Bad Homburg Vor Der Höhe
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bad Homburg vor der Höhe (, ) is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis,
Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, on the southern slope of the
Taunus The Taunus () is a mountain range in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located north west of Frankfurt and north of Wiesbaden. The tallest peak in the range is '' Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are '' Kleiner Feldberg' ...
mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's official name is ''Bad Homburg v.d.Höhe'', which distinguishes it from other places named Homburg. The town has become best known for its mineral springs and spa (hence the prefix ''Bad'', meaning "bath"), and for its
casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...
. , the town used the marketing slogan ''Champagnerluft und Tradition'' (Champagne air and tradition). , Bad Homburg was one of the wealthiest towns in Germany (while the Hochtaunuskreis itself and the Landkreis Starnberg in Bavaria regularly vie for the title of the wealthiest district in Germany).


History


Medieval origins

Local tradition holds that Bad Homburg's documented history began with the mention of the ''Villa Tidenheim'' in the
Lorsch codex The Lorsch Codex (Chronicon Laureshamense, Lorscher Codex, Codex Laureshamensis) is an important historical document created between about 1175 to 1195 AD in the Lorsch Abbey, Monastery of Saint Nazarius in Lorsch, Germany. The codex is handwrit ...
, associated with the year 782. This ''Villa Tidenheim'' was equated with the historic city center, which is called Dietigheim. The local historian Rüdiger Kurth has questioned this traditional story based on his study of written sources and local factors. In 2002, Kurth initiated
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
excavations by the University of Frankfurt, managed by Professor Joachim Henning. The excavations showed no evidence of settlement between the beginning of the
Christian Era The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used when designating years in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means "in the year of the Lord" but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", tak ...
and the 13th century. It seems that the historical record in the Eberbach chronicles (''Eberbacher Zeugenreihe'') which mentions Wortwin (or Ortwin) von Hohenberch as Homburg's founder about 1180 is the first solid evidence of the town's existence. As early as 1962, in an excavation under the Hirschgang wing of Bad Homburg Castle, two burnt layers were discovered, which the archaeologist Günther Binding interpreted as evidence of two former castles having occupied the site in succession and burnt down. Further digs by the University of Frankfurt at Bad Homburg Castle in April 2006, again initiated by Kurth and managed by Prof. Henning, revealed only a single burnt layer, from a
half-timbered Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...
building, possibly a castle with towers, which was dated from
ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...
finds to the 12th or 13th century. Most likely this building had an association with Wortwin's "castle". A further cultural layer from an even earlier time may lie beneath these remains. Investigations using carbon-14 dating and micromorphological analysis will show whether the dating can be made more precise. Homberg acquired market rights about 1330, but the document granting these rights is said to have been lost. The town's name, "Homburg", is derived from the ''Hohenberg'' Castle. The suffix "vor der Höhe" was probably first recorded in a document of 1399. The designation ''Bad'' was conferred in 1912. The first
landgrave Landgrave (, , , ; , ', ', ', ', ') was a rank of nobility used in the Holy Roman Empire, and its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), and ' ("count palatine") are of roughly equal rank, subordinate to ' ("duke"), and su ...
of Hessen-Homburg was Friedrich I of Hessen-Homburg. Friedrich II (1680–1708) attained fame as Prince of Homburg. In 1866, as a result of the
Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...
, Homburg became
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n territory.


