Gerabronn () is a small town in the county of

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 ...

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 ...

. In 2006 it had a population of about 4,547 and covered an area of 40.38 km². Gerabronn is the home town of the two leading German politicians of the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

Joschka Fischer Joseph Martin "Joschka" Fischer (born 12 April 1948) is a German retired politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens. He served as the foreign minister and as the vice-chancellor of Germany in the cabinet of Gerhard Schröder from 1998 to 2005. Fi ...

and Rezzo Schlauch.

History

Gerabronn developed from a village, which was supposedly founded in the 10th century. Originally named ''Gerhiltebrunnen'' (

well A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

of Gerhilt), it was also called Gerolzbrunn, Geroldbrunn, Gerltbrunn or Gerhartsbrunn, until in the 17th century the current name became common. The village was first mentioned in a 1226

feud letter A feud letter (german: Fehdebrief or ''Absagebrief'') was a document in which a feud was announced, usually with few words, in medieval Europe. The letter had to be issued three days in advance to be legally valid. To prevent the feud from becomin ...

, when the area came under the control of the Bishop of

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg ...

. Until the 19th century Gerabronn was only a village; thereafter it became a town (''Oberamtsstadt'') in 1811 it was responsible for the administration of the surrounding area. Industrialization and a connection to the railway further helped the growth of the town. In 1938 the ''Amt'' was dissolved and became part of the county of Crailsheim, which in 1972 was included into the county of Schwäbisch Hall. In 1972–75, the previously independent municipalities of Amlishagen, Dünsbach and Michelbach/Heide, as well as Ober- and Unterweiler from the municipality of Wittenweiler, were included into the town.

Overview

Gerabronn lies in 422 up to 460 meters height on a hill on the Hohenlohe Plain. Neighbouring municipalities The town borders in the north on

Blaufelden Blaufelden is a municipality in the district of Schwäbisch Hall 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 ...

, in the east on

Rot am See Rot am See () is a town in the district of Schwäbisch Hall in Baden-Württemberg in Germany with a population of 5,388 as of December 31, 2018. History Shooting On January 24, 2020, it was the site of a mass shooting which killed six. Twin ...

, in the south on the towns of

Kirchberg an der Jagst Kirchberg an der Jagst is a town in the district of Schwäbisch Hall, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the river Jagst, 11 km northwest of Crailsheim Crailsheim is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Inc ...

and Ilshofen and in the west on

Langenburg Langenburg () is a town in the district of Schwäbisch Hall, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on a hill above the river Jagst, 18 km northeast of Schwäbisch Hall. It is also the place where Wibele - small, sweet, biscuit-like ...

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 ...

Districts From 1972 until 1975, the municipalities of Amlishagen, Dünsbach and Michelbach/Heide as well as Oberweiler und Unterweiler from the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of Wittenweiler were annexed following the municipal reform.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms shows the quartered black-and-white shield of the Hohenzollern family, who were the Viscounts of Nürnberg when the coat of arms was granted to the town in 1545. To distinguish the coats of arms of the family and the town two vaulting horses were added, as horse breeding was popular in the town historically. Originally the horses were displayed on the black quarters, but in 1902 they were placed on the silver quarters, the design being made official in 1953.

Sons and daughters of the town

(born 1948), politician (Alliance 90 / The Greens), Federal Foreign Minister and Vice Chancellor 1998-2005

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20150930063251/http://www.gerabronn.de/ Official homepage (German) {{Authority control Schwäbisch Hall (district) Württemberg