Bad Mergentheim
Bad Mergentheim | |
---|---|
Location of Bad Mergentheim within Main-Tauber-Kreis district | |
Stadtteile | |
Government | |
• Lord mayor (2019–27) | Udo Glatthaar[1] (CDU) |
Area | |
• Total | 129.97 km2 (50.18 sq mi) |
Elevation | 206 m (676 ft) |
Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 24,564 |
• Density | 190/km2 (490/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 97980 |
Dialling codes | 07931 (primarily), 07930, 07932, 07937, 07938 (boroughs) |
Vehicle registration | TBB, MGH |
Website | www.bad-mergentheim.de |
Bad Mergentheim (German: [baːt ˈmɛʁɡn̩thaɪm] ⓘ; Mergentheim until 1926; East Franconian: Märchedol) is a town in the Main-Tauber-Kreis district in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It has a population of around 23,000. An officially recognized spa town since 1926, Bad Mergentheim is also known as the headquarters of the Teutonic Order from 1526 until 1809.
Geography
Subdivisions
Since administrative reform in the 1970s the following villages have been part of the municipality: Althausen (pop. 600), Apfelbach (350), Dainbach (370), Edelfingen (1,400; birthplace of the American biochemist Julius Adler), Hachtel (360), Herbsthausen (200), Löffelstelzen (1,000), Markelsheim (2,000), Neunkirchen (1,000), Rengershausen (480), Rot (260), Stuppach (680), Wachbach (1,300)
History
Mergentheim is mentioned in chronicles as early as 1058, as the residence of the family of the counts of Hohenlohe. The brothers Andreas, Heinrich and Friedrich von Hohenlohe joined the Deutscher Orden (Teutonic Order) in 1219 and gave their two castles near Mergentheim to the order. One was abandoned, the other became the seat of the local Komtur (commander) of the order.
Following the Order's conquest of
Over the next centuries, the town served as the centre of the order's southern German territories much like the residence town of any ruling prince. Some grand masters, like
: 114Mergentheim's fortunes declined after that but were reversed in 1826, when a shepherd by the name of Franz Gehring discovered rich mineral springs in the surrounding area, during the time when spas were expanding in Germany at a rapid pace. The water turned out to be the strongest sodium-sulfate water in Europe, reportedly effective for the treatment of digestive disorders.
In the 1970s during the Gemeindereform (administrative reform) several neighbouring villages were incorporated into the municipality.
Arts and culture
Attractions
Mergentheim Palace
The best-known sight of Bad Mergentheim is the Deutschordensschloss, the castle where the Teutonic Knights once had their home base. It is a complex of buildings built over a period of eight hundred years. The first buildings of the castle were probably erected as early as the 12th century. The castle was expanded in the late 16th century under Grand Master Walther von Cronberg. Over the course of time a representative Renaissance complex was built by connecting the individual buildings in the inner palace courtyard to a closed ring of buildings. In 1574, the main architect, Blasius Berwart , also constructed the spiral staircase between the west and north wing. Today the castle houses the Deutschordensmuseum (museum of the Teutonic Order).
The English landscape garden between palace and spa building is mainly due to Archduke Maximilian Franz. In 1797, he had a "mosque" built there to recall the past Turkish threat and in 1802 the Schellenhäusle, a late Chinoiserie. The obelisk was built under Duke Paul von Württemberg, a memorial for a dog that saved his life on one of his expeditions.[4]: 115
The castle complex is dominated by the Schlosskirche (palace church), begun in 1730 under
Other sights
The sacristy of the Marienkirche (finished in 1388) features frescos made in 1300-10 by the monk Rudolfus. This was formerly the church of a Dominican monastery. The cloister has a fresco from 1486 showing a Visitation that depicts an embryo inside the body of Mary. The church also contains the epitaph of Walther von Cronberg, the first Mergentheim Grand Master. Modelled in 1539, probably by Hans Vischer, it was taken to Monrepos at Ludwigsburg in 1809, when Mergentheim became part of the Kingdom of Württemberg. In 1853, the statue was restored to this church.[4]: 115
Demographics
Year | Population |
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1660 | 1,064 |
1855 | 2,917 |
1900 | 4,372 |
1933 | 6,191 |
1945 | 9,300 |
1950 | 10,184 |
1961 | 11,608 |
1975 | 19,895 |
1990 | 21,567 |
2005 | 22,486 |
2013 | 22,470 |
Governance
Town twinning
Bad Mergentheim is
Infrastructure
- Löffelstelzen Transmitter
- German Diabetes Center Mergentheim
Notable people
- Heinrich von Hohenlohe (died 1249), buried in the church in Mergentheim
- Johann Friedrich Mayer (agriculturist) (1719–1798), priest and agricultural reformer ("Plaster Apostle")
- Maximilian Franz of Austriain 1791
- Carl Arnold (1794–1873), composer and pianist
- Hermann Bauer (1814–1872), Protestant pastor and Württemberg local historian
- Eduard Mörike (1804–1875), German poet, lived in Mergentheim from 1844–1851
- Wilhelm Zimmermann (1807–1878), German theologian and historian, died in Mergentheim
- Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf (1852–1925), Austro-Hungarian Field Marshall from 1871–1918, died in Mergentheim
- Ottmar Mergenthaler (1854–1899), inventor of the Linotype[6]
- Edvard Hjelt (1855–1921), Finnish chemist and politician, died in Mergentheim
- Nazis
- Gudrun Mebs (born 1944), writer, children's and youth book author (Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis 1984)
- Barbara Stamm (born 1944), politician CSU, President of the Bavarian Parliament
- Greens
- Jürgen Koch (born 1963), cook, awarded one star in the Michelin
- Martin Lanig (born 1984), football player
- Carolin Golubytskyi (born 1985), foil fencer
- Atilla Yildirim(born 1990), Dutch-Turkish football player
- Florian Ruck (born 1992), football player
- Valentin Kluss (born 2007), racing driver
See also
- Wildpark Bad Mergentheim
References
- ^ Aktuelle Wahlergebnisse, Staatsanzeiger, accessed 13 September 2021.
- Statistisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg. June 2023.
- ^ public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Mergentheim". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 164.. Additional citations: Höring, Das Karlsbad bei Mergentheim (Mergentheim 1887); and Schmitt, Garnisongeschichte der Stadt Mergentheim (Stuttgart, 1895). One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ ISBN 3-7701-0746-2.
- ^ "International Exchange". List of Affiliation Partners within Prefectures. Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR). Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963.