Spa town and imperial residence

With the beginning of the spa industry in the town in the mid-19th century, Homburg became an internationally famous spa town. Bad Homburg was favoured particularly by Russian nobility. The spa industry began with the discovery of the ''Elisabethenbrunnen'' ("Princess Elizabeth's spring") in 1834. The first spa building and the first casino in Homburg were built in 1841–1842 by the brothers
François François () is a French language, French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis (given name), Francis. People with the given name * François Amoudruz (1926–2020), French resistance fighter * Voltaire, Fran ...
(1806–1877) and Louis Blanc (1806–1852), who later owned the
Monte Carlo Casino The Monte Carlo Casino, officially named Casino de Monte-Carlo, is a gambling and entertainment complex located in Monaco. It includes a casino, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and the office of Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo. The Casino de Monte-Carlo ...
. In 1860, the town was connected with
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
by a railway line. In 1888, Homburg became known throughout the
German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
because Kaiser Wilhelm II made its castle his imperial summer residence. He later financed the building of the Church of the Redeemer (Erlöserkirche) nearby. The emperor's mother also lived there for several years.
Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...
of the United Kingdom was often a guest; it was he who introduced the Homburg hat and turned-up trousers. Edward took fasting cures at Homburg 32 times. The Bad Homburger Golf Club in the ''Röderweisen'' in Dornholzhausen – now part of Bad Homburg – is Germany's oldest
golf club A golf club is a club used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a club head. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety o ...
. It had its beginnings in the Bad Homburg spa park, where the old clubhouse and even playable parts of the old
golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...
can still be found. Not far away stands the Russian Chapel, properly called All Saints' Church, an
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
church whose cornerstone was laid by the Russian imperial couple on 16 October 1896, although they did not attend the church's consecration almost three years later. King
Chulalongkorn Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his death in 1910 was cha ...
of Siam (Thailand) sent a garden pavilion in gratitude for a successful cure. It was erected in 1914. Horex was a well known German motorcycle brand of the "Horex—Fahrzeugbau AG", founded in 1923 in Bad Homburg by Fritz Kleemann.


Jewish history

In 1335, permission was given by Emperor Louis IV to Gottfried von Eppstein to settle 10 Jews in each of the localities of Eppstein, Homburg, and Steinheim; it is uncertain, however, whether any Jews settled in Homburg at that time. Evidence for the existence of a permanent Jewish settlement in Homburg is found only at the beginning of the 16th century. Until 1600 it consisted of 2 or 3 families, and by 1632 these had increased to 16. The first
Jewish cemetery A Jewish cemetery ( ''beit almin'' or ''beit kvarot'') is a cemetery where Jews are buried in keeping with Halakha, Jewish tradition. Cemeteries are referred to in several different ways in Hebrew, including ''beit kevarot'' (house of s ...
was purchased in the 17th century. The community continued to grow so rapidly that in 1703 the landgrave Frederick II of Hesse decided on the construction of a special Judengasse (Jewish quarter). A synagogue, built in 1731, was replaced by a new one in 1867. The Jewish community of Homburg was originally part of the jurisdiction of the rabbinate of Friedberg but began to appoint its own rabbis in the 19th century. A
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
printing house was located in Homburg by Seligmann ben Hirz Reis from 1710 until 1713, when he relocated to
Offenbach am Main Offenbach am Main () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Hesse, Germany, on the left bank of the river Main (river), Main. It borders Frankfurt and is part of the Frankfurt urban area and the larger Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Aut ...
. Among other items, he published Jacob ibn Ḥabib's ''
Ein Ya'akov Ein Ya'akov () is a moshav in northern Israel. Located near Ma'alot-Tarshiha, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The village was established on 15 October 1950 by aliyah, immigr ...
'' (1712). Hebrew printing was resumed there in 1724 by Samson ben Salman Hanau but lack of capital limited his output. The press was acquired in 1736 by Aaron ben Ẓevi Dessau whose publications included the ''
Shulhan Arukh The ''Shulhan Arukh'' ( ),, often called "the Code of Jewish Law", is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Rabbinic Judaism. It was authored in the city of Safed in what is now Israel by Joseph Karo in 1563 and published in V ...
( Ḥoshen Mishpat)'' with commentary (1742). The press was sold in 1748 and transferred in 1749 to Roedelheim. At the beginning of the 20th century, the spa of Homburg became a meeting place of Russian-Jewish intellectuals. The Jewish population numbered 604 (7.14% of the total population) in 1865, declining to 379 in 1910 (2.64%), and 300 in 1933. Of the 74 Jews who remained on 17 May 1939, 42 were deported in 1942/1943 to Concentration Camps, never to return.


