained Lutheran for centuries and the council and citizens accepted the
Augsburg Confession The Augsburg Confession, also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Protestant Re ...
without dissent. Catholics were no longer welcome, Jews were prohibited from settling in Heilbronn, and the city took part in the Protestation at Speyer on April 19, 1529 (the Protestation was the origin of the terms Protestant and Protestantism). The Age of Enlightenment brought Heilbronn freedom of religion. From 1803 Jews were again permitted to settle in the city, Catholics also began to move back in and by the 1860s Jews were granted equal rights as Heilbronn citizens. After the city became part of Württemberg in 1803 it also became seat of a deaconry and the Prelate or regional bishop of the Protestant State Church in Württemberg. To this day Protestants are in the majority in Heilbronn. The Catholic parishes belong to the Deacony Heilbronn and are part of the
Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart The Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg, '' Bu ...
. Around 1920 first groups of "Serious Bible Students" (now:
Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
) formed. Their small community suffered from oppression during the Third Reich and many of its members died in concentration camps. Similarly, the Jewish community had to watch as its colossal
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 ...
went up in flames and its 350 members were subsequently all but extinguished. Jehovah's Witnesses built a first meeting room in Heilbronn in 1953 and many more have been added since then. Since the 1970s, after guest workers and immigrants from
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic or Russian-Orthodox countries settled here, these faiths are practiced by a growing part of the population and numerous mosques have been created since the 1990s in the city and county of Heilbronn.


District reform

Over the years, the following, formerly independent towns or communities, have been annexed to Heilbronn:


Demographics

Figures reflect city limits at the time and are estimates (until 1870) or Census data (¹), or official extensions thereof, counting only primary residences. ¹ Census data


Government

In connection with the district reform in the 1970s, municipal laws of Baden-Württemberg were amended to introduce borough councils for certain boroughs. Residents of such boroughs elect their borough council at each municipal election and the borough council must be consulted on all matters of significance to the respective borough. The Borough President also presides over the Borough Council. In Heilbronn the boroughs of Biberach, Böckingen, Frankenbach, Horkheim, Kirchhausen, Klingenberg, Neckargartach, and Sontheim have borough councils.


City council

After the municipal elections of May 26, 2019 the city council of Heilbronn was made up of 40 seats. One member changed form Pro Heilbronn to AfD, Therefore, the members belong to political parties as follows:


Mayor

At first Heilbronn was governed by a regal advocate and an executor. Later, the city had two mayors but ever since the city was made part of Württemberg it has had just one mayor at a time.


Representatives from Heilbronn

The city of Heilbronn together with the northern municipalities of Heilbronn County makes up the electoral District 268 for national elections of representatives to the Bundestag. For State elections to the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg Heilbronn makes up an electoral district (District 18) together with Erlenbach. Before the 2006 elections, it was an electoral district all by itself.


Coat of arms

Heilbronn's coat of arms features a black eagle with red tongue and claws on golden background. The eagle is protected by a red, silver and blue shield. The city flag is red, white and blue. The oldest seal of the city dates back to 1265. The eagle is the symbol for the imperial freedom enjoyed by Heilbronn until it was
annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
by the Grand Duchy (and later Kingdom) of Württemberg. While it is established that it appeared for the first time with shield in 1556 to distinguish it from other versions of eagles, the origin of the colors of the shield has yet to be determined. The colors also appeared in reverse order in 1556, 1581 and 1681 and there have been other variations of colour as well, such as white rather than golden background. Interesting is the fact that Heilbronn sports three colours in its flag. Newly dedicated municipal flags in Baden-Württemberg only use two colours. According to State municipal laws, Heilbronn's flag was grandfathered as it had been in use prior to 1935.


