Weinheim

Weinheim

Panorama of Weinheim

Coat of arms
Weinheim

Coordinates: 49°33′N 08°40′E / 49.550°N 8.667°ECoordinates: 49°33′N 08°40′E / 49.550°N 8.667°E
Country Germany
State Baden-Württemberg
Admin. region Karlsruhe
District Rhein-Neckar-Kreis
Government
 • Lord Mayor Heiner Bernhard (SPD)
Area
 • Total 58.11 km2 (22.44 sq mi)
Population (2012-12-31)[1]
 • Total 43,315
 • Density 750/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal codes 69469
Dialling codes 06201
Vehicle registration HD
Website www.weinheim.de

 Weinheim  is a town in the north west of the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany with 43 000 inhabitants, approximately 15 km (9 mi) north of Heidelberg and 10 km (6 mi) northeast of Mannheim. Together with these cities, it makes up the Rhine-Neckar triangle. It has the nickname "Zwei-Burgen-Stadt", or Two-Castle city ('Burg' means 'fortress'), named after the two fortresses on the hill overlooking the town in the east on the edge of the Odenwald, the Windeck and the Wachenburg. The city of Weinheim with said Wachenburg castle, built by German Student Corps fraternities in the early 1900s, is the location of the annual convention of the Weinheimer Senioren-Convent.

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 (guildhall). Further to the south is the Schlossgarten (Palace Garden) and the Exotenwald (Exotic Forest), 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 AD, when the name "Winenheim" was recorded in the Lorsch codex, the record book of Lorsch Abbey.

In 1000 AD, Emperor Otto III bestowed 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 onwards the whole town belonged to the Electorate of the Palatinate and the Heidelberg Oberamt district since the end of the 14th century. 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.

Local attractions

Lebanon Cedar in Schlosspark

Museum

Weinheim's town museum occupies what used to be the headquarters of the Teutonic Order in the town and holds exhibits about Weinheim and its surroundings: archaeology from the prehistoric through to the Merovingian dynasty, the highlight of which is the so-called "Nächstenbacher Bronze-find" 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

Local businesses

Transport

Trains

Weinheim has two main train stations on the Main-Neckar Railway, these being Weinheim (Bergstraße) station (served by Regional and long-distance IC trains) and Lützelsachsen (served by Regional trains). 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:

International relations

Weinheim is twinned with:

People

Population over time

These are the population figures for particular years. There are drawn from guesses, 'Volkszählungsergebnisse (semi-official figures, demarcated by a ¹) and official statistics based on place of residence (Hauptwohnsitz).

Year Population
1439 1780
1774 1774
1812 4039
1830 5000
1 December 1871 6350
1 December 1880 ¹ 7159
1 December 1890 ¹ 8243
1 December 1900 ¹ 11,167
1 December 1910 ¹ 14,170
8 Oktober 1919 ¹ 14,550
16 June 1925 ¹ 15,793
16 June 1933 ¹ 17,486
17 May 1939 ¹ 18,561
Year Population
December 1945 ¹ 19,944
13 September 1950 ¹ 25,199
6 June 1961 ¹ 27,859
27 May 1970 ¹ 29,670
31 December 1975 41,005
31 December 1980 41,654
27 May 1987 ¹ 41,934
31 December 1990 42,241
31 December 1995 42,812
31 December 2000 42,520
31 December 2005 43,417
30 June 2006 42,745

¹ These are taken from a Volkszählungsergebnes.

Honorary citizens

The town of Weinheim has made the following people honorary citizens (Ehrenbürger):

Sons and daughters of the town

People who worked in the town

References

  1. ↑ "Gemeinden in Deutschland mit Bevölkerung am 31.12.2012 (Einwohnerzahlen auf Grundlage des Zensus 2011)". Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). 12 November 2013.
  2. ↑ http://www.alemannia-judaica.de/weinheim_synagoge.htm
  3. ↑ "Ramat Gan Sister Cities". Archived from the original on March 7, 2008. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  4. ↑ For those made honorary citizens in 1933, see Heinz Keller: Weinheim 1933-1945 − Zeitskizzen. in: Stadt Weinheim (Hrsg.): (German)Die Stadt Weinheim zwischen 1933 und 1945. (= Weinheimer Geschichtsblatt Nr. 38), Weinheim 2000, ISBN 3-923652-12-7, S. 13f.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Weinheim.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Weinheim.