Waldenburg is a hilltop town in south central

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 ...

, eastwards of

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. From the late Middle Ages on, it developed into an important trading centre. At the begi ...

in the

Hohenlohe (district) The Hohenlohe ( ) is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Neckar-Odenwald, Main-Tauber, Schwäbisch Hall and Heilbronn. Künzelsau is the administrative centr ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, 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 i ...

. The town is the site of Waldenburg Castle and some hilltop churches. Records first mention Waldenburg in the year 1253, but the town was destroyed in April 1945, at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and it has been rebuilt since.

Geography

Geographical form

Waldenburg covers part of the natural Schwäbisch-Fränkische forest-hills and the Hohenloher-Haller Ebene.

City outline

Waldenburg includes the village of Waldenburg proper and the 2 sections Obersteinbach (173 people, as of 31 March 2006) and Sailach (222 people).

History

of Waldenburg dates from 1253. By 1330 it was a free imperial city in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. Plague and war reduced the population during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. The

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austrian Empire, Austria ...

of 1806 annexed Waldenburg into the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...

under the process of "

mediatisation Mediatization or mediatisation may refer to: * German mediatisation, German historical territorial restructuring * Mediatization (media) Mediatization (or medialization) is a method whereby the mass media influence other sectors of society, inclu ...

", and the town has been part of the state of

, within the Federal Republic of Germany, since 1952. In April 1945, at the end of

, the town was occupied for a last-ditch stand by the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

against the advancing

Third United States Army Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

, and was almost completely destroyed by American artillery. Postwar efforts have reconstructed some historic buildings. The ancient castle still belongs to the

Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst was a County, and later Principality in northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The name Hohenlohe derives from the castle of Hohenloch near Uffenheim in Mittelfranken, which came into the possession of the ...

family that built it. On 1 January 1971, there was the annexation of Upper Steinbach.

Religions

In Waldenburg, there are Protestant, Catholic and Apostolic churches. The Catholic Church, together with the parishes of Pfedelbach and Bretzfeld form a pastoral unit.

Population growth

Estimated population of Waldenburg, per year: :*1648: 640 :*2000: 3079 :*2005: 3083

Politics

Mayors

* Franz Gehweiler (November 1945–March 1978) * Gerhard Lauth (March 1978–August 1990) * Roland Weinschenk (December 1990–April 2004) * Markus Knobel (July 2004–2020) * Bernd Herzog (since 2020)

Coat of arms and flag

The blazon of arms of Waldenburg is: in the upper part of gold with green ground, are three green fir trees; below in a silver border, is a red-tongued black lion (leopard), with tail curled underneath. The flag of the city is red and white. DEU Waldenburg COA

From the 16th Century since, the seals in the Waldenburg detectable crest reaches into the upper half of the city name, and displays in the bottom half with the leopard, the emblem of Hohenlohe. The city colors are the colors of the Hohenlohe house.

Sister cities

Waldenburg maintains partnership relations with

Sierck-les-Bains Sierck-les-Bains (; ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Siirk''/''Siirck'') is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Localities of the commune: Rudling, Kœnigsberg (German: Rudlingen, Königsberg) Language Revitali ...

in Lorraine, France.

Economy and infrastructure

Traffic

Waldenburg is located on autobahn A 6 and federal highway B 19. Waldenburg is located in the area of HNV on the Heilbronn–Crailsheim railway. Waldenburg (Wurttemberg) station is served every two hours by

Regional-Express In Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, the Regional-Express (; RE, or in Austria: REX) is a type of regional train. It is similar to a semi-fast train, with a top speed of and an average speed of about as it calls at fewer stations than ''R ...

services to Heilbronn and Crailsheim. In the hours in between Regional-Express services it is served by

Regionalbahn The ''Regionalbahn'' (; lit. Regional train; abbreviated ''RB'') is a train categories in Europe, type of Regional rail, local passenger train (stopping train) in Germany. It is similar to the Regionalzug (R) and Regio (Swiss railway train), R ...

services on the Öhringen–Schwäbisch Hall-Hessental route.

Established companies

The industrial park is a plan of the Hohenlohe Waldenburg Association of Municipalities, copper and cell Künzelsau and has an area of , of which 135 hectares are being used. It is situated at the foot of the mountain Waldenburg 6 in the immediate vicinity of the station Waldenburg, the Federal Autobahn and Federal Street 19. In the industrial field, the following companies are based or have a production site: :* R. Stahl :* Ziehl-Abegg :* SWG (Schraubenwerk Gaisbach) of the Würth Group :* Lidl :* Wolff & Müller :* Würth Elektronik eiSos, part of the Würth Elektronik Group

Culture and sights

Museums

The City Council of Waldenburg is a museum with Urweltfunden. Since 1971, the castle houses a museum with collections of seals from the early Middle Ages. "Siegel-museum", waldenburg-hohenlohe.de, 2010, web:
WH
.

Buildings and structures

* Schloss Waldenburg * Keep * Remnants of the monastery at the settlement site Goldbach * Waldenburg TV Tower * Friedrichsberg Television Tower, a TV tower of reinforced concrete under construction *

Evangelical Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, and

Apostolic Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

churches exist in Waldenburg. East of Waldburg operates the southwest radio with the TV Tower Waldenburg-Fredericksburg since 2008, as the main transmitter for radio and television. By 2009, the village was finished using TV Tower Waldenburg in operation, which was dismantled after the shutdown to the water tower.

Nature

Near the settlement site Goldbach are the nature reserves of Rößlesmahdsee, with Pfaffenklinge and the Eastern Goldbachsee lake.See
Geodaten viewer of Baden-Württemberg
, Karten der Landesanstalt für Umwelt, Messungen, Naturschutz (LUBW). Between Obersteinbach and the hamlet of Tommelhardt are the nature reserves of ''Obere Weide'' (pasture) and ''Entlesboden'', which show the natural vegetation of the old Hutewälder forest. File:Schloss der Fürsten zu Hohenlohe-Waldenburg.jpg, Castle File:Waldenburg Wuertt Ortskern.jpg, Town Hall File:Waldenburg Wuertt Kirche.jpg, Church File:Waldenburg Lachnersturm1 2007-09-22.jpg, Lachners tower

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldenburg, Baden-Wurttemberg Hohenlohe (district) Burial sites of the House of Urach