Main sights


Buildings

* Historic manual crane * ''Bollwerksturm'' * ''Deutschhof'' * Steam power plant * Community centre "Harmonie" * Court and ''Fleischhaus'' * ''Götzenturm'' * ''Hafenmarktturm'' (port market tower) * ''Haus Zehender'' at the market place * ''Käthchenhaus'' at the market place * City Hall with historic astronomic clock * ''Schießhaus'' * '' Trappenseeschlösschen'' * ''Weinvilla''


Churches

* '' Kilianskirche'' (Protestant): The tower from the early Renaissance is the logo of the city. The high altar by
Hans Seyffer Hans Seyffer, also known as ''Hans Seyfer'' or ''Hans of Heilbronn'' (c.1460–1509), was a stone sculptor and wood carver of the late Gothic style. Biography Seyffer was born in Sinsheim. Little else is known about his life. He lived an ...
was completed in 1498. * ''Deutschordensmünster St.-Peter-und-Paul'' (Catholic) * ''Nikolaikirche'' (Protestant)


Museums

* Museum of Natural History * City Galery ''Deutschhof'' * Museum of archeology * '' Kleist-Archiv Sembdner'' * South-German Train Museum Heilbronn


Other sights

* Old cemetery (created in 1530, a park since 1882) * Viewing tower on the Wartberg hill provides a nice view of Heilbronn and the neighboring area. * ''Ehrenfriedhof'' for the victims of the air raid on December 4, 1944 * ''Fleinertorbrunnen'' * Robert Mayer Memorial in the market place * Bismarck Memorial * ''Siebenröhrenbrunnen'' *
Trappensee Trappensee is a small lake in the eastern city of Heilbronn in northern Baden-Wuerttemberg, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most po ...


Culture


Language

Heilbronn is located near the border between the Swabian and the
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 ...
dialects of the German language.


Theater

The Heilbronn municipal theatre on Berliner Platz was built between 1979 and 1982 and continues the tradition of the municipal theatre that was once located there. Together with the adjacent Logentheater of the Theaterforum K3, completed in 2001, the Salon 3 and the BOXX the Heilbronn Theatre offers drama, musical and opera performances. The Theaterschiff Heilbronn, located on the Neckar river, also offers changing performances. The young theatre label Tacheles and Tarantismus has created a place of encounter and dialogue with the theatre laboratory STILBRUCH. The programme includes in-house productions and own play developments, workshops with students, readings, performance pieces, concerts, open-stage formats and party series.


Museum

The Heilbronn's municipal museum in the Deutschhof shows its art and sculpture collections as well as exhibits on the history of the city, archaeology and the history of the earth. The municipal art collection focuses on works by regional artists, including 18th and 19th century painters such as Heinrich Friedrich Füger and Carl Doerr as well as 20th century artists such as Heinrich Altherr and Hal Busse. There is also a special collection of small sculptures and bozzetti by international sculptors such as Wilhelm Lehmbruck and Henry Moore. The archaeology collection is in the tradition of the earlier municipal collection of ground finds founded by Alfred Schliz (1849-1915) and largely destroyed during the Second World War. Friedrich von Alberti (1795-1878), who gave the name Triassic to the sequence of Buntsandstein, Muschelkalk and Keuper, was particularly responsible for research into the history of the earth in and around Heilbronn. The Deutschhof is also home to Haus der Stadtgeschichte (House of City History), which hosts a permanent exhibition on the city's history by the Heilbronn City Archive. Admission to the permanent exhibitions of the municipal museums and the city archives is free, and the exhibition rooms are structurally connected. The municipal museums also run the Vogelmann Art Gallery together with the Heilbronn Art Association. The Kunsthalle Vogelmann is a municipal exhibition hall in Heilbronn and focusses on modern art. The Kunsthalle was built in 2009/2010 as an extension of the municipal concert and congress center Harmonie. The most important art associations in the city are the Kunstverein Heilbronn, which has existed with two new foundations since 1879 and has held more than 400 events since 1956, and the Künstlerbund, Heilbronn. The Literaturhaus Heilbronn has opened in 2020. It is located in the Trappenseeschlösschen, a striking baroque building in the middle of a lake in the east of the city. With readings by contemporary authors, lectures, discussions, workshops and conferences as well as smaller temporary exhibitions, the Literaturhaus Heilbronn offers a variety of formats on the subject of literature and reading. Associated to the Literaturhaus is the Kleist Archiv Semdner, an archive and study center on the famous German author Heinrich von Kleist. In 2009, Experimenta, the largest science centre in southern Germany, opened in the Hagenbucher, a former storage building. The exhibition was expanded by 2019 with a new building, designed by Sauerbruch Hutton, an architecture practice based in Berlin, Germany.


