Renchen

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Renchen (Grimmelshausenstadt)


Country	Germany
State	Baden-Württemberg
Administrative region	Freiburg
District	Ortenau County
Population	7,219 (December 31, 2004)
Area	32.08 km²
Population density	225 /km²
Elevation	165 m
Coordinates	48°35′ N 8°01′ E
Postal code	77871
Area code	07843
Licence plate code	OG
Mayor	Bernd Siefermann
Website	www.stadt-renchen.de

Renchen is a small city in Baden-Württemberg and part of Ortenau County.

1 Geography
- 1.1 Neighboring communities
- 1.2 Boroughs
2 History
3 Government
- 3.1 City council
- 3.2 Mayor
4 People, culture & architecture
- 4.1 Grimmelshausen Prize
5 Economy and infrastructure
- 5.1 Media
6 Famous people
7 Famous people
8 Reference
9 External links

[edit] Geography

Renchen is located in the foothills of the northern Black Forest at the entrance to the Rench valley at the edge of the Upper Rhine River Plains.

[edit] Neighboring communities

The city shares borders with the following cities and towns, listed clock-wise from the North: Achern, Kappelrodeck, Oberkirch, Appenweier, and Rheinau.

[edit] Boroughs

In addition to Renchen (proper) the city includes the boroughs of Erlach and Ulm zu Renchen.

[edit] History

Renchen was first in official documents in 1115. In 1326 it received a city charter but the city lost it again as well as all significance when it was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. In 1838 the Grand Duke of Baden again granted a city charter to Renchen but again lost the right to call itself a city as a result of the German district reform in 1935. Renchen then received a city charter for the third time in 1950 in recognition of its historic importance.

Renchen's borough of Ulm zu Renchen is known mostly for its Ulmer Bier, a specialty beer brewed only at full moon.

[edit] Government

[edit] City council

As of February 2006, Renchen's city council has the following composition:

Party	Seats
CDU	8
SPD	4
Independents	8

[edit] Mayor

As of February 2006, Renchen's mayor is Bernd Siefermann.

[edit] People, culture & architecture

[edit] Grimmelshausen Prize

The Grimmelshausen Prize is a literary prize of €10,000 awarded in uneven years on September 15, in turn, by Renchen or the city of Gelnhausen.

[edit] Economy and infrastructure

[edit] Media

In Renchen the Offenburger Tageblatt publishes a daily local edition as "Acher-Rench-Zeitung" and the Stattzeitung für Südbaden is an alternative magazine offered in the area.

[edit] Famous people

Renchen likes to call itself the city of Grimmelshausen, as the poet Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen, author of Der Abenteuerliche Simplicissimus Teutsch served from 1667 until his death in 1676 as the Bishop of Strasbourg's executor in Renchen.

[edit] Famous people

Amand Goegg (born April 7, 1820 in Renchen, died 1897) Baden freedom fighter, honorary citizen of the city of Genf. He was married to the women's suffragist Marie Goegg-Pouchoulin