Modern age

While the spa business experienced a long-term decrease after the two world wars, the town gained importance by becoming the site for headquarters of various authorities and administrative bodies. By autumn 1946, the military government had already ordered the founding of bizonal authorities. Bad Homburg was chosen as the seat of the financial administrative centre. On 23 July 1947, the Bizone Economic Council instituted the "Special Money and Credit Centre" here in preparation for currency reform. The centre was managed by
Ludwig Erhard Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician and economist affiliated with the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and Chancellor of Germany (1949–), chancellor of West Ge ...
. After the Federal Republic of Germany—- West Germany—- was founded with its capital in
Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
, the Federal Debt Administration (''Bundesschuldenverwaltung''), the Office for Security Adjustment (''Amt für Wertpapierbereinigung'') and the Federal Equalization Office (''Bundesausgleichsamt'') stayed in Bad Homburg. In the 20th century, Bad Homburg became a favourite residential area among the upper classes. On 30 November 1989, Alfred Herrhausen, the manager of
Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...
, was killed and his driver was injured by a car bomb in Bad Homburg. It is alleged that this was an attack by the
Red Army Faction The Red Army Faction (, ; RAF ),See the section "Name" also known as the Baader–Meinhof Group or Baader–Meinhof Gang ( ), was a West German far-left militant group founded in 1970 and active until 1998, considered a terrorist organisat ...
, though this has never been proven.


Mayors

*Karl Tettenborn — 1892–1901 *Ernst Ritter von Marx — 1901–1905 *Konrad Maß — 1905–1907 *Walter Lübke DVP 1907–1924 *Georg Eberlein DVP 1924–1933 *Richard Hardt NSDAP 1933–1934 *Erich Meusel NSDAP 1933–1945 *Georg Eberlein FDP, 1945–1948 *Karl Horn CDU, 1948–1962 *Armin Klein CDU, 1962–1980 *Wolfgang Assmann CDU, 1980–1998 *Reinhard Wolters CDU, 1998–2003 (his election was subsequently declared invalid; Wolters was thus never officially mayor. His official acts were not invalidated, however.) *Ursula Jungherr CDU, 2003–2009 *Michael Korwisi Bündnis '90/Grüne, 2009–2015 *Alexander Hetjes CDU, from 18 September 2015


Coat of arms

Bad Homburg's civic coat of arms was granted in 1903 but is said to date from the 15th century on the basis of seals known from that time, although they show a
saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a Heraldry, heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross. The word comes from the Middle French , Medieval Latin ("stirrup"). From its use as field sign, the saltire cam ...
rather than the two
adze An adze () or adz is an ancient and versatile cutting tool similar to an axe but with the cutting edge perpendicular to the handle rather than parallel. Adzes have been used since the Stone Age. They are used for smoothing or carving wood in ha ...
s seen today (the saltire might be two unclear adzes). The reason for the adzes in the arms is not known; it is possibly dialectal canting. The colours, with silver adzes in a blue field, have been in use at least since 1621.


Schools

* Kaiserin-Friedrich-Gymnasium * Humboldtschule * Gesamtschule am Gluckenstein * Maria-Ward-Schule * Feldbergschule (branch Bad Homburg)


Sport

Baseball club Bad Homburg Hornets play in Germany's 2. Bundesliga, having competed in the country's first division until 2018. The Bad Homburg Open is a WTA 500 tennis tournament held in the town in honour of its long legacy of playing and developing the sport. The inaugural Bad Homburg Open was held as WTA 250 event in 2021 and played on grass at the TC Bad Homburg. German player
Angelique Kerber Angelique Kerber (; born 18 January 1988) is a German former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 34 wee ...
won the event. In 2024, it was upgraded to a WTA 500 event.


Notable people


early times

* Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (1633–1708), successful and experienced general, eponymous hero of The Prince of Homburg * Friedrich Ludwig Abresch (1699–1782), Dutch philologist * Isaac von Sinclair (1775–1815), writer, diplomat and friend of the poet Friedrich Hölderlin * Ferdinand, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (1783–1866), nobleman, last landgrave of Hesse-Homburg * Princess Maria Anna of Hesse-Homburg (1785–1846), noblewoman, acted as the first lady of Prussia from 1810 to 1840


19th c.

*
Károly Lotz Lotz Károly Antal Pál, or Karl Anton Paul Lotz (16 December 1833 – 13 October 1904) was a Germans, German-Hungarian people, Hungarian Painting, painter. Career Karl Lotz was born in Bad Homburg vor der Taunus, Höhe, Germany, the 7th an ...
(1833–1904), German-Hungarian painter * Louis Jacobi (1836–1910), architect and archaeologist, notable for his dig in
Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...
in 1889 * Karl Wilhelm von Meister (1863–1935), German politician and diplomat * Heinrich Jacobi (1866–1946), architect and archaeologist of the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
, son of Louis Jacobi * Fritz von Loßberg (1868–1942), colonel, and later general, of WW1, a strategic defence planner * Ludwig von Salm-Hoogstraeten (1885–1944), controversial Austrian tennis player, competed in the
1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...
* Rudolf von Eschwege (1895–1917), a fighter pilot in WW1, operating on the Macedonian front * Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1888–1970), Nobel Prize-winning author (1966 together with Nelly Sachs)


20th c.