Music

The Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn (WKO), founded in 1960 by Jörg Faerber, is one of the best known German chamber orchestras. Since 2015 the Classic Open Air Festival takes place in the city centre. With free admission and in the open air, orchestras and music groups from Heilbronn present themselves with a varied concert program. The Heilbronn municipal music school is housed in the K3 theatre forum. Th
jazz club Cave 61
founded in 1961, is a nationally known organizer of jazz concerts with jazz groups from all over the world. Its venue is an old theatre.


Other cultural venues

The city of Heilbronn supports various cultural projects, including th
art and cultural workhouse Zigarre
an
Kommunales Kino
in the Kulturkeller in the Gewerkschaftshaus as well as the free cultural cente
Maschinenfabrik
which started in 2021 in an old factory.


Events

In February the citizens of Heilbronn and the surrounding area have an opportunity to enjoy themselves at the Pferdemarkt. In May the Trollinger marathon takes place. The Heilbronner Volksfest on the Theresienwiese is the largest festival of its kind in Heilbronn. Each year it begins on the last Friday in July and ends on the second Monday in August. In September, people enjoy themselves at the Heilbronner Weindorf, in October at the Hafenmarkt and in November and December at the Weihnachtsmarkt, a Christmas market.


Sport

FC Heilbronn is a football club based in Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg formed only recently – in 2003 – out of a merger between two former clubs with the elder dating back to 1896 and playing a five-year stint in the Regionalliga Süd (II) / 2nd Bundesliga Süd from 1969 to 1975. Heilbronn hosts an annual tennis tournament Heilbronn Open (se
Heilbronn Open website
which is part of the ATP Challenger tour. Heilbronn is also the hometown of ice hockey team Heilbronner Falken (Heilbronn Falcons). The team currently plays in the second German ice hockey league. The Eisbären Heilbronn (Heilbronn polar bears) is the second ice hockey team, which is playing in the regional league South-West in Baden-Württemberg. The „Red Devils“ Heilbronn is a wrestling team, which is part of the national wrestling leagu

The city's 6
sport clubs
offer a wide range of different sporting activities and have around 30,000 members.


Economy and infrastructure

Viticulture has a long tradition in Heilbronn and is an important part of its economy to this day. Its 514 ha, two thirds of it growing red grapes, is the third largest vineyard in Württemberg's vine-growing region after
Brackenheim Brackenheim () is a town in the ''Landkreis'' Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is southwest of Heilbronn. With of vineyards, it is the biggest grape-growing municipality of Württemberg. Geography Geographical positio ...
and Lauffen am Neckar. In 1888, the vintners of the Heilbronn area combined and formed the ''Weingärtnergesellschaft Heilbronn'', a cooperative. In 1933, that cooperative then merged with the competing cooperative ''Winzergenossenschaft Heilbronn'' that had formed in 1919 and that cooperative again merged with the Vintner cooperatives of Erlenbach and Weinsberg to form the ''Genossenschaftskellerei Heilbronn-Erlenbach-Weinsberg'' with seat just outside the city limits in Erlenbach. In addition to the cooperative, numerous independent vintners are also located here. South of the steam power plant is located the
conveyor tower A conveyor system is a common piece of mechanical handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another. Conveyors are especially useful in applications involving the transport of heavy or bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow ...
of the ''Südwestdeutsche Salzwerke AG'' (SWS). The SWS runs a salt mine in the Heilbronn area. That mine was connected through a tunnel with the now shut-down (since 1994) salt mine ''Kochendorf'' in Bad Friedrichshall. Extraction had extended the Heilbronn mine far to the west so that in 2004 a new shaft, ''Konradsberg'', was added — probably the last mining shaft that was constructed in all of Germany.


