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Bad Wimpfen () is a historic spa town in the district of Heilbronn in the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany. It lies north of the city of Heilbronn, on the river Neckar.
Around 450 B.C. the Celtic tribe of Helvetii settled around the Neckar, Kocher and Jagst, including the site of Bad Wimpfen. Presumably the Celts had given names to the rivers as they are today. Wimpfen presumably comes from "uimpe" ( umwallt) = "surrounded" and "bin" ( Berg) = "mountain".
After the expansion of the Roman Empire up to the limes near Jagsthausen arranged by emperor Antoninus Pius in 138–161 A.D., the castellum lost its military importance.
All the more important was Wimpfen im Tal as a civilian town. It used to be the centre of a district called the Civitas Alisinensium and was surrounded by a city wall like only a few Roman towns in what is southern Germany today. With an area of about 19 hectares, Wimpfen was one of the biggest Roman towns in today's Baden-Württemberg. Despite this importance, the Latin name of the town is unknown today.
In addition, there was a wooden bridge above the Neckar which got destroyed by severe ice occurrence in the early Middle Ages. A beam salvaged during excavation works in 1957 was proved to have originated as part of the old bridge. A survey proved the origin to be around 85 A.D.
In the 9th century, Wimpfen became part of the Bishopric of Worms; it was first mentioned documentary as Wimpina in 829. During that time the Hungarians attacked the region and devastated most settlements, including Wimpfen. Within the framework of the following reconstruction, the new parish church of St. Peter was built. Being a bigger building, it was dedicated to the patron of the Bishopric of Worms. During more than three centuries the local dioceses performed the jurisdiction there.
In 1182 Frederick Barbarossa is believed to have stayed in Wimpfen. He had decentralised the administration of his empire. The Staufers had built Kaiserpfalzen (local castles) across the empire. These were big castles where local lords stayed and gave rulings. The Pfalz of Wimpfen was built on a rocky hill above the settlement of the Neckar Valley. The Pfalz and its surrounding settlement grew so strong that it outstripped the older settlement on the Neckar bank. By around 1200 most of the Staufer buildings had been built, including the Blauer Turm (Blue Tower), which is now generally seen as the town's principal visual landmark. It served as a watch-tower until the 20th century.
The Stauferpfalz of Wimpfen is the largest to be preserved north of the Alps. Its original length was about , its width about . Emperor Henry VI stayed there at least three times, Frederick II eight times. In 1235 there was a historical meeting between Frederick II and his rebellious son Henry. Also in the 13th century Richard von Deidesheim arranged a rebuilding of the diocesan church into the Gothic style. At the same time a hospital and a Dominican monastery was founded.
Due to the decline of the Staufers' Empire, Wimpfen became an imperial city, many manual workers settled there, and the population grew, establishing a large core of citizens. A town constitution was established, setting an example to many other towns. Many of today's buildings originate from this time.
Emperor Frederick III gave the right to hold a second annual market, the Katharinenmarkt, in addition to the established Talmarkt. This second market, held before Christmas, also survives in today's Christmas market, and its fame extends throughout the Baden-Württemberg region.
During this period Wimpfen was sacked several times, and houses and fields were burned. The population decreased radically due to disease and pestilence. At the end of the war, in 1648, the population had been reduced to a tenth of its pre-war size. Many important buildings were destroyed in this period, and redevelopment brought about loss of large parts of the castle which was used for building materials.
The town suffered the devastating consequences of the Thirty Years' War for more than 150 years. Although the Celts had extracted salt since pre-Christian times, there was now no possibility to produce salt. There was huge poverty within the population. During this time the town got financial aid from Nuremberg.
In 1783 it was declared that the removal of wood from surrounding forests was to be taxed to improve the town's financial situation. However, the citizens could not afford these fees. Consequently, there were many riots, but ultimately these were suppressed by local orders.
Originally, in terms of administration, by the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss the town was part of Baden. However, the knightly diocese of Wimpfen im Tal belonged to Hesse-Darmstadt. Consequently, a conflict about sovereignty rights over the parish increased between Baden and Hesse. Finally Baden agreed to cede the area, since their own territory was far away – and so Wimpfen under Hessian rule. This change was officially proclaimed on April 5, 1803. Starting in 1805–1806 Wimpfen was an outlying town under the control of Hesse.
For Wimpfen, this was a very comfortable situation as it was able to administer itself autonomously. At the time of the foundation of the People's State of Hesse in 1919, Wimpfen became part of the district of Heppenheim. It was merged with the district of Bensheim in 1938 and given the status of Kreis Bergstraße. In total, Wimpfen belonged to Hesse for 140 years. In 1945 the American military government reorganised administrational areas, and Bad Wimpfen came again under the reign of Baden (Nord-Württemberg Nord-Baden).
