Bad Schwalbach
Bad Schwalbach | |
---|---|
Location of Bad Schwalbach within Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis district | |
Coordinates: 50°08′N 08°04′E / 50.133°N 8.067°E | |
Country | Germany |
State | Hesse |
Admin. region | Darmstadt |
District | Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis |
Subdivisions | 8 districts |
Government | |
• Mayor (2019–25) | Markus Oberndörfer[1] (SPD) |
Area | |
• Total | 40.27 km2 (15.55 sq mi) |
Elevation | 361 m (1,184 ft) |
Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 11,430 |
• Density | 280/km2 (740/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Postal codes | 65307 |
Dialling codes | 06124 |
Vehicle registration | RÜD, SWA |
Website | www.bad-schwalbach.de |
Bad Schwalbach (called Langenschwalbach until 1927) is the district seat of Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany.
Geography
Geographic location
Bad Schwalbach is a spa town some 20 km northwest of Wiesbaden. It lies at 289 to 465 m above sea level in the Taunus, along the small river Aar (Lahn) (a tributary of the Lahn). Over 56 percent of the municipal area is forest.
Neighbouring communities
Bad Schwalbach borders in the north on the community of Hohenstein, in the east on the town of Taunusstein, in the south on the community of Schlangenbad, and in the west on the community of Heidenrod.
Constituent communities
Bad Schwalbach’s
History
Bad Schwalbach was first mentioned in a document in 1352 as Langinswalbach. The first reliable report of the
The health resort started at the beginning of the 19th century only after the improvement of road conditions through construction. The Aartalbahn (
In a wood near Bad Schwalbach in late 1800 or early 1801, Katharina Pfeifer is said to have borne the outlaw Schinderhannes (Johannes Bückler) a child.[3]
Politics
Town council
This section needs to be updated.(July 2021) |
The municipal election held on 26 March 2006 yielded the following results:
Parties and voter communities | % 2006 |
Seats 2006 |
% 2001 |
Seats 2001 | |
CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany | 34.1 | 13 | 33.0 | 12 |
SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany | 30.8 | 11 | 32.8 | 12 |
GREENS | Bündnis 90/Die Grünen
|
11.1 | 4 | 9.3 | 4 |
FDP | Free Democratic Party | 4.0 | 1 | 3.9 | 1 |
BSB | Bad Schwalbacher Bürgerblock | 15.8 | 6 | 11.2 | 4 |
FWG | Freie-Wähler-Gemeinschaft | 4.1 | 2 | 9.8 | 4 |
Total | 100.0 | 37 | 100.0 | 37 | |
Voter turnout in % | 46.6 | 52.4 |
Mayors
- 1995–2001: Günter Janisch (CDU)
- 2001–2007: Michael Kalhoff (CDU)
- 2007–2019: Martin Hußmann (FDP)
- 2019–incumbent: Markus Oberndörfer (SPD)
Culture and sightseeing
The Kurbahn, which operates on the rails of the former Moortransportbahn in the spa park, provides special access to the town’s and health resort’s history. From April to October, the trains are run by the Bad Schwalbacher Kurbahn Verein e.V. on all Sundays and holidays. From Moorbadehaus Station the line leads to the Moorgruben by way of Golfhaus, Schwalbenbrunnen and Waldsee.
Bad Schwalbach's only museum was reopened in 2002 with new exhibits. Through its exhibits, it attempts to lead visitors through Bad Schwalbach’s history and its life as a health resort. Among other things, the museum includes the pharmacy museum, once displayed in private rooms. The pharmacy museum contains the oldest pharmacy in the Taunus (established in 1642), fully furnished. The museum also houses the town archive.
Also worth seeing are the seven fountains and many temples, among them the Elisabethentempel, which was endowed by
North of the town is found Alexander’s Rest – so called even in German – a sheltered bench which also serves as a memorial to a British spa visitor who was killed at this spot in a bicycle accident in August 1896 (he is buried at the local cemetery).
Economy and Infrastructure
The largest employer is the Schwälbchen Molkerei Jakob Berz AG (dairy).
Transport
Bad Schwalbach lies on Bundesstraße 260, also known as the Bäderstraße (“Bath Road”), as well as Bundesstraßen 54 and 275. The nearest Autobahn interchange is on the A 66 15 km away. There is also another interchange 20 km away at Idstein on the A 3.
Bad Schwalbach also lies on the Aartalbahn, but there has been no regular passenger service since 1986, only seasonal railway-museum tours by the Nassauische Touristikbahn. Bad Schwalbach is therefore the only Hessian district seat which is no longer served by rail. There have been efforts to have the line reactivated, yet they have all been unsuccessful so far. This line has been labelled a cultural monument and is Hesse's longest building monument – only the Roman limes, a land monument, is longer.
Education
- Nikolaus-August-Otto-Schule (comprehensive school, roughly 1500 students)
- Wiedbachschule (primary school)
- Janusz-Korczak-Schule (school for help with learning, special education advisory and promotional centre)
- Internationale Opernakademie (professional school for opera singers)
Famous people
Sons and daughters of the town
- Queen of Sardinia
- Charles Emmanuel, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg, nephew of the above (1746–1812)
- Edmund Heusinger von Waldegg (1817–1886), railway engineer
- Otto Frickhoeffer (1892-1968) conductor and composer
- Robert Philipp Nöll von der Nahmer (1899–1986), FDP politician
- Second World War
- Jörg Fauser (1944–1987), journalist and writer
- Klaus-Peter Willsch (1961– ), CDU politician
- Erol Bulut (1975– ), former footballer and manager
- Christian Werner (1979– ), competition cyclist
People associated with the town
- Matthäus Merian the Elder(1593–1650), copper engraver and publisher, died in Bad Schwalbach
- Johann Heinrich Fenner von Fenneberg (1774–1849), balneotherapist
- Philipp Hoffmann (1806–1889), architect and building master
- Adolphus Busch (1839–1913), entrepreneur, died in Lindschied
- Paul Wallot (1841–1912), architect of the Reichstag building, died in Bad Schwalbach
- Friedrich Delitzsch (1850–1922), Assyriologist, also died here
- Julius Lippert(1895–1956) NSdAP Politician, Mayor of Berlin, died in Bad Schwalbach
- Bernhard Bendel (1908–1980), founder of the Catholicorganization Opus Spiritus Sancti
The
References
- Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt. 5 September 2022.
- Hessisches Statistisches Landesamt. June 2023.
- ^ Bayerlein, S. 214
Further reading
- Bayerlein, Peter (2003), Mainz-Kostheim, Schinderhannes-Ortslexikon
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Diefenbacher, Jörg (2002), Die Schwalbacher Reise, Mannheim, ISBN 3-00-008209-3)
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - Merveilleux, David François; de LaPimpie Solignac, Pierre Joseph (1739), Amusemens des Eaux de Schwalbach, Oder Zeitvertreibe Bey den Wassern zu Schwalbach, Denen Bädern zu Wiesbaden, und dem Schlangenbade, Lüttich
External links
- Bad Schwalbach (in German)
- Museum in Bad Schwalbach (in German)
- Bad Schwalbach at Curlie(in German)