Infrastructure

The city of Heilbronn is readily accessible by road courtesy of the
Weinsberg Intersection Weinsberg (South Franconian: ''Weischberg'') is a town in the north of the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It was founded around 1200 and is situated in the Heilbronn district. The town has about 11,800 inhabitants. It is noted for its wi ...
just to the northeast of the city, the intersection of the Autobahn A 81 from Würzburg to Gottmadingen and the A 6 from
Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...
to
Waidhaus Waidhaus is a municipality in the district of Neustadt an der Waldnaab in Bavaria, Germany. It lies near the border with the Czech Republic, and near the major border crossing between Bavaria and the Czech Republic, where the Bavarian A6 meets t ...
. In addition to the Autobahns the city is connected via the Bundesstraßen B 27 from
Blankenburg Blankenburg may refer to: Places * Blankenburg am Harz, a German town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt * Blankenburg Castle (Harz), the castle in Blankenburg am Harz (see above) * Bad Blankenburg, a German town in the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt dis ...
to Schaffhausen, B 39 from Frankenstein (Palatine) to
Mainhardt Mainhardt is a municipality in the district of Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. See also * Mainhardt Forest The Mainhardt Forest is a hill range up to {{GeoQuelle, DE, BFN-Karten in the counties of Schwäbisch Hall and Heil ...
and B 293 from Karlsruhe to Heilbronn that both run through the city itself. Heilbronn is also a forerunner of right turn on red in Germany and 65 "Green arrow" signs have been installed at appropriate intersections since 1996. Although Heilbronn Hauptbahnhof (central station) does not benefit from the Deutsche Bahn long-distance service, the city is well connected by train. The
Franconia Railway The Franconia Railway (german: Frankenbahn) is a railway line in the north of the German state of Baden-Württemberg and the Bavarian province of Lower Franconia that links Stuttgart and Würzburg. Its name comes from the fact that the majority o ...
(''Frankenbahn'') connects
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
and Würzburg, the Neckar Valley Railway and
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 ...
run from Heilbronn to Heidelberg and Mannheim, and the Hohenlohe Railway accommodates travel to
Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...
via Öhringen. The
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 ...
and Karlsruhe Stadtbahns provide a connection all the way to Karlsruhe on the Kraichgau Railway's tracks. Currently the S 4 takes travellers from Karlsruhe through the central train station past the centre of town all the way to the Öhringen borough of Cappel (since December 11, 2005). Because of massive delays in the construction of the S-Bahn tracks through Heilbronn's city limits and with the modernization and electrification of the existing tracks from Heilbronn to Öhringen meant that the new section's official opening needed to be postponed several times. In the future, additional S-Bahn lines are planned to Neckarsulm, Lauffen am Neckar and
Zaberfeld Zaberfeld () is a town in the district of Heilbronn in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Geography Zaberfeld lies in the Zabergäu, in the southwestern corner of the Heilbronn district, at the head of the Zaber river. Neighboring communities Zabe ...
. As well a these new lines, additional stops will also be built in the inner city of Heilbronn. In 2014 the S-Bahn line to Neckarsulm was established. Whilst the original '' Straßenbahn'' of Heilbronn, nicknamed the ''Spatzenschaukel'' (German for "sparrows' swing"), was discontinued on April 1, 1955, the city used electrically powered trolley buses until 1960. Today, public transportation is provided by the S-Bahn that runs through Heilbronn similar to the Karlsruhe model and this is complemented by buses run by the ''Stadtwerke Heilbronn (Verkehrsbetriebe)'' and several other enterprises. All now belong to the ''Heilbronner Verkehrsverbund''. The canal port on the Neckar is one of the ten largest German interior ports.


Power plant

In the industrial part of Heilbronn EnBW AG runs a large powerplant that is powered by coal. Its two chimneys (250 m tall) and cooling tower (140 m tall) are visible from afar, see
Heilbronn Power Station Heilbronn Power Station is a hard coal, coal-fired power station in Heilbronn, Germany. It is operated by EnBW, EnBW Kraftwerke AG, until 1997 by EVS, and has seven units. Specifically, Unit 7 is the largest coal-fired unit used by EnBW. The capa ...


Transport

The public light rail system with the lines S4, S41 and S42 (
Heilbronn Stadtbahn The Heilbronn Stadtbahn is a three line tram-train system in city of Heilbronn in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is based on the Karlsruhe model and operated jointly by the Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (AVG), the Stadtwerke Heilbro ...
) is run by the
Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft ''Albtal-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft'' ('Alb Valley Transport Company', AVG) is a company owned by the city of Karlsruhe that operates rail and bus services in the Karlsruhe area, southwest Germany. It is a member of the '' Karlsruher Verkehrsverbu ...
. The local bus system is run by the Stadtwerke Heilbronn (municipal utilities of Heilbronn). There are also various regional bus lines to the Zabergäu area, the Schozach/Bottwartal area, the Kraichgau area and the Kochertal area. These are run by OVR (a part of the Transdev group) and Regiobus Stuttgart (a part of
DB Regio DB Regio AG is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn which operates regional and commuter train services in Germany. DB Regio AG, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main. It is a 100% subsidiary of the Deutsche Bahn Group and there part of the DB Regio bus ...
).


