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Schiltach is a town in the district of Rottweil, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Black Forest, on the river Kinzig, 20 km south of Freudenstadt.


Geography

Schiltach lies on the eastern side of the Black Forest, at the confluence of the Schiltach and Kinzig rivers. It lies at an altitude of 330 metres (1,083 ft).


Climate

Like most of Germany, Schiltach has an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
( Köppen climate classification ''Cfb'').


Town subdivisions

The borough of Schiltach consists of the parishes of Schiltach and Lehengericht. The two districts are geographically identical to the previously independent municipalities of the same name. The district Schiltach includes the town of Schiltach, the villages of Grumpenbächle and Vorderheubach and the settlements of Auf der Staig, Blattenhäuserwiese, Grumpen and Kuhbacherhof (Vor Kuhbach). The ruined castle of
Willenburg The Willenburg, also called the ''Schlössle'', is a ruined hill castle near Schiltach in the county of Rottweil in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Location The castle lies around 2 kilometres outside Schiltach at above the old pass ...
is also located within the borough of Schiltach. The village of Lehengericht has its own council, a mayor as its chairman and its own village administration. The district of Lehengericht also consists of the settlements and hamlets of Herdweg, Auf dem Hof, Schmelzle, Vor dem unteren Erdlinsbach, Vor Reichenbächle, Welschdorf, Höllgraben, Im Eulersbach, Im hinteren Erdlinsbach, Kienbronn, Rohrbach, Rubstock, Deisenbauernhof and several isolated farms.


History

Even in Roman times the road through the Kinzig valley was already part of a link through the Black Forest from the
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
area towards
Rottweil Rottweil (; Alemannic: ''Rautweil'') is a town in southwest Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Rottweil was a free imperial city for nearly 600 years. Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps, Rottweil has nearly 25,000 in ...
. Schiltach was founded in the 11th century as a parish for the surrounding farms, which are older than Schiltach. Around the town church, which today stands in the town district ''Vorstädtle'' and is evangelic, rose a settlement named after the River Schiltach. The Dukes of Teck probably founded the town of Schiltach in the middle of the 13th century to secure their territories. They built a surrounding town wall with gates and a castle above the town. They did not build a church because Schiltach already had one. The town was intended to act as a stop for travellers and as a trading post before the road descended to Rottweil. From about 1250, the castle and town took over the function of the Willenburg, which had guarded the road before the founding of Schiltach. In 1371 Schiltach was transferred to the Dukes of Urslingen. After ten years, the impoverished dukes of Urslingen sold the castle and town to the Dukes of Württemberg. Württemberg retained Schiltach until 1810 except the years from 1519 to 1534, when Schiltach was occupied by the free imperial city of Rottweil and later (like the whole
Duchy of Württemberg The Duchy of Württemberg (german: Herzogtum Württemberg) was a duchy located in the south-western part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a member of the Holy Roman Empire from 1495 to 1806. The dukedom's long survival for over three centuries ...
) by Further Austria. In the "''Gränzvertrag zwischen dem Königreich Württemberg und dem Großherzogthum Baden''" (border treaty between the Kingdom of Württemberg and
Grand Duchy of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918. It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subs ...
), which was negotiated in Paris on October 2, 1810, several areas of the ''Oberamt Hornberg'', besides Schiltach also the town of
Hornberg Hornberg is a town in the Ortenaukreis, in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated in the Black Forest, 35 km southeast of Offenburg, and 25 km northwest of Villingen-Schwenningen. Sons and daughters of the town * ( ...
and the communities Gutach and Kirnbach, got to the Grand Duchy of Baden. Wolfach became the new ''Amststadt'' of Schiltach and later the county town. The surrounding farm became as Lehengericht, an own community. In 1952, Schiltach went to the state Baden-Württemberg. The county of Wolfach was dissolved in 1973 and Schiltach was allocated to
Rottweil Rottweil (; Alemannic: ''Rautweil'') is a town in southwest Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Rottweil was a free imperial city for nearly 600 years. Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps, Rottweil has nearly 25,000 in ...
. The community of Lehengericht was reincorporated into the town of Schiltach in 1974. In 1979 the exclave of Sulzbächle/Fischbach went to the town of
Wolfach Wolfach ( gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Wolfä) is a town in the Black Forest and part of the Ortenaukreis in Baden-Württemberg (Germany). It is a well-known spa town. Geography Geographical Position Wolfach lies where the two rivers Wolf and ...
, in return the area of ''Vor Heubach'' went to Schiltach.


