Bad Rappenau | |
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 Coat of arms | |
Location of Bad Rappenau within Heilbronn district  | |
  Bad Rappenau  Bad Rappenau | |
| Coordinates:49°14′N9°6′E / 49.233°N 9.100°E /49.233; 9.100 | |
| Country | Germany |
| State | Baden-Württemberg |
| Admin. region | Stuttgart |
| District | Heilbronn |
| Subdivisions | 10 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2018–26) | Sebastian Frei[1] (Ind.) |
| Area | |
• Total | 73.55 km2 (28.40 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 235 m (771 ft) |
| Population (2022-12-31)[2] | |
• Total | 22,356 |
| • Density | 300/km2 (790/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | 74906 |
| Dialling codes | 07264, 07066, 07268, 06268, 07266 |
| Vehicle registration | HN |
| Website | www.badrappenau.de |
Bad Rappenau (German:[baːtˈʁapənaʊ]ⓘ;South Franconian:Rappene) is a city municipality in thedistrict of Heilbronn inBaden-Württemberg in southernGermany. It is situated about 15 kilometres (9 mi) northwest ofHeilbronn.
Bad Rappenau is situated in the northeasternKraichgau.
Neighbouring towns and villages of Bad Rappenau are (clockwise from the east):Gundelsheim,Offenau andBad Wimpfen (all of the district of Heilbronn),Heilbronn,Massenbachhausen andKirchardt (both of the district of Heilbronn),Sinsheim,Neckarbischofsheim andHelmstadt-Bargen (all of theRhein-Neckar-Kreis),Hüffenhardt (Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis),Siegelsbach (district of Heilbronn) andHaßmersheim (Neckar-Odenwald-Kreis). Bad Rappenau has combined with Kirchardt and Siegelsbach to form a joint association of administrations.
The municipality consists of the town itself and the villagesBabstadt,Bonfeld,Fürfeld,Grombach,Heinsheim,Obergimpern,Treschklingen, andWollenberg.
Besides there are the hamletsZimmerhof,Kohlhof,Maierhof,Bartsmühle,Kugelmühle, andSommersmühle. The hamletsOberbiegelhof andUnterbiegelhof belong to Babstadt;Eichhäuser Hof,Obere Mühle, andUntere Mühle belong to Bonfeld;Burg Ehrenberg belongs to Heinsheim;Eulenberg(er)hof,Wagenbach,Obere Mühle, andPortland-Zementwerk belong to Obergimpern; andNeumühle belongs to Wollenberg. Gone resp. non-existent villages areNiuern andSpeceshart on the communal land of Rappenau,Eichhausen on the communal land of Bonfeld, undBattenhausen on the communal land of Grombach.[3]
Rappenau was first mentioned in 1343. According to other sources the village was previously named as Rappenheim due to its founder Rappo who was not in connection with ministerials. It is presumed that the settlement began around the 8th century. In the Middle Ages there were three villages near Rappenau: the upper village, the older lower village, and the no-more existent village Speßhardt, besides several hamlets.
Rappenau belonged to the Lords of Vaihingen and Württemberg until 1339, since 1344 it still only belonged to the Lords of Württemberg. The upper and lower village grew together to a united village, bordering at the Mühlbach in the south. Eberhard von Gemmingen had built a water castle in 1601. In Thirty Years' War the village burned down several times. By theGerman Mediatisation the village came toBaden in 1806.
After discovering a brine 175m below earth surface in 1822, there were big efforts to use the brine as a remedy. However, Baden had no interests in creating a bath in the first time. So there was founded a community to create theSophienbad (named after grand duchess Sophie von Baden) on May 15, 1834. Soon it turned out that the bath was unable to be financed, so it had to be closed. In 1845 the brine bath was opened, further increasing its capacity. In 1862 and 1882 a steam bath and brine inhalations were added.
In 1887 the children's spa rooms were opened. In 1912 Prof. Dr. Oskar Vulpius opened a sanatorium containing 120 beds to treat bone, joint, and gland sufferings. Meanwhile, a new brine bath was built and opened in 1903. In 1921 there were around 84,500 overnight stays. The recognition of being a spa town goes back to a decree of 1930 by the ministry of Baden. Since then the municipality took the nameBad Rappenau. After World War II cure bustle increased heavily. In 1952 it has been the seventh biggest spa town in Baden. In the 1970s there were four special clinics hosting around 600,000 overnight stays.
Due to the administration reform of 1936 Bad Rappenau turned into the district of Sinsheim. On April 1, 1950, the village Zimmerhof has been incorporated into the municipality. From 1971 to 1973 eight further municipalities had been incorporated into Bad Rappenau. Due to the district reform of January 1, 1973, Bad Rappenau turned into the district of Heilbronn. This district belongs to the administrative district of Stuttgart, so a municipality previously belonging to Baden is now administered by Württemberg. Also in 1973 the municipality got town rights. On January 1, 2003, Bad Rappenau became aGroße Kreisstadt.
The area of Bad Rappenau previously belonged to theBishopric of Worms. In 1530 theReformation has been introduced.
After the transition to Baden in 1806, the municipality got a member of theProtestant Church of Baden. In 1887, the foundation stone of the new town church of Bad Rappenau was laid. Previously the parish belonged to the church district of Sinsheim, changing to the one of Bad Rappenau-Sinsheim in 1975. On January 1, 2005, there was a fusion with the church district of Sinsheim to the church district Kraichgau. In other villages of Bad Rappenau there are also different parishes belonging to the Protestant Parish of Baden. Only the parishes of Bonfeld and Fürfeld belong to the Protestant Parish of Württemberg, since these villages belonged to Württemberg in former times.