Media

Heilbronn is home to one of the studios of Südwestrundfunk (SWR). From here regional programmes like ''Frankenradio'' are broadcast on SWR4 Baden-Württemberg. The ''
Heilbronner Stimme Heilbronner or Heilbroner is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Edgar Heilbronner (1921–2006), Swiss German chemist *Johann Christoph Heilbronner (1706–1745), German mathematical historian and theologian *Louie Heilbroner (186 ...
'' is a daily newspaper published in the city and the advertisers ''Neckar Express'', ''echo am Mittwoch'' and ''echo am Sonntag'' are available weekly free of charge. Heilbronners also peruse the monthly city magazines ''Freizeit Journal'' and ''Moritz''.


Public service

Several courts are located in Heilbronn, two belonging to the Stuttgart court district, a specialty court hearing labour issues, and a family court whose district includes the city of Heilbronn and the counties 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 ...
, Ludwigsburg,
Schwäbisch Hall Schwäbisch Hall (; "Swabian Hall"; from 1802 until 1934 and colloquially: ''Hall'' ) is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg located in the valley of the Kocher river, the longest tributary (together with its headwater Lein) of the ...
, Hohenlohe and Main-Tauber. The city is also the seat of the Prelature of Heilbronn and of the church district of Heilbronn (of the Protestant State Church as well as of the Heilbronn Deacony of the
Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart The Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Freiburg in Baden-Württemberg, '' Bu ...
).