Religions

During the Protestant Reformation, Schiltach was a part of Württemberg so it was Protestant, like the territorial lords. It did not change until the 19th century when, because of industrialisation, more and more Catholics moved in. Today in Schiltach there are Protestant and Catholic communities as well as a New Apostolic community and various minor religious communities. * The Evangelical (Protestant) town church (''Stadtkirche'') was built in neo-Byzantine style after the old
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 ...
church burned down. * The Catholic Church ''St. Johannes der Täufer'' was blessed in 1966 as successor of the old catholic church from 1899, which had to be replaced because of its small size. * The
New Apostolic Church The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a Christian denomination, Christian church that split from the Catholic Apostolic Church during an 1863 schism in Hamburg, Germany. The church has existed since 1863 in Germany and since 1897 in the Ne ...
at the ''Hauptstraße'' comes from the 1980s. The old New Apostolic church in '' Schenkenzeller Straße'' still has the characteristic cross on the roof but, despite its size, is used as a residential house.


Incorporations

* 1934: Area of former ''Habershof'' * 1936: Area ''Kuhbacher Hof'' * 1 April 1974: Community Lehengericht * 1979: Area ''Vor Heubach''


Emblem

Today's town emblem was adopted of the Dukes of Urslingen. The emblem became free to use as the last Urlinger, Duke Reinhold IV. of Urslingen died in 1442. Probably it was conveyed by the Count Ludwig of Württemberg, which was a patron of the town. The emblem shows three red shields in a white field. Almost the same emblem can be found in Alsace at the house of the Rappolstein, which castle stands above Ribeauvillé. A member of the Ursling family married into Rappolstein family.


Politics


Local council

The local council has besides the mayor 14 members, including three women. The
local election In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...
took place on 7 June 2009 and had following results: The town district Lehengericht has a ''Ortsschaftsrat'' with eight members.


Twin town

Schiltach holds a partnership with Geising in Saxony.


Economy and infrastructure


Industry

Despite its rural location the town possesses an industrial base with several internationally known companies. Already in the time of
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 ...
there were industrial areas. Schiltach had several textile mills, which took advantage of the soft water from the two rivers; also there were multiple saw mills and tanneries for the same reason. Until the Kinzig Valley Railway was built there was a timber rafting, which had to close because of the railway. The wood from Schiltach and surroundings was partly shipped to the Netherlands on the Rhine, where it was used for ship building. Today these branches of industries have vanished except for the famous tannery ''Trautwein'' and some small saw mills. The earlier privileged timber rafting is kept alive by an active rafter group to keep the once important industry of Schiltach in mind. There are still some companies which were established at the turn of the twentieth century like Hansgrohe (1901), and (
BBS BBS may refer to: Ammunition * BBs, BB gun metal bullets * BBs, airsoft gun plastic pellets Computing and gaming * Bulletin board system, a computer server users dial into via dial-up or telnet; precursor to the Internet * BIOS Boot Specificat ...
; VEGA Grieshaber KG etc.) was established later. The industry of Schiltach provides approximately 3350 jobs, which is extraordinary because Schiltach has only roughly 4000 citizens. Also, Schiltach is topographically disadvantaged because it is in the narrowest place in the Kinzig valley and the Autobahn 81 and
Autobahn 5 is a 445 km (277 mi) long Autobahn in Germany. Its northern end is the Hattenbach triangle intersection (with the A 7. The southern end is at the Swiss border near Basel. It runs through the German states of Hessen and Baden-WÃ ...
motorways are far away. Schiltach's local political leaders are willing to support the companies in order to encourage them to stay in the town.


Education

The town of Schiltach has one
elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
and had a
Hauptschule A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...
(''Nachbarschaftsschule Schiltach/
Schenkenzell Schenkenzell is a village in the district of Rottweil, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The town is twinned with Schenkon Schenkon is a municipality in the district of Sursee in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. Geography Schenkon has an ...
'') with
Werkrealschule Werkrealschule is a relatively young branch of German secondary education (e.g. in Baden-Württemberg), which offers pupils additional lessons in grades 8 and 9 and allows them to qualify after ten years with a final exam which is equal to graduatio ...
.
Secondary School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
s are in the surrounding towns, e.g. in Schramberg,
Wolfach Wolfach ( gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Wolfä) is a town in the Black Forest and part of the Ortenaukreis in Baden-Württemberg (Germany). It is a well-known spa town. Geography Geographical Position Wolfach lies where the two rivers Wolf and ...
, Alpirsbach and Hausach. There also is an evangelic and catholic kindergarten, a ''Waldorfkindergarten'' and a private day care centre. The Folk High School Schiltach/Schinkenzell is an outpost of the Folk High School Schramberg.


