Schweinfurt

Schweinfurt
Coat of arms of Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt is located in Germany
Schweinfurt
Coordinates
Administration
Country Germany
State Bavaria
Admin. region Lower Franconia
District Urban district
Lord Mayor Gudrun Grieser (CSU)
Basic statistics
Area 35.71 km2 (13.79 sq mi)
Elevation 202-343 m
Population 53,533 (31 December 2009)[1]
 - Density 1,499 /km2 (3,883 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate SW
Postal codes 97401–97424
Area code 09721
Website www.schweinfurt.de
Reichsstadt Schweinfurt
Imperial City of Schweinfurt
Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire
← Image missing
 1254–1803 →
Capital Schweinfurt
Government Republic
Historical era Middle Ages
 - Founded before 791
 - Gained Reichsfreiheit 1254
 - Joined Swabian League 1386
 - Joined Franconian Circle 1500
 - Mediatised to Bavaria 1803

Schweinfurt (German for Swine ford)[2] is a city in the Lower Franconia region of Bavaria in Germany on the right bank of the canalized Main, which is here spanned by several bridges, 27 km northeast of Würzburg.

Contents

History

The city is first documented in the year 791, though as early as 740 a settlement called Villa Suinfurde is mentioned. In the 10th century Schweinfurt was the seat of a margraviate. Early history includes the count Henry of Schweinfurt, who rebelled against King Henry II of Germany.

In the first half of 13th century Schweinfurt was expanded to a real city with city wall, towers and city gates. At that time the Nikolaus hospital was founded, a mint was established and construction work on the Saint Johannis church began.

Around 1250 Schweinfurt was totally destroyed during a feud between the Earl of Henneberg and the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg. In the following years it was reconstructed. A document from 1282 signed by King Rudolf I of Habsburg states that Schweinfurt was a free city within the Holy Roman Empire. At least since then the known coat of arms of Schweinfurt is an imperial white eagle.

In 1309 the city was given to the Count of Henneberg, but in the 1360s the city regained its independence and joined the Swabian–Franconian Confederation. In 1397 King Wenzel entitled the town to utilize the river Main, and in 1436–1437 Schweinfurt acquired the village of Oberndorf, as well as the Teutonic Order Fort on the Peterstirn and a small piece of land — including the villages of Zell and Weipoltshausen. Some years later there was the first uprising of Schweinfurt's people against the town council, followed by a second one in 1513–1514. This time the issuing of a constitution was allowed.

The city joined the Martin Luther's Reformation in 1542. Schweinfurt was again destroyed in the course of the Margravian War, in 1554. The years up to 1615 were spent by the citizens for its reconstruction.

Schweinfurt joined the Protestant Union in 1609. In the Thirty Years' War it was occupied by Gustavus Adolphus, who erected fortifications, remains of which are still extant. In 1652 the four doctors Johann Laurentius Bausch, Johann Michael Fehr, Georg Balthasar Wolfahrt and Balthasar Metzger founded the Academia Curiosorum in Schweinfurt, which is known today as the German Academy of Life Scientists, "Leopoldina".

At some point the inhabitants were reverted to Catholicism, only to again receive a large section of Lutheran refugees/expellees after 1945 from Germany east of the Oder-Neisse line. The latest addition to the Lutheran churches in Schweinfurt arrived during the last years of the Soviet Union.

In 1777 Johann Martin Schmidt commenced with the production of white lead (ceruse). Schweinfurt suffered from heavy casualties during the Napoleonic Wars of 1796–1801.

Schweinfurt remained a free imperial city until 1802, when it passed to the Electorate of Bavaria. Assigned to the grand duke of Würzburg in 1810, it was granted to the Kingdom of Bavaria four years later. The first railway junction was opened in 1852. In the following years Schweinfurt became a world leader centre for the production of ball bearings. This was to lead to grievous consequences for the city during World War II.

A USAAF raid on ball-bearing works in Schweinfurt in 1943

World War II

In 1939, Schweinfurt produced most of the Nazi Germany ball-bearings, and factories such as the Schweinfurter Kugellagerwerke became a target of Allied strategic bombing during World War II to cripple tank and aircraft production. Schweinfurt was bombed 22 times during Operation Pointblank by a total of 2285 aircraft.

The Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission caused an immediate 34% loss of production[3] and all plants but the largest were devastated by fire. Efforts to disperse the surviving machinery began immediately and the Luftwaffe deployed large numbers of interceptors along the corridor to Schweinfurt.[4] Bombing also included the Second Raid on Schweinfurt on October 14, 1943, ("Black Thursday") and Big Week in February, 1944.