* Walter Eckhardt (1906–1994), lawyer and local, national and Euro politician * Tilly Lauenstein (1916–2002), stage and film actress * Heinz Schmidt (1920–1943), German Luftwaffe officer * Judith Hemmendinger (born 1923), German-born Israeli researcher and author specializing in child survivors of
The Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
* Johanna Quandt (1926–2015), very wealthy business woman, major shareholder of
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
* Wolfgang Strödter (1948–2021), field hockey player and
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...
winner *
Georg Schramm Georg Schramm (born 11 March 1949) is a German Kabarett artist. He was a host of the Kabarett shows ''Scheibenwischer'' and '' Neues aus der Anstalt''. Biography Schramm was born in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe. His father was a member of the Soc ...
(born 1949), psychologist and
Kabarett Kabarett (; from French ''cabaret'' = tavern) is satirical revue, a form of cabaret which was developed in France by Rodolphe Salis in 1881 as the ''cabaret artistique''. It was named Le Chat Noir and was centered on political events and satire. ...
artist * Lorenz Jäger (born 1951), sociologist and journalist * Reinhard Genzel (born 1952), astrophysicist, co-director of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, a professor at LMU and an emeritus professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics "for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy". * Cornelia Füllkrug-Weitzel (born 1955), parson and director of action ''Brot für die Welt'' (Bread for the World) * Keegan Gerhard (born 1960), award-winning pastry chef, former host of the
Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...
series Food Network Challenge * Olaf Velte (born 1960), writer * Susanne Klatten (born 1962), daughter of Johanna Quandt,
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
heiress, one of the richest women of Germany * Martin Schneider (born 1964), comedian *
Stefan Quandt Stefan Quandt (born 9 May 1966) is a German billionaire heir, engineer and industrialist. As of December 2024, ''Forbes'' estimated his net worth at US$21.6 billion, ranked at number 89 on Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Early life Quandt was bor ...
(born 1966), billionaire
BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
heir, engineer and industrialist. * Stella Deetjen (born 1970), founder and chair person of Back to Life e.V., a charitable organisation providing development assistance and emergency relief in Nepal * Marc Erwin Babej (born 1970), artist * Roland Böer (born 1970), conductor and festival manager


Twin towns – sister cities

Bad Homburg vor der Höhe is twinned with: * Cabourg, France *
Chur '' Chur (locally) or ; ; ; ; ; ; or ; , and . is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, town of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons and lies in the Alpine Rhine, Grisonian Rhine Valley, where ...
, Switzerland *
Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...
, Croatia *
Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
, England, United Kingdom * Mariánské Lázně, Czech Republic *
Mayrhofen Mayrhofen is a town in the Zillertal (Ziller river valley) in the Austrian state of Tirol, Austria, Tyrol. It is located approximately an hour from the Tyrolean capital city of Innsbruck. Population Tourism The town offers a variety of summer an ...
, Austria *
Mondorf-les-Bains Mondorf-les-Bains (; ; ) is a Communes of Luxembourg, commune and town in south-eastern Luxembourg. It is part of the Remich (canton), canton of Remich. Mondorf-les-Bains is a spa town (hence its name), and has the only casino in Luxembourg. , ...
, Luxembourg *
Petergof Petergof (), known as Petrodvorets () from 1944 to 1997, is a administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, municipal town in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, located ...
, Russia * Terracina, Italy a.


References


External links

*
Alemannia-judaica.de

Hesse (Jewish Encyclopedia)
*
Official tourist website of the town of Bad Homburg v. d. Höhe
*
Cultural monuments in Bad Homburg
(512 data entries)
Homburg
in the photograph collection of Schloss Doorn * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bad Homburg Vor Der Hoehe Spa towns in Germany Jewish communities in Germany Hochtaunuskreis Holocaust locations in Germany