Weinheim


is a town with about 43,000 inhabitants in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region, approximately north of Heidelberg and northeast of Mannheim. Weinheim is known as the "Zwei-Burgen-Stadt", the "town of two castles", after two fortresses overlooking the town from the edge of the Odenwald in the east.

Geography

Weinheim is situated on the Bergstraße theme route on the western rim of the Odenwald. The old town lies in the valley, with the new part of town further to the west. The Market Square is filled with numerous cafes, as well as the old Rathaus. Further to the south is the Schlossgarten and the Exotenwald, which contains species of trees imported from around the world, but mostly from North America and Japan.

History

Weinheim celebrated its 1250th anniversary in 2005.
The earliest record of Weinheim dates back to 755 CE, when the name "Winenheim" was recorded in the Lorsch codex, the record book of Lorsch Abbey.
In 1000, Emperor Otto III bestowed on Weinheim the right to hold markets, and in 1065 the right to mint and issue coins. A new town developed next to the old town from 1250. In 1308, the old town was transferred to the Electorate of the Palatinate. From 1368 the whole town belonged to the Electorate of the Palatinate, and since the end of the 14th century to the Heidelberg Oberamt district. With the transfer to Baden in 1803, Weinheim became the seat of its own Amt, which was unified with Landkreis Mannheim in 1936. From 1938 onwards Weinheim belonged to Landkreis Mannheim until January 1, 1973, when the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis was formed.
A Jewish community in Weinheim is first recorded in 1228. There were persecutions in Weinheim in 1298 and 1348–49. The Jews were expelled from Weinheim in 1391. The Weinheim Jewish community began to grow again in the Thirty Years' War. There was a synagogue, a beth midrash, and a mikveh, and, in the 19th century, a school for boys and a teacher-training college. The synagogue was destroyed in the Kristallnacht and the last few Jews sent to Gurs on 22 October 1940.

Local attractions

Weinheim's town museum occupies what used to be the local headquarters of the Teutonic Order and holds exhibits about Weinheim and its surroundings: archaeology from the prehistoric through to the Merovingian dynasty, the highlight of which is the Nächstenbach bronze hoard of 76 objects from the late Bronze Age; displays documenting the Medieval and modern social history of the town and works from contemporary artists.

Events

Trains

Weinheim has two main train stations on the Main-Neckar Railway, these being Weinheim station and Lützelsachsen. These provide connections to Frankfurt, Hamburg and other destinations within Germany.
Weinheim is also served by the OEG tramway, which is used daily by people who use this to commute to the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg.

Air

The closest airports to Weinheim are:
Weinheim is twinned with:

Population over time

These are the population figures for particular years. There are drawn from guesses, 'Volkszählungsergebnisse and official statistics based on place of residence.

¹ These are taken from a Volkszählungsergebnes.

Honorary citizens

The town of Weinheim has made the following people honorary citizens :
  • 1894: Carl Johann Freudenberg, Geheimer Kommerzienrat
  • 1904: Erhard Bissinger, Consul general
  • 1913: Aute Bode, chief engineer and the architect behind the Wachenburg
  • 1918: Hermann Ernst Freudenberg, Geheimer Kommerzienrat
  • 1922: Georg Friedrich Vogler, vice-mayor
  • 1923: Adam Karrillon, doctor and author
  • 1928: Emil Hartmann, construction engineer
  • 1928: Prof. Arthur Wienkoop, Architect
  • 1933: Paul von Hindenburg, German President
  • 1940: Georg Peter Nickel, agriculturist
  • 1949: Richard Freudenberg, factory owner
  • 1953: Hans Freudenberg, factory owner
  • 1954: Sepp Herberger, sports trainer, trainer of the German World Cup winning side of 1954
  • 1962: Wilhelm Brück, Lord Mayor
  • 1986: Theo Gießelmann, Lord Mayor
  • 2004: Dieter Freudenberg, factory owner
  • 2004: Wolfgang Daffinger, mayor, representative in the Landtag
  • 2005: Uwe Kleefoot, Lord Mayor

    Sons and daughters of the town

  • Friedrich Rauch, colonel who fought and died in Argentina
  • Heinrich Hübsch, head of public works
  • Karl Seidenadel, translator of Greek works
  • Philipp Bickel, baptist theologian and publisher
  • Friedrich August Bender, chemist and entrepreneur
  • Wilhelm Platz, factory owner and author
  • Richard Freudenberg, DDP MP, MdB, for a long time one of the town's aldermen and benefactors
  • Erwin Linder, actor and voice actor
  • Heidi Mohr, national football player
  • Ralf Sonn, high jumper
  • Markus Kuhn, currently plays for the NY Giants in the NFL

    People who worked in the town

  • Ingrid Noll, writer, lived in Weinheim.
  • Karl Friedrich Bender, theologian, teacher, principal of the Erziehungsanstalt für Knaben
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