Although losses of production bearings and machinery were high and much of the industrial and residential areas of the city were destroyed, killing more than a thousand civilians, the factories were restored to production and the industry dispersed. Although German planners initially thought it essential to purchase the entire output of the Swedish ball-bearing industry, losses in production bearings were actually made up from surpluses found within Germany in the aftermath of the first raid. The de-centralized industry was able to rebuild output to 85% of its pre-bombing output. Hitler made restoration of ball-bearing production a high priority and massive efforts were undertaken to repair and rebuild the factories, partially in bomb-proof underground facilities.

The 42nd Infantry Division (United States) entered Schweinfurt on April 11, 1945 and conducted house-to-house fighting.[4]:2 On April 12, an internment camp at Goethe-Schule[4]:2 held male civilians aged 16–60.[5]

Recent years

After the war Schweinfurt became a stronghold of U.S. military and their dependents. Schweinfurt still hosts the USAG Schweinfurt.[6] Thus Schweinfurt recovered relatively quickly from its third period of destruction. Later, the new suburbs of Bergl, Hochfeld and Steinberg were developed to settle a growing population. In 1954 the city laid the first stone for the new town hall and commemorated the 700th and 500th anniversaries of the two earlier respective destructions, as well as the ongoing reconstruction following World War II. In 1998 German and American veterans and survivors of the bombing raids came together to erect a war memorial to the fallen.

Currently twinned with Motherwell, Scotland[7].

Schweinfurt town hall

Main sights

City walls near St. Salvador Church

Schweinfurt's main landmarks include:

The Museum Georg Schäfer specializes in 19th-century paintings by artists from German-speaking countries.

The Schweinfurter Rathaus (town hall) square has a large Friedrich Rückert monument in the center around which weekly markets and many city festivals are held. A large number of immigrants from many other countries add to the crowded innercity traffic-free Markthalle shopping area.

Motherwell Park connects the surrounding medieval buildings to the innercity market square. To avoid car-filled streets, walking through the park with part of the original city walls offers pathways and shortcuts bringing one on foot from one end of town to another, reminiscent of medieval town life.

Economy

Schweinfurt is known for its metal industry, especially ball-bearing plants and bicycle manufacturing; see also FAG Kugelfischer, ZF Sachs AG and SKF. The pigment Schweinfurt Green, which is extremely toxic, was manufactured here. Due to its heavy concentration in primarily one industry, Schweinfurt has suffered high unemployment rates (over 6%) relative to the Bavarian average, especially since the German reunification. Politically, with its heavy concentration of workers and labor unions, Schweinfurt is traditionally the most left-leaning county in the otherwise heavily right-leaning Bavaria. The GDP per capita of Schweinfurt is the third highest in Germany with 65,852 EUR per inhabitant and in 2007 a study ("Prognos Zukunftsatlas 2007") opted Schweinfurt for the most dynamic town in Germany. On the other hand the crime rate of Schweinfurt is about 60% higher than the average German crime rate (making it the highest crime rate in Bavaria).[8][9][10]

Communal facilities

Historical population

Year Population
1939 49,302
1950 46,128
1961 56,923
1970 58,446
1987 51,962
2002 54,670
2004 54,467
2006 53,970

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ "Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes" (in German). Bayerisches Landesamt für Statistik und Datenverarbeitung. 31 December 2009. https://www.statistikdaten.bayern.de/genesis/online/online?sequenz=statistiken&selectionname=12411. 
  2. ↑ There is an English village with that name, Swineford
  3. ↑ Coffey, Thomas M. (1977). Decision Over Schweinfurt. David McKay Company, Inc. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-679-50763-5. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Walden, Geoff. "Third Reich in Ruins". http://www.thirdreichruins.com/schweinfurt.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-04. 
  5. ↑ Turner, S.J., (F. R. G. S) -- maps (June 1944). Pictorial History of the Second World War. Wm. H. Wise & Co., Inc.. p. 1880. "Germans await American orders April 14, 1945 THEY DON'T LIKE IT. After the fall of Schweinfurt, ball bearing center in Germany, male civilians between sixteen and sixty were rounded up to be checked by American authorities. (caption)" 
  6. ↑ www.schweinfurt.army.mil
  7. ↑ Scottish Government — Chapter Three: Existing Engagement between Scotland and Germany
  8. ↑ Schweinfurt - die dynamischste Stadt Deutschlands
  9. ↑ Equal-Mainfranken.de
  10. ↑ Initiative Neue Soziale Marktwirtschaft – Das wissenschaftliche INSM-Regionalranking: Das INSM-Profil — Kreisfreie Stadt Schweinfurt

External links