Transport

Schiltach is connected with the B 294 and B 462 federal highways, which close the gap between Rhine and Neckar, thus also the gap between the motorways A 81 and A 5. Traffic through Schiltach has been relieved by a bypass. The ''Bundesstraße 294'' runs through the 1,830-metre-long Kirchberg Tunnel and the 830-metre-long Schloßberg Tunnel through which the B 462 also runs. The town has two railway stations, and . Both have hourly service to and . The
Schiltach-Schramberg railway The Schiltach–Schramberg railway line was a railway line in Germany. At one time, the line branched off at Schiltach from the Kinzig Valley Railway (Black Forest). The line connected the City of Schramberg to the international railway system. ...
opened in 1892 was closed in 1959 for passenger trains and 1989 for cargo trains, too. Since that time, the tracks have been removed. The route is now a cycle route from Schiltach to Schramberg. Furthermore, there is a very recommendable cycle route through the whole Kinzig valley from Haslach to Alpirsbach. Various bus connections in direction of Offenburg and Freudenstadt as well as a strong connection via bus to the county town
Rottweil Rottweil (; Alemannic: ''Rautweil'') is a town in southwest Germany in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Rottweil was a free imperial city for nearly 600 years. Located between the Black Forest and the Swabian Alps, Rottweil has nearly 25,000 in ...
complete the traffic. There is also a handicapped accessible bus which drives almost to all town districts at regular intervals.


Notable places

The whole medieval inner city is under
monument protection A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...
. The marketplace includes the
town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
, which was designed by architect
Heinrich Schickhardt Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...
and built during the Kingdom of Württemberg. There are many half-timber houses scattered throughout the town that date back to anywhere between the 16th and 19th centuries. Schiltach is part of the German Half-Timbered House Road tourist route. A long-distance walking trail known as the Mittelweg spans the Black Forest from north to south (between Pforzheim and Waldshut), and passes through Schiltach as one stage of the trail. The Silvesterzug is a procession that takes place in Schiltach on
New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
. As part of an old tradition, the citizens walk through the streets with lanterns from the marketplace to the town church and sing hymms of
Pietistic Pietism (), also known as Pietistic Lutheranism, is a movement within Lutheranism that combines its emphasis on biblical doctrine with an emphasis on individual piety and living a holy Christian life, including a social concern for the needy and ...
origins. During the procession, the street lights of the city are turned off and replaced with pitch torches; the only electric lights to be seen are those of Christmas trees shone through the windows of private households. The local pastor gives a speech from the window of the town rectory, accompanied by the performance of a choir and trombone ensemble. Afterwards, the citizens gather at the town hall, where the mayor also gives a speech.


Museums

* Chemists' Museum (''Apothekenmuseum'') (former
Biedermeier The ''Biedermeier'' period was an era in Central Europe between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle class grew in number and the arts appealed to common sensibilities. It began with the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in ...
-pharmacy at the market place) * Museum am Markt (''Museum on the Market'', town history, industrialization, handicraft) * Schüttesage Museum (Lumbering and forestry, rafter, old saw with undershot waterwheel and transmittance, tannery * Museum Wasser - Bad - Design (The evolution of bath and bathing)


Buildings

* Town hall featuring Crow-stepped gable from 1593 * Gasthaus zum Adler ("The Eagle Hotel") from 1604 * Market place * Lutheran town church from 1839–1843 * Gerbergase (tannery alley) with Äußere Mühle (outer mill) from 1557 * Schloßbergstraße (Road to Schloßberg) * Städtlebrunnen ("little town well") on the market place * Jägerhäusle ("huntsman's house") from 1590


Ruined castles

* Schiltach ruin on the Schloßberg * Willenburg, ruin above the ''Staighöfe'' on the Schlössleberg (Little castle mountain) * Klingenburg, ruin in Hinterlehengericht on the Burbachfelsen (Burbachrock)


Regular events

Schiltach holds several markets over the year, e.g. a farmer's market on the third Sunday in October or an artisans' market on the last Sunday in April. Besides the ''Schiltacher Advent'' and the ''Silvesterzug'' every year Fastnacht is celebrated at the time of Fasching.


Personalities


Honorary citizens

* Heinrich Baumgartner, businessman, born in 1936, honorary citizen since 1 March 2002, founder of
BBS BBS may refer to: Ammunition * BBs, BB gun metal bullets * BBs, airsoft gun plastic pellets Computing and gaming * Bulletin board system, a computer server users dial into via dial-up or telnet; precursor to the Internet * BIOS Boot Specificat ...
* Bruno Grieshaber, businessman, 1919–2005, honorary citizen since 1 March 2002, founder of VEGA Grieshaber KG * Friedrich Grohe, businessman, 1904–1983, honorary citizen since 1 March 2002, founder of Friedrich Grohe Armaturenfabrik * Klaus Grohe, businessmann, born 1937, honorary citizen since 1 March 2002, son of Hans Grohe


Sons and daughters of the town

* Horst Neugart, born 1940 in Schiltach, since 2002 president of the synod of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg


Sources and further reading


External links


Schiltach pictures
{{Authority control Rottweil (district)