Breisach

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Breisach (Breisach am Rhein)


Country	Germany
State	Baden-Württemberg
Administrative region	Freiburg
District	Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald
Population	14,264 (31/12/2005)
Area	54,58 km²
Population density	259 /km²
Elevation	191 m
Coordinates	48°02′ N 7°35′ E
Postal code	79200-79206
Area code	07667
Licence plate code	FR
Mayor	Oliver Rein
Website	breisach.de

Breisach is a city with approximately 14,000 people, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the district Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, Baden-Württemberg, about halfway between Freiburg and Colmar—20 kilometers away from each—and about 60 kilometers north of Basel near Kaiserstuhl. A bridge leads over the Rhine to Neuf-Brisach, Alsace.

Its name is Celtic and means breakwater. The root Breis can also be found in the French word briser meaning to break. The hill, on which Breisach came into existence was—at least when there was a flood—in the middle of the Rhine until the Rhine was straightened by the engineer Johann Gottfried Tulla in the 19th century, thus breaking its surge.

1 History
2 Politics
3 Economy and infrastructure
- 3.1 Transportation
- 3.2 Local businesses
4 Culture and attractions
5 Sister cities
6 External links
7 References

[edit] History

The seat of a Celtic prince was at the hill on which Breisach lies. The Romans maintained an auxiliary castle on Mons Brisiacus ("cathedral mountain" in Latin).

The Staufer founded Breisach as a city in today's sense. But there had already been a settlement with a church at the time. An 11th century coin from Breisach was found in the Sandur hoard.

In the early 13th century, construction on the St. Stephansmünster, the cathedral in Breisach, started. In the early 16th century, Breisach was a significant stronghold of the Holy Roman Empire. On December 7, 1638, Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar, who was subsidized by France, conquered the city, which Ferdinand II and General Reinach had defended well, and tried to make center of a new territory. After Bernhard's death in 1639, his general gave the territory to France, which saw it as its own conquest. In the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Breisach was de jure given to France.

Aerial image of Breisach

From 1670, Breisach was integrated into the French state in the course of the politics of Reunions. In the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, Breisach was returned to the Holy Roman Empire, but then reconquered on September 7, 1703 by General Villars at the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession. At the Treaty of Rastatt on March 7, 1714, Breisach became once again part of the Empire. Meanwhile, France founded its own fortress, Neuf-Brisach ("New Breisach"), on the left shore of the Rhine. In 1790, Breisach was part of Further Austria. In the revolutionary wars in 1793, Breisach was widely destroyed and then, in 1805, annexed to the de facto re-established state of Baden.

During World War II, 85% of Breisach was destroyed by Allied artillery as the Allies crossed the Rhine. The St. Stephansmünster was also heavily damaged.

In 1969, Breisach was considered as the construction site for a nuclear power plant, but Wyhl was chosen instead, where the construction project was later abandoned in the face of heavy opposition.

The near-by cities of Hochstetten (1970), Gündlingen (1972), Niederrimsingen (1973), and Oberrimsingen (1975) along with Grezhausen, which had been incorporated into Oberrimsingen in 1936, were all incorporated into Breisach.

[edit] Politics

Breisach as seen from the French Rhine shore

After the municipal elections on June 13, 2004, the seats in the municipal council were distributed as follows:

CDU	43,9 %	-3,9	12 Seats	±0
SPD	24,3 %	-2,1	6 Seats	±0
Partyless	16,8 %	+3,9	4 Seats	+1
FDP/DVP	15,0 %	+2,1	4 Seats	+1

[edit] Economy and infrastructure

[edit] Transportation

Breisach is connected to Freiburg via Gottenheim by the Breisgau-S-Bahn; the Kaiserstuhlbahn connects Breisach to Riegel via Vogtsburg and Endingen.

The federal road B 31 leads to Lindau and the N 415 on the French side connects Breisach to Colmar.

[edit] Local businesses

One of Europe's largest wine cellars called Badische Winzerkeller eG is located in Breisach. Viticulture is very important for the economy of both Breisach and the Kaisertuhl.

[edit] Culture and attractions

Aerial phot of St. Stephansmünster

The museum for municipal history has an impressive collection dating from the Stone Age to the present. The Romanesque St. Stephansmünster, the cathedral in Breisach, has a late Gothic altar by a unknown craftsman (with the initials H.L.) and paintings by Martin Schongauer, who is also the eponym of the Gymnasium in the city.