Gengenbach

Gengenbach
Gengenbach
Coordinates
Administration
Country Germany
State Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region Freiburg
District Ortenaukreis
Mayor Michael Roschach
Basic statistics
Area 61.91 km2 (23.90 sq mi)
Elevation 175 m  (574 ft)
Population 11,023 (31 December 2010)[1]
 - Density 178 /km2 (461 /sq mi)
Other information
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Licence plate OG
Postal code 77723
Area code 07803
Website www.stadt-gengenbach.de

Gengenbach is a town in the district of Ortenau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany and a popular tourist destination on the western edge of the Black Forest with about 11,000 inhabitants. Gengenbach is well known for its traditional Swabian-Alemanic "fasnacht", ("Fasend"), a kind of historically influenced celebration of carnival, where tradition is followed, from wearing costumes with carved wooden masks to clapping with a "Ratsche" (a traditional-classic wooden "sound-producing" toy). Gengenbach also boasts a picturesque, traditional, medieval town centre ("Altstadt"). The traditional town Gengenbach is the proud owner of the world's biggest advent calendar. The 24 windows of the 18th century town hall represent the 24 "windows" of an Advent calendar. The town also hosts a department of the The Graduate School of Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, part of the University of Applied Sciences Offenburg. The nearest cities in the region are Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Baden-Baden and Strasbourg/France. Gengenbach is twinned with the town of Obernai, Alsace, France.

History

Gengenbach was founded in the 13th century and became an Imperial Free City in 1360.

References

External links