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Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" (Badische Spargelstraße) and Bertha Benz Memorial Route. The town is widely known for its Hockenheimring, a motor racing course, which has hosted over 30 Formula One German Grand Prix races since 1970.
Hockenheim is one of the six largest towns in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district; since 1999 the number of inhabitants exceeded the 20,000 threshold, thus the town received the status of a regional central town ( Große Kreisstadt) in 2001. It is twinned with the French town of Commercy, the German town of Hohenstein-Ernstthal in Saxony and the American town of Mooresville, North Carolina.
The municipal area is divided into two large natural regions, the "Rheinaue" to the west and the slightly higher "Niederterrasse" to the east. The so-called "Hockenheimer Rheinbogen" is a meander area of the Rhine, which stretches over the municipalities of Ketsch, Hockenheim and Altlußheim. 30 parts of it with a total of 656 ha are under nature conservation. An additional area three times larger is designated as landscape conservation area, with less strict usage limitations. The "Rheinbogen" offers biologically diverse, secondary wetlands as habitat for endangered plants and animals, it is also an internationally important resting and feeding area for migrating birds in winter. Hockenheimer Rheinbogen, Pflanzen und Tiere Landesanstalt für Umwelt, Messungen und Naturschutz Baden-Württemberg. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
In the 17th century Hockenheim was severely devastated twice by French troops, 1644 in the Thirty Years' War and 1674 in the Franco-Dutch War. During this period the former cultivation of hops in the area was partly replaced with tobacco, brought into the country by the French. 1803 the Electoral Palatinate was dissolved and the village was integrated in Baden. With the growing tobacco crop the village flourished and was awarded town rights on 22 July 1895 by Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden.
The opening of the Rhine railway through Baden in 1870 led to the town's connection to railway network. With the beginning of the 20th century asparagus cultivation replaced most of the remaining hops industry. At 29 May 1932 the Hockenheimring was opened with a motorcycle race. After World War II the decline of the cigar industry had begun, but Hockenheim was already known for its Hockenheimring and could expand in other industrial branches. January 1973 Hockenheim was assigned to the newly formed Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district.
In 1986, the Mannheim to Stuttgart high-speed railway was built through the town. (28-page brochure) In order to provide an interconnection between the high-speed line and the classic Rhine railway, the latter was moved west by and the land freed up by the removal of the old alignment was converted into a public park. In 1991, Hockenheim was the host of the 11th Baden-Württemberg State Horticultural Show, utilising this new space.
In 1975 the Hockenheim government agreed upon a municipal association ("Verwaltungsgemeinschaft") with the neighboring villages Altlußheim, Neulußheim and Reilingen. Hockenheim is one of the six largest towns in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district; since 1999 the number of inhabitants exceeds the 20,000 threshold, thus the town received the status of a regional central town ("Große Kreisstadt") in 2001.
Hockenheim is located on the federal motorways A6, from Saarbrücken to Waidhaus, and A61, from a junction with the A6 at Hockenheim to the Netherlands near Venlo. The A5 passes to the east of Hockenheim on its way from a point near Kirchheim to Switzerland near Basel. Hockenheim is also on the federal highway B39, from Frankenstein to Mainhardt.
Hockenheim's landmark is the water tower, constructed in 1910 in Art Nouveau. Other buildings of historical significance include the Protestantism town church, a 1906 Neo-baroque building by architect Hermann Behaghel, and the Catholic Church (1910), done in Art Nouveau with a high tower, by Johannes Schroth. The old Catholic church, with a Classicism hall (1817) and a late Gothic choir tower (1490), serves as a community center today.
A (German: Städtepatenschaft) for Samba in Samba Department, Burkina Faso was established in May 1985.
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