Education

Heilbronn offers a wide range of higher education institutions developing very dynamically. In 2020, 9054 people were studying in Heilbronn, almost 60 percent more than ten years ago. On 1 February 2020 the Ministry of the Interior of Baden-Württemberg awarded the city of Heilbronn the designation of University City. Heilbronn is the seat of the main campus of the ''
Hochschule Heilbronn Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences, (german: Hochschule Heilbronn), is a German University of Applied Sciences with campuses in Heilbronn-Sontheim, in the centre of Heilbronn (Bildungscampus), in Künzelsau and Schwäbisch Hall. Heilbro ...
'', founded in 1961 as a public engineering school. Since 1971 the school was known as the ''Fachhochschule Heilbronn'' (Heilbronn University) and has operated a secondary campus in
Künzelsau Künzelsau (; East Franconian: ''Kinzelse'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, in south central Germany. It is the capital of the Hohenlohe district. It is located on the river Kocher, 19 km (12 mi) north of Schwäbisch Hall, and 37& ...
since 1988. Starting with the fall semester on September 1, 2005, the
Fachhochschule A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts ...
was awarded the status of a Hochschule. In 2009 a third campus in Schwäbisch Hall was established. Today the business faculties of the Hochschule Heilbronn reside at th
Bildungscampus of the Dieter Schwarz Foundation
in the heart of Heilbronn along with th
Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University Heilbronn
(DHBW Heilbronn), th
Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University - Center for Advanced Studies
(DHBW CAS) as well as th
Campus Heilbronn of the Technical University of Munich
and other educational establishments and scientific institutions.
42 Heilbronn
a full-time tuition-free coding school, was established in 2021 nearby the Bildungscampus As far as general education is concerned, Heilbronn operates five college-track highschools or
gymnasiums A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...
(''Elly-Heuss-Knapp-Gymnasium'', ''Justinus-Kerner-Gymnasium'', ''Mönchsee-Gymnasium'', ''Robert-Mayer-Gymnasium'' and ''Theodor-Heuss-Gymnasium''), four non-college-track highschools or ''Realschulen'' (''Dammrealschule'', ''Helene-Lange-Realschule'', ''Heinrich-von-Kleist-Realschule'' in Böckingen and ''Mörike-Realschule''). There are also six special-education schools run by the city ''Wilhelm-Hofmann-Förderschule'', ''Pestalozzi-Förderschule'', and ''Paul-Meyle-Schule'' for the mentally and physically impaired, two special-education schools run by Heilbronn County (''Gebrüder-Grimm-Schule'' for the speech impaired and ''Hermann-Herzog-Schule'' for the seeing impaired), and the ''Lindenparkschule'', which is run by the state of Baden-Württemberg for the hearing and speech impaired. The latter also includes a boarding school and consultation centre. City primary schools are the ''Damm-Grundschule'', ''Deutschorden-Grundschule Kirchhausen'', ''Grundschule Horkheim'', ''Grundschule Klingenberg'', ''Grünewaldschule Grundschule Böckingen'', ''Reinöhlschule Grundschule Böckingen'', ''Silcherschule Grundschule'' and ''Uhlandschule Grundschule Sontheim''. Grammar and middle schools (some include vocational training programs) are ''Albrecht-Dürer-Schule Neckargartach'', ''Elly-Heuss-Knapp-Schule Böckingen'', ''Fritz-Ulrich-Schule Böckingen'', ''Gerhart-Hauptmann-Schule'', ''Grund- und Hauptschule mit Werkrealschule Biberach'', ''Grund- und Hauptschule mit Werkrealschule Frankenbach'', ''Ludwig-Pfau-Schule'', ''Rosenauschule'', ''Staufenbergschule Sontheim'', ''Wartbergschule'' and ''Wilhelm-Hauff-Schule''. The ''Gustav-von-Schmoller-Schule'' and the ''Technische Schulzentrum Heilbronn'' consisting of the ''Johann-Jakob-Widmann-Schule'' and the ''Wilhelm-Maybach-Schule'' are professional training schools run by the city. The county runs the ''Andreas-Schneider-Schule'' and ''Christiane-Herzog-Schule'', and in the fall of 2005 the ''Peter-Bruckmann-Schule'' was added to the already operating professional training schools. Finally, the following private schools round out the education options offered in Heilbronn: * The ''Abendrealschule Heilbronn e.V.'' allows students with middle school diplomas to achieve the first in a series of steps to gain college entrance prerequisites on a part-time basis after work. It is part of a structured program commonly referred to as the Alternate Path to Higher Education. * Academy for Communication sciences * ''Alice-Salomon-Schule'' * ''Altenpflegeschule Heilbronn'' * ''Berufskolleg für Grafik Heilbronn'' * ''Freie Waldorfschule Heilbronn'' * ''Internationaler Bund e. V. Bildungszentrum Heilbronn'' * ''Katholisches Freies Bildungszentrum St. Kilian Heilbronn'' with grammar, middle, and college-track as well as non-college-track highschools * ''Kolping-Bildungszentrum Heilbronn''


Crime

A female police officer, Michéle Kiesewetter, was in 2007 fatally shot in Heilbronn, an event that gave its name to the so-called Phantom of Heilbronnan elusive serial killer hunted by German police for several years. The "Phantom" was in March 2009 revealed not be a serial killer, but the result of procedural errors by the German police. In 2011 the police discovered that Kiesewetter was murdered by National Socialist Underground terrorists.


Twin towns – sister cities

Heilbronn is twinned with: *
Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hos ...
, France (1965) * Solothurn, Switzerland (1981) *
Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...
, England (1982) *
Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...
, Germany (1988) * Słubice, Poland (1998) *
Novorossiysk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...
, Russia (2019)


Notable people


Gallery


Footnotes


References


Sources

* (Publications from the archives of the city of Heilbronn; 36) * Published so far are Vols. I–VII (741 to 1957) and X (1970 to 1974) * Keyser, Erich (ed.) (1962). ''Württembergisches Städtebuch''. In: ''Deutsches Städtebuch. Handbuch städtischer Geschichte''. Vol. 4,2. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer Verlag. * * *


External links

*
Official website of the City of Heilbronn

Hochschule Heilbronn (Heilbronn University)

Bildungscampus Heilbronn (Education and Science Campus)
{{Authority control Stuttgart (region) Free imperial cities Swabian Circle Swabian League Württemberg Former states and territories of Baden-Württemberg Holocaust locations in Germany