In 1817 a permanent salt production works was established. The brine was usually able to be used therapeutically, and in 1835 the first therapeutic hotel opened (Mathilden Spa Hotel). A new economic prosperity began, and a new town hall was built in 1836. Many of the older Staufer buildings were destroyed at this time or fell into disrepair or disuse.
After the opening of the new rail road, running from Heilbronn to Heidelberg, in the 1860s, the spa business increased greatly. Therapeutic baths were expanded more and more, resulting in a major economic growth. Even Mark Twain reported this fact within accounts of his journey through Europe in 1867. On April 26, 1930, the town got its prefix Bad officially.
The town survived World War II almost undamaged, and many refugees came here for accommodation.
Among local people, this decision was not well received. Even Hesse demanded a return of its enclave. In a plebiscite held on April 29, 1951, only 0.7% of the inhabitants voted to stay in the district of Sinsheim. Around 41% voted to return to Hesse, but a majority of 57% decided to change into the district of Heilbronn. This change to Heilbronn was carried out on May 1, 1952.
Despite this result, Hesse persisted in its opinion that Bad Wimpfen was a Hessian town. However, it agreed that the newly founded state of Baden-Württemberg should administer the town. This means that the final status of any affiliation remains unclear even today. However, Bad Wimpfen is completely integrated into the administration and jurisdiction of Baden-Württemberg.
Due to its Hessian past, the Catholic Church still belongs as an exclave to the Diocese of Mainz.
Formerly there also was a Jewish representation in the town. One of the earliest mentioned Jews in Wimpfen was Alexander ben Salomon, who released the remains of Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg in the early 14th century. Both are buried in Worms. Jews are known to have lived in Wimpfen in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. Around 1550 there was a brief expulsion of Jews. From the 17th century Jewish families lived in at least five houses in Bad Wimpfen, although several orders were passed that discriminated against them in 1598, 1630, 1756 and 1762. In 1672 there was another expulsion, cancelled two years later. Jews were given some equality in the years that Wimpfen was a free imperial city, but by 1933 only 22 Jews lived in Bad Wimpfen and they faced increasing discrimination by the Nazi party. The 1938 riots against Jews forced them to leave their homes and businesses. At least four deaths are known to have occurred during this persecution.
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The mayor is also a member of the district council and its chairman.
The coat of arms of Eagle and key already appear in Wimpfen's seal of 1250, used until 1436. The eagle was a former symbol of Wimpfen's dependency on the empire in the time of Staufer. Since the 14th century it was the symbol of the free imperial city. The key is both the emblem of Saint Peter and the coat of arms of the Bishopric of Worms. It indicates that the castle was built on communal land of Worms. Over the course of time the key position changed several times.
During the time of the town's Hessian membership a different coat of arms was utilised. However, this was abandoned at the time of the change of administration to Baden.Heinz Bardua: Die Kreis- und Gemeindewappen im Regierungsbezirk Stuttgart. Theiss, Stuttgart 1987, (Kreis- und Gemeindewappen in Baden-Württemberg, 1). p. 42
Eberhard Gönner: Wappenbuch des Stadt- und des Landkreises Heilbronn mit einer Territorialgeschichte dieses Raumes. Archive direction Stuttgart, Stuttgart 1965 (Publication of the national archive administration of Baden-Württemberg, 9). p. 154ff.
The construction of the Dominikanerkirche presumably started in the 13th and ended in the 18th century. The former monastery with artistic cloister houses a school today. The church is used as the Catholic parish church.
The former Johanneskirche was built in the 15th century and rebuilt in 1778. It was secularization in 1803. As a result of a fire in 1851 the church lost its function, and since then the building served as a restaurant.
In the castle quarter on Schwibbogengasse lies the former Jewish synagogue of 1580. This was seized in the 1930s and converted into flats.
The diocesan church St. Peter in Wimpfen im Tal, under the control of Grüssau Abbey from 1947 to 2004, is thought to go back to the 7th century. Today's church with its bordering cloister was built in the 13th and 14th century. There was a comprehensive renovation in 2006.
The Cornelienkirche lies east of the centre of Wimpfen im Tal. The building was built in 1476 in the Gothic style, and has a splendid portal with wall murals. It is believed that Tilly camped here during the Battle of Wimpfen.
Nearby, the village of Hohenstadt contains an old Protestant parish church.
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The town lies near the A 6 (junction Heilbronn/Untereisesheim).
In addition, there is the Hohenstaufen-Gymnasium which has more than 900 students from Bad Wimpfen and its surrounding municipalities.
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