In the 19th century there were also Catholics moving to Bad Rappenau. Formerly they got cared by the neighbouring parish of Siegelsbach. In 1896 own services within the water castle took place. In 1929 theHerz-Jesu-Kirche was built, getting expanded in 1954. Since its foundation it belonged to theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of Freiburg (deanery Kraichgau).
Jews are proved since the 16th century, although the municipality was not settled by them generally and the parish was quite poor and small. In 1802 there were five families living there, in 1825 there were six ones. In 1816 a new building failed financially. Later in 1843 a small one was able to be built. In 1881 a Jewish graveyard has been created along the road to Siegelsbach. The parish grew to 80 persons by 1875, but afterwards decreased heavily due to migration and emigration. In 1900 there were 46 Jews, in 1933 just ten. The parish broke up in 1937. During the pogrom in 1938 a shop window of a Jewish shop got destroyed. Four of the last five Jews living in Bad Rappenau were killed.
Following communal lands and villages had been introduced into Bad Rappenau. As far as not given otherwise they belonged to the district of Sinsheim until 1972. All of them came to the district of Heilbronn according to the district reform on January 1, 1973.
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1 results of censuses
Following the municipal election of 25 May 2014, the district council of Bad Rappenau has 34 seats. The election result is as follows:
| Party | Vote | Change | Seats | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDU | 40.0% | − 3.3 | 14 | − 3 |
| SPD | 24.9% | + 0.6 | 8 | − 2 |
| ödp | 10.4% | + 0.3 | 4 | ± 0 |
| GAL | 12.6% | + 3.9 | 4 | + 1 |
| Freie Wähler* | 12.0% | − 1.9 | 4 | − 1 |
| Total | 100% | 34 | ||
| Turnout: 43.0% | ||||
* In 2009, together with the FDP
In the past the local lord appointed a bailiff (vogt) to administer the village of Rappenau. Later the Grand Duchy of Baden established a mayor to head the municipal administration assisted by a council. Being aGroße Kreisstadt since 1 January 2003, the mayor has the titleOberbürgermeister. His deputy is called theBürgermeister.
Bürgermeister andOberbürgermeister
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Blazon: In gold on a blue sign a jumping black horse. The town colours are black and yellow.
The seal of Rappenau (1820) shows in blue two golden beams. The arms and flag were given by the ministry of the interior on September 26, 1957.[4]
Bad Rappenau istwinned with:[5]
Contrexéville, France (1982)
Llandrindod Wells, Wales, United Kingdom (2001)Since 1989 Bad Rappenau has a museum showing the history of brine and bathing in the town.
Next to the parish church there is the old town hall built in 1841 being the first one. Nearby the old town hall there is a fountain of 1928 having the inscription:Ruhe ist des Bürgers erste Pflicht - Im Wein liegt Wahrheit, im Wasser liegt Klarheit. -"The first citizen's duty is silence - In wine there is truth, in water there is clearness." In the town there is some old half-timbering, e. g. theDominikanerhof. The station is a building ofclassicism in times of rail construction.
On the urban cemetery lies Georg Christian Heinrich Rosentritt who discovered salt occurrences in 1822. There is also a war memorial.
Bad Rappenau has several parks at its disposal: theSchlosspark in the west around of the water castle and theSalinengarten includingHohenstadter Grund andKurpark in the east.
From April 25 to October 5, 2008, theLandesgartenschau ofBaden-Württemberg took place in Bad Rappenau. One of the main attractions was thegraduation tower. The three parks have been connected and upgraded by this event.[6]
Since 1977 and 1978 there is theStraßenfest respectivelyStadtfest; also a spring festival takes place. Since the 1980s and 1990s there are different festivals in other parts of the town, e. g. theHerbstfest and theSchlosshoffest in Grombach, theFischerfest in Heinsheim, theSchlossfest in Obergimpern, theKelterfest in Wollenberg and theMartinimarkt inZimmerhof. Also there is the lightning festival taking more than 10,000 visitors to Bad Rappenau and having big success. An open-air festival also takes place.
Bad Rappenau has a direct motorway point along theA 6 (Mannheim–Heilbronn). There is also theBundesstraßeB 39.
Bad Rappenau station is situated at theElsenz Valley Railway running fromBad Friedrichshall toHeidelberg. Public transport is managed byHeilbronner Hohenloher Haller Nahverkehr.
Some of the biggest businesses are:
TheKraichgau Stimme, part of theHeilbronner Stimme and the paperBad Rappenauer Bote / Eppinger Nachrichten, part of theRhein-Neckar-Zeitung) inform about happenings in Bad Rappenau.
In Bad Rappenau there is a notary's office.
Bad Rappenau has aRealschule (Wilhelm-Hauff-Realschule), aFörderschule (Albert-Schweitzer-Schule), aHauptschule with Werkrealschule and aGrundschule each in Bonfeld, Fürfeld, Grombach, Heinsheim, Obergimpern, Zimmerhof and a further one (Theodor-Heuss-Schule) responsible for Babstadt and Treschklingen. The urban library has more than 20,000 media at its disposal.
(